This Life is a Journey.....Satan and Tests

The Afters - Light up the Sky

Thank you all for the wonderful group today - it is always such a pleasure to be with you all.  Please remember the challenge : to praise God for being so gracious and all mighty, to pray for others in areas you journal about, to request that your spirit prosper even as your soul prospers and then anything else you might desire to pray through.  The poem to continue thinking on our discussions today is also posted. 

I felt that this song would be such a great way to end this week and start the Memorial Day weekend.  If you have the ability go purchase a few sparklers and go Out, Out, Out in the night to watch Him Light, Light, Light up the sky's for you.  He IS with you....and you in my hearts!

My love to you all.....Right where you are =D
Kisses,
Candace

Life is a Journey
         Satan and Tests


So easily you give up;  to vanity your souls 
You see a reality, but can you truly see?

The glitz and glitter dazzle, are you blinded by their light?
The longings wrap around you,
This world creeps close and tight....

Another day another night, you roll without a clue
Passing much too quickly, to glimpse eternal truths
What you think you see are clear visions
 Composed of darkness and light

In the darkness secrets are deeply hidden
In a vault behind a locked door
To expose to light to makes you shudder
Longing for blindness you're drawn deeper into the snare
Walking in.. the tangle of webs wrap about you
My light floods Illumination in search of you
Its quest:  liberation of your Soul to soar great heights

You must master your soul within the spirit
Whatever owns your heart will master your true life
Deep, dark, gripping snarls from one master
Yet created for joy, peace and light
This body is not timeless - so stop striving
Your soul will have a home ..... this is your choice
Your eyes and heart may wander for seasons
But your designer ends all roads of a life time

We do not receive the road map to follow
Our eyes must not lead us astray
We must embrace faith to be guided
We hire our own guide with the time we pay
Trust is the purest of payments
Your heart, through love, will lead you home
Through the doorway of Darkness... bound by guilt and misery
Or passing by that into brightness beyond our belief

~C Huffmaster

©Candace Huffmaster 2008 All Rights Reserved

You Will Always Find What You Seek

 

Well it is a New Year guys.  2011; can you believe it?  Where did 2010 go. 

As for me, I have learned so much through this past year.  It was the largest year of growth for Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc, also known as KB, Inc now.  I am starting this year off with getting back to “101”.  You know what I mean, the basic of curriculums undergirding all else.  Our last Genesis post was October 26th.  That alone is enough to tell me to slow it down a bit. 

With growth comes restructuring.  With restructuring comes other individuals.  With other individuals comes delegation, and with delegation comes what to do when they move on.  Looking back, what I learned is that all individuals have to be seeking the same thing.  If not they do not stay.  We all know jobs are not forever.  However, what KB does is not a business it is a ministry so we always have to look at it in that light.  Ministries can only do what the flesh is willing to allow.  The spirit is always desiring to move.  But what is the flesh seeking?

Right now I am taking this opportunity to thank every individual and organization that has understood and extended so much mercy and grace toward our efforts at times.  We thank God for the grace and provision to be able to get to all that we do accomplished.  Sometimes God changes our time lines and circumstances, doesn’t HE? 

All this to get up back on track with a new year and a face set on Unity. 

In Matthew right after the sermon on the mount, Christ teaches the disciples the how to pray.  He follows this up with “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you”  He was speaking about clothing, food, relationships, business…..ALL THINGS.  Notice He did not say all things will be added to the Kingdom, He said all things will be added to “you”. 

In Genesis we stopped with “What do you See”.  This year I am picking it up with “What do you Seek”.  Huge difference!!  God tells us to “seek” him with all our heart, soul, and mind;  when we seek Him we will find Him.  We always find what we are seeking when we do this.  Let’s look at Genesis:

^{Genesis 3:5-9(GWT)}For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity. And when the woman saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves apronlike girdles. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you?

We discussed in October that Satan was shifting our mind in order to shift our view.  We see only our heart seeks.  No matter what is there our heart and mind shifts it to fit our desire.  This is the paradigm shift I wrote about last month. 

Adam was no longer seeking God – He desired something else to be added.  Eve did as well.  If you go back and read our past studies you will see God has been seeking to provide for us, so that we may seek Him. 

The Lord God has been calling your name and saying to you, “Where are You?”  He sees YOU, He simply cannot get you to see Him.

I pray this today, January 3rd 2011, you will seek first God and allow Him to add all things to you.  That is His desire and good pleasure toward you. So If you have been hiding like Adam and Eve…..  “Olly, Olly Oxen Free”!

With Love,

Candace

Are We Stones Comprising The Pathway, Or An Awkward One That Make Someone Trip?

As I was reading the devotion for this morning, different scriptures kept popping into my mind.  The verses in 1 Corinthians 10 where we are being implored to learn from the experiences of the God’s people as they were being led by Moses. “They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them, and that rock was Christ.” and “We shouldn’t put the Lord to the test as some of them did.” 

Think about when Christ was in the desert being tempted.  Satan suggested that Christ turn the stone into bread.  Christ knew he had to trust the love of God, not test Him.  He followed that by stating God’s word, “Man cannot live on bread alone but from every word that precedes from the mouth of God”.

I have often pondered and conversed with God about the reason Moses didn’t get to enter the promised land but only see if from afar.  God wanted him to exemplify that we are to converse through relationship, love.  Striking that rock was a complex reaction.  It was based on Moses’ frustration with the people so he was lashing out.  He wanted to demonstrate power….his power or Gods?”  Christ is our rock, through Him we are delivered, rescued, saved eternally for relationship.  What if symbolized Moses striking Christ himself?  If it appears that we are forcing God to give us what He was wanting to freely give us, I can only imagine how that must make God feel.  There is no liberty or joy in that.  God tells us where there is Christ there is liberty.  I think that Moses conversing with the rock, relating the dilemma and his concerns would have been pretty cool.  That being said, I cannot begin to wrap my mind around all the pressures that Moses must have been under.  So I am going to just thank God for getting him through it all and allowing Moses to see the promise even if from a distance.  Moses must have been elated knowing God had delivered them so he could get finally get some rest.

I pray that we not tolerate insecurity and pride, but that we allow His spirit to transform us as we walk through out the emotional reactions we subject ourselves, others and HIs kingdom to.  May God  be glorified as we trust in Him to provide as He sees fit and in His timing.  Let us exemplify this rock as our alter place where we lay our ways of accomplishing things down and do it the way God has requested, so that His life may pour out and all may come to the knowledge of His saving grace.

Enjoy this day….it is a gift directly from His hand.  And you didn’t even have to force Him to give it to you, did you?

Kisses,

Candace

Management By Force

– by So Hillman TGIF

"Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink." - Numbers 20:8

Moses and the people had been traveling for days without water. The people were thirsty. They were complaining and grumbling about their plight, and Moses became the object of their complaining. Moses sought the Lord for wisdom on how to handle the situation. The Lord instructed him to speak to the rock and water would flow. This would be a sign that God was still in control, that Moses was still the leader, and that God was their provider.

When it came time to speak to the rock, Moses' disgust with the people became so great that instead of speaking to the rock, he angrily addressed the people and then struck the rock twice. The water came out, in spite of Moses' disobedience. But the Lord was not pleased with Moses.

This was a time for Moses to operate at a higher level. No longer was he called to touch things with his staff to perform miracles; it was a time for him to speak to the problem. His very words would have changed the situation. Moses' staff represented two things-his physical work as a shepherd of sheep and his spiritual work as a shepherd of the people. God was calling him to move into a new dimension of using his staff. Up to now, Moses had always been commanded by God to touch something to perform the miracle. Now it was time to speak God's word to the problem.

However, Moses made the mistake many of us make. He used his instrument with force to accomplish something for God. He took something God wanted to be used in a righteous manner and used it in an unrighteous manner. He used force to solve the problem. This disobedience cost Moses his right to see the Promised Land.
Have you ever been tempted to use your power, skill, and ability to force a situation to happen, perhaps even out of anger? God is calling us to use prayer to move the face of mountains. The force of our ability is not satisfactory. God is calling each of us to a new dimension of walking with Him. Pray that God will give you the grace to wait on Him and not take matters into your own hands. Then you will not be in jeopardy of failing to move into the Promised Land in your life.

Ministry in Words

A Lost Person – Part 4

失丧的人 – 第四篇

Lk 19:1-10
路加19:1-10

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' " But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
耶稣进了耶利哥，正经过的时候，有一个人名叫撒该，作税吏长，是个财主。他要看看耶稣是怎样的人；只因人多，他的身量又矮，所以不得看见，就跑到前头，爬上桑树，要看耶稣，因为耶稣必从那里经过。耶稣到了那里，抬头一看，对他说：撒该，快下来！今天我必住在你家里。他就急忙下来，欢欢喜喜的接待耶稣。众人看见，都私下议论说：他竟到罪人家里去住宿。撒该站着对主说：主阿，我把所有的一半给穷人；我若讹诈了谁，就还他四倍。耶稣说：今天救恩到了这家，因为他也是亚伯拉罕的子孙。人子来，为要寻找，拯救失丧的人。

Continued from Part 3
上接第三篇

4. Jesus took the initiative to build a relationship with Zacchaeus
四、 耶稣主动地与撒该建立关系

Jesus himself wanted to stay at Zacchaeus’ house, to give him mercy in spite of what the people might think.
不管人会怎样想，耶稣自己要住在撒该的家来赐他怜悯。

-Jesus gave Zacchaeus an opportunity to host him, to practice hospitality. Zacchaeus must not have too many chances to receive fellow Jews because none would want to associate with a tax collector. He might have a beautiful home, with many servants, but without guests it was not lively at all.
-Hospitality is often mentioned in the Bible as a virtue. Nowadays many Christian homes are used for gospel’s sake, and God blesses them. They also have the satisfaction of seeing many seekers getting saved.
-Once Zacchaeus received Jesus to his home, it brought about great changes.
-Jesus gave Zacchaeus the chance to receive Him, not only into his home, but also into his heart. When he wanted to receive Jesus into his home, he had to decide to receive Him in his heart. When one decides to receive Jesus into his heart, his life will be changed. For nobody can receive Jesus without being changed!
-耶稣给撒该招待他的机会，来实践款待客人。撒该一定没有太多机会来接待他的犹太同胞因为他们都不要与税吏来往。他可能有一个辉煌的家，有许多仆人，但没有客人就缺乏活泼的气氛。
-招待客旅是圣经常提及的一个美德。今日许多基督教家庭为福音的缘故开放，神就祝福他们。他们也因看到许多慕道友得救而心满意足。-一旦撒该接待耶稣到他家里，就带来重大的改变。
-耶稣给撒该接待他的机会，不单进入他的家，也进入他的心。当他要接待耶稣进入他的家的时候，他就须要决定接待耶稣进入他的心。当一个人决定要接待耶稣进入他的心的时候，他的生命就要改变，因为没有人能接待耶稣而不被改变的！

5. Jesus’ love brought about Zacchaeus’ actions that matched his repentance
五、 耶稣的爱引起撒该与他的悔改相称的行动

The Bible doesn’t indicate that Jesus called for Zacchaeus’ repentance or whether he repented or not. However, Zacchaeus did say, “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house,because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.” Zacchaeus’ action proved his repentance,
and we also know by Jesus’ comment that he had repented.
圣经没有表示耶稣要求撒该悔改或者他有否悔改。不过撒该有说：「我把所有的一半给穷人；我若讹诈了谁，就还他四倍。」而耶稣对他说：「今天救恩到了这家，因为他也是亚伯拉罕的子孙。」撒该的行动证实了他的悔改，而我们也因耶稣所说的话知道他有悔改。

Conclusion
结论

Through Jesus’ example we have learned of His love for the lost and the following key elements of His evangelism:
从耶稣的模范我们知道他爱失丧的人和下面他传福音的一些基本要素：

1. Jesus knew about Zacchaeus before He reached out to him. We must first get to know the person with whom we want to share the gospel.
一、 在耶稣向撒该伸手之前他就认识撒该。我们也须先认识我们要与其分享福音的对象。

2. We must, like Jesus, take initiative to connect with the person.
二、 像耶稣一般我们须要采取主动与这人连系。

3. Jesus accepted Zacchaeus even when the Jews rejected him. We must accept the lost person but not his sins.
三、 什至当犹太人唾弃撒该的时候耶稣接纳他。我们一定要接纳失丧的人但不是要接纳他的罪。

4. Jesus took initiative to call Zacchaeus. We must take initiative to build a relationship with the lost person, to love him as God loves him.
四、 耶稣主动地去叫撒该。我们定要主动地与失丧的人建立关系，去爱他犹如神爱他一般。

5. Zacchaeus received Jesus and his life was changed. We must lead the lost person to receive Jesus, to live a new life.

五、 撒该接待耶稣，他的生命就被改变了。我们定要带领失丧的人来接纳耶稣，来活出一个新的生命。

The September 1985 issue of Times-Reporter reported this news story:
时代-记者1985年九月刊报告这个新闻故事：

A party was held beside a public swimming pool in the City of New Orleans to celebrate their first year without any drowning in their public pools. Among the 200 people attended the party 100 of them were certified lifeguards. When the party was about to end, 4 lifeguards on duty began to clean the pool when they found in the deep end a body dressed in a nice suit. They tried to resuscitate him, but it was too late. Jerome Moody, age 31, drowned in the company of 100 lifeguards celebrating their success for the year.
在新奥尔良市一个公众泳池旁举行一个派对来庆祝他们第一次全年没有人在公众泳池溺死，在参加的两百人中半数是审定的救生员。派对将要结束，四位当值的救生员开始清洁泳池，就在水深之处发现一具尸体，穿着毕廷西装。他们试着要救活他，可惜为时已晚。耶罗米.麽地，年31岁，在一百名救生员庆祝当年的成功中溺死。

Every Sunday we gather to celebrate Jesus, let’s not allow anyone among us to perish without knowing the Lord.
每个礼拜天我们聚集庆祝耶稣，我们不要让我们当中任何一个人不认识主而灭亡。

Tom and Tehwan Tso
仲谋与德菀

“The outcome of your faith is the salvation of your souls.” 1Peter 1:9

“信心的果效， 就是灵魂的救恩” 彼得前书1：9

Ministry in Word

A Lost Person – Part 3

失丧的人 – 第三篇

Lk 19:1-10
路加19:1-10

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' " But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
耶稣进了耶利哥，正经过的时候，有一个人名叫撒该，作税吏长，是个财主。他要看看耶稣是怎样的人；只因人多，他的身量又矮，所以不得看见，就跑到前头，爬上桑树，要看耶稣，因为耶稣必从那里经过。耶稣到了那里，抬头一看，对他说：撒该，快下来！今天我必住在你家里。他就急忙下来，欢欢喜喜的接待耶稣。众人看见，都私下议论说：他竟到罪人家里去住宿。撒该站着对主说：主阿，我把所有的一半给穷人；我若讹诈了谁，就还他四倍。耶稣说：今天救恩到了这家，因为他也是亚伯拉罕的子孙。人子来，为要寻找，拯救失丧的人。

Continued from Part 2
上接第二篇

2. Jesus initiated his contact with Zacchaeus
二、 耶稣主动与撒该接触

That’s why Jesus initiated His contact with Zacchaeus. He knew Zacchaeus was waiting for Him, waiting for His love, His acceptance, and His salvation.
那就是耶稣主动与撒该接触的理由。他知道撒该在等他，在等他的爱、他的接纳和他的拯救。

Zacchaeus knew that Jesus’ name meant “God saves”, so he placed his expectation on Jesus. He must have heard that Jesus called Matthew the tax collector to be His disciple, and restored the blind Bartimaeus’ sight. He must have heard that Jesus healed the sick and saved the demon possessed, so he believed that Jesus could help him with his problems.
撒该知道耶稣的名字意思是「神拯救」，所以他寄望耶稣身上。他一定曾经听说耶稣呼召税吏马太来作他的门徒，和挽回瞎子巴底买的视力。他一定曾经听说耶稣医治病人和拯救被鬼附的人，所以他相信耶稣可以帮助他解决问题。

But he must have also heard of the rich, young ruler who went to Jesus to seek the way to eternal life, but later departed sadly. He heard about Jesus’ statement that, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.” If Jesus would not accept someone with such excellent qualification, would he have a chance? Let’s consider these:

但他一定听过那位富有的年青官人，他去见耶稣来寻找永生之道，但後来忧愁地离去。他听过耶稣那样说，「骆驼要穿过针孔比富人要进天国容易。」如果耶稣不接受一个有如此优良资格的人，他有机会吗？让我们考虑这些：

-The only thing in common between the rich, young ruler and Zacchaeus was their wealth, and Jesus was not impressed by their wealth.
-If he pleaded with Jesus based on his need, there were many others having greater needs than he.
-富有的年青官人和撒该唯一相同的是他们的财富，而耶稣并不为他们的财富所动。
-如果他以他的需要向耶稣恳求的话，许多人有比他更大的需要。

But unlike the blind Bartimaeus who shouted to get Jesus’ attention, Zacchaeus was too embarrassed to do that. So he climbed up a tree to wait for Jesus.
不像瞎子巴底买大叫来取得耶稣的注意，撒该做不到这样的事，所以他爬上树上来等待耶稣。

However Jesus didn’t wait for Zacchaeus to seek Him. He didn’t wait for him to ask Him. He didn’t wait for him to plead with Him. He took the initiative to approach Zacchaeus.
但是耶稣并没有等待撒该来找他，他并没有等待撒该来问他，他并没有等待撒该来求他，他主动去接近撒该。

3. Jesus was not influenced by others’ opinion and misunderstanding
三、 耶稣不受别人的意见和误解所影响

Jesus was not concerned with others’ opinion and possible misunderstanding of His action, because He wanted to reach out and to save lost people like Zacchaeus.
耶稣并不担心别人的意见和对他行动可能的误解，因为他要寻找和拯救像撒该这样失丧的人。

-The Bible recorded 8 times the Jews criticized Jesus for eating with the tax collectors and sinners.
-Twice the Jews criticized Jesus for His association with tax collectors and prostitutes.
-They had given up on Zacchaeus, treating him as being lower than sinners and prostitutes.

-圣经记录了八次犹太人批评耶稣与税吏及罪人一同吃饭。-两次犹太人批评耶稣与税吏及娼妓交往。-他们已经放弃了撒该，待他比罪人及娼妓更不如。

But Jesus gently called him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
但耶稣温和地叫他：「撒该，快下来！今天我必住在你家里。」

-How sweet it was for Zacchaeus to hear his name spoken by Jesus. -Without accusation, only acceptance and belief that he had the capacity to live up to the meaning of his name, that was “righteous and kind”. -Jesus saw a precious lost soul behind Zacchaeus’ facade, one of the many lost souls for whom Jesus died on the cross. -Jesus didn’t hesitate to call Zacchaeus. He said, “Come down immediately” because it was urgent to save a lost soul.
-撒该听到耶稣呼叫他的名字是多甜美的呢。-没有指责，只是接纳和相信他有能力活出他名字的意义，那就是「公义和慈爱」。-在撒该的外貌背後耶稣看到一个宝贵的失丧灵魂，那是耶稣为其死在十字架上的众失丧灵魂之一。-耶稣并没有犹豫来叫撒该，他说：「快下来」因为拯救失丧灵魂是紧要的事。

To be continued next week.
下周待续。

Thank you, Lord, for coming to dwell with us. May we open our heart to you and may we live up to your calling in our life.
感谢主来住在我们当中。愿我们向你打开我们的心，和愿我们在我们生命中活出你的呼召。

Tom and Tehwan Tso
仲谋与德菀

“The outcome of your faith is the salvation of your souls.” 1Peter 1:9

“信心的果效， 就是灵魂的救恩” 彼得前书1：9

Ministry in Word

A Lost Person – Part 2

失丧的人 – 第二篇

Lk 19:1-10
路加19:1-10

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' " But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

耶稣进了耶利哥，正经过的时候，有一个人名叫撒该，作税吏长，是个财主。他要看看耶稣是怎样的人；只因人多，他的身量又矮，所以不得看见，就跑到前头，爬上桑树，要看耶稣，因为耶稣必从那里经过。耶稣到了那里，抬头一看，对他说：撒该，快下来！今天我必住在你家里。他就急忙下来，欢欢喜喜的接待耶稣。众人看见，都私下议论说：他竟到罪人家里去住宿。撒该站着对主说：主阿，我把所有的一半给穷人；我若讹诈了谁，就还他四倍。耶稣说：今天救恩到了这家，因为他也是亚伯拉罕的子孙。人子来，为要寻找，拯救失丧的人。


1. Jesus knew Zacchaeus’ spiritual journey
一、 耶稣知道撒该的心历路程

Jesus came to seek and save Zacchaeus who was lost. First He must have known Zacchaeus’ situation. What was Zacchaeus’ situation? Zacchaeus had 2 problems: a problem with his life and a problem with his image.

耶稣来寻找拯救失丧的撒该。他一定已经知道撒该的情况。撒该的情况如何呢？撒该有两个问题：一个关乎他生命的问题和一个关乎他形象的问题。

a. Life
甲、 生命

First let’s look at his problem with his life. He was a chief tax collector and a wealthy man. He had money and status, but he was not happy. He was a chief tax collector. In the eye of the Roman government, he was simply a tool to take advantage of the Jews; and to the Jews, he was a traitor who helped their foreign conqueror the Roman Empire oppress them, and he was also a sinner who profited from high tax levied on his fellow countrymen. To the Jews he was also unclean due to his contact with the gentiles.

首先让我们看看他关乎他生命的问题。他是一个税吏长和一个财主，他有钱和地位，但他并不快乐。他是一个税吏长，在罗马政府眼中他只不过是向犹太人取利的工具罢了；而对犹太人来说，他是一个卖国贼，他帮他们的异邦征服者罗马帝国来压榨他们，他也是一个罪人因他向他的同胞征收重税而从中弁利。对犹太人来说他也是不洁因为他与外邦人接触。

The Jews considered all tax collectors their public enemies. Therefore Zacchaeus, being a chief tax collector, was hated by his people.

犹太人认为所有的税吏都是他们的公敌，所以作为税吏长撒该就受到他的同胞所痛恨。

Zacchaeus lived a life that was rich in material, but poor in spirit. Nowadays some people have great power for material gains, but they cannot enjoy life, living in discontentment and disappointment.

撒该的生活有丰富的物质，但是精神贫乏。现今有一些人很有获财的能力，但却不能享受生命，活在不满足和失望之中。

Have you ever seen the bumper stickers that say “I’d rather be fishing”, “I’d rather be skiing”, etc. That means they are not content with what they are doing, yet they are stuck in it. Zacchaeus loved his job for all its money, but hated it because of the stigma associated with it.

你曾否看过这样的保险杠贴纸吗？写着「我宁可去钓鱼」或者「我宁可去滑雪」之类。这就表示他们并不满意他们的现状，但又无法改变它。撒该因着饯的缘固喜爱他的工作，但却因为它所带的臭名而讨厌它。

b. Image
乙、 形象

Zacchaeus also had a problem with his image. He might have wished his parents didn’t name him Zacchaeus, because this Hebrew name means “righteous” or “charitable”. Are you kidding? A righteous and charitable chief tax collector? No way!

撒该也有一个形象的问题。也许他有想过如果他父母没有给他取名撒该就好了，因为这犹太名字的意思是「公义的」或「慈善的」。开玩笑，一个公义的和慈善的税吏长？不可能的！

Besides his name being taken as a joke, Zacchaeus might not like his stature, because he was short. Sometimes we are conscious of our physical characteristics. Some think they are too tall while others think they are too short. I read that the famous missionary to China, Miss Lottie Moon, refused to be photographed standing up because she was short, only 4 feet 3 inches tall. Zacchaeus might have sought career excellence and materialistic gain to make up for his shortness, but Jesus knew that he didn’t have
contentment from them.

除了他的名字成为笑柄以外，撒该可能不喜欢他的身材，因为他很矮小。我们有时为我们身体持徵感到不自在，有人认为他们太高，又有人认为他们太矮。我曾读到关于那有名的在华传教士，慕拉第女仕，她拒绝站立拍照因为她身材短小，只有四英尺三英寸高。为了弥补他身材不高撒该可能争取事业上的优越和物质上的收获，但耶稣知道他并没有因此得满足。

To be continued next week.
下周待续。

May we place our hope and expectation on Jesus and may we find contentment in our Lord.
愿我们将我们的盼望与期待放在耶稣身上，和愿我们在我们的主里找到满足。

Tom and Tehwan Tso
仲谋与德菀

“The outcome of your faith is the salvation of your souls.” 1Peter 1:9

“信心的果效， 就是灵魂的救恩” 彼得前书1：9