Dear Listening Friends,
Welcome to our program 愛的凱歌Adore Him, I'm Judy. As the seventh lunar month is approaching, many Taiwanese people observe it as the ghost month, with taboos, fears, and worries. However, as a fourth-generation Christian, I pay little attention to this and prefer to call it "The Month of Peace."
I remember my church sister's experience growing up in a conservative family with folk beliefs. She felt like she would never have the chance to trust in Jesus. As a child, she faced many problems at home. Every time she walked home from school, the closer she got to home, the heavier her steps became. There were several occasions when she wanted to run away from her family, but she didn't know where she could go. Even though she tried to ignore everything and run away at first, her mother's excessive dependence on her, driven by a sense of responsibility, accused by the conscience of morality, and various feelings of guilt, made it difficult for her to escape. In the end, she had no choice but to go back home. One day, when she was in sixth grade, she couldn't take it anymore. She looked up at the sky and cried in her heart, "If there is a true God in the world, if you see my sorrows, if you see all the fears in my heart, please help me." A few years later, under the guidance of a Christian teacher, she went to church and came to know Jesus, who gave her true peace.
At the beginning of today's episode, I talked about the seven lunar months and shared a personal story to introduce my upcoming plan. In the upcoming episodes, I plan to feature Christian songs performed as piano solos to encourage contemplation on God’s peace, particularly during the "Month of Peace." Even though the “Month of Peace” is NOT a festival in the church calendar, it reminds us of the church's role in Taiwanese society and culture, emphasizing mission, evangelism, and caring for those who have not yet believed in Christ.
Yet, when it comes to evangelism, it is not easy to share the God who gives true peace with the people around me. Sometimes, I can be a little timid personally. The following is a personal experience from the past, hoping to inspire each other.
Once, I rode my scooter to and from work every day, passing by a small bungalow not far away. For some reason, that seemingly inconspicuous little bungalow always caught my eye. Instead of considering the opportunity to get to know the people who lived there, I prayed for them, hoping they would find peace and salvation through Jesus.
Since then, I prayed for the family every time I passed by that little bungalow. Eight or nine years later, after a church Sunday service, I talked with a man who had visited our church for the first time that day. As we chatted, he shared his story of how he came to trust in Jesus. ...... Also, he mentioned that even though he was a local, he had spent most of his young life working in the city and rarely lived in this area. However, he recently returned one or two times a week to share the gospel of Christ with his other relatives. And when he told me the location of his residence, I felt amazed and grateful for God's wonderful work. It turned out that the small bungalow I used to pass by and pray for almost every day was his home.
2 Corinthians 5:14-21 says:
"For Christ's love compels us because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
At the end of today's program, I would like to share a Christian song, "Peace Is Like Starlight," which consists of four stanzas. In the first verse, lyricist Mary Ann Snowball describes peace in terms of God-created nature: flowers blooming in spring, falling leaves in autumn, melting snow covering mountains, and stars in the night sky after a storm. The second stanza uses symphonies, paintings, poems, and stories as metaphors for peace. Verses 3 and 4 talk about God feeding the crowd with manna, our heavenly Father answering prayers, and our savior redeeming us on the cross to take away the sins of the world, all to illustrate what peace is or what it is like."
The Chinese and English lyrics for "Peace Is Like Starlight" are compared in the program's information section. In this podcast episode, I invited Vivien to play this Christian song on the piano and asked my friend Gloria to read the lyrics in English to us along with the music.
Finally, If you enjoy this song, please share it with your friends, and may the God of true peace do beautiful things among us. See you next week!
❤️ We welcome feedback and comments: https://open.firstory.me/story/clrq2cwjl01k401v51igm6r6f?m=comment
❤️ 愛的凱歌 Adore Him: https://he-is-the-one-we-adore.firstory.io/
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Hi, 各位聽眾朋友們，平安！歡迎收聽愛的凱歌(Adore Him)，我是Judy。
再過不久，就是農曆七月。農曆七月對許多台灣人並不感到陌生。人們稱農曆七月為鬼月；在這個月中，有許多的禁忌與忌諱，害怕與擔憂。其實我是第四代基督徒，對於這個月份，不會特別去關注，但不記得從什麼時候開始，或者從哪個教會或機構開始發起的運動，每逢農曆七月，教會不稱農曆七月為鬼月，取而代之，稱這個月為「平安七月節。」
記得以前有位老姐妹跟我分享，她生活與生長在非常保守、崇拜民間信仰的家族裡。在那樣的環境下，她認為自己應該一輩子都很難有機會信耶穌。小時候家裡有諸多的問題，讓他們每次放學走路回家的路程中，越接近家門，腳步越發沉重。雖然好幾次，她很想拔腿就跑，遠離家庭，但她卻不知道可以逃往何處。即便曾經試過什麼都不管，先逃家再說，但母親對她過度的依賴、責任感的驅使、良心道德的譴責，以及各種負罪感，讓她在逃跑的過程中喘不過氣來，最終只能無奈地選擇回家。
當我正好奇詢問她是如何信耶穌時，她緊接著說，有一天—大約是小學六年級時—她再也受不了了，她對著天空仰望，心中大聲地吶喊：「如果世界上存在著一位真神，如果祢看見我的愁苦憂悶、看見我心中的各樣恐懼，請祢幫助我。」幾年後，她在一個基督徒老師的帶領下，到了教會，認識賜給她真平安的耶穌。
為何今天節目一開始提到農曆七月，以及那位老姐妹的信主見證呢？從今天這集podcast開始，未來的一個多月，如同往常，在節目的最後會和大家分享一首詩歌。雖然每次分享詩歌的形式不同，有時候是弦樂四重奏、有時則是管樂四重奏、又或者有時候是雙鋼琴、或人聲加上器樂的形式呈現，但未來這幾週，想要單單以鋼琴獨奏的形式呈現所要分享的詩歌。希望透過單一、一種樂器的表現，讓大家也能夠單單地聆聽詩歌，甚至進而讓我們，藉由即將到來的農曆七月，再次思想什麼是「平安」？神所賜給我們的「平安」是什麼？
當然，「農曆七月—平安七月節」，從來不是教會年曆中的節期，我想，「平安七月節」是教會或者基督徒面對台灣社會與文化的處境，提醒我們對宣教與傳福音的熱忱不要止息，以及對尚未信主、身處恐懼不安的靈魂之愛與關懷。
其實，說到傳福音，和身邊的人分享賜下真平安的神，不是一件簡單的事，對我個人而言，有時候也會有些膽怯。以下分享個人過去的經歷，希望能給我們彼此帶來激勵。
曾經有一段時間，每天騎摩特車上下班的途中，不遠處，一定會經過一間小平房。也不知道為什麼，那間看似不起眼的小平房，總是很吸引我的注意。我就想，與其想著有一天有機會能夠認識住在那個房子裡的人，倒不如為住在那個屋子的人禱告，希望耶穌的救恩與平安能夠臨到他（或者他們）。從此以後，每次路過那個小平房，我就為這個家庭禱告。過了八、九年後，有一天教會主日崇拜結束後，當天第一次來到我們教會的弟兄，和我聊天。聊著聊著，他開始分享如何信耶穌的經過。其中他提到，雖然他是本地人，但年輕時到都市打拼，幾乎不住這裡，這幾年因為信主後，希望能夠傳福音給家族的人，才開始鄉下與都市兩邊跑。聊天過程中，他主動告訴我他家住在哪裡，而他家四周圍的房子，全部都是他的親戚，目前只有他這一戶信主。當他告訴我，他家是哪一戶、什麼時候信主、又如何信主時，我非常訝異、心裡非常的激動也非常感激神奇妙的作為。原來我幾乎每天經過、代禱的那戶小平房，就是這位弟兄的家。
在即將到來的「平安七月節」，想要邀請大家，在未來的幾週，讓我們一同默想、感謝與禱告賜給我們真平安的神，也願透過個人的見證，讓我們一同被基督的愛激勵。如同哥林多後書5:14-21這麼說道：
「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；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。所以，我們從今以後，不憑著外貌認人了。雖然憑著外貌認過基督，如今卻不再這樣認他了。若有人在基督裡，他就是新造的人，舊事已過，都變成新的了。一切都是出於神，他藉著基督使我們與他和好，又將勸人與他和好的職分賜給我們。這就是神在基督裡叫世人與自己和好，不將他們的過犯歸到他們身上，並且將這和好的道理託付了我們。」
今天節目的尾聲，要和大家分享的詩歌為〈平安如星光〉(“Peace Is like Starlight”)；歌詞總共有四節。作詞者Mary Ann Snowball在第一節歌詞中，以神創造的大自然，例如春天綻放的花朵、秋天的落葉、覆蓋在山上正在融化的雪、以及暴風雨過後夜空中的星光，來形容平安像是什麼。第二節歌詞，Mary Ann Snowball則以交響樂、繪畫、創作詩詞與寫故事等作為比喻，形容平安像是什麼。第三、第四節歌詞，則是以嗎哪餵養人群、對不受接納的人付出愛與關懷、天父垂聽禱告、救主耶穌在十架上救贖我們，除去世人的罪…等等來述說平安是什麼，或平安像是什麼。
在節目的資訊欄，有提供〈平安如星光〉(“Peace Is like Starlight”) 的中、英文歌詞對照。另外，在這集的podcast，除了邀請Vivien為我們鋼琴獨奏這首詩歌，同時也邀請我在美國認識的好朋友Gloria，伴隨著這首詩歌的旋律，為我們朗讀這首詩歌的英文詩詞。
最後，若您覺得這首詩歌很棒，歡迎您和身邊的朋友分享，願賜下真平安的神在我們當中作奇妙美事。我們下週見！
❤️ We welcome feedback and comments: https://open.firstory.me/story/clrq2cwjl01k401v51igm6r6f?m=comment
❤️ 愛的凱歌 Adore Him: https://he-is-the-one-we-adore.firstory.io/
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✏️ 〈平安如星光〉(“Peace Is like Starlight”)
詞｜Words by Mary Ann W. Snowball
曲｜Music by Kevin G. Pace
鋼琴獨奏編曲｜Piano Solo Arrangement by Kevin G. Pace
演奏｜Performed by Vivien Lin
Stanza 1
Peace is like starlight in the night sky after the clatter of storm.
Peace is the melting of snow-capped peaks bringing the whole world it’s warmth.
Peace is the blossom in a new Spring bursting its head from the ground.
Peace is the falling of autumn leaves, twirling and spinning around.
平安就像暴風雨過後夜空中的星光。
平安是白雪皚皚的山峰的融化，給整個世界帶來溫暖。
平安是新春的花朵，從土裡迸發出頭。
平安是秋葉飄落，在空中旋轉（起舞）和旋轉（跳躍）。
Stanza 2
Peace is the music of symphony after much practice and time.
Peace is the poet’s stanza and verse, joining each word and each rhyme.
Peace is an artist’s palette and shade, covering canvasses well.
Peace is a story written of old filled with a dear life to tell.
平安是經過大量練習和時間的交響樂。
平安是詩人的詩節和詩句，連接著每個單詞和每個韻律。
平安是藝術家的調色板和色彩的明暗/陰影，很好地覆蓋了畫布。
平安是一個充滿著敘述珍貴生命的古老故事。
Stanza 3
Peace is a baby’s smile once more, after a sickness has passed.
Peace is surpassing personal goals, even when coming in last.
Peace is like manna feeding a crowd when there is never enough.
Peace is accepting those who seem strange, giving them unending love.
平安是嬰孩在疾病過去之後，再次露出的微笑。
平安超越個人的目標，即使是在最後。
平安就像嗎哪，在永遠覺得不夠的時候，餵養人群。
平安是接納那些看起來很奇怪的人，給他們無盡的愛。
Stanza 4
Peace is our Father’s answer to prayer when trusting faith has been shown.
Peace is sure wisdom, finally gained, like a new truth to be known.
Peace is our Savior righting each wrong, covering sin through his cross.
Peace is our knowing his love will last so we will never be lost.
平安是當信靠神的信心顯現出來時，天父對我們禱告的回應。
平安是肯定、確實的智慧，當最終獲得時，彷彿一個新的真理被知曉/被認識。
平安是我們的救主糾正每個錯誤，藉由通過祂的十架遮掩我們的罪惡。
平安是我們認識神的愛，知到祂的愛永遠常存，所以我們永不失落。
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✏️ 背景音樂 (Background Music)
🎼 〈주가 일하시네〉（主正在行奇事）
🎼 詞曲｜Words and Music by 이혁진 （李赫鎭）
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🎼〈이 땅에 오직〉(在地上只有)
🎼 詞曲｜Words and Music by 정종원 (鄭鍾元)
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🎼 演奏｜Performer: Judy Lin
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✏️封面相片｜Cover Photo: Judy Lin
