關於 alienated relationship ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

You’ve Been Freed to Choose!

“Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”” (Genesis‬ ‭2:16-17‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not inherently evil. God Himself has the knowledge of good and evil.

He is able to discern between good and evil, and being able to recognize evil is not a sin. In fact, it is needed for judging righteously. A judge must be able to reward what is good and condemn what is evil.

“Yahweh God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand, and also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...”” (Genesis‬ ‭3:22‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

What made it a sin for man to eat from the tree was God’s commandment, “You shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Transgressing God’s command is a crime resulting in the penalty of death—being utterly alienated from God’s goodness.

The all-knowing God gave us the gift of free choice. He wants us to choose to obey Him out of love and not be forced to do it. He desires a real Father-child relationship with us.

To redeem us from the fall, God sent His Son to become a Man, to suffer a bloody death on the cross. There, Jesus bore all the punishment for the sins of the world. He took it so that we wouldn’t have to.

Jesus appeased all of God’s righteous requirements, and today, we are free to enjoy parental love and goodness from God.

Since all of your sins have been righteously punished in Jesus’ body, you are free to obey God out of love, and not because you fear God’s punishment.

“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God. We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. In this love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, even so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.” (1 John‬ ‭4:15-19‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

If you have believed and confessed that Jesus is Lord, the Holy Spirit remains in you and you are in Christ. God loves you and has redeemed you. This can never be changed.

Your reborn spirit is as holy, perfect and righteous as Jesus is right now. This truth should cast out all fear of punishment, freeing you to love God and fellow men by choice.

“Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s.” (1 John‬ ‭2:15-16‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

Of course, being free to choose means you can decide to indulge in the fleeting pleasures of sin and the lusts of the world. But you should know that it won’t make you happy, and that sowing seeds of sin still bears the fruit of death in your life, culminating in physical death.

“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans‬ ‭8:12-13‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

As I mentioned earlier, God is a righteous judge who rewards the good and condemns the evil. All your sins have been condemned and punished in Jesus, so all that’s left is to wait for your rewards.

There is a time for receiving rewards, but it is not in this mortal lifetime. Every time you choose to walk in faith, hope and love for Jesus’ sake, you are increasing your rewards.

You will have boldness in the day of judgment because it is not a time for punishment, but a time for receiving rewards. Are you ready for the awards ceremony in God’s kingdom?

Learn more about eternal rewards in my book “Sandcastles Don’t Last Forever”. I believe it contains revelations that we need in these last days—

Digital eBook version: http://bit.ly/sandcastlesdontlastforever

Physical paperback book version: https://www.amazon.com/Sandcastles-Dont-Last-Forever-Biblical/dp/172671327X

駐華大使回家果然開始助選了，他說北京根本隱瞞疫情，本來在武漢就能結束的事情變成了全球大災難。

Terry阿叔以前說習大大是他老朋友，川普說Terry阿叔認識北京官場所有人，本來中方期待Terry阿叔作為雙方的和事佬，結果習大大成功的把和事佬變成鬧事佬。蒸蚌。

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Asked whether he will campaign on behalf of Trump, who may be relying on Branstad to help swing key Midwestern states, the ambassador said that "if the President asks me to appear at some of his events, I will, as I did in 2016."

我會幫川穩定中西部州，就像2016那樣。

He implied that China may have taken advantage of Trump's personal relationship with Xi, saying the US President was initially willing to believe "what (China) said about the virus and then he and the rest of the world found out what they said was not true."

大使的意思是川普一開始相信了習大大，結果全世界都發現習沒說實話。

"The mistreatment of the Uyghurs, what they've done in Hong Kong and the South China Sea, they've alienated a lot of people in the rest of the world," Branstad said. "India, which has been a neutral country, what they've done to India has caused them real problems," he added, referring to ongoing tensions on the countries' shared border in the Himalayas.

「他們對維吾爾、香港、南海的行為使大家結成聯盟，印度一直是中立國，但他們惹印度就是給自己惹麻煩。」

Branstad's son Eric is a senior adviser to Trump Victory 2020, the joint fundraising committee between the campaign and the Republican National Committee, and in a recording tweeted by Eric last week, Trump said that the elder Branstad was "coming home from China because he wants to campaign."

Terry叔叔的兒子艾瑞克是川普競選團隊的資深顧問，川普說艾瑞克先前推特有說阿爸要回來助選。

The Trump campaign believes that Branstad -- as a popular former governor -- could have an impact on voters in Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri and even Minnesota, according to two sources familiar.

因為Terry叔在愛荷華受歡迎，在威斯康辛、密蘇里、明尼蘇達都有都有影響力。

Outgoing US ambassador to China blames Beijing for coronavirus as he heads home to help Trump https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/18/asia/china-us-ambassador-terry-branstad-intl-hnk/index.html

God’s hand is all over Esther’s story of promotion from an ordinary Jewish orphan girl, to the queen of the mighty Persian empire.

To replace Vashti, a beauty pageant was to be prepared and conducted, to see which young woman would win the king’s heart.

“So it came about when the king’s command and his decree were proclaimed and when many young women were gathered together in the citadel of Susa into the custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken to the king’s palace [and placed] in the custody of Hegai, who was in charge of the women. Now the young woman pleased Hegai and found favor with him. So he quickly provided her with beauty preparations and her [portion of] food, and he gave her seven choice maids from the king’s palace; then he transferred her and her maids to the best place in the harem.” ‭‭(ESTHER‬ ‭2:8-9‬ ‭AMP‬‬)

Many young women were entered into the pageant, the competition was intense. With so many beautiful women gathered together in the same space, tensions, jealousy and envy must have burned at an all-time high.

However, the Bible does not depict Esther as being caught up in any drama or palace politics.

It feels like she just minded her own business and was restful about the whole thing.

The favor that she received from the eunuch Hegai appears to be supernatural too—God’s hand in this is evident in the “seven choice maids”, as 7 is the number of God’s perfection.

Are you in a situation where there are lots of competitors, many of them just as talented as you, and you need an edge over them?

Rely on God to grant you favor like He did for Esther.
God can turn the heart of a person of influence in your favor if you will trust in Him.

I personally believe that Esther was a believer in the God of Israel, that she would have prayed for her needs.

She would most likely have prayed for God’s favor in the beauty pageant, and her faith in His provision can explain why she never seems to participate in any scheming or politicking.

Look at the opulent way in which each young woman in the beauty pageant was prepared for the king:

“Now when it was each young woman’s turn to go before King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women--for the days of their beautification were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with [sweet] spices and perfumes and the beauty preparations for women-- then the young woman would go before the king in this way: anything that she wanted was given her to take with her from the harem into the king’s palace. In the evening she would go in and the next morning she would return to the second harem, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he delighted in her and she was summoned by name.” ‭‭(ESTHER‬ ‭2:12-14‬ ‭AMP‬‬)

12 is the number of covenant relationship (twelve tribes of Israel, twelve disciples of Jesus) and 6 is the number of man (Man was made on the sixth day of creation, and 666 represents a man [antichrist] in his most depraved form, alienated from God’s nature).

In our covenant relationship with God (12-month beautification process), we depend on His favor, but that doesn’t mean that we do nothing and just sit there waiting for God to drop what we need from the sky.

There’s still a part where we have to walk, believing that His favor will flow in our lives as we are on the go.
His favor causes what we do to prosper and succeed.

Hence, the 6 months of oil of myrrh and 6 months of perfume.

Depending on God’s favor doesn’t mean that you only wait for the supernatural and miraculous and totally abandon the natural.

Esther still went through the beautification process like everybody else.

I’m sure she didn’t say “God is on my side and will grant me favor to win even without all this. I’m not even going to bathe or brush my teeth to prove that it’s all God’s favor!”

No, God can also use natural things to accomplish His purposes. The key is to be led by the Holy Spirit—do what He tells us to do. That’s godly wisdom.

So please carry on brushing your teeth, using moisturizer, whatever beauty products, and if your doctor has prescribed you medicine, carry on taking it unless God has clearly spoken to you that you don’t need to.

Now, read the following passage carefully because it reveals Esther’s secret of receiving God’s favor:

“Now as for Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her in as his [own] daughter, when her turn came to go in to the king, she requested nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch [and attendant] who was in charge of the women, advised. And Esther found favor in the sight of all who saw her. So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, to his royal palace in the tenth month, that is, the month of Tebeth (Dec-Jan), in the seventh year of his reign. Now the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she found favor and kindness with him more than all the [other] virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen in the place of Vashti.” ‭‭(ESTHER‬ ‭2:15-17‬ ‭AMP‬‬)

The name of Esther’s father Abihail means “The Father is Might”.
Esther relied on God as her might. She didn’t request for anything except for what Hegai the king’s eunuch advised.

In this part of Esther’s story, the eunuch represents the Holy Spirit.
True sons of God are led by the Holy Spirit and not by the Law which requires their own strength and ability.

Esther didn’t rely on her own smarts or understanding, but fully trusted in God to grant her favor:

“Trust in and rely confidently on the LORD with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].” ‭‭(PROVERBS‬ ‭3:5-6‬ ‭AMP‬‬)

By submitting to God’s authority, she was demonstrating true humility, qualifying her to receive grace:

“Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble.” ‭‭(Proverbs‬ ‭3:34‬ ‭NKJV‬‬)

Esther’s original name is “Hadassah” which means myrtle. The myrtle flower is star-shaped, having five petals.

The name she received later on, Esther, means star.

By relying on God’s favor, the star on earth (myrtle) was elevated to the heavens—from a common foreigner, to royalty in the palace!

In Chinese culture, we love to hear palace stories about how the protagonist goes through storms in life with lots of drama, using his or her intelligence and skills to defeat evil and attain happiness.

Such stories inspire us and make us feel like that person truly deserves the happiness that he or she received in the end.

This is fleshly because it champions man’s own abilities and methods. Oftentimes, such protagonists use underhand strategies that God would frown upon.

However, Esther’s story shows us that it is still possible for a story to be restful, smooth-sailing and still wonderfully inspiring.
It was none of her own smarts or efforts, and all of God’s favor.

You may begin as a star-shaped flower on earth, but when you rely on God’s grace (unmerited favor), the Lord will greatly exalt you in the sight of all—you become a rising star in the heavens to shine for His glory!

This devotional is just one issue from my ongoing Bible Study series for patrons on Patreon.
It’s called “New Beginnings with God” because the Holy Spirit wants to show us how to navigate this new year to go from a small beginning to a greatly increased end.

It’s not too late to join in now. You’ll receive the past 8 issues of “New Beginnings with God” and a new one every weekday in our GEM WhatsApp Chat Group when you become a “God Every Morning” tier or above patron on Patreon.

Additionally, my new ebook “Messiah’s Miracles—The Power of Having Faith in Jesus Christ” is almost ready. All GEM tier and above patrons will receive it too once it’s ready.

Here’s what a beta reader said about it:
“Thank you, Milton for the anointed sharing of the 37 Miracles of Jesus. Right from the 1st miracle, God dropped fresh revelations of His heart to me. It wasn't head knowledge that I experienced, I felt His personality, His loving heart's intents towards me. On top of that, there's also revelation of His healing power. Praise Jesus for transforming my heart and bringing me closer to Him through Milton's sharing.” - Ann Tan, GEM tier patron from Singapore

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