功夫狂想曲

4月 27 週六 201320:44
A nice song --Landslide

Landslide
I took my love and I took it down
I climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills

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7月 11 週三 201214:31
Workplace happiness: What's the secret?

Editor's note: Columnist Amanda Enayati ponders the theme of seeking serenity, the quest for well-being and life balance in stressful times. Follow her on Twitter or on Facebook.

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6月 17 週日 201221:47
You are not special --speech

Here is the full speech as presented by Universal Hub:
Dr. Wong, Dr. Keough, Mrs. Novogroski, Ms. Curran, members of the board of education, family and friends of the graduates, ladies and gentlemen of the Wellesley High School class of 2012, for the privilege of speaking to you this afternoon, I am honored and grateful. Thank you.
So here we are… commencement… life's great forward-looking ceremony. (And don't say, "What about weddings?" Weddings are one-sided and insufficiently effective. Weddings are bride-centric pageantry. Other than conceding to a list of unreasonable demands, the groom just stands there. No stately, hey-everybody-look-at-me procession. No being given away. No identity-changing pronouncement. And can you imagine a television show dedicated to watching guys try on tuxedos? Their fathers sitting there misty-eyed with joy and disbelief, their brothers lurking in the corner muttering with envy. Left to men, weddings would be, after limits-testing procrastination, spontaneous, almost inadvertent… during halftime… on the way to the refrigerator. And then there's the frequency of failure: statistics tell us half of you will get divorced. A winning percentage like that'll get you last place in the American League East. The Baltimore Orioles do better than weddings.)
But this ceremony… commencement… a commencement works every time. From this day forward… truly… in sickness and in health, through financial fiascos, through midlife crises and passably attractive sales reps at trade shows in Cincinnati, through diminishing tolerance for annoyingness, through every difference, irreconcilable and otherwise, you will stay forever graduated from high school, you and your diploma as one, 'til death do you part.
No, commencement is life's great ceremonial beginning, with its own attendant and highly appropriate symbolism. Fitting, for example, for this auspicious rite of passage, is where we find ourselves this afternoon, the venue. Normally, I avoid clichés like the plague, wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole, but here we are on a literal level playing field. That matters. That says something. And your ceremonial costume… shapeless, uniform, one-size-fits-all. Whether male or female, tall or short, scholar or slacker, spray-tanned prom queen or intergalactic X-Box assassin, each of you is dressed, you'll notice, exactly the same. And your diploma… but for your name, exactly the same.
All of this is as it should be, because none of you is special.
You are not special. You are not exceptional.
Contrary to what your u9 soccer trophy suggests, your glowing seventh grade report card, despite every assurance of a certain corpulent purple dinosaur, that nice Mister Rogers and your batty Aunt Sylvia, no matter how often your maternal caped crusader has swooped in to save you… you're nothing special.
Yes, you've been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble-wrapped. Yes, capable adults with other things to do have held you, kissed you, fed you, wiped your mouth, wiped your bottom, trained you, taught you, tutored you, coached you, listened to you, counseled you, encouraged you, consoled you and encouraged you again. You've been nudged, cajoled, wheedled and implored. You've been feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie. Yes, you have. And, certainly, we've been to your games, your plays, your recitals, your science fairs. Absolutely, smiles ignite when you walk into a room, and hundreds gasp with delight at your every tweet. Why, maybe you've even had your picture in the Townsman! [Editor's upgrade: Or The Swellesley Report!] And now you've conquered high school… and, indisputably, here we all have gathered for you, the pride and joy of this fine community, the first to emerge from that magnificent new building…
But do not get the idea you're anything special. Because you're not.
The empirical evidence is everywhere, numbers even an English teacher can't ignore. Newton, Natick, Nee… I am allowed to say Needham, yes? …that has to be two thousand high school graduates right there, give or take, and that's just the neighborhood Ns. Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools. That's 37,000 valedictorians… 37,000 class presidents… 92,000 harmonizing altos… 340,000 swaggering jocks… 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs. But why limit ourselves to high school? After all, you're leaving it. So think about this: even if you're one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you. Imagine standing somewhere over there on Washington Street on Marathon Monday and watching sixty-eight hundred yous go running by. And consider for a moment the bigger picture: your planet, I'll remind you, is not the center of its solar system, your solar system is not the center of its galaxy, your galaxy is not the center of the universe. In fact, astrophysicists assure us the universe has no center; therefore, you cannot be it. Neither can Donald Trump… which someone should tell him… although that hair is quite a phenomenon.
"But, Dave," you cry, "Walt Whitman tells me I'm my own version of perfection! Epictetus tells me I have the spark of Zeus!" And I don't disagree. So that makes 6.8 billion examples of perfection, 6.8 billion sparks of Zeus. You see, if everyone is special, then no one is. If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless. In our unspoken but not so subtle Darwinian competition with one another-which springs, I think, from our fear of our own insignificance, a subset of our dread of mortality - we have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement. We have come to see them as the point - and we're happy to compromise standards, or ignore reality, if we suspect that's the quickest way, or only way, to have something to put on the mantelpiece, something to pose with, crow about, something with which to leverage ourselves into a better spot on the social totem pole. No longer is it how you play the game, no longer is it even whether you win or lose, or learn or grow, or enjoy yourself doing it… Now it's "So what does this get me?" As a consequence, we cheapen worthy endeavors, and building a Guatemalan medical clinic becomes more about the application to Bowdoin than the well-being of Guatemalans. It's an epidemic - and in its way, not even dear old Wellesley High is immune… one of the best of the 37,000 nationwide, Wellesley High School… where good is no longer good enough, where a B is the new C, and the midlevel curriculum is called Advanced College Placement. And I hope you caught me when I said "one of the best." I said "one of the best" so we can feel better about ourselves, so we can bask in a little easy distinction, however vague and unverifiable, and count ourselves among the elite, whoever they might be, and enjoy a perceived leg up on the perceived competition. But the phrase defies logic. By definition there can be only one best. You're it or you're not.
If you've learned anything in your years here I hope it's that education should be for, rather than material advantage, the exhilaration of learning. You've learned, too, I hope, as Sophocles assured us, that wisdom is the chief element of happiness. (Second is ice cream… just an fyi) I also hope you've learned enough to recognize how little you know… how little you know now… at the moment… for today is just the beginning. It's where you go from here that matters.
As you commence, then, and before you scatter to the winds, I urge you to do whatever you do for no reason other than you love it and believe in its importance. Don't bother with work you don't believe in any more than you would a spouse you're not crazy about, lest you too find yourself on the wrong side of a Baltimore Orioles comparison. Resist the easy comforts of complacency, the specious glitter of materialism, the narcotic paralysis of self-satisfaction. Be worthy of your advantages. And read… read all the time… read as a matter of principle, as a matter of self-respect. Read as a nourishing staple of life. Develop and protect a moral sensibility and demonstrate the character to apply it. Dream big. Work hard. Think for yourself. Love everything you love, everyone you love, with all your might. And do so, please, with a sense of urgency, for every tick of the clock subtracts from fewer and fewer; and as surely as there are commencements there are cessations, and you'll be in no condition to enjoy the ceremony attendant to that eventuality no matter how delightful the afternoon.
The fulfilling life, the distinctive life, the relevant life, is an achievement, not something that will fall into your lap because you're a nice person or mommy ordered it from the caterer. You'll note the founding fathers took pains to secure your inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness-quite an active verb, "pursuit"-which leaves, I should think, little time for lying around watching parrots rollerskate on Youtube. The first President Roosevelt, the old rough rider, advocated the strenuous life. Mr. Thoreau wanted to drive life into a corner, to live deep and suck out all the marrow. The poet Mary Oliver tells us to row, row into the swirl and roil. Locally, someone… I forget who… from time to time encourages young scholars to carpe the heck out of the diem. The point is the same: get busy, have at it. Don't wait for inspiration or passion to find you. Get up, get out, explore, find it yourself, and grab hold with both hands. (Now, before you dash off and get your YOLO tattoo, let me point out the illogic of that trendy little expression-because you can and should live not merely once, but every day of your life. Rather than You Only Live Once, it should be You Live Only Once… but because YLOO doesn't have the same ring, we shrug and decide it doesn't matter.)
None of this day-seizing, though, this YLOOing, should be interpreted as license for self-indulgence. Like accolades ought to be, the fulfilled life is a consequence, a gratifying byproduct. It's what happens when you're thinking about more important things. Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you. Go to Paris to be in Paris, not to cross it off your list and congratulate yourself for being worldly. Exercise free will and creative, independent thought not for the satisfactions they will bring you, but for the good they will do others, the rest of the 6.8 billion-and those who will follow them. And then you too will discover the great and curious truth of the human experience is that selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself. The sweetest joys of life, then, come only with the recognition that you're not special.
Because everyone is.
Congratulations. Good luck. Make for yourselves, please, for your sake and for ours, extraordinary live.
Reference from:
http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/18720284/2012/06/06/full-transcript-youre-not-special-speech

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10月 31 週一 201118:23
聽創世紀的英語故事練英文

列上不同版本的創世紀介紹，身邊很多人都是藉由Bible study 的方法學英文。下面有有字幕的，

沒字幕但有人朗讀，有字幕無人聲的。多聽幾次，其實還挺好玩的。最後一個是屬於教學版的免

費網站。可以去玩玩看順便練英文。

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10月 15 週六 201111:22
長老會--加爾文教派英文介紹＆英文讀經新眼光

Presbyterianism

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"Presbyterian Church" redirects here. For other uses, see Presbyterian Church (disambiguation).

John Calvin

Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures, and the necessity of grace through faith in Christ. Presbyterianism originated primarily in Scotland and was confirmed as the means of Church Government in Scotland by the Acts of Union in 1707. Most Presbyterians found in England can trace a Scottish connection and the denomination was taken to North America by Scots and Scots-Irish immigrants. The Presbyterian denominations in Scotland hold to the theology of Calvin and his immediate successors, although there is a range of theological views within contemporary Presbyterianism.

Modern Presbyterianism traces its institutional roots back to the Scottish Reformation. Local congregations are governed by Sessions made up of representatives of the congregation, a conciliar approach which is found at other levels of decision-making (Presbytery, Synod and General Assembly). Theoretically, there are no bishops in Presbyterianism; however, some groups in Eastern Europe, and in ecumenical groups, do have bishops. The office of elder is another distinctive mark of Presbyterianism: these are specially ordained non-clergy who take part in local pastoral care and decision-making at all levels. The office of deacon is geared toward the care of members, their families, and the surrounding community. In some congregations active elders and deacons serve a three-year term and then rotate off for at least a year. The offices of pastor, elder, and deacon all commence with ordination; once a person is ordained, he holds that title for the rest of his life. An individual may serve as both an elder and a deacon.

The roots of Presbyterianism lie in the European Reformation of the 16th century, with the example of John Calvin's Geneva being particularly influential. Most Reformed churches who trace their history back to Scotland are either Presbyterian or Congregationalist in government. In the twentieth century, some Presbyterians played an important role in the Ecumenical Movement, including the World Council of Churches. Many Presbyterian denominations have found ways of working together with other Reformed denominations and Christians of other traditions, especially in the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Some Presbyterian churches have entered into unions with other churches, such as Congregationalists, Lutherans, Anglicans, and Methodists.

The Spiritual Eyes

Scripture：《 John 9 》

1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. 8 His neighbours and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” 10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked. 11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” 12 “Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said. 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided. 17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.” 18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” 20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” 24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” 25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” 26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” 28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out. 35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” 40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” 41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

The Spiritual Eyes

Scripture：《 John 9 》

1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. 8 His neighbours and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” 10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked. 11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” 12 “Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said. 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided. 17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.” 18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” 20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” 24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” 25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” 26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” 28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out. 35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” 40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” 41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

In the scripture we read today, we see works done by Jesus. Jesus says, “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”(John 9:4-5) Jesus Himself worked hard for this. In the last section of John chapter 8, when Jesus talked to the Jews about Abraham, they threw stones at Jesus. Jesus avoided the attack and left the temple. Following that, Jesus saw a man blind from birth and he seemed to forget that he was in danger of being attacked by Jews with stones. He forgot to think about his own safety and only thought about this blind man in need of help.
As we see Jesus was always thinking about God’s work in every situation. When the people in the temple refused to receive his teaching, he had to leave and find a new mission. Through what Jesus has done for God’s work, we need to think about whether our spiritual eyes are open and bright.
Who is qualified to receive salvation？
The number of Jews in the temple who wanted to attack Jesus with stones must have been large. Jesus turned and left without doing anything for them. Jesus’s leaving shows that the salvation is not connected with those Jews. This remains true for us today. Even though we do not attack Jesus with stones, there are still many people trying to shut Jesus out of their lives. This means that when a person has a heart resistant to Jesus, the saviour will walk away and turn to those who are willing to receive His salvation. In other words, no matter who we are, as long as we stop fighting Jesus and his message, he is always willing to find us and reveal his salvation to us.
In Jewish tradition, it was believed that a person who was born blind must be either evil or bearing the penalty for the sins of this family so there was no surprise that the disciples of Jesus thought like this. However, Jesus had a different opinion about the blind man. Jesus’s heart was full of mercy and empathy and he walked close by him. The blind man had never seen light since birth and his life was full of darkness and fear. However, he did not refuse Jesus and so Jesus revealed His mercy to him. Jesus opened the blind man’s eyes and let him see the light for the first time.
In the same way, no matter how small we are, how great our pain is and whether we are worthy to receive help from others, as long as we are willing to seek the Lord, Jesus will find us and open our eyes as he did for the blind man. He will help us, forgive us and give us the opportunity to receive a whole new life with joy. For those who are willing to accept Jesus as their saviour, they will receive salvation.
Jesus is the salvation
In the tradition belief of Seji (Sediq／Seediq), an aboriginal tribe in Taiwan, salvation is to pass the test of “rainbow bridge” (Hakaw Utux) and arrive at the wonderland where ancestors live. To pass the test of Hakaw Utux and gather with the ancestors, Seji people must obey taboos and rules (waya and gaya ), and fulfil their duties on earth.
It is similar in the traditional belief of Jews. Salvation is through obeying "the Law of Moses". Anyone who breaks the Law of Moses will be treated as a sinner and be excluded, rejected and excluded from salvation. As described in John, the Pharisees were investigating the healing the blind man. They questioned the blind man and his parents to check whether he was born blind. The Pharisees used many people and resources in this investigation in order to try to convict Jesus and the people involved in this event of being guilty of not keeping the Sabbath and thus to throw Jesus out of the synagogue.
For the Pharisees who did not believe in Jesus, the healing of blindness was an unacceptable and unforgivable event. However, for Jesus it was God’s purpose to heal as it was related to God’s salvation and pleased God. Jesus is the salvation but the Law of Moses is not. In other words, even if we follow the law cautiously, we are still living in the darkness with sin if we do not believe in Jesus. The unbelief makes us blind. We need Jesus. We should not simply rely on our own knowledge to obey the law.
The Blindness of Faith
We are all like the blind man in the scripture in that we need Jesus to make us see clearly. None of us can be called righteous people in God’s eyes without Jesus as without Him we have blindness of faith.
In verse 39, Jesus claimed clearly, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” This sentence is not well understood by the Pharisees or by us today. Perhaps some of us would ask the same question as the Pharisees did, “What？ Are we blind too？” or even ask, “Does he (Jesus) compare us with the poor blind man？”When the Pharisees asked such a question it was because they did not believe that Jesus was Christ. In contrast, the man blind from birth believed that Jesus was the Lord. There are many people who do not believe in Jesus Christ today. Jesus is only a person in the history book to them. They do not consider Jesus is the master of all lives, God's only son, and the saviour who was resurrected from the dead.
Thus, belief in Jesus relates to whether we have blindness in faith. If we believe in Jesus, we will be free from the darkness. We will no longer be blind. On the other hand, if we are not willing to believe in Jesus, we are spiritually blind and live in deep darkness.
Have you opened your eyes？ Or are you still living in the darkness？ Jesus can forgive all of our sins, to cleanse people from all unrighteousness, to set people free from the darkness and let them see the light again. May we willingly believe and accept Jesus is the Lord!

For discussion：

1.Do you really believe Jesus is the son of God and the saviour who was resurrected from the dead？
2.Please share your thought of the Laws of Moses and the thoughts of Jesus. What is the correlation between these two？
3.Please share your current situation in life circumstances and beliefs.

Please pray for：

1.Pray for the disadvantaged groups, the poor and people suffering from pain.
2.Pray for missions and work in the church. May God bless what we do and help us not to be a stumbling block to His salvation.

Prayer：

Heavenly Father, please give us faith in believing in the salvation of Jesus Christ with our whole hearts. Please give us bright eyes to distinguish right from wrong and to please you. Please give us more strength to witness your love and your righteousness. Oh Lord! We may sometimes have blindness in faith. Please be close to us and have mercy on us. Set us free from the darkness to honour you and serve people. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.

Something you can do：

1.Please plan your own Bible study schedule. Read the Bible every day, at least one or two chapters. Make notes of your thoughts.
2.Please plan your prayer schedule for the church, your family, community and country. We recommend you to spend at least 30 minutes a day to pray for this.

Quoted from:

http://english.pct.org.tw/enWeeklyNewEyes.aspx?WID=W20110814001

In the scripture we read today, we see works done by Jesus. Jesus says, “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”(John 9:4-5) Jesus Himself worked hard for this. In the last section of John chapter 8, when Jesus talked to the Jews about Abraham, they threw stones at Jesus. Jesus avoided the attack and left the temple. Following that, Jesus saw a man blind from birth and he seemed to forget that he was in danger of being attacked by Jews with stones. He forgot to think about his own safety and only thought about this blind man in need of help.
As we see Jesus was always thinking about God’s work in every situation. When the people in the temple refused to receive his teaching, he had to leave and find a new mission. Through what Jesus has done for God’s work, we need to think about whether our spiritual eyes are open and bright.
Who is qualified to receive salvation？
The number of Jews in the temple who wanted to attack Jesus with stones must have been large. Jesus turned and left without doing anything for them. Jesus’s leaving shows that the salvation is not connected with those Jews. This remains true for us today. Even though we do not attack Jesus with stones, there are still many people trying to shut Jesus out of their lives. This means that when a person has a heart resistant to Jesus, the saviour will walk away and turn to those who are willing to receive His salvation. In other words, no matter who we are, as long as we stop fighting Jesus and his message, he is always willing to find us and reveal his salvation to us.
In Jewish tradition, it was believed that a person who was born blind must be either evil or bearing the penalty for the sins of this family so there was no surprise that the disciples of Jesus thought like this. However, Jesus had a different opinion about the blind man. Jesus’s heart was full of mercy and empathy and he walked close by him. The blind man had never seen light since birth and his life was full of darkness and fear. However, he did not refuse Jesus and so Jesus revealed His mercy to him. Jesus opened the blind man’s eyes and let him see the light for the first time.
In the same way, no matter how small we are, how great our pain is and whether we are worthy to receive help from others, as long as we are willing to seek the Lord, Jesus will find us and open our eyes as he did for the blind man. He will help us, forgive us and give us the opportunity to receive a whole new life with joy. For those who are willing to accept Jesus as their saviour, they will receive salvation.
Jesus is the salvation
In the tradition belief of Seji (Sediq／Seediq), an aboriginal tribe in Taiwan, salvation is to pass the test of “rainbow bridge” (Hakaw Utux) and arrive at the wonderland where ancestors live. To pass the test of Hakaw Utux and gather with the ancestors, Seji people must obey taboos and rules (waya and gaya), and fulfil their duties on earth.
It is similar in the traditional belief of Jews. Salvation is through obeying "the Law of Moses". Anyone who breaks the Law of Moses will be treated as a sinner and be excluded, rejected and excluded from salvation. As described in John, the Pharisees were investigating the healing the blind man. They questioned the blind man and his parents to check whether he was born blind. The Pharisees used many people and resources in this investigation in order to try to convict Jesus and the people involved in this event of being guilty of not keeping the Sabbath and thus to throw Jesus out of the synagogue.
For the Pharisees who did not believe in Jesus, the healing of blindness was an unacceptable and unforgivable event. However, for Jesus it was God’s purpose to heal as it was related to God’s salvation and pleased God. Jesus is the salvation but the Law of Moses is not. In other words, even if we follow the law cautiously, we are still living in the darkness with sin if we do not believe in Jesus. The unbelief makes us blind. We need Jesus. We should not simply rely on our own knowledge to obey the law.
The Blindness of Faith
We are all like the blind man in the scripture in that we need Jesus to make us see clearly. None of us can be called righteous people in God’s eyes without Jesus as without Him we have blindness of faith.
In verse 39, Jesus claimed clearly, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” This sentence is not well understood by the Pharisees or by us today. Perhaps some of us would ask the same question as the Pharisees did, “What？ Are we blind too？” or even ask, “Does he (Jesus) compare us with the poor blind man？”When the Pharisees asked such a question it was because they did not believe that Jesus was Christ. In contrast, the man blind from birth believed that Jesus was the Lord. There are many people who do not believe in Jesus Christ today. Jesus is only a person in the history book to them. They do not consider Jesus is the master of all lives, God's only son, and the saviour who was resurrected from the dead.
Thus, belief in Jesus relates to whether we have blindness in faith. If we believe in Jesus, we will be free from the darkness. We will no longer be blind. On the other hand, if we are not willing to believe in Jesus, we are spiritually blind and live in deep darkness.
Have you opened your eyes？ Or are you still living in the darkness？ Jesus can forgive all of our sins, to cleanse people from all unrighteousness, to set people free from the darkness and let them see the light again. May we willingly believe and accept Jesus is the Lord!

For discussion：

1.Do you really believe Jesus is the son of God and the saviour who was resurrected from the dead？
2.Please share your thought of the Laws of Moses and the thoughts of Jesus. What is the correlation between these two？
3.Please share your current situation in life circumstances and beliefs.

Please pray for：

1.Pray for the disadvantaged groups, the poor and people suffering from pain.
2.Pray for missions and work in the church. May God bless what we do and help us not to be a stumbling block to His salvation.

Prayer：

Heavenly Father, please give us faith in believing in the salvation of Jesus Christ with our whole hearts. Please give us bright eyes to distinguish right from wrong and to please you. Please give us more strength to witness your love and your righteousness. Oh Lord! We may sometimes have blindness in faith. Please be close to us and have mercy on us. Set us free from the darkness to honour you and serve people. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.

Something you can do：

1.Please plan your own Bible study schedule. Read the Bible every day, at least one or two chapters. Make notes of your thoughts.
2.Please plan your prayer schedule for the church, your family, community and country. We recommend you to spend at least 30 minutes a day to pray for this.

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個人分類：快樂學英文

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9月 15 週四 201100:10
好聽的歌--朋友推薦的

字幕如下

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2月 02 週三 201112:44
Our new dog‏

在美國教會host family 的媽媽寫信給我告訴我他們養了新狗狗, 雖

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個人分類：快樂學英文

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1月 09 週日 201113:53
分享一段在電影中看到很好的文字

如果你勇敢到拋下一切熟悉和舒適的事物，包括從房子到慘痛舊恨的任何事，展開一趟尋覓真相的旅程，無論於外在或內在，也確實願意將這趟旅程中發生在你身上的一切視為線索，並將沿路認識的每個人當作老師。只要你準備好，至關重要的就是去面對和原諒那些困擾你的棘手現實，然後真相就離你不遠了。
If you’ re brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting which can be anything from your house to bitter, old resentments and set out on a truth-seeking journey
either externally or internally and if you are truly willing to

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