Verses from Mark and Romans

十二门徒中的一个，就是加略人犹大，去见祭司长，要把耶稣交给他们。(马可福音 14:10)

唯有基督在我们还作罪人的时候为我们死，神对我们的爱就在此显明了。(罗马书 5:8)

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. (Mark 14:10)

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

British pastor Joseph Parker was asked, “Why did Jesus choose Judas to be one of His disciples?” He thought deeply about the question for a while but could not come up with an answer. He said that he kept running into an even more baffling question: “Why did He choose me?”

That’s a question that has been asked throughout the centuries. When people become painfully aware of their sin and are overcome with guilt, they cry out to Jesus for mercy. In joyous wonder they experience the truth that God loves them, that Jesus died for them, and that they are forgiven of all their sins. It’s incomprehensible!

Have u too asked, “Why me?” God knows that the dark and sinful deeds of our lives are motivated by a heart even darker, and yet God loves us! (Rom. 5:8). We are undeserving, wretched, and helpless, yet He opens His arms and His heart to us. 

We cherish our sin. We protect it. We deny its wrongdoing. Yet God loves us enough to forgive us and set us free.

“Why me?” It’s beyond my understanding. Yet I know He loves me—and He loves you too!

God loves us not because of who we are, but because of who He is.

Verse from Mark

但耶稣说：“由她吧！为甚么难为她呢？她在我身上作的是一件美事。(马可福音 14:6)

But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. (Mark 14:6)

After being away on business, Terry wanted to pick up some small gifts for his children. The clerk at the airport gift shop recommended a number of costly items. “I don’t have that much money with me,” he said. “I need something less expensive.” The clerk tried to make him feel that he was being cheap. But Terry knew his children would be happy with whatever he gave them, because it came from a heart of love. And he was right—they loved the gifts he brought them.

During Jesus’ last visit to the town of Bethany, Mary wanted to show her love for Him (Mark 14:3-9). So she brought “an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard” and anointed Him (v.3). The disciples asked angrily, “Why this waste?” (Matt. 26:8). Jesus told them to stop troubling her, for “she has done a good work for Me” (Mark 14:6). Another translation reads, “She has done a beautiful thing to Me.” Jesus delighted in her gift, for it came from a heart of love. Even anointing Him for burial was beautiful!

What would you like to give to Jesus to show your love? Your time, talent, treasure, undivided love for Him? It doesn’t matter if it’s costly or inexpensive, whether others understand or criticize. Whatever is given from a heart of love is beautiful to Him. 

Verses from Matthew

耶稣进了耶路撒冷，全城都震动起来，他们问：“这人是谁？”大家都说：“这就是那先知耶稣，是从加利利的拿撒勒来的。”(马太福音 21:10-11)

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” (Matthew 21:10-11)

Jesus entered Jerusalem to shouts of praise from the people (Matt. 21:7-9). When others throughout the city asked, “Who is this?” the crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee” (vv.10-11). He didn’t come claiming special privileges, but in humility He came to give His life in obedience to His Father’s will.

The words Jesus said and the things He did commanded respect. Unlike insecure rulers, He never demanded that others respect Him. His greatest hours of suffering appeared to be His lowest point of weakness and failure. Yet, the strength of His identity and mission carried Jesus through the darkest hours as He died for our sins so that we might live in His love.

He is worthy of our lives and our devotion today. Do we recognize who He is?

When once you have seen Jesus, you can never be the same. —Oswald Chambers

Verses from Isaiah

原来他担当了我们的病患，背负了我们的痛苦；我们却以为他受责打，被神击打和苦待了。然而他是为了我们的过犯被刺透，为了我们的罪孽被压伤；使我们得平安的惩罚加在他身上，因他受了鞭伤，我们才得医治。(以赛亚书 53:4-5)

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)

The prophets of the Old Testament pointed the way to a coming Messiah. Thousands of years before Jesus came, they spoke of Bethlehem—Jesus’ birthplace (see Micah 5:2 and Matt. 2:1-6). They described Jesus’ death on the cross in striking detail (see Ps. 22:14-18 and John 19:23-24). And Isaiah 53:1-12 points to the sacrifice Jesus would make as the Lord “laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (v.6; see Luke 23:33).

Millennia ago, God’s Old Testament servants pointed to God’s Son—Jesus—the One who has now “borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isa. 53:4). He is the way to life.

Jesus sacrificed His life for ours.

Verse from Psalms

我永远不会忘记你的训词，因为你用这些训词使我存活。(诗篇 119:93)

I will never forget Your precepts, For by them You have revived me. (Psalms 119:93)

In times of trials and temptations, remembering His words can help you get through them. 

Verse from Luke

就在那时候，她前来称谢神，并且向期待耶路撒冷蒙救赎的众人，讲论孩子的事。(路加福音 2:38)

Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:38)

Anna was a prophetess at the time of Jesus’ birth, and her circumstances were hard (Luke 2:36-37). Widowed early and possibly childless, she may have felt purposeless and destitute. But her focus was on God and serving Him. She was yearning for the Messiah, but in the meantime she was busy about God’s business—praying, fasting, and teaching others all that she had learned from Him.

Finally the day arrived when she—now in her eighties—saw the infant Messiah in his young mother’s arms. All her patient waiting was worthwhile. Her heart sang with joy as she praised God and then passed the glad news on to others.

Lord, I don’t want to be a complainer anymore. I want to be a person who overflows with thankfulness for others and for You. May I accept whatever You give me in Your time. Show me how to start today.

It’s hard to see both God’s plan and our part. But their intersection is the best place to be.

Verses from Psalms

至高者啊！我惧怕的时候，就要倚靠你。靠着神，我要赞美他的话；我倚靠神，就必不惧怕，人能把我怎么样呢？

我倚靠神，就必不惧怕，人能把我怎么样呢？(诗篇 56:3-4, 11)

When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?

In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? (Psalms 56:3-4, 11)

Sometimes in this fallen world we move from times of peace and tranquility into the painful realm of trouble. At that point, the question is, “How will I respond?” We can be fearful and wonder why God allowed this to happen to us, or we can trust that in the midst of this trouble He is doing something that in the end is for our best, even if it hurts. We would do well to remember the words of the psalmist who wrote, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You” (Ps. 56:3).

Come quickly, Lord, to help me. Teach me to trust You in times of trouble. Remind me of Your presence and of the fact that You hold me in Your loving arms.

Cling to your heavenly Father; He is your only hope.

Verse from Galatians

弟兄们，你们蒙召得了自由；只是不可把这自由当作放纵情欲的机会，总要凭着爱心互相服事。(加拉太书 5:13)

As for you, my brothers and sisters, you were called to be free. But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. Instead, let love make you serve one another. (Galatians 5:13)

We may be free from the eternal death but we are warned to not misuse the freedom to do whatever we like. 

Verse from 1 Thessalonians

我们这样疼爱你们，不但乐意把神的福音传给你们，连自己的性命也乐意给你们，因为你们是我们所爱的。(帖撒罗尼迦前书 2:8)

so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. (1 Thessalonians 2:8)

Paul’s letter to the followers of Jesus in Thessalonica paints a picture of life-giving relationships in God’s family. “We were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children” (1 Thess. 2:7). “For you remember, [brothers and sisters], our labor and toil . . . that we might not be a burden to any of you” (v.9). “We exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children” (v.11). Like mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters, Paul and his associates shared the gospel and their lives with these fellow believers who “had become dear” to them (v.8).

In God’s family of faith, He provides mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers for us. The Lord gives His joy as we share our lives together in His grace and love.

Father, You’ve called us to serve one another. Give me a heart willing to accept the care of others. May I ask for help when I am in need and respond with a heart of grace to others when they ask me for help.

God loves you and me; let’s love one another.

Verse from Nahum

耶和华是良善的；在患难的时候，他作人的避难所；信靠他的人，他都认识。(那鸿书 1:7)

The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him. (Nahum 1:7)

In Nahum, we see God as both a refuge and a judge. It says, “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble” (1:7 niv). But it also says, “He will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness” (v.8 niv). Over 100 years earlier, Nineveh had repented after Jonah preached God’s forgiveness, and the land was safe (Jonah 3:10). But during Nahum’s day, Nineveh was plotting “evil against the Lord” (Nah. 1:11). In chapter 3, Nahum details Nineveh’s destruction.

Many people know only one side of God’s dealings with the human race but not the other. They think that He is holy and wants only to punish us, or that He is merciful and wants only to show kindness. In truth, He is judge and refuge. Peter writes that Jesus “committed Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). As a result, He “bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness” (v.24).

The whole truth about God is good news! He is judge, but because of Jesus, we can go to Him as our refuge.

Lord, never let us underestimate You by seeing only one side of Your role in our lives. Help us to enjoy Your love and kindness while recognizing how much You hate sin.

God’s justice and mercy intersect at the cross.

Verse from Judges

看哪！你必怀孕，生一个儿子；不可用剃刀剃他的头，这孩子从在母腹开始就归神作拿细耳人；他必拯救以色列人脱离非利士人的手。”(士师记 13:5)

For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines." (Judges 13:5)

When a powerful typhoon swept through the city of Tacloban, Philippines, in 2013, an estimated 10,000 people died, and many who survived found themselves homeless and jobless. Necessities became scarce. Three months later, while the town was still struggling to dig itself out from the destruction, a baby was born on a roadside near Tacloban amid torrents of rain and strong wind. Although the weather brought back painful memories, residents worked together to find a midwife and transport the mother and newborn to a clinic. The baby survived, thrived, and became a symbol of hope during a time of despair.

Forty years of Philistine oppression marked a grim period in Israel’s national history. During this time, an angel informed an Israelite woman that she would give birth to a special son (Judg. 13:3). According to the angel, the baby would be a Nazirite—a man set apart to God—and would “begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” (v.5). The infant, Samson, was a gift of hope born in a troubled time.

Trouble is unavoidable, yet Jesus has the power to rescue us from despair. Christ was born “to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace” (Luke 1:76-79).

Jesus is the hope that calms life’s storms.

Verses from Proverbs and Psalm

为要看顾正直人的路径，护卫虔诚人的道路。(箴言 2:8)

因为耶和华是公义的，他喜爱公义的行为，正直的人必得见他的面。(诗篇 11:7)

for He guards the course of the just and protects the way of His faithful ones. (Proverbs 2:8)

For the Lord is righteous, He loves justice; the upright will see His face. (Psalm 11:7)

God is not absent, He is always watching over us even when it seems that injustice is prevailing. Trust His way and His plan, and above all, trust that justice is part of His character 

Verses from Matthew

耶稣回答：“经上记着：‘人活着，不是单靠食物，更要靠神口里所出的一切话。’”

耶稣对他说：“经上又记着：‘不可试探主你的神。’”

但耶稣说：“撒但，走开！经上记着：‘当拜主你的神，单要事奉他。’”(马太福音 4:4, 7, 10)

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10)

In countries around the world, political corruption is not new. Spiritual corruption is not new either. Satan tried to lure Jesus into “selling” His convictions (Matt. 4:1-10). The tempter came to Him when He was tired and hungry. He offered Him immediate satisfaction, fresh bread in seconds, a miraculous delivery, the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

But Jesus knew better. He knew that shortcuts were dangerous enemies. They may offer a road free from suffering, but in the end the pain they carry is much worse than anything we can imagine. “It is written,” Jesus said three times during His temptation (vv.4,7,10). He held firm to what He knew was true from God and His Word.

When we are tempted, God can help us too. We can depend on Him and the truth of His Word to help us avoid dangerous shortcuts.

God’s road is not easy, but it leads to eternal satisfaction.

Verses from James

我的弟兄们，你们遭遇各种试炼的时候，都要看为喜乐；因为知道你们的信心经过考验，就产生忍耐。但忍耐要坚持到底，使你们可以完全，毫无缺乏。(雅各书 1:2-4)

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)

An unwelcome visitor that often intrudes into our lives is suffering. When trials come, we can easily panic or lose heart. But these difficult circumstances can become the instruments our loving heavenly Father uses to make us more like Christ. 

We are not expected to enjoy trials or to celebrate suffering. But when these unwelcome visitors arrive, we can look for God’s hand in them and trust that He can use them to make us more like His Son.

Trials may visit us, but our God is always with us.

Verses from Proverbs

义人的名必蒙称赞，恶人的名字却必腐朽。

行为完全的，步步安稳；行事弯曲的，终必败露。(箴言 10:7, 9)

The name of the righteous is used in blessings, but the name of the wicked will rot.

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out. (Proverbs 10:7, 9)

We seek a good reputation, to walk in integrity by trusting and obeying Him, not to honor ourselves but to glorify Christ our Lord whose name is above all names. 

Verse from Psalms

耶和华啊！求你在清晨听我的声音；我要一早向你陈明，并且迫切等候。(诗篇 5:3)

In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch. (Psalms 5:3)

The day before Billy Graham’s interview in 1982 on The Today Show, his director of public relations, Larry Ross, requested a private room for Graham to pray in before the interview. But when Mr. Graham arrived at the studio, his assistant informed Ross that Mr. Graham didn’t need the room. He said, “Mr. Graham started praying when he got up this morning, he prayed while eating breakfast, he prayed on the way over in the car, and he’ll probably be praying all the way through the interview.” Ross later said, “That was a great lesson for me to learn as a young man.”

Prayerfulness is not an event; it is a way of being in relationship with God. This kind of intimate relationship is developed when God’s people view prayerfulness as a way of life. The Psalms encourage us to begin each day by lifting our voice to the Lord (Ps. 5:3); to fill our day with conversations with God (55:17); and in the face of accusations and slander, to give ourselves totally to prayer (109:4). We develop prayer as a way of life because we desire to be with God (42:1-4; 84:1-2; 130:5-6).

Prayer is our way of connecting with God in all life’s circumstances. God is always listening. We can talk to Him any time throughout the day.

In prayer, God hears more than your words— He listens to your heart.

Verse from Isaiah

你们要仰观天空， 俯视大地； 因为诸天必像烟云消散， 大地要像衣服渐渐破旧； 其上的居民必像蠓虫死亡 ， 但我的拯救却永远长存， 我的公义也不会废去。 (以赛亚书 51:6)

"Lift up your eyes to the sky, Then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment And its inhabitants will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not wane. (Isaiah 51:6)

sometimes the Bible is so brutally honest it hurts! We consider our world, our earth, to have been here a long time and assume it will be here a long time more. But God reminds us that it is temporary. We are even more temporary: just like flies, we're here for a short while, and then we're gone. Only His salvation is eternal. 

Verse from Philippians

各人不要单顾自己的事，也要顾别人的事。(腓立比书 2:4)

not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Philippians 2:4)

Many are caught up in the process to look perfect, no thanks to the media, but how many are perfectly happy in just the way they look? 

We tend to forget that God loves us as we are—in all our imperfections. 

The secret of happiness is not getting our face right but giving our hearts away, giving our lives away, giving our selves away, in love.

A heart that is focused on others will not be consumed with self.

Verses from Psalm

耶和华要保护你脱离一切灾祸，他要保护你的性命。你出你入，耶和华要保护你，从现在直到永远。(诗篇 121:7-8)

The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. (Psalm 121:7-8)

Verse from Romans

你们接受的，不是奴仆的灵，使你们仍旧惧怕；你们接受的，是使人成为嗣子的灵，使我们呼叫“阿爸、父”。(罗马书 8:15)

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:15)

God may be the sovereign Lord of the universe, but through His Son, God became as approachable as any doting human father. 

Jesus came to demonstrate that a perfect and holy God welcomes pleas for help from a widow with two mites and a Roman centurion and a miserable publican and a thief on a cross. He is our daddy God, our Father in heaven. 

Verse from Ruth

愿耶和华照你所作的报答你；你来投靠在耶和华以色列神的翅膀下，愿他充充足足酬报你。”(路得记 2:12)

May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” (Ruth 2:12)

After Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, left Moab and returned to Israel, they received an unexpected blessing. They were both widows with no one to provide for them, so Ruth went to glean grain from a field (Ruth 2:2-3). The field happened to be owned by Boaz, a distant relative of Naomi’s. He noticed Ruth, provided for her needs, and later became her husband (2:20; 4:13). 

Sometimes God uses unexpected encounters to bring unexpected blessings.

When it comes to helping others, don’t stop at nothing.

Verse from John

于是耶稣又说：“我实实在在告诉你们，我就是羊的门。(约翰福音 10:7)

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. (John 10:7)

He places Himself between us and our enemy, the devil, to protect us from spiritual harm.

The closer to the Shepherd, the farther from the wolf.

Verse from Hebrews

你们要竭力寻求与众人和睦，并且要竭力追求圣洁。如果没有圣洁，谁也不能见主。(希伯来书 12:14)

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)

What is holy?

One Bible dictionary defines holiness as “separation to God and conduct fitting for those separated.” Author Frederick Buechner said that when writing about a person’s character, “nothing is harder to make real than holiness.” He adds that “holiness is not a human quality at all, like virtue. Holiness is . . . not something that people do, but something that God does in them.”

The pursuit of holiness occurs daily as we yield ourselves in obedience to the Lord instead of following our old ways of self-gratification. 

Yes, we may still fall and sin, but how willing are you to let God change you from the inside out? How willing are u to obey Him daily? It's a journey of trusting and letting God to work inside you day by day. 

Verses from 2 Corinthians

我们虽然四面受压，却没有压碎；心里作难，却不至绝望，受到迫害，却没有被丢弃；打倒了，却不至死亡。(哥林多后书 4:8-9)

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)

The lead weights in the sailboats' keels provide the ballast to keep them balanced and upright in strong winds.

It’s like that in the life of a believer in Christ. Our power to survive challenges resides not in us but with God, who dwells within us. We’re not exempt from the punches that life throws at us nor from the storms that inevitably threaten our stability. But we have Christ to sustain us through it all. 

Join the many travelers through life who through deep waters of pain and suffering embrace with unshakable confidence the truth that God’s grace is sufficient and that in our weakness He is made strong (12:9). It will be the ballast to your soul.

The power of God within you is greater than the pressure of troubles around you.

Verse from Romans

我的弟兄们，我个人深信你们自己也满有良善，充满丰富的知识，也能够彼此劝导。(罗马书 15:14)

I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. (Romans 15:14)

While we may be flawed and imperfect, Paul reminds us of how important, competent, and useful we can be to each other. While our hope is in God, he has given us each other in our walk of faith. Let's not live as isolated islands of faith, but lean on each other and learn from each other as we look to Christ for our salvation and strength.

Verse from Philippians

各人不要单顾自己的事，也要顾别人的事。(腓立比书 2:4)

not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Philippians 2:4)

In a day in which harsh judgment of others seems to be the rule, it’s good to remember that love starts with us. The words of Paul come to mind: “Now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13).

What a difference we’ll make if, when we look at others, we say, “Love starts with me.” And wouldn’t that be a great reflection of God’s love for us?

Verse from Numbers

人民发怨言，恶声达到耶和华的耳中；耶和华听见了，就发烈怒；耶和华的火就在他们中间焚烧，烧毁了营地的边界。 (民数记 11:1)

Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. (Numbers 11:1)

Among the Israelites, too many people listened too long to complaints and began to agree with them. This displeased God, and for good reason. God had delivered the Israelites from slavery, and agreed to live in their midst, but they still complained. Beyond the hardship of the desert, they were dissatisfied with God’s provision of manna. In their complaint, Israel forgot that the manna was a gift to them from God’s loving hand (Num. 11:6). Because complaining poisons the heart with ingratitude and can be a contagion, God had to judge it.

There is a sure way to say “goodbye” to complaining and ingratitude: Each day, let’s rehearse the faithfulness and goodness of God to us.

Proclaiming God’s faithfulness silences discontentment.

Verses from Proverbs

你要一心仰赖耶和华，不可倚靠自己的聪明；在你一切所行的路上，都要承认他，他必使你的路径平坦正直。(箴言 3:5-6)

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. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

How much do you trust Him to lead your life? Or do you prefer to trust in your own judgement? Do u seek to obey Him in all that you do? Or do you only obey when it seems good to your desires or when it's easier to do so? And when it goes against your desires or when it's harder to obey, you choose your way instead? 

Verses from Nehemiah

亚扪人多比雅在参巴拉旁边说：“这些人建造的，只要一只狐狸走上去，石墙就崩塌。”“我们的神啊，求你垂听，我们被藐视，求你使他们的毁谤归到他们头上，使他们在被掳之地成为掠物。(尼希米记 4:3-4)

Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!” Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. (Nehemiah 4:3-4)

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali used several ring tactics to defeat his opponents; one tactic was taunting. 

In his fight with George Foreman in 1974, Ali taunted Foreman, “Hit harder! Show me something, George. That don’t hurt. I thought you were supposed to be bad.” 

Fuming, Foreman punched away furiously, wasting his energy and weakening his confidence. It’s an old tactic. 

By referring to Nehemiah’s efforts at rebuilding the broken wall of Jerusalem as nothing more than a fox’s playground (Neh. 4:3), Tobiah intended to weaken the workers with poisonous words of discouragement. Goliath tried it on David by despising the boy’s simple weapons of a sling and stones (1 Sam. 17:41-44). 

A discouraging remark can be a deadly weapon. Nehemiah refused to surrender to Tobiah’s discouragements, just as David rejected Goliath’s diabolical teasing. 

Focusing on God and His help rather than on their discouraging situations, David and Nehemiah both achieved victory. 

Taunting can come from anybody, including those who are close to us. Responding to them negatively only saps our energy. 

But God encourages us through His promises: He will never forsake us (Ps. 9:10; Heb. 13:5), and He invites us to rely on His help (Heb. 4:16).

Despite the taunting that the Israelites faced from multiple sources when rebuilding the walls and city of Jerusalem, they had courage and confidence in God. They had returned to Jerusalem just as God had promised through the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 29:10).

If you’re in a tunnel of discouragement, keep walking toward the Light.

Verse from Romans

你们要接纳信心软弱的人，不要论断引起争论的事。(罗马书 14:1)

Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. (Romans 14:1)

We are tender w babies though they might be fussy and demanding, let's be more patience and understanding towards new Christians and those who have weaker faith.