Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing —James 1:4
Many of us appear to be all right in general, but there are still some areas in which we are careless and lazy; it is not a matter of sin, but the remnants of our carnal life that tend to make us careless. Carelessness is an insult to the Holy Spirit. We should have no carelessness about us either in the way we worship God, or even in the way we eat and drink.
Not only must our relationship to God be right, but the outward expression of that relationship must also be right. Ultimately, God will allow nothing to escape; every detail of our lives is under His scrutiny. God will bring us back in countless ways to the same point over and over again. And He never tires of bringing us back to that one point until we learn the lesson, because His purpose is to produce the finished product. It may be a problem arising from our impulsive nature, but again and again, with the most persistent patience, God has brought us back to that one particular point. Or the problem may be our idle and wandering thinking, or our independent nature and self-interest. Through this process, God is trying to impress upon us the one thing that is not entirely right in our lives.
We have been having a wonderful time in our studies over the revealed truth of God’s redemption, and our hearts are perfect toward Him. And His wonderful work in us makes us know that overall we are right with Him. “Let patience have its perfect work . . . .” The Holy Spirit speaking through James said, “Now let your patience become a finished product.” Beware of becoming careless over the small details of life and saying, “Oh, that will have to do for now.” Whatever it may be, God will point it out with persistence until we become entirely His.
直至你完全屬他
但忍耐也當成功，使你們成全完備，毫無缺欠。 （雅一4）
大部分人在生活上大體沒有問題，可是在某些事上卻很馬虎。這不是罪的問題，而是屬肉體的生命，叫我們馬虎。得過且過是對聖靈的一種侮辱。我們不應在任何事上懶散馬虎，不管是飲食，或是敬拜神。
我們與神不僅要有良好的關係，而這關係的外在表現也要正確。神不會容許任何事逃過他，每一細節他都鑑察。他會用無數的方法，把我們一次又一次地帶到同一的問題上。他會不厭其煩地重複又重複地，直到我們學好了那功課，因為他是要成全完備的產品。也許是衝動，也許是心不在焉，又或許是惟我獨尊的個人主義，他會一而再、再而三、恆切忍耐地，帶我們回到同一的功課上。神總要我們覺醒，知道這件事不妥當。
對神救贖的啟示，我們有美好的學習，對他我們是全心全意的；他在我們身上作成的奇妙大工，叫我們知道在大體上與他的關係是正常的；但如今聖靈卻藉雅各說：[忍耐也當成功（讓你們的忍耐成為一件製成品——英譯）]當心苟且馬虎的態度——[不管它，暫且算了吧。 ]不論是甚麼，神一定會堅持地指出，直至我們完全.
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你的臉光臨到我們，讓你偉大而榮耀的聲音和同在，覆遍這地.
July 31, 2012
July 30, 2012
The Teaching of Disillusionment
Jesus did not commit Himself to them . . . , for He knew what was in man —John 2:24-25
Disillusionment means having no more misconceptions, false impressions, and false judgments in life; it means being free from these deceptions. However, though no longer deceived, our experience of disillusionment may actually leave us cynical and overly critical in our judgment of others. But the disillusionment that comes from God brings us to the point where we see people as they really are, yet without any cynicism or any stinging and bitter criticism. Many of the things in life that inflict the greatest injury, grief, or pain, stem from the fact that we suffer from illusions. We are not true to one another as facts, seeing each other as we really are; we are only true to our misconceived ideas of one another. According to our thinking, everything is either delightful and good, or it is evil, malicious, and cowardly.
Refusing to be disillusioned is the cause of much of the suffering of human life. And this is how that suffering happens— if we love someone, but do not love God, we demand total perfection and righteousness from that person, and when we do not get it we become cruel and vindictive; yet we are demanding of a human being something which he or she cannot possibly give. There is only one Being who can completely satisfy to the absolute depth of the hurting human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord is so obviously uncompromising with regard to every human relationship because He knows that every relationship that is not based on faithfulness to Himself will end in disaster. Our Lord trusted no one, and never placed His faith in people, yet He was never suspicious or bitter. Our Lord’s confidence in God, and in what God’s grace could do for anyone, was so perfect that He never despaired, never giving up hope for any person. If our trust is placed in human beings, we will end up despairing of everyone.
覺醒的操練
耶穌卻不將自己交託他們……因他知道人心裡所存的。 （約二24-25）
覺醒就是在生命中再沒有錯誤的判斷。受錯覺的矇騙，會使我們對人的批評變得苛刻，好冷嘲熱諷。但從神而來的覺醒，卻使我們認清人的本相，而又不憤世嫉俗，也沒有尖酸苦毒的說話。人生許多的痛苦，都是由於我們受錯覺的蒙蔽。對別人的觀感，我們只憑自己的想法，而非忠於事實。對我們來說，每一事物若非好便是壞。不願從錯覺中醒悟，是導致人生種種痛苦的因由。情形就是這樣：我們若愛一個人，卻不愛神，便會要求他完全正直無暇。一旦得不到，就變得殘酷，要報復；我們要求的，是一個人無法做到。只有主耶穌才能滿足人心中最深的渴求。主耶穌對每種人際關係的看法，是相當嚴厲的；因為他知道任何一種不忠於主為基礎的關係，到頭來必定悲劇收場。主雖然不把自己交託給人，但他從不多疑，也不尖刻苦毒。他對神的信賴，以及對他恩典全能的信賴，使他對任何人都不絕望。我們的信賴若在人身上，結果必是對人失望。
祈禱◆主啊，對於你道路的細節，我雖然一無所知，但我期盼你奇妙的作為儘快顯明。我是何其全然安息，得見你的道路時，又是何其釋然。
Disillusionment means having no more misconceptions, false impressions, and false judgments in life; it means being free from these deceptions. However, though no longer deceived, our experience of disillusionment may actually leave us cynical and overly critical in our judgment of others. But the disillusionment that comes from God brings us to the point where we see people as they really are, yet without any cynicism or any stinging and bitter criticism. Many of the things in life that inflict the greatest injury, grief, or pain, stem from the fact that we suffer from illusions. We are not true to one another as facts, seeing each other as we really are; we are only true to our misconceived ideas of one another. According to our thinking, everything is either delightful and good, or it is evil, malicious, and cowardly.
Refusing to be disillusioned is the cause of much of the suffering of human life. And this is how that suffering happens— if we love someone, but do not love God, we demand total perfection and righteousness from that person, and when we do not get it we become cruel and vindictive; yet we are demanding of a human being something which he or she cannot possibly give. There is only one Being who can completely satisfy to the absolute depth of the hurting human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord is so obviously uncompromising with regard to every human relationship because He knows that every relationship that is not based on faithfulness to Himself will end in disaster. Our Lord trusted no one, and never placed His faith in people, yet He was never suspicious or bitter. Our Lord’s confidence in God, and in what God’s grace could do for anyone, was so perfect that He never despaired, never giving up hope for any person. If our trust is placed in human beings, we will end up despairing of everyone.
覺醒的操練
耶穌卻不將自己交託他們……因他知道人心裡所存的。 （約二24-25）
覺醒就是在生命中再沒有錯誤的判斷。受錯覺的矇騙，會使我們對人的批評變得苛刻，好冷嘲熱諷。但從神而來的覺醒，卻使我們認清人的本相，而又不憤世嫉俗，也沒有尖酸苦毒的說話。人生許多的痛苦，都是由於我們受錯覺的蒙蔽。對別人的觀感，我們只憑自己的想法，而非忠於事實。對我們來說，每一事物若非好便是壞。不願從錯覺中醒悟，是導致人生種種痛苦的因由。情形就是這樣：我們若愛一個人，卻不愛神，便會要求他完全正直無暇。一旦得不到，就變得殘酷，要報復；我們要求的，是一個人無法做到。只有主耶穌才能滿足人心中最深的渴求。主耶穌對每種人際關係的看法，是相當嚴厲的；因為他知道任何一種不忠於主為基礎的關係，到頭來必定悲劇收場。主雖然不把自己交託給人，但他從不多疑，也不尖刻苦毒。他對神的信賴，以及對他恩典全能的信賴，使他對任何人都不絕望。我們的信賴若在人身上，結果必是對人失望。
祈禱◆主啊，對於你道路的細節，我雖然一無所知，但我期盼你奇妙的作為儘快顯明。我是何其全然安息，得見你的道路時，又是何其釋然。
July 29, 2012
Do You See Jesus in Your Clouds?
Behold, He is coming with clouds . . . —Revelation 1:7
In the Bible clouds are always associated with God. Clouds are the sorrows, sufferings, or providential circumstances, within or without our personal lives, which actually seem to contradict the sovereignty of God. Yet it is through these very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were never any clouds in our lives, we would have no faith. “The clouds are the dust of His feet” (Nahum 1:3). They are a sign that God is there. What a revelation it is to know that sorrow, bereavement, and suffering are actually the clouds that come along with God! God cannot come near us without clouds— He does not come in clear-shining brightness.
It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials. Through every cloud He brings our way, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in using the cloud is to simplify our beliefs until our relationship with Him is exactly like that of a child— a relationship simply between God and our own souls, and where other people are but shadows. Until other people become shadows to us, clouds and darkness will be ours every once in a while. Is our relationship with God becoming more simple than it has ever been?
There is a connection between the strange providential circumstances allowed by God and what we know of Him, and we have to learn to interpret the mysteries of life in the light of our knowledge of God. Until we can come face to face with the deepest, darkest fact of life without damaging our view of God’s character, we do not yet know Him.
“. . . they were fearful as they entered the cloud” (Luke 9:34). Is there anyone except Jesus in your cloud? If so, it will only get darker until you get to the place where there is “no one anymore, but only Jesus . . .” (Mark 9:8 ; also see Mark 2-7).
你在雲中看見什麼？
看哪，他駕雲降臨。 （啟一7）
在聖經裡，云總與神有關。雲就是我們個人生命中里里外外的悲哀痛苦，這些似乎與神的本質相違，但神的靈卻正用這些雲教我們在信心中行走。若沒有云，就無法有信心。 [云不過是我父腳下的塵。 ]雲是他在這裡的表徵，當我們明白愁苦是與神一起來的雲，那是何等的啟示啊！沒有云，神就無法就近，他不會萬丈光芒地來。
不要說神要在試煉中教導我們什麼，其實他要用每一朵雲，去掉我們學到一些東西。神用雲的目的，是要簡化我們的信心，直到我們與他的關係像一個小孩子一樣——只有神和我，別人不過是影兒。別人若不成為影兒，雲和黑暗就必不斷臨到。我與神的關係，是否日益單純？似乎難以明白神的旨意，與我們對他的認識有一定的關係；我們必須學習在認識神的光中，明白生命中的奧秘。除非我們能面對最黑暗的人生，而對神的性情仍無所歪曲，否則我們仍未認識神。
[他們進入雲裡，就甚懼怕……]在你的雲裡[除耶穌以外]，還有誰？若有，那雲就會愈變愈黑。你一定要[不見一人，只見耶穌]。
祈禱◆噢，我的父神，雲彩只是你足下的塵土！當恐懼過後，讓我在神的眷佑、或神的屬性、或神的恩典的每朵雲彩中，不見別人，只見耶穌，直至恐懼不再存在。
In the Bible clouds are always associated with God. Clouds are the sorrows, sufferings, or providential circumstances, within or without our personal lives, which actually seem to contradict the sovereignty of God. Yet it is through these very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were never any clouds in our lives, we would have no faith. “The clouds are the dust of His feet” (Nahum 1:3). They are a sign that God is there. What a revelation it is to know that sorrow, bereavement, and suffering are actually the clouds that come along with God! God cannot come near us without clouds— He does not come in clear-shining brightness.
It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials. Through every cloud He brings our way, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in using the cloud is to simplify our beliefs until our relationship with Him is exactly like that of a child— a relationship simply between God and our own souls, and where other people are but shadows. Until other people become shadows to us, clouds and darkness will be ours every once in a while. Is our relationship with God becoming more simple than it has ever been?
There is a connection between the strange providential circumstances allowed by God and what we know of Him, and we have to learn to interpret the mysteries of life in the light of our knowledge of God. Until we can come face to face with the deepest, darkest fact of life without damaging our view of God’s character, we do not yet know Him.
“. . . they were fearful as they entered the cloud” (Luke 9:34). Is there anyone except Jesus in your cloud? If so, it will only get darker until you get to the place where there is “no one anymore, but only Jesus . . .” (Mark 9:8 ; also see Mark 2-7).
你在雲中看見什麼？
看哪，他駕雲降臨。 （啟一7）
在聖經裡，云總與神有關。雲就是我們個人生命中里里外外的悲哀痛苦，這些似乎與神的本質相違，但神的靈卻正用這些雲教我們在信心中行走。若沒有云，就無法有信心。 [云不過是我父腳下的塵。 ]雲是他在這裡的表徵，當我們明白愁苦是與神一起來的雲，那是何等的啟示啊！沒有云，神就無法就近，他不會萬丈光芒地來。
不要說神要在試煉中教導我們什麼，其實他要用每一朵雲，去掉我們學到一些東西。神用雲的目的，是要簡化我們的信心，直到我們與他的關係像一個小孩子一樣——只有神和我，別人不過是影兒。別人若不成為影兒，雲和黑暗就必不斷臨到。我與神的關係，是否日益單純？似乎難以明白神的旨意，與我們對他的認識有一定的關係；我們必須學習在認識神的光中，明白生命中的奧秘。除非我們能面對最黑暗的人生，而對神的性情仍無所歪曲，否則我們仍未認識神。
[他們進入雲裡，就甚懼怕……]在你的雲裡[除耶穌以外]，還有誰？若有，那雲就會愈變愈黑。你一定要[不見一人，只見耶穌]。
祈禱◆噢，我的父神，雲彩只是你足下的塵土！當恐懼過後，讓我在神的眷佑、或神的屬性、或神的恩典的每朵雲彩中，不見別人，只見耶穌，直至恐懼不再存在。
July 28, 2012
God’s Purpose or Mine?
He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side . . . —Mark 6:45
We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.
What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” (Mark 6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.
God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.
God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.
順服之後又如何？
耶穌隨即催門徒上船，先渡到那邊……（可六45-52）
我們很容易這樣想：主若催逼我們，我們若順服他，他就必叫我們大大的成功。千萬別把成功的夢想，當作神對我們的計畫；神的計畫可能恰好相反。我們以為神要領我們到某一特定的目的——一個理想的目標；其實並不是。到達某一目的，只是附帶的事。我們所稱為過程的，神卻稱為目標。
我對神的計畫有何夢想？他的計畫就是要我現在倚靠他和他的能力。在動盪不安之中，我若能保持平靜不疑惑，這就是神計畫的目標。神作工不是為某一個特別的終點；他的目標就在過程之中——要我看見他正行在波浪上；雖然不見邊岸，沒有目的地，但有一個肯定的確信，深知必然平安無事，因為我看見他正在海面上行走。這是過程，不是目標，使神得著榮耀。神的訓練是即時的，不是等一會兒的。他的計畫是這一分鐘，不是將來某件事。我們不必顧及順服之後會怎樣；若牽掛以後會怎樣，就走錯了路。人所謂的訓練與預備，神卻稱為目的。
神的目的是要我如今就知道，他能在我生命的混亂動盪中行走。若我們在前方另有目標，那麼，臨到我們的每一刻都變得如珍如寶了。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，倘若那需要是出於你，我便歡喜！為著你教訓我們[有火煉的試驗臨到你們，不要以為奇怪，倒要歡喜]，我讚美你。
We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.
What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” (Mark 6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.
God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.
God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.
順服之後又如何？
耶穌隨即催門徒上船，先渡到那邊……（可六45-52）
我們很容易這樣想：主若催逼我們，我們若順服他，他就必叫我們大大的成功。千萬別把成功的夢想，當作神對我們的計畫；神的計畫可能恰好相反。我們以為神要領我們到某一特定的目的——一個理想的目標；其實並不是。到達某一目的，只是附帶的事。我們所稱為過程的，神卻稱為目標。
我對神的計畫有何夢想？他的計畫就是要我現在倚靠他和他的能力。在動盪不安之中，我若能保持平靜不疑惑，這就是神計畫的目標。神作工不是為某一個特別的終點；他的目標就在過程之中——要我看見他正行在波浪上；雖然不見邊岸，沒有目的地，但有一個肯定的確信，深知必然平安無事，因為我看見他正在海面上行走。這是過程，不是目標，使神得著榮耀。神的訓練是即時的，不是等一會兒的。他的計畫是這一分鐘，不是將來某件事。我們不必顧及順服之後會怎樣；若牽掛以後會怎樣，就走錯了路。人所謂的訓練與預備，神卻稱為目的。
神的目的是要我如今就知道，他能在我生命的混亂動盪中行走。若我們在前方另有目標，那麼，臨到我們的每一刻都變得如珍如寶了。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，倘若那需要是出於你，我便歡喜！為著你教訓我們[有火煉的試驗臨到你們，不要以為奇怪，倒要歡喜]，我讚美你。
July 27, 2012
The Way to Knowledge
If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine . . . —John 7:17
The golden rule to follow to obtain spiritual understanding is not one of intellectual pursuit, but one of obedience. If a person wants scientific knowledge, then intellectual curiosity must be his guide. But if he desires knowledge and insight into the teachings of Jesus Christ, he can only obtain it through obedience. If spiritual things seem dark and hidden to me, then I can be sure that there is a point of disobedience somewhere in my life. Intellectual darkness is the result of ignorance, but spiritual darkness is the result of something that I do not intend to obey.
No one ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test regarding it. We disobey and then wonder why we are not growing spiritually. Jesus said, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24). He is saying, in essence, “Don’t say another word to me; first be obedient by making things right.” The teachings of Jesus hit us where we live. We cannot stand as impostors before Him for even one second. He instructs us down to the very last detail. The Spirit of God uncovers our spirit of self-vindication and makes us sensitive to things that we have never even thought of before.
When Jesus drives something home to you through His Word, don’t try to evade it. If you do, you will become a religious impostor. Examine the things you tend simply to shrug your shoulders about, and where you have refused to be obedient, and you will know why you are not growing spiritually. As Jesus said, “First . . . go . . ..” Even at the risk of being thought of as fanatical, you must obey what God tells you.
認識之道
人若立志遵著他的旨意行，就必曉得這教訓……（約七17）
屬靈悟性的金科玉律，不是智力，而是順服。人若想得著科學只是，可循智力好奇去求；但人若要洞悉主耶穌的教訓，只有靠順服。事情對我來說是隱晦難明的，可以肯定必然有什麼我是不肯去做的。智力上的暗晦從無知而來；屬靈的黑暗卻由不肯順服而來。人領受了神的話語後，總即時落在考驗之中。我們不肯順服，卻又稀奇自己何以在靈性上不見長進。耶穌說：[你在祭壇獻禮物的時候，若想起弟兄向你懷怨……先去同弟兄和好。 ]耶穌的教訓正命中我們生活的要害，在他面前我們一秒鐘也不能裝假。他的教導是徹底的。神的靈把自我維護的牆鑿開，又使我們對從未想過的事敏感起來。
主耶穌若指出什麼，不要規避。你若規避，就成了宗教騙徒。留意那些你聳肩不顧的事，就會明白為什麼靈性停滯不前。去吧，即使冒著被人稱為宗教狂熱者的危險，也必須順服神的吩咐。
祈禱◆[當他隱藏他的面，誰能看見他呢？ ]在這些等候的日子中，你與我們同在的記號是何其渺小。我不求任何外在成功的記號，只求能感應你的賜福和認可。
The golden rule to follow to obtain spiritual understanding is not one of intellectual pursuit, but one of obedience. If a person wants scientific knowledge, then intellectual curiosity must be his guide. But if he desires knowledge and insight into the teachings of Jesus Christ, he can only obtain it through obedience. If spiritual things seem dark and hidden to me, then I can be sure that there is a point of disobedience somewhere in my life. Intellectual darkness is the result of ignorance, but spiritual darkness is the result of something that I do not intend to obey.
No one ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test regarding it. We disobey and then wonder why we are not growing spiritually. Jesus said, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24). He is saying, in essence, “Don’t say another word to me; first be obedient by making things right.” The teachings of Jesus hit us where we live. We cannot stand as impostors before Him for even one second. He instructs us down to the very last detail. The Spirit of God uncovers our spirit of self-vindication and makes us sensitive to things that we have never even thought of before.
When Jesus drives something home to you through His Word, don’t try to evade it. If you do, you will become a religious impostor. Examine the things you tend simply to shrug your shoulders about, and where you have refused to be obedient, and you will know why you are not growing spiritually. As Jesus said, “First . . . go . . ..” Even at the risk of being thought of as fanatical, you must obey what God tells you.
認識之道
人若立志遵著他的旨意行，就必曉得這教訓……（約七17）
屬靈悟性的金科玉律，不是智力，而是順服。人若想得著科學只是，可循智力好奇去求；但人若要洞悉主耶穌的教訓，只有靠順服。事情對我來說是隱晦難明的，可以肯定必然有什麼我是不肯去做的。智力上的暗晦從無知而來；屬靈的黑暗卻由不肯順服而來。人領受了神的話語後，總即時落在考驗之中。我們不肯順服，卻又稀奇自己何以在靈性上不見長進。耶穌說：[你在祭壇獻禮物的時候，若想起弟兄向你懷怨……先去同弟兄和好。 ]耶穌的教訓正命中我們生活的要害，在他面前我們一秒鐘也不能裝假。他的教導是徹底的。神的靈把自我維護的牆鑿開，又使我們對從未想過的事敏感起來。
主耶穌若指出什麼，不要規避。你若規避，就成了宗教騙徒。留意那些你聳肩不顧的事，就會明白為什麼靈性停滯不前。去吧，即使冒著被人稱為宗教狂熱者的危險，也必須順服神的吩咐。
祈禱◆[當他隱藏他的面，誰能看見他呢？ ]在這些等候的日子中，你與我們同在的記號是何其渺小。我不求任何外在成功的記號，只求能感應你的賜福和認可。
July 26, 2012
The Way to Purity
Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart . . . . For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man . . . —Matthew 15:18-20
Initially we trust in our ignorance, calling it innocence, and next we trust our innocence, calling it purity. Then when we hear these strong statements from our Lord, we shrink back, saying, “But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart.” We resent what He reveals. Either Jesus Christ is the supreme authority on the human heart, or He is not worth paying any attention to. Am I prepared to trust the penetration of His Word into my heart, or would I prefer to trust my own “innocent ignorance”? If I will take an honest look at myself, becoming fully aware of my so-called innocence and putting it to the test, I am very likely to have a rude awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I will be appalled at the possibilities of the evil and the wrong within me. But as long as I remain under the false security of my own “innocence,” I am living in a fool’s paradise. If I have never been an openly rude and abusive person, the only reason is my own cowardice coupled with the sense of protection I receive from living a civilized life. But when I am open and completely exposed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis of me.
The only thing that truly provides protection is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will simply hand myself over to Him, I will never have to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within my heart. Purity is something far too deep for me to arrive at naturally. But when the Holy Spirit comes into me, He brings into the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was exhibited in the life of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit, which is absolute unblemished purity.
清潔的賬
從心裡發出來的……（太十五18-20）
我們起初都信任自己的無知，稱之為無罪；又信任自己的無罪，稱之為清潔。於是當我們聽見主這番嚴厲的話，就會怯生生地說：[我從不覺得自己心中有這些可怖的髒東西呀！ ]我們厭惡主所揭示的。若耶穌基督不是人心里至高的權威，他就根本不值一顧。我是否願意信任他的明察，還是信任自己的天真無知？只要我試驗一下自己的清白，就勢必栗然醒覺主話的真實，也必震驚於自己偏向邪惡的性情。我之所以未淪為惡匪，無非是膽子不夠大，及文明社會的保障罷了。若在神面前赤露敞開，就必知道他的診斷無誤。
耶穌基督的救恩是唯一的保障。我若把自己交給他，就不必經歷內心那些可怕的性情。清潔太深邃了，憑天性我無法達至，但當聖靈來到就把那在主耶穌生命中彰顯的靈，帶進我生命中，我就變成毫無玷污的純潔。
祈禱◆噢，我的神，我在你的火焰中被焚燒和煉淨——今天我所發現的渣滓似乎太多，在我處理別人的錯失上，卻太少流露你那甜蜜而親切的恩典。主啊，赦免我。
Initially we trust in our ignorance, calling it innocence, and next we trust our innocence, calling it purity. Then when we hear these strong statements from our Lord, we shrink back, saying, “But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart.” We resent what He reveals. Either Jesus Christ is the supreme authority on the human heart, or He is not worth paying any attention to. Am I prepared to trust the penetration of His Word into my heart, or would I prefer to trust my own “innocent ignorance”? If I will take an honest look at myself, becoming fully aware of my so-called innocence and putting it to the test, I am very likely to have a rude awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I will be appalled at the possibilities of the evil and the wrong within me. But as long as I remain under the false security of my own “innocence,” I am living in a fool’s paradise. If I have never been an openly rude and abusive person, the only reason is my own cowardice coupled with the sense of protection I receive from living a civilized life. But when I am open and completely exposed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis of me.
The only thing that truly provides protection is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will simply hand myself over to Him, I will never have to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within my heart. Purity is something far too deep for me to arrive at naturally. But when the Holy Spirit comes into me, He brings into the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was exhibited in the life of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit, which is absolute unblemished purity.
清潔的賬
從心裡發出來的……（太十五18-20）
我們起初都信任自己的無知，稱之為無罪；又信任自己的無罪，稱之為清潔。於是當我們聽見主這番嚴厲的話，就會怯生生地說：[我從不覺得自己心中有這些可怖的髒東西呀！ ]我們厭惡主所揭示的。若耶穌基督不是人心里至高的權威，他就根本不值一顧。我是否願意信任他的明察，還是信任自己的天真無知？只要我試驗一下自己的清白，就勢必栗然醒覺主話的真實，也必震驚於自己偏向邪惡的性情。我之所以未淪為惡匪，無非是膽子不夠大，及文明社會的保障罷了。若在神面前赤露敞開，就必知道他的診斷無誤。
耶穌基督的救恩是唯一的保障。我若把自己交給他，就不必經歷內心那些可怕的性情。清潔太深邃了，憑天性我無法達至，但當聖靈來到就把那在主耶穌生命中彰顯的靈，帶進我生命中，我就變成毫無玷污的純潔。
祈禱◆噢，我的神，我在你的火焰中被焚燒和煉淨——今天我所發現的渣滓似乎太多，在我處理別人的錯失上，卻太少流露你那甜蜜而親切的恩典。主啊，赦免我。
July 25, 2012
Am I Blessed Like This?
Blessed are . . . —Matthew 5:3-11
When we first read the statements of Jesus, they seem wonderfully simple and unstartling, and they sink unnoticed into our subconscious minds. For instance, the Beatitudes initially seem to be merely soothing and beautiful precepts for overly spiritual and seemingly useless people, but of very little practical use in the rigid, fast-paced workdays of the world in which we live. We soon find, however, that the Beatitudes contain the “dynamite” of the Holy Spirit. And they “explode” when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do so. When the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance one of the Beatitudes, we say, “What a startling statement that is!” Then we must decide whether or not we will accept the tremendous spiritual upheaval that will be produced in our circumstances if we obey His words. That is the way the Spirit of God works. We do not need to be born again to apply the Sermon on the Mount literally. The literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount is as easy as child’s play. But the interpretation by the Spirit of God as He applies our Lord’s statements to our circumstances is the strict and difficult work of a saint.
The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort. We gradually have to conform our walk and conversation to the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations— it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us.
我有這福嗎？
……有福了。 （太五3-10）
初讀主耶穌的話時，但覺平平無奇，於是不自覺地拋諸腦後。例如八福就似乎只是一套溫和優美的觀念。是為那些超世閒逸的人而設的，對於這個冷酷、平凡的世界，並無實際用場。可是，不久我們就會發現，八福其實有聖靈的炸藥，當碰到生活環境的引發線，就會爆炸。聖靈會提醒人八福中的某一項，我們就會說：[多令人震驚的一句話呀！ ]我們就得決定，是否願意接受屬靈上的重大的改變。我們若肯順服，在所處的環境中就必產生得救的人，也可以依字面應用登山寶訓。按字面意義來解釋登山寶訓是小孩的玩意；但照神的靈把主的話應用在我們的際遇上，卻是聖徒一項嚴肅的功課。
耶穌的教訓與我們看事的常理大不相同，開始的時候會令人渾身不舒服。當聖靈把主的話應用在我們實際環境中，我們便要慢慢學習，依從主耶穌的觀念來做事及說話。登山寶訓不是一套規條，而是生活的寫照，就是當我們順服聖靈時所活出的生命。
祈禱◆主啊，最近我感到暗晦而不明朗，好像你正在帶領我進入一個真理的範疇，是我前所未到過的。主啊，高舉我，直至我看見你；支持我，直至我完成你的計劃。
When we first read the statements of Jesus, they seem wonderfully simple and unstartling, and they sink unnoticed into our subconscious minds. For instance, the Beatitudes initially seem to be merely soothing and beautiful precepts for overly spiritual and seemingly useless people, but of very little practical use in the rigid, fast-paced workdays of the world in which we live. We soon find, however, that the Beatitudes contain the “dynamite” of the Holy Spirit. And they “explode” when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do so. When the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance one of the Beatitudes, we say, “What a startling statement that is!” Then we must decide whether or not we will accept the tremendous spiritual upheaval that will be produced in our circumstances if we obey His words. That is the way the Spirit of God works. We do not need to be born again to apply the Sermon on the Mount literally. The literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount is as easy as child’s play. But the interpretation by the Spirit of God as He applies our Lord’s statements to our circumstances is the strict and difficult work of a saint.
The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort. We gradually have to conform our walk and conversation to the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations— it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us.
我有這福嗎？
……有福了。 （太五3-10）
初讀主耶穌的話時，但覺平平無奇，於是不自覺地拋諸腦後。例如八福就似乎只是一套溫和優美的觀念。是為那些超世閒逸的人而設的，對於這個冷酷、平凡的世界，並無實際用場。可是，不久我們就會發現，八福其實有聖靈的炸藥，當碰到生活環境的引發線，就會爆炸。聖靈會提醒人八福中的某一項，我們就會說：[多令人震驚的一句話呀！ ]我們就得決定，是否願意接受屬靈上的重大的改變。我們若肯順服，在所處的環境中就必產生得救的人，也可以依字面應用登山寶訓。按字面意義來解釋登山寶訓是小孩的玩意；但照神的靈把主的話應用在我們的際遇上，卻是聖徒一項嚴肅的功課。
耶穌的教訓與我們看事的常理大不相同，開始的時候會令人渾身不舒服。當聖靈把主的話應用在我們實際環境中，我們便要慢慢學習，依從主耶穌的觀念來做事及說話。登山寶訓不是一套規條，而是生活的寫照，就是當我們順服聖靈時所活出的生命。
祈禱◆主啊，最近我感到暗晦而不明朗，好像你正在帶領我進入一個真理的範疇，是我前所未到過的。主啊，高舉我，直至我看見你；支持我，直至我完成你的計劃。
July 24, 2012
His Nature and Our Motives
. . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven —Matthew 5:20
The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in his motives, having been made good by the supernatural grace of God. The only thing that exceeds right-doing is right-being. Jesus Christ came to place within anyone who would let Him a new heredity that would have a righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus is saying, “If you are My disciple, you must be right not only in your actions, but also in your motives, your aspirations, and in the deep recesses of the thoughts of your mind.” Your motives must be so pure that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke. Who can stand in the eternal light of God and have nothing for Him to rebuke? Only the Son of God, and Jesus Christ claims that through His redemption He can place within anyone His own nature and make that person as pure and as simple as a child. The purity that God demands is impossible unless I can be remade within, and that is exactly what Jesus has undertaken to do through His redemption.
No one can make himself pure by obeying laws. Jesus Christ does not give us rules and regulations— He gives us His teachings which are truths that can only be interpreted by His nature which He places within us. The great wonder of Jesus Christ’s salvation is that He changes our heredity. He does not change human nature— He changes its source, and thereby its motives as well.
性情與行為
你們的義，若不勝於文士和法利賽人的義，斷不能進天國。 （太五20）
門徒的特徵不是行善，而是出於善的動機，因為他在神超然的恩中成了善。唯一超越善行的，就是成善。耶穌來，是要把勝過文士和法利賽人的義的新遺傳，放進願意的人裡頭。耶穌說：[你若做我的門徒，不單行為要正，連動機、夢想、心靈的隱秘處也要正。動機要純正得連全能的神也無可指摘。 ]誰能站在神永恆的光中，無可指摘呢？只有神的兒子。而耶穌基督宣稱藉著救恩，就能使任何人在他的性情上有分，使他純潔如小孩子一樣。神所要求的純正，使人無法達到的，除非我裡面能重新再造，而耶穌的救恩正成就這事。
人無法憑守律法得潔淨，主耶穌給我們的也不是規則法條；他的教訓是真理，只有他放進我們裡面的性情，才可領會主救恩的奇妙，這就是他改變人的罪性。他不是改變人性，乃是改變人的本源。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，發出你的光輝，讓它運行在這地上，正如你曾在淵面上運行一樣。在你屬靈的領域中大大作工，幫助我豎立禱告的山嶺，並藉助雲彩，將祝福沛然降下。
The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in his motives, having been made good by the supernatural grace of God. The only thing that exceeds right-doing is right-being. Jesus Christ came to place within anyone who would let Him a new heredity that would have a righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus is saying, “If you are My disciple, you must be right not only in your actions, but also in your motives, your aspirations, and in the deep recesses of the thoughts of your mind.” Your motives must be so pure that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke. Who can stand in the eternal light of God and have nothing for Him to rebuke? Only the Son of God, and Jesus Christ claims that through His redemption He can place within anyone His own nature and make that person as pure and as simple as a child. The purity that God demands is impossible unless I can be remade within, and that is exactly what Jesus has undertaken to do through His redemption.
No one can make himself pure by obeying laws. Jesus Christ does not give us rules and regulations— He gives us His teachings which are truths that can only be interpreted by His nature which He places within us. The great wonder of Jesus Christ’s salvation is that He changes our heredity. He does not change human nature— He changes its source, and thereby its motives as well.
性情與行為
你們的義，若不勝於文士和法利賽人的義，斷不能進天國。 （太五20）
門徒的特徵不是行善，而是出於善的動機，因為他在神超然的恩中成了善。唯一超越善行的，就是成善。耶穌來，是要把勝過文士和法利賽人的義的新遺傳，放進願意的人裡頭。耶穌說：[你若做我的門徒，不單行為要正，連動機、夢想、心靈的隱秘處也要正。動機要純正得連全能的神也無可指摘。 ]誰能站在神永恆的光中，無可指摘呢？只有神的兒子。而耶穌基督宣稱藉著救恩，就能使任何人在他的性情上有分，使他純潔如小孩子一樣。神所要求的純正，使人無法達到的，除非我裡面能重新再造，而耶穌的救恩正成就這事。
人無法憑守律法得潔淨，主耶穌給我們的也不是規則法條；他的教訓是真理，只有他放進我們裡面的性情，才可領會主救恩的奇妙，這就是他改變人的罪性。他不是改變人性，乃是改變人的本源。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，發出你的光輝，讓它運行在這地上，正如你曾在淵面上運行一樣。在你屬靈的領域中大大作工，幫助我豎立禱告的山嶺，並藉助雲彩，將祝福沛然降下。
July 23, 2012
Sanctification (2)
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us . . . sanctification . . . —1 Corinthians 1:30
The Life Side. The mystery of sanctification is that the perfect qualities of Jesus Christ are imparted as a gift to me, not gradually, but instantly once I enter by faith into the realization that He “became for [me] . . . sanctification . . . .” Sanctification means nothing less than the holiness of Jesus becoming mine and being exhibited in my life.
The most wonderful secret of living a holy life does not lie in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfect qualities of Jesus exhibit themselves in my human flesh. Sanctification is “Christ in you . . .” (Colossians 1:27). It is His wonderful life that is imparted to me in sanctification— imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God’s grace. Am I willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His Word?
Sanctification means the impartation of the holy qualities of Jesus Christ to me. It is the gift of His patience, love, holiness, faith, purity, and godliness that is exhibited in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy— it is drawing from Jesus the very holiness that was exhibited in Him, and that He now exhibits in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is something altogether different. The perfection of everything is in Jesus Christ, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfect qualities of Jesus are at my disposal. Consequently, I slowly but surely begin to live a life of inexpressible order, soundness, and holiness— “. . . kept by the power of God . . .” (1 Peter 1:5).
成聖
你們得在基督耶穌裡，是本乎神，神又使他成為我們的……聖潔。 （林前一30）
生的一面。成聖的奧秘就是耶穌基督把自己完全賜給我，這不是漸進的，而是當我憑信體認耶穌基督成為我的聖潔那一刻，就即時得著。耶穌的聖潔成為我的聖潔，而且從我身上彰顯出來；這正是成聖的意思。
聖潔生活的秘訣，不在仿效耶穌，而是讓他的完美在我身上彰顯。成聖是：[基督在我裡面。 ]我因信領受他那奇妙的生命——神無上恩惠的禮物。我願意讓神使成聖在我裡面成為真實，就像他自己的話語一樣真實嗎？成聖就是耶穌基督聖潔的品質傳了給我。每一個分別為聖的人，彰顯的都是他的忍耐、他的愛心、他的信實、他的無暇、他的敬虔。成聖不是向耶穌支取聖潔的能力，而是支取他本身的聖潔；是他使聖潔在我身上彰顯出來。成聖是賜予，不是模仿。模仿是另一回事。在耶穌基督裡，一切皆完全；而成聖的奧秘，就在於我可以取用他一切的完美。於是慢慢地，但肯定地，我便開始過有條不紊、健康、聖潔的生活，是[蒙神能力保守的]。
祈禱◆主啊，真的，我不需要更多的證據，證明你話語中有關人內心的真理；即使那是你的心意，我還是不想在這方面再知道更多。我想更多認識的，是關乎你偉大和滿有恩典的救贖。
The Life Side. The mystery of sanctification is that the perfect qualities of Jesus Christ are imparted as a gift to me, not gradually, but instantly once I enter by faith into the realization that He “became for [me] . . . sanctification . . . .” Sanctification means nothing less than the holiness of Jesus becoming mine and being exhibited in my life.
The most wonderful secret of living a holy life does not lie in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfect qualities of Jesus exhibit themselves in my human flesh. Sanctification is “Christ in you . . .” (Colossians 1:27). It is His wonderful life that is imparted to me in sanctification— imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God’s grace. Am I willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His Word?
Sanctification means the impartation of the holy qualities of Jesus Christ to me. It is the gift of His patience, love, holiness, faith, purity, and godliness that is exhibited in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy— it is drawing from Jesus the very holiness that was exhibited in Him, and that He now exhibits in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is something altogether different. The perfection of everything is in Jesus Christ, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfect qualities of Jesus are at my disposal. Consequently, I slowly but surely begin to live a life of inexpressible order, soundness, and holiness— “. . . kept by the power of God . . .” (1 Peter 1:5).
成聖
你們得在基督耶穌裡，是本乎神，神又使他成為我們的……聖潔。 （林前一30）
生的一面。成聖的奧秘就是耶穌基督把自己完全賜給我，這不是漸進的，而是當我憑信體認耶穌基督成為我的聖潔那一刻，就即時得著。耶穌的聖潔成為我的聖潔，而且從我身上彰顯出來；這正是成聖的意思。
聖潔生活的秘訣，不在仿效耶穌，而是讓他的完美在我身上彰顯。成聖是：[基督在我裡面。 ]我因信領受他那奇妙的生命——神無上恩惠的禮物。我願意讓神使成聖在我裡面成為真實，就像他自己的話語一樣真實嗎？成聖就是耶穌基督聖潔的品質傳了給我。每一個分別為聖的人，彰顯的都是他的忍耐、他的愛心、他的信實、他的無暇、他的敬虔。成聖不是向耶穌支取聖潔的能力，而是支取他本身的聖潔；是他使聖潔在我身上彰顯出來。成聖是賜予，不是模仿。模仿是另一回事。在耶穌基督裡，一切皆完全；而成聖的奧秘，就在於我可以取用他一切的完美。於是慢慢地，但肯定地，我便開始過有條不紊、健康、聖潔的生活，是[蒙神能力保守的]。
祈禱◆主啊，真的，我不需要更多的證據，證明你話語中有關人內心的真理；即使那是你的心意，我還是不想在這方面再知道更多。我想更多認識的，是關乎你偉大和滿有恩典的救贖。
July 22, 2012
Sanctification (1)
This is the will of God, your sanctification. . . —1 Thessalonians 4:3
The Death Side. In sanctification God has to deal with us on the death side as well as on the life side. Sanctification requires our coming to the place of death, but many of us spend so much time there that we become morbid. There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized— something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ. When the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle starts immediately. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate . . . his own life . . . he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).
In the process of sanctification, the Spirit of God will strip me down until there is nothing left but myself, and that is the place of death. Am I willing to be myself and nothing more? Am I willing to have no friends, no father, no brother, and no self-interest— simply to be ready for death? That is the condition required for sanctification. No wonder Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). This is where the battle comes, and where so many of us falter. We refuse to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ on this point. We say, “But this is so strict. Surely He does not require that of me.” Our Lord is strict, and He does require that of us.
Am I willing to reduce myself down to simply “me”? Am I determined enough to strip myself of all that my friends think of me, and all that I think of myself? Am I willing and determined to hand over my simple naked self to God? Once I am, He will immediately sanctify me completely, and my life will be free from being determined and persistent toward anything except God (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
When I pray, “Lord, show me what sanctification means for me,” He will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus puts in me— it is Himself in me (see 1 Corinthians 1:30).
成聖
神的旨意就是要你們成為聖潔。 （帖前四3）
死的一面。在成聖的工夫上，神不但在生方面對付我們，也要在死方面對付我們。很多人在死裡停留太久，以致死氣沉沉。成聖之前，必有一場生死站，必有某些東西拖著我們，叫我們厭惡主。當神的靈向我們啟示成聖的意思，爭戰就開始了。 [人到我這裡來……若不恨（原文）自己的性命，就不能作我的門徒。 ]
在成聖的過程中，神的靈把我的外衣脫掉，只剩下我[自己]，就是到了死地。我甘願單做自己嗎？再沒有別的了——沒有朋友、沒有父親、沒有弟兄、沒有自我的籌算，單單準備去死，這就是成聖的條件。怪不得主耶穌說：[我來不是叫地上太平，乃是叫地上動刀兵。 ]這就是戰爭所在，許多人就在此仆倒：我們不肯在這點上與主耶穌的死聯合。我們會說：[這個太嚴厲了，他不能冀求我這樣做。 ]我們的主的確是嚴厲的，他的確要求我們如此行。
我願不願意單單做[自己]，脫去一切人對我的看法，以及我自己對自己的看法，然後把這赤裸的[己]交給神？我若這樣行，神就使我全然成聖。從此，在我生命中，除了神以外，一切都變得不重要了。我若求神：[主啊，指示我成聖之道。 ]他就指示我。成聖就是與耶穌合而為一，他不是把一些東西放進我裡面；乃是他自己在我裡面。
The Death Side. In sanctification God has to deal with us on the death side as well as on the life side. Sanctification requires our coming to the place of death, but many of us spend so much time there that we become morbid. There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized— something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ. When the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle starts immediately. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate . . . his own life . . . he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).
In the process of sanctification, the Spirit of God will strip me down until there is nothing left but myself, and that is the place of death. Am I willing to be myself and nothing more? Am I willing to have no friends, no father, no brother, and no self-interest— simply to be ready for death? That is the condition required for sanctification. No wonder Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). This is where the battle comes, and where so many of us falter. We refuse to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ on this point. We say, “But this is so strict. Surely He does not require that of me.” Our Lord is strict, and He does require that of us.
Am I willing to reduce myself down to simply “me”? Am I determined enough to strip myself of all that my friends think of me, and all that I think of myself? Am I willing and determined to hand over my simple naked self to God? Once I am, He will immediately sanctify me completely, and my life will be free from being determined and persistent toward anything except God (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
When I pray, “Lord, show me what sanctification means for me,” He will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus puts in me— it is Himself in me (see 1 Corinthians 1:30).
成聖
神的旨意就是要你們成為聖潔。 （帖前四3）
死的一面。在成聖的工夫上，神不但在生方面對付我們，也要在死方面對付我們。很多人在死裡停留太久，以致死氣沉沉。成聖之前，必有一場生死站，必有某些東西拖著我們，叫我們厭惡主。當神的靈向我們啟示成聖的意思，爭戰就開始了。 [人到我這裡來……若不恨（原文）自己的性命，就不能作我的門徒。 ]
在成聖的過程中，神的靈把我的外衣脫掉，只剩下我[自己]，就是到了死地。我甘願單做自己嗎？再沒有別的了——沒有朋友、沒有父親、沒有弟兄、沒有自我的籌算，單單準備去死，這就是成聖的條件。怪不得主耶穌說：[我來不是叫地上太平，乃是叫地上動刀兵。 ]這就是戰爭所在，許多人就在此仆倒：我們不肯在這點上與主耶穌的死聯合。我們會說：[這個太嚴厲了，他不能冀求我這樣做。 ]我們的主的確是嚴厲的，他的確要求我們如此行。
我願不願意單單做[自己]，脫去一切人對我的看法，以及我自己對自己的看法，然後把這赤裸的[己]交給神？我若這樣行，神就使我全然成聖。從此，在我生命中，除了神以外，一切都變得不重要了。我若求神：[主啊，指示我成聖之道。 ]他就指示我。成聖就是與耶穌合而為一，他不是把一些東西放進我裡面；乃是他自己在我裡面。
July 21, 2012
The Doorway to the Kingdom
Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . —Matthew 5:3
Beware of thinking of our Lord as only a teacher. If Jesus Christ is only a teacher, then all He can do is frustrate me by setting a standard before me I cannot attain. What is the point of presenting me with such a lofty ideal if I cannot possibly come close to reaching it? I would be happier if I never knew it. What good is there in telling me to be what I can never be— to be “pure in heart” (Matthew 5:8), to do more than my duty, or to be completely devoted to God? I must know Jesus Christ as my Savior before His teaching has any meaning for me other than that of a lofty ideal which only leads to despair. But when I am born again by the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come only to teach— He came to make me what He teaches I should be. The redemption means that Jesus Christ can place within anyone the same nature that ruled His own life, and all the standards God gives us are based on that nature.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount produces a sense of despair in the natural man— exactly what Jesus means for it to do. As long as we have some self-righteous idea that we can carry out our Lord’s teaching, God will allow us to continue until we expose our own ignorance by stumbling over some obstacle in our way. Only then are we willing to come to Him as paupers and receive from Him. “Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . .” This is the first principle in the kingdom of God. The underlying foundation of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty, not possessions; not making decisions for Jesus, but having such a sense of absolute futility that we finally admit, “Lord, I cannot even begin to do it.” Then Jesus says, “Blessed are you . . .” (Matthew 5:11). This is the doorway to the kingdom, and yet it takes us so long to believe that we are actually poor! The knowledge of our own poverty is what brings us to the proper place where Jesus Christ accomplishes His work.
進天國的門
虛心的人有福了。 （太五3）
當心不要把主教師的身分放在第一位。耶穌基督若光是一位教師，他所作的無非是設立了一些我無法達到的標準來戲弄我。若根本是無法達到的理想，介紹給我有何用？我不知道反更妙。要我清心，要我連非分內的事也作，要我完全歸向神，可是我卻無力達到，告訴我這些有何益處？若要基督的教訓對我真有意義，而不是引志絕望的空理想，我就必須以耶穌基督為救主。我在神的靈裡重生活，就曉得耶穌基督來不是單為教導；他更要使我成為他所教導的。救恩是主耶穌把他的性情，放進任何人裡面。而神一切的標準，都是根據主耶穌的性情而定。
對一個未有新生命的人，登山寶訓只會帶來絕望，這正是主耶穌的用意。因為我們若仍然自以為義，自高自傲，以為自己可以實踐主的教訓，神就會任由我們，讓難處揭露我們的無知，叫我們像叫化子一般來親就他，接受他的施予。 [心靈貧乏的人有福了。 ]這是天國的第一原則。主耶穌國度的基石是貧窮，不是產業；不是決志接受耶穌基督，而是完全無能為力的：[我不知從何著手。 ]那時耶穌說：[你有福了。 ]這就是門，我們往往要走好運的路，才相信自己真的貧窮！若知道自己貧窮，就是已經來到作工的道德前線。
Beware of thinking of our Lord as only a teacher. If Jesus Christ is only a teacher, then all He can do is frustrate me by setting a standard before me I cannot attain. What is the point of presenting me with such a lofty ideal if I cannot possibly come close to reaching it? I would be happier if I never knew it. What good is there in telling me to be what I can never be— to be “pure in heart” (Matthew 5:8), to do more than my duty, or to be completely devoted to God? I must know Jesus Christ as my Savior before His teaching has any meaning for me other than that of a lofty ideal which only leads to despair. But when I am born again by the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come only to teach— He came to make me what He teaches I should be. The redemption means that Jesus Christ can place within anyone the same nature that ruled His own life, and all the standards God gives us are based on that nature.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount produces a sense of despair in the natural man— exactly what Jesus means for it to do. As long as we have some self-righteous idea that we can carry out our Lord’s teaching, God will allow us to continue until we expose our own ignorance by stumbling over some obstacle in our way. Only then are we willing to come to Him as paupers and receive from Him. “Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . .” This is the first principle in the kingdom of God. The underlying foundation of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty, not possessions; not making decisions for Jesus, but having such a sense of absolute futility that we finally admit, “Lord, I cannot even begin to do it.” Then Jesus says, “Blessed are you . . .” (Matthew 5:11). This is the doorway to the kingdom, and yet it takes us so long to believe that we are actually poor! The knowledge of our own poverty is what brings us to the proper place where Jesus Christ accomplishes His work.
進天國的門
虛心的人有福了。 （太五3）
當心不要把主教師的身分放在第一位。耶穌基督若光是一位教師，他所作的無非是設立了一些我無法達到的標準來戲弄我。若根本是無法達到的理想，介紹給我有何用？我不知道反更妙。要我清心，要我連非分內的事也作，要我完全歸向神，可是我卻無力達到，告訴我這些有何益處？若要基督的教訓對我真有意義，而不是引志絕望的空理想，我就必須以耶穌基督為救主。我在神的靈裡重生活，就曉得耶穌基督來不是單為教導；他更要使我成為他所教導的。救恩是主耶穌把他的性情，放進任何人裡面。而神一切的標準，都是根據主耶穌的性情而定。
對一個未有新生命的人，登山寶訓只會帶來絕望，這正是主耶穌的用意。因為我們若仍然自以為義，自高自傲，以為自己可以實踐主的教訓，神就會任由我們，讓難處揭露我們的無知，叫我們像叫化子一般來親就他，接受他的施予。 [心靈貧乏的人有福了。 ]這是天國的第一原則。主耶穌國度的基石是貧窮，不是產業；不是決志接受耶穌基督，而是完全無能為力的：[我不知從何著手。 ]那時耶穌說：[你有福了。 ]這就是門，我們往往要走好運的路，才相信自己真的貧窮！若知道自己貧窮，就是已經來到作工的道德前線。
July 20, 2012
Dependent on God’s Presence
Those who wait on the Lord . . . shall walk and not faint —Isaiah 40:31
There is no thrill for us in walking, yet it is the test for all of our steady and enduring qualities. To “walk and not faint” is the highest stretch possible as a measure of strength. The word walk is used in the Bible to express the character of a person— “. . . John . . . looking at Jesus as He walked. . . said, ’Behold the Lamb of God!’ ” (John 1:35-36). There is nothing abstract or obscure in the Bible; everything is vivid and real. God does not say, “Be spiritual,” but He says, “Walk before Me. . .” (Genesis 17:1).
When we are in an unhealthy condition either physically or emotionally, we always look for thrills in life. In our physical life this leads to our efforts to counterfeit the work of the Holy Spirit; in our emotional life it leads to obsessions and to the destruction of our morality; and in our spiritual life, if we insist on pursuing only thrills, on mounting up “with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31), it will result in the destruction of our spirituality.
Having the reality of God’s presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually. Our problems arise when we refuse to place our trust in the reality of His presence. The experience the psalmist speaks of— “We will not fear, even though . . .” (Psalm 46:2)— will be ours once we are grounded on the truth of the reality of God’s presence, not just a simple awareness of it, but an understanding of the reality of it. Then we will exclaim, “He has been here all the time!” At critical moments in our lives it is necessary to ask God for guidance, but it should be unnecessary to be constantly saying, “Oh, Lord, direct me in this, and in that.” Of course He will, and in fact, He is doing it already! If our everyday decisions are not according to His will, He will press through them, bringing restraint to our spirit. Then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence.
倚靠神的同在
但那等候耶和華的……行走卻不疲乏。 （賽四十31）
行路並無甚刺激，但卻是一切堅定品質的考驗。 [行走卻不疲乏]，是能力最高的境地。聖經中用[行走]來描畫人的品質——[約翰見耶穌行走，就說，看哪，這是神的羔羊！ ]聖經的話從不抽象，總是生動而真實。神沒有說：[你要屬靈。 ]他是說：[行在我裡面。 ]我們的身體或情緒上處於不健康的狀態，就會尋求刺激，尋求凌空飛翔的經歷，就會招來屬靈破產的結局。
神同在的真實，不在乎地方，只在乎我們決心把主常擺在面前。許多的問題，都出自不肯信賴他同在的事實。詩人說：[雖然……我們也不害怕。 ]若我們倚靠他，也能有同樣的經歷；者不是倚靠神同在的感覺，而是抓緊神同在的真實。 ——[噢，他原來一直都在這裡！ ]。當然，在緊急關頭時可以求主指引，但卻不需要一天到晚說：[主啊，帶領我這個，帶領我那個。 ]他必會帶領的。我們按常理作的決定，若不合神的心，他自會插手阻攔；這是，我們就得安靜，等候他的引導。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，你的道路何等奇妙！當我回想你帶領和陪同我走過的道路，我便在驚嘆、愛意和讚美中渾然忘我。
There is no thrill for us in walking, yet it is the test for all of our steady and enduring qualities. To “walk and not faint” is the highest stretch possible as a measure of strength. The word walk is used in the Bible to express the character of a person— “. . . John . . . looking at Jesus as He walked. . . said, ’Behold the Lamb of God!’ ” (John 1:35-36). There is nothing abstract or obscure in the Bible; everything is vivid and real. God does not say, “Be spiritual,” but He says, “Walk before Me. . .” (Genesis 17:1).
When we are in an unhealthy condition either physically or emotionally, we always look for thrills in life. In our physical life this leads to our efforts to counterfeit the work of the Holy Spirit; in our emotional life it leads to obsessions and to the destruction of our morality; and in our spiritual life, if we insist on pursuing only thrills, on mounting up “with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31), it will result in the destruction of our spirituality.
Having the reality of God’s presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually. Our problems arise when we refuse to place our trust in the reality of His presence. The experience the psalmist speaks of— “We will not fear, even though . . .” (Psalm 46:2)— will be ours once we are grounded on the truth of the reality of God’s presence, not just a simple awareness of it, but an understanding of the reality of it. Then we will exclaim, “He has been here all the time!” At critical moments in our lives it is necessary to ask God for guidance, but it should be unnecessary to be constantly saying, “Oh, Lord, direct me in this, and in that.” Of course He will, and in fact, He is doing it already! If our everyday decisions are not according to His will, He will press through them, bringing restraint to our spirit. Then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence.
倚靠神的同在
但那等候耶和華的……行走卻不疲乏。 （賽四十31）
行路並無甚刺激，但卻是一切堅定品質的考驗。 [行走卻不疲乏]，是能力最高的境地。聖經中用[行走]來描畫人的品質——[約翰見耶穌行走，就說，看哪，這是神的羔羊！ ]聖經的話從不抽象，總是生動而真實。神沒有說：[你要屬靈。 ]他是說：[行在我裡面。 ]我們的身體或情緒上處於不健康的狀態，就會尋求刺激，尋求凌空飛翔的經歷，就會招來屬靈破產的結局。
神同在的真實，不在乎地方，只在乎我們決心把主常擺在面前。許多的問題，都出自不肯信賴他同在的事實。詩人說：[雖然……我們也不害怕。 ]若我們倚靠他，也能有同樣的經歷；者不是倚靠神同在的感覺，而是抓緊神同在的真實。 ——[噢，他原來一直都在這裡！ ]。當然，在緊急關頭時可以求主指引，但卻不需要一天到晚說：[主啊，帶領我這個，帶領我那個。 ]他必會帶領的。我們按常理作的決定，若不合神的心，他自會插手阻攔；這是，我們就得安靜，等候他的引導。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，你的道路何等奇妙！當我回想你帶領和陪同我走過的道路，我便在驚嘆、愛意和讚美中渾然忘我。
July 19, 2012
The Submission of the Believer
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am —John 13:13
Our Lord never insists on having authority over us. He never says, “You will submit to me.” No, He leaves us perfectly free to choose— so free, in fact, that we can spit in His face or we can put Him to death, as others have done; and yet He will never say a word. But once His life has been created in me through His redemption, I instantly recognize His right to absolute authority over me. It is a complete and effective domination, in which I acknowledge that “You are worthy, O Lord . . .” (Revelation 4:11). It is simply the unworthiness within me that refuses to bow down or to submit to one who is worthy. When I meet someone who is more holy than myself, and I don’t recognize his worthiness, nor obey his instructions for me, it is a sign of my own unworthiness being revealed. God teaches us by using these people who are a little better than we are; not better intellectually, but more holy. And He continues to do so until we willingly submit. Then the whole attitude of our life is one of obedience to Him.
If our Lord insisted on our obedience, He would simply become a taskmaster and cease to have any real authority. He never insists on obedience, but when we truly see Him we will instantly obey Him. Then He is easily Lord of our life, and we live in adoration of Him from morning till night. The level of my growth in grace is revealed by the way I look at obedience. We should have a much higher view of the word obedience, rescuing it from the mire of the world. Obedience is only possible between people who are equals in their relationship to each other; like the relationship between father and son, not that between master and servant. Jesus showed this relationship by saying, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). “. . . though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). The Son was obedient as our Redeemer, because He was the Son, not in order to become God’s Son.
信徒的主
你們稱呼我夫子，稱呼我主，你們說的不錯，我未來是。 （約十三13）
我們的主從不堅持他的主權；他從不說——[你必須這樣]。他給我們絕對的自由。我們可以吐唾沫在他面前，像世人一樣；也可以把他置諸死地，像昔日的人一樣；他不會發一言。可是當他的生命藉救恩創造在我裡面後，他在我身上便有絕對的主權。這屬道德上的管治——[你配得]。只是我裡面那不配的，拒絕向那配的俯伏。當我碰見一個比我聖潔的人，不肯去尊敬他，也不肯順服從他發出的命令，這正暴露了我的不配。神往往用一些比我們好的人——不是知識上比我們好，而是比我們聖潔的人——來管教我們，直至我們服在他的管治之下，直至我們整個的人生態度都順服他。
若我們的主堅持要我們順服，他就成了一個管工，不再有什麼權威了。他從不堅持要我們順服，可是我們若真看見他，就必立時順服。他很自然地成為我們的主，從早到晚我們都活在對他的欽慕之中。對順服的看法，可以顯示我在恩典中有多少長進。 [順服]一詞，指到必須從泥坑中救拔出來。只有地位平等才有順服，這是父子的關係，而非主僕的關係。 [我與父原為一]，[他雖然為兒子，還是因所受的苦難學了順從]。身子的順服是要做救贖者，他順服是因為他是兒子，而不是為了成為兒子而順服。
祈禱◆主啊，帶領我更加靠近你，直至我在你的工作中，對你愈來愈有用。
Our Lord never insists on having authority over us. He never says, “You will submit to me.” No, He leaves us perfectly free to choose— so free, in fact, that we can spit in His face or we can put Him to death, as others have done; and yet He will never say a word. But once His life has been created in me through His redemption, I instantly recognize His right to absolute authority over me. It is a complete and effective domination, in which I acknowledge that “You are worthy, O Lord . . .” (Revelation 4:11). It is simply the unworthiness within me that refuses to bow down or to submit to one who is worthy. When I meet someone who is more holy than myself, and I don’t recognize his worthiness, nor obey his instructions for me, it is a sign of my own unworthiness being revealed. God teaches us by using these people who are a little better than we are; not better intellectually, but more holy. And He continues to do so until we willingly submit. Then the whole attitude of our life is one of obedience to Him.
If our Lord insisted on our obedience, He would simply become a taskmaster and cease to have any real authority. He never insists on obedience, but when we truly see Him we will instantly obey Him. Then He is easily Lord of our life, and we live in adoration of Him from morning till night. The level of my growth in grace is revealed by the way I look at obedience. We should have a much higher view of the word obedience, rescuing it from the mire of the world. Obedience is only possible between people who are equals in their relationship to each other; like the relationship between father and son, not that between master and servant. Jesus showed this relationship by saying, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). “. . . though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). The Son was obedient as our Redeemer, because He was the Son, not in order to become God’s Son.
信徒的主
你們稱呼我夫子，稱呼我主，你們說的不錯，我未來是。 （約十三13）
我們的主從不堅持他的主權；他從不說——[你必須這樣]。他給我們絕對的自由。我們可以吐唾沫在他面前，像世人一樣；也可以把他置諸死地，像昔日的人一樣；他不會發一言。可是當他的生命藉救恩創造在我裡面後，他在我身上便有絕對的主權。這屬道德上的管治——[你配得]。只是我裡面那不配的，拒絕向那配的俯伏。當我碰見一個比我聖潔的人，不肯去尊敬他，也不肯順服從他發出的命令，這正暴露了我的不配。神往往用一些比我們好的人——不是知識上比我們好，而是比我們聖潔的人——來管教我們，直至我們服在他的管治之下，直至我們整個的人生態度都順服他。
若我們的主堅持要我們順服，他就成了一個管工，不再有什麼權威了。他從不堅持要我們順服，可是我們若真看見他，就必立時順服。他很自然地成為我們的主，從早到晚我們都活在對他的欽慕之中。對順服的看法，可以顯示我在恩典中有多少長進。 [順服]一詞，指到必須從泥坑中救拔出來。只有地位平等才有順服，這是父子的關係，而非主僕的關係。 [我與父原為一]，[他雖然為兒子，還是因所受的苦難學了順從]。身子的順服是要做救贖者，他順服是因為他是兒子，而不是為了成為兒子而順服。
祈禱◆主啊，帶領我更加靠近你，直至我在你的工作中，對你愈來愈有用。
July 18, 2012
The Mystery of Believing
He said, "Who are You, Lord? —Acts 9:5
Through the miracle of redemption, Saul of Tarsus was instantly changed from a strong-willed and forceful Pharisee into a humble and devoted bondservant of the Lord Jesus.
There is nothing miraculous or mysterious about the things we can explain. We control what we are able to explain, consequently it is only natural to seek an explanation for everything. It is not natural to obey, yet it is not necessarily sinful to disobey. There can be no real disobedience, nor any moral virtue in obedience, unless a person recognizes the higher authority of the one giving the orders. If this recognition does not exist, even the one giving the orders may view the other person’s disobedience as freedom. If one rules another by saying, “You must do this,” and, “You will do that,” he breaks the human spirit, making it unfit for God. A person is simply a slave for obeying, unless behind his obedience is the recognition of a holy God.
Many people begin coming to God once they stop being religious, because there is only one master of the human heart— Jesus Christ, not religion. But “Woe is me” if after seeing Him I still will not obey (Isaiah 6:5 , also see Isaiah 6:1). Jesus will never insist that I obey, but if I don’t,I have already begun to sign the death certificate of the Son of God in my soul. When I stand face to face with Jesus Christ and say, “I will not obey,” He will never insist. But when I do this, I am backing away from the recreating power of His redemption. It makes no difference to God’s grace what an abomination I am, if I will only come to the light. But “Woe is me” if I refuse the light (see John 3:19-21).
信的奧秘
他說，主啊，你是誰？ （徒九5）
救贖的奇跡，使大數的掃羅由一個認真、意志堅強的法利賽人，一刻之間變成主耶穌謙卑的忠僕。可以解釋的事根本就無奇妙可言。可以解釋的事便能控制，所以我們要求解釋是極自然的。順服並非自然的事；不順服也並不一定有罪。除非我承認有一更高的權威指揮一切，否則順服不算甚麼德行。對別人而言，不順服可能是一種解放。一個人若對另一個人說：[你一定要這樣。 ]他就傷害了那人的靈，這樣的靈並不合神用。順服的背後必須承認有一位聖潔的神，否則，只淪為順服的奴隸。許多人要擺脫宗教的外殼，才能真正來到神面前。因為心裡只有一位主人，這不是宗教，而是耶穌基督。倘若我見他，卻對他說：[我不肯。 ]我就有禍了。他不會強求，但我已在心裡神兒子的死亡證上簽了字。我面對主耶穌，卻對他說：[我不願意。 ]他斷不會堅持，但這樣我就從救恩的再造大能中退後了。我若肯來就光，不管我怎樣可惡，神的恩典總不會計較；我若不肯來到光中，就有禍了（參約三19-21）。
祈禱◆[看啊！這些不過是他的道路顯而易見的部分，至於他能力的響聲誰能明白呢？ ]那許多無根的思緒在我的腦海中浮過，除非我的黑暗蒙你光照，否則對於屬你的東西，我全無智慧和知識。
Through the miracle of redemption, Saul of Tarsus was instantly changed from a strong-willed and forceful Pharisee into a humble and devoted bondservant of the Lord Jesus.
There is nothing miraculous or mysterious about the things we can explain. We control what we are able to explain, consequently it is only natural to seek an explanation for everything. It is not natural to obey, yet it is not necessarily sinful to disobey. There can be no real disobedience, nor any moral virtue in obedience, unless a person recognizes the higher authority of the one giving the orders. If this recognition does not exist, even the one giving the orders may view the other person’s disobedience as freedom. If one rules another by saying, “You must do this,” and, “You will do that,” he breaks the human spirit, making it unfit for God. A person is simply a slave for obeying, unless behind his obedience is the recognition of a holy God.
Many people begin coming to God once they stop being religious, because there is only one master of the human heart— Jesus Christ, not religion. But “Woe is me” if after seeing Him I still will not obey (Isaiah 6:5 , also see Isaiah 6:1). Jesus will never insist that I obey, but if I don’t,I have already begun to sign the death certificate of the Son of God in my soul. When I stand face to face with Jesus Christ and say, “I will not obey,” He will never insist. But when I do this, I am backing away from the recreating power of His redemption. It makes no difference to God’s grace what an abomination I am, if I will only come to the light. But “Woe is me” if I refuse the light (see John 3:19-21).
信的奧秘
他說，主啊，你是誰？ （徒九5）
救贖的奇跡，使大數的掃羅由一個認真、意志堅強的法利賽人，一刻之間變成主耶穌謙卑的忠僕。可以解釋的事根本就無奇妙可言。可以解釋的事便能控制，所以我們要求解釋是極自然的。順服並非自然的事；不順服也並不一定有罪。除非我承認有一更高的權威指揮一切，否則順服不算甚麼德行。對別人而言，不順服可能是一種解放。一個人若對另一個人說：[你一定要這樣。 ]他就傷害了那人的靈，這樣的靈並不合神用。順服的背後必須承認有一位聖潔的神，否則，只淪為順服的奴隸。許多人要擺脫宗教的外殼，才能真正來到神面前。因為心裡只有一位主人，這不是宗教，而是耶穌基督。倘若我見他，卻對他說：[我不肯。 ]我就有禍了。他不會強求，但我已在心裡神兒子的死亡證上簽了字。我面對主耶穌，卻對他說：[我不願意。 ]他斷不會堅持，但這樣我就從救恩的再造大能中退後了。我若肯來就光，不管我怎樣可惡，神的恩典總不會計較；我若不肯來到光中，就有禍了（參約三19-21）。
祈禱◆[看啊！這些不過是他的道路顯而易見的部分，至於他能力的響聲誰能明白呢？ ]那許多無根的思緒在我的腦海中浮過，除非我的黑暗蒙你光照，否則對於屬你的東西，我全無智慧和知識。
July 17, 2012
The Miracle of Belief
My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom . . . —1 Corinthians 2:4
Paul was a scholar and an orator of the highest degree; he was not speaking here out of a deep sense of humility, but was saying that when he preached the gospel, he would veil the power of God if he impressed people with the excellency of his speech. Belief in Jesus is a miracle produced only by the effectiveness of redemption, not by impressive speech, nor by wooing and persuading, but only by the sheer unaided power of God. The creative power of redemption comes through the preaching of the gospel, but never because of the personality of the preacher.
Real and effective fasting by a preacher is not fasting from food, but fasting from eloquence, from impressive diction, and from everything else that might hinder the gospel of God being presented. The preacher is there as the representative of God— “. . . as though God were pleading through us . . .” (2 Corinthians 5:20). He is there to present the gospel of God. If it is only because of my preaching that people desire to be better, they will never get close to Jesus Christ. Anything that flatters me in my preaching of the gospel will result in making me a traitor to Jesus, and I prevent the creative power of His redemption from doing its work.
“And I, if I am lifted up. . . , will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32).
信的神跡
我說的話講的道，不是用智慧委婉的言語。 （林前二1－5）
保羅是第一流的學者和演說家；他說這話並非出於下乘的謙遜，乃是說如果他傳福音時，若用漂亮的言詞去吸引人，就掩蓋了神的能力。信耶穌時一項神跡，惟救恩的功效，不是靠話語的魔力、諂媚、說服，而是單憑神的大能。救贖的創造大能，是由傳福音，而不是傳道者的人格帶出來。傳道者真正的禁食，不是食物的禁食，而是在辭鋒、出奇吸引的字眼，及一切阻攔神福音傳送的東西上禁食。傳道者是神的代表——[就好像神藉我們勸你們一般。 ]他要傳的是神的福音。若人單因為我的講道，而發奮向上，他們就永遠無法接近主耶穌。我傳福音若有任何高舉自己，就必使我成了主耶穌的叛徒，因為我攔阻了他救贖的創造大能作工。 [我若從地上被舉起來，就要吸引萬人來歸向我。 ]
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我何等需要你！我來到你面前，求你恩慈地將更新的生命賜給我，直至我的理解力、想像力和說話都全屬於你。今天我所尋求的，是你的感動和振奮的恩典。
Paul was a scholar and an orator of the highest degree; he was not speaking here out of a deep sense of humility, but was saying that when he preached the gospel, he would veil the power of God if he impressed people with the excellency of his speech. Belief in Jesus is a miracle produced only by the effectiveness of redemption, not by impressive speech, nor by wooing and persuading, but only by the sheer unaided power of God. The creative power of redemption comes through the preaching of the gospel, but never because of the personality of the preacher.
Real and effective fasting by a preacher is not fasting from food, but fasting from eloquence, from impressive diction, and from everything else that might hinder the gospel of God being presented. The preacher is there as the representative of God— “. . . as though God were pleading through us . . .” (2 Corinthians 5:20). He is there to present the gospel of God. If it is only because of my preaching that people desire to be better, they will never get close to Jesus Christ. Anything that flatters me in my preaching of the gospel will result in making me a traitor to Jesus, and I prevent the creative power of His redemption from doing its work.
“And I, if I am lifted up. . . , will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32).
信的神跡
我說的話講的道，不是用智慧委婉的言語。 （林前二1－5）
保羅是第一流的學者和演說家；他說這話並非出於下乘的謙遜，乃是說如果他傳福音時，若用漂亮的言詞去吸引人，就掩蓋了神的能力。信耶穌時一項神跡，惟救恩的功效，不是靠話語的魔力、諂媚、說服，而是單憑神的大能。救贖的創造大能，是由傳福音，而不是傳道者的人格帶出來。傳道者真正的禁食，不是食物的禁食，而是在辭鋒、出奇吸引的字眼，及一切阻攔神福音傳送的東西上禁食。傳道者是神的代表——[就好像神藉我們勸你們一般。 ]他要傳的是神的福音。若人單因為我的講道，而發奮向上，他們就永遠無法接近主耶穌。我傳福音若有任何高舉自己，就必使我成了主耶穌的叛徒，因為我攔阻了他救贖的創造大能作工。 [我若從地上被舉起來，就要吸引萬人來歸向我。 ]
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我何等需要你！我來到你面前，求你恩慈地將更新的生命賜給我，直至我的理解力、想像力和說話都全屬於你。今天我所尋求的，是你的感動和振奮的恩典。
July 16, 2012
The Concept of Divine Control
. . . how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! —Matthew 7:11
Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct in this passage for those people who have His Spirit. He urges us to keep our minds filled with the concept of God’s control over everything, which means that a disciple must maintain an attitude of perfect trust and an eagerness to ask and to seek.
Fill your mind with the thought that God is there. And once your mind is truly filled with that thought, when you experience difficulties it will be as easy as breathing for you to remember, “My heavenly Father knows all about this!” This will be no effort at all, but will be a natural thing for you when difficulties and uncertainties arise. Before you formed this concept of divine control so powerfully in your mind, you used to go from person to person seeking help, but now you go to God about it. Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct for those people who have His Spirit, and it works on the following principle: God is my Father, He loves me, and I will never think of anything that He will forget, so why should I worry?
Jesus said there are times when God cannot lift the darkness from you, but you should trust Him. At times God will appear like an unkind friend, but He is not; He will appear like an unnatural father, but He is not; He will appear like an unjust judge, but He is not. Keep the thought that the mind of God is behind all things strong and growing. Not even the smallest detail of life happens unless God’s will is behind it. Therefore, you can rest in perfect confidence in Him. Prayer is not only asking, but is an attitude of the mind which produces the atmosphere in which asking is perfectly natural. “Ask, and it will be given to you . . .” (Matthew 7:7).
神掌管一切的觀念
何況你們在天上的父，豈不更把好東西給求他的人麼？ （太七11）
耶穌為那些有他的靈在心中的人，設下一些行為的法則。他藉這幾句簡單的辯論，要我們滿心相信神是控制一切事情的。意思就是：門徒必須完全信靠，同事渴切尋找祈求。
你的心思要牢扣神在這裡的意念，這樣，困難一旦臨到，你就像呼吸一樣，記得：[嗨，我的父完全知道！ ]你不必費力，這個意念是在困惑壓逼之中自然出來的。以往你會去找這個人那個人幫忙，如今你既對神至高的掌管如此堅信，你就去找神。耶穌在此為有他靈的人奠下行為的法則，原則就是——神是我的父，他愛我，沒有忘記我的每一件事，那末，我何必憂慮呢？
耶穌說神有時候不把黑幕挪開，你仍要信靠他。神似乎像個狠心的朋友，他其實不是。他似乎像個不合理的父親，他實在不是。他似乎像不公正的審判官，他絕非如此。要記住，神實在一切事的背後。這觀念要加強且不住的增長。除非神的旨意在背後，否則沒有任何事可以發生，因此你大可以完全信靠安息。祈禱不光是祈求，更是一種生髮自然祈求氣氛的心態。 [你們祈求，就給你們。 ]
祈禱◆噢，主啊，以你充沛的能力、恩慈和美善，來激勵我的生命；讓它有機會顯露你的面容。這似乎便是我全部的禱告。
Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct in this passage for those people who have His Spirit. He urges us to keep our minds filled with the concept of God’s control over everything, which means that a disciple must maintain an attitude of perfect trust and an eagerness to ask and to seek.
Fill your mind with the thought that God is there. And once your mind is truly filled with that thought, when you experience difficulties it will be as easy as breathing for you to remember, “My heavenly Father knows all about this!” This will be no effort at all, but will be a natural thing for you when difficulties and uncertainties arise. Before you formed this concept of divine control so powerfully in your mind, you used to go from person to person seeking help, but now you go to God about it. Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct for those people who have His Spirit, and it works on the following principle: God is my Father, He loves me, and I will never think of anything that He will forget, so why should I worry?
Jesus said there are times when God cannot lift the darkness from you, but you should trust Him. At times God will appear like an unkind friend, but He is not; He will appear like an unnatural father, but He is not; He will appear like an unjust judge, but He is not. Keep the thought that the mind of God is behind all things strong and growing. Not even the smallest detail of life happens unless God’s will is behind it. Therefore, you can rest in perfect confidence in Him. Prayer is not only asking, but is an attitude of the mind which produces the atmosphere in which asking is perfectly natural. “Ask, and it will be given to you . . .” (Matthew 7:7).
神掌管一切的觀念
何況你們在天上的父，豈不更把好東西給求他的人麼？ （太七11）
耶穌為那些有他的靈在心中的人，設下一些行為的法則。他藉這幾句簡單的辯論，要我們滿心相信神是控制一切事情的。意思就是：門徒必須完全信靠，同事渴切尋找祈求。
你的心思要牢扣神在這裡的意念，這樣，困難一旦臨到，你就像呼吸一樣，記得：[嗨，我的父完全知道！ ]你不必費力，這個意念是在困惑壓逼之中自然出來的。以往你會去找這個人那個人幫忙，如今你既對神至高的掌管如此堅信，你就去找神。耶穌在此為有他靈的人奠下行為的法則，原則就是——神是我的父，他愛我，沒有忘記我的每一件事，那末，我何必憂慮呢？
耶穌說神有時候不把黑幕挪開，你仍要信靠他。神似乎像個狠心的朋友，他其實不是。他似乎像個不合理的父親，他實在不是。他似乎像不公正的審判官，他絕非如此。要記住，神實在一切事的背後。這觀念要加強且不住的增長。除非神的旨意在背後，否則沒有任何事可以發生，因此你大可以完全信靠安息。祈禱不光是祈求，更是一種生髮自然祈求氣氛的心態。 [你們祈求，就給你們。 ]
祈禱◆噢，主啊，以你充沛的能力、恩慈和美善，來激勵我的生命；讓它有機會顯露你的面容。這似乎便是我全部的禱告。
July 15, 2012
My Life’s Spiritual Honor and Duty
I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians . . . —Romans 1:14
Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent his life to express it. The greatest inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that same sense of indebtedness to Christ regarding every unsaved soul? As a saint, my life’s spiritual honor and duty is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to these lost souls. Every tiny bit of my life that has value I owe to the redemption of Jesus Christ. Am I doing anything to enable Him to bring His redemption into evident reality in the lives of others? I will only be able to do this as the Spirit of God works into me this sense of indebtedness.
I am not a superior person among other people— I am a bondservant of the Lord Jesus. Paul said, “. . . you are not your own . . . you were bought at a price . . .” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Paul sold himself to Jesus Christ and he said, in effect, “I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the gospel of Jesus; I am free only that I may be an absolute bondservant of His.” That is the characteristic of a Christian’s life once this level of spiritual honor and duty becomes real. Quit praying about yourself and spend your life for the sake of others as the bondservant of Jesus. That is the true meaning of being broken bread and poured-out wine in real life.
屬靈尊榮
無論是希利尼人，化外人……我都欠他們的債。 （羅一14）
保羅深覺自己欠了耶穌基督的債，他被這個感覺完全淹沒，以致要把自己耗盡來償還。保羅的生命給每一個尚未蒙拯救的人，有沒有一種欠了基督的感覺？作為一個聖徒，我生命的屬靈尊榮在於償還我欠基督的債。我生命中每一點一滴有價值之處，全因主耶穌的救贖大工；我有沒有作任何事，使他的大工在別人身上得以實際彰顯？只有當聖靈在我裡面，使我有這欠債的感覺時，我才能作這工。我在人類中並非超凡的人，乃是主耶穌的奴僕。 [你們不是自己的人。 ]保羅把自己賣了給耶穌基督。他說：[我因著耶穌的福音，欠了全世界人的債；我唯一的自由，就是做一個十足的奴僕。 ]人一旦體驗了這份屬靈的尊榮，生命就有這個特質。不要再為自己祈禱，而要作耶穌基督的奴僕，為別人把自己燃燒。作劈開的餅、倒出來的酒，實際上就是這個意思。
祈禱◆主啊，願你再次感動我的靈、魂、體。倘若我的飲食，妨礙了你在我裡面的工作，或阻礙了你透過我所行的事，請向我顯示，並保守我屬於你，以致無論我或吃或喝，或做任何的事情，都可以榮耀你。
Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent his life to express it. The greatest inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that same sense of indebtedness to Christ regarding every unsaved soul? As a saint, my life’s spiritual honor and duty is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to these lost souls. Every tiny bit of my life that has value I owe to the redemption of Jesus Christ. Am I doing anything to enable Him to bring His redemption into evident reality in the lives of others? I will only be able to do this as the Spirit of God works into me this sense of indebtedness.
I am not a superior person among other people— I am a bondservant of the Lord Jesus. Paul said, “. . . you are not your own . . . you were bought at a price . . .” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Paul sold himself to Jesus Christ and he said, in effect, “I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the gospel of Jesus; I am free only that I may be an absolute bondservant of His.” That is the characteristic of a Christian’s life once this level of spiritual honor and duty becomes real. Quit praying about yourself and spend your life for the sake of others as the bondservant of Jesus. That is the true meaning of being broken bread and poured-out wine in real life.
屬靈尊榮
無論是希利尼人，化外人……我都欠他們的債。 （羅一14）
保羅深覺自己欠了耶穌基督的債，他被這個感覺完全淹沒，以致要把自己耗盡來償還。保羅的生命給每一個尚未蒙拯救的人，有沒有一種欠了基督的感覺？作為一個聖徒，我生命的屬靈尊榮在於償還我欠基督的債。我生命中每一點一滴有價值之處，全因主耶穌的救贖大工；我有沒有作任何事，使他的大工在別人身上得以實際彰顯？只有當聖靈在我裡面，使我有這欠債的感覺時，我才能作這工。我在人類中並非超凡的人，乃是主耶穌的奴僕。 [你們不是自己的人。 ]保羅把自己賣了給耶穌基督。他說：[我因著耶穌的福音，欠了全世界人的債；我唯一的自由，就是做一個十足的奴僕。 ]人一旦體驗了這份屬靈的尊榮，生命就有這個特質。不要再為自己祈禱，而要作耶穌基督的奴僕，為別人把自己燃燒。作劈開的餅、倒出來的酒，實際上就是這個意思。
祈禱◆主啊，願你再次感動我的靈、魂、體。倘若我的飲食，妨礙了你在我裡面的工作，或阻礙了你透過我所行的事，請向我顯示，並保守我屬於你，以致無論我或吃或喝，或做任何的事情，都可以榮耀你。
July 14, 2012
Suffering Afflictions and Going the Second Mile
I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also —Matthew 5:39
This verse reveals the humiliation of being a Christian. In the natural realm, if a person does not hit back, it is because he is a coward. But in the spiritual realm, it is the very evidence of the Son of God in him if he does not hit back. When you are insulted, you must not only not resent it, but you must make it an opportunity to exhibit the Son of God in your life. And you cannot imitate the nature of Jesus— it is either in you or it is not. A personal insult becomes an opportunity for a saint to reveal the incredible sweetness of the Lord Jesus.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not, “Do your duty,” but is, in effect, “Do what is not your duty.” It is not your duty to go the second mile, or to turn the other cheek, but Jesus said that if we are His disciples, we will always do these things. We will not say, “Oh well, I just can’t do any more, and I’ve been so misrepresented and misunderstood.” Every time I insist on having my own rights, I hurt the Son of God, while in fact I can prevent Jesus from being hurt if I will take the blow myself. That is the real meaning of filling “up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ . . .” (Colossians 1:24). A disciple realizes that it is his Lord’s honor that is at stake in his life, not his own honor.
Never look for righteousness in the other person, but never cease to be righteous yourself. We are always looking for justice, yet the essence of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is— Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.
逼迫的賬
只是我告訴你們，不要與惡人作對。有人打你的右臉，連左臉也轉過來由他打。 （太五39）
這經文說出作基督徒的謙卑。依常情來說，不還手是懦夫；但在屬靈上，不還手錶明有神的兒子在他裡頭。你被侮辱時，不但不要動怒，更要藉這機會表彰神的兒子。你無法模仿耶穌的性情，有就有，沒有就沒有。對一個聖徒來說，個人受辱是表彰主耶穌美妙的機會，這真令人難以置信。
登山寶訓不是——做你當做的，而是——做非你分內的。你本不必走第二里路，不必轉左臉，但耶穌說若我們是他的門徒，就必須這樣行。我們不該存這樣的心：[唉，我受這樣的冤屈誤會，再也無能為力了。 ]每次我堅持自己的權益，就傷害了神的兒子；我若接受那一擊，就叫耶穌免受傷害。這正是補滿基督患難缺欠的意思。主的門徒只知道主的榮耀，而非他自己的聲譽，這是系於一生的目標。切勿從他人身上要求正義，自己也不可不去行義。我們往往尋找公義；但登山寶訓卻說不要找公義，要時常施行公義。
祈禱◆主啊，當我想起你的一切美善、奇妙和恩典，讚美和憂慮的心便在我裡面此起彼落。噢，主啊，我所祈求的是；你在我裡面最想尋見的一切，正是我必須在現實生活中實踐出來的東西。
This verse reveals the humiliation of being a Christian. In the natural realm, if a person does not hit back, it is because he is a coward. But in the spiritual realm, it is the very evidence of the Son of God in him if he does not hit back. When you are insulted, you must not only not resent it, but you must make it an opportunity to exhibit the Son of God in your life. And you cannot imitate the nature of Jesus— it is either in you or it is not. A personal insult becomes an opportunity for a saint to reveal the incredible sweetness of the Lord Jesus.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not, “Do your duty,” but is, in effect, “Do what is not your duty.” It is not your duty to go the second mile, or to turn the other cheek, but Jesus said that if we are His disciples, we will always do these things. We will not say, “Oh well, I just can’t do any more, and I’ve been so misrepresented and misunderstood.” Every time I insist on having my own rights, I hurt the Son of God, while in fact I can prevent Jesus from being hurt if I will take the blow myself. That is the real meaning of filling “up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ . . .” (Colossians 1:24). A disciple realizes that it is his Lord’s honor that is at stake in his life, not his own honor.
Never look for righteousness in the other person, but never cease to be righteous yourself. We are always looking for justice, yet the essence of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is— Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.
逼迫的賬
只是我告訴你們，不要與惡人作對。有人打你的右臉，連左臉也轉過來由他打。 （太五39）
這經文說出作基督徒的謙卑。依常情來說，不還手是懦夫；但在屬靈上，不還手錶明有神的兒子在他裡頭。你被侮辱時，不但不要動怒，更要藉這機會表彰神的兒子。你無法模仿耶穌的性情，有就有，沒有就沒有。對一個聖徒來說，個人受辱是表彰主耶穌美妙的機會，這真令人難以置信。
登山寶訓不是——做你當做的，而是——做非你分內的。你本不必走第二里路，不必轉左臉，但耶穌說若我們是他的門徒，就必須這樣行。我們不該存這樣的心：[唉，我受這樣的冤屈誤會，再也無能為力了。 ]每次我堅持自己的權益，就傷害了神的兒子；我若接受那一擊，就叫耶穌免受傷害。這正是補滿基督患難缺欠的意思。主的門徒只知道主的榮耀，而非他自己的聲譽，這是系於一生的目標。切勿從他人身上要求正義，自己也不可不去行義。我們往往尋找公義；但登山寶訓卻說不要找公義，要時常施行公義。
祈禱◆主啊，當我想起你的一切美善、奇妙和恩典，讚美和憂慮的心便在我裡面此起彼落。噢，主啊，我所祈求的是；你在我裡面最想尋見的一切，正是我必須在現實生活中實踐出來的東西。
July 13, 2012
The Price of the Vision
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord . . . —Isaiah 6:1
Our soul’s personal history with God is often an account of the death of our heroes. Over and over again God has to remove our friends to put Himself in their place, and that is when we falter, fail, and become discouraged. Let me think about this personally— when the person died who represented for me all that God was, did I give up on everything in life? Did I become ill or disheartened? Or did I do as Isaiah did and see the Lord?
My vision of God is dependent upon the condition of my character. My character determines whether or not truth can even be revealed to me. Before I can say, “I saw the Lord,” there must be something in my character that conforms to the likeness of God. Until I am born again and really begin to see the kingdom of God, I only see from the perspective of my own biases. What I need is God’s surgical procedure— His use of external circumstances to bring about internal purification.
Your priorities must be God first, God second, and God third, until your life is continually face to face with God and no one else is taken into account whatsoever. Your prayer will then be, “In all the world there is no one but You, dear God; there is no one but You.”
Keep paying the price. Let God see that you are willing to live up to the vision.
異象的代價
當烏西雅王崩的那年，我見主坐在高高的寶座上。 （賽六1）
我們心靈與神的歷程，往往是英雄人物式逝去的歷程。神一次又一次地把我們的朋友挪開，使他自己可以代替他們的地位，我們卻因此失敗灰心。就個人經驗來說：那年那個替代了神位置的人死了——我是否萬念俱灰？病了？頹喪灰心？還是看見了主？
我對神的異象，有賴於我品性的狀況。品性決定啟示。我若要說[我看見了主]，就必先在品性上有了與神相呼應的成分。在我重生得見神的國以前，所看見的都隨我的偏見而定；我需要接受手術，切除外在的事物，也需要內裡的潔淨。第一是神，第二、第三也是神，直到生命單單面對神，其他人都無關重要。 [世上除你還有誰？我的神，只有你。 ]不斷付代價，讓神知道你甘願達成異象。
祈禱◆主啊，我感謝你，因為我發現自己在盼望你再來時，深感熱切的喜樂！噢由此我可以在你眼前蒙恩，並且，要讓自己的行事為人，與你的偉大救恩更為相稱！
Our soul’s personal history with God is often an account of the death of our heroes. Over and over again God has to remove our friends to put Himself in their place, and that is when we falter, fail, and become discouraged. Let me think about this personally— when the person died who represented for me all that God was, did I give up on everything in life? Did I become ill or disheartened? Or did I do as Isaiah did and see the Lord?
My vision of God is dependent upon the condition of my character. My character determines whether or not truth can even be revealed to me. Before I can say, “I saw the Lord,” there must be something in my character that conforms to the likeness of God. Until I am born again and really begin to see the kingdom of God, I only see from the perspective of my own biases. What I need is God’s surgical procedure— His use of external circumstances to bring about internal purification.
Your priorities must be God first, God second, and God third, until your life is continually face to face with God and no one else is taken into account whatsoever. Your prayer will then be, “In all the world there is no one but You, dear God; there is no one but You.”
Keep paying the price. Let God see that you are willing to live up to the vision.
異象的代價
當烏西雅王崩的那年，我見主坐在高高的寶座上。 （賽六1）
我們心靈與神的歷程，往往是英雄人物式逝去的歷程。神一次又一次地把我們的朋友挪開，使他自己可以代替他們的地位，我們卻因此失敗灰心。就個人經驗來說：那年那個替代了神位置的人死了——我是否萬念俱灰？病了？頹喪灰心？還是看見了主？
我對神的異象，有賴於我品性的狀況。品性決定啟示。我若要說[我看見了主]，就必先在品性上有了與神相呼應的成分。在我重生得見神的國以前，所看見的都隨我的偏見而定；我需要接受手術，切除外在的事物，也需要內裡的潔淨。第一是神，第二、第三也是神，直到生命單單面對神，其他人都無關重要。 [世上除你還有誰？我的神，只有你。 ]不斷付代價，讓神知道你甘願達成異象。
祈禱◆主啊，我感謝你，因為我發現自己在盼望你再來時，深感熱切的喜樂！噢由此我可以在你眼前蒙恩，並且，要讓自己的行事為人，與你的偉大救恩更為相稱！
July 12, 2012
The Spiritually Self-Seeking Church
. . . till we all come . . . to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ . . . —Ephesians 4:13
Reconciliation means the restoring of the relationship between the entire human race and God, putting it back to what God designed it to be. This is what Jesus Christ did in redemption. The church ceases to be spiritual when it becomes self-seeking, only interested in the development of its own organization. The reconciliation of the human race according to His plan means realizing Him not only in our lives individually, but also in our lives collectively. Jesus Christ sent apostles and teachers for this very purpose— that the corporate Person of Christ and His church, made up of many members, might be brought into being and made known. We are not here to develop a spiritual life of our own, or to enjoy a quiet spiritual retreat. We are here to have the full realization of Jesus Christ, for the purpose of building His body.
Am I building up the body of Christ, or am I only concerned about my own personal development? The essential thing is my personal relationship with Jesus Christ— “. . . that I may know Him. . .” (Philippians 3:10). To fulfill God’s perfect design for me requires my total surrender— complete abandonment of myself to Him. Whenever I only want things for myself, the relationship is distorted. And I will suffer great humiliation once I come to acknowledge and understand that I have not really been concerned about realizing Jesus Christ Himself, but only concerned with knowing what He has done for me.
My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace, Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.
Am I measuring my life by this standard or by something less?
屬靈的團體
直等到我們眾人……長大成人，滿有基督長成的身量。 （弗四13）
整個人類要重新恢復與神的關係，這正是主耶穌的救贖所成就的。教會什麼時候只顧發展本身的組織，就不再是一個屬靈的團體了。主耶穌使人類恢復原位的計劃，是要人不單個別地，也要在整體上彰顯基督。主耶穌差遣使徒和教師，就是為此目的——叫神在教會整體中彰顯。我們不是為發展自己屬靈的生命，也不是為享受屬靈的安靜；我們乃是要活出基督，好叫基督的身體得以建立。我是在建立基督的身體嗎？還是只求個人的發展？最重要的是我個人與耶穌的關係——[使我認識基督]。要完成神的計劃就要完全把自己交付他。每當我要為自己求什麼，與神的關係就有所偏差。我們若發現自己並不在乎彰顯基督，而只追求彰顯他為我所做的事，那會是基督的羞恥。 [我的目標是神自己，而不是音樂，不是平安，也不是祝福。單是神自己，我的神。 ]我是否以此衡量自己的生命？還是以次一等的標準來衡量？
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我讚美你。因為當我想到你那奧妙的身體中的肢體，腦海中浮現那偉大的思想。我何等渴望迅速地更多認識到它的奧秘。
Reconciliation means the restoring of the relationship between the entire human race and God, putting it back to what God designed it to be. This is what Jesus Christ did in redemption. The church ceases to be spiritual when it becomes self-seeking, only interested in the development of its own organization. The reconciliation of the human race according to His plan means realizing Him not only in our lives individually, but also in our lives collectively. Jesus Christ sent apostles and teachers for this very purpose— that the corporate Person of Christ and His church, made up of many members, might be brought into being and made known. We are not here to develop a spiritual life of our own, or to enjoy a quiet spiritual retreat. We are here to have the full realization of Jesus Christ, for the purpose of building His body.
Am I building up the body of Christ, or am I only concerned about my own personal development? The essential thing is my personal relationship with Jesus Christ— “. . . that I may know Him. . .” (Philippians 3:10). To fulfill God’s perfect design for me requires my total surrender— complete abandonment of myself to Him. Whenever I only want things for myself, the relationship is distorted. And I will suffer great humiliation once I come to acknowledge and understand that I have not really been concerned about realizing Jesus Christ Himself, but only concerned with knowing what He has done for me.
My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace, Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.
Am I measuring my life by this standard or by something less?
屬靈的團體
直等到我們眾人……長大成人，滿有基督長成的身量。 （弗四13）
整個人類要重新恢復與神的關係，這正是主耶穌的救贖所成就的。教會什麼時候只顧發展本身的組織，就不再是一個屬靈的團體了。主耶穌使人類恢復原位的計劃，是要人不單個別地，也要在整體上彰顯基督。主耶穌差遣使徒和教師，就是為此目的——叫神在教會整體中彰顯。我們不是為發展自己屬靈的生命，也不是為享受屬靈的安靜；我們乃是要活出基督，好叫基督的身體得以建立。我是在建立基督的身體嗎？還是只求個人的發展？最重要的是我個人與耶穌的關係——[使我認識基督]。要完成神的計劃就要完全把自己交付他。每當我要為自己求什麼，與神的關係就有所偏差。我們若發現自己並不在乎彰顯基督，而只追求彰顯他為我所做的事，那會是基督的羞恥。 [我的目標是神自己，而不是音樂，不是平安，也不是祝福。單是神自己，我的神。 ]我是否以此衡量自己的生命？還是以次一等的標準來衡量？
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我讚美你。因為當我想到你那奧妙的身體中的肢體，腦海中浮現那偉大的思想。我何等渴望迅速地更多認識到它的奧秘。
July 11, 2012
The Spiritually Vigorous Saint
. . . that I may know Him . . . —Philippians 3:10
A saint is not to take the initiative toward self-realization, but toward knowing Jesus Christ. A spiritually vigorous saint never believes that his circumstances simply happen at random, nor does he ever think of his life as being divided into the secular and the sacred. He sees every situation in which he finds himself as the means of obtaining a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he has an attitude of unrestrained abandon and total surrender about him. The Holy Spirit is determined that we will have the realization of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives, and He will bring us back to the same point over and over again until we do. Self-realization only leads to the glorification of good works, whereas a saint of God glorifies Jesus Christ through his good works. Whatever we may be doing— even eating, drinking, or washing disciples’ feet— we have to take the initiative of realizing and recognizing Jesus Christ in it. Every phase of our life has its counterpart in the life of Jesus. Our Lord realized His relationship to the Father even in the most menial task. “Jesus, knowing . . . that He had come from God and was going to God, . . . took a towel . . . and began to wash the disciples’ feet . . .” (John 13:3-5).
The aim of a spiritually vigorous saint is “that I may know Him . . .” Do I know Him where I am today? If not, I am failing Him. I am not here for self-realization, but to know Jesus Christ. In Christian work our initiative and motivation are too often simply the result of realizing that there is work to be done and that we must do it. Yet that is never the attitude of a spiritually vigorous saint. His aim is to achieve the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances.
屬靈的聖徒
屬靈的聖徒使人認識基督。 （腓三10）
聖徒的積極性並非朝著自我實現的方向，而是朝著認識基督進發。屬靈的信徒絕不相信際遇出於偶然，也不會認為他的人生又屬世又屬神，他會視一切環境和際遇，領他更認識基督；也會不顧一切的棄絕。聖靈定意要使我們生命的每一方面，都彰顯基督。他曾一次又一次地把我們帶到同一點，直至我們在那一點上彰顯基督。自我實現叫人高舉工作；聖徒卻在工作上高舉基督。或吃或喝或洗門徒的腳，不論是作什麼，總要積極地在其中彰顯基督。我們生命的每一階段，都可在祝耶穌的生命中找出互相對照之處。主就是在最低賤的工作上，也彰顯與父神的關係。 [耶穌知道自己是從神出來，又要歸到神那裡去，就……拿一條毛巾……洗門徒的腳。 ]
屬靈聖徒的目標是要[認識基督]。我在今天的環境中認識基督嗎？若不，就是叫他失望了。我不是要自我實現，乃是要認識基督。在屬靈的工作中，原動力往往出於看見事工的需要，於是就去做。屬靈的信徒卻永不抱這種態度，他的目標是要在一切所處的環境中活出基督。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，憑著我單純信靠那居住在我裡面，又使我與你的屬靈連結起來的聖靈，我仰望你；幫助我完全屬你。
A saint is not to take the initiative toward self-realization, but toward knowing Jesus Christ. A spiritually vigorous saint never believes that his circumstances simply happen at random, nor does he ever think of his life as being divided into the secular and the sacred. He sees every situation in which he finds himself as the means of obtaining a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he has an attitude of unrestrained abandon and total surrender about him. The Holy Spirit is determined that we will have the realization of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives, and He will bring us back to the same point over and over again until we do. Self-realization only leads to the glorification of good works, whereas a saint of God glorifies Jesus Christ through his good works. Whatever we may be doing— even eating, drinking, or washing disciples’ feet— we have to take the initiative of realizing and recognizing Jesus Christ in it. Every phase of our life has its counterpart in the life of Jesus. Our Lord realized His relationship to the Father even in the most menial task. “Jesus, knowing . . . that He had come from God and was going to God, . . . took a towel . . . and began to wash the disciples’ feet . . .” (John 13:3-5).
The aim of a spiritually vigorous saint is “that I may know Him . . .” Do I know Him where I am today? If not, I am failing Him. I am not here for self-realization, but to know Jesus Christ. In Christian work our initiative and motivation are too often simply the result of realizing that there is work to be done and that we must do it. Yet that is never the attitude of a spiritually vigorous saint. His aim is to achieve the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances.
屬靈的聖徒
屬靈的聖徒使人認識基督。 （腓三10）
聖徒的積極性並非朝著自我實現的方向，而是朝著認識基督進發。屬靈的信徒絕不相信際遇出於偶然，也不會認為他的人生又屬世又屬神，他會視一切環境和際遇，領他更認識基督；也會不顧一切的棄絕。聖靈定意要使我們生命的每一方面，都彰顯基督。他曾一次又一次地把我們帶到同一點，直至我們在那一點上彰顯基督。自我實現叫人高舉工作；聖徒卻在工作上高舉基督。或吃或喝或洗門徒的腳，不論是作什麼，總要積極地在其中彰顯基督。我們生命的每一階段，都可在祝耶穌的生命中找出互相對照之處。主就是在最低賤的工作上，也彰顯與父神的關係。 [耶穌知道自己是從神出來，又要歸到神那裡去，就……拿一條毛巾……洗門徒的腳。 ]
屬靈聖徒的目標是要[認識基督]。我在今天的環境中認識基督嗎？若不，就是叫他失望了。我不是要自我實現，乃是要認識基督。在屬靈的工作中，原動力往往出於看見事工的需要，於是就去做。屬靈的信徒卻永不抱這種態度，他的目標是要在一切所處的環境中活出基督。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，憑著我單純信靠那居住在我裡面，又使我與你的屬靈連結起來的聖靈，我仰望你；幫助我完全屬你。
July 10, 2012
The Spiritually Lazy Saint
Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together . . . —Hebrews 10:24-25
We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints. We want to stay off the rough roads of life, and our primary objective is to secure a peaceful retreat from the world. The ideas put forth in these verses from Hebrews 10 are those of stirring up one another and of keeping ourselves together. Both of these require initiative— our willingness to take the first step toward Christ-realization, not the initiative toward self-realization. To live a distant, withdrawn, and secluded life is diametrically opposed to spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it.
The true test of our spirituality occurs when we come up against injustice, degradation, ingratitude, and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritually lazy. While being tested, we want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of finding a quiet retreat. We use God only for the sake of getting peace and joy. We seek only our enjoyment of Jesus Christ, not a true realization of Him. This is the first step in the wrong direction. All these things we are seeking are simply effects, and yet we try to make them causes.
“Yes, I think it is right,” Peter said, “. . . to stir you up by reminding you . . .” (2 Peter 1:13). It is a most disturbing thing to be hit squarely in the stomach by someone being used of God to stir us up— someone who is full of spiritual activity. Simple active work and spiritual activity are not the same thing. Active work can actually be the counterfeit of spiritual activity. The real danger in spiritual laziness is that we do not want to be stirred up— all we want to hear about is a spiritual retirement from the world. Yet Jesus Christ never encourages the idea of retirement— He says, “Go and tell My brethren . . .” (Matthew 28:10).
屬靈怠惰
又要彼此相顧，激發愛心，勉勵行善。你們不可停業聚會。 （來十24-25）
我們都有屬靈的惰性，就是不想面對生命的顛簸與艱難，只望安之樂之過退休的生活。希伯來書第十章的要點是我們彼此激勵，齊集聚會——二者都需要積極自發。這是實現基督的自發，而非實現自我的自發。若離群獨處，過著退隱的生活，這與主耶穌的屬靈教導根本相違。
當我們遇見不義、詭詐、忘恩、擾亂時，靈性便受到考驗。這些事很容易使我們陷入屬靈的怠惰中。我們以讀經禱告作為退隱的工具，利用神來取得平安喜樂。換言之，我們並不是要活出基督，而只想去享受他，這就是方向錯誤的第一步。其實這一切只是果效，我們卻把它們變作目標。
彼得說：[我自以為應當……提醒你們，激發你們。 ]神用充滿屬靈活力的使者擊打我們，是最不好受的。活躍的工作與屬靈活力的是兩回事，但前者可以假冒後者。屬靈惰性的危機在於不想被激發，只想過屬靈退隱的生活。主耶穌從不鼓勵退隱的思想，他說：[去告訴我的弟兄……]
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你的恩福今天在此地臨到我們：使我們脫離怠惰和靈性上的懶散，讓你所保證的，全然成就。
We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints. We want to stay off the rough roads of life, and our primary objective is to secure a peaceful retreat from the world. The ideas put forth in these verses from Hebrews 10 are those of stirring up one another and of keeping ourselves together. Both of these require initiative— our willingness to take the first step toward Christ-realization, not the initiative toward self-realization. To live a distant, withdrawn, and secluded life is diametrically opposed to spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it.
The true test of our spirituality occurs when we come up against injustice, degradation, ingratitude, and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritually lazy. While being tested, we want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of finding a quiet retreat. We use God only for the sake of getting peace and joy. We seek only our enjoyment of Jesus Christ, not a true realization of Him. This is the first step in the wrong direction. All these things we are seeking are simply effects, and yet we try to make them causes.
“Yes, I think it is right,” Peter said, “. . . to stir you up by reminding you . . .” (2 Peter 1:13). It is a most disturbing thing to be hit squarely in the stomach by someone being used of God to stir us up— someone who is full of spiritual activity. Simple active work and spiritual activity are not the same thing. Active work can actually be the counterfeit of spiritual activity. The real danger in spiritual laziness is that we do not want to be stirred up— all we want to hear about is a spiritual retirement from the world. Yet Jesus Christ never encourages the idea of retirement— He says, “Go and tell My brethren . . .” (Matthew 28:10).
屬靈怠惰
又要彼此相顧，激發愛心，勉勵行善。你們不可停業聚會。 （來十24-25）
我們都有屬靈的惰性，就是不想面對生命的顛簸與艱難，只望安之樂之過退休的生活。希伯來書第十章的要點是我們彼此激勵，齊集聚會——二者都需要積極自發。這是實現基督的自發，而非實現自我的自發。若離群獨處，過著退隱的生活，這與主耶穌的屬靈教導根本相違。
當我們遇見不義、詭詐、忘恩、擾亂時，靈性便受到考驗。這些事很容易使我們陷入屬靈的怠惰中。我們以讀經禱告作為退隱的工具，利用神來取得平安喜樂。換言之，我們並不是要活出基督，而只想去享受他，這就是方向錯誤的第一步。其實這一切只是果效，我們卻把它們變作目標。
彼得說：[我自以為應當……提醒你們，激發你們。 ]神用充滿屬靈活力的使者擊打我們，是最不好受的。活躍的工作與屬靈活力的是兩回事，但前者可以假冒後者。屬靈惰性的危機在於不想被激發，只想過屬靈退隱的生活。主耶穌從不鼓勵退隱的思想，他說：[去告訴我的弟兄……]
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你的恩福今天在此地臨到我們：使我們脫離怠惰和靈性上的懶散，讓你所保證的，全然成就。
July 09, 2012
Will You Examine Yourself?
Joshua said to the people, ’You cannot serve the Lord . . .’ —Joshua 24:19
Do you have even the slightest reliance on anything or anyone other than God? Is there a remnant of reliance left on any natural quality within you, or on any particular set of circumstances? Are you relying on yourself in any manner whatsoever regarding this new proposal or plan which God has placed before you? Will you examine yourself by asking these probing questions? It really is true to say, “I cannot live a holy life,” but you can decide to let Jesus Christ make you holy. “You cannot serve the Lord . . .”— but you can place yourself in the proper position where God’s almighty power will flow through you. Is your relationship with God sufficient for you to expect Him to exhibit His wonderful life in you?
“The people said to Joshua, ’No, but we will serve the Lord!” (Joshua 24:21). This is not an impulsive action, but a deliberate commitment. We tend to say, “But God could never have called me to this. I’m too unworthy. It can’t mean me.” It does mean you, and the more weak and feeble you are, the better. The person who is still relying and trusting in anything within himself is the last person to even come close to saying, “I will serve the Lord.”
We say, “Oh, if only I really could believe!” The question is, “Will I believe?” No wonder Jesus Christ placed such emphasis on the sin of unbelief. “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58). If we really believed that God meant what He said, just imagine what we would be like! Do I really dare to let God be to me all that He says He will be?
偉大的探查
你們不能事奉耶和華。 （書二十四19）
除了神以外，你對別的東西有沒有絲毫的靠賴？對天然的德行，對環境等因素，是否仍有殘餘的倚恃？在這項新旨意中，你還有哪方面是靠賴自己的？這就是徹底清查的意思。是的，你可以說：[我無法過聖潔的生活。 ]這是真的；但你可以決志讓耶穌基督使你聖潔。 [你們不能事奉耶和華。 ]但你可以讓神的大能透過你作工。你與神的關係是否美好和諧，以致他能在你身上彰顯他奇妙的生命？
[我們定要事奉耶和華。 ] 這不是一時的衝動，而是一個立定心意的交付。你會說：[神絕不會呼召我作這個，我太不配了，這不會是指著我說的。 ]實在是你，你愈軟弱無能，便癒合適。一個仍有所倚恃的人不會說：[我定要事奉耶和華。 ]
我們常說：[若我真能信多好！ ]但問題卻是[若我真肯信多好]。難怪耶穌基督這樣強調不信的罪。若真相信神所言屬實，我們會變成怎麼樣的人呢？我是否真正肯讓神在我身上成為一位說什麼就成就什麼的神？
祈禱主啊，你的面容、你的感動、你的賜福、使我今天所尋求的。感動我，主啊，直至我的每一部分，都被你滿有恩慈而帶有能力的平安所震撼和振奮。
Do you have even the slightest reliance on anything or anyone other than God? Is there a remnant of reliance left on any natural quality within you, or on any particular set of circumstances? Are you relying on yourself in any manner whatsoever regarding this new proposal or plan which God has placed before you? Will you examine yourself by asking these probing questions? It really is true to say, “I cannot live a holy life,” but you can decide to let Jesus Christ make you holy. “You cannot serve the Lord . . .”— but you can place yourself in the proper position where God’s almighty power will flow through you. Is your relationship with God sufficient for you to expect Him to exhibit His wonderful life in you?
“The people said to Joshua, ’No, but we will serve the Lord!” (Joshua 24:21). This is not an impulsive action, but a deliberate commitment. We tend to say, “But God could never have called me to this. I’m too unworthy. It can’t mean me.” It does mean you, and the more weak and feeble you are, the better. The person who is still relying and trusting in anything within himself is the last person to even come close to saying, “I will serve the Lord.”
We say, “Oh, if only I really could believe!” The question is, “Will I believe?” No wonder Jesus Christ placed such emphasis on the sin of unbelief. “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58). If we really believed that God meant what He said, just imagine what we would be like! Do I really dare to let God be to me all that He says He will be?
偉大的探查
你們不能事奉耶和華。 （書二十四19）
除了神以外，你對別的東西有沒有絲毫的靠賴？對天然的德行，對環境等因素，是否仍有殘餘的倚恃？在這項新旨意中，你還有哪方面是靠賴自己的？這就是徹底清查的意思。是的，你可以說：[我無法過聖潔的生活。 ]這是真的；但你可以決志讓耶穌基督使你聖潔。 [你們不能事奉耶和華。 ]但你可以讓神的大能透過你作工。你與神的關係是否美好和諧，以致他能在你身上彰顯他奇妙的生命？
[我們定要事奉耶和華。 ] 這不是一時的衝動，而是一個立定心意的交付。你會說：[神絕不會呼召我作這個，我太不配了，這不會是指著我說的。 ]實在是你，你愈軟弱無能，便癒合適。一個仍有所倚恃的人不會說：[我定要事奉耶和華。 ]
我們常說：[若我真能信多好！ ]但問題卻是[若我真肯信多好]。難怪耶穌基督這樣強調不信的罪。若真相信神所言屬實，我們會變成怎麼樣的人呢？我是否真正肯讓神在我身上成為一位說什麼就成就什麼的神？
祈禱主啊，你的面容、你的感動、你的賜福、使我今天所尋求的。感動我，主啊，直至我的每一部分，都被你滿有恩慈而帶有能力的平安所震撼和振奮。
July 08, 2012
Will To Be Faithful
. . . choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . —Joshua 24:15
A person’s will is embodied in the actions of the whole person. I cannot give up my will— I must exercise it, putting it into action. I must will to obey, and I must will to receive God’s Spirit. When God gives me a vision of truth, there is never a question of what He will do, but only of what I will do. The Lord has been placing in front of each of us some big proposals and plans. The best thing to do is to remember what you did before when you were touched by God. Recall the moment when you were saved, or first recognized Jesus, or realized some truth. It was easy then to yield your allegiance to God. Immediately recall those moments each time the Spirit of God brings some new proposal before you.
“. . . choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . .” Your choice must be a deliberate determination— it is not something into which you will automatically drift. And everything else in your life will be held in temporary suspension until you make a decision. The proposal is between you and God— do not “confer with flesh and blood” about it (Galatians 1:16). With every new proposal, the people around us seem to become more and more isolated, and that is where the tension develops. God allows the opinion of His other saints to matter to you, and yet you become less and less certain that others really understand the step you are taking. You have no business trying to find out where God is leading— the only thing God will explain to you is Himself.
Openly declare to Him, “I will be faithful.” But remember that as soon as you choose to be faithful to Jesus Christ, “You are witnesses against yourselves . . .” (Joshua 24:22). Don’t consult with other Christians, but simply and freely declare before Him, “I will serve You.” Will to be faithful— and give other people credit for being faithful too.
立志忠心
“……今日就可以選擇所要事奉的。”約書亞記24：15
意志是全人的活動。我不能放棄我的意志，我必須要訓練我的意志。我必須要立志順服，立志接受上帝的靈。當上帝給了我們真理的異像時，他要做什麼不是一個問題，問題是我們要做什麼。主已經把一些大的任務擺在我們面前，最好要做的事是回想從前被上帝感動的時候你做了什麼？就是在你得救的時候，或者第一次看到耶穌，或者認識到一些真理。那時候對上帝順服忠心是容易的。當上帝的靈把一些新的任務帶到你面前時，現在就回想從前的那些時候吧。
“今日就可以選擇所要事奉的。”這是經過深思熟慮的計算，不是你可以容易進入的事情；其他一切都被暫時擱置，直到你做出決定。這任務是在你與上帝之間的，不要和屬血氣的商量這事。對於每一個新的任務，其他人會越來越遠離它，這正是壓力來的地方。上帝允許他的聖徒的意見影響到你，但你被帶領到越來越遠，別人無法確實理解你所走的路。你不用去發現上帝把你帶到哪裡，上帝唯一要向你解釋的事就是他自己。
向他宣告：“我要忠心。”一旦你選擇了向耶穌基督忠心，你就不再是你自己的見證。不要諮詢別的基督徒，只要在他面前宣告——我要服侍你。立志忠心——並且也為別人的忠心而讚許他們。
A person’s will is embodied in the actions of the whole person. I cannot give up my will— I must exercise it, putting it into action. I must will to obey, and I must will to receive God’s Spirit. When God gives me a vision of truth, there is never a question of what He will do, but only of what I will do. The Lord has been placing in front of each of us some big proposals and plans. The best thing to do is to remember what you did before when you were touched by God. Recall the moment when you were saved, or first recognized Jesus, or realized some truth. It was easy then to yield your allegiance to God. Immediately recall those moments each time the Spirit of God brings some new proposal before you.
“. . . choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . .” Your choice must be a deliberate determination— it is not something into which you will automatically drift. And everything else in your life will be held in temporary suspension until you make a decision. The proposal is between you and God— do not “confer with flesh and blood” about it (Galatians 1:16). With every new proposal, the people around us seem to become more and more isolated, and that is where the tension develops. God allows the opinion of His other saints to matter to you, and yet you become less and less certain that others really understand the step you are taking. You have no business trying to find out where God is leading— the only thing God will explain to you is Himself.
Openly declare to Him, “I will be faithful.” But remember that as soon as you choose to be faithful to Jesus Christ, “You are witnesses against yourselves . . .” (Joshua 24:22). Don’t consult with other Christians, but simply and freely declare before Him, “I will serve You.” Will to be faithful— and give other people credit for being faithful too.
立志忠心
“……今日就可以選擇所要事奉的。”約書亞記24：15
意志是全人的活動。我不能放棄我的意志，我必須要訓練我的意志。我必須要立志順服，立志接受上帝的靈。當上帝給了我們真理的異像時，他要做什麼不是一個問題，問題是我們要做什麼。主已經把一些大的任務擺在我們面前，最好要做的事是回想從前被上帝感動的時候你做了什麼？就是在你得救的時候，或者第一次看到耶穌，或者認識到一些真理。那時候對上帝順服忠心是容易的。當上帝的靈把一些新的任務帶到你面前時，現在就回想從前的那些時候吧。
“今日就可以選擇所要事奉的。”這是經過深思熟慮的計算，不是你可以容易進入的事情；其他一切都被暫時擱置，直到你做出決定。這任務是在你與上帝之間的，不要和屬血氣的商量這事。對於每一個新的任務，其他人會越來越遠離它，這正是壓力來的地方。上帝允許他的聖徒的意見影響到你，但你被帶領到越來越遠，別人無法確實理解你所走的路。你不用去發現上帝把你帶到哪裡，上帝唯一要向你解釋的事就是他自己。
向他宣告：“我要忠心。”一旦你選擇了向耶穌基督忠心，你就不再是你自己的見證。不要諮詢別的基督徒，只要在他面前宣告——我要服侍你。立志忠心——並且也為別人的忠心而讚許他們。
July 07, 2012
All Efforts of Worth and Excellence Are Difficult
Enter by the narrow gate . . . . Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life . . . —Matthew 7:13-14
If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all efforts of worth and excellence are difficult. The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but its difficulty does not make us faint and cave in—it stirs us up to overcome. Do we appreciate the miraculous salvation of Jesus Christ enough to be our utmost for His highest—our best for His glory?
God saves people by His sovereign grace through the atonement of Jesus, and “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). But we have to “work out” that salvation in our everyday, practical living (Philippians 2:12). If we will only start on the basis of His redemption to do what He commands, then we will find that we can do it. If we fail, it is because we have not yet put into practice what God has placed within us. But a crisis will reveal whether or not we have been putting it into practice. If we will obey the Spirit of God and practice in our physical life what God has placed within us by His Spirit, then when a crisis does come we will find that our own nature, as well as the grace of God, will stand by us.
Thank God that He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a joyous thing, but it is also something that requires bravery, courage, and holiness. It tests us for all we are worth. Jesus is “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10, and God will not shield us from the requirements of sonship. God’s grace produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not pampered, spoiled weaklings. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the worthy and excellent life of a disciple of Jesus in the realities of life. And it is always necessary for us to make an effort to live a life of worth and excellence.
尊貴的事不易做
“你們要進窄門。因為……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 如果我們準備像耶穌的門徒那樣去生活，我們就要記住所有崇高的事情都是艱難的事。基督徒的生活是極為艱難的，但是這艱難不是讓我們軟弱投降，而是要激起我們去戰勝困難。我們是否深深感激耶穌基督那無比的救恩而竭盡全力為他而活呢？
神因著他至高無上的恩典，藉著耶穌的挽回祭拯救人；我們立志行事都是他在我們裡面運行，為要討他的喜悅；但我們必須在實際的生活裡把這救恩行出來。一旦我們開始站在他救贖的根基上去遵行他的命令，我們會發現我們是可以做到的。如果我們失敗了，這是因為我們還不夠老練。危機會揭露出我們是否一直在實踐他的命令。如果我們順服神的靈，並在我們肉身裡實行神藉著他的靈放在我們裡面的命令，當危機來的時候，我們就會發現我們的本性和神的恩典都會支援我們過去。
感謝神給了我們困難的事情去做！他的拯救是令人高興的，但同時也是偉大的、聖潔的。它測試我們是否配得。耶穌要把許多“兒子”帶進榮耀裡，神不會讓我們逃避作為“兒子”的要求。神的恩典使人轉變成為耶穌基督的樣式，而不是成為一個懦夫。在實際的生活中活出耶穌門徒的生命需要許許多多的操練。成為高尚是需要付出努力的。
If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all efforts of worth and excellence are difficult. The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but its difficulty does not make us faint and cave in—it stirs us up to overcome. Do we appreciate the miraculous salvation of Jesus Christ enough to be our utmost for His highest—our best for His glory?
God saves people by His sovereign grace through the atonement of Jesus, and “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). But we have to “work out” that salvation in our everyday, practical living (Philippians 2:12). If we will only start on the basis of His redemption to do what He commands, then we will find that we can do it. If we fail, it is because we have not yet put into practice what God has placed within us. But a crisis will reveal whether or not we have been putting it into practice. If we will obey the Spirit of God and practice in our physical life what God has placed within us by His Spirit, then when a crisis does come we will find that our own nature, as well as the grace of God, will stand by us.
Thank God that He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a joyous thing, but it is also something that requires bravery, courage, and holiness. It tests us for all we are worth. Jesus is “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10, and God will not shield us from the requirements of sonship. God’s grace produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not pampered, spoiled weaklings. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the worthy and excellent life of a disciple of Jesus in the realities of life. And it is always necessary for us to make an effort to live a life of worth and excellence.
尊貴的事不易做
“你們要進窄門。因為……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 如果我們準備像耶穌的門徒那樣去生活，我們就要記住所有崇高的事情都是艱難的事。基督徒的生活是極為艱難的，但是這艱難不是讓我們軟弱投降，而是要激起我們去戰勝困難。我們是否深深感激耶穌基督那無比的救恩而竭盡全力為他而活呢？
神因著他至高無上的恩典，藉著耶穌的挽回祭拯救人；我們立志行事都是他在我們裡面運行，為要討他的喜悅；但我們必須在實際的生活裡把這救恩行出來。一旦我們開始站在他救贖的根基上去遵行他的命令，我們會發現我們是可以做到的。如果我們失敗了，這是因為我們還不夠老練。危機會揭露出我們是否一直在實踐他的命令。如果我們順服神的靈，並在我們肉身裡實行神藉著他的靈放在我們裡面的命令，當危機來的時候，我們就會發現我們的本性和神的恩典都會支援我們過去。
感謝神給了我們困難的事情去做！他的拯救是令人高興的，但同時也是偉大的、聖潔的。它測試我們是否配得。耶穌要把許多“兒子”帶進榮耀裡，神不會讓我們逃避作為“兒子”的要求。神的恩典使人轉變成為耶穌基督的樣式，而不是成為一個懦夫。在實際的生活中活出耶穌門徒的生命需要許許多多的操練。成為高尚是需要付出努力的。
July 06, 2012
Visions Become Reality
The parched ground shall become a pool . . . —Isaiah 35:7
We always have a vision of something before it actually becomes real to us. When we realize that the vision is real, but is not yet real in us, Satan comes to us with his temptations, and we are inclined to say that there is no point in even trying to continue. Instead of the vision becoming real to us, we have entered into a valley of humiliation.
Life is not as idle ore,
But iron dug from central gloom,
And battered by the shocks of doom
To shape and use.
God gives us a vision, and then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of that vision. It is in the valley that so many of us give up and faint. Every God-given vision will become real if we will only have patience. Just think of the enormous amount of free time God has! He is never in a hurry. Yet we are always in such a frantic hurry. While still in the light of the glory of the vision, we go right out to do things, but the vision is not yet real in us. God has to take us into the valley and put us through fires and floods to batter us into shape, until we get to the point where He can trust us with the reality of the vision. Ever since God gave us the vision, He has been at work. He is getting us into the shape of the goal He has for us, and yet over and over again we try to escape from the Sculptor’s hand in an effort to batter ourselves into the shape of our own goal.
The vision that God gives is not some unattainable castle in the sky, but a vision of what God wants you to be down here. Allow the Potter to put you on His wheel and whirl you around as He desires. Then as surely as God is God, and you are you, you will turn out as an exact likeness of the vision. But don’t lose heart in the process. If you have ever had a vision from God, you may try as you will to be satisfied on a lower level, but God will never allow it.
異象與現實
發光的沙，要變為水池。 （賽三十五7）
在一件事實現以前，我們往往有異象。當我們發現異象雖然真確，但在我們身上卻未實現時，撒旦的試探就來了。我們很容易放棄，認為繼續也無濟於事。異象未能實現，並且來到自卑的山谷中。
[生命不是無人開採的礦藏，乃是地心暗處掘出來的鐵塊，經千錘百煉，為要模造成合用的器皿。 ]
神給我們異象，然後帶我們到山谷去錘煉，捏成該異象的形狀。不少人就是在山谷中仆倒放棄。只要忍耐，每一個異像都要實現。想想神無窮的閒暇！他從不匆忙，而我們卻總是忙得喘不過氣來。在異象的榮光中，我們一鼓作氣去作工，可是，那異像還未在我們裡面成為真實。所以，神必須帶我們到山谷中，經過水火的模造，直至神可以叫異象確切地在我們身上實現。自從我們有了這異象，神就一直作工，要使我們成為理想得模樣，只是我們一次又一次地從他手中逃脫，想模造成自己的形象。
異象不是空中樓閣，乃是神對你的心意。讓他把你放在旋盤中，照他意思去轉動陶造。這樣，神是神，你是你，你就必然變成與異像一模一樣的形狀。在這過程中，不要灰心。只要真見過神的異象，無論你怎樣設法滿足於次一等的狀況，神也不會放過你。
祈禱◆主啊，願我們全然交在你的手中，幫助我們能夠選擇你的帶領，[就是我們的神以我們配得所受的呼召]。
We always have a vision of something before it actually becomes real to us. When we realize that the vision is real, but is not yet real in us, Satan comes to us with his temptations, and we are inclined to say that there is no point in even trying to continue. Instead of the vision becoming real to us, we have entered into a valley of humiliation.
Life is not as idle ore,
But iron dug from central gloom,
And battered by the shocks of doom
To shape and use.
God gives us a vision, and then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of that vision. It is in the valley that so many of us give up and faint. Every God-given vision will become real if we will only have patience. Just think of the enormous amount of free time God has! He is never in a hurry. Yet we are always in such a frantic hurry. While still in the light of the glory of the vision, we go right out to do things, but the vision is not yet real in us. God has to take us into the valley and put us through fires and floods to batter us into shape, until we get to the point where He can trust us with the reality of the vision. Ever since God gave us the vision, He has been at work. He is getting us into the shape of the goal He has for us, and yet over and over again we try to escape from the Sculptor’s hand in an effort to batter ourselves into the shape of our own goal.
The vision that God gives is not some unattainable castle in the sky, but a vision of what God wants you to be down here. Allow the Potter to put you on His wheel and whirl you around as He desires. Then as surely as God is God, and you are you, you will turn out as an exact likeness of the vision. But don’t lose heart in the process. If you have ever had a vision from God, you may try as you will to be satisfied on a lower level, but God will never allow it.
異象與現實
發光的沙，要變為水池。 （賽三十五7）
在一件事實現以前，我們往往有異象。當我們發現異象雖然真確，但在我們身上卻未實現時，撒旦的試探就來了。我們很容易放棄，認為繼續也無濟於事。異象未能實現，並且來到自卑的山谷中。
[生命不是無人開採的礦藏，乃是地心暗處掘出來的鐵塊，經千錘百煉，為要模造成合用的器皿。 ]
神給我們異象，然後帶我們到山谷去錘煉，捏成該異象的形狀。不少人就是在山谷中仆倒放棄。只要忍耐，每一個異像都要實現。想想神無窮的閒暇！他從不匆忙，而我們卻總是忙得喘不過氣來。在異象的榮光中，我們一鼓作氣去作工，可是，那異像還未在我們裡面成為真實。所以，神必須帶我們到山谷中，經過水火的模造，直至神可以叫異象確切地在我們身上實現。自從我們有了這異象，神就一直作工，要使我們成為理想得模樣，只是我們一次又一次地從他手中逃脫，想模造成自己的形象。
異象不是空中樓閣，乃是神對你的心意。讓他把你放在旋盤中，照他意思去轉動陶造。這樣，神是神，你是你，你就必然變成與異像一模一樣的形狀。在這過程中，不要灰心。只要真見過神的異象，無論你怎樣設法滿足於次一等的狀況，神也不會放過你。
祈禱◆主啊，願我們全然交在你的手中，幫助我們能夠選擇你的帶領，[就是我們的神以我們配得所受的呼召]。
July 05, 2012
Don’t Plan Without God
Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass —Psalm 37:5
Don’t plan without God. God seems to have a delightful way of upsetting the plans we have made, when we have not taken Him into account. We get ourselves into circumstances that were not chosen by God, and suddenly we realize that we have been making our plans without Him— that we have not even considered Him to be a vital, living factor in the planning of our lives. And yet the only thing that will keep us from even the possibility of worrying is to bring God in as the greatest factor in all of our planning.
In spiritual issues it is customary for us to put God first, but we tend to think that it is inappropriate and unnecessary to put Him first in the practical, everyday issues of our lives. If we have the idea that we have to put on our “spiritual face” before we can come near to God, then we will never come near to Him. We must come as we are.
Don’t plan with a concern for evil in mind. Does God really mean for us to plan without taking the evil around us into account? “Love . . . thinks no evil” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). Love is not ignorant of the existence of evil, but it does not take it into account as a factor in planning. When we were apart from God, we did take evil into account, doing all of our planning with it in mind, and we tried to reason out all of our work from its standpoint.
Don’t plan with a rainy day in mind. You cannot hoard things for a rainy day if you are truly trusting Christ. Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (John 14:1). God will not keep your heart from being troubled. It is a command— “Let not. . . .” To do it, continually pick yourself up, even if you fall a hundred and one times a day, until you get into the habit of putting God first and planning with Him in mind.
別在神以外籌算
當將你的事交託耶和華，並倚靠它，他就必成全。 （詩三十七5）
別在神以外籌算，我們很多時為事情籌算，卻沒有把神放在裡面；在這情況下，神往往用他奇妙的方法破壞我們的計畫。我們闖進不是神所安排的環境裡去，才猛然發覺自己在神以外行事，沒有讓神成為生活的主導。若要除去憂慮，唯一的辦法是把神帶到我們一切的籌算裡，讓他成為最大的動因。
在宗教上，我們曉得該把神放在首位，但在實際的日常生活裡，卻無法把他放在第一位。若我們必須披上星期日的精神狀態才來親近神，那麼，我們就永不會親近神。我們必須按自己的本相來到神面前。
不要計算惡事，神真要我們不計算惡事嗎？ [愛……不計算人的惡。 ]愛並非不知惡的存在，而是不把惡計算。離開了神，我們便會計算惡；我們會從惡的立場去籌算、去推斷。
別為未來的困境籌算，你若信靠主耶穌，就不會為未來籌謀。耶穌說：[你們心里不要憂愁。 ]神不會叫你的心沒有憂愁，而是[不要……]，那是一項命令。因此一日之中，儘管是一百零一次，總要逼自己遵行，直至養成習慣，事事把神放在首位，一切的籌算有他在內。
祈禱◆[你們奉我的名無論求什麼，我必成就。 ]噢，主啊，那是多麼的奧妙，又是多麼的簡單——我祈求，同時相信你會藉著我的禱告，創造一些前所未有的東西，來答允我的祈求。
Don’t plan without God. God seems to have a delightful way of upsetting the plans we have made, when we have not taken Him into account. We get ourselves into circumstances that were not chosen by God, and suddenly we realize that we have been making our plans without Him— that we have not even considered Him to be a vital, living factor in the planning of our lives. And yet the only thing that will keep us from even the possibility of worrying is to bring God in as the greatest factor in all of our planning.
In spiritual issues it is customary for us to put God first, but we tend to think that it is inappropriate and unnecessary to put Him first in the practical, everyday issues of our lives. If we have the idea that we have to put on our “spiritual face” before we can come near to God, then we will never come near to Him. We must come as we are.
Don’t plan with a concern for evil in mind. Does God really mean for us to plan without taking the evil around us into account? “Love . . . thinks no evil” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). Love is not ignorant of the existence of evil, but it does not take it into account as a factor in planning. When we were apart from God, we did take evil into account, doing all of our planning with it in mind, and we tried to reason out all of our work from its standpoint.
Don’t plan with a rainy day in mind. You cannot hoard things for a rainy day if you are truly trusting Christ. Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (John 14:1). God will not keep your heart from being troubled. It is a command— “Let not. . . .” To do it, continually pick yourself up, even if you fall a hundred and one times a day, until you get into the habit of putting God first and planning with Him in mind.
別在神以外籌算
當將你的事交託耶和華，並倚靠它，他就必成全。 （詩三十七5）
別在神以外籌算，我們很多時為事情籌算，卻沒有把神放在裡面；在這情況下，神往往用他奇妙的方法破壞我們的計畫。我們闖進不是神所安排的環境裡去，才猛然發覺自己在神以外行事，沒有讓神成為生活的主導。若要除去憂慮，唯一的辦法是把神帶到我們一切的籌算裡，讓他成為最大的動因。
在宗教上，我們曉得該把神放在首位，但在實際的日常生活裡，卻無法把他放在第一位。若我們必須披上星期日的精神狀態才來親近神，那麼，我們就永不會親近神。我們必須按自己的本相來到神面前。
不要計算惡事，神真要我們不計算惡事嗎？ [愛……不計算人的惡。 ]愛並非不知惡的存在，而是不把惡計算。離開了神，我們便會計算惡；我們會從惡的立場去籌算、去推斷。
別為未來的困境籌算，你若信靠主耶穌，就不會為未來籌謀。耶穌說：[你們心里不要憂愁。 ]神不會叫你的心沒有憂愁，而是[不要……]，那是一項命令。因此一日之中，儘管是一百零一次，總要逼自己遵行，直至養成習慣，事事把神放在首位，一切的籌算有他在內。
祈禱◆[你們奉我的名無論求什麼，我必成就。 ]噢，主啊，那是多麼的奧妙，又是多麼的簡單——我祈求，同時相信你會藉著我的禱告，創造一些前所未有的東西，來答允我的祈求。
July 04, 2012
One of God’s Great “Don’ts”
Do not fret— it only causes harm —Psalm 37:8
Fretting means getting ourselves “out of joint” mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say, “Do not fret,” but something very different to have such a nature that you find yourself unable to fret. It’s easy to say, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7) until our own little world is turned upside down and we are forced to live in confusion and agony like so many other people. Is it possible to “rest in the Lord” then? If this “Do not” doesn’t work there, then it will not work anywhere. This “Do not” must work during our days of difficulty and uncertainty, as well as our peaceful days, or it will never work. And if it will not work in your particular case, it will not work for anyone else. Resting in the Lord is not dependent on your external circumstances at all, but on your relationship with God Himself.
Worrying always results in sin. We tend to think that a little anxiety and worry are simply an indication of how wise we really are, yet it is actually a much better indication of just how wicked we are. Fretting rises from our determination to have our own way. Our Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God’s plans. Fretting is wickedness for a child of God.
Have you been propping up that foolish soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God to handle? Set all your opinions and speculations aside and “abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about whatever concerns you. All our fretting and worrying is caused by planning without God.
神的[不要]
不要心懷不平，以致作惡。 （詩三十七8）
心懷不平就是思想上或靈性上的反抗狀態。口頭上說不要心懷不平，與內心真的沒有不平是兩回事。說[安息在主裡]、[忍耐等候主]多麼容易，但風浪一至，生活落在困逼苦惱中，真能安息在主裡麼？若這個[不要]在此行不通，在其他方面就更無功效。這[不要]不但要在平安無事的日子行得通，也必須在煩惱的日子行得通，否則，這就完全沒有意義。再者，若在你身上行不通，就別希冀在別人身上行得通了。安心靠主是完全不仗賴外在得環境，只在乎你與神的關係。
不安結果總變成罪。我們以為一點點的焦慮憂心是表示自己的聰明，其實這正顯示我們的劣根性。不安不平是從偏行己路而來的。我們的主從不焦慮，從不憂心，因為他來到世上並非為了自己，乃是要實現神的旨意。你若是神的兒女，心懷不平是壞透了的。
你是否認為當前的處境連神也難倒道了？這個思想是否支撐著你愚頑的心？把所有[假如]放在一旁，住在全能者的蔭下。鄭重的對神說你不再為那事心懷不平。一切的不平與掛慮，其實是離開神而自作打算。
祈禱◆主啊，我自覺深切地渴慕你和你的生命，我從詩篇九十一篇中找到保證——[他必救你]。主啊，我對它深信不疑，並且，為著你保護看顧我，我感謝你。
Fretting means getting ourselves “out of joint” mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say, “Do not fret,” but something very different to have such a nature that you find yourself unable to fret. It’s easy to say, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7) until our own little world is turned upside down and we are forced to live in confusion and agony like so many other people. Is it possible to “rest in the Lord” then? If this “Do not” doesn’t work there, then it will not work anywhere. This “Do not” must work during our days of difficulty and uncertainty, as well as our peaceful days, or it will never work. And if it will not work in your particular case, it will not work for anyone else. Resting in the Lord is not dependent on your external circumstances at all, but on your relationship with God Himself.
Worrying always results in sin. We tend to think that a little anxiety and worry are simply an indication of how wise we really are, yet it is actually a much better indication of just how wicked we are. Fretting rises from our determination to have our own way. Our Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God’s plans. Fretting is wickedness for a child of God.
Have you been propping up that foolish soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God to handle? Set all your opinions and speculations aside and “abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about whatever concerns you. All our fretting and worrying is caused by planning without God.
神的[不要]
不要心懷不平，以致作惡。 （詩三十七8）
心懷不平就是思想上或靈性上的反抗狀態。口頭上說不要心懷不平，與內心真的沒有不平是兩回事。說[安息在主裡]、[忍耐等候主]多麼容易，但風浪一至，生活落在困逼苦惱中，真能安息在主裡麼？若這個[不要]在此行不通，在其他方面就更無功效。這[不要]不但要在平安無事的日子行得通，也必須在煩惱的日子行得通，否則，這就完全沒有意義。再者，若在你身上行不通，就別希冀在別人身上行得通了。安心靠主是完全不仗賴外在得環境，只在乎你與神的關係。
不安結果總變成罪。我們以為一點點的焦慮憂心是表示自己的聰明，其實這正顯示我們的劣根性。不安不平是從偏行己路而來的。我們的主從不焦慮，從不憂心，因為他來到世上並非為了自己，乃是要實現神的旨意。你若是神的兒女，心懷不平是壞透了的。
你是否認為當前的處境連神也難倒道了？這個思想是否支撐著你愚頑的心？把所有[假如]放在一旁，住在全能者的蔭下。鄭重的對神說你不再為那事心懷不平。一切的不平與掛慮，其實是離開神而自作打算。
祈禱◆主啊，我自覺深切地渴慕你和你的生命，我從詩篇九十一篇中找到保證——[他必救你]。主啊，我對它深信不疑，並且，為著你保護看顧我，我感謝你。
July 03, 2012
The Concentration of Personal Sin
Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips . . . —Isaiah 6:5
When I come into the very presence of God, I do not realize that I am a sinner in an indefinite sense, but I suddenly realize and the focus of my attention is directed toward the concentration of sin in a particular area of my life. A person will easily say, “Oh yes, I know I am a sinner,” but when he comes into the presence of God he cannot get away with such a broad and indefinite statement. Our conviction is focused on our specific sin, and we realize, as Isaiah did, what we really are. This is always the sign that a person is in the presence of God. There is never any vague sense of sin, but a focusing on the concentration of sin in some specific, personal area of life. God begins by convicting us of the very thing to which His Spirit has directed our mind’s attention. If we will surrender, submitting to His conviction of that particular sin, He will lead us down to where He can reveal the vast underlying nature of sin. That is the way God always deals with us when we are consciously aware of His presence.
This experience of our attention being directed to our concentration of personal sin is true in everyone’s life, from the greatest of saints to the worst of sinners. When a person first begins climbing the ladder of experience, he might say, “I don’t know where I’ve gone wrong,” but the Spirit of God will point out some definite and specific thing to him. The effect of Isaiah’s vision of the holiness of the Lord was the directing of his attention to the fact that he was “a man of unclean lips.” “He touched my mouth with it, and said: ’Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged’ ” (Isaiah 6:7). The cleansing fire had to be applied where the sin had been concentrated.
人罪惡的集中地
禍哉，我滅亡了。因為我是嘴唇不潔的人。 （賽六5）
我來到神面前，自覺是個罪人。那意識不會是模棱兩可的，我必然是意識到我生命的某一方面有罪。人可以很容易地說：[是的，我是個罪人。 ]但當他一旦來到神面前，就不能憑這句話輕輕逃過去。那知罪的意念會集中在——[我這個不是，那個不對。 ]人來到神面前總有這個表記。罪的意識不會模糊不清，一定是集中在個人的某一些事上。神起初總是藉聖靈指控我們心中的某一件事，我們若在這件事上承認自己有罪，他便把我們引進下面最大的罪根性區。我們若是在神面前，他總是這樣對付我們。
這個把罪惡集中的經歷，不論在最偉大的聖徒或最渺小的罪人身上，都毫無分別。在這經歷第一級階梯上的人會說：[我不知過錯何在，但神的靈必會指出我在哪一件事上犯了錯。 ]以賽亞看見聖潔的神，他就察覺自己是嘴唇不潔的人。 [將炭沾我的口說，看哪，這炭沾了你的嘴，你的罪孽便除掉，你的罪惡就赦免了。 ]潔淨的火必要施於罪惡集中之處。
祈禱◆主啊，願你的純潔滲透我們的思想、身體和感情；讓我們完全認知和迅速彰顯你那活潑而使人充滿生氣的作為。願你那豐富的能力，進入我們的生活中。
When I come into the very presence of God, I do not realize that I am a sinner in an indefinite sense, but I suddenly realize and the focus of my attention is directed toward the concentration of sin in a particular area of my life. A person will easily say, “Oh yes, I know I am a sinner,” but when he comes into the presence of God he cannot get away with such a broad and indefinite statement. Our conviction is focused on our specific sin, and we realize, as Isaiah did, what we really are. This is always the sign that a person is in the presence of God. There is never any vague sense of sin, but a focusing on the concentration of sin in some specific, personal area of life. God begins by convicting us of the very thing to which His Spirit has directed our mind’s attention. If we will surrender, submitting to His conviction of that particular sin, He will lead us down to where He can reveal the vast underlying nature of sin. That is the way God always deals with us when we are consciously aware of His presence.
This experience of our attention being directed to our concentration of personal sin is true in everyone’s life, from the greatest of saints to the worst of sinners. When a person first begins climbing the ladder of experience, he might say, “I don’t know where I’ve gone wrong,” but the Spirit of God will point out some definite and specific thing to him. The effect of Isaiah’s vision of the holiness of the Lord was the directing of his attention to the fact that he was “a man of unclean lips.” “He touched my mouth with it, and said: ’Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged’ ” (Isaiah 6:7). The cleansing fire had to be applied where the sin had been concentrated.
人罪惡的集中地
禍哉，我滅亡了。因為我是嘴唇不潔的人。 （賽六5）
我來到神面前，自覺是個罪人。那意識不會是模棱兩可的，我必然是意識到我生命的某一方面有罪。人可以很容易地說：[是的，我是個罪人。 ]但當他一旦來到神面前，就不能憑這句話輕輕逃過去。那知罪的意念會集中在——[我這個不是，那個不對。 ]人來到神面前總有這個表記。罪的意識不會模糊不清，一定是集中在個人的某一些事上。神起初總是藉聖靈指控我們心中的某一件事，我們若在這件事上承認自己有罪，他便把我們引進下面最大的罪根性區。我們若是在神面前，他總是這樣對付我們。
這個把罪惡集中的經歷，不論在最偉大的聖徒或最渺小的罪人身上，都毫無分別。在這經歷第一級階梯上的人會說：[我不知過錯何在，但神的靈必會指出我在哪一件事上犯了錯。 ]以賽亞看見聖潔的神，他就察覺自己是嘴唇不潔的人。 [將炭沾我的口說，看哪，這炭沾了你的嘴，你的罪孽便除掉，你的罪惡就赦免了。 ]潔淨的火必要施於罪惡集中之處。
祈禱◆主啊，願你的純潔滲透我們的思想、身體和感情；讓我們完全認知和迅速彰顯你那活潑而使人充滿生氣的作為。願你那豐富的能力，進入我們的生活中。
July 02, 2012
The Conditions of Discipleship
If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also . . . . And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me . . . . So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple —Luke 14:26-27, 33
If the closest relationships of a disciple’s life conflict with the claims of Jesus Christ, then our Lord requires instant obedience to Himself. Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person— our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between devotion to a person and devotion to principles or to a cause. Our Lord never proclaimed a cause— He proclaimed personal devotion to Himself. To be a disciple is to be a devoted bondservant motivated by love for the Lord Jesus. Many of us who call ourselves Christians are not truly devoted to Jesus Christ. No one on earth has this passionate love for the Lord Jesus unless the Holy Spirit has given it to him. We may admire, respect, and revere Him, but we cannot love Him on our own. The only One who truly loves the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit, and it is He who has “poured out in our hearts” the very “love of God” (Romans 5:5). Whenever the Holy Spirit sees an opportunity to glorify Jesus through you, He will take your entire being and set you ablaze with glowing devotion to Jesus Christ.
The Christian life is a life characterized by true and spontaneous creativity. Consequently, a disciple is subject to the same charge that was leveled against Jesus Christ, namely, the charge of inconsistency. But Jesus Christ was always consistent in His relationship to God, and a Christian must be consistent in his relationship to the life of the Son of God in him, not consistent to strict, unyielding doctrines. People pour themselves into their own doctrines, and God has to blast them out of their preconceived ideas before they can become devoted to Jesus Christ.
作門徒的條件
人到我這裡來，若不愛我勝過……就不能作我的門徒。 （路十四26、27、33）
耶穌基督說人生中最親密的關係，若與他的要求相衝突的話，就必須立刻選擇順服他。作門徒的意思，就是把自己誠意地奉獻給一位——我們的主耶穌基督。對一個有位格的主奉獻，與對一個原則或運動獻身，並不相同。我們的主從沒有宣告一項運動，他宣告的乃是叫人對他個別的獻身。作門徒就是做主忠誠的愛奴。我們這些自稱基督徒的人，許多根本就不專心愛主。除非聖靈把愛澆灌給人，否則世上沒有一個人懂得熱誠愛主。我們也許會仰慕他、尊敬他，但卻不會愛他。唯一愛耶穌的就是聖靈，是他把神的愛傾瀉入我們心中。聖靈一見有榮耀耶穌的機會，就會佔有你的心、你整個的人，使你在主耶穌的熱愛中燃燒發光。
基督徒的生命，都蓋上了[自然的道德創造力]的印記，所以門徒像主耶穌一樣被人指責為：矛盾不一。其實，主耶穌時刻對神都是如一。信徒也該對神的兒子始終如一，而不是在死硬的教條上持守。人把自己傾進教條里去，神卻要把人的偏見炸毀，叫她們懂得專心愛他。
祈禱◆我何等需要看見你那威嚴、大能和榮耀的作為！我們所有人都只需要你的觸摸，使一切事物都變成嶄新而奇妙，並且抗衡任何不屬於你的影響和標準。願你的同在使我們得以潔淨和滿有能力。
If the closest relationships of a disciple’s life conflict with the claims of Jesus Christ, then our Lord requires instant obedience to Himself. Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person— our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between devotion to a person and devotion to principles or to a cause. Our Lord never proclaimed a cause— He proclaimed personal devotion to Himself. To be a disciple is to be a devoted bondservant motivated by love for the Lord Jesus. Many of us who call ourselves Christians are not truly devoted to Jesus Christ. No one on earth has this passionate love for the Lord Jesus unless the Holy Spirit has given it to him. We may admire, respect, and revere Him, but we cannot love Him on our own. The only One who truly loves the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit, and it is He who has “poured out in our hearts” the very “love of God” (Romans 5:5). Whenever the Holy Spirit sees an opportunity to glorify Jesus through you, He will take your entire being and set you ablaze with glowing devotion to Jesus Christ.
The Christian life is a life characterized by true and spontaneous creativity. Consequently, a disciple is subject to the same charge that was leveled against Jesus Christ, namely, the charge of inconsistency. But Jesus Christ was always consistent in His relationship to God, and a Christian must be consistent in his relationship to the life of the Son of God in him, not consistent to strict, unyielding doctrines. People pour themselves into their own doctrines, and God has to blast them out of their preconceived ideas before they can become devoted to Jesus Christ.
作門徒的條件
人到我這裡來，若不愛我勝過……就不能作我的門徒。 （路十四26、27、33）
耶穌基督說人生中最親密的關係，若與他的要求相衝突的話，就必須立刻選擇順服他。作門徒的意思，就是把自己誠意地奉獻給一位——我們的主耶穌基督。對一個有位格的主奉獻，與對一個原則或運動獻身，並不相同。我們的主從沒有宣告一項運動，他宣告的乃是叫人對他個別的獻身。作門徒就是做主忠誠的愛奴。我們這些自稱基督徒的人，許多根本就不專心愛主。除非聖靈把愛澆灌給人，否則世上沒有一個人懂得熱誠愛主。我們也許會仰慕他、尊敬他，但卻不會愛他。唯一愛耶穌的就是聖靈，是他把神的愛傾瀉入我們心中。聖靈一見有榮耀耶穌的機會，就會佔有你的心、你整個的人，使你在主耶穌的熱愛中燃燒發光。
基督徒的生命，都蓋上了[自然的道德創造力]的印記，所以門徒像主耶穌一樣被人指責為：矛盾不一。其實，主耶穌時刻對神都是如一。信徒也該對神的兒子始終如一，而不是在死硬的教條上持守。人把自己傾進教條里去，神卻要把人的偏見炸毀，叫她們懂得專心愛他。
祈禱◆我何等需要看見你那威嚴、大能和榮耀的作為！我們所有人都只需要你的觸摸，使一切事物都變成嶄新而奇妙，並且抗衡任何不屬於你的影響和標準。願你的同在使我們得以潔淨和滿有能力。
July 01, 2012
The Inevitable Penalty
You will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny —Matthew 5:26
There is no heaven that has a little corner of hell in it. God is determined to make you pure, holy, and right, and He will not allow you to escape from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit for even one moment. He urged you to come to judgment immediately when He convicted you, but you did not obey. Then the inevitable process began to work, bringing its inevitable penalty. Now you have been “thrown into prison, [and] . . . you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny” (5:25-26). Yet you ask, “Is this a God of mercy and love?” When seen from God’s perspective, it is a glorious ministry of love. God is going to bring you out pure, spotless, and undefiled, but He wants you to recognize the nature you were exhibiting— the nature of demanding your right to yourself. The moment you are willing for God to change your nature, His recreating forces will begin to work. And the moment you realize that God’s purpose is to get you into the right relationship with Himself and then with others, He will reach to the very limits of the universe to help you take the right road. Decide to do it right now, saying, “Yes, Lord, I will write that letter,” or, “I will be reconciled to that person now.”
These sermons of Jesus Christ are meant for your will and your conscience, not for your head. If you dispute these verses from the Sermon on the Mount with your head, you will dull the appeal to your heart.
If you find yourself asking, “I wonder why I’m not growing spiritually with God?”— then ask yourself if you are paying your debts from God’s standpoint. Do now what you will have to do someday. Every moral question or call comes with an “ought” behind it— the knowledge of knowing what we ought to do.
免不了的刑罰
[沒有一個天堂一個地獄的角落。 ]神一心要使你純潔、正直、無暇；就一刻不容你離開聖靈的監察。他催逼你一知罪，便立刻接受審判。可是你不肯，於是後果就來了，你如今在監牢中，必須還清每一文錢，才可以出來。你會說：[這豈是慈悲仁愛的神麼？ ]從神那方面看來，這正是他榮耀的愛。神要叫你出來時聖潔無暇；同時他要你看透自己的本性－－就是要抓緊權利。一旦你肯讓神改變你，他再造的大能就產生功效。一旦你明白神的用心，時要你與他有正確的關係，也與其他人有正確的關係，神就會用盡宇宙一切的權能，助你走上正途。
請你現在立志－－[我肯，主啊，今晚我必定寫那封信]；[我現在就與那人和好]。
耶穌基督這信息對你的意志與良心而講的，而不是對你的理智而發出。你若拿登山寶訓去強辯，就會把心中的呼召聲沖淡了。
[我不明白為什麼與神沒有進展？ ]你有沒有償還神心目中的債？你一直拖延的事，現在就做吧。每一個道德呼聲背後，都有一個[應該]。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，但願我能看見你的面容，認識你的能力和那使人興奮的恩典。願你靠近我這個已完全復元的生命，並且求你寬恕我忽略了你如何使我複元。
There is no heaven that has a little corner of hell in it. God is determined to make you pure, holy, and right, and He will not allow you to escape from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit for even one moment. He urged you to come to judgment immediately when He convicted you, but you did not obey. Then the inevitable process began to work, bringing its inevitable penalty. Now you have been “thrown into prison, [and] . . . you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny” (5:25-26). Yet you ask, “Is this a God of mercy and love?” When seen from God’s perspective, it is a glorious ministry of love. God is going to bring you out pure, spotless, and undefiled, but He wants you to recognize the nature you were exhibiting— the nature of demanding your right to yourself. The moment you are willing for God to change your nature, His recreating forces will begin to work. And the moment you realize that God’s purpose is to get you into the right relationship with Himself and then with others, He will reach to the very limits of the universe to help you take the right road. Decide to do it right now, saying, “Yes, Lord, I will write that letter,” or, “I will be reconciled to that person now.”
These sermons of Jesus Christ are meant for your will and your conscience, not for your head. If you dispute these verses from the Sermon on the Mount with your head, you will dull the appeal to your heart.
If you find yourself asking, “I wonder why I’m not growing spiritually with God?”— then ask yourself if you are paying your debts from God’s standpoint. Do now what you will have to do someday. Every moral question or call comes with an “ought” behind it— the knowledge of knowing what we ought to do.
免不了的刑罰
[沒有一個天堂一個地獄的角落。 ]神一心要使你純潔、正直、無暇；就一刻不容你離開聖靈的監察。他催逼你一知罪，便立刻接受審判。可是你不肯，於是後果就來了，你如今在監牢中，必須還清每一文錢，才可以出來。你會說：[這豈是慈悲仁愛的神麼？ ]從神那方面看來，這正是他榮耀的愛。神要叫你出來時聖潔無暇；同時他要你看透自己的本性－－就是要抓緊權利。一旦你肯讓神改變你，他再造的大能就產生功效。一旦你明白神的用心，時要你與他有正確的關係，也與其他人有正確的關係，神就會用盡宇宙一切的權能，助你走上正途。
請你現在立志－－[我肯，主啊，今晚我必定寫那封信]；[我現在就與那人和好]。
耶穌基督這信息對你的意志與良心而講的，而不是對你的理智而發出。你若拿登山寶訓去強辯，就會把心中的呼召聲沖淡了。
[我不明白為什麼與神沒有進展？ ]你有沒有償還神心目中的債？你一直拖延的事，現在就做吧。每一個道德呼聲背後，都有一個[應該]。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，但願我能看見你的面容，認識你的能力和那使人興奮的恩典。願你靠近我這個已完全復元的生命，並且求你寬恕我忽略了你如何使我複元。
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