• Quality of Life and the Bible 生活品質和聖經 (12/2021 New)
• Internet and Quality of Life 互聯網與生活品質(1/2016 )
• Reality Check 現實的考驗(10/2015)
• Technology and Quality of Life 科技與生活品質(8/2015 )
• What is Quality of Life? 什麼是生活品質？(1/2015 )
• Quality of Life and Eternality 生活的品質與生命的永恆(7/2015 ) 
• Relationship and quality of life 關係和生活品質 (8/2015)
• Maintenance and Quality of Life 生活品質與維修(6/2015 )
• Eating Habit and Quality of life 飲食和生活的品質(5/2015 )
• Exercise and Quality of Life 運動與生活品質(1/2015 )
• Time and Quality of Life  空間時間和生活品質
• A simple way of increasing the quality of life for a christian
  基督徒提高生活品質的一個簡單方法 (1/2015 )
• Seniors and New Technology 老人家和新科技
• Light and Salt 光與鹽
• Narcissist versus Self Denier 自戀者與捨己者
• Washing Hands  洗手
• Being Busy and Quality of Life  忙碌對生活品質的影響 
• Implications of "Busyness" 忙碌的影響 
• Safety Net (1)   安全網 (1)
• Safety Net (2)   安全網 (2)
• Safety Net (3)   安全網 (3)
• Poisoned  Physical and Spiritual Foods  有毒的食品
• Timely Actions    及時採取行動
• Lamentation of Old Age 晚年的哀歌
• Finance and Women 財務與婦女
• Freedom of Choice  選擇的自由

• I am from where people eat poisoned foods  我來自人們吃有毒食品的地方

Quality of Life and the Bible 生活品質和聖經

In the 21th century of internet and global business, a lot of people are so busy or so much tangled in things that they do not think about quality of life. Although they may be very successful in their own views, yet they may suffer from failures of human relationship which certainly impacts quality of life, theirs or others.

在互聯網和全球商業的 21 世紀，很多人忙於忙碌或糾結於事物，以至於沒有考慮生活品質。 儘管他們在自己的觀點上可能非常成功，但他們可能會遭受人際關係的失敗，這肯定會影響他們或他人的生活品質。
There are basically two approaches or viewpoints. The first one is that human beings were created by a Mighty Creator, who is all powerful, all wisdom, and knowing the best for us. For this group of people, we can ask our Creator through the Bible to provide  us with the necessary guidance to improve quality of life. The other group of people reject the existence of a Creator. For example, the evolutionists regard that life is through competition where whoever fittest survives, and life is but constant struggles against various social classes such as communists system. They believe that individuals or government should be responsible for people’s quality of life.

基本上有兩種方法或觀點。 第一個是人類是由一位全能的造物主創造的，他全能、全智、知道對我們最好的。 對於這群人，我們可以通過聖經祈求我們的造物主為我們提供必要的指導，以提高生活品質。 另一組人拒絕造物主的存在。 例如，進化論者認為生命是物競天擇，適者生存，生命不過是與共產主義制度等各種社會階層的不斷鬥爭。 他們認為個人或政府應該對人們的生活質量負責。
Thus, this short article is for the first group of people who believe in the Bible. The Bible does indeed provides us with answers concerning who are we, why we are here, and the main purposes of life. The Bible deals with issues of life and hence quality of life as well. Most importantly, the Bible reveals the Son of God, Jesus Christ: who is He, what His mission, why He died, and What His resurrection means to us who believe in Him, and His revelation of the Father to us. Furthermore, Our relationship with Him and how we shall love Him.

因此，這篇短文是為第一批相信聖經的人準備的。 聖經確實為我們提供了關於我們是誰、我們為什麼在這里以及生活的主要目的的答案。 聖經涉及生活問題，因此也涉及生活質量。 最重要的是，聖經揭示了神的兒子耶穌基督：他是誰，他的使命是什麼，他為什麼死，他的複活對我們這些相信他的人意味著什麼，以及他對我們天父的啟示。此外，我們與他的關係以及我們應該如何愛他。
The more we meditate on life, the more we would love more and moreover Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, He is what He claims to be in the Gospel of John:

*John 6:35, The Bread of Life, 35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
*John 8:12, The Light of the World, 12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
*John 10:7,The Door, 7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
*John 10:11,The Good Shepherd, 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
*John 11:25, The Resurrection, 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
*John 14:6, The Way, the Truth, and the Life, 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
*John  15:1,The True Vine, 15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

我們越默想生命，我們就越愛主耶穌基督。 事實上，他就是他在約翰福音中所聲稱的：

* 約翰福音 6:35, 主是生命的糧
35 耶穌說：「我就是生命的糧。到我這裡來的，必定不餓；信我的，永遠不渴。
* 約翰福音 8:12, 主是世界的光
12 耶穌又對眾人說：「我是世界的光。跟從我的，就不在黑暗裡走，必要得著生命的光。」
* 約翰福音 10:7, 主是羊的門
7 所以，耶穌又對他們說：「我實實在在地告訴你們：我就是羊的門。
* 約翰福音 10:11, 主是好牧人
11 「我是好牧人，好牧人為羊捨命。
* 約翰福音 11:25, 主是復活
25 耶穌對她說：「復活在我，生命也在我。信我的人，雖然死了，也必復活；
* 約翰福音 14:6, 主為道路真理生命
6 耶穌說：「我就是道路、真理、生命。若不藉著我，沒有人能到父那裡去。
* 約翰福音 15:1,主是真葡萄樹
15 「我是真葡萄樹，我父是栽培的人。

We live in a 21 century modern world with internet. Nobody needs to be convinced that internet plays a very interesting role in all our lives. Just like any advanced technology came to the human society, internet could be a blessing or could be a drain on our precious resource-time. It is interesting to view internet and get a good look at how it affects quality of our lives.
我們生活在一個21世紀、有互聯網的現代世界。沒有人需要被說服來相信、互聯網在我們生活中各方面都扮演了有趣的功能。正如同來到人類社會中的許多先進技術，互聯網對我們的寶貴資源的“時間”而言，可能是一個雙面刃；既有節省的好處，也會有消耗浪費的缺點。好好來瞭解互聯網、看看它是如何影響我們生活的品質，是件有趣的事。

There are a few things that we should know about the internet:

1. First of all, internet provides us with a 24 by 7 access to unbounded sources of knowledge. Someone may have said that it is a free university offering to anyone having an access to internet. You can google to almost anything and get a ton of all kind of knowledge- both good and bad. This access alone could improve our quality of life if we use the internet with clear understanding of what it is. Whether positive impact or negative impact to one’s quality of life depends greatly upon one’s discernment.

我們應該知道互聯網的幾件事情：
1.首先，互聯網能為我們提供全年無休24×7，獲得知識的無限來源。有人可能會說，這是一個免費的大學，提供給任何進入互聯網的人。你幾乎可以在互聯網上、搜尋（谷歌）所有的問題，並可以得到許許多多、各式各樣、真真假假、包括好的和壞的答案或知識。有此管道可以提高我們的生活的品質，如果我們很清楚的認識且正確的使用互聯網。它對一個人的生活品質是正面影響、還是負面影響，很大程度上是取決於一個人的判斷鑑別力。

2. Internet provides unprecedented access to all kind of audience worldwide across all culture/political/geographical lines. E-mails and on-line shopping are two great conveniences to improve communication and access to commercial goods. Even here, discernment is a must to safeguard our identity and privacy. Just like any tool, it is the people who use it for good or use it for evil.
2.互聯網給全世界，不分文化/政治/地理限制的所有全球觀眾，提供了前所未有的接觸機會。電子郵件和網上購物是兩個大的便利，可以改善溝通，並獲得商業物品。即使在這裡，我們必須要明辨，才能保護我們的身份和隱私。就像任何工具，是使用者讓它行善造福，也是使用者將它變成邪惡害人的工具。
 
3. One of the impact of internet is the unprecedented access to pornography. We shall clearly know that pornography is an industry which covers all sort of evils from human sex trades to prostitution and to destabilization of the society. Pornography attracts people, young and old, and causes great damage to our quality of life.  Always remember that pornography is not a victimless enterprise. On the contrary, there are countless people who fell as victims to this evil. To the Christian community, pornography wastes many people time and is a manifestation of the lust of eyes, the lust of flesh, and the pride of the life. Prevailing availability of pornography is a key part of the schemes of this deceptive world to prevent people from knowing God. This is also a part of struggle of putting death the deeds of flesh. We need to return to the Bible and with the Holy Spirit help to counter this enemy of God.
 3.互聯網的影響之一是前所未有、毫無限制的、可接觸到色情內容。我們應該清楚地知道，色情是一個行業，涵蓋所有種類的性行業、買賣人口、賣淫和造成社會不穩定的惡行。色情吸引著人們，不分老幼，並導致我們的生活品質很大的損害。永遠記住，色情不是、沒有受害人的企業。相反地，有無數的人，是因此墮落成為此惡魔的受害者。在基督教的社會裡，色情浪費了很多人的時間，是眼目的情慾，肉體的情慾，以及今生的驕傲的體現。色情的盛行、是這個騙人世界用來、阻止人們認識上帝的重要陰謀。這也是我們治死肉體邪情私慾的糾葛爭鬥之一。我們需要回到聖經、得到聖靈的幫助，來對抗上帝的敵人。

4. Another effect of internet is the entertainment. We can waste our lives in the time spent in news, sport, music, and movies. Just video game alone will impact negatively the lives of countless children. Computer graphics and programming are such that unless one involves in blowing up something, it is no longer attractive to excitement. Thus, without discernment, we are growing up to be restless and mindless as well in the video games. Today we have accessed to hundreds of cable channels and could be entertained 24x7. This is all part of the end times phenomena to blind the eyes of the people, even whole generation, so that God is outside our vocabulary and is out of sight and out of mind.
4.互聯網的另一個作用就是娛樂。我們花費、太多時間，在觀賞新聞、體育、音樂、電影。單是視頻遊戲，就會給無數兒童的生活，帶來負面的影響。電腦設計圖形和編程的視頻遊戲，使得人如果沒有參與炸毀東西的遊戲，就不再具有令人興奮的吸引力。因此，如果沒有鑑別力，我們長大了活在視頻遊戲中、會變成躁動不安和盲然的人。今天，我們可以24x7全天候、進入到數百個有線頻道的娛樂。這是末世的現象，用來蒙蔽人們、甚至整整一代人的眼睛，並且將上帝排除在我們的詞彙之外、讓我們眼中無祂、心中無神。

You may ask what kind of discernment should we have to avoid all the pitfalls. This is indeed a great question? Let us ask you first: what are your safeguard in this world? Use your rationale? Or your own mind? It is indeed useless to think that we can fight against flesh by our own power. Many people are trapped in this cage because they are dead in transgressions. They have lost the touch to the value of life, let alone the unsurpassed value of eternal life. The following are a few Bible teachings that we should get hold of them as our lives depend upon them.
你可能會問，我們應該有什麼樣的洞察判斷力，才能避免所有的陷阱？這的確是一個很好的問題。讓我們先問問你：什麼是你在這個世界上的安全保障？用你的理性？或者你自己的心靈？認為我們可以用自己的力量來對抗肉體的想法，的確是沒用的。很多人都被困在這個籠子，因為他們都死在過犯之中。他們失去了此生、對生命價值的感受，更不用說感受無與倫比的永生價值。下面是一些我們應該緊緊的把握住，作為我們活命所依賴的聖經教導。

1. Romans 7:21-25
21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
羅馬書 7:21-25
21 我覺得有個律，就是我願意為善的時候，便有惡與我同在。 22 因為按著我裡面的意思，我是喜歡神的律， 23 但我覺得肢體中另有個律和我心中的律交戰，把我擄去，叫我附從那肢體中犯罪的律。 24 我真是苦啊！誰能救我脫離這取死的身體呢？ 25 感謝神！靠著我們的主耶穌基督就能脫離了。這樣看來，我以內心順服神的律，我肉體卻順服罪的律了。
 
2, 1 John 2:15-17
15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
 2. 約翰一書 2:15-17
15 不要愛世界和世界上的事。人若愛世界，愛父的心就不在他裡面了。 16 因為凡世界上的事，就像肉體的情慾、眼目的情慾並今生的驕傲，都不是從父來的，乃是從世界來的。17 這世界和其上的情慾都要過去，唯獨遵行神旨意的，是永遠常存。
 
 3. Romans 13:11-14
11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
 3. 羅馬書 13:11-14
11 再者，你們曉得，現今就是該趁早睡醒的時候，因為我們得救，現今比初信的時候更近了。 12 黑夜已深，白晝將近，我們就當脫去暗昧的行為，帶上光明的兵器。 13 行事為人要端正，好像行在白晝。不可荒宴醉酒，不可好色邪蕩，不可爭競嫉妒。 14 總要披戴主耶穌基督，不要為肉體安排，去放縱私慾。
 
4, 2 Corinth 5:14-15
14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
 4. 哥林多後書 5:14-15
14 原來基督的愛激勵我們，因我們想：一人既替眾人死，眾人就都死了； 15 並且他替眾人死，是叫那些活著的人不再為自己活，乃為替他們死而復活的主活。
 
5. Colossians 3:1-5
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. 5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
5. 哥羅西書 3:1-5
3所以，你們若真與基督一同復活，就當求在上面的事，那裡有基督坐在神的右邊。2你們要思念上面的事，不要思念地上的事，3因為你們已經死了，你們的生命與基督一同藏在神裡面。4基督是我們的生命，他顯現的時候，你們也要與他一同顯現在榮耀裡。5所以要治死你們在地上的肢體，就如淫亂、汙穢、邪情、惡慾和貪婪，貪婪就與拜偶像一樣。
 
6. Galatians 2:20
20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
6. 加拉書  2:20
20 我已經與基督同釘十字架，現在活著的不再是我，乃是基督在我裡面活著。並且我如今在肉身活著，是因信神的兒子而活，他是愛我，為我捨己。
 
7 Galatians 5:24
24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
7. 加拉書  5:24
24 凡屬基督耶穌的人，是已經把肉體連肉體的邪情私慾同釘在十字架上了。

Reality Check   現實的考驗

You may ask why reality check has anything to do with a person's quality of life? Let us use a few examples to illustrate the importance of living within reality of one's life.

你可能會問，為什麼現實的考驗，會影響一個人的生活品質？讓我們用幾個例子來說明、一個人要活在、"個人生活的現實裡"、的重要意義。

Example 1: We should live to the reality of our limitations. Take income for example. We should live within the level of our income. Of course, it is easy said then done in view of the statistics on the average debt balance of credit cards of more than $30,000. Yet, live within one's means is the foundation of wellbeing for each family.

例1：我們的生活、要配合我們自己的現實局限。以收入為例。我們的生活花費，不可超出我們的收入。當然，這是知易行難；只要看看、信用卡的平均卡債、超過$ 30,000的統計即可瞭解。然而，活在每個人的財力範圍內、是每個家庭幸福的基礎。

Example 2: We should live to reality of our limitations. Take life-span for example. None of us will live beyond our life-spans. So we should not assume that we 'll live forever. The reality is that tomorrow may not belong to some of us  in one of these days. So what does this reality means? Well, it is a question each of us need to spend sometime to ponder on? 

例2：我們應該、依我們的現實的局限而活。以壽命為例。我們沒有人、會活過我們生命長度的局限。所以，我們不應該、認為我們將會永遠活著。現實是，明天就可能、不屬於目前我們中的有些人。那麼，現實是什麼？嗯，這是一個問題，我們每個人、都需要花一段時間去思考呢？

Example 3: We should live to reality of our environment. You may rightly ask what do you means our environment. Here we refer the environment to the society we live in such as type of government, type of cultural traditions and etc. If you are living under a tyrant or lawless terror groups, then your quality of life can not be assured in any way.

例3：我們應該、依我們環境的現實局限而活？你可能馬上問、你所指我們的環境是什麼意思。在這裡，我們指的環境，是我們生活的社會，如政府的類型，文化傳統的類型等。如果你活在一個暴君、或非法恐怖組織的社會裡，那麼您的生活品質，在任何情況下、都無法保證。

So let us examine a few reality check so that we can act accordingly to improve quality of our lives.

因此，讓我們看看、一些現實的考驗；這樣我們才能採取相應的行動，來改善我們的生活品質。

According to the Bible, there is none righteous, not even one. So beware of gurus or self-proclaimed saints. The world's problems are from people and most of the problems are indeed from selfish and lawless people. So your quality of life will be affect by the problems created by people such as traffic jams, air quality, water quality, and regulations under normal circumstance and by wars, terrors, violence by thefts and crimes.

根據聖經，沒有義人，連一個也沒有。所以要小心大師們、或自稱聖人的人們。世界上的問題、都是因人而起；而大多數問題、確實是出自於自私的人和不法份子。所以，你的生活品質將被人所造成問題影響，如交通堵塞、空氣及飲水的不良品質、及正常情況的法規；和戰爭、恐怖、暴力和盜竊等犯罪行為。

According to the Bible, everybody is going his/her own ways if we do not follow teaching of the Bible. Our Creator with long suffering has great mercies to wait for our return to God. The Bible says that most people love darkness rather than light. They rejected willfully God as told in Romans 1.

根據聖經，每個人都有他或她、自己的方式，如果我們不遵循聖經的教導。我們的造物主、有很大的憐憫，長期苦苦地、等待我們的回歸上帝。聖經上說，大多數人都喜歡黑暗，而不喜歡光。他們故意地、拒絕上帝，如羅馬書第1章所說。

Romans 1:18-22   New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Guilt of Humankind
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; 21 for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools;

馬太福音4:17         新修訂標準版（NRSV）

人類的罪行
18 原來，神的憤怒從天上顯明在一切不虔不義的人身上，就是那些行不義阻擋真理的人。19 神的事情人所能知道的，原顯明在人心裡，因為神已經給他們顯明。 20 自從造天地以來，神的永能和神性是明明可知的，雖是眼不能見，但藉著所造之物就可以曉得，叫人無可推諉。 21 因為他們雖然知道神，卻不當做神榮耀他，也不感謝他，他們的思念變為虛妄，無知的心就昏暗了。 22 自稱為聰明，反成了愚拙，

In today's me-generation, people are inconsistent and selfish. Just look at how many billions of dollars spent at hospitals and doctors' offices. Yet, people refuse to go back to our Creator for eternal life. People knows how fragile life is. How uncertain life is. Yet, we live just like that there is no end to our days.

在今天的自我世代裡，人們都是不一致的，且自私的。只要看看、多少億萬的金錢、是花費在醫院和醫生的診所裡。然而，人們拒絕、為要擁有永恆的生命、回到我們的造物主。人們知道生命是多麼脆弱的。生命是如何不確定的。然而，我們就這樣生活著、好像我們的日子、沒有結束的一天。

So all is said and done. Only few realize the futilities of a crooked generation and moan at the rampage of evils prevailing in this world. Yes, many evils are committed under the name of a religion and/or a holy war. Just look at what happen in many continents today to have a reality check. 

雖然該說的、都說了。但只有極少數人，體認出這彎曲世代的無用，和為這個世界上、充滿邪惡的狂暴橫行而呻吟。是的，很多罪惡是在宗教、和/或聖戰的名義下被執行。只要觀看、今天發生在各大洲的許多事，就可瞭解現實的考驗。

So we plead with you on behalf of our precious Lord Jesus Christ again. Choose life over death. Chose light over darkness. Chose eternal blessed life over self indulgences of a very limited time in this world. May you listen to Jesus call one more time: 

因此，我們再度代我們寶貴的、主耶穌基督懇求你。選擇生命、超越死亡。選擇光明、戰勝黑暗。選擇被祝福、永恆的生命，而非自我放縱、活在這個世界上、一個非常有限的時間。願你再次、聆聽耶穌的呼喚：

Matthew 4:17    New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

馬太福音 4:17   新修訂標準版（NRSV）
17 從那時候，耶穌就傳起道來，說：「天國近了，你們應當悔改！

Please listen to what God's call to you:

John 3:16    New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

請聽神的呼召你：

約翰福音3:16  新修訂標準版（NRSV）
神愛世人
16 「神愛世人，甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們，叫一切信他的不致滅亡，反得永生。

__________________________________________________________________________

Psalm 36:9      New King James Version (NKJV)
9 For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.

詩 篇 36:9
因為在你那裡有生命的源頭，在你的光中我們必得見光。

There is no doubt that technology does improve quality of life. For example, advance in medicine has benefited to treatment of many diseases and improves greatly quality of life from pain management to  life extension. Advance in aircraft technology has contributed greatly to the comfort of worldwide traveling. Computer and internet has great impact to learning, social media, and communication.
毫無疑問，科技確實提高了生活品質。例如，醫學在多種疾病治療上的進步，從疼痛的處理到壽命的延長，都大大地改善了生活品質。飛機技術的進步，對全球旅行的舒適性、做出了很大的貢獻。電腦與互聯網的發展，對學習、社交媒體和通信的方法，更是有巨大的影響。

It is therefore very important for all of us to be an effective technology user. To many older folks, we are kind of falling behind in learning new technology. We really need to force us to change this bad habit in order to take advantage of technology to improve our quality of life.  
因此，我們所有的人都要能有效地、使用這些日常生活中、不可或缺的科技產品，是件非常重要的事。對許多年長者，我們是屬於比較慢、接觸及學習這些新科技的人。我們真的要趕緊、改變這種不良習慣，要能利用新的科技、來提高我們的生活品質。

Take using a cellular phone for example. An I-phone is a great tool for our safety as well. I-phone can give us driving instruction in GPS. I-phone can be used to search restaurants or shops. I-phone can also be  used as a camera or can be used to listen to radio news etc. So it is important to learn various ways of using I-phone. Now if you use I-phone for phone only, then you lose lots of opportunities of improving your quality of life by I-phone. Why running to banks when you can deposit checks by I-phone. Now it will take some effort of yours to learn all the features of I-phone. But we need to do it for our quality of life sake.
以手機的使用而言，手機是保障我們安全的一個很好工具；用手機的GPS(衛星定位)，在開車時、能提供我們駕駛方位的資訊。手機也可以用來搜索餐館或商店。手機也有照相機、收音機等等的功能。所以學習使用手機的各種功能是重要的。現在，如果你只會用手機來打電話，那麼你就失去了許多用手機功能、來提高你的生活品質的機會。當您可以用手機做、轉帳或支付支票時，又何須跑去銀行？現在，為我們的生活品質著想，我們需要做的是、要努力學習手機的所有功能。

Similarly, a computer is a great tool for many things other than just receiving e-mails. we can use computer for many things including  on-line shopping and finding many information. 
同樣，電腦、不僅只是接收電子郵件等、是能做很多事情的一個很好工具。我們可以用電腦做很多的工作、包括網上購物和尋找信息等等。

One of the things that hinder us from catching up technology is that it changes all the time. Yet, we need to learn it as much as possible. There are classes at community colleges that open to anybody with a nominal fee. Also, just point and click of a software application may be a fast way of learning the particular software application. 
其中一個阻礙我們追趕、學習使用科技產品的事，是它時刻都在變化、快速推出日新月異的新產品。然而，我們需要、盡可能地來了解它。有的社區學院，只收象徵性的小費用，開班教授每個想要學習的人。此外，只要打開、進入軟體程式，再簡單地用指向、來選擇和點擊，就是學習如何使用、特定軟體程式的快捷方法。

Blessed are you who take a great interest in learning new technology! Blessed are you leaders of the Christian churches that offer technology classes to your congregation to improve their quality of life.
祝福你有很大的興趣、來學習使用新的科技產品！祝福你在基督教堂裡，能提供技術類的教學，領導會眾、提高他們的生活品質。

The Bible tells us to love our brothers and sisters. For those who are technology savvy, one way of really loving your brothers and sisters is to teach a class of "how to use a computer" or "how to use I-phone".

聖經告訴我們、要愛我們的兄弟姐妹。對於精通技術者，真正愛你的兄弟姐妹的一種方法是，開班教授他們“如何使用電腦”或“如何使用我的手機” 。

As we start the new year, it may be beneficial to reexamine the contents of a high quality of life.  According to the Scripture, man consists of three parts: body, soul, and spirit. Thus the contents of the quality of life should cover body, soul, and spirit. This is like to live in a three-story house. You can not just decorate one floor only.

在我們開始新的一年的時刻，來重新審視、檢驗、高品質生活的內容，是一個有助益的事。根據聖經，人由三部分組成：靈，魂和身體。因此，生活品質的內容，應包括靈，魂和身體。這就像住在一個三層樓的房子，你不能、只裝飾一個樓層而已。

The Bible advises  us against placing all our resources at things of this world.This means that we need to pay attention to the spirit side of our lives as well. Obviously, poor health will degrade the quality of life in the body domain. Similarly, we need to have a high quality to our spiritual wellbeing as well.
聖經建議我們，不要把我們所有的資源，放在這個世界的事情上。也就是說，我們需要關注、我們生活的精神心靈面。很顯然，不良的健康、會降低生活品質中的身體領域。同樣的，我們也需要高品質的心靈、精神上的健康。

The business world has capitalized our vanities to beauty by cosmetics; our vanity to be proud by material wealth such as luxury cars, houses,  yachts, and private planes; and our vanity to be entertained by gourmet foods, sports, and movies.Yet we all know that life is more than material things. 
商業世界，已資本化、用化妝、美化我們的虛榮心; 用物質財富，如豪華汽車、房子、遊艇和私人飛機，來炫耀我們的虛榮心; 用美食、運動、電影娛樂，來滿足我們的虛榮心。然而，我們都知道，生活不只是、這些物質的東西而已。

This is what the Scripture reminds us;

Matthew 16:26
26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

聖經提醒我們;

馬太福音 16:26
26 人若賺得全世界，賠上自己的生命，有什麼益處呢？人還能拿什麼換生命呢？

Thus, we need to add the wellbeing of our spirit to our overall quality of life. You may ask what is spiritual wellbeing? An example should suffice to prove this. Why  do people enjoy peace more than excitement? Why do some people spend time in volunteering  services to others? Why people enjoy sing hymns? Now  some people may deny existence of love or even spirit.  Luckily, God provides everyone with the same 24-hour day so that each of us is free to pursue our own happiness. 

因此，我們需要將心靈、精神的健康、添加到我們的整體生活品質。你可能會問，什麼是心靈、精神的健康？一個例子應該足以證明這一點。為什麼人們享受安寧、平靜更勝興奮、激動？為什麼有些人願意、花時間在志願服務他人？為什麼人們喜歡、享受唱聖歌？也許現在有些人拒絕，承認愛情、甚至心靈的存在。幸運的是，上帝給每個人提供同樣的24小時的日子，所以我們每個人都可以自由地、追求自己的幸福。

The following are a few bible verses for your consideration in planning your 2015 year.
 

1. Romans 8:5  on the hidden driver
5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

2.  Galatians 5:19-21 on the deeds of the flesh
19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

3. Galatians 5:22-26 on the fruit of the Spirit
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

4. John 6:63: Our Lord's instruction
 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

以下是一些經文，供大家在規劃您的2015年時參考。

1.羅馬書8：5 隨從肉體與隨從聖靈的比較
5 因為隨從肉體的人，體貼肉體的事；隨從聖靈的人，體貼聖靈的事。

2.加拉太書5：19-21 肉體的事蹟
19 情慾的事都是顯而易見的，就如姦淫、汙穢、邪蕩、 20 拜偶像、邪術、仇恨、爭競、忌恨、惱怒、結黨、紛爭、異端、 21 嫉妒、醉酒、荒宴等類。我從前告訴你們，現在又告訴你們：行這樣事的人必不能承受神的國。

3. 加拉太書 5：22-26   聖靈的果子
22 聖靈所結的果子，就是仁愛、喜樂、和平、忍耐、恩慈、良善、信實、 23 溫柔、節制；這樣的事沒有律法禁止。 24 凡屬基督耶穌的人，是已經把肉體連肉體的邪情私慾同釘在十字架上了。25 我們若是靠聖靈得生，就當靠聖靈行事。 26 不要貪圖虛名，彼此惹氣，互相嫉妒。

4. 約翰福音6:63 我們主的指示 
叫人活著的乃是靈，肉體是無益的。我對你們所說的話就是靈，就是生命。

May each of us value our life enough to give ourselves a chance to ponder the above scriptural verses! For those of us who just want the straight answer, we need to return to our Savior Jesus Christ our Lord for His gift of eternal life by trusting in Him
願我們每個人都珍惜我們的生活，能給自己一個機會、去思考上述經文！對我們中間只想要直接答案的；我們需要回到我們的救主、耶穌基督，信靠祂、賜予我們永生的禮物。

We all know that health conditions affect quality of life greatly. For example, insomnia affects many people's quality of life because they can not have a good sleep and a good rest. Similarly, any illnesses and pains will definitely affect our quality of life. So if we ponder on quality of life, we would quickly see that eternality of life is a key factor in determining quality of life. It is indeed easy to realize that without life, there is no quality of life.
我們都知道，健康的情況會大大的影響生活的品質。舉例來說，失眠會影響許多人的生活品質，因為他們不能有一個良好的睡眠和良好的休息。同樣，任何疾病和疼痛，肯定會影響到我們的生活品質。因此，如果我們思考到生活的品質，我們將很快看到生命的永恆是決定生活品質的一個關鍵因素。這的確是很容易了解的：沒有生命，就沒有生命的品質。

Thus, one of the key aspects of quality of life is for us to pursue our own eternal life. Actually, it is interesting to investigate the source of death. Per medical science, death comes as a result of a disease which causes detrimental loss of body/organ functions due to inflammation or corruption. That is why mankind spends billions of dollars a year to seek medical help.
因此，生活品質的一個重要本質是要追求我們自己生命的永生。事實上，調查死亡的根源，是有趣的事。在醫學上，死亡是因疾病，導致發炎、腐敗而造成器官的功能嚴重喪失的結果。這就是為什麼人類一年花費數十億美元，尋求醫學的幫助。

When God created men, it was perfect. That means men will not die as originally created. But God told Adam and Eve that they will die if they eat the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden. Unfortunately they were tempted by the Devil and disobeyed God, and hence sinned against God. Death came into the world because of sin. In other words, corruptions entered into the world because of sin. We can clearly see pollutions and corruptions everywhere today. Death is indeed an unspeakable tragedy for each of us which impacts every fabric of our being. That is why the Gospel of Jesus Christ is so precious that we ought to listen to it. God sent His only begotten Son to come to this world to save us from sin.
當上帝創造了人，一切是完美的。這意味著最初創建的人是不會死的。但上帝告訴亞當和夏娃，如果他們吃了伊甸園的禁果，他們會死。不幸的是他們被魔鬼引誘而違背了上帝，因此得罪了上帝。因為人犯罪、死就來到了這個世界。換句話說，因為罪、腐敗進入世界。今天，我們可以清楚地看到到處的污染和腐敗。死亡影響了我們生命的每一方面，的確是我們每個人、無可形容的悲劇，。這就是為什麼耶穌基督的福音是如此珍貴，我們應該好好地聆聽這福音。上帝派祂唯一獨生子、來到這個世界，拯救我們脫離罪。

For those of us who are truth seekers and who do not yet know the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you need to hear the Gospel and believe in Jesus Christ to receive your eternal life. Jesus saves us with greatest sacrifice. He paid the ultimate love to die for us to pay the penalty of sin for those who believe in Him.
對於我們中間、但尚未知道耶穌基督福音的尋求真理者，你需要聽到福音、相信耶穌基督，得到你的永生。耶穌用極大的犧牲來拯救我們。祂付出了最大的愛，為相信祂的人、替代我們担了罪的刑罰而死。

With all the endeavors we pursue in this life, there is no more important than to pursue the eternal life because it is ultimately the issue of the quality of life. We sincerely urge you to believe in Jesus Christ who love us to the end. Time is of essence.  The following are a few very precious reminders from the Holy  Bible:
所有我們今生追求的各項努力裏，沒有比追求永恆的生命更重要的；因為它是生活品質的最終問題。

風塵漂滾忙幹活、為誰生活為誰忙
白髮孤苦向誰訴、為何不早尋真主
願早夢醒尋耶穌、蒙祂悅納得永生
生命本是祂所造、道成肉身來救贖
歸主本是福所在、願君不要再迷茫
天涯海角何處去、惟獨耶穌給安息
滄桑世界本是夢、廻歸天家本應然
千古哲人無一在、為何靠人不靠主
及早歸主本是益、義人本因信而活
    願人早日信耶穌、福杯滿盈讚美主。

我們真誠地懇請您相信、愛我們到底的耶穌基督。及時接受主耶穌是至關重要的。以下是來自聖經一些非常珍貴的提醒：

1. John 3:16-17
16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

2. Matthew 11:25-28 Come to Me
25 At that time Jesus said, I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. 26 Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 27 All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. 28 Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

3. Luke 9:25
25 For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?

1.    約翰福音3：16-17
16 「神愛世人，甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們，叫一切信他的不致滅亡，反得永生。 17 因為神差他的兒子降世，不是要定世人的罪[a]，乃是要叫世人因他得救。

2.    馬太福音11：25-28 來到我這裡
25 那時，耶穌說：「父啊，天地的主，我感謝你！因為你將這些事向聰明通達人就藏起來，向嬰孩就顯出來。 26 父啊，是的，因為你的美意本是如此。 27 一切所有的，都是我父交付我的。除了父，沒有人知道子；除了子和子所願意指示的，沒有人知道父。 28 凡勞苦擔重擔的人，可以到我這裡來，我就使你們得安息。

3.    路加 9:25
25 人若賺得全世界，卻喪了自己、賠上自己，有什麼益處呢？

Relationship and quality of life
關係和生活品質

As we grow older, our value system may change because we are more keenly towards things which are more precious to us. For example, in a disaster situation such as  a house fire, after getting all the people out, many people tend to save their bible and family pictures. If you ask them why, the overall answers seem to be that those pictures are irreplaceable. Why? Because they treasure the relationship and memories of those relationships.

隨著年齡的增長，我們的價值體系可能會改變，因為我們更清醒地、對待一些我們更珍貴的事物。例如，在發生災難的情況，如著火的房子，人們在逃離出來時，很多人往往會挽救他們的聖經和家人的照片。如果你問他們為什麼，大多數人的答案都是，這些圖片是無法取代的。為什麼呢？因為他們珍惜這些關係，和與這些關係有關的回憶。

Thus, human relationship  is a key factor in our quality of life. Obviously, this goes both ways. A great relationship enhances quality of life and a lousy relationship has a negative impact to our quality of life. Since we are influenced greatly by our close associates, it is important that we choose carefully our associations.
因此，人際關係是我們生活品質的關鍵因素。顯然，這是雙向的。良好的關係、提高生活品質，而糟糕的關係、會負面影響我們的生活品質。因為我們被親近的人、影響最大；這是非常重要的，我們要謹慎選擇、我們的親近人際關係。

The Bible clearly teaches us  this truth in Psalm 1:1-3
1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.

在詩篇1：1-3，聖經清楚地告訴我們這個道理，
不從惡人的計謀，不站罪人的道路，不坐褻慢人的座位，
 唯喜愛耶和華的律法，晝夜思想，這人便為有福！
他要像一棵樹，栽在溪水旁，按時候結果子，葉子也不枯乾，凡他所做的，盡都順利。

We might ask what consists of a good relationship? From our experience, most important factor in a great relationship appears to be " can enjoy each other's company."  In other words, a good company means that we can talk freely and enjoy talking with each other. Thus, a good relationship needs to be cherished and nurtured as it is indeed rare and very precious.
我們可能會問，良好的關係包含什麼？根據我們的經驗，在良好的關係中、最重要的因素，似乎是“可以享受彼此的陪伴”。換句話說，一個很好的陪伴，意味著我們可以暢所欲言，享受與對方說話。因此，一個良好的關係、需要我們倍加珍惜和培育，因為它確實是罕見、難得的，且是非常珍貴的。

As we grow older, many good friends departed due to old age. For many old folks, they are lonely and actually quite resign to this sad situation. That is why in this gospel website we keep encourage folks to seek also eternal relationship with our Creator God. The Bible tells us that not many things last forever. The world and its lusts eventually will pass away. However, a few things will last into eternality: they are faith, hope, and love. It is therefore of essential importance that we beech you and encourage you to seek a blessed relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ who loves His own and save them into eternal relationship. This is what He said to His own that will include you if you believe in Him:
隨著年齡的增長，很多好朋友、因年老離去。對於很多老人，他們是孤獨的，實際上這是、無法逃避地、必須要接受且面對、這種可悲的局面。這就是為什麼在這個福音網站，我們不斷地鼓勵人們、要尋求與我們的造物主上帝、建立永恆的關係。聖經告訴我們，沒有多少東西、會永遠持續下去。世界和它的私慾，最終都會逝去、消失。然而，幾件事情將持續到永恆：他們是信仰，希望和愛。因此，這是很重要的，我們求你，鼓勵你、要尋求與愛祂的子民且拯救他們，我們的主耶穌基督、建立一個幸福的關係，並將它們變成永恆的關係。這是祂對自己子民所說的；這將包括你，如果你相信祂。

John 17:24
24 Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

約翰17:24
24 父啊，我在哪裡，願你所賜給我的人也同我在哪裡，叫他們看見你所賜給我的榮耀，因為創立世界以前，你已經愛我了。

Our Lord Jesus loves us to eternality:
John 13:1
13 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

我們的主耶穌愛我們直到永恆：
約翰福音13：1
13 逾越節以前，耶穌知道自己離世歸父的時候到了。他既然愛世間屬自己的人，就愛他們到底。

Our Lord promises us that because He lives, we shall live also.
John 14:19
19 After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.

我們的主承諾我們，因為他活著，我們也要活著。
約翰14:19
19 還有不多的時候，世人不再看見我，你們卻看見我，因為我活著，你們也要活著。

It is indeed beyond our comprehension that God pledges His divinity to love us and to guarantee our eternal life with Him; a blessed and never interrupted eternal fellowship. What a blessed Lord Jesus Christ we have. May He receive honor, adoration, and worship from us forever and ever, Amen.

這的確是超乎我們的理解，主耶穌以祂的神性承諾、神愛我們，並保證我們永恆的生命與祂在一起；一個祝福，一個未間斷、永恆的交誼。我們有一個、多麼神聖愛我們的主耶穌基督。願祂悅訥我們永永遠遠的讚美、稱頌、和敬拜，阿門。

In a polluted world, all things decay according to the second law of thermodynamics. Because of decay, all things will lose their normal functions eventually. This means that chaos will increase and hence quality of life will decreases if you do not spend your resources to maintain it.
在汚染的世界裡，一切事物都因熱力學第二定律而衰退。由於衰退，所有事物終將失去功能。這表示混亂必增，因此除非費心費力維修，生活品貭必然下降。

A few examples will help. A car needs regular maintenance such as oil change, rotation of tires, and add air to maintain right air pressure in a tire. Also, need to add water to the coolant system and oil to the oil system to make your car last longer. A house has many things which need maintenance. For example, we need to replace the worn out parts such as light bulbs, toilet valves, and sprinkler parts and others to keep life functional.
舉幾個例子：汽車需按時換機油、輪胎加空氣與輪轉車胎來維護。車子也需随時加水加油來維持車子功能。同樣地，房子也需要維修如換燈炮，廁所馬桶及澆水系统零件等來維持生活品質。

So maintenance is a necessary work we need to do it. This means that we need to be trained for right knowledge, and also need to have a right tool to do it.
因此，我們要注重維修。這表示我們要學習修理的知識，並且要有對的工具來維修。

Now because we live in a sinful world, we are also subject to decay as well. So your quality of life depends upon your maintenance of yourself a lot. Life is full of events which can affect your quality of life greatly.  Examples are illness, accident, and external events such as crime and prosecution.
由於生活在汚染的環境，我們也必衰退。因此生活品質建立在維護自己的工夫上。生活中的許多事影響生活品質：譬如 疾病、意外事伴、以及暴力、廹害等都是例子。

Ignorance is not a bliss. That is your quality of life will be worsen even if you ignore it. Just visit a hospital will convince you the facts even you deny the existence of illnesses. Because mankind has physical body, emotional soul, and divine spirit, we can not ignore maintenance of body, emotion, and spirit. Your world view or your value system or your upbringing will affect your views on many issues.

無知並非祝福。如果忽略了維修，生活品質必然下降。只要去醫院看訪，就可以清楚維護身体健康的重要。由於人有靈、魂、體，我們不可忽視靈、魂、體的維護。而且您的世界觀、價值觀及生長教養都會引嚮各事物的看法。

Now how do we maintain the health of our soul and spirit? What are the tools or infrastructure for such a maintenance? Instead of asking another human being, we should be better off ask the One who created our first parents Adam and Eve. For example, Ps 119:9-11 tell us clearly the following:

Psalm 119:9-11
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.
10 With all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
11 Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.

Furthermore, our Lord Jesus Christ teaches His disciples in the Upper Room discourse john 15:3 the following:
John 15:3
3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

That is why that we have this website to remind the truth seekers, the eternal life valuers, and the haters of the second law of thermodynamics to return  to the Bible to seek our Creator to enlighten us about reality of this world and this life of ours.

我們如何維護我們的靈魂的健康呢？我們如何用什麼工具與架構來潔淨靈魂的汚染．我們要問創造始祖亞當夏娃的上帝比問任何被創造的人來得可靠。就如，

詩 篇 119:9-11所示：
9 少 年 人 用 甚 麼 潔 淨 他 的 行 為 呢 ？ 是 要 遵 行 你 的 話 ！
10 我 一 心 尋 求 了 你 ； 求 你 不 要 叫 我 偏 離 你 的 命 令 。
11 我 將 你 的 話 藏 在 心 裡 ， 免 得 我 得 罪 你 。

而且我們的主耶穌基督在頂樓談道對門徒有如下教導：
約 翰 福 音 15:3
3 現 在 你 們 因 我 講 給 你 們 的 道 ， 已 經 乾 淨 了 。

因此，這網站提醒真理的追尋者、永生的尋求者以及熱力學二定律的厭惡者，要回歸聖經回歸我們的創造主來光照我們這世界以及生命的真象。

It is interesting to observe the following facts;

1. Because of pollution, we are limited in our life span.
2. None of philosophical, political, commercial, educational, and religion gurus will solve all the ills of this world for us. In other words, there is none Shangrila in this world that we can find it. Even if it exists, we can not ever be in it because we will certainly mess it up.
3. Thousand years of evolution convinces us that we are going down rather evolving into a better human race. Two world wars, numerous regional wars, and evils in every cultures/society should teach all of us a real lesson.
4. All said done, you should be aware of: the world is hanging on the balance of individuals whether evil or goodness.

Very sad indeed. You should know that the world is not totally going to the abyss of madness yet because there is still a lot of decent people in this world who are afraid of God and have basic human decency to constrain evil. 
讓我們看看下面的事實：
1 由於污染，人的生命是有限的。
2 歴史証明哲學、政冶、商業、教育、宗教的領袖，靠人的方法不能解決人類社會黑暗罪惡。換言之，世上鮮有桃花園記，即使有之，我們也會汚染了它！
3. 幾千年的進化使我們了解人之初、性本善，而且是向混亂進化。二次世界大戰、多次區域性戰亂不停。不管在那種文化社會都有罪惡橫行、每况愈下的情景。這對所謂愈進愈化論是我們最好的警告了。
4. 總而言之，社會是建立在各個小民的行動；是善是惡來維持的。

真是不可思議，事實是這世界還未完全進入瘋狂的深淵，是由於這世上還有許多善良敬畏神、維護人性的小民，限制了邪惡的橫行。、

、
Thus, for our life quality sake, return to the teaching of our Creator and love Him and love our neighbors.

The following are a few Scriptural verses which may help us to ponder this issue:

1. Colossians 3:12-13    

12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
2. Matthew 22:35-38

35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment.
3. 2 Timothy 3:16-17  

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
4. Psalm 1:1-2  

1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.

因此，為了生活品質，我們要回歸創造主的教導；愛祂並且愛我們的隣舍。以下是一些聖經節來啟導幫助我們思考默想這件事情；
1. 歌 羅 西 書 3:12-13
12 所 以 ， 你 們 既 是 神 的 選 民 ， 聖 潔 蒙 愛 的 人 ， 就 要 存  憐 憫 、 恩 慈 、 謙 虛 、 溫 柔 、 忍 耐 的 心 。
13 倘 若 這 人 與 那 人 有 嫌 隙 ， 總 要 彼 此 包 容 ， 彼 此 饒 恕 ； 主 怎 樣 饒 恕 了 你 們 ， 你 們 也 要 怎 樣 饒 恕 人 。

2. 馬 太 福 音 22:35-38 

35 內 中 有 一 個 人 是 律 法 師 ， 要 試 探 耶 穌 ， 就 問 他 說 ：
36 夫 子 ， 律 法 上 的 誡 命 ， 那 一 條 是 最 大 的 呢 ？
37 耶 穌 對 他 說 ： 你 要 盡 心 、 盡 性 、 盡 意 愛 主 ─ 你 的 神 。
38 這 是 誡 命 中 的 第 一 ， 且 是 最 大 的 。
 

3. 提 摩 太 後 書 3:16-17

16 聖 經 都 是 神 所 默 示 的  ， 於 教 訓 、 督 責 、 使 人 歸 正 、 教 導 人 學 義 都 是 有 益 的 ，
17 叫 屬 神 的 人 得 以 完 全 ， 預 備 行 各 樣 的 善 事 。

4. 詩 篇 1:1-2

1 不 從 惡 人 的 計 謀 ， 不 站 罪 人 的 道 路 ， 不 坐 褻 慢 人 的 座 位 ，
2 惟 喜 愛 耶 和 華 的 律 法 ， 晝 夜 思 想 ， 這 人 便 為 有 福 ！

Eating Habit and Quality of life 飲食和生活的品質

There is very little doubt that food intake is closely related with quality of life. Watch what we eat is quite simple, isn't it? Yet from percentage of people so overweight, the fact has not been well heeded.

很少有人會懷疑，所吃的食物與生活品質有密切的關係。關注我們所吃的食物、是很簡單的一件事，不是嗎？然而，從如此多的人們，有體重超重的情況可知，大家並沒有好好的重視此一問題。

We may ask why? If you think this issue more carefully, it is partly due to lack of appreciating the preciousness of this life we have. It is indeed a profound lesson for us that God views our life so precious that He sent His only begotten Son to die for us to redeem us. Yet, many of us are so cavalier to trash our own lives. Indeed, very sad, isn't it. So if you love your body, watch what you eat.

我們可能會問，為什麼？如果你更仔細地思考這個問題，就知道部分原因是缺乏感恩、珍惜我們所擁有珍貴的生命。上帝是如此珍貴我們的生命，祂遣祂的獨生子為我們而死、來救贖我們，這的確是我們的一個深刻教訓。然而，我們許多人是如此輕忽，不珍惜自己的生命。真的是令人難過，不是嗎。所以，如果你愛你的身體，請注意你的飲食。

Nutritionists have warned us again and again that there are several groups of food that we need; fruits and vegetable, fish, and protein. Since I am not a medical doctor and neither a nutritionist, what we do is just to remind you what everybody knows already. 
Avoid the fast food that is loaded with fats.
Avoid the junk food that is loaded with sugar. 
Eat more fruit and vegetables and exercise regularly.

營養學家一再告誡，我們需要攝取幾類食物；水果和蔬菜，魚，和蛋白質。因為我不是醫師，也不是營養師；我們能做的、就是提醒你、大家都已經知道的常識了。
避免含高脂肪的速食餐。
避免含高糖的垃圾食品。
多吃水果和蔬菜，規則性運動。

Mirror is indeed a good advisor. Women use mirror for their beauty. Men should use mirror to look for their shape. Is your midsection likes a D or B. In any event, a D-shape midsection will affect your quality of life severely. You may say that I do not feel it now. Indeed, you will eventually. Just listen to the advice of the American Heart Association.

鏡子的確是一個很好的顧問。女性用鏡子為保持自己的美麗。男性應該使用鏡子，來觀看自己的體形。是你的中圍、腹部，是像一個D或B. ​​在任何情況下，一個D形腹部，會嚴重影響你的生活品質。你可能會說，現在我沒感覺到這種影響。事實上，慢慢的，你終究會知道。只要聽聽美國心臟協會的建議就清楚了。
 

So we are what we eat. Obesity is a cause for many conditions which lead to poor quality of life. We are also what we do not eat. A diet without vegetable and fruit will also cause us problems. A good health habit will contribute a long way to good quality of life. Thus we should pay attention to:
    * Keep hydrated, particularly in a hot day
    * Eat right and avoid too much sodium
    * Manage stress
    * Well rest for nice sleeping
    * Identify allergy food

所以我們是吃什麼，像什麼。肥胖是，導致生活品質差的、許多疾病的一個原因。沒有正確的攝取食物，也會傷害我們的身體。沒有蔬菜和水果的飲食，也將引起問題。一個良好的健康習慣，將會讓我們有長長久久、良好的生活品質。因此，我們要注意：
    * 足夠的水分，尤其是在炎熱的天氣
    * 正確的飲食，避免吃過多的鹽份
    * 管理、紓緩壓力
    * 足夠的休息，良好的睡眠， 
    * 避免過敏的食物

We should get regular checkup and obtain specific medical prescriptions from our own doctors. For people who are die-hard to convince themselves, please visit any nursing home to get yourself educated.

我們應該定期檢查，並從我們自己的醫生、獲得專屬自己、必要的醫療處方。如果你仍然不信，請探訪任何老人療養所，你就真切地體會生命的可貴了。

Similarly, people, who ignorantly think that they live forever in this world, should heed the warnings of the Bible. For their spiritual wellbeing sake, they should seek their Creator Jesus Christ's favor before it is too late.

同樣地，有一些無知地、認為自己身體將永遠活在這世上的人們，應該真切地聽從聖經的警告。為他們的靈命健康著想，就應該趕緊尋求他們的造物主耶穌基督的憐憫，以免為時已晚。

The following are a few scriptural reminders;

1. Luke  Teaching in the Villages
22 And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

2. Luke 13:1-5  Call to Repent
13 Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? 3 I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish

3. Romans 13:11
11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.

4. Acts 17:30
30 Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,

5. 2 Corinthians 6:2
2 for He says,
“At the acceptable time I listened to you,
And on the day of salvation I helped you.”
Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”—

下面是一些聖經提醒：

1. 路加福音13:22-24 在村中的教學

22 耶穌往耶路撒冷去，在所經過的各城各鄉教訓人。 23 有一個人問他說：「主啊，得救的人少嗎？」 24 耶穌對眾人說：「你們要努力進窄門。我告訴你們：將來有許多人想要進去，卻是不能。

.”

2. 路加福音13：1-5 呼叫悔改
13 正當那時，有人將彼拉多使加利利人的血摻雜在他們祭物中的事告訴耶穌。 2 耶穌說：「你們以為這些加利利人比眾加利利人更有罪，所以受這害嗎？ 3 我告訴你們：不是的！你們若不悔改，都要如此滅亡。 4 從前西羅亞樓倒塌了，壓死十八個人，你們以為那些人比一切住在耶路撒冷的人更有罪嗎？ 5 我告訴你們：不是的！你們若不悔改，都要如此滅亡。」

3. 羅馬書13:11
11 再者，你們曉得，現今就是該趁早睡醒的時候，因為我們得救，現今比初信的時候更近了。

4.使徒行傳17:30
30 世人蒙昧無知的時候，神並不監察，如今卻吩咐各處的人都要悔改。

5.哥林多後書6：2
2 因為他說：「在悅納的時候，我應允了你；在拯救的日子，我搭救了你。」看哪，現在正是悅納的時候！現在正是拯救的日子！ 
 

Exercise and Quality of Life 運動與生活品質

Many people would agree that moderate exercise helps to maintain physical health and increase stamina. Many people, particularly seniors,  have  a daily walk habit to maintain good health. Thus, it is evident that moderate exercise increases quality of life. Since human being consists of body, soul, and spirit, it would seem that a person should also exercise for the health of soul and spirit as well. We may legitimately ask what are the exercises for soul and spirit.

很多人都會同意，適度運動有助於保持身體健康，並增加耐力。很多人，尤其是老年人，有每天散步的習慣，保持良好的健康狀況。因此，很明顯，適度運動可提高生活品質。由於人類是由身，心，靈組成的；似乎每一個人、也應該要進行維護、魂和靈的健康。我們可以合理地問、什麼是鍛煉我們魂和靈的運動。

We take it that soul is closely related to our mind. Thus reading and thinking are good exercise for the soul.  Since we are interested in the quality of life, a habit of reading scripture and thinking about eternal life should be a good exercise for our souls.

我們認為魂與我們的心智，有密切的關聯。因此，閱讀和思考都是魂很好的鍛煉。由於我們關切的是生活品質；閱讀聖經和思考永恆的生命的習慣，應該是我們魂的、一個很好的鍛煉。

You may ask " What about the spiritual exercise?". According to the Bible, God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Of all the creation, only man was created in the image of God. Thus, it is the spiritual part of man that we are able to communicate and understand spiritual things. It would be beneficial then that we exercise our spirit by praying and praising God for all He has done unto us each day.

你可能會問：“靈上的鍛煉是什麼？” 。根據聖經，上帝用地面上的塵土造人，將生命的氣息、吹進了他的鼻孔，而他就成了有靈的活人。在所有的創造中，只有人、被創造成有上帝的形象。因此，人類才擁有靈層面的這部分，我們能夠進行溝通，了解靈的事務。所以我們通過祈禱和讚美上帝、每天所為我們所作的一切∙將是我們靈的有益鍛煉。

It is our conviction that we should not just exercise only physical side of our being but should exercise our soul and spirit as well in order to maintain a real quality of life. Just as we should pay attention to eternal life beyond our physical life, we should pay attention to our wellbeing in our soul and spirit.

這是我們的信念，我們不應該、只是鍛煉我們的身體這一面，我們也要鍛煉我們的魂和靈、以維持生活的真正品質。正如我們要追求永恆的生命、超越我們的肉體生活，我們也要注意、我們靈魂的健康。

The following are a few scripture passages for your meditation on this subject.

下面是一些經文∙供您默想這個主題。

2 Corinthians 4:18

18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

哥林多後書4:18

¹⁸ 原來我們不是顧念所見的，乃是顧念所不見的，因為所見的是暫時的，所不見的是永遠的。

2 Corinthians 13:5

5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?

哥林多後書13：5

⁵ 你們總要自己省察有信心沒有，也要自己試驗。豈不知你們若不是可棄絕的，就有耶穌基督在你們心裡嗎？

Romans 12:1-2

12 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

羅馬書12：1-2

12 所以弟兄們，我以神的慈悲勸你們，將身體獻上，當做活祭，是聖潔的，是神所喜悅的，你們如此侍奉乃是理所當然的。 ² 不要效法這個世界，只要心意更新而變化，叫你們察驗何為神的善良、純全、可喜悅的旨意。

Romans 14:7-8

7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; 8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

羅馬書14：7-8

⁷ 我們沒有一個人為自己活，也沒有一個人為自己死。 ⁸ 我們若活著，是為主而活；若死了，是為主而死。所以，我們或活或死，總是主的人。

John 6:63

63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

約翰福音6:63

⁶³ 叫人活著的乃是靈，肉體是無益的。我對你們所說的話就是靈，就是生命。

Colossians 3:1-2

3 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

歌羅西書3：1-2

3 所以，你們若真與基督一同復活，就當求在上面的事，那裡有基督坐在神的右邊。 ² 你們要思念上面的事，不要思念地上的事，

Space-Time and Quality of Life

You may wonder what space and time are to do with quality of our lives. Another way of saying is what the space and time are to do with our happiness. To our fascination, modern physics regards that both space and time are pertinent in describing an event. As life consists of many many events imbedded in time and space, it behooves us to think about this matter and more importantly to seek what the Bible teaches about this.

Regarding the happiness of life, our Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples on the eve before His crucifixion that 

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33) 

You may wonder why this verse and what this verse is to do with our happiness? One of the things that we learned through our experience is that many events in our lives are beyond our control. For example, your birth was not based upon you at all. Similarly many events in life are due to outside forces such as natural disasters, man-made wars, and other people actions. So first thing we should note is that peace may not be attainable by our effort alone. The Holy Scripture keeps reminding us to recognize God and hence deligently seek His grace and help in our needs. 

Where to seek peace, it is in Jesus Christ. Why? Because that is what the Scripture teaches and you can actually experience that as well by your faith. Nobody need to teach us that there are a lot of miseries in life. You may wonder what the Scripture teaches us about this.

" Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil 4:4-7)

Thus, our happiness is in Jesus Christ our Lord. In Christ, we may have peace. In Him, we rejoice. Actually, in Christ, we have all heavenly spiritual blessings as well.  This is a great lesson to be experienced by faith.

If you try to rely on your strength, your resource, and your effort to attain this, you will be totally disappointed because that is your way and not Almighty God's way. His way is by faith--in everything whether  in green pasture or in trouble waters, by prayers and supplication with thanksgiving!

Where to seek Him: in everything. That is anyplace where any thing occurs. That is where you are.

When to seek Him: in everything. That is any time when any thing happens. That is when you live which is now.

空間，時間和生活品質

你可能想知道時間，空間與我們的生活品質的關係。換句話說，空間和時間與我們的幸福有什麼關聯。讓我們稀奇的的是，現代物理學在關於時間和空間這方面，有適切地描述。我們的生活中、充滿發生在時間和空間裡的很多很多的事件，讓我們應當要好好思考這個問題，更重要的是尋求聖經對此的教導。

關於生命的幸福，我們的主耶穌基督在祂被釘十字架前的前夕，告訴他的門徒，

“ 我將這些事告訴你們，是要叫你們在我裡面有平安。在世上你們有苦難，但你們可以放心，我已經勝了世界。”（約翰福音16:33）

你可能會覺得奇怪，為什麼這節經文和這節經文如何與我們的幸福有關？從我們的經驗中、我們學習到的事情之一是，在我們生活中的許多事件、是我們無法控制的。例如，你的出生不是由你決定的。同樣，在生活中的許多事件、是受外部力量影響；如自然的災害，人類引起的戰爭，和其他人的行動。因此，我們要注意的第一件事情是，和平無法單由我們的努力、就能實現。聖經不斷提醒我們，要認識到上帝，進而用心地尋求祂的恩典和幫助我們的需求。

在哪裡尋求和平？就是在基督耶穌裡；為什麼呢？因為這是聖經所教導的，而且經由你的信仰、你可以實際地體驗到。我們不需要別人說，我們也知道在生活中，有很多的苦難。你可能想知道的聖經如何教導我們。

（腓4:4-7）。

因此，我們的幸福是我們的主耶穌基督裡。在基督裡，我們可有平安。在基督裡，我們感到喜樂。事實上，在基督裡，我們也會有天上屬靈的祝福。這是由信仰而得到的一個很大的教訓。

如果你試圖依靠你的力量，你的資源，你的努力來得到這個；你會很失望，因為這是你的方式，而不是全能的上帝的方式。他的方法是通過信仰 - 無論是在綠色的牧場或麻煩水域，一切經由感恩的祈禱和祈求！

何處尋求祂: 在每一件事裡。就是任何事情發生的地方。就是你現在的處境。

何時尋求祂: 在每一件事裡。就是任何事情發生的時候。就是你現在活著的此刻。



If someone tells us a way to increase our quality of life and it is easy and free, we would quickly ask the person to tell us the way.  Actually, there is indeed such a way. This is particularly easy if you really learn to do it.

如果有人告訴我們一種方法，可以提高我們的生活品量，且是容易的、免費的；我們會很快要求那個人告訴我們方法。實際上，的確有這種方法。這是很容易的，如果你真正學會了如何做。

The way is to sing  a classical hymn which is loved by so many brothers and sisters throughout the years.

該方法是，唱一首經典的、多年來被許多兄弟姐妹們所喜愛的讚美詩歌。

You may say ,"I have no music talent and that I can not sing." But the way is not for you to sing for others but sing to yourself for your own enjoyment. Actually, you can just sing alone with the church hymn song. Or even better, if you can ask a brother or sister to record the song for you to be listening to and sing alone. For example, at the hymn section of this website, you can sing alone right now to enjoy a particular hymn song you like.

你可能會說，“我沒有音樂天賦，而且我不會唱”。但這不是要你為別人唱，而是為自己唱歌，哼著歌給自己聽，自己享受。其實，你可以跟著唱、教堂讚美詩的歌曲。甚至更好，如果你可以請兄弟或姐妹錄製一首歌給你聽、也讓你跟著一起唱。例如，在本網站的讚美詩歌部分，你現在就可以選一個、自己特別喜歡的讚美詩歌，享受自己唱歌的樂趣。

This  really works. Try it and your enjoyment will convince you to add more songs to your memory.

這確實有效。試試吧，你享受到樂趣後，你會添加更多的歌曲到你的記憶。

As you enjoy and think about the lyrics of the song, rejoice in the Lord for worshipping Him in singing the hymn.

當你享受、體會歌詞的涵義時，在唱讚美詩中，就會崇拜祂、靠主喜樂。

Seniors and New Technology

The world changes very quickly these days, particularly in computer/phone technology. The whole world advances except for the poor and the senior. The poor was left behind because of no money.  The senior was left behind because of lack of energy. As the whole world involves around new advances of the information technology, the senior group faces great challenges indeed.

Daily life becomes even more isolated for seniors because they do not know how to use a computer or a smart phone to reach the world. New technology brings in new convenience if you know how to live with that technology. Otherwise, it is a curse or a frustration to say the least.

in the 21 century, it is wireless and it is on-line! Our seniors need to be students of technology again. The church needs to provide help in this area by offering basic classes to  seniors so that they can live with necessary knowledge to survive in  the technology era.

老人家和新科技

近年來，世界的變 化非常快；特別是在電腦/手機的技術。整個世界都在進步，除了窮人和老年人。窮人是因為沒有錢。老年人是因為缺乏精力。圍繞整個世界是科技進步的新信息，老人家確實面臨很大的挑戰。

老人家因為不懂如何使用電腦或智能手機來和世界溝通， 使得日常生活變得更加孤立。如果你知道、如何在生活中使用這些技術；新技術會帶來新的便利，而不是讓人討厭或沮喪挫折的感覺。

在21世紀，它是無線的，它是上網的！我們的老年人需要學習這些技術。教會需要在這方面、提供幫助老年人；使他們有必需的知識，能在這技術的時代生存。

Light and Salt

One may wonder why the Scripture commends us to be light and salt of the world. Furthermore, what are salt and light to do with our quality of life. There are a few obvious facts.  In the darkness, we can not function effectively without light. Similarly, we can not function well in a decaying world without salt.

A main function of light is to illuminate the world so that we can see the environment around us and know our pathway. In a corrupt world, we need salt to preserve food so that food is preserved  before consumption.

There are many events in life  frustrated us due to the corruption process. If you do the maintenance chores in your house, most of the chores are due to the causes of  corruption or decay. For example, lightbulb burned out or plumbing leaks due to broken seals, etc. In a corrupt world, we need to put our energy in a system to compensate the waste heat loss to produce work. 

Why Christians are light and salt of the world because without light and salt the quality of life deteriorates very quickly. Because of total deprivity of human nature since Adam sinned, many things messed up by humankind. If you do any repair work, you know very well that sometime we need to pay the penalty of fixing a lousy job done by someone irresponsible before. To be salt and light means that we need to do things in a right way when the world is cutting-the-corner all the time. 

As a light shinning in the darkness, Christians refuse to participate in a great deal that is in darkness. As salt of the world, we preserve righteousness, honesty, truth, and integrity in a crooked world. Thus professionalism is required in doing repair work.  This means do it right by right materials with right tools and right  knowledge obtained by proper training. This applies both to spiritual and physical things around us.

The Bible reminds us the following:

光與鹽

 有人可能會問，為什麼聖經要我們成為世界的光與鹽。還有，鹽和光與我們的生活品質有什麽關係。有一些明顯的事實：在黑暗中，我們無法有效地、發揮作用來工作。同樣地，在一個腐朽的世界中，沒有鹽、我們不能正常生活。

光的主要功能是照亮世界，這樣我們就可以看到我們周圍的環境，了解我們的該走的路。在一個腐敗的世界中，我們需要鹽來保存食物，延長食物的使用期。

在生活中，有許多事件因腐敗，讓我們的受挫。如在維護房子的工作中，大部分都是因為腐敗或朽壞的原因。例如，燈泡的燒壞或管道因密封片破碎而漏水等等。在一個腐敗的世界，我們需要在系統中補充消耗的能源，才能繼續工作。

為什麼基督徒是世界的光與鹽？因為沒有光和鹽的生活品質，會急速地惡化。自從亞當犯了罪；人的本性的完全墮落，人類搞砸​​了很多事情。如果你做過任何維修的工作，你會很清楚、有些時候，我們在修理一個、因前人所作、沒責任的糟糕工作，是要付出多大的代價。要作光、作鹽；意味著，當世界不停在偷工減料時，我們需要用正確的方式做事. 

正如光在黑暗中發亮，基督徒拒絕苟合參與在黑暗中的謀利作為，不管利益有多大。作為世界的鹽，我們維持一個扭曲世界的公義，誠實，真理，和正直。所以，做維修工作是需要專業的。這意味著要做好工作是需要用合適的材料、正確的工具和經過好好訓練所得正確的知識。這適用於我們身邊所有靈界和物質界的事務。

聖經在這上面也有很好的提醒：

提摩太後書 3:16-17

 聖經都是神所默示的（或作：凡神所默示的聖經），於教訓、督責、使人歸正、教導人學義都是有益的，

 叫屬神的人得以完全，預備行各樣的善事。

提摩太後書 2:19-21

 然而，神堅固的根基立住了；上面有這印記說：主認識誰是他的人；又說：凡稱呼主名的人總要離開不義。

 在大戶人家，不但有金器銀器，也有木器瓦器；有作為貴重的，有作為卑賤的。

 人若自潔，脫離卑賤的事，就必作貴重的器皿，成為聖潔，合乎主用，預備行各樣的善事。

馬太福音 5:15-16

 人點燈，不放在斗底下，是放在燈臺上，就照亮一家的人。

 你們的光也當這樣照在人前，叫他們看見你們的好行為，便將榮耀歸給你們在天上的父。



Narcissist vs Self Denier

We all know what narcissism means.  A narcissist is the one with excessive admiration or love of oneself. A narcissist's mind is filled with nothing but self and is self-centered. A narcissist concentrates on nothing but self--self indulgence, self interest, self comfort, self love,  self, and nothing but self. One may think that narcissists should have high quality of life because they spent all their energy and resource on themselves. On the contrary,  narcissists are so fearful of their images by others that they are seldom peaceful within themselves.

But the world is full of narcissists who make themselves miserable and also make people around them miserable because they do not care about anybody but themselves. They constantly take, take, and take but seldom appreciate anything other than themselves. As a matter of fact,  a narcissist's mind is so inundated with self that there is no place for others, let alone God. A narcissist can not take any criticism because a narcissist considers himself/herself as perfect and "how dare anyone criticizes me."

On the other hand, a self denier answers a much higher call from Jesus Christ, King of kings, Lord of lords to follow Him by self denial. Because of Jesus 's love, so a follower of Jesus loves also without prejudice to anyone. Self denial is a sure way to cure self indulgence in a materialistic world. 

The Holy Scripture defines love as follows:  1 Corinthians 13:4-8 

" Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant; does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered;does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away."

So the narcissist's love does not fit the love definition at all. Actually, a narcissist can not even love himself/herself at all because a narcissist's life is filled with conflicts--conflicts with others and conflicts with self.

A Christian is blessed because he/she loves Jesus rather then love self. You may ask why is it that this is a blessing. This is because all human's love is imperfect and limited while Jesus' love is God's Love which is perfect and enduring forever.

Obviously, to be a narcissist or to be a Jesus Christ's follower is a matter of choice. That is why the Scripture reminds us the narrow and wide gates

 
 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.  For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. " (Matthew 7:13-14)

Thus, from total reality perspective, self denial to follow Jesus is the way to go. This God's way is definately different from the world's way which is centered on self and flesh gratification.

That is why our Lord teaches us in John 6:63,

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life."

He who has an ear, let him hear what our Lord says to His Church.

自戀者與捨己者

我們都知道自戀意味著什麼。自戀者是一個過分的愛或讚揚自己的人。一個自戀者是對自己有過份的崇拜與愛。一個自戀者的心中，只有自我，且以自我為中心。一個自戀者關心的，沒有其他的事，只有自我-- 自我放縱，自我利益，自我的舒適，自我的愛，自我，無非是自我。
有人可能會認為，自戀的人應該有高品質的生活，因為他們花了全部的精力和資源在自己身上。但相反的，自戀的人是非常在意、別人如何看他們的形象，因而他們的內心是很少安寧的。

但是，世界是充滿自戀者，他們自己不平安，也讓身邊的人苦不堪言﹔因為他們不關心任何人，唯有他們自己。他們不斷地奪取再奪取，除了自我之外，確很少對任何事感恩。事實上，一個自戀的心靈是被自我淹沒，而沒有空間容納別人，更遑論神了。自戀者是不能接受任何批評，因為自戀者認為他/她是如此完美的，“怎麼有人敢批評我？”

 另一方面，捨己者用謙遜捨己奉獻的心態、回應來自更上層的呼召，這呼召是來自耶穌基督，萬王之王，萬主之主。因為耶穌的愛，所以跟隨耶穌的人也以沒有偏心也無成見地愛任何人。在一個物慾​​橫流的世界裡，捨己是治愈自我放縱的一個有效的好方法。

聖經對愛、有如下的定義：

“ 愛是恆久忍耐，又有恩慈，愛是不嫉妒，愛是不自誇，不張狂， 不做害羞的事，不求自己的益處，不輕易發怒，不計算人的惡， 不喜歡不義，只喜歡真理； 凡事包容，凡事相信，凡事盼望，凡事忍耐。 愛是永不止息。先知講道之能終必歸於無有，說方言之能終必停止，知識也終必歸於無有。”（哥林多前書13:4-8）



所以，自戀者的愛、完全不符合愛的定義。其實，自戀者甚而不能全心地愛他/她自己，因為一個自戀者的生活充滿了衝突– 跟他人的衝突及跟自我的衝突。

所以基督徒有福了，因為他/她是愛耶穌而不是愛自我。你可能會問，為什麼這是一種有福呢？。這是因為所有人類的愛、是不完美的，有限的﹔而耶穌的愛是神的愛，是永遠完美的和持久永恒的。

很明顯，要作一個自戀者或是一個耶穌基督的跟隨者，是個人選擇的問題。這就是為什麼聖經給我們“​​窄門和寬門”的提醒；

“ 你們要進窄門。因為引到滅亡，那門是寬的，路是大的，進去的人也多；  引到永生，那門是窄的，路是小的，找著的人也少。”（馬太福音7:13-14）

因此，從整個現實的角度來看，捨己者選擇追隨耶穌，是應走的路。這是神的路，肯定是不同於以自我為中心及肉體滿足之世界的路。

這就是為什麼我們的主在約翰福音6:63教導我們，

 “ 叫人活著的乃是靈，肉體是無益的。我對你們所說的話就是靈，就是生命。”(約翰福音6:63)

我們的主向教會所說的話，凡有耳的，就應當聽.

洗手

你可能想知道為什麼洗手與生活品質有關。其實，勤洗手的習慣，對你的健康有很大的影響；因此對你的生活品質是非常重要的，

所附是洗手的圖片。可以看出，如果我們沒有注意洗手的細節，大部份的洗手是沒有效的。為什麼我們需要洗手？這是因為世界被嚴重污染；有許多疾病經由污染的手傳播。

 一個簡單有效的洗手，會讓你保持長久健康。為什麼呢？
因為水是一種非常有效的清潔劑，可洗去、不乾淨的東西。再看看圖片，一定提醒您，應該如何清洗你的手，也教孩子們洗手的重要性。

如果你瞭解、在我們的日常生活中，我們的手是多麼容易被污染；我們的心靈，又是每天如何被這敗壞的世界污染呢？我們的主耶穌基督教導我們，一個人被玷污了，不是因為外界的污染，但由於內心的污染。

 “耶穌對他們說：「你們也是這樣不明白嗎？豈不曉得凡從外面進入的，不能汙穢人？ ¹⁹ 因為不是入他的心，乃是入他的肚腹，又落到茅廁裡。」這是說，各樣的食物都是潔淨的。 ²⁰ 又說：「從人裡面出來的，那才能汙穢人。 ²¹ 因為從裡面，就是從人心裡發出惡念、苟合、 ²² 偷盜、凶殺、姦淫、貪婪、邪惡、詭詐、淫蕩、嫉妒、謗讟、驕傲、狂妄， ²³ 這一切的惡都是從裡面出來，且能汙穢人。」”(馬可福音 7:18-23）

這是主耶穌基督給我們的很好教導，強調我們必須注意淨化我們的心靈免受日常的污染。要如何來淨化一個人的心？ 聖經提醒我們以下的經文：

“他便救了我們，並不是因我們自己所行的義，乃是照他的憐憫，藉著重生的洗和聖靈的更新。” ( 提多書3:5)

“你們既因順從真理潔淨了自己的心，以致愛弟兄沒有虛假，就當從心裡^[a]彼此切實相愛。 你們蒙了重生，不是由於能壞的種子，乃是由於不能壞的種子，是藉著神活潑常存的道。”(彼得 前書1:22-23）

“親愛的弟兄啊，我們現在是神的兒女，將來如何，還未顯明。但我們知道，主若顯現，我們必要像他，因為必得見他的真體。凡向他有這指望的，就潔淨自己，像他潔淨一樣。 凡犯罪的，就是違背律法，違背律法就是罪。你們知道，主曾顯現是要除掉人的罪，在他並沒有罪。凡住在他裡面的，就不犯罪；凡犯罪的，是未曾看見他，也未曾認識他。 (約翰 前書3:2-6）

“所以弟兄們，我以神的慈悲勸你們，將身體獻上，當做活祭，是聖潔的，是神所喜悅的，你們如此侍奉乃是理所當然的。不要效法這個世界，只要心意更新而變化，叫你們察驗何為神的善良、純全、可喜悅的旨意。” (羅馬書12:1-2）

Washing Hands

You may wonder  why  washing hands is related with quality of life. Actually, the habit of washing hands has great impact to your health and hence is very important to your quality of life

Attached is a picture of hand washing. It shows that most of hand washing is not effective if we do not pay attention to the details. Why we need to wash hands? It is because the world is badly contaminated and there are many diseases transmitted through hand contamination.

A simple effective hand washing will go a long way to keep you healthy. Why? Because water is a very effective cleansing agent to wash away uncleaned things. Look at the picture again which will certainly alert you greatly how you should wash your hands and also teach your kids the importance of washing hands.

Now if you realize that our hands are so easily contaminated in our daily living, how about our minds get contaminated daily by the corrupt world. Our Lord Jesus Christ taught us that a person is defiled not because of external contamination but due to internal contamination.

Being Busy and Quality of Life  忙碌對生活品質的影響 

One of the phenomena of the modern world is that things move quickly. In the morning, we have the rush hours for highway congestion. People work very hard to make a living. Overall, we can say that indeed it is a busy world.

現代世界的特徵之一是，凡事都匆匆忙忙地變動著。一大早，我們的高速公路就塞滿趕路的車子。人們努力工作、辛苦謀生。整體而言，我們可以說，我們真是活在一個忙碌的世界。

As people become accustomed to the busy world, they learned to be multi-tasked. To be efficient, they have to make quick decisions on many things and hence grow to be impatient in their manners including how they handle human relationship.

當人們習慣了忙碌的世界，他們學會了、同時處理許工作的能力。為了提高效率，在很多事情、他們必須快速地解決；也因此養成不耐煩的處事態度，包括如何面對人際關係。

So it is quite easy to see the relationship between being busy and quality of life and the quality of life for those that are around the busy people.  Unfortunately, the whole world is full of busy people and the problems of “being busy” are so intrinsic and systemic that no wonder we have so much troubles in the world.

因此，我們很容易看到、忙碌對一個人及其周遭人們的生活品質量的影響。不幸的是，整個世界是充滿忙碌的人，及因為忙碌而引發之內在性和系統性的影響；難怪我們世界有那麼多的問題。

Interesting enough, the word “business” in English is a noun form of being busy. In the business world then, being busy is the norm of its life style. In fact, so many people are on the 24x7schedule because most commerce activities are operated on a global scale which covers many time zones. So it behooves us to sit back and take a break once awhile to contemplate the implication of “business” on quality of our lives.

有趣的是，“商業”這個詞，在英語中、是忙碌的名詞形式。在商業世界裡，忙碌是正常的生活方式。事實上，有許多人是生活在24x7的行事曆中（每週工作7天、每天工作24小時）；因為大多數商業活動都是在全球性，涵蓋多個不同的時區。因此，我們有時應該要坐下來、休息一下來想想，“商業”對我們生活品質的影響。

Actually, the Chinese word of “being busy” carries an interesting meaning.  Components of the word in Chinese convey the meaning that “the heart is dead” and another similar word also expresses the meaning of “forgetfulness”.  It seems quite logic to think that one’s “business” will turn a person to be forgetful of many important things in life such as one’s heart or soul. To the westerners, the Chinese phrase “the heart is dead” does not means that one has a heart attack. Rather, one’s heart is so busy that it does not care anymore.

事實上，中國文字的“忙”，帶有一個有趣的含義。這個字的中文組成部分中，有傳達“心已經死了” 的意思；另一個類似心死的字也表示“忘”的意思。我們可以很合理、符合邏輯地認為，“忙碌”會讓一個人忘記、其心靈或生活中許多重要的事情。對西方人而言，中國那句“心是死的”，並不意味著一個人有心臟病；而是一個人的心、是如此的忙碌，無法再關心其他的事務了。

 
Now you might wonder what the Creator says about “being busy”. The Bible reminds us the following:

你可能想知道的上帝創造主、是如何說“忙”。聖經提醒我們以下信息：

Ecclesiastes 9:1 For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.

義人智人咸在神掌握“我將這一切事放在心上，詳細考究，就知道義人和智慧人並他們的作為，都在神手中。或是愛，或是恨，都在他們的前面，人不能知道。”（傳道書 9:1）

Ecclesiastes 3:14-15  I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him.  That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by. “我知道，神一切所做的都必永存，無所增添，無所減少，神這樣行，是要人在他面前存敬畏的心。現今的事早先就有了，將來的事早已也有了，並且神使已過的事重新再來。（傳道書 3:14-15）。

Psalm 127:1  Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.

“若不是耶和華建造房屋，建造的人就枉然勞力；若不是耶和華看守城池，看守的人就枉然警醒。”（詩篇 127:1）

Matthew 16:26  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

 “人若賺得全世界，賠上自己的生命，有什麼益處呢？人還能拿什麼換生命呢？”（馬太福音 16:26）

Thus, it is important to renew your relationship with God and be reconciled to God because all good things including your salvation come from God. Also it is noted that people are busy because they need to work hard to raise their families. What the Bible teaches us are not to spend all our effort in things on the earth because our homes are in heavens. We should spend effort to pursue eternal food as instructed by our precious Lord Jesus Christ in John 6:26-29.

因此，這是很重要的，要更新您與上帝的關係，並與上帝一致；因為所有的好東西，包括你的救贖，都是來自上帝。人們都在忙著， 因為他們需要努力工作來養家。 “聖經”教導我們、不要將我們所有的努力、全都花在地球上的事務上；因為我們的家園是在天上。我們應該聽從、我們珍貴的主耶穌基督、在約翰福音 6:26-29的指示，花力氣去追求永恆的食品。

John 6:26-29 26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” 28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.

”“耶穌回答說：「我實實在在地告訴你們：你們找我，並不是因見了神蹟，乃是因吃餅得飽。 不要為那必壞的食物勞力，要為那存到永生的食物勞力，就是人子要賜給你們的，因為人子是父神所印證的。」 眾人問他說：「我們當行什麼，才算做神的工呢？」 耶穌回答說：「信神所差來的，這就是做神的工。」”（約翰福音 16:26）

That is why the Scripture reminds us the following verse for living our busy lives in this world.

這就是為什麼聖經在下面的詩句，提醒我們、如何在這個忙碌的世界中生活。

(2 Corinthians 4:18) While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

“原來我們不是顧念所見的，乃是顧念所不見的，因為所見的是暫時的，所不見的是永遠的。” （哥林多後書4:18）



This topical article is a follow-up to an earlier article on “Being busy and quality of life”  First of all, "busyness" will bury us in the worldly pursuits and blind our heavenly perspectives. Furthermore, "being busy" will affect our quality of life in many ways.  A few examples will illustrate the issues. 

本文是接續前一篇文章“忙碌和生活品質”。首先，忙碌會讓我們在世俗上的追求消失一空，更讓我們迷失了、我們對天國的展望。 此外，忙碌更會在許多方面，影響我們的生活質量。 舉幾個例子說明問題。

Example 1, Husband and wife are both busy and are frequently on out of town trips. Impacts are quality of family life, kids’ upbringing and supervision, and husband and wife togetherness.

例1，丈夫和妻子都很忙，經常須要離家出差。減少了陪伴孩子們的成長、教養及夫妻相聚的時間，影響了家庭生活的品質。 

Example2, A husband is so busy for his business that he does not have time for his kids and wife. Furthermore, many chores around the house are delayed, let alone upkeeps of the house.

例2，老公忙於他的生意，他沒有留足夠的時間給他的孩子和妻子。以致延遲了家務的工作，疏忽了家庭的經營。

 You may ask why the divorce rate is so high (around 70% of new marriages) in California and why there are so many juvenile delinquencies. It is very clear that the traditional family unit is under huge stress due to the busyness of our world.  There are too many broken hearts, broken marriages, and broken homes. Pretty soon, couples with single marriage will become an endangered species.

你可能會問，為什麼離婚率那麼高（在加利福尼亞州，約70％的新婚），及為什麼有這麼多的青少年犯罪？這是非常清楚的，忙碌的世界、讓傳統的家庭是承受著巨大的壓力。造成太多破碎的心，破裂的婚姻，破碎的家庭。很快的，單一結婚的夫婦、將成為瀕臨滅絕的物種。

The fix is that we need to return to the Bible.  We need to reconcile to our God through our Lord Jesus Christ again. Not just individuals but also our society as well. It is indeed very sad to see the fabric of our society—our family—is being destroyed right before our eyes. You may ask why there are so many cheatings and where did loyalty go these days.   This is a very good question. The Bible tells us all these corruptions come from the world in 1 John 2:16-17. And we need our faith in the Lord of Jesus Christ to overcome the world temptations as reminded by the Scripture in 1 John 5:1-5.

1 John 2:16-17   For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.  The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

1 John 5:1-5  Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.  For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

 修復的方法是，我們需要回到“聖經”。我們需要藉著我們的主耶穌基督、聽從我們的神。不只是個人，我們的社會也該如此做。這是非常悲哀的，眼睜睜地看著、我們的社會、我們的家庭的結構，就在我們面前崩潰了。你可能會問，現在為什麼、沒有了忠誠而有這麼多的欺騙？  這是一個非常好的問題。問問你的心靈。你會知道確實的原因。聖經告訴我們這些敗壞污染都是來自這腐敗的世界。(見約壹 2:16-17)。我們需靠我們對主耶穌的信心オ能得勝這世界。(見約壹5:1-5)

約 翰 一 書 2:16-17  因 為 凡 世 界 上 的 事 ， 就 像 肉 體 的 情 慾 ， 眼 目 的 情 慾 ， 並 今 生 的 驕 傲 ， 都 不 是 從 父 來 的 ， 乃 是 從 世 界 來 的 。 這 世 界 和 其 上 的 情 慾 都 要 過 去 ， 惟 獨 遵 行 神 旨 意 的 ， 是 永 遠 常 存 。

約 翰 一 書 5:1-5  凡 信 耶 穌 是 基 督 的 ， 都 是 從 神 而 生 ， 凡 愛 生 他 之 神 的 ， 也 必 愛 從 神 生 的 。 我 們 若 愛 神 ， 又 遵 守 他 的 誡 命 ， 從 此 就 知 道 我 們 愛 神 的 兒 女 。 我 們 遵 守 神 的 誡 命 ， 這 就 是 愛 他 了 ， 並 且 他 的 誡 命 不 是 難 守 的 。因 為 凡 從 神 生 的 ， 就 勝 過 世 界 ； 使 我 們 勝 了 世 界 的 ， 就 是 我 們 的 信 心 。 勝 過 世 界 的 是 誰 呢 ？ 不 是 那 信 耶 穌 是 神 兒 子 的 麼 ？


What is a safety net. A safety net is the one used in circus to protect the trapeze players when they perform high flying acts. In case of mishaps in their acts, they will fall onto the net and hence protect them from serious injuries. In our lives, there are many tribulations from natural disasters, illnesses, poverty, to man-made wars that cause us grief, sadness, helpless, and distress.  A safety net provides us with an immediate help and support. Because of uncertainties in modern living, it is indeed beneficial for each of us to think about what are our safety nets.

什麼是一個安全網。一個安全網，是馬戲團為保護空中飛人、進行高空飛行表演時的安全防護裝置。當他們的表演失手時，他們會落在安全網內，可以保護他們免受重傷。在我們的生活中，有許多苦難，如自然災害、疾病、貧窮、人為的戰爭；都讓我們難過、悲傷，無奈和痛苦。一個安全網，能提供我們一個即時的幫助和支持。因為現代生活中的不確定性，這的確是有益的，我們每個人都來想想什麼是我們的安全網。

Before talking about safety net, perhaps it is important to know that the ultimate function of a safety net is to save lives. Since total reality of life consists of both physical and spiritual aspects, it is quite naturally to seek the Bible to see what our Creator says about this issue.

在談論安全網前，首先要知道的是，最終安全網的功能是為了挽救生命。由於整個生命的實體是包括物質界和靈界的層面；我們自然要，尋求“聖經”，看看我們的創造主如何指導我們。

John 4:13-14 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;  but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

約翰福音4:13-14 耶穌回答說：「凡喝這水的，還要再渴，  人若喝我所賜的水，就永遠不渴。我所賜的水要在他裡頭成為泉源，直湧到永生。」

John 6:34-35  Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

約翰福音6:34-35 他們說：「主啊，常將這糧賜給我們！」   耶穌說：「我就是生命的糧。到我這裡來的，必定不餓；信我的，永遠不渴。

John 8:12   Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

約翰福音8:12 耶穌又對眾人說：「我是世界的光。跟從我的，就不在黑暗裡走，必要得著生命的光。」

John 11:25-26  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?

”約翰福音11:25-26  耶穌對她說：「復活在我，生命也在我。信我的人，雖然死了，也必復活；  凡活著信我的人必永遠不死。你信這話嗎？」

Luke 12:29-32   And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying.   For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.   But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.  Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.

路加福音12:29-32  你們不要求吃什麼、喝什麼，也不要掛心。  這都是外邦人所求的。你們必須用這些東西，你們的父是知道的。  你們只要求他的國，這些東西就必加給你們了。  你們這小群，不要懼怕，因為你們的父樂意把國賜給你們。

Matthew 11:28  “Come to Me, all [a]who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

馬太福音11:28  凡勞苦擔重擔的人，可以到我這裡來，我就使你們得安息。

You may ask why so many Bible passages. It is because the humankind have so many stresses and needs. Our God is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and He loves us with everlasting love.

你可能會問，為什麼有這麼多的聖經經文。這是因為人類有這麼多的壓力和需求。我們在這些經文裹、也可看到我們自己的需求。我們的神是無所不能，無所不在，無所不知；他用永恆的愛、來愛我們。

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17  Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace,  comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

帖撒羅尼迦後書2:16-17 但 願 我 們 主 耶 穌 基 督 和 那 愛 我 們 、 開 恩 將 永 遠 的 安 慰 並 美 好 的 盼 望 賜 給 我 們 的 父 神 ， 安 慰 你 們 的 心 ， 並 且 在 一 切 善 行 善 言 上 堅 固 你 們 。

Jeremiah 31:3-4 The Lord appeared to Israel from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.  “Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! Again you will take up your tambourines, And go forth to the dances of the merrymakers.

耶利米書31:3-4   古時耶和華向以色列顯現，說：『我以永遠的愛愛你，因此我以慈愛吸引你。』  以色列的民哪，我要再建立你，你就被建立。你必再以擊鼓為美，與歡樂的人一同跳舞而出。

So there is no question that our foremost safety net is our Lord Jesus Christ whom we love. For those who are truth seekers and are still seeking the true God, the Bible reminds that you must believe as follows:

因此，我們可以毫無疑問的說，我們最重要的安全網，是我們所愛的主耶穌基督。對慕道者及仍在尋找真神者；聖經有下述你該相信的提示:

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

希伯來書11:6 人非有信就不能得神的喜悅，因為到神面前來的人必須信有神，且信他賞賜那尋求他的人。

When we talk about safety net, we need to realize that it refers to people that will help us and understand us in our distress. This means that we are also part of the safety net for others as well. It is important to realize that we need to maintain our safety nets by investing our time and resource so that our safety nets are sound and active.

當我們談論安全網時；我們需要知道，它指的是，在我們困難時，能瞭解我們、幫助我們的人。這意味著，我們也是他人安全網的一部分。重要的是要認識到，我們必須要、經由投資我們的時間和資源，來維護我們的安全網；這樣我們才能擁有、健全且有功能的安全網。

Given this understanding, let us discuss a few safety nets that are very important to our wellbeing. First of all, our family is our safety net. Although obvious, it is not so easy to maintain this safety net. You may ask why? This is because there are so many broken families. We are reminded of the following:

有了這樣的了解、讓我們來討論一些、對我們的福祉是非常重要的安全網。首先，我們的家庭是我們的安全網。雖然很明顯的，我們也不是那麼容易、就可保持這個安全網。您可能會問為什麼？這是因為有很多破碎的家庭。我們常常被人提醒到以下事項：

A. There are many single parent families in our society.

B. The divorce rate is more than 50% of the newlyweds in the state of California.

C. Children are the most suffering victims from a broken family safety net.

A.  在我們的社會裡有很多單親家庭。

B.  在加州，新婚夫婦的離婚率是50％以上。

C.  一個破碎的家庭安全網，兒童是最痛苦的受害者。

Why so many broken families? Mostly are due to broken marriages. We may also ask why are so many broken marriages? We believe that this is mainly due to the fact that we wonder too far away from the Bible teaching. We are in a culture which rebels against God constantly. Our society is so self-centered that we cannot even see our love one’s needs other than our own needs. In other words, the whole world is corrupted by our narcissism.

為什麼有這麼多破碎的家庭？大多是由於破裂的婚姻。我們也會問，為什麼有這麼多破裂的婚姻？我們認為，這主要是我們遠離了“聖經”的教導。我們正處在一個不斷地、反叛神的文化中。我們的社會是如此以自我為中心；導致我們只想到我們自己的需求，卻忽視了我們所愛的人的需求。換句話說，整個世界都被我們的自戀汚染破壞了。

In this environment, a steady marriage becomes an exception rather than the norm. Fidelity and self-denial are the endangered characters. Modern grand scale social experiments such as modernism, sexual revolution, drug culture, and rationalism brought us two world wars, many more regional conflicts, and many broken families. Indeed, the Bible calls this age as a crooked and perverse generation.

在這樣的社會環境下，一個穩定的婚姻，成為一個例外、而非常態。忠誠和捨己，是瀕臨滅絕的性情。現代的社會大量鼓吹的運動，例如現代主義，性革命，毒品文化和理性主義；給我們帶來了兩次世界大戰，許多地區衝突和許多破碎的家庭。事實上，聖經稱這個年代是一個扭曲、且背逆的世代。

It is very important then that we need to find a safety net. Now if you are one of the few luckiest people that have this family safety net, please spend your energy and resource to maintain and nourish this small group of people you love. Now if you are among majority of people who do not have this luxury, then we need to cultivate some other safety nets such as your closest friends. But most of all, we encourage you to get the ultimate Safety Net first with Jesus Christ as discussed in the first article on this subject.

那麼，這是非常重要的；我們需要找到一個安全網。如果你是屬於一些最幸運的一群，擁有這樣的家庭安全網；請用精力和資源、來維持和滋養，這一小群你愛的人。如果你像大多數人、沒有這種福份；那麼我們就需要培養、一些其他的安全網，如您最親近的朋友們。但最重要的是，我們鼓勵您能獲得耶穌基督的、就如這個問題的第一篇文章所討論的最終的安全網。

One of the safety nets that have large applications is the church fellowship groups. Normally, a church fellowship group consists of church brothers and sisters who are in the same age group. Since all the church members are believers, they already have the Big Safety Net of Jesus Christ. In reality however, not all the members of a fellowship group are believers, the benefits of the church safety net depend largely upon the leadership of the church pastor and elders.

教會團契、是有很大功能的安全網。通常情況下，一個教會團契，是由教會裡、年齡接近的弟兄姐妹所組成。由於已是教會的成員，理應是信徒；他們已經擁有了、耶穌基督的大安全網。然而，在現實中，並不是教會團契中所有的成員、都是信徒；教會的安全網之功能及好處的發揮，大部分有賴教會的牧師和長老們的引領。

It should be noted that there are some people who come to church with ulterior motives. Normally, children, seniors, and Christians are easy targets for the wicked. Hence, it is not surprised to see that there are false teachers, and phony believers hiding within church for wicked reasons. Despite this defect, one can still enjoy great benefits from the church fellowship groups if one exercises cautions and discernment.

這裏應該指出的是，有一些來教會的人是別有用心。通常情況下，兒童、老人和基督徒是最容易成為惡人欺詐的目標。因此，我們並不感到驚訝地看到，有假教師、假信徒，懷著邪惡的目的，隱藏在教會中。儘管有這一缺陷，如果能夠小心、好好地觀察分辨；仍然可以享受、教會團契的很多好處。

Maintenance of a safety net is a responsibility of ours. Generally speaking, a functional safety net requires strong infrastructural support. There are few things in life that are free. All good things are from our Heavenly Father who provides the required infrastructural resources to carry them out. A safety net is no exception. It  requires strong infrastructural support such as prayers, administration, service, and love. If we enjoy the benefits then we need to help as well when we are able.

維護一個安全網，是我們大家的共同責任。一般來說，要發揮安全網的功能，需要組織內部有、強而有力架構的支持。生活中是少有白吃的午餐。一切好的東西，都是由我們的天父提供、組織架構內部所需的資源來推行完成的。一個安全網也不例外。它需要強而有力的、組織架構內部支持；如祈禱，管理，服務，和愛。如果我們享受了好處，那麼我們也要盡一己之力、提供幫忙。

The more prayer partners you have, the stronger safety net that will be available to you in time of needs.We need to recognize that ultimately it is our Lord Jesus Christ who provides with the help we need. To some one, we may become the helper sent by God to help the one in need. It goes both ways. God helps us when we need help and God may send us to help the others. We should try to be generous and loving kindness to our sisters and brothers in the faith. And this is what the safety net of the church is all about. When we love our Lord, we love whom He loves. When we love our sisters and brothers in the faith, we also love our Lord.

 你有更多的禱告伙伴，你所需要的安全網會更強而有力。我們要知道、最終是我們的主耶穌基督提供了我們所需要的幫助。對有些人而言，我們可能是上帝派來的幫手、去幫助需要幫助的人。它是雙向的。當我們需要幫助時，上帝幫助我們；而上帝也派我們去幫助別人。主內兄弟姐妹們！我們應該努力地、互相幫助、彼此扶持；這就是所謂的教會安全網。當我們愛、我們的主；我們也愛、祂的所愛。當我們愛、主內兄弟姐妹們；我們也愛、我們的主。

The Bible reminds us the following:

1 John 3:16-17   We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.    But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

聖經提醒我們以下信息：

約翰一書3:16-17   主為我們捨命，我們從此就知道何為愛，我們也當為弟兄捨命。   凡有世上財物的，看見弟兄窮乏，卻塞住憐恤的心，愛神的心怎能存在他裡面呢？



Lately there are so many news about the willful contamination of processed food with industrial

chemicals which are detrimental to the public health. Obviously, quality of food is a great public

health issue and affects our quality of life. There are so many unscrupulous and wicked people

who produce very harmful products such as contaminated starch products including rice noodles,

biscuits, etc. These evil and wicked merchants and manufacturers even produce contaminated

infant formula in the Far East region in Asia. You may ask what kind of the world that we are

coming to.

It is sad to say  that the latest incident of poisoned starch products will not be the last time we

heard of the poisoned food issues. We may ask where are the food inspection agencies. 

Actually, when the whole system is corrupted, all things are more or less contaminated

such as air, water, food, etc. Why? Because the human hearts are evil and reprobate.

It is therefore a reproof on the theory of evolution. The humankind is not evolved better,

rather we are going down and out: just knowing two world wars and numerous regional wars

in the most bloodiest 20th century will surely make us sick already. 

Actually, the situation is clearly portrayed in the Holy Scripture. It was a beautiful world when

God created it. Indeed, " And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. "

( see Geneses 1:31). 

Through the ages, there have been many attempts to improve the human hearts and 

behaviors by soft education or hard labor techniques and they are all ineffective in

changing human history. Of course, stricter laws and enforcement will help, but it will

not last long in a corrupt and bribable society to return to the chaos we face today.

It is indeed proper to say unless we, as a society and as a human race, return to

God by repenting our lawlessness against God, we are doomed. The history has clearly

shown that we can not save the world. That is why God, due to His mercies and

compassions to the mankind,  has provided us a way out-- Salvation through the

Savior Jesus Christ our Lord. The more places you visited and the longer time

you live, the deeper you will know that the human race needs a Savior to lead us

to the eternal city which has foundations whose architect and builder is God. 

We have all been frustrated and heavily burdened by the conflicts, deceptions, natural

and manmade calamities, and daily struggles. Our hope is indeed to return to almighty

God and His glorious Kingdom. If you ever look at the pictures of the homeless orphans

in a war-torn country and asked where are the justice and hope for them, then you

know that we can not trust the world system and all their rationalism to save us at all.

From the bad news of the contamination of the physical food, it would prompt us to think

what about the contamination of the spiritual food? Luckily, there are many warnings of

that in the Scripture.  As can be expected in any generation, there are always more than

a few false teachers claiming that they have special revelations from God to them personally

so that they have special insights to show us the right path. It is clear that throughout

church history we always have this kind of false teachers. They are nothing but demons

presenting themselves as the  angels of light. They are after your money

and for their fleshly desires such as fame, pride, sex, and power, etc.

Of course, they will quote the Bible and portray that they are the true believers.

They will use all the right tones and will mix truth with their clever devices and new

interpretations such as Jesus Christ already returns and the true believers will hear

his voice etc. Just like the Scripture already warns us that anti-christs appear from

time to time in each generation. And our generation has them as well. 

The following are a few ways of detecting them:

1. Just like the poisons adding to the physical food, they add some poisons to the pure

spiritual food of the Scripture such as their special revelations and interpretations of the

Scripture or their new sacred books.

2. They always claimed to be the real and unique one just like the Pharisees' claim that 

they were the true separated ones in the first century. They like to accuse you as not sincere

and not trust God with their hidden agenda. What else could they do other than using

this age-old deceptive scheme.

3. Watch out their twisted use of the scripture passages. Watch out how  the devil used 

the scripture verses in the temptation of our Lord in the wilderness as revealed in Matt 4:1-11.

They always throw doubts against the scripture just like the old Serpent  suggesting doubts of

what God told Eve with a current day twist such as "are you sure that it is always a hearsay

when deviates from the Bible?",etc.

4. The Bible is the best defence against all the  teaching of false teachers. When in doubt,

concentrate on the context of the passage in the book and the context of the book in the

Scripture. Also any interpretation should not be in conflict with the whole scripture teaching.

5. There are many classical bible commentaries to help us. If we check a few  more

commentaries (not just one or two), we can get a reasonably good understanding of the 

contextual issues  such as the Lord's second coming and be able to discern the false teaching

rightaway. Works of Augustine, Thomas Aquinas,  Athanasius, John Calvin, Martin Luther, 

Jonathan Edwards, etc., should help a lot. More recent works such as Matthew Henry's 

commentary; J. Vemon McGee's Thru the Bible; John Piper's commentary including the

Romans; R. C. Sproul's work; Arthur Pink's exposition including the gospel of John;

Albert Mohler's writings; and John MacArthur's New Testament Commentary series, etc.,

offer very good bases to discern the false doctrines and revelations. 

6. The church history has repeatedly shown that many hearsay and false teaching tend to be

on the claims of  Jesus Christ's return already,  the predictions of the endtime prophecies,

and claims in conjuction with healing, etc. There are no surprises here simply because these

are the age-proven plots which can easily be reused to deceive people.

Enough have been said. Here are a few reminders from the Holy Scripture:

      •       Isaiah 59:16-19 He alone come to rescue us

16 And He saw that there was no man,
And was astonished that there was no one

 to intercede; 
Then His own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness

 upheld Him.

17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;

   
And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with zeal

   as a mantle.

18 According to their deeds, so He will repay,
Wrath to His adversaries, recompense

 to His enemies;
 To the coastlands He will make recompense.

19 So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west
And His glory from the rising

 of the sun, For He will come like a [d]rushing stream
Which the wind of 

 the Lord drives.

      •       Proverbs 3:5-6 We need to trust the Lord wholeheartedly

        Trust in the Lord with all your heart
  And do not lean on your own understanding.
        In all your ways acknowledge Him,
  And He will make your paths straight.

      •       Isaiah 45:21-23 The only True God

           21  “Declare and set forth your case;
   Indeed, let them consult together.
  

              Who has announced this from of old?
   Who has long since declared it?
     

              Is it not I, the Lord?
  And there is no other God besides Me,
    

              A righteous God and a Savior;
  There is none except Me.

          22  “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;


               For I am God, and there is no other.

          23  “I have sworn by Myself,
   The word has gone forth from My mouth

              in righteousness
. And will not turn back,
  That to Me every knee will

             bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. 

    • Acts 4:11-12 Jesus Christ is the only Ssvor

        11 He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but  which became

            the chief corner stone. 

        12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven

            that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”  

    • John 3:16 Salvation by Faith Alone

        16  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His [a]only begotten Son, 

             that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

最近有許多新聞報導；有人在食品製造過程中、蓄意添加工業用化學物，造成食品污染、有害大眾的健康。原本，食品安全就與大眾的建康與生活品質息息相關。卻有如此多的不擇手段、邪惡的人，生產有害的原料如澱粉等；污染了許多的食品，包括米粉、餅乾等。這些邪惡的商人，甚至製造出、污染的嬰幼兒配方奶粉產品。你可能會問，我們究竟來到一個什麼樣的世界？

這是可悲的，最近發生的、有毒澱粉產品事件，將不會是我們會聽到的、最後一次影響食品安全的消息。我們可能會問，食品檢驗機構在哪裡？事實上，當整個系統被腐朽損壞時，所有的東西，如空氣、水、食物等等，都會有、或多或少的污染。為什麼？因為人類的心，是邪惡和墮落的。因此，這是進化論的被非議、質疑之處。人類沒有因進化而更好，人類將每況愈下道義淪亡。單由20世紀的兩次血腥的世界大戰和許多局部戰爭，已經使我們厭惡極了。

其實，這種情況在聖經裡，已有清楚地描述。當上帝創造世界時，這是一個美麗的世界。確實，“神看著一切所造的都甚好。”（見創世紀1:31）。由於始祖犯罪、人類背叛上帝，人心日漸昏暗、整個世界愈來愈邪惡混亂至今。况且古往今來，有許多試圖、想要改善人類的心靈和行為。但不管經由的柔軟教育、或嚴苛的苦役方法；均無法改變人類歷史。當然，嚴格的法律和執法，也許有些幫助；但不會持續很長時間，有效地改善、因為我們目前所面對是混亂、腐敗和行賄的社會。

可以很正確的說，除非我們整個社會及全人類，回歸上帝；並且懺悔、曾無法無天地反抗上帝；我們注定是會毀滅的。歷史已經清楚地證明，我們是無法拯救、這個世界。這就是為什麼，上帝因他的仁慈和對人類的憐憫，已經為我們提供了一條出路，那就是通過我們的救主、耶穌基督的救贖。在參觀過更多的地方及活得越老的你，就會越知道，人類需要一個救世主，帶領我們到永恆的那座有根基的城 ,就是神 所經營所建造的。。

從衝突，欺騙，自然和人為的災難，和日常的鬥爭中；我們已經飽受挫折，負擔沉重而身心俱疲。我們的確希望、回歸到全能的上帝和祂的輝煌的王國。如果你曾經看過，飽受戰爭蹂躪國家中、無家可歸的孤兒們的照片；你會問他們的正義和希望在哪裡？那麼你就會知道，我們不會信任這世界體系和他們所有的理性，可以拯救我們。

從物質食品污染的壞消息，它會促使我們想到了、屬靈精神食糧的污染是什麼？幸運的是，在聖經裡有許多警告。可以想見、在任何一世代，總有一些假的教師、聲稱有神親自給他們、特殊的啟示；讓他們有特殊的見解，來告訴你正確的路徑。很顯然，整個教會的歷史中，我們總會有假教師。他們只不過是魔鬼偽裝成光明的天使。他們是在騙取你的錢財，來滿足為他們自己肉體的慾望，包括名利、驕傲，性，和權力等等。

以下幾種方法可以查出他們：

1. 就像物質食物中添加的毒藥一樣；在屬靈精神食糧、純淨的聖經裡，他們添加一些毒藥；諸如強調其獲得特殊的啟示、來曲解聖經，或是另創他們的新的神聖的書籍。

2. 他們總是號稱、自己是真正的、獨特的；就像第一世紀的法利賽人聲稱，他們是真正的、分別為聖的個體。他們經常指責你我信主不夠虔誠、而且沒有全然信靠神。其實他們是別有用心，有欺詐的暗盤。

3. 注意！他們會曲解聖經的經文。就如同馬太福音4:1-11所描述，魔鬼在曠野中誘惑我們的主，使用曲解經文的技倆。又如古蛇欺騙始祖夏娃所用”神眞的是這麼說嗎？”要我們懷疑聖經的騙局。當然，他們也會用”羊必會聽基督的聲”，要你我一定會跟從這些假基督的技巧。

4. “聖經”是對所有假教師的教學最好的防禦。當有疑問時，該專注於經文的背景與書的背景。同時，任何解釋、不應該違背整個聖經的教導。

5. 我們有很多正確的聖經參考文獻，可以幫助我們。如果我們察看更多參考文獻（不只是一個或兩個），我們可以理解到上下文經文的背景。奧古斯丁，湯瑪斯阿奎那，約翰加爾文，馬丁路德，喬納森愛德華茲的作品，應該對我們有很大的幫助。近代的作家如亨利馬修的解經，J. Vemon麥基的直通“聖經”，約翰派珀的解說包含羅馬書，RC斯普勞爾的作品，和約翰麥克阿瑟的新約聖經解說系列，提供了非常好的基礎，以辨別假的教義和啟示。

6.從教會歴史上，可以看出假教師、假基督的異端邪說主要是在 (1)基督己經來了、而且自稱是基督, (2) 有關末世預言的新信息或新啟示, 和(3) 對神的醫治的宣示。其實，這都不是值得我們驚奇的，因為,這些都是歷世歴代常用的騙術而己。

已經說得很多了。這裡有一些聖經的提醒：

• 以賽亞書 59:16-19

¹⁶那時，耶和華看見沒有公平，甚不喜悅。他見無人拯救，無人代求，甚為詫異，就用自己的膀臂施行拯救，以公義扶持自己。¹⁷他以公義為鎧甲，以拯救為頭盔，以報仇為衣服，以熱心為外袍。¹⁸他必按人的行為施報，惱怒他的敵人，報復他的仇敵，向眾海島施行報應。 ¹⁹ 如此，人從日落之處必敬畏耶和華的名，從日出之地也必敬畏他的榮耀。因為仇敵好像急流的河水沖來，是耶和華之氣所驅逐的。

• 箴言 3:5-6

⁵你要專心仰賴耶和華，不可倚靠自己的聰明，⁶在你一切所行的事上都要認定他，他必指引你的路。

• 以賽亞書 45:21-23

²¹你們要述說陳明你們的理，讓他們彼此商議。誰從古時指明，誰從上古述說？不是我耶和華嗎？除了我以外，再沒有神。我是公義的神，又是救主，除了我以外，再沒有別神。²²地極的人都當仰望我，就必得救，因為我是神，再沒有別神。²³我指著自己起誓，我口所出的話是憑公義，並不返回：萬膝必向我跪拜，萬口必憑我起誓。

•使徒行傳 4:11-12

¹¹「他是『你們匠人所棄的石頭，已成了房角的頭塊石頭』。¹²除他以外，別無拯救，因為在天下人間，沒有賜下別的名我們可以靠著得救。」

•約翰福音 3:16

¹⁶「神愛世人，甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們，叫一切信他的不致滅亡，反得永生。

We may ask what timely action is to do with the quality of life.

Procrastination is a disease of “fears for changes”. There are many issues in life which require timely actions to resolve them. People who procrastinate to “tomorrows” tend to live a low quality of life for “todays”.  Why? . Because they keep delay the timely actions to fix the problems of “yesterdays” and hence their problems remain for “todays” to affect their life quality. Perhaps we should take a few examples.

• In a decaying world, many objects are subject to deterioration.  For example,  many things around the house we live in require timely maintenance such as cleanings, painting, and fixing.
• Relationships with others need to be timely maintained as well. Particularly, the relationship between husband and wife should not be taken for granted.
• Some people are heavily loaded by the pressure of life that they withdraw to procrastinations including forgetting to maintain their health.

The fundamental issues behind all of these are that our minds are darkened by the deceptions of this world and that we are deeply bound by the slavery of this materialistic world.

In the first chapter of the Romans, the Bible tells us the following with regarding to the decaying, corruptions, and deaths in this world.

^“For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” (Romans 1:21)

Thus, the most important timely action in one’s life is to maintain a good relationship with God. This means that we need to believe the atonement done on our behalves by Jesus Christ on the cross to make right our relationship with an angry God. God is very angry at us because of our sins against a holy and righteous God. This is very important because without faith in Jesus Christ we cannot be saved. The Bible keeps reminding us this teaching very clearly;

^”And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

One may ask what is the hurry. Tomorrow the sun will still rise from the east. Well, tomorrow the sun will rise again but we may not be here to see it. So we should not assume all along in each day of our lives that we are going to live forever. Yet, still so many people hold on to this ignorance and pursue things such as materials, power, fame, riches, lust, and pride as if  their lives have no end in sight.

So first of all, we need to take timely action to believe in Jesus Christ our Lord. Then, we can ask God to guide us through this evil world so that we can be blessed with the strength to take timely actions to right many situations in our lives to improve the quality of our lives.

Time is of essence. The bible reminds us that we should waste our time by procrastinations because the time is evil indeed:

¹⁵ Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of your time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ( Eph 5:15-17)

我們可能會問，及時的行動與生活品質有什麼關係。

拖延是一種“害怕改變” 的疾病。在生活中，有許多問題、需要及時採取行動，來解決這些問題。拖延到“明天”的人，往往讓“今天”的生活品質低落。為什麼呢？因為他們常常耽誤了及時的行動、來解決“昨天”的問題，讓問題仍然持續存在到“今天”，而影響他們的生活品質。也許我們應該看看一些例子。

•在一個腐朽的世界裡，許多事物會漸漸惡化。例如，我們住的屋子周圍有很多事情需要及時保養，如清洗、油漆和修繕。

•與他人的關係，也需要及時維護。特別是，丈夫和妻子之間的關係，不應該被視為理所當然。

•有些人因生活的重大壓力，讓他們退縮、拖延，包括忘記保持自己的健康。

所有這些問題背後的、根本原因是，我們的心靈被這個世界欺騙而昏暗，被這個物慾橫流的世界綁架成奴隸。

在羅馬書的第一章，“聖經”告訴我們關於這個世界為什麼腐爛，敗壞，死亡的緣由。

²¹ 因為他們雖然知道神，卻不當做神榮耀祂，也不感謝祂，他們的思念變為虛妄，無知的心就昏暗了。(羅馬書 1:21)

因此，一個人的生命中最重要的及時的行動，是要保持與神良好的關係。這意味著，我們需要相信耶穌基督在十字架上、代我們贖罪；使我們得以歸正因悖逆聖潔公義的神、與上帝為敵的關係，使我們與神和好，得以因信稱義。這是非常重要的，因為若沒有信靠基督耶穌，我們不能被拯救。聖經很清楚地、不斷提醒我們這教導;

¹² 除祂以外，別無拯救，因為在天下人間，沒有賜下別的名我們可以靠著得救。(使徒行傳 4:12)」

有人可能會問、為什麼要如此匆忙。明天太陽還是會從東邊升起。雖然，明天的太陽會再次上升，但我們未必能活在這裡看到它。因此，我們不應該假定、我們生活的每一天、都是一成不變，我們會永遠活著。然而，在世上仍然有這麼多的人持有、這種無知的觀念，持續追求許多的東西，如物質，權力，名利，財富，慾望，和驕傲；好像他們的生命、在可見的未來、是不會結束的樣子。

因此，我們首先需要及時採取行動，相信我們的主耶穌基督。然後，我們可以祈求上帝、來引導我們通過這個邪惡的世界；使我們能夠有力量、及時採取行動，來導正我們的生活中的許多狀況，以提高我們的生活品質。

時間是關鍵時效的。聖經提醒我們，我們拖延、就會浪費我們的時間，因為我們生活在一邪惡的世代：

以 弗 所 書 5:15-21

15 你 們 要 謹 慎 行 事 ， 不 要 像 愚 昧 人 ， 當 像 智 慧 人 。

16 要 愛 惜 光 陰 ， 因 為 現 今 的 世 代 邪 惡 。

17 不 要 作 糊 塗 人 ， 要 明 白 主 的 旨 意 如 何 。

18 不 要 醉 酒 ， 酒 能 使 人 放 蕩 ； 乃 要 被 聖 靈 充 滿 。

19 當 用 詩 章 、 頌 詞 、 靈 歌 、 彼 此 對 說 ， 口 唱 心 和 的 讚 美 主 。

20 凡 事 要 奉 我 們 主 耶 穌 基 督 的 名 常 常 感 謝 父 神 。

21 又 當 存 敬 畏 基 督 的 心 ， 彼 此 順 服 。

With so many baby boomers coming into retirement age, there will be more seniors soon in our society. For seniors, it is important to recognize the following:

1. With the passing of many friends and old age relatives, the senior group is generally in a stage of loneliness and increasing isolation. 
2. The decaying bodily functions lead to more acute day to day problems for the senior group. Incapacity of any body function such as walking without assistance or memory loss etc  tends to reduce quality of life and adds to a general bleak depression for many seniors.
3. With life time experiences, seniors are not easily persuaded that they need help with anything let alone simple self-sustaining functions like eating and walking…  Yet continuous aging and decaying make seniors vulnerable and helpless.

The famous saying  "an old soldier never die but fading away" fits the senior group quite well. How to improve the quality of life during the remainder of one's life so that  the seniors can sail into golden sunset is indeed a keen societal issue of our days.

Whenever in doubt, it is best to ask our Creator about important life issues. The following is the Scripture description of nature of life in general and old age in particular.

Psalm 90:10
10 As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, eighty years,
Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;
For soon it is gone and we fly away.

Psalm 90:12
12 So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:14
14 O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness,
That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Actually, the Bible reminds us that few things in this world are of eternal value.

 1 Corinthians 13:13
13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

For seniors, hope is a key ingredient of a happy life. Why? Because ,for christians, the coming eternal life with our almighty ,merciful , and loving God in His glorious kingdom is much much better than what we have experienced in this life. The Bible puts it this way; 

Revelation 21:3-5
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."
5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

Because of this promise, believing seniors can look forward to a blessed future amidst many bleak circumstances.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 describe this confidence vividly.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

So  seniors need to seek faith in God accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. This is the only hope for a peaceful and joyful remaining life in this wicked world. For seniors, time is of essence because tomorrow is indeed elusive.

隨著人數眾多的嬰兒潮世代、進入退休年紀，我們的社會、將會有越來越多的老年人。對於老年人而言，重要的是要認識到以下事項：

* 隨著許多朋友和老年親戚的離世，老年組群是面對著寂寞的舞台和越來越強的隔離感。

* 隨著身體機能日漸衰退，老人家每日面臨新增的難題。例如需要協助、才能走動，或記憶力減退等等；不僅降低生活的品質，更讓原已消沉的老人家、更加憂鬱。

*  歷經人生的歲月後，老人家是不容易、承認他們需要有幫助，才能執行簡單、自我維持的功能；如飲食或行走的動作呢？然而，持續的老化和衰退∙使老年人更為脆弱和無奈。

“老兵不死，只有凋零”的名言，也相當適合、描述老年人的情境。如何提高所剩人生的生活品質，讓老年人可以續航在金色的夕陽下，的確是我們目前∙一個深切的社會問題。

當有任何疑問時，最好是尋求我們的造物主、對重要人生問題的教導。以下是聖經∙對整體和尤其是老年的生命本質的描述。

我們一生的年日是七十歲，若是強壯可到八十歲，但其中所矜誇的不過是勞苦愁煩；轉眼成空，我們便如飛而去。(詩篇 90:10)

求你指教我們怎樣數算自己的日子，好叫我們得著智慧的心。(詩篇 90:12)

求你使我們早早飽得你的慈愛，好叫我們一生一世歡呼喜樂。(詩篇 90:14)

事實上，聖經提醒我們，在這個世界上、幾件有永恆價值的事情。

 如今常存的有信、有望、有愛這三樣，其中最大的是愛。(哥林多前書 13:13)

對老年人而言，希望是幸福生活的關鍵因素。為什麼呢？因為，對於基督徒來說，未來、能在祂榮耀的國度裡，與我們的全能、仁慈∙和慈愛的上帝，共渡的永恆的生命，是比我們已經歷過這一生、好得很多呢。聖經是這樣說的;

3 我聽見有大聲音從寶座出來說：「看哪，神的帳幕在人間！他要與人同住，他們要做他的子民，神要親自與他們同在，做他們的神。 4 神要擦去他們一切的眼淚，不再有死亡，也不再有悲哀、哭號、疼痛，因為以前的事都過去了。」 5 坐寶座的說：「看哪，我將一切都更新了！」又說：「你要寫上，因這些話是可信的，是真實的。」(啟示錄 21:3-5)

因為有這個承諾，信主的老年人，因為有能期待的未來，而能承受許多黯淡的情況。

哥林多後書4:16-18 淋漓盡致的描述了這種信心.

16 所以我們不喪膽，外體雖然毀壞，內心卻一天新似一天。 17 我們這至暫至輕的苦楚，要為我們成就極重無比、永遠的榮耀。 18 原來我們不是顧念所見的，乃是顧念所不見的，因為所見的是暫時的，所不見的是永遠的。(哥林多後書 4:16-18) 

因此，老年人要尋求對上帝的信仰，接受耶穌基督作為他們個人的救主，以獲得、在這邪惡的世界的剩餘壽命裡，能平安和快樂的生活。對於老年人，時間是重要的，因為明天實在難以捉摸。

You may wonder why "Finance and Women" has to do with the quality of life. In this 21st century world, how to handle one's finance is very important  to ensure the quality of life. As a matter of life, we need to have money for food and housing expenses. 

Why we choose this topic of "Finance and Women"? First, Women live longer than men on the average. It is important for wives to learn finance so that she can function well when she outlives her husband. Some wives are so ignorant of finance that they do not know where are the family assets. Some wives can not even write checks and pay bills. So it is very important for  a husband to share family resources with his wife so she can survive beyond his death. This is best love that he can show her.

It is particularly important for a young couple to share their finance resources so that survival spouse can continue to take care of their children even after unthinkable tragedy happened to one of them.

Finance is a complicated issue. A young family should have life insurance of the bread winner so that there are emergency funds for the surviving spouse to take care of the family. A will is also a prudent way of avoiding many conflicts in the family.

Finance and Women is indeed a key issue in ensuring quality of life. You may find the following verses useful:

Ps 90:12, So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

Ps 91:14, “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.

你可能想知道、為什麼 “財務與婦女” 與生活品質有關。在這21世紀的世界，要確保生活品質，如何處理自己的財務是非常重要的。因為日常的生活中，我們需要錢、來支付食衣住行的費用。

為什麼我們選擇的“財務與婦女”這個話題？首先，女性壽命平均較男性長。妻子要學習處理財務是很重要的；以便她的生命超越她的丈夫時，仍可以運作良好。有些妻子是那麼的輕乎、不管財務，她們不知道家庭的資產在哪裡。有些妻子甚至不會寫支票和支付帳單。所以，這是很重要的；一個丈夫必須與他的妻子分享家庭的資源；讓她的命比他長時、可以好好地生活。這是他能給她、愛的最好證明。

一對年輕夫婦分享他們的資源、是特別重要的。讓存活的配偶可以繼續照顧子女，即使是在他們中的一個、發生不可想像的悲劇。

財務是一個複雜的問題。一位年輕的家庭應具備有、能維持生活需要的壽險：以便有應急的資金、讓存活的配偶能照顧家庭。遺囑也是避免家庭中許多衝突的一個穩健的做法。

“財務與婦女” 確實是維持生活品質的關鍵因素。您會發現下面的詩句有助益：

詩90:12
求你指教我們怎樣數算自己的日子，好叫我們得著智慧的心。

詩91:14
神說：「因為他專心愛我，我就要搭救他；因為他知道我的名，我要把他安置在高處。

You may wonder why the freedom of choice has to do with quality of life. Actually, if you reflect carefully on your life and the societal events in general, you would find the infrastructure of quality of life has a lot to do with the freedom to choose. A few examples will show clearly that this is so.
 
你也許會奇怪，為什麼選擇的自由，會跟生活的品質有關。其實，如果你仔細思考你的生活和一般的社會活動，你會發現生活品質的基礎結構，深受選擇的自由的影響。有幾個例子清楚地表明這一關係。

Example 1- Lately, there were terrorist activities in Africa that 250 school girls were kidnaped by the Jihadist Boko Haram in the name of religion. Those school girls were either sold to be slaves or abused. Obviously, lost of freedom and being taken by heartless terrorists have a lot to do with their quality of life. The tragedy of this event demonstrates clearly the deprivation of Boko Haram in their vicious campaign of  killing innocent people. You may ask where is the justice for the kidnaped school girls.  If we multiply this kind of injustices throughout the world and throughout the human history, how can we in our conscience place our trust on the world system and accept the theory of Darwinism that the human species will evolve into a better , advanced, and more kinder and livable civilization.

例1：最近，發生了回教極端聖戰暴徒組織t Boko Haram 藉宗教的名義，在非洲綁架250女中學生的恐怖活動。將那些仍是在學的女學生，當作奴隸販賣或加以虐待。很顯然，被無情的恐怖分子綁架控制、失去了自由，大大的影響、改變了她們生活的品質。這種剝奪的悲劇事件、也清楚地顯示在Boko Haram的殺害無辜人民的惡毒宣傳影片裡。你可能會問、被綁架高中女生的正義在哪裡？如果在世界各地，並在整個人類歷史上，這種不公平的待遇、不停地重複發生；在我們的良知裡，怎麼可能信任這個世界體系，並接受達爾文的理論，說人類將進化到一個更好的，先進的，更親切和宜居的文明。

Example 2- There are many addictions in this world including alcoholism, drug abuse, gambling, power grabbing, and pornography.  An addiction is a trap that the addict cannot get oneself free. Addicts spent most of their focus on themselves and hence not only affect their quality of life but also affect those close to them. Addiction is a tragedy  for oneself, family, and society all around.

例2；在這個世界上有很多成癮事件，包括酗酒、吸毒、賭博、搶奪權力、和色情。成癮是一個陷阱，讓成癮者不能得到自己的自由 ​​。成癮者、花費他們大部分的精力、在自身的需求；因而不僅影響他們自己的生活品質，也影響到身邊的人。成癮是個人，家庭和整個社會的悲劇。

These two examples are extreme cases among many other examples of our daily living that freedom of choice affects deeply our quality of life. Freedom of choice is a sacred gift from God that a true religion will never force us to accept a belief or risk the head being cut off like those events vividly displaying in front of the world today in some parts of the world. 

這兩個例子，都是我們日常生活裡、有關選擇的自由、會深深地影響著我們的生活品質的很多例子中的極端情況。選擇的自由是上帝賜予的神聖禮物；一個真正的宗教、絕不會強迫我們接受信仰或被砍頭的風險，就像現今所見、活生生地，發生在世界部分地區的那些藉宗教殺人事件。
 
Please protect this inalienable human right in your choice of your daily activities. Watch where you spend most of your time. The following are a few reminders from the Holy Scripture;

1. Deuteronomy 6:5 -- " You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."

2. 1 Corinthians 6:12
The Body Is the Lord’s
12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.

3. 1 Corinthians 10:23
23 All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.

4. Philippians 3:8-9
8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

在你所選擇你的日常活動中，請保護這一不可剝奪的人權。小心你花你的大部分時間在何處。以下是從聖經的幾個提醒;

1申命記6：5
5 你要盡心、盡性、盡力愛耶和華你的神。

2，哥林多前書6:12
 12凡事我都可行，但不都有益處。所有的事情我都可行，但我不會被任何東西所掌握。

3，哥林多前書10:23
 23 凡事都可行，但不都有益處；凡事都可行，但不都造就人。

4，腓立比書3：8-9
8更重要的是，我指望所有的事情要考慮認識我主基督耶穌，我為他已經丟棄萬事損失的超越價值的損失，並計算它們是垃圾，這樣我要得著基督，9可在他裡面，不是有自己的從法衍生的義，乃是有信基督，這是來自上帝的信仰的基礎上的公義，

The title of this article was taken from a conversion from a friend. He related an incident when asking a new acquaintance where she came from. She answered that "I am from where people eat poisoned foods".  Amazing, isn't it? The scope of poisoned foods from greedy merchants are so vast that the consequences of poisoned foods are impacting all walks of life in this generation and the future generations as well after you and I are gone.

 
這篇文章的標題是轉述一個朋友的經歷；當他詢問一個新朋友來自何處時，她回答說：“我來自人們吃有毒食品的地方”。令人吃驚的回答，不是嗎？貪婪的商人所製造有毒食物的範圍是如此廣泛，有毒食物巨大的影響後果，不只衝擊到這一代生活的各方面，也會傷及、你我離開以後的世世代代。

Indeed, this is a pervert generation. It seems that there is no right or wrong anymore. This relativism has permeated throughout the world, whether in eastern  or western societies. Here are a few latest examples;

的確，這是一個變態的世代。看來，人們心中是沒有對與錯的分別了。這種相對主義、已經滲透到世界各地，無論是在東方還是西方社會。下面是一些最新的例子;

1. Merchants used the trench oil as cooking oil and contaminated many processed foods. Various harmful contaminations were also found in the imported foods from worldwide areas. 
2. Flours were contaminated that impacted noodles, biscuits, and other processed foods
3. Evil merchants color the yellow croaker fish with gold color powder paint to indicate the freshness of the fish for higher  sale prices.
4. Restaurants use boron to make shrimps bigger and fresher

1. 商人用地溝油作為食用油，污染許許多多的加工食品。從世界各地進口的食品中，也驗出各式的有害汙染物。
2.  麵粉被污染了，影響到麵食，餅乾及其他加工食品
3.  邪惡的商人，用金色粉末塗料、將黃花魚染色，增加魚的新鮮度，來提高成交價。
4.  餐廳使用的硼砂，讓蝦看起來、更大、更新鮮。

You may recall, just a few years ago, that the infants' formula were contaminated that caused death to many infants.  Even dog foods were contaminated. The collection of trench oils, reprocess them, and then resell them as cooking oil were reported years ago as well. Even eggs can be faked by chemical substances. No wonder that "I came from where people eat poisoned foods".

你可能還記得，就在幾年前，嬰兒奶粉的配方被污染、導致死亡的嬰兒。甚至狗糧、也受到污染。地溝油的收集，重新處理它們，然後轉售為食用油的報導，這幾年也時有所聞。即使雞蛋可以用化學物質來偽造。難怪有人說：“我來自人們吃中毒食品的地方”。
 
We may ask where are the government  food inspectors. We all know the answers. Corruption is on  a rampage that no integrity exists in many governmental systems across the world. The phenomena apply to many countries indeed.

我們可能會問，負責檢驗、為老百姓把關的政府及其食品檢查員都在哪裡？我們都知道答案。貪污腐敗是如此的猖獗，政府體制已失去功能，已沒有誠信存在了。這種現象確實發生於許多國家。

Since quality of food definitely affects our quality of life, what can you do.  Not too much if you can not place confidence in any cultures or systems. You probably will laugh at the suggestion that we are hopeless unless we, as a society ,return to the teaching of the Scripture. When there is no absolute right and wrong in a post-modernism culture, this poisoned food environment is what we reap. 

由於食物的品質、肯定會影響我們生活的品量。你能做些什麼？沒什麼用處, 如果你不能信賴任何文化或制度系統。你可能會嘲笑我們的建議，除非，整個社會，回歸到聖經的教導, 我們是沒有希望的。在後現代主義的文化中、沒有絕對的對與錯，這種有毒的食物環境，是我們的自食惡果。

Someone may say that this is due to the evils of the capitalism. This is definite not the whole truth because the poisoned foods come from all kind of political systems, not just the capitalism system. Actually, the poisoned food phenomena are not as prevailing in U.S.A. because integrity of the food inspection is still intact without being swayed away by corruption. 

 
或許有人會說，這是資本主義的罪惡。這肯定不是全部的真相，因為有毒的食物、來自於所有類型的政治制度，而不僅僅是資本主義制度。其實，食品有毒的現象，在美國還不常見，因為食品檢驗的完整性、仍然大部分完好無損，沒有被貪污、腐敗所動搖。

Ask yourself where are the worst places for air pollution. Where are the worst places for water pollutions. Today, the earth is heavily polluted that it will have to take a great moral revolution in order that this suicidal trend can be reversed in human civilization. Just look at the following:

1. Air pollution causes damages to your lungs as well as  causes impacts to plants by acid rain.
2. Chemical pollution has  great damages to your health through mercury and other heavy metal poison to sea foods.
3. Pollution of pesticides has great damages to your genes and posterity. Furthermore, pollution of artificial man-made substances such as food additives, plastics, and preservatives are so wide spread that our children suffer from many birth defects and diseases.

問問你自己，那裡是空氣污染最糟糕的地方？哪裡是水污染最嚴重的地方？今天，地球是被重度污染了，它需要有一個全體的道德重整革命，才能扭轉在這人類文明裡、自我毀滅的傾向。試想一下，下面的情況：

1. 空氣污染，會損害你的肺，同樣的，酸雨會傷害植物。
2. 化學污染，經由汞等重金屬中毒的海鮮，對健康有極大的傷害。
3. 農藥污染，具有很大的破壞於你的基因和子孫後代。此外，人造物質、所造成的汙染，如食品添加劑、塑化劑和防腐劑污染，是如此廣泛的分佈；我們的子孫、將被許多天生缺陷和疾病所害。

In 21th century, after the great enlightenment of self-awaking plus great revolution of "everything goes", we human being species has evolved through the Darwinism to this kind of advanced civilization which, in last 100 years, produced two world wars, Korean war, Vietnam war, Cambodia massacre, countless regional wars, and endless conflicts in Africa , Middle East, and Asia, even today. Food pollution is nothing but a small episode of much larger global issues.

在21世紀，自我覺醒的啟蒙，加上“一切都行、見怪不怪”的大革命後；我們人類物種，從達爾文主義中進化、到此一先進的文明當中，在過去的100年中，歷經了兩次世界大戰、朝鮮戰爭、越南戰爭、柬埔寨的大屠殺，無數的局部戰爭；在非洲、中東和亞洲，甚至到今天、無休止的衝突。食品污染也不過是、全球性更大的問題裡的一個小插曲而已。

Don't you think that we should return to our Creator for a change before we completely go full speed to our self destruction process on a global scale! 

難道你不覺得，在我們全球性、全速衝向，自我毀滅的過程前、我們應該回到我們的造物主，尋求一個改變。

We all can recall the landing of our species on the moon not many years ago and the beautiful picture of the earth taken from the moon. Indeed, what a beautiful picture of the Earth from the space. The earth is our home for all human race. There is only one and no more. Yet, you may ask what are we doing to it today. You can even see the garbages floating in the middle of all the oceans. It is indeed sad, isn't it?

我們都記得、不是很多年前、我們人類登陸了月球和從月球上拍攝地球的美麗照片。的確，從太空看到的地球，是一幅多麼美麗的畫面。地球是我們所有人類的家園。我們只有一個地球。然而，你可能會問，今天我們對地球做了什麼？你甚至可以看到垃圾、漂浮在所有的海洋中。這實在是可悲的，不是嗎？

Here are a few reminders from the Scripture:

Ephesians 4:20-24

20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Luke 6:43-45

43 For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. 44 For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. 45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

Mark 7:14-16
The Heart of Man
14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. 16 [If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

2 Corinthians 7:1
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

The Hope of the Human Race

Revelation 21:1-7
The New Heaven and Earth
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. 7 He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.

下面是來自聖經的幾個提醒：

以弗所書 4:20-24
20 你們學了基督，卻不是這樣。 21 如果你們聽過他的道，領了他的教，學了他的真理， 22 就要脫去你們從前行為上的舊人，這舊人是因私慾的迷惑漸漸變壞的； 23 又要將你們的心志改換一新， 24 並且穿上新人，這新人是照著神的形象造的，有真理的仁義和聖潔。

路加福音 6:43-45
43 「因為沒有好樹結壞果子，也沒有壞樹結好果子。 44 凡樹木看果子就可以認出它來。人不是從荊棘上摘無花果，也不是從蒺藜裡摘葡萄。 45 善人從他心裡所存的善就發出善來，惡人從他心裡所存的惡就發出惡來；因為心裡所充滿的，口裡就說出來。

馬可福音 7:14-15
心裡的汙穢
14 耶穌又叫眾人來，對他們說：「你們都要聽我的話，也要明白。 15 從外面進去的不能汙穢人，唯有從裡面出來的乃能汙穢人。

哥林多後書 7:1
7 親愛的弟兄啊，我們既有這等應許，就當潔淨自己，除去身體、靈魂一切的汙穢，敬畏神，得以成聖。

人類種族的希望

啟示錄 21:1-7
新天新地
21 我又看見一個新天新地，因為先前的天地已經過去了，海也不再有了。 2 我又看見聖城新耶路撒冷由神那裡從天而降，預備好了，就如新婦裝飾整齊等候丈夫。3 我聽見有大聲音從寶座出來說：「看哪，神的帳幕在人間！他要與人同住，他們要做他的子民，神要親自與他們同在，做他們的神。 4 神要擦去他們一切的眼淚，不再有死亡，也不再有悲哀、哭號、疼痛，因為以前的事都過去了。」 5 坐寶座的說：「看哪，我將一切都更新了！」又說：「你要寫上，因這些話是可信的，是真實的。」6 他又對我說：「都成了！我是阿拉法，我是俄梅戛；我是初，我是終。我要將生命泉的水白白賜給那口渴的人喝。 7 得勝的，必承受這些為業：我要做他的神，他要做我的兒子。

我們神是獨一的主

以色列阿，你要聽！耶和華 ─ 我們神是獨一的主。

你要盡心, 盡性、盡力愛耶和華─你的神。(申6:4-5)

There is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.(See 1 Coringthians 8:6)

然而我們只有一位神,就是父,

萬物都本於他,我們也歸於他.

並有一位主,就是耶穌基督,

萬物都是藉著他有的, 我們也是藉著他有的。(歌林多前書 8:6)

Supremacy of Jesus Christ our Lord - Phil 2:9-11; Col 1:15-20

The name which is above every name that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

主耶穌的絕對優越性—無不口稱耶穌為主 (西 1:15-20)

所以，神將他升為至高，

又賜給他那超乎萬名之上的名， 叫一切在天上的、地上的，和地底下的，因耶穌的名無不屈膝，無不口稱耶穌基督為主，使榮耀歸與父神。(腓2:9-11)

Inerrancy of Holy Scripture - Psalm 19:7-9, Matt 5:18

Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

聖經的精確性(詩 19:7-9)

Glorious Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ which demonstrates the love of God - John 3:16-18

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of Go

主耶穌榮耀無比的十字架

神愛世人，甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們，叫一切信他的，不至滅亡，反得永生。 因為神差他的兒子降世，不是要定世人的罪，乃是要叫世人因他得救。 信他的人，不被定罪；不信的人，罪已經定了，因為他不信神獨生子的名。

(約翰福音 3:16-18)



Obedience to God is much better than offering sacrifices - Hos 6:6

我喜愛良善（或譯：憐恤），

不喜愛祭祀；

喜愛認識神，勝於燔祭。

(何西阿書 6:6)

For I delight in loyalty 

 rather than sacrifice. 

And in the knowledge of 
God rather than burnt 
offerings. 

(Hos 6:6)

The righteous shall live by faith alone - Habbakuk 2:4

義人因信得生  迦勒底人自高自大，心不正直；惟義人因信得生。(哈巴谷書2:4)

Self-denial and be patient in enduring afflictions are the God's ways for us in following Jesus Christ our Lord - Matthew 16:24

於是耶穌對門徒說：若有人要跟從我，就當捨己，背起他的十字架來跟從我。

(馬太福音 16:24)

Goal of Redemption is in Sanctification of the Spirit, through Obedience to Jesus Christ, and be Holy to the LORD. Be Ye Holy, For I am Holy.

(1 Peter 1:15-16; Lev 11:45)

救贖的目的是藉著聖靈，順服耶穌基督，歸耶和華為聖。 你們要聖潔，因為我是聖潔的。（彼得前書1:15-16; 利11:45）

 pastor@reminderfromapastor.org 
(925) 482-6458