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BRANCH

12/14—Jesus is BRANCH

Praise:  Isaiah 11:1 Then a shoot will spring from the stump of Jesse; and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.

Praise God for bringing forth Jesus Christ, the Branch as a descendant of king David. Praise God for resting His Spirit on Jesus Christ, who has wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and delight of fearing the Lord God. Praise Jesus Christ for giving decision to the needy with His righteousness and the poor with His justice. Praise Jesus Christ for coming to restore the world as He created to be.

Intercession from  John 15:1, 4: I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener…Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

May you (or beloved____) humble yourself (himself/herself) to surrender and connect with Jesus Christ like a branch connecting with the Vine, who faithfully dwell in you (or ___) and provide all the strength you (he/she) need to bear fruit through the Holy Spirit. In Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

12/14—主耶穌是枝子

讚美主： 以賽亞書11:1:「就像樹墩上長出新的枝條，大衛的後裔中必有一人做王。」

讚美上帝使主耶穌從大衛的後裔生出做王。讚美上帝的聖靈在主耶穌身上，使祂有聰明和智慧、謀略和能力，並以敬畏耶和華為樂。祂按公義審判貧窮人，以公正為受苦者斷案。讚美主耶穌降生為人、勝過死亡、被天父高舉為王，來恢復天父美麗的創造。

代禱：

約翰福音15:1, 4：耶穌說：「我是真葡萄樹，我父是栽培的人。 …你們要常在我裡面，我就常在你們裡面。枝子若離開葡萄樹，就不能結果子。同樣，你們若不常在我裡面，也不能結果子。」

願你（或所愛的___）謙卑自己來降服於主耶穌基督，如同枝子連於葡萄樹，祂要透過聖靈信實地與你同住，供應你（或___）結果子需要的一切能力。奉主耶穌基督的名求。阿門。

ANSWER

12/13—Jesus is ANSWER

Praise: Jeremiah 33:3: Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

Praise God for desiring to give us answers to His great and unsearchable things we do not know when we come to ask Him. Praise God for leading us to know Him more through knowing about His will and plans.

Intercession from Psalm 69:13: But I pray to you, Lord, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.

May God in His greatness of mercy, answer you (or beloved ____)  with His sure salvation so that you (or ___) know God is with you (him/her) and avenge you (him/her). In Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

12/13—主耶穌應允

讚美主：耶利米書33:3: 「你求告我，我就應允你，並將你所不知道、又大又難的事指示你。」

讚美上帝樂意將祂又大又難的事指示一切尋求祂的人，為要使我們因明白祂的旨意和計畫，更多地認識祂自己。感謝主！

代禱：詩篇69:13: 「但我在悅納的時候向你─耶和華祈禱。神啊，求你按你豐盛的慈愛，憑你拯救的誠實應允我！」

願上帝以祂豐盛的慈愛，應允你（或___）在急難中的呼求，使你（或___）心中有得救的確據，讓你（或___）的心肯定神與你（他/她）同在，並為你（他/她）在敵人面前申冤。奉主耶穌基督的名求。阿門。

芝加哥2機場 下周起可檢測新冠

聖誕、新年假期將近，許多民眾可能將搭機探親或出遊，為增加防疫，芝加哥航空局宣布從下周開始，在芝市的歐海爾國際機場和中途國際機場設立新冠檢測站，讓搭機旅客多一層防護，航管局說，機場內的檢測將僅提供給未來72小時內要搭機的旅客，或是過去五天內曾搭機的民眾接受檢測。

航管局發言人麥克葛瑞斯(Matt McGrath)說，兩個機場內的檢測站均提供 PCR 核酸檢測和「抗原檢測」(antigen test)，可以說是全美機場中最完備服務的系統，航管局與民間的Doctors Test Centers和Simple Laboratories公司合作提供機場內檢測，Doctors Test Centers公司將招聘100人到機場檢測站工作。

其中歐海爾機場內將設有免預約(walk up)檢測站，航站外的停車場也會推出得來速(drive through)檢測站；中途機場航廈內的檢測站免預約，這兩處機場皆提供上述兩類檢測，其中核酸PCR檢測準確率較高、價格稍貴，最多要三天才知道結果，另一種抗原檢測，只要20分鐘就可以拿到檢測結果，航空局表示，這些檢測站均接受保險給付，每次檢測費用不會超過150元。

此外，美國航空針對乘客飛往如芝加哥一樣，設有新冠疫情旅遊限制的地點，即日起也推出可自購在家使用的檢測包，檢測包由LetsGetChecked公司提供，該公司建議乘客至少在起飛前五天訂購，售價129元。該公司可因應旅行目的地的要求，提供視訊證明檢測結果。

芝加哥規定「橘色州」來的旅客，必須持有72小時內的檢測結果，檢測為陰性者不需要居家隔離，也不需要視訊證明檢測過程。

另外，聯合航空提供從休斯頓出發到中南美洲和加勒比海乘客預購在家使用的檢測包，此外，從舊金山到夏威夷航線的旅客，也可選擇在機場內受檢。

INDESCRIBABLE GIFT

12/12—Jesus is INDESCRIBABLE GIFT

Praise:  2 Corinthians 9:15: Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! 

Praise God for sending His only one precious Son, the indescribable gift, Jesus Christ, to the world by His wisdom, for displaying His righteousness, holiness and salvation. Praise Jesus Christ, who is powerful and compassionate; strong and gentle; righteous and merciful; wise and humble; faithful and patient with much more indescribable grace. No one in the heavens or on the earth is like Him or can be compared with Him.

Intercession from Romans 6:23: 

May God open your (or beloved ___’s) eyes of heart to know that the wages of sin is death; may God give you (or ___) the gift of eternal life hidden in Christ Jesus when you (or ___) receive Jesus Christ as your (his/her) Savior and surrender yourself (himself/herself) to Him as the Lord of your (his/her) life. In Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

12/12—主耶穌有說不盡的恩賜

讚美主：哥林多後書9:15: 「感謝神，因他有說不盡的恩賜！」

讚美上帝差遣祂的獨生愛子主耶穌基督作為世人的禮物。主耶穌以智慧彰顯天父的公義、聖潔和對罪人的救贖。讚美主耶穌大有權柄又能憐恤人；強壯又溫柔；正直又仁慈；有智慧又謙卑；誠實守信又有耐心等說不盡的恩典。天上地上沒有人能像祂，無人能與祂相比。

代禱：羅馬書6:23:「因為罪的工價乃是死；惟有神的恩賜，在我們的主基督耶穌裡，乃是永生。」

願上帝開啟你（或___的）心靈的眼睛，使你（或___）知道罪的終局是永遠的死亡；願上帝把藏在主耶穌基督裡的永恆的生命，白白地賜給願意接受主耶穌為救主，並完全尊主為大的你（或___）。奉主耶穌基督的名求。阿門。

該不該打疫苗？專家這樣說

輝瑞藥廠(Pfizer)的新冠疫苗預計很快就會在全美開始施打，但也因此引起民眾諸多疑慮，芝加哥論壇報邀請專業醫學界人士提供了部分解答。

●藥物過敏者可施打新冠疫苗嗎？ 范德堡大學醫學中心(Vanderbilt University Medical Center)教授薛福納(William Schaffner)說，輝瑞雖然臨床試驗沒有出現過敏現象，但是否造成過敏因人而異，他建議，如果平時對藥物、疫苗或食物有過敏症狀，最好等官方確認安全後再接種。

●新冠疫苗保護效果有多長？薛福納說，目前需要收集更多人的施打反應，才能較精準的數據分析。

●懷孕中、考慮受孕婦女要打嗎？臨床試驗者通常不包含懷孕婦女，因此新冠疫苗對懷孕婦女的影響，現階段不得而知。西北醫學院助理教授米勒(Emily Miller)說，疫苗本身不是零風險，但是與其確診危急生命，權衡之下建議還是應該接種疫苗。母胎醫藥協會(The society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine)也建議提供疫苗給懷孕的醫療工作人員，至於考慮懷孕者目前無直接證據顯示不應施打疫苗，她鼓勵這些婦女與醫生先行討論。

●曾染疫者還需要打疫苗嗎？薛福納表示，仍應接種疫苗，因為專家指出，比起感染後自身所產生的抗體，疫苗能提供更強的保護，他說，接種疫苗後的反應不會比新冠確診更嚴重。

●確診者會產生免疫抗體嗎？芝加哥醫學院(University of Chicago Medicine)傳染病專家Mai Tuyet Pho說，染疫康復後雖然會產生抗體，但不確定能持續多久，且的確有人二度感染，對此聯邦疾病防治中心CDC表示，首次確診後的三個月內，比較不容易二度感染，但過了三個月仍可能因暴露在病毒中而受到感染。

專家建議，年底假期將至，公眾盡量不要在室內群聚，且除非有必要，盡量避免搭乘飛機。

FAITHFUL AND TRUE

12/11—Jesus is FAITHFUL AND TRUE

Praise:  Rev. 19:11: I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.   

Praise God for sending Jesus Christ, who is faithful and always stays true to Father God’s righteousness, with which He judges each sinful acts in order to save people from sins, and fights against the evil lies that distorted the Truth. Praise God!

Intercession from: Psalm 33:4: For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

May God open your (or beloved ___’s) eyes of the heart to  know the word of the Lord is right and true and you (or ___) shall trust that He is faithful in all He does so that you can cast off all your anxiety or fret to Him. In Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

12/11—主耶穌是誠信和真實

讚美主：

啟示錄19:11: 「我觀看，見天開了。有一匹白馬，騎在馬上的稱為誠信真實，他審判、爭戰，都按著公義。」

讚美上帝差派主耶穌來到世界上，親自示範祂永遠忠誠地遵守上帝的公義，並顯出何謂上帝的公義：就是來審判世人的罪行以救他們脫離罪，並向說謊、扭曲真理的魔鬼宣戰。讚美主！

代禱：

詩篇33:4: 「因為耶和華的言語正直；凡他所做的盡都誠實。」

願上帝開啟你（或所愛的___）心靈的眼睛，使你（或___）明白並信靠耶和華神的言語都是正直的，凡祂所做的盡都誠實且正確，所以你（或___）可以放心將一切的憂慮或不平都交託給上帝。奉主耶穌基督的名求。阿門。

庫克郡第二波紓困金開放申請 每人600元

由於新冠疫情傳播仍舊猖狂，造成許多家庭面臨染疫、失業困境，庫克郡長普瑞科溫可(Toni Preckwinkle)宣布，儘管10月已經發放第一次紓困金(COVID-19 Resident Cash Assistance Program)，為緩解居民(芝加哥市民除外)經濟壓力，決定追加900萬紓困基金，開放給符合申請資格郡民申請，申請時間到11日截止，如獲核可，每人將可取得一次性600元的現金補助。

普瑞科溫可今年10月根據聯邦的「新型冠狀病毒援助、救濟和經濟安全法」紓困法案(CARES Act)所補貼的210萬元紓困金，補助了3000位的庫克郡居民，每人獲得600元現金。

協助發放基金的獨立家庭計畫(Family Independence Initiative)負責人史考特(Ebony Scott)說，郡民的貧窮真實存在，這些居民受到疫情衝擊，正面臨生活上嚴重的挑戰。

普瑞科溫可希望這些補貼金可以迅速送達居民手中，讓他們可以用來給付帳單、購買生活用品與負擔其他必要花費。

尚未申請第一次紓困金的民眾，即日起到11日為止可提出申請，如10月已經申請但未獲發放者，不需要再提交申請書即可列入發放可能名單。

居民可上網申請，網址：fund.uptogether.org/suburbancookcountyfund，申請時需提出所有以下的證明文件：

●居住在庫克郡的證明文件。

●政府核發的身分證件。

●2020年3月1日前的收入證明以及銀行匯款帳號。

●證明自己因新冠疫情被暫停工作且未得薪資、或正在照顧身體虛弱或染疫的親屬，或因公司或學校關閉而失去收入。

郡府目前與多個民間團體合作，協助商家、居民度過疫情，相關信息，可上網：www.cookcountyil.gov/recovery。

WONDERFUL COUNSELOR

12/10—Jesus is WONDERFUL COUNSELOR

Praise:  Isaiah 9:6: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Praise God for sending Jesus Christ, born in flesh, to govern the Kingdom of God. Praise Jesus Christ is the wonderful Counselor for guiding us into the truth; He is the mighty God, who has overcome the world; He is the everlasting Father, the Creator of all; and He is the Prince of Peace, reconciling the sinners with the God of righteousness. Praise God!

Intercession from Psalm 32:8: I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;  I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Lord God, may You instruct and teach you (or beloved____) in the way you (or he/she) should go; counsel you (or____ ) with your loving eye on you (or him/her) for He is patient to discipline whom He loves. In Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

 

12/10—主耶穌是奇妙策士

讚美主：以賽亞書9:6: 「因有一嬰孩為我們而生；有一子賜給我們。政權必擔在他的肩頭上；他名稱為奇妙策士、全能的神、永在的父、和平的君。」

讚美上帝賜下主耶穌基督，降生為嬰孩，使祂全權掌管屬靈國度，祂是帶領人認識真理與恩典的奇妙策士；祂是已經勝過世界的全能神；祂是永遠的創造者；祂是使罪人與父神和好的和平君王。讚美主！

代禱：詩篇32:8: 「我要教導你，指示你當行的路；我要定睛在你身 上勸誡你。」

願上帝教導你（或所愛的___），指示你（或___）當行的路，願上帝定睛在你（或___）身上勸誡你（他/她），因祂要耐心管教祂所愛的。奉主耶穌基督的名求。阿門。

Joyful blessing is contagious

Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed. (Proverbs 11:11)

My prayer buddy from Moms in Prayer group, Kim, recently learned that my son got a concussion from a car accident and went to the same clinic where her son-in-law, Zack, works as a chiropractor too. I told her I also met Zack and he is a nice person. Then, her reply stunned me. She said, “Now I know you will become a blessing to my son-in-law.” 

Why did Kim say that? My first thought is that Kim is a very humble person who always thanks God for what she has received, including compliment. Meanwhile, Kim is so compassionate and loves to encourage others.

As a result, her word is like a driving force to motivate my heart to be thankful to God, who works through His saints to help my son recover. Therefore, I felt joyful to write down a prayer card with a little gift for the brothers and sisters working in this clinic as my appreciation.

The bible says: “Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted.” If one saint’s good word can influence and pass blessing to another person, then imagine that joyful blessing may be spread more powerfully than virus to the whole city. 

As a matter of fact, Jesus is the first one, who came to the world to bless with His good news of forgiveness and freedom, then the salvation comes to each individual. And one by one, the whole world has been catching His fire of blessing.

Don’t underestimate the power of your word from your mouth.  Let’s choose to speak blessing to lift up ourselves, family, friends and the whole city.

Prayer: May God sanctify our lips with His truth in love to speak blessing to exalt a city, where people shall come out of darkness to glorify Jesus Christ, who is the first one to come to bless the world in the power of Creator. In Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

喜樂的祝福帶有傳染性

城因正直人祝福便高舉，卻因邪惡人的口就傾覆。（箴言11:11）

Kim是我的禱告同伴，當她知道我兒子去看的整脊診所，當中有個診脊師是她的女婿，她便對我說：「我知道你將成為我女婿的祝福。」

我因她的話，心覺被鼓勵而向神感恩。最後一次去診所時，我寫下禱告祝福的卡片，附上一個小禮物，送給診所中的員工們。

如果一個人口中祝福的話語可以影響另一個人，因愛的感動把祝福接著傳遞出去，想像一下，我們的祝福是否可以透過一個人傳給下一個人，而傳遍整個城市呢？

事實上，主耶穌就是傳遞喜樂祝福的第一個人。祂來到世界上傳告天父神藉由主耶穌的赦罪救恩，使人得自由，能遵守神旨意而活出生命原有的光彩。這個救恩透過人的傳揚臨到另一個人，一個接一個，如同星星之火可以燎原，將喜樂的火燃燒至整個世界。

禱告：願上帝潔淨我們的口，立志說榮神、建造人得生命的真理，使城市因義人的口得到高舉，脫離黑暗，來歸榮耀給主耶穌，這位賜全世界祝福的神。奉主耶穌基督的名求。阿門。

RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE

12/9—Jesus is RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE

Praise:  John 11:25-26a: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who  believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”

Praise God for resurrecting Christ Jesus’ life to give all whom believe in Him the eternal life and they will not experience the second death when He comes back again. Praise God!

Intercession from Acts 4:33: With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all.

May God fill you (or beloved ___) with the Holy Spirit to testify with His great power to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and you (or ___) may live a life worthy of His name. In Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

12/9—主耶穌是復活和生命

讚美主：約翰福音11:25-26a: 耶穌對他說：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。

讚美上帝叫主耶穌死而復活，賜給凡信靠主耶穌的人永恆的生命；叫信主耶穌的人今生雖有一死，但當主耶穌再來時，就要復活不落入第二次的永死。感謝主賜下永活的生命！

代禱：使徒行傳4:33: 使徒大有能力，見證主耶穌復活；眾人也都蒙 大恩 。

願上帝以聖靈充滿你（或所愛的___），使你（或___）得力量見證主耶穌死而復活的奇妙神蹟，使你（或___）活出配得主耶穌的名的生命。奉主耶穌基督的名求。阿門。