By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain . . . —1 Corinthians 15:10
The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, “Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint.” But to say that before God means, “No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible.” That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.
Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, “Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified,” is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.
There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.
November 30, 2012
November 29, 2012
The Supremacy of Jesus Christ
He will glorify Me . . . —John 16:14
The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the sufferings of God, nor is it stained with “the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy Spirit as being genuine, and it has no visual sign that causes people to exclaim with awe and wonder, “That is the work of God Almighty!” Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else.
The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other kind of so-called Christian experience is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration— no being born again into the kingdom in which Christ lives and reigns supreme. There is only the idea that He is our pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the Savior long before He is the pattern. Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a religion— a mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God!
Jesus said, “. . . when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, . . . He will glorify Me . . .” (John 16:13-14). When I commit myself to the revealed truth of the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, who then begins interpreting to me what Jesus did. The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally.
The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the sufferings of God, nor is it stained with “the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy Spirit as being genuine, and it has no visual sign that causes people to exclaim with awe and wonder, “That is the work of God Almighty!” Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else.
The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other kind of so-called Christian experience is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration— no being born again into the kingdom in which Christ lives and reigns supreme. There is only the idea that He is our pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the Savior long before He is the pattern. Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a religion— a mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God!
Jesus said, “. . . when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, . . . He will glorify Me . . .” (John 16:13-14). When I commit myself to the revealed truth of the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, who then begins interpreting to me what Jesus did. The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally.
November 28, 2012
The Riches of the Destitute
. . . being justified freely by His grace . . . —Romans 3:24
The gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the truth that it reveals is not palatable or easy to swallow. There is a certain pride in people that causes them to give and give, but to come and accept a gift is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom; I will dedicate my life to service— I will do anything. But do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. We must enter into His kingdom through the door of destitution. As long as we are “rich,” particularly in the area of pride or independence, God can do nothing for us. It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was “beyond” us and places it “within” us. And immediately, once “the beyond” has come “within,” it rises up to “the above,” and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns (see John 3:5).
The gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the truth that it reveals is not palatable or easy to swallow. There is a certain pride in people that causes them to give and give, but to come and accept a gift is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom; I will dedicate my life to service— I will do anything. But do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. We must enter into His kingdom through the door of destitution. As long as we are “rich,” particularly in the area of pride or independence, God can do nothing for us. It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was “beyond” us and places it “within” us. And immediately, once “the beyond” has come “within,” it rises up to “the above,” and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns (see John 3:5).
November 27, 2012
The Consecration of Spiritual Power
. . . by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world —Galatians 6:14
If I dwell on the Cross of Christ, I do not simply become inwardly devout and solely interested in my own holiness— I become strongly focused on Jesus Christ’s interests. Our Lord was not a recluse nor a fanatical holy man practicing self-denial. He did not physically cut Himself off from society, but He was inwardly disconnected all the time. He was not aloof, but He lived in another world. In fact, He was so much in the common everyday world that the religious people of His day accused Him of being a glutton and a drunkard. Yet our Lord never allowed anything to interfere with His consecration of spiritual power.
It is not genuine consecration to think that we can refuse to be used of God now in order to store up our spiritual power for later use. That is a hopeless mistake. The Spirit of God has set a great many people free from their sin, yet they are experiencing no fullness in their lives— no true sense of freedom. The kind of religious life we see around the world today is entirely different from the vigorous holiness of the life of Jesus Christ. “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). We are to be in the world but not of it— to be separated internally, not externally (see John 17:16).
We must never allow anything to interfere with the consecration of our spiritual power. Consecration (being dedicated to God’s service) is our part; sanctification (being set apart from sin and being made holy) is God’s part. We must make a deliberate determination to be interested only in what God is interested. The way to make that determination, when faced with a perplexing problem, is to ask yourself, “Is this the kind of thing in which Jesus Christ is interested, or is it something in which the spirit that is diametrically opposed to Jesus is interested?”
If I dwell on the Cross of Christ, I do not simply become inwardly devout and solely interested in my own holiness— I become strongly focused on Jesus Christ’s interests. Our Lord was not a recluse nor a fanatical holy man practicing self-denial. He did not physically cut Himself off from society, but He was inwardly disconnected all the time. He was not aloof, but He lived in another world. In fact, He was so much in the common everyday world that the religious people of His day accused Him of being a glutton and a drunkard. Yet our Lord never allowed anything to interfere with His consecration of spiritual power.
It is not genuine consecration to think that we can refuse to be used of God now in order to store up our spiritual power for later use. That is a hopeless mistake. The Spirit of God has set a great many people free from their sin, yet they are experiencing no fullness in their lives— no true sense of freedom. The kind of religious life we see around the world today is entirely different from the vigorous holiness of the life of Jesus Christ. “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). We are to be in the world but not of it— to be separated internally, not externally (see John 17:16).
We must never allow anything to interfere with the consecration of our spiritual power. Consecration (being dedicated to God’s service) is our part; sanctification (being set apart from sin and being made holy) is God’s part. We must make a deliberate determination to be interested only in what God is interested. The way to make that determination, when faced with a perplexing problem, is to ask yourself, “Is this the kind of thing in which Jesus Christ is interested, or is it something in which the spirit that is diametrically opposed to Jesus is interested?”
November 26, 2012
The Focal Point of Spiritual Power
. . . except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . —Galatians 6:14
If you want to know the power of God (that is, the resurrection life of Jesus) in your human flesh, you must dwell on the tragedy of God. Break away from your personal concern over your own spiritual condition, and with a completely open spirit consider the tragedy of God. Instantly the power of God will be in you. “Look to Me. . .” (Isaiah 45:22). Pay attention to the external Source and the internal power will be there. We lose power because we don’t focus on the right thing. The effect of the Cross is salvation, sanctification, healing, etc., but we are not to preach any of these. We are to preach “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). The proclaiming of Jesus will do its own work. Concentrate on God’s focal point in your preaching, and even if your listeners seem to pay it no attention, they will never be the same again. If I share my own words, they are of no more importance than your words are to me. But if we share the truth of God with one another, we will encounter it again and again. We have to focus on the great point of spiritual power— the Cross. If we stay in contact with that center of power, its energy is released in our lives. In holiness movements and spiritual experience meetings, the focus tends to be put not on the Cross of Christ but on the effects of the Cross.
The feebleness of the church is being criticized today, and the criticism is justified. One reason for the feebleness is that there has not been this focus on the true center of spiritual power. We have not dwelt enough on the tragedy of Calvary or on the meaning of redemption.
If you want to know the power of God (that is, the resurrection life of Jesus) in your human flesh, you must dwell on the tragedy of God. Break away from your personal concern over your own spiritual condition, and with a completely open spirit consider the tragedy of God. Instantly the power of God will be in you. “Look to Me. . .” (Isaiah 45:22). Pay attention to the external Source and the internal power will be there. We lose power because we don’t focus on the right thing. The effect of the Cross is salvation, sanctification, healing, etc., but we are not to preach any of these. We are to preach “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). The proclaiming of Jesus will do its own work. Concentrate on God’s focal point in your preaching, and even if your listeners seem to pay it no attention, they will never be the same again. If I share my own words, they are of no more importance than your words are to me. But if we share the truth of God with one another, we will encounter it again and again. We have to focus on the great point of spiritual power— the Cross. If we stay in contact with that center of power, its energy is released in our lives. In holiness movements and spiritual experience meetings, the focus tends to be put not on the Cross of Christ but on the effects of the Cross.
The feebleness of the church is being criticized today, and the criticism is justified. One reason for the feebleness is that there has not been this focus on the true center of spiritual power. We have not dwelt enough on the tragedy of Calvary or on the meaning of redemption.
November 25, 2012
The Secret of Spiritual Consistency
God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . —Galatians 6:14
When a person is newly born again, he seems inconsistent due to his unrelated emotions and the state of the external things or circumstances in his life. The apostle Paul had a strong and steady underlying consistency in his life. Consequently, he could let his external life change without internal distress because he was rooted and grounded in God. Most of us are not consistent spiritually because we are more concerned about being consistent externally. In the external expression of things, Paul lived in the basement, while his critics lived on the upper level. And these two levels do not begin to touch each other. But Paul’s consistency was down deep in the fundamentals. The great basis of his consistency was the agony of God in the redemption of the world, namely, the Cross of Christ.
State your beliefs to yourself again. Get back to the foundation of the Cross of Christ, doing away with any belief not based on it. In secular history the Cross is an infinitesimally small thing, but from the biblical perspective it is of more importance than all the empires of the world. If we get away from dwelling on the tragedy of God on the Cross in our preaching, our preaching produces nothing. It will not transmit the energy of God to man; it may be interesting, but it will have no power. However, when we preach the Cross, the energy of God is released. “. . . it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. . . . we preach Christ crucified . . .” (1 Corinthians 1:21, 23).
When a person is newly born again, he seems inconsistent due to his unrelated emotions and the state of the external things or circumstances in his life. The apostle Paul had a strong and steady underlying consistency in his life. Consequently, he could let his external life change without internal distress because he was rooted and grounded in God. Most of us are not consistent spiritually because we are more concerned about being consistent externally. In the external expression of things, Paul lived in the basement, while his critics lived on the upper level. And these two levels do not begin to touch each other. But Paul’s consistency was down deep in the fundamentals. The great basis of his consistency was the agony of God in the redemption of the world, namely, the Cross of Christ.
State your beliefs to yourself again. Get back to the foundation of the Cross of Christ, doing away with any belief not based on it. In secular history the Cross is an infinitesimally small thing, but from the biblical perspective it is of more importance than all the empires of the world. If we get away from dwelling on the tragedy of God on the Cross in our preaching, our preaching produces nothing. It will not transmit the energy of God to man; it may be interesting, but it will have no power. However, when we preach the Cross, the energy of God is released. “. . . it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. . . . we preach Christ crucified . . .” (1 Corinthians 1:21, 23).
November 24, 2012
Direction of Focus
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters . . . , so our eyes look to the Lord our God . . . —Psalm 123:2
This verse is a description of total reliance on God. Just as the eyes of a servant are riveted on his master, our eyes should be directed to and focused on God. This is how knowledge of His countenance is gained and how God reveals Himself to us (see Isaiah 53:1). Our spiritual strength begins to be drained when we stop lifting our eyes to Him. Our stamina is sapped, not so much through external troubles surrounding us but through problems in our thinking. We wrongfully think, “I suppose I’ve been stretching myself a little too much, standing too tall and trying to look like God instead of being an ordinary humble person.” We have to realize that no effort can be too high.
For example, you came to a crisis in your life, took a stand for God, and even had the witness of the Spirit as a confirmation that what you did was right. But now, maybe weeks or years have gone by, and you are slowly coming to the conclusion— “Well, maybe what I did showed too much pride or was superficial. Was I taking a stand a bit too high for me?” Your “rational” friends come and say, “Don’t be silly. We knew when you first talked about this spiritual awakening that it was a passing impulse, that you couldn’t hold up under the strain. And anyway, God doesn’t expect you to endure.” You respond by saying, “Well, I suppose I was expecting too much.” That sounds humble to say, but it means that your reliance on God is gone, and you are now relying on worldly opinion. The danger comes when, no longer relying on God, you neglect to focus your eyes on Him. Only when God brings you to a sudden stop will you realize that you have been the loser. Whenever there is a spiritual drain in your life, correct it immediately. Realize that something has been coming between you and God, and change or remove it at once.
This verse is a description of total reliance on God. Just as the eyes of a servant are riveted on his master, our eyes should be directed to and focused on God. This is how knowledge of His countenance is gained and how God reveals Himself to us (see Isaiah 53:1). Our spiritual strength begins to be drained when we stop lifting our eyes to Him. Our stamina is sapped, not so much through external troubles surrounding us but through problems in our thinking. We wrongfully think, “I suppose I’ve been stretching myself a little too much, standing too tall and trying to look like God instead of being an ordinary humble person.” We have to realize that no effort can be too high.
For example, you came to a crisis in your life, took a stand for God, and even had the witness of the Spirit as a confirmation that what you did was right. But now, maybe weeks or years have gone by, and you are slowly coming to the conclusion— “Well, maybe what I did showed too much pride or was superficial. Was I taking a stand a bit too high for me?” Your “rational” friends come and say, “Don’t be silly. We knew when you first talked about this spiritual awakening that it was a passing impulse, that you couldn’t hold up under the strain. And anyway, God doesn’t expect you to endure.” You respond by saying, “Well, I suppose I was expecting too much.” That sounds humble to say, but it means that your reliance on God is gone, and you are now relying on worldly opinion. The danger comes when, no longer relying on God, you neglect to focus your eyes on Him. Only when God brings you to a sudden stop will you realize that you have been the loser. Whenever there is a spiritual drain in your life, correct it immediately. Realize that something has been coming between you and God, and change or remove it at once.
November 23, 2012
The Distraction of Contempt
Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt —Psalm 123:3
What we must beware of is not damage to our belief in God but damage to our Christian disposition or state of mind. “Take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously” (Malachi 2:16). Our state of mind is powerful in its effects. It can be the enemy that penetrates right into our soul and distracts our mind from God. There are certain attitudes we should never dare to indulge. If we do, we will find they have distracted us from faith in God. Until we get back into a quiet mood before Him, our faith is of no value, and our confidence in the flesh and in human ingenuity is what rules our lives.
Beware of “the cares of this world . . .” (Mark 4:19). They are the very things that produce the wrong attitudes in our soul. It is incredible what enormous power there is in simple things to distract our attention away from God. Refuse to be swamped by “the cares of this world.”
Another thing that distracts us is our passion for vindication. St. Augustine prayed, “O Lord, deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself.” Such a need for constant vindication destroys our soul’s faith in God. Don’t say, “I must explain myself,” or, “I must get people to understand.” Our Lord never explained anything— He left the misunderstandings or misconceptions of others to correct themselves.
When we discern that other people are not growing spiritually and allow that discernment to turn to criticism, we block our fellowship with God. God never gives us discernment so that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.
What we must beware of is not damage to our belief in God but damage to our Christian disposition or state of mind. “Take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously” (Malachi 2:16). Our state of mind is powerful in its effects. It can be the enemy that penetrates right into our soul and distracts our mind from God. There are certain attitudes we should never dare to indulge. If we do, we will find they have distracted us from faith in God. Until we get back into a quiet mood before Him, our faith is of no value, and our confidence in the flesh and in human ingenuity is what rules our lives.
Beware of “the cares of this world . . .” (Mark 4:19). They are the very things that produce the wrong attitudes in our soul. It is incredible what enormous power there is in simple things to distract our attention away from God. Refuse to be swamped by “the cares of this world.”
Another thing that distracts us is our passion for vindication. St. Augustine prayed, “O Lord, deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself.” Such a need for constant vindication destroys our soul’s faith in God. Don’t say, “I must explain myself,” or, “I must get people to understand.” Our Lord never explained anything— He left the misunderstandings or misconceptions of others to correct themselves.
When we discern that other people are not growing spiritually and allow that discernment to turn to criticism, we block our fellowship with God. God never gives us discernment so that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.
November 22, 2012
Shallow and Profound
Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God —1 Corinthians 10:31
Beware of allowing yourself to think that the shallow aspects of life are not ordained by God; they are ordained by Him equally as much as the profound. We sometimes refuse to be shallow, not out of our deep devotion to God but because we wish to impress other people with the fact that we are not shallow. This is a sure sign of spiritual pride. We must be careful, for this is how contempt for others is produced in our lives. And it causes us to be a walking rebuke to other people because they are more shallow than we are. Beware of posing as a profound person— God became a baby.
To be shallow is not a sign of being sinful, nor is shallowness an indication that there is no depth to your life at all— the ocean has a shore. Even the shallow things of life, such as eating and drinking, walking and talking, are ordained by God. These are all things our Lord did. He did them as the Son of God, and He said, “A disciple is not above his teacher . . .” (Matthew 10:24).
We are safeguarded by the shallow things of life. We have to live the surface, commonsense life in a commonsense way. Then when God gives us the deeper things, they are obviously separated from the shallow concerns. Never show the depth of your life to anyone but God. We are so nauseatingly serious, so desperately interested in our own character and reputation, we refuse to behave like Christians in the shallow concerns of life.
Make a determination to take no one seriously except God. You may find that the first person you must be the most critical with, as being the greatest fraud you have ever known, is yourself.
Beware of allowing yourself to think that the shallow aspects of life are not ordained by God; they are ordained by Him equally as much as the profound. We sometimes refuse to be shallow, not out of our deep devotion to God but because we wish to impress other people with the fact that we are not shallow. This is a sure sign of spiritual pride. We must be careful, for this is how contempt for others is produced in our lives. And it causes us to be a walking rebuke to other people because they are more shallow than we are. Beware of posing as a profound person— God became a baby.
To be shallow is not a sign of being sinful, nor is shallowness an indication that there is no depth to your life at all— the ocean has a shore. Even the shallow things of life, such as eating and drinking, walking and talking, are ordained by God. These are all things our Lord did. He did them as the Son of God, and He said, “A disciple is not above his teacher . . .” (Matthew 10:24).
We are safeguarded by the shallow things of life. We have to live the surface, commonsense life in a commonsense way. Then when God gives us the deeper things, they are obviously separated from the shallow concerns. Never show the depth of your life to anyone but God. We are so nauseatingly serious, so desperately interested in our own character and reputation, we refuse to behave like Christians in the shallow concerns of life.
Make a determination to take no one seriously except God. You may find that the first person you must be the most critical with, as being the greatest fraud you have ever known, is yourself.
November 21, 2012
“It is Finished!”
I have finished the work which You have given Me to do —John 17:4
The death of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment in history of the very mind and intent of God. There is no place for seeing Jesus Christ as a martyr. His death was not something that happened to Him— something that might have been prevented. His death was the very reason He came.
Never build your case for forgiveness on the idea that God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. That contradicts the revealed truth of God in Jesus Christ. It makes the Cross unnecessary, and the redemption “much ado about nothing.” God forgives sin only because of the death of Christ. God could forgive people in no other way than by the death of His Son, and Jesus is exalted as Savior because of His death. “We see Jesus . . . for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor . . .” (Hebrews 2:9). The greatest note of triumph ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe was that sounded on the Cross of Christ— “It is finished!” (John 19:30). That is the final word in the redemption of humankind.
Anything that lessens or completely obliterates the holiness of God, through a false view of His love, contradicts the truth of God as revealed by Jesus Christ. Never allow yourself to believe that Jesus Christ stands with us, and against God, out of pity and compassion, or that He became a curse for us out of sympathy for us. Jesus Christ became a curse for us by divine decree. Our part in realizing the tremendous meaning of His curse is the conviction of sin. Conviction is given to us as a gift of shame and repentance; it is the great mercy of God. Jesus Christ hates the sin in people, and Calvary is the measure of His hatred.
The death of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment in history of the very mind and intent of God. There is no place for seeing Jesus Christ as a martyr. His death was not something that happened to Him— something that might have been prevented. His death was the very reason He came.
Never build your case for forgiveness on the idea that God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. That contradicts the revealed truth of God in Jesus Christ. It makes the Cross unnecessary, and the redemption “much ado about nothing.” God forgives sin only because of the death of Christ. God could forgive people in no other way than by the death of His Son, and Jesus is exalted as Savior because of His death. “We see Jesus . . . for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor . . .” (Hebrews 2:9). The greatest note of triumph ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe was that sounded on the Cross of Christ— “It is finished!” (John 19:30). That is the final word in the redemption of humankind.
Anything that lessens or completely obliterates the holiness of God, through a false view of His love, contradicts the truth of God as revealed by Jesus Christ. Never allow yourself to believe that Jesus Christ stands with us, and against God, out of pity and compassion, or that He became a curse for us out of sympathy for us. Jesus Christ became a curse for us by divine decree. Our part in realizing the tremendous meaning of His curse is the conviction of sin. Conviction is given to us as a gift of shame and repentance; it is the great mercy of God. Jesus Christ hates the sin in people, and Calvary is the measure of His hatred.
November 20, 2012
The Forgiveness of God
In Him we have . . . the forgiveness of sins . . . —Ephesians 1:7
Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours.
Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive— He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm.
Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.
神的赦免
我們藉這愛子的血……過犯得以赦免。 （弗一7）
別以為神既是父親－－他既是這樣慈愛，必會赦免我們。這種情感作用在新約是沒有的。神赦免我們，唯一的根源就是基督十字架上的大悲劇；若把赦免放在任何別的根據上，是無形的褻瀆。神赦免哦我們，唯一原因是叫我們重生與他相和好，是藉基督的十字架，此外別無他法。赦免是多麼容易接受的事，可是卻付上加略山的苦楚。我們接受赦罪，接受所賜的聖靈，憑單純的信心得以成聖，卻忘記了是神付出極大的代價為我們成就的。
赦免是神恩典的神聖奇蹟：他要付出基督的十字架，才能赦罪，而仍不失為聖潔的神。切勿接受一個把救贖刪去，只以神為父的觀點。神的啟示是他不能赦免；若赦免就違反他的本性。我們蒙赦的唯一途徑，是藉救贖歸回神。神的赦免惟有在超然的領域上，才不反其自然。
若拿赦罪的奇蹟來比較，成聖的經歷就顯得微不足道。成聖不過是人生命蒙赦罪之後奇妙的表現，在人心中挑起最深感激的，該是神赦免罪。保羅從未忘懷這一點。你一旦體會神為赦免你的罪所付出的，你就會被抓住，被神的愛深深激勵。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著你透過主耶穌的恩典，向我顯明你至高的父性，我讚美你。噢，我因此可以成為天父的孩子了！
Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours.
Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive— He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm.
Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.
神的赦免
我們藉這愛子的血……過犯得以赦免。 （弗一7）
別以為神既是父親－－他既是這樣慈愛，必會赦免我們。這種情感作用在新約是沒有的。神赦免我們，唯一的根源就是基督十字架上的大悲劇；若把赦免放在任何別的根據上，是無形的褻瀆。神赦免哦我們，唯一原因是叫我們重生與他相和好，是藉基督的十字架，此外別無他法。赦免是多麼容易接受的事，可是卻付上加略山的苦楚。我們接受赦罪，接受所賜的聖靈，憑單純的信心得以成聖，卻忘記了是神付出極大的代價為我們成就的。
赦免是神恩典的神聖奇蹟：他要付出基督的十字架，才能赦罪，而仍不失為聖潔的神。切勿接受一個把救贖刪去，只以神為父的觀點。神的啟示是他不能赦免；若赦免就違反他的本性。我們蒙赦的唯一途徑，是藉救贖歸回神。神的赦免惟有在超然的領域上，才不反其自然。
若拿赦罪的奇蹟來比較，成聖的經歷就顯得微不足道。成聖不過是人生命蒙赦罪之後奇妙的表現，在人心中挑起最深感激的，該是神赦免罪。保羅從未忘懷這一點。你一旦體會神為赦免你的罪所付出的，你就會被抓住，被神的愛深深激勵。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著你透過主耶穌的恩典，向我顯明你至高的父性，我讚美你。噢，我因此可以成為天父的孩子了！
November 19, 2012
“When He Has Come”
When He has come, He will convict the world of sin . . . —John 16:8
Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned . . .” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary— nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.
Forgiveness doesn’t merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.
祂既來了
他既來了，就要叫世人為罪、為義、為審判、自己責備自己。 （約十六8）
很少人真懂得什麼叫做為罪責備自己，我們做錯事之後，只有煩惱；可是聖靈叫人為罪自責，把地上一切的關係刪除，只剩下一個關係，就是[我犯罪得罪了你，惟獨得罪了你]。人若這樣為罪自責，他的良心會告訴他，神不會赦免他。若神赦免他，他的公義感就比神更高了。但神實在赦免，這是要透過耶穌的死，使神心腸撕裂破碎，才做得到。神恩典的奇妙，在於他藉主耶穌的死赦罪，以致他赦罪，仍忠於自己的本性。若說神是愛，所以他赦免我們，這是很膚淺無稽的。我們若曾為罪自責，就絕不會這樣說了。神的愛等如加略山，一絲一毫不減。神的愛在十字架上完全表現出來，此外別無他處。神惟獨根據主的十字架而赦免我。在那兒，他的心才得以滿足。
赦免不單是我從地獄中被救出來，進入天堂（沒有人以這個看法接受赦免）；赦免的意思是，我得赦免進入一個新造的關係裡，進入與神在基督的合一里。救贖的奇蹟是神把我這不潔的人，改變成他的標準，是聖潔的；把新的個性－－耶穌基督的個性－－放進我裡面。
祈禱◆對於在世上為你結果子上，我是何等的無助，那麼的氣量狹小，而且毫不像你。求你赦免我，並且藉著住在耶穌裡面，願我多結果子，榮耀父神。
Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned . . .” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary— nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.
Forgiveness doesn’t merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.
祂既來了
他既來了，就要叫世人為罪、為義、為審判、自己責備自己。 （約十六8）
很少人真懂得什麼叫做為罪責備自己，我們做錯事之後，只有煩惱；可是聖靈叫人為罪自責，把地上一切的關係刪除，只剩下一個關係，就是[我犯罪得罪了你，惟獨得罪了你]。人若這樣為罪自責，他的良心會告訴他，神不會赦免他。若神赦免他，他的公義感就比神更高了。但神實在赦免，這是要透過耶穌的死，使神心腸撕裂破碎，才做得到。神恩典的奇妙，在於他藉主耶穌的死赦罪，以致他赦罪，仍忠於自己的本性。若說神是愛，所以他赦免我們，這是很膚淺無稽的。我們若曾為罪自責，就絕不會這樣說了。神的愛等如加略山，一絲一毫不減。神的愛在十字架上完全表現出來，此外別無他處。神惟獨根據主的十字架而赦免我。在那兒，他的心才得以滿足。
赦免不單是我從地獄中被救出來，進入天堂（沒有人以這個看法接受赦免）；赦免的意思是，我得赦免進入一個新造的關係裡，進入與神在基督的合一里。救贖的奇蹟是神把我這不潔的人，改變成他的標準，是聖潔的；把新的個性－－耶穌基督的個性－－放進我裡面。
祈禱◆對於在世上為你結果子上，我是何等的無助，那麼的氣量狹小，而且毫不像你。求你赦免我，並且藉著住在耶穌裡面，願我多結果子，榮耀父神。
November 18, 2012
Winning into Freedom
If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed —John 8:36
If there is even a trace of individual self-satisfaction left in us, it always says, “I can’t surrender,” or “I can’t be free.” But the spiritual part of our being never says “I can’t”; it simply soaks up everything around it. Our spirit hungers for more and more. It is the way we are built. We are designed with a great capacity for God, but sin, our own individuality, and wrong thinking keep us from getting to Him. God delivers us from sin— we have to deliver ourselves from our individuality. This means offering our natural life to God and sacrificing it to Him, so He may transform it into spiritual life through our obedience.
God pays no attention to our natural individuality in the development of our spiritual life. His plan runs right through our natural life. We must see to it that we aid and assist God, and not stand against Him by saying, “I can’t do that.” God will not discipline us; we must discipline ourselves. God will not bring our “arguments . . . and every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5)— we have to do it. Don’t say, “Oh, Lord, I suffer from wandering thoughts.” Don’t suffer from wandering thoughts. Stop listening to the tyranny of your individual natural life and win freedom into the spiritual life.
“If the Son makes you free . . . .” Do not substitute Savior for Son in this passage. The Savior has set us free from sin, but this is the freedom that comes from being set free from myself by the Son. It is what Paul meant in Galatians 2:20 when he said, “I have been crucified with Christ . . . .” His individuality had been broken and his spirit had been united with his Lord; not just merged into Him, but made one with Him. “. . . you shall be free indeed”— free to the very core of your being; free from the inside to the outside. We tend to rely on our own energy, instead of being energized by the power that comes from identification with Jesus.
邁進自由
天父的兒子若叫你們自由，你們就真自由了。 （約八36）
人若還存在留任何的自負，總是說：[我辦不到。 ]但[人格]永不說[辦不到]，它會不斷吸取。 [人格]總是渴求得到更多，因為我們是被造成這樣的。我們被造，對神有極大的渴求；阻隔我們近神的，是罪和我們的[個性]。神救我們脫離罪；我們卻要救自己脫離個性，就是要天然的生命作活祭獻給神，直至因順服而改變成屬靈的生命。
在屬靈生命的過程中，神不會理會我們天然的個性，他的命令會直闖我們天然的生命。我們要協助神，而不要阻擋他說：[我辦不到。 ]神不會操練我們，我們要操練自己。神不會管制我們每一個念頭與幻想，這工作我們要自己做。不要說：[主啊，我思想時常浮游，好苦！ ]那就不要再浮游，不要再受個性的操縱，乃要釋放出來，活出真正的個性。
[天父的兒子若叫你們自由……]不要用[救主]代替[兒子]，救主救我們離罪；這個自由卻是從[兒子]而來的。保羅在加拉太書二章20節正是這意思：[我已經與基督同釘十字架]，他天然的[個性]已破碎了，他的人格與主合一，不是混合，乃是合一。 [你們就真自由了]，自由的本質是內裡的自由。我們堅持的是主動，而不是被動的推向與主耶穌認同。
祈禱◆主啊，我何等需要你和渴慕你。求你完完全全地回到我裡面，將你的生命注滿我們的意念和心靈，直至滿溢，願榮耀歸於你的名。
If there is even a trace of individual self-satisfaction left in us, it always says, “I can’t surrender,” or “I can’t be free.” But the spiritual part of our being never says “I can’t”; it simply soaks up everything around it. Our spirit hungers for more and more. It is the way we are built. We are designed with a great capacity for God, but sin, our own individuality, and wrong thinking keep us from getting to Him. God delivers us from sin— we have to deliver ourselves from our individuality. This means offering our natural life to God and sacrificing it to Him, so He may transform it into spiritual life through our obedience.
God pays no attention to our natural individuality in the development of our spiritual life. His plan runs right through our natural life. We must see to it that we aid and assist God, and not stand against Him by saying, “I can’t do that.” God will not discipline us; we must discipline ourselves. God will not bring our “arguments . . . and every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5)— we have to do it. Don’t say, “Oh, Lord, I suffer from wandering thoughts.” Don’t suffer from wandering thoughts. Stop listening to the tyranny of your individual natural life and win freedom into the spiritual life.
“If the Son makes you free . . . .” Do not substitute Savior for Son in this passage. The Savior has set us free from sin, but this is the freedom that comes from being set free from myself by the Son. It is what Paul meant in Galatians 2:20 when he said, “I have been crucified with Christ . . . .” His individuality had been broken and his spirit had been united with his Lord; not just merged into Him, but made one with Him. “. . . you shall be free indeed”— free to the very core of your being; free from the inside to the outside. We tend to rely on our own energy, instead of being energized by the power that comes from identification with Jesus.
邁進自由
天父的兒子若叫你們自由，你們就真自由了。 （約八36）
人若還存在留任何的自負，總是說：[我辦不到。 ]但[人格]永不說[辦不到]，它會不斷吸取。 [人格]總是渴求得到更多，因為我們是被造成這樣的。我們被造，對神有極大的渴求；阻隔我們近神的，是罪和我們的[個性]。神救我們脫離罪；我們卻要救自己脫離個性，就是要天然的生命作活祭獻給神，直至因順服而改變成屬靈的生命。
在屬靈生命的過程中，神不會理會我們天然的個性，他的命令會直闖我們天然的生命。我們要協助神，而不要阻擋他說：[我辦不到。 ]神不會操練我們，我們要操練自己。神不會管制我們每一個念頭與幻想，這工作我們要自己做。不要說：[主啊，我思想時常浮游，好苦！ ]那就不要再浮游，不要再受個性的操縱，乃要釋放出來，活出真正的個性。
[天父的兒子若叫你們自由……]不要用[救主]代替[兒子]，救主救我們離罪；這個自由卻是從[兒子]而來的。保羅在加拉太書二章20節正是這意思：[我已經與基督同釘十字架]，他天然的[個性]已破碎了，他的人格與主合一，不是混合，乃是合一。 [你們就真自由了]，自由的本質是內裡的自由。我們堅持的是主動，而不是被動的推向與主耶穌認同。
祈禱◆主啊，我何等需要你和渴慕你。求你完完全全地回到我裡面，將你的生命注滿我們的意念和心靈，直至滿溢，願榮耀歸於你的名。
November 17, 2012
The Eternal Goal
By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing . . . I will bless you . . . —Genesis 22:16-17
Abraham, at this point, has reached where he is in touch with the very nature of God. He now understands the reality of God.
My goal is God Himself . . .
At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.
“At any cost . . . by any road” means submitting to God’s way of bringing us to the goal.
There is no possibility of questioning God when He speaks, if He speaks to His own nature in me. Prompt obedience is the only result. When Jesus says, “Come,” I simply come; when He says, “Let go,” I let go; when He says, “Trust God in this matter,” I trust. This work of obedience is the evidence that the nature of God is in me.
God’s revelation of Himself to me is influenced by my character, not by God’s character.
’Tis because I am ordinary,
Thy ways so often look ordinary to me.
It is through the discipline of obedience that I get to the place where Abraham was and I see who God is. God will never be real to me until I come face to face with Him in Jesus Christ. Then I will know and can boldly proclaim, “In all the world, my God, there is none but Thee, there is none but Thee.”
The promises of God are of no value to us until, through obedience, we come to understand the nature of God. We may read some things in the Bible every day for a year and they may mean nothing to us. Then, because we have been obedient to God in some small detail, we suddenly see what God means and His nature is instantly opened up to us. “All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen . . .” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Our “Yes” must be born of obedience; when by obedience we ratify a promise of God by saying, “Amen,” or, “So be it.” That promise becomes ours.
永恆的目標
你既行了這事……我便指著自己起誓說，論福，我必賜大福給你……。 （創二十二15-19）
亞伯拉罕接觸到神的本性，他如今明白神的真實。 [神自己，是我的目標，不論代價，親愛的主，不論何方。 ]
不論代價，不論何方，就是自己沒有任何可選擇的，只求神帶領到達目標。若神對我裡面的性情說話，我根本不會質疑發問，只會馬上順服。耶穌說：[來]，我就來；他說：[放手]，我就放手；他說：[這事要信靠神]，我就信靠。整個過程證明了神的性情在我裡面。
神對我啟示他自己，決定於我的品性，而不在於神的品性。 [由於我是卑賤的，以致你的道路，在我看來也往往是卑賤的。 ]在順服的操練下，我來到亞伯拉罕曾到之處，認識神是誰。我沒有在主耶穌裡與神面對面以前，沒有遇到一位真的神，但如今我知道[在整個世界中，除你以外，我再沒有誰]。
神的應許對我們毫無價值，除非我們藉順服明白神的本性。聖經的話可以念過三百六十五次，而仍對我們毫無意義。但突然我們卻看出神的意思，因為在某些事上我們順服神，他的性情立刻向我們開敞了。 [神的應許不論有多少，在基督都是是的，所以藉著他也是實在的。 ]這個[是的]，必須從順服中出來；我們若藉著生命中的順服對應許說[阿們]，那應許就屬於我們。
祈禱◆主啊，求你喚醒我，以致我那必死的身體，能真正成為一個順服聖靈的僕人。
Abraham, at this point, has reached where he is in touch with the very nature of God. He now understands the reality of God.
My goal is God Himself . . .
At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.
“At any cost . . . by any road” means submitting to God’s way of bringing us to the goal.
There is no possibility of questioning God when He speaks, if He speaks to His own nature in me. Prompt obedience is the only result. When Jesus says, “Come,” I simply come; when He says, “Let go,” I let go; when He says, “Trust God in this matter,” I trust. This work of obedience is the evidence that the nature of God is in me.
God’s revelation of Himself to me is influenced by my character, not by God’s character.
’Tis because I am ordinary,
Thy ways so often look ordinary to me.
It is through the discipline of obedience that I get to the place where Abraham was and I see who God is. God will never be real to me until I come face to face with Him in Jesus Christ. Then I will know and can boldly proclaim, “In all the world, my God, there is none but Thee, there is none but Thee.”
The promises of God are of no value to us until, through obedience, we come to understand the nature of God. We may read some things in the Bible every day for a year and they may mean nothing to us. Then, because we have been obedient to God in some small detail, we suddenly see what God means and His nature is instantly opened up to us. “All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen . . .” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Our “Yes” must be born of obedience; when by obedience we ratify a promise of God by saying, “Amen,” or, “So be it.” That promise becomes ours.
永恆的目標
你既行了這事……我便指著自己起誓說，論福，我必賜大福給你……。 （創二十二15-19）
亞伯拉罕接觸到神的本性，他如今明白神的真實。 [神自己，是我的目標，不論代價，親愛的主，不論何方。 ]
不論代價，不論何方，就是自己沒有任何可選擇的，只求神帶領到達目標。若神對我裡面的性情說話，我根本不會質疑發問，只會馬上順服。耶穌說：[來]，我就來；他說：[放手]，我就放手；他說：[這事要信靠神]，我就信靠。整個過程證明了神的性情在我裡面。
神對我啟示他自己，決定於我的品性，而不在於神的品性。 [由於我是卑賤的，以致你的道路，在我看來也往往是卑賤的。 ]在順服的操練下，我來到亞伯拉罕曾到之處，認識神是誰。我沒有在主耶穌裡與神面對面以前，沒有遇到一位真的神，但如今我知道[在整個世界中，除你以外，我再沒有誰]。
神的應許對我們毫無價值，除非我們藉順服明白神的本性。聖經的話可以念過三百六十五次，而仍對我們毫無意義。但突然我們卻看出神的意思，因為在某些事上我們順服神，他的性情立刻向我們開敞了。 [神的應許不論有多少，在基督都是是的，所以藉著他也是實在的。 ]這個[是的]，必須從順服中出來；我們若藉著生命中的順服對應許說[阿們]，那應許就屬於我們。
祈禱◆主啊，求你喚醒我，以致我那必死的身體，能真正成為一個順服聖靈的僕人。
November 16, 2012
Still Human!
. . . whatever you do, do all to the glory of God —1 Corinthians 10:31
In the Scriptures, the great miracle of the incarnation slips into the ordinary life of a child; the great miracle of the transfiguration fades into the demon-possessed valley below; the glory of the resurrection descends into a breakfast on the seashore. This is not an anticlimax, but a great revelation of God.
We have a tendency to look for wonder in our experience, and we mistake heroic actions for real heroes. It’s one thing to go through a crisis grandly, yet quite another to go through every day glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, and no one paying even the remotest attention to us. If we are not looking for halos, we at least want something that will make people say, “What a wonderful man of prayer he is!” or, “What a great woman of devotion she is!” If you are properly devoted to the Lord Jesus, you have reached the lofty height where no one would ever notice you personally. All that is noticed is the power of God coming through you all the time.
We want to be able to say, “Oh, I have had a wonderful call from God!” But to do even the most humbling tasks to the glory of God takes the Almighty God Incarnate working in us. To be utterly unnoticeable requires God’s Spirit in us making us absolutely humanly His. The true test of a saint’s life is not successfulness but faithfulness on the human level of life. We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life, to live a life “hidden with Christ in God” in our everyday human conditions (Colossians 3:3). Our human relationships are the very conditions in which the ideal life of God should be exhibited.
仍然是人
無論作什麼，都要為榮耀神而行。 （林前十31）
道成肉身的超其，湮沒在平凡的童年生活；登山變象的輝煌光彩，消失在鬼附的山谷間；復活的榮耀，降卑成為海旁早餐。這不是反高潮，而是神極大的啟示。我們總有一種傾向，就是想去追求超奇的經歷；錯把英雄感當作英雄。在重大關頭昂然度過是一回事，在每天生活中榮耀神，沒有人作證，沒有光彩，絲毫沒有被注意，又是另一回事。我們 有時雖然不求中世紀那種聖人的光環，也想做些事令人家說：[看他是個多麼會祈禱的人！ ]或[她多虔誠，多熱心！ ]可是，若你對主耶穌有正確的獻上，人所注意的是神透過你流露出來的大能。
[噢，我從神得到一個奇妙的呼召！ ]其實要在最卑微的生活上榮耀神，正需要那全能的神在我們裡面，才可以做得到。惟有聖靈在我們裡面，才能使我們完全地屬於他，以致全不為人所注意。聖徒生命的考驗不在於成功，而是對實際生活的忠心。我們會以在基督教事工上的成功作目標，可是正確的目標，乃是在生活上彰顯神的榮耀，在屬世的環境下，活出與基督一同藏在神裡面的生命。屬神的理想生命，是在人與人之間的實際關係上表現出來。
祈禱◆主啊，在今天的讀經中，一下這句話使我的心靈震盪－－[摩西這樣行，耶和華怎樣吩咐他，他就照樣行了。 ]
In the Scriptures, the great miracle of the incarnation slips into the ordinary life of a child; the great miracle of the transfiguration fades into the demon-possessed valley below; the glory of the resurrection descends into a breakfast on the seashore. This is not an anticlimax, but a great revelation of God.
We have a tendency to look for wonder in our experience, and we mistake heroic actions for real heroes. It’s one thing to go through a crisis grandly, yet quite another to go through every day glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, and no one paying even the remotest attention to us. If we are not looking for halos, we at least want something that will make people say, “What a wonderful man of prayer he is!” or, “What a great woman of devotion she is!” If you are properly devoted to the Lord Jesus, you have reached the lofty height where no one would ever notice you personally. All that is noticed is the power of God coming through you all the time.
We want to be able to say, “Oh, I have had a wonderful call from God!” But to do even the most humbling tasks to the glory of God takes the Almighty God Incarnate working in us. To be utterly unnoticeable requires God’s Spirit in us making us absolutely humanly His. The true test of a saint’s life is not successfulness but faithfulness on the human level of life. We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life, to live a life “hidden with Christ in God” in our everyday human conditions (Colossians 3:3). Our human relationships are the very conditions in which the ideal life of God should be exhibited.
仍然是人
無論作什麼，都要為榮耀神而行。 （林前十31）
道成肉身的超其，湮沒在平凡的童年生活；登山變象的輝煌光彩，消失在鬼附的山谷間；復活的榮耀，降卑成為海旁早餐。這不是反高潮，而是神極大的啟示。我們總有一種傾向，就是想去追求超奇的經歷；錯把英雄感當作英雄。在重大關頭昂然度過是一回事，在每天生活中榮耀神，沒有人作證，沒有光彩，絲毫沒有被注意，又是另一回事。我們 有時雖然不求中世紀那種聖人的光環，也想做些事令人家說：[看他是個多麼會祈禱的人！ ]或[她多虔誠，多熱心！ ]可是，若你對主耶穌有正確的獻上，人所注意的是神透過你流露出來的大能。
[噢，我從神得到一個奇妙的呼召！ ]其實要在最卑微的生活上榮耀神，正需要那全能的神在我們裡面，才可以做得到。惟有聖靈在我們裡面，才能使我們完全地屬於他，以致全不為人所注意。聖徒生命的考驗不在於成功，而是對實際生活的忠心。我們會以在基督教事工上的成功作目標，可是正確的目標，乃是在生活上彰顯神的榮耀，在屬世的環境下，活出與基督一同藏在神裡面的生命。屬神的理想生命，是在人與人之間的實際關係上表現出來。
祈禱◆主啊，在今天的讀經中，一下這句話使我的心靈震盪－－[摩西這樣行，耶和華怎樣吩咐他，他就照樣行了。 ]
November 15, 2012
“What Is That to You?”
Peter . . . said to Jesus, ’But Lord, what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ’. . . what is that to you? You follow Me’ —John 21:21-22
One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?” Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don’t allow it to continue, but get into God’s presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another— proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.
Most of us live only within the level of consciousness— consciously serving and consciously devoted to God. This shows immaturity and the fact that we’re not yet living the real Christian life. Maturity is produced in the life of a child of God on the unconscious level, until we become so totally surrendered to God that we are not even aware of being used by Him. When we are consciously aware of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have yet another level to reach— a level where all awareness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us is completely eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint— a saint is consciously dependent on God.
與你何干？
主啊，這人將來如何？ ……與你何干？你跟從我罷。 （約二十一21-22）
我們最難學的功課之一，就是放棄對別人生命的干涉。我們要經很長的時間才明白，干涉神在別人生命中的吩咐，是很危險的。你看見人家受苦，你就說：[他不該受苦，我要設法使他不受苦。 ]那你便是阻撓神容許的旨意。神說：[與你何干？ ]若你的靈性停滯不前，不可聽其自然，必須到神面前尋出根源。很可能是因為你在干擾別人的生命；或提供你無權提供的；或指點你無權指點的。要是神真要你勸勉別人，他必定叫你的勸勉，直接有聖靈感動。你的責任是保持與神有正確良好的關係，以致他的智慧，能隨時隨地透過你叫他人得福。
我們多半活在意識的邊境上－－自覺是在事奉神，自覺愛神。這都是不成熟的，並不屬於那真正的生命。成熟的表現是不再憑觀感知覺；我們對神完全的歸服，以致不再意識到自己被神使用。我們若仍意識到被神用作劈開的餅何澆奠的酒，那麼，就得追求另一個境界，就是把自覺的意識，以及神透過我們工作的意識，都同時消除。聖徒是從不自覺是聖徒，他們只知依靠神。
祈禱◆噢，願我藉著你內住的聖靈，將我與敬拜、美善和聖潔連合起來。主啊，感動我的身體和心靈，直至它們能為著你而融合為一。
One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?” Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don’t allow it to continue, but get into God’s presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another— proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.
Most of us live only within the level of consciousness— consciously serving and consciously devoted to God. This shows immaturity and the fact that we’re not yet living the real Christian life. Maturity is produced in the life of a child of God on the unconscious level, until we become so totally surrendered to God that we are not even aware of being used by Him. When we are consciously aware of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have yet another level to reach— a level where all awareness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us is completely eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint— a saint is consciously dependent on God.
與你何干？
主啊，這人將來如何？ ……與你何干？你跟從我罷。 （約二十一21-22）
我們最難學的功課之一，就是放棄對別人生命的干涉。我們要經很長的時間才明白，干涉神在別人生命中的吩咐，是很危險的。你看見人家受苦，你就說：[他不該受苦，我要設法使他不受苦。 ]那你便是阻撓神容許的旨意。神說：[與你何干？ ]若你的靈性停滯不前，不可聽其自然，必須到神面前尋出根源。很可能是因為你在干擾別人的生命；或提供你無權提供的；或指點你無權指點的。要是神真要你勸勉別人，他必定叫你的勸勉，直接有聖靈感動。你的責任是保持與神有正確良好的關係，以致他的智慧，能隨時隨地透過你叫他人得福。
我們多半活在意識的邊境上－－自覺是在事奉神，自覺愛神。這都是不成熟的，並不屬於那真正的生命。成熟的表現是不再憑觀感知覺；我們對神完全的歸服，以致不再意識到自己被神使用。我們若仍意識到被神用作劈開的餅何澆奠的酒，那麼，就得追求另一個境界，就是把自覺的意識，以及神透過我們工作的意識，都同時消除。聖徒是從不自覺是聖徒，他們只知依靠神。
祈禱◆噢，願我藉著你內住的聖靈，將我與敬拜、美善和聖潔連合起來。主啊，感動我的身體和心靈，直至它們能為著你而融合為一。
November 14, 2012
Discovering Divine Design
As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me . . . —Genesis 24:27
We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey, an inherent inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to discern God’s will (see Romans 12:2). If we are born again by the Spirit of God, our devotion to Him is hindered, or even stopped, by continually asking Him to guide us here and there. “. . . the Lord led me . . .” and on looking back we see the presence of an amazing design. If we are born of God we will see His guiding hand and give Him the credit.
We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.
Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God. If you are a saint and say, “I will never do this or that,” in all probability this will be exactly what God will require of you. There was never a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent with His Father. The important consistency in a saint is not to a principle but to the divine life. It is the divine life that continually makes more and more discoveries about the divine mind. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him.
看出神的安排
耶和華在路上引領我……（創二十四27）
我們應該與神合一到一個地步，不必一天到晚求他指引。成聖就是成為神的兒女，而兒女的生命就是順服－－一旦不順服，就立刻直覺地感到一種隔膜。在屬靈的範疇裡，這隔膜是聖靈的一個警號。當聖靈警告，我們就該立即停下來，在心靈裡更新，好知道神的旨意。我們若是神的靈重生的，仍不住求神引我到這裡、到那裡，就是不敬虔。 [耶和華引領我]，回顧過去，我沒恩可以處處看見神奇妙無比的安排。我們若是從神生的，就必歸榮耀給神。在特殊的事上容易看見神的作為，可是只有在屬靈上有操練，才會在每一細節上看見神。別忽略一些偶然的事，認為這些是在神的旨意以外；要隨時隨地明白神的安排。
當心只顧崇拜自己一貫的信念，而不是專心愛神。 [我永不做那件事]－－若你是個聖徒的話，很可能你不能不做。主在世上是最不持守一貫做法的人，但他從不違背父神。聖徒唯一要持守的，不是一套原則，乃是神的生命。有神的生命，才不斷增加對神心意的認識。做狂熱主義者容易，做忠心耿耿的人難，因為要效忠神，需要一種出奇的謙卑；尤其是對在宗教上的虛偽，尤為困難。
祈禱◆[凡有智慧的……也必思想耶和華的慈愛。 ]主啊，那是多麼美好！為著你的榮耀，請賜給我這個記號。今天，我仰望你；願你的恩惠和美善豐厚地臨到我們。
We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey, an inherent inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to discern God’s will (see Romans 12:2). If we are born again by the Spirit of God, our devotion to Him is hindered, or even stopped, by continually asking Him to guide us here and there. “. . . the Lord led me . . .” and on looking back we see the presence of an amazing design. If we are born of God we will see His guiding hand and give Him the credit.
We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.
Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God. If you are a saint and say, “I will never do this or that,” in all probability this will be exactly what God will require of you. There was never a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent with His Father. The important consistency in a saint is not to a principle but to the divine life. It is the divine life that continually makes more and more discoveries about the divine mind. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him.
看出神的安排
耶和華在路上引領我……（創二十四27）
我們應該與神合一到一個地步，不必一天到晚求他指引。成聖就是成為神的兒女，而兒女的生命就是順服－－一旦不順服，就立刻直覺地感到一種隔膜。在屬靈的範疇裡，這隔膜是聖靈的一個警號。當聖靈警告，我們就該立即停下來，在心靈裡更新，好知道神的旨意。我們若是神的靈重生的，仍不住求神引我到這裡、到那裡，就是不敬虔。 [耶和華引領我]，回顧過去，我沒恩可以處處看見神奇妙無比的安排。我們若是從神生的，就必歸榮耀給神。在特殊的事上容易看見神的作為，可是只有在屬靈上有操練，才會在每一細節上看見神。別忽略一些偶然的事，認為這些是在神的旨意以外；要隨時隨地明白神的安排。
當心只顧崇拜自己一貫的信念，而不是專心愛神。 [我永不做那件事]－－若你是個聖徒的話，很可能你不能不做。主在世上是最不持守一貫做法的人，但他從不違背父神。聖徒唯一要持守的，不是一套原則，乃是神的生命。有神的生命，才不斷增加對神心意的認識。做狂熱主義者容易，做忠心耿耿的人難，因為要效忠神，需要一種出奇的謙卑；尤其是對在宗教上的虛偽，尤為困難。
祈禱◆[凡有智慧的……也必思想耶和華的慈愛。 ]主啊，那是多麼美好！為著你的榮耀，請賜給我這個記號。今天，我仰望你；願你的恩惠和美善豐厚地臨到我們。
November 13, 2012
Faith or Experience?
. . . the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me —Galatians 2:20
We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption . . .” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!
We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.
It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief.
信心與經歷
……神的兒子……他是愛我，為我捨己。 （加二20）
我們要與自己的情緒搏鬥，完全歸向主耶穌；從自我的小圈子中出來，完全降服於他。試想想新約中的耶穌基督是誰，然後想想我們可憐的信心多麽渺小- [我沒有這種經歷，又沒有那種經歷！ ]試想想對主耶穌的資訊該存的指望- 他能把我們無可指摘地帶到神的寶座前，完全無瑕疵，完全改變稱義。我們要心存何等崇敬的信心。他成為我哦們的智慧、我們的義、我們的成聖與救贖。我們憑什麽說為神的兒子有所犧牲！從地獄和沈淪蒙救贖的人，竟膽敢說犧牲！
我們要經常保持對耶穌基督的信心；不是一個祈禱會裡的耶穌；不是一本書中的耶穌，乃是新約中的耶穌，是神成了肉身，把我們治死在他腳前的那一位。信心必須是對准給我們經歷的那一位。主耶穌要求我們毫無保留地歸他。我們實在無法經歷到主耶穌，也無法把他拘禁在我們心裡，可是信心卻對他有堅強不移的靠賴。在這一點上，我們看見聖靈對不信是多麽不耐煩。一切的恐懼都是可惡的，因為恐懼是源於我們不肯培育信心。人若與主合一，怎可能再落在恐懼疑惑裡？應該充滿無法抑制、得勝的信心凱歌。
祈禱◆主啊，願今天在我們眼前，展現你在我們當中那使人振奮和更新的臨在，為此我們只有欣喜，因為我們對永恆如何具體介入時間之中，有了新的盼望。
We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption . . .” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!
We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.
It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief.
信心與經歷
……神的兒子……他是愛我，為我捨己。 （加二20）
我們要與自己的情緒搏鬥，完全歸向主耶穌；從自我的小圈子中出來，完全降服於他。試想想新約中的耶穌基督是誰，然後想想我們可憐的信心多麽渺小- [我沒有這種經歷，又沒有那種經歷！ ]試想想對主耶穌的資訊該存的指望- 他能把我們無可指摘地帶到神的寶座前，完全無瑕疵，完全改變稱義。我們要心存何等崇敬的信心。他成為我哦們的智慧、我們的義、我們的成聖與救贖。我們憑什麽說為神的兒子有所犧牲！從地獄和沈淪蒙救贖的人，竟膽敢說犧牲！
我們要經常保持對耶穌基督的信心；不是一個祈禱會裡的耶穌；不是一本書中的耶穌，乃是新約中的耶穌，是神成了肉身，把我們治死在他腳前的那一位。信心必須是對准給我們經歷的那一位。主耶穌要求我們毫無保留地歸他。我們實在無法經歷到主耶穌，也無法把他拘禁在我們心裡，可是信心卻對他有堅強不移的靠賴。在這一點上，我們看見聖靈對不信是多麽不耐煩。一切的恐懼都是可惡的，因為恐懼是源於我們不肯培育信心。人若與主合一，怎可能再落在恐懼疑惑裡？應該充滿無法抑制、得勝的信心凱歌。
祈禱◆主啊，願今天在我們眼前，展現你在我們當中那使人振奮和更新的臨在，為此我們只有欣喜，因為我們對永恆如何具體介入時間之中，有了新的盼望。
November 12, 2012
The Changed Life
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new —2 Corinthians 5:17
What understanding do you have of the salvation of your soul? The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of salvation in your life is genuine is— has God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born from above— you are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. And when a crisis comes, you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference there is in you. There is no possibility of imagining that you did it. It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved.
What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13, or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness.
改變的生命
若有人在基督裡，他就是新造的人，舊事已過，都變成新的了。 （林後五17）
你對自己靈魂的得贖，有什麽看法？救恩得經歷是在你實際生活裡，一切都真正得改變了，你不再用以往的觀點看事物；你的喜好是新的，舊的東西已失去力量。這經歷的試金石是 π Δ π Δ 神到底有沒有改變了你最看重的東西？你若仍然留戀舊事，又說已重生了，那是在是無稽的，是在欺哄自己。你若已重生，神的靈就在你生活及理智上，顯明他的改變。當抉擇關頭來到，對於自己那顯著奇妙的改變，你就是世上最稀奇詫異的那一個。根本沒有可能會這樣做的，這完全想不到的改變，正是你得救的明證。
我的得救與成聖，叫我有什麽改變？例如我能否面對哥林多前書十三章的亮光，還是我要含糊躲閃？聖靈在我裡面成就的救恩，把我完全釋放。只要我行在光中，正如神在光中。神沒有可責之處，因為他在遠超乎我意識 τ 圍的每一細節中作工。
祈禱◆主啊，你的美善是那麽無可比擬，我們[好像做夢的人。我們滿口喜笑、滿舌歡呼]；為著我們將再次帶著禾捆，喜樂地回來的日子，我們讚美你。
What understanding do you have of the salvation of your soul? The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of salvation in your life is genuine is— has God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born from above— you are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. And when a crisis comes, you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference there is in you. There is no possibility of imagining that you did it. It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved.
What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13, or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness.
改變的生命
若有人在基督裡，他就是新造的人，舊事已過，都變成新的了。 （林後五17）
你對自己靈魂的得贖，有什麽看法？救恩得經歷是在你實際生活裡，一切都真正得改變了，你不再用以往的觀點看事物；你的喜好是新的，舊的東西已失去力量。這經歷的試金石是 π Δ π Δ 神到底有沒有改變了你最看重的東西？你若仍然留戀舊事，又說已重生了，那是在是無稽的，是在欺哄自己。你若已重生，神的靈就在你生活及理智上，顯明他的改變。當抉擇關頭來到，對於自己那顯著奇妙的改變，你就是世上最稀奇詫異的那一個。根本沒有可能會這樣做的，這完全想不到的改變，正是你得救的明證。
我的得救與成聖，叫我有什麽改變？例如我能否面對哥林多前書十三章的亮光，還是我要含糊躲閃？聖靈在我裡面成就的救恩，把我完全釋放。只要我行在光中，正如神在光中。神沒有可責之處，因為他在遠超乎我意識 τ 圍的每一細節中作工。
祈禱◆主啊，你的美善是那麽無可比擬，我們[好像做夢的人。我們滿口喜笑、滿舌歡呼]；為著我們將再次帶著禾捆，喜樂地回來的日子，我們讚美你。
November 11, 2012
The Supreme Climb
He said, ’Take now your son . . .’ —Genesis 22:2
God’s command is, “Take now,” not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later— it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it.
“So Abraham rose early in the morning . . . and went to the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3). Oh, the wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not “confer with flesh and blood” (Galatians 1:16). Beware when you want to “confer with flesh and blood” or even your own thoughts, insights, or understandings— anything that is not based on your personal relationship with God. These are all things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.
Abraham did not choose what the sacrifice would be. Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it. But never decide the place of your own martyrdom, as if to say, “I will only go to there, but no farther.” God chose the test for Abraham, and Abraham neither delayed nor protested, but steadily obeyed. If you are not living in touch with God, it is easy to blame Him or pass judgment on Him. You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one.
登峰造極
你帶著你的兒子……（創二十二2）
神的命令是：現在就帶去，不是等一會兒。我們辯論的伎倆是高超的，知道某件事是對的，但總設法找藉口拖延，不立刻去做。要攀上神的高峰，絕不可等一會兒，必須立刻去做。犧牲首先在意志裡作成；然後才有實際的行動。 [亞伯拉罕清早起來……起身往神指示他的地方去了。 ]（第3節）亞伯拉罕的單純多可愛！神對他說的話，他沒有與屬肉身的人商量。你要是想與屬肉身的人商量，就是與你的自憐和觀點，以及一切在你與神的個人關係以外的東西商量。那你就得當心，這些東西是爭奪並攔阻你對神的順服。
亞伯拉罕並沒有推薦自己去奉獻。總要提防自我揀選為神工作，自我犧牲可以是病態的。若神給你的杯是舔的，存感恩的心去喝；若苦的，就與他聯合去喝。若神為你鋪設的道路是困苦的，仍要走上去；但千萬不要挑選殉道。神揀選亞伯拉罕接受磨難，亞伯拉罕沒有異議，只勇往直前。你若非與神親密地一同生活，就很容易會指控神。在未有經歷磨難以先，你沒有權利下斷語，因為在磨難中，你會更認識神。神一直為他至高的目標而作工直至他的心意與人的心意合而為一。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，靠近我，進入我知覺的領域，直至我完全被你所佔有。願今天閃耀著你的能力。
God’s command is, “Take now,” not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later— it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it.
“So Abraham rose early in the morning . . . and went to the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3). Oh, the wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not “confer with flesh and blood” (Galatians 1:16). Beware when you want to “confer with flesh and blood” or even your own thoughts, insights, or understandings— anything that is not based on your personal relationship with God. These are all things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.
Abraham did not choose what the sacrifice would be. Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it. But never decide the place of your own martyrdom, as if to say, “I will only go to there, but no farther.” God chose the test for Abraham, and Abraham neither delayed nor protested, but steadily obeyed. If you are not living in touch with God, it is easy to blame Him or pass judgment on Him. You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one.
登峰造極
你帶著你的兒子……（創二十二2）
神的命令是：現在就帶去，不是等一會兒。我們辯論的伎倆是高超的，知道某件事是對的，但總設法找藉口拖延，不立刻去做。要攀上神的高峰，絕不可等一會兒，必須立刻去做。犧牲首先在意志裡作成；然後才有實際的行動。 [亞伯拉罕清早起來……起身往神指示他的地方去了。 ]（第3節）亞伯拉罕的單純多可愛！神對他說的話，他沒有與屬肉身的人商量。你要是想與屬肉身的人商量，就是與你的自憐和觀點，以及一切在你與神的個人關係以外的東西商量。那你就得當心，這些東西是爭奪並攔阻你對神的順服。
亞伯拉罕並沒有推薦自己去奉獻。總要提防自我揀選為神工作，自我犧牲可以是病態的。若神給你的杯是舔的，存感恩的心去喝；若苦的，就與他聯合去喝。若神為你鋪設的道路是困苦的，仍要走上去；但千萬不要挑選殉道。神揀選亞伯拉罕接受磨難，亞伯拉罕沒有異議，只勇往直前。你若非與神親密地一同生活，就很容易會指控神。在未有經歷磨難以先，你沒有權利下斷語，因為在磨難中，你會更認識神。神一直為他至高的目標而作工直至他的心意與人的心意合而為一。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，靠近我，進入我知覺的領域，直至我完全被你所佔有。願今天閃耀著你的能力。
November 10, 2012
Fellowship in the Gospel
. . . fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ . . . —1 Thessalonians 3:2
After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your purpose in life is, because God has moved you into His purpose through the Holy Spirit. He is using you now for His purposes throughout the world as He used His Son for the purpose of our salvation. If you seek great things for yourself, thinking, “God has called me for this and for that,” you barricade God from using you. As long as you maintain your own personal interests and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God’s interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His purpose for the world. Your understanding of your ways must also be surrendered, because they are now the ways of the Lord.
I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. I should never say, “Lord, this causes me such heartache.” To talk that way makes me a stumbling block. When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness. Self-pity is of the devil, and if I wallow in it I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world. Doing this creates for me my own cozy “world within the world,” and God will not be allowed to move me from it because of my fear of being “frost-bitten.”
福音裡的相交
……在基督福音上和神同工……（帖三2，新譯本）
人成聖以後，很難再明說自己的人生目標是什麽，因為神已藉聖靈把你放在他的計畫裡。如今在他對全世界的計畫中，他使用你，正如他在我們的救贖計畫中，使用他的名字一樣。你若為自己求大事- 神呼召我做這個那個，就是限制了神對你的使用。只要你對自己的品性仍感關注，或仍抱個人的野心，就無法與神的心意認同。要與神合一，必須把自己的意念決絕地拋棄，讓神待你到他對全世界的計畫中。這樣，你的行動既全在主裡，就必無法明白所行的路。
人生的目標是屬神的，不是屬自己的，這一點我們必須學習。神按著他美好的旨意用我，要求我信賴他，不要說：[主啊，這事叫我心痛。 ]我這樣說就成了一個阻礙。若不再對神說我要什麽，他才能毫無阻隔地把所要的給我。他可以把我壓碎，也可以叫我高升，他可以隨己意而行。神只要求我對他完全信任，信任他和他的良善。自憐自憫出於魔鬼，我若走這條路，神就不能用我於全世界的計畫裡。我若活在一個[世界裡的世界]，深怕走到外面會凍僵，深就永無法帶我出來。
祈禱◆主啊，願你發聲，讓我可以聽見和明白。我的屬靈生命似乎太表面化，能察覺到帶有恩慈的能力是那麽少；求你激勵我，直至我與你一同發光。
After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your purpose in life is, because God has moved you into His purpose through the Holy Spirit. He is using you now for His purposes throughout the world as He used His Son for the purpose of our salvation. If you seek great things for yourself, thinking, “God has called me for this and for that,” you barricade God from using you. As long as you maintain your own personal interests and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God’s interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His purpose for the world. Your understanding of your ways must also be surrendered, because they are now the ways of the Lord.
I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. I should never say, “Lord, this causes me such heartache.” To talk that way makes me a stumbling block. When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness. Self-pity is of the devil, and if I wallow in it I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world. Doing this creates for me my own cozy “world within the world,” and God will not be allowed to move me from it because of my fear of being “frost-bitten.”
福音裡的相交
……在基督福音上和神同工……（帖三2，新譯本）
人成聖以後，很難再明說自己的人生目標是什麽，因為神已藉聖靈把你放在他的計畫裡。如今在他對全世界的計畫中，他使用你，正如他在我們的救贖計畫中，使用他的名字一樣。你若為自己求大事- 神呼召我做這個那個，就是限制了神對你的使用。只要你對自己的品性仍感關注，或仍抱個人的野心，就無法與神的心意認同。要與神合一，必須把自己的意念決絕地拋棄，讓神待你到他對全世界的計畫中。這樣，你的行動既全在主裡，就必無法明白所行的路。
人生的目標是屬神的，不是屬自己的，這一點我們必須學習。神按著他美好的旨意用我，要求我信賴他，不要說：[主啊，這事叫我心痛。 ]我這樣說就成了一個阻礙。若不再對神說我要什麽，他才能毫無阻隔地把所要的給我。他可以把我壓碎，也可以叫我高升，他可以隨己意而行。神只要求我對他完全信任，信任他和他的良善。自憐自憫出於魔鬼，我若走這條路，神就不能用我於全世界的計畫裡。我若活在一個[世界裡的世界]，深怕走到外面會凍僵，深就永無法帶我出來。
祈禱◆主啊，願你發聲，讓我可以聽見和明白。我的屬靈生命似乎太表面化，能察覺到帶有恩慈的能力是那麽少；求你激勵我，直至我與你一同發光。
November 09, 2012
Sacred Service
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ . . . —Colossians 1:24
The Christian worker has to be a sacred “go-between.” He must be so closely identified with his Lord and the reality of His redemption that Christ can continually bring His creating life through him. I am not referring to the strength of one individual’s personality being superimposed on another, but the real presence of Christ coming through every aspect of the worker’s life. When we preach the historical facts of the life and death of our Lord as they are conveyed in the New Testament, our words are made sacred. God uses these words, on the basis of His redemption, to create something in those who listen which otherwise could never have been created. If we simply preach the effects of redemption in the human life instead of the revealed, divine truth regarding Jesus Himself, the result is not new birth in those who listen. The result is a refined religious lifestyle, and the Spirit of God cannot witness to it because such preaching is in a realm other than His. We must make sure that we are living in such harmony with God that as we proclaim His truth He can create in others those things which He alone can do.
When we say, “What a wonderful personality, what a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!” then what opportunity does the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him (see John 12:32).
神聖的事奉
現在我為你們受苦，倒覺歡樂，並且為基督的身體，就是為教會，要在我肉身上補滿基督患難的缺欠。 （西一24）
主的工人要作神聖的中間人，與主和他的救贖認同，以致主能不斷地透過他創造新生命。不是工人自己的人格影響另一個人，乃是基督的真正同在，透過工人的生命流露出來。我們按新約的記載傳揚主耶穌，並他受苦的歷史事實，我們的話就變成神聖；神就使用這些話，因著他救贖的計畫，在聽者身上創造新生，否則，這些人就不能成為新造的人。若我們傳的是救贖在人生命中的效用，而不是傳揚有關主耶穌自己的啟示，那末在聽者身上成就的就不是新生命，只是精美的屬靈教化而已。神的靈也不能為此作見證，因為這是屬於另一領域的事。我們必須留意自己活在與神同心同工中，以致在我們傳他的真理時，他能夠在人心靈中，成就只有他才能夠成就的事。 [多可愛的個性！ ][這人真了不起！ ][多超越的卓見！ ]神的福音在這些之上有什麽出路？福音無法通過，因為這只能吸引人歸我，而不能吸引人歸他。人若以人格吸引人，人注目的就是他的人格；若他與主的品格合一，他的吸引力就在於主耶穌的能力。信徒的危機是在於榮耀人，耶穌卻說我們要[舉起]的是他。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你今天在大能和威嚴中，在更多方面得勝。保守我的心靈遠離世俗化。
The Christian worker has to be a sacred “go-between.” He must be so closely identified with his Lord and the reality of His redemption that Christ can continually bring His creating life through him. I am not referring to the strength of one individual’s personality being superimposed on another, but the real presence of Christ coming through every aspect of the worker’s life. When we preach the historical facts of the life and death of our Lord as they are conveyed in the New Testament, our words are made sacred. God uses these words, on the basis of His redemption, to create something in those who listen which otherwise could never have been created. If we simply preach the effects of redemption in the human life instead of the revealed, divine truth regarding Jesus Himself, the result is not new birth in those who listen. The result is a refined religious lifestyle, and the Spirit of God cannot witness to it because such preaching is in a realm other than His. We must make sure that we are living in such harmony with God that as we proclaim His truth He can create in others those things which He alone can do.
When we say, “What a wonderful personality, what a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!” then what opportunity does the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him (see John 12:32).
神聖的事奉
現在我為你們受苦，倒覺歡樂，並且為基督的身體，就是為教會，要在我肉身上補滿基督患難的缺欠。 （西一24）
主的工人要作神聖的中間人，與主和他的救贖認同，以致主能不斷地透過他創造新生命。不是工人自己的人格影響另一個人，乃是基督的真正同在，透過工人的生命流露出來。我們按新約的記載傳揚主耶穌，並他受苦的歷史事實，我們的話就變成神聖；神就使用這些話，因著他救贖的計畫，在聽者身上創造新生，否則，這些人就不能成為新造的人。若我們傳的是救贖在人生命中的效用，而不是傳揚有關主耶穌自己的啟示，那末在聽者身上成就的就不是新生命，只是精美的屬靈教化而已。神的靈也不能為此作見證，因為這是屬於另一領域的事。我們必須留意自己活在與神同心同工中，以致在我們傳他的真理時，他能夠在人心靈中，成就只有他才能夠成就的事。 [多可愛的個性！ ][這人真了不起！ ][多超越的卓見！ ]神的福音在這些之上有什麽出路？福音無法通過，因為這只能吸引人歸我，而不能吸引人歸他。人若以人格吸引人，人注目的就是他的人格；若他與主的品格合一，他的吸引力就在於主耶穌的能力。信徒的危機是在於榮耀人，耶穌卻說我們要[舉起]的是他。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你今天在大能和威嚴中，在更多方面得勝。保守我的心靈遠離世俗化。
November 08, 2012
The Unrivaled Power of Prayer
We do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered —Romans 8:26
We realize that we are energized by the Holy Spirit for prayer; and we know what it is to pray in accordance with the Spirit; but we don’t often realize that the Holy Spirit Himself prays prayers in us which we cannot utter ourselves. When we are born again of God and are indwelt by the Spirit of God, He expresses for us the unutterable.
“He,” the Holy Spirit in you, “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27). And God searches your heart, not to know what your conscious prayers are, but to find out what the prayer of the Holy Spirit is.
The Spirit of God uses the nature of the believer as a temple in which to offer His prayers of intercession. “. . . your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit . . .” (1 Corinthians 6:19). When Jesus Christ cleansed the temple, “. . . He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple” (Mark 11:16). The Spirit of God will not allow you to use your body for your own convenience. Jesus ruthlessly cast out everyone who bought and sold in the temple, and said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer . . . . But you have made it a ’den of thieves’ ” (Mark 11:17).
Have we come to realize that our “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit”? If so, we must be careful to keep it undefiled for Him. We have to remember that our conscious life, even though only a small part of our total person, is to be regarded by us as a “temple of the Holy Spirit.” He will be responsible for the unconscious part which we don’t know, but we must pay careful attention to and guard the conscious part for which we are responsible.
We realize that we are energized by the Holy Spirit for prayer; and we know what it is to pray in accordance with the Spirit; but we don’t often realize that the Holy Spirit Himself prays prayers in us which we cannot utter ourselves. When we are born again of God and are indwelt by the Spirit of God, He expresses for us the unutterable.
“He,” the Holy Spirit in you, “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27). And God searches your heart, not to know what your conscious prayers are, but to find out what the prayer of the Holy Spirit is.
The Spirit of God uses the nature of the believer as a temple in which to offer His prayers of intercession. “. . . your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit . . .” (1 Corinthians 6:19). When Jesus Christ cleansed the temple, “. . . He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple” (Mark 11:16). The Spirit of God will not allow you to use your body for your own convenience. Jesus ruthlessly cast out everyone who bought and sold in the temple, and said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer . . . . But you have made it a ’den of thieves’ ” (Mark 11:17).
Have we come to realize that our “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit”? If so, we must be careful to keep it undefiled for Him. We have to remember that our conscious life, even though only a small part of our total person, is to be regarded by us as a “temple of the Holy Spirit.” He will be responsible for the unconscious part which we don’t know, but we must pay careful attention to and guard the conscious part for which we are responsible.
November 07, 2012
The Undetected Sacredness of Circumstances
We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . . —Romans 8:28
The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance. God by His providence brings you into circumstances that you can’t understand at all, but the Spirit of God understands. God brings you to places, among people, and into certain conditions to accomplish a definite purpose through the intercession of the Spirit in you. Never put yourself in front of your circumstances and say, “I’m going to be my own providence here; I will watch this closely, or protect myself from that.” All your circumstances are in the hand of God, and therefore you don’t ever have to think they are unnatural or unique. Your part in intercessory prayer is not to agonize over how to intercede, but to use the everyday circumstances and people God puts around you by His providence to bring them before His throne, and to allow the Spirit in you the opportunity to intercede for them. In this way God is going to touch the whole world with His saints.
Am I making the Holy Spirit’s work difficult by being vague and unsure, or by trying to do His work for Him? I must do the human side of intercession— utilizing the circumstances in which I find myself and the people who surround me. I must keep my conscious life as a sacred place for the Holy Spirit. Then as I lift different ones to God through prayer, the Holy Spirit intercedes for them.
Your intercessions can never be mine, and my intercessions can never be yours, “. . . but the Spirit Himself makes intercession” in each of our lives (Romans 8:26). And without that intercession, the lives of others would be left in poverty and in ruin.
環境是不知不覺中的聖地
萬事都互相效力，叫愛神的人得益處。 （羅八28）
信徒的際遇是神所命定的，信徒生命中沒有偶然那一回事。神在他的旨意中，預備一些你不明白的環境，但神的靈卻明白。他把你帶到某些地方，叫你遇到某些人，遭遇某些事，為使聖靈的代求透過你，行在某一道路上。切勿在環境中說：[我要自己作主；我要當心這個，小心那個。 ]一切環境都在神手中，所以不必為所處的環境滿腹狐疑。你代求的責任，不是要千辛萬苦，乃是用神給你日常的生活際遇，把神安排給你碰到的人帶到他座前，讓你裡面的聖靈有機會為他們代求。這樣，神就能透過聖徒得著整個世界。
我是否無目的，叫聖靈難以工作？我是否要代替聖靈來工作？在代求的事上，我要盡上人的本分，這是指我所處的環境，和我接觸的人。我得把這有知覺的生命作聖靈的聖地，把不同的人帶到神面前，讓聖靈為他們代求。你的代求不能代替我的，我的代求也不能代替你的，只有聖靈在我們個別生命中代求。沒有這代求，人的生命就必受到虧損。
祈禱◆主啊，我投向你，因著你大能的救贖，我以那偉大的勝利禱文來作祈禱：[我們若照他的旨意求什麽，他就听我們，這是我們向他所存坦然無懼的心。 ]
The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance. God by His providence brings you into circumstances that you can’t understand at all, but the Spirit of God understands. God brings you to places, among people, and into certain conditions to accomplish a definite purpose through the intercession of the Spirit in you. Never put yourself in front of your circumstances and say, “I’m going to be my own providence here; I will watch this closely, or protect myself from that.” All your circumstances are in the hand of God, and therefore you don’t ever have to think they are unnatural or unique. Your part in intercessory prayer is not to agonize over how to intercede, but to use the everyday circumstances and people God puts around you by His providence to bring them before His throne, and to allow the Spirit in you the opportunity to intercede for them. In this way God is going to touch the whole world with His saints.
Am I making the Holy Spirit’s work difficult by being vague and unsure, or by trying to do His work for Him? I must do the human side of intercession— utilizing the circumstances in which I find myself and the people who surround me. I must keep my conscious life as a sacred place for the Holy Spirit. Then as I lift different ones to God through prayer, the Holy Spirit intercedes for them.
Your intercessions can never be mine, and my intercessions can never be yours, “. . . but the Spirit Himself makes intercession” in each of our lives (Romans 8:26). And without that intercession, the lives of others would be left in poverty and in ruin.
環境是不知不覺中的聖地
萬事都互相效力，叫愛神的人得益處。 （羅八28）
信徒的際遇是神所命定的，信徒生命中沒有偶然那一回事。神在他的旨意中，預備一些你不明白的環境，但神的靈卻明白。他把你帶到某些地方，叫你遇到某些人，遭遇某些事，為使聖靈的代求透過你，行在某一道路上。切勿在環境中說：[我要自己作主；我要當心這個，小心那個。 ]一切環境都在神手中，所以不必為所處的環境滿腹狐疑。你代求的責任，不是要千辛萬苦，乃是用神給你日常的生活際遇，把神安排給你碰到的人帶到他座前，讓你裡面的聖靈有機會為他們代求。這樣，神就能透過聖徒得著整個世界。
我是否無目的，叫聖靈難以工作？我是否要代替聖靈來工作？在代求的事上，我要盡上人的本分，這是指我所處的環境，和我接觸的人。我得把這有知覺的生命作聖靈的聖地，把不同的人帶到神面前，讓聖靈為他們代求。你的代求不能代替我的，我的代求也不能代替你的，只有聖靈在我們個別生命中代求。沒有這代求，人的生命就必受到虧損。
祈禱◆主啊，我投向你，因著你大能的救贖，我以那偉大的勝利禱文來作祈禱：[我們若照他的旨意求什麽，他就听我們，這是我們向他所存坦然無懼的心。 ]
November 06, 2012
Intimate Theology
Do you believe this? —John 11:26
Martha believed in the power available to Jesus Christ; she believed that if He had been there He could have healed her brother; she also believed that Jesus had a special intimacy with God, and that whatever He asked of God, God would do. But— she needed a closer personal intimacy with Jesus. Martha’s theology had its fulfillment in the future. But Jesus continued to attract and draw her in until her belief became an intimate possession. It then slowly emerged into a personal inheritance— “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ . . .” (John 11:27).
Is the Lord dealing with you in the same way? Is Jesus teaching you to have a personal intimacy with Himself? Allow Him to drive His question home to you— “Do you believe this?” Are you facing an area of doubt in your life? Have you come, like Martha, to a crossroads of overwhelming circumstances where your theology is about to become a very personal belief? This happens only when a personal problem brings the awareness of our personal need.
To believe is to commit. In the area of intellectual learning I commit myself mentally, and reject anything not related to that belief. In the realm of personal belief I commit myself morally to my convictions and refuse to compromise. But in intimate personal belief I commit myself spiritually to Jesus Christ and make a determination to be dominated by Him alone.
Then, when I stand face to face with Jesus Christ and He says to me, “Do you believe this?” I find that faith is as natural as breathing. And I am staggered when I think how foolish I have been in not trusting Him earlier
信心歷程
你信這話麽？ （約十一26）
馬大相信耶穌有能力行事；她型心他若在場，就可以醫治她的弟弟。她也相信與神有特別的關係，他求神什麽，神都成就。可是，她需要與耶穌有更親密的個人關係。馬大的信心是在未來才實現的；耶穌領她體驗，直至信心成為她個人的財富，然後形成一個特有的產業- [主啊，是的，我信你是基督……]
主對你是否也一樣？主是否教導你，使你進入與他個人親密的關係裡？讓神的問題追逼你 - [你信這話麽？ ]你懷疑的是什麽？你所遭遇的，有否像馬大的一樣，把你帶到一處，叫你的信仰快要變成個人的信仰？這個地步，非透過難處而產生個人問題，不能達致。
相信就是完全委身。在心智上委身，就是把一切與這委身無關的事擯棄；在信仰上委身，在道德上就絕不與其他信仰妥協；在特殊信仰上委身，就把靈交給耶穌基督，決志只讓主居首位。當我面對主耶穌，他對我說：[你信這話麽？ ]我會發現信心像呼吸一樣自然，而詫異以往為何愚昧地不信靠。
祈禱◆主啊，並非基於任何不配的感覺，或自覺不足，或是任何關乎自己的思想；我來，只因你是你。
Martha believed in the power available to Jesus Christ; she believed that if He had been there He could have healed her brother; she also believed that Jesus had a special intimacy with God, and that whatever He asked of God, God would do. But— she needed a closer personal intimacy with Jesus. Martha’s theology had its fulfillment in the future. But Jesus continued to attract and draw her in until her belief became an intimate possession. It then slowly emerged into a personal inheritance— “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ . . .” (John 11:27).
Is the Lord dealing with you in the same way? Is Jesus teaching you to have a personal intimacy with Himself? Allow Him to drive His question home to you— “Do you believe this?” Are you facing an area of doubt in your life? Have you come, like Martha, to a crossroads of overwhelming circumstances where your theology is about to become a very personal belief? This happens only when a personal problem brings the awareness of our personal need.
To believe is to commit. In the area of intellectual learning I commit myself mentally, and reject anything not related to that belief. In the realm of personal belief I commit myself morally to my convictions and refuse to compromise. But in intimate personal belief I commit myself spiritually to Jesus Christ and make a determination to be dominated by Him alone.
Then, when I stand face to face with Jesus Christ and He says to me, “Do you believe this?” I find that faith is as natural as breathing. And I am staggered when I think how foolish I have been in not trusting Him earlier
信心歷程
你信這話麽？ （約十一26）
馬大相信耶穌有能力行事；她型心他若在場，就可以醫治她的弟弟。她也相信與神有特別的關係，他求神什麽，神都成就。可是，她需要與耶穌有更親密的個人關係。馬大的信心是在未來才實現的；耶穌領她體驗，直至信心成為她個人的財富，然後形成一個特有的產業- [主啊，是的，我信你是基督……]
主對你是否也一樣？主是否教導你，使你進入與他個人親密的關係裡？讓神的問題追逼你 - [你信這話麽？ ]你懷疑的是什麽？你所遭遇的，有否像馬大的一樣，把你帶到一處，叫你的信仰快要變成個人的信仰？這個地步，非透過難處而產生個人問題，不能達致。
相信就是完全委身。在心智上委身，就是把一切與這委身無關的事擯棄；在信仰上委身，在道德上就絕不與其他信仰妥協；在特殊信仰上委身，就把靈交給耶穌基督，決志只讓主居首位。當我面對主耶穌，他對我說：[你信這話麽？ ]我會發現信心像呼吸一樣自然，而詫異以往為何愚昧地不信靠。
祈禱◆主啊，並非基於任何不配的感覺，或自覺不足，或是任何關乎自己的思想；我來，只因你是你。
November 05, 2012
Partakers of His Suffering
. . . but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings . . . —1 Peter 4:13
If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process, you will never be surprised by what comes your way. You say, “Oh, I can’t deal with that person.” Why can’t you? God gave you sufficient opportunities to learn from Him about that problem; but you turned away, not heeding the lesson, because it seemed foolish to spend your time that way.
The sufferings of Christ were not those of ordinary people. He suffered “according to the will of God” (1 Peter 4:19), having a different point of view of suffering from ours. It is only through our relationship with Jesus Christ that we can understand what God is after in His dealings with us. When it comes to suffering, it is part of our Christian culture to want to know God’s purpose beforehand. In the history of the Christian church, the tendency has been to avoid being identified with the sufferings of Jesus Christ. People have sought to carry out God’s orders through a shortcut of their own. God’s way is always the way of suffering— the way of the “long road home.”
Are we partakers of Christ’s sufferings? Are we prepared for God to stamp out our personal ambitions? Are we prepared for God to destroy our individual decisions by supernaturally transforming them? It will mean not knowing why God is taking us that way, because knowing would make us spiritually proud. We never realize at the time what God is putting us through— we go through it more or less without understanding. Then suddenly we come to a place of enlightenment, and realize— “God has strengthened me and I didn’t even know it!”
與基督一同受苦
倒要歡喜，因為你們是與基督一同受苦。 （彼前四13）
如果你要蒙神使用，你便要經歷許多事；不是為你本身而遭遇，乃是要把你造成神手中合用的器皿，使你明白別人心裡的景況，以致不會因所遇見的感到詫異。 [唉，我不能應付那個人。 ]為什麽不能？神讓你有足夠的機會在他面前學習這功課，只是你故意避開，認為這樣花時間太愚蠢了。
基督受的苦不是普通人的苦，他乃是按神的旨意受苦，不是照人的看法受苦。只有當我們與基督連合，才會明白神的用意。基督教化的一部分，就是要明白神的目的。在教會歷史中，可以見到人逃避與主一同受苦的傾向；人總是想用自己的捷徑，以求完成神的使命。可是，神的道路卻必定是那漫長受苦的路。
我們有分於基督的受苦麽？我們肯不肯讓神把個人的野心除掉？肯不肯藉生命的改變，把個人的志向毀掉？這不是說可以完全明白為何神領我們這樣走：這樣會叫我們成為屬靈的自大者。當時我們無法知道神的心意，我們會或多或少有點誤解；過後，卻全恍然大悟，說：[看，神把我裝備了，我竟然不察覺！ ]
祈禱◆主啊，願那些在肉身上擔負重壓的人，能藉著你的支持來繼續承擔。願你使他們能避免敵人的嚴苛對待，願主的喜樂能奇妙地成為他們的力量。
If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process, you will never be surprised by what comes your way. You say, “Oh, I can’t deal with that person.” Why can’t you? God gave you sufficient opportunities to learn from Him about that problem; but you turned away, not heeding the lesson, because it seemed foolish to spend your time that way.
The sufferings of Christ were not those of ordinary people. He suffered “according to the will of God” (1 Peter 4:19), having a different point of view of suffering from ours. It is only through our relationship with Jesus Christ that we can understand what God is after in His dealings with us. When it comes to suffering, it is part of our Christian culture to want to know God’s purpose beforehand. In the history of the Christian church, the tendency has been to avoid being identified with the sufferings of Jesus Christ. People have sought to carry out God’s orders through a shortcut of their own. God’s way is always the way of suffering— the way of the “long road home.”
Are we partakers of Christ’s sufferings? Are we prepared for God to stamp out our personal ambitions? Are we prepared for God to destroy our individual decisions by supernaturally transforming them? It will mean not knowing why God is taking us that way, because knowing would make us spiritually proud. We never realize at the time what God is putting us through— we go through it more or less without understanding. Then suddenly we come to a place of enlightenment, and realize— “God has strengthened me and I didn’t even know it!”
與基督一同受苦
倒要歡喜，因為你們是與基督一同受苦。 （彼前四13）
如果你要蒙神使用，你便要經歷許多事；不是為你本身而遭遇，乃是要把你造成神手中合用的器皿，使你明白別人心裡的景況，以致不會因所遇見的感到詫異。 [唉，我不能應付那個人。 ]為什麽不能？神讓你有足夠的機會在他面前學習這功課，只是你故意避開，認為這樣花時間太愚蠢了。
基督受的苦不是普通人的苦，他乃是按神的旨意受苦，不是照人的看法受苦。只有當我們與基督連合，才會明白神的用意。基督教化的一部分，就是要明白神的目的。在教會歷史中，可以見到人逃避與主一同受苦的傾向；人總是想用自己的捷徑，以求完成神的使命。可是，神的道路卻必定是那漫長受苦的路。
我們有分於基督的受苦麽？我們肯不肯讓神把個人的野心除掉？肯不肯藉生命的改變，把個人的志向毀掉？這不是說可以完全明白為何神領我們這樣走：這樣會叫我們成為屬靈的自大者。當時我們無法知道神的心意，我們會或多或少有點誤解；過後，卻全恍然大悟，說：[看，神把我裝備了，我竟然不察覺！ ]
祈禱◆主啊，願那些在肉身上擔負重壓的人，能藉著你的支持來繼續承擔。願你使他們能避免敵人的嚴苛對待，願主的喜樂能奇妙地成為他們的力量。
November 04, 2012
The Authority of Truth
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you —James 4:8
It is essential that you give people the opportunity to act on the truth of God. The responsibility must be left with the individual— you cannot act for him. It must be his own deliberate act, but the evangelical message should always lead him to action. Refusing to act leaves a person paralyzed, exactly where he was previously. But once he acts, he is never the same. It is the apparent folly of the truth that stands in the way of hundreds who have been convicted by the Spirit of God. Once I press myself into action, I immediately begin to live. Anything less is merely existing. The moments I truly live are the moments when I act with my entire will.
When a truth of God is brought home to your soul, never allow it to pass without acting on it internally in your will, not necessarily externally in your physical life. Record it with ink and with blood— work it into your life. The weakest saint who transacts business with Jesus Christ is liberated the second he acts and God’s almighty power is available on his behalf. We come up to the truth of God, confess we are wrong, but go back again. Then we approach it again and turn back, until we finally learn we have no business going back. When we are confronted with such a word of truth from our redeeming Lord, we must move directly to transact business with Him. “Come to Me . . .” (Matthew 11:28). His word come means “to act.” Yet the last thing we want to do is come. But everyone who does come knows that, at that very moment, the supernatural power of the life of God invades him. The dominating power of the world, the flesh, and the devil is now paralyzed; not by your act, but because your act has joined you to God and tapped you in to His redemptive power.
真實的權威
你們親近神，神就必親近你們。 （雅四8）
我們必須讓人有機會行神的真理，這責任是個人的，別人無法代行。他必須蓄意去行，但福音的資訊也該引導他的行動。不肯行動叫人癱瘓，使人依然故我；一有行動，就不同了。多少被神的靈感動的人，都因不肯行動而受阻擋。行動的那一刻，我就活了；其馀的時候，我不過是存在的個體。以整個意志投入行動，就是我存在的個體。以整個意志投入行動，就是我真正活著的時候。
不要讓神放在你心裡的某一真理成為過去，無所行動。不單是肉身的行動，更是意誌上的。不管用筆墨或用血，要把它記錄下來。最柔弱的信徒若與耶穌基督相交，在他行動的那一刻，就得著釋放，神的大能就屬於他了。我們明白神的真理，承認自己的錯，又重蹈覆轍；以後又再達到真理，但不久又故態復萌；這情況要到我們學會不應回頭，才停止下來。對救主的話要全無保留地接納，與他來一次交易。他說[來]，就是交易的意思。 [到我這裡來。 ]我們往往非到最後也不肯[來]。其實過來人就知道，一[來]，神超然的生命就立刻進到他裡面。世界、肉體、魔鬼對他的控制就立刻癱瘓，不是因為你的行動，而是因你的行動把你連接到神救贖的大能去。
祈禱◆主啊，我只有一件事情- 就是有聲和無聲的需要你。 [靈性貧乏]這詞，正描述了我對自己的一點認識。我來到你面前，全然地需要你。
It is essential that you give people the opportunity to act on the truth of God. The responsibility must be left with the individual— you cannot act for him. It must be his own deliberate act, but the evangelical message should always lead him to action. Refusing to act leaves a person paralyzed, exactly where he was previously. But once he acts, he is never the same. It is the apparent folly of the truth that stands in the way of hundreds who have been convicted by the Spirit of God. Once I press myself into action, I immediately begin to live. Anything less is merely existing. The moments I truly live are the moments when I act with my entire will.
When a truth of God is brought home to your soul, never allow it to pass without acting on it internally in your will, not necessarily externally in your physical life. Record it with ink and with blood— work it into your life. The weakest saint who transacts business with Jesus Christ is liberated the second he acts and God’s almighty power is available on his behalf. We come up to the truth of God, confess we are wrong, but go back again. Then we approach it again and turn back, until we finally learn we have no business going back. When we are confronted with such a word of truth from our redeeming Lord, we must move directly to transact business with Him. “Come to Me . . .” (Matthew 11:28). His word come means “to act.” Yet the last thing we want to do is come. But everyone who does come knows that, at that very moment, the supernatural power of the life of God invades him. The dominating power of the world, the flesh, and the devil is now paralyzed; not by your act, but because your act has joined you to God and tapped you in to His redemptive power.
真實的權威
你們親近神，神就必親近你們。 （雅四8）
我們必須讓人有機會行神的真理，這責任是個人的，別人無法代行。他必須蓄意去行，但福音的資訊也該引導他的行動。不肯行動叫人癱瘓，使人依然故我；一有行動，就不同了。多少被神的靈感動的人，都因不肯行動而受阻擋。行動的那一刻，我就活了；其馀的時候，我不過是存在的個體。以整個意志投入行動，就是我存在的個體。以整個意志投入行動，就是我真正活著的時候。
不要讓神放在你心裡的某一真理成為過去，無所行動。不單是肉身的行動，更是意誌上的。不管用筆墨或用血，要把它記錄下來。最柔弱的信徒若與耶穌基督相交，在他行動的那一刻，就得著釋放，神的大能就屬於他了。我們明白神的真理，承認自己的錯，又重蹈覆轍；以後又再達到真理，但不久又故態復萌；這情況要到我們學會不應回頭，才停止下來。對救主的話要全無保留地接納，與他來一次交易。他說[來]，就是交易的意思。 [到我這裡來。 ]我們往往非到最後也不肯[來]。其實過來人就知道，一[來]，神超然的生命就立刻進到他裡面。世界、肉體、魔鬼對他的控制就立刻癱瘓，不是因為你的行動，而是因你的行動把你連接到神救贖的大能去。
祈禱◆主啊，我只有一件事情- 就是有聲和無聲的需要你。 [靈性貧乏]這詞，正描述了我對自己的一點認識。我來到你面前，全然地需要你。
November 03, 2012
A Bondservant of Jesus
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me . . . —Galatians 2:20
These words mean the breaking and collapse of my independence brought about by my own hands, and the surrendering of my life to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. God may bring me up to this point three hundred and sixty-five times a year, but He cannot push me through it. It means breaking the hard outer layer of my individual independence from God, and the liberating of myself and my nature into oneness with Him; not following my own ideas, but choosing absolute loyalty to Jesus. Once I am at that point, there is no possibility of misunderstanding. Very few of us know anything about loyalty to Christ or understand what He meant when He said, “. . . for My sake” (Matthew 5:11). That is what makes a strong saint.
Has that breaking of my independence come? All the rest is religious fraud. The one point to decide is— will I give up? Will I surrender to Jesus Christ, placing no conditions whatsoever as to how the brokenness will come? I must be broken from my own understanding of myself. When I reach that point, immediately the reality of the supernatural identification with Jesus Christ takes place. And the witness of the Spirit of God is unmistakable— “I have been crucified with Christ . . .”
The passion of Christianity comes from deliberately signing away my own rights and becoming a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Until I do that, I will not begin to be a saint.
One student a year who hears God’s call would be sufficient for God to have called the Bible Training College into existence. This college has no value as an organization, not even academically. Its sole value for existence is for God to help Himself to lives. Will we allow Him to help Himself to us, or are we more concerned with our own ideas of what we are going to be?
耶穌的奴隸
我已經與基督同釘十字架，現在活著的，不再是我，乃是基督在我裡面活著。 （加二20）
這句話的意思是我親手折斷自己的主權，完全降服於主耶穌至高的權威。沒有人可以替我做，我必須自己去行。神可以在一年有三百六十五次叫我們面臨作決定的時刻，可是他不能推我過去。我必須打破脫離神而獨立的外殼，釋放整個人格，與他合一；不再跟從自己的主意，完全效忠主耶穌。一旦，如此，就無可爭辯了。很少人真正知道甚麽叫效忠基督- 就是[為我（主）的緣故。 ]有這個才有精忠的聖徒。
這破碎的關鍵到了沒有？其他的事都不過是敬虔的偽殼。決定性的一點是- 我肯不肯無條件投降，順服基督？我必須打破實現自我的企圖，這樣，與主認同的超然事實就隨即出現，聖靈的見證就明明可見- [我已經與基督同釘十字架。 ]
我對基督教的熱誠，就是特意把自己的主權捨棄，作耶穌基督的奴僕。若非如此，我尚未踏上成聖之路。
只要每年有一個學生被神呼召，就是以肯定這間神學院的存在價值。若只作為一間機構，這學院沒有什麽價值。它不是為學術研究，其最大的用意是讓神可以隨意得著人的生命。他可以隨意使用我們麽？還是我們仍然讓自我實現的念頭佔據？
祈禱◆主啊，因著我肉體的軟弱，我與你的相交也顯得枯燥乏味，然而我的心卻是欣喜的，我的肉體亦將在盼望中安息。
These words mean the breaking and collapse of my independence brought about by my own hands, and the surrendering of my life to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. God may bring me up to this point three hundred and sixty-five times a year, but He cannot push me through it. It means breaking the hard outer layer of my individual independence from God, and the liberating of myself and my nature into oneness with Him; not following my own ideas, but choosing absolute loyalty to Jesus. Once I am at that point, there is no possibility of misunderstanding. Very few of us know anything about loyalty to Christ or understand what He meant when He said, “. . . for My sake” (Matthew 5:11). That is what makes a strong saint.
Has that breaking of my independence come? All the rest is religious fraud. The one point to decide is— will I give up? Will I surrender to Jesus Christ, placing no conditions whatsoever as to how the brokenness will come? I must be broken from my own understanding of myself. When I reach that point, immediately the reality of the supernatural identification with Jesus Christ takes place. And the witness of the Spirit of God is unmistakable— “I have been crucified with Christ . . .”
The passion of Christianity comes from deliberately signing away my own rights and becoming a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Until I do that, I will not begin to be a saint.
One student a year who hears God’s call would be sufficient for God to have called the Bible Training College into existence. This college has no value as an organization, not even academically. Its sole value for existence is for God to help Himself to lives. Will we allow Him to help Himself to us, or are we more concerned with our own ideas of what we are going to be?
耶穌的奴隸
我已經與基督同釘十字架，現在活著的，不再是我，乃是基督在我裡面活著。 （加二20）
這句話的意思是我親手折斷自己的主權，完全降服於主耶穌至高的權威。沒有人可以替我做，我必須自己去行。神可以在一年有三百六十五次叫我們面臨作決定的時刻，可是他不能推我過去。我必須打破脫離神而獨立的外殼，釋放整個人格，與他合一；不再跟從自己的主意，完全效忠主耶穌。一旦，如此，就無可爭辯了。很少人真正知道甚麽叫效忠基督- 就是[為我（主）的緣故。 ]有這個才有精忠的聖徒。
這破碎的關鍵到了沒有？其他的事都不過是敬虔的偽殼。決定性的一點是- 我肯不肯無條件投降，順服基督？我必須打破實現自我的企圖，這樣，與主認同的超然事實就隨即出現，聖靈的見證就明明可見- [我已經與基督同釘十字架。 ]
我對基督教的熱誠，就是特意把自己的主權捨棄，作耶穌基督的奴僕。若非如此，我尚未踏上成聖之路。
只要每年有一個學生被神呼召，就是以肯定這間神學院的存在價值。若只作為一間機構，這學院沒有什麽價值。它不是為學術研究，其最大的用意是讓神可以隨意得著人的生命。他可以隨意使用我們麽？還是我們仍然讓自我實現的念頭佔據？
祈禱◆主啊，因著我肉體的軟弱，我與你的相交也顯得枯燥乏味，然而我的心卻是欣喜的，我的肉體亦將在盼望中安息。
November 02, 2012
Obedience or Independence?
If you love Me, keep My commandments —John 14:15
Our Lord never insists on obedience. He stresses very definitely what we ought to do, but He never forces us to do it. We have to obey Him out of a oneness of spirit with Him. That is why whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an “If,” meaning, “You do not need to do this unless you desire to do so.” “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . .” (Luke 9:23). In other words, “To be My disciple, let him give up his right to himself to Me.” Our Lord is not talking about our eternal position, but about our being of value to Him in this life here and now. That is why He sounds so stern (see Luke 14:26). Never try to make sense from these words by separating them from the One who spoke them.
The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear. If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself. Jesus Christ will not force me to obey Him, but I must. And as soon as I obey Him, I fulfill my spiritual destiny. My personal life may be crowded with small, petty happenings, altogether insignificant. But if I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God. Then, when I stand face to face with God, I will discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed. When God’s redemption brings a human soul to the point of obedience, it always produces. If I obey Jesus Christ, the redemption of God will flow through me to the lives of others, because behind the deed of obedience is the reality of Almighty God.
權柄與自主
你們若愛我，就必遵守我的命令。 （約十四15）
我們的主從不堅持要人順服他；他雖然強調什麽是當行的，卻從不運用手段強逼我們去行。我們順服他必須出於靈裡的合一。因此，主談到作門徒時，總加上[若]字- 你要是不想，可以不做。 [若有人要跟從我，就當捨己。 ]你要放棄自己的主權，把它交給主。主並不是論及永世的地位，他乃是說在現今的景況中，怎樣才可以成為他合用的器皿。正因如此，主的話聽來是這樣嚴厲（比較路十四26）。千萬不要撇下說這話的那一位主，去解釋經文。
主並沒有給我什麽規條，他把標准說得很清楚；我若是愛他，會毫不猶豫去遵行他的話。若我猶豫不行，就表明我另有所愛，而這一位與他爭競的，就是我自己。主耶穌不會推我順服他，我必須自己順服。一順服，我就成就了在屬靈領域中神所定命的。個人生命中也許充塞了無數瑣事，根本無人留意的；可是若在這等無常的際遇中順服主，這些事就成為我見神面的洞口。
當我與神面對面，會發現千萬人因我的順服而蒙福。人的心一旦順服，神的救贖就必然產生創造力。我若順服基督，神的救贖就會透過我湧流倒別的生命上，因為在順服的行動背後，是全能神的實體。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你探測我靈裡最深藏的動機- 聖靈就在此處為我們代求，並且看出我們未能表達的禱文。
Our Lord never insists on obedience. He stresses very definitely what we ought to do, but He never forces us to do it. We have to obey Him out of a oneness of spirit with Him. That is why whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an “If,” meaning, “You do not need to do this unless you desire to do so.” “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . .” (Luke 9:23). In other words, “To be My disciple, let him give up his right to himself to Me.” Our Lord is not talking about our eternal position, but about our being of value to Him in this life here and now. That is why He sounds so stern (see Luke 14:26). Never try to make sense from these words by separating them from the One who spoke them.
The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear. If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself. Jesus Christ will not force me to obey Him, but I must. And as soon as I obey Him, I fulfill my spiritual destiny. My personal life may be crowded with small, petty happenings, altogether insignificant. But if I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God. Then, when I stand face to face with God, I will discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed. When God’s redemption brings a human soul to the point of obedience, it always produces. If I obey Jesus Christ, the redemption of God will flow through me to the lives of others, because behind the deed of obedience is the reality of Almighty God.
權柄與自主
你們若愛我，就必遵守我的命令。 （約十四15）
我們的主從不堅持要人順服他；他雖然強調什麽是當行的，卻從不運用手段強逼我們去行。我們順服他必須出於靈裡的合一。因此，主談到作門徒時，總加上[若]字- 你要是不想，可以不做。 [若有人要跟從我，就當捨己。 ]你要放棄自己的主權，把它交給主。主並不是論及永世的地位，他乃是說在現今的景況中，怎樣才可以成為他合用的器皿。正因如此，主的話聽來是這樣嚴厲（比較路十四26）。千萬不要撇下說這話的那一位主，去解釋經文。
主並沒有給我什麽規條，他把標准說得很清楚；我若是愛他，會毫不猶豫去遵行他的話。若我猶豫不行，就表明我另有所愛，而這一位與他爭競的，就是我自己。主耶穌不會推我順服他，我必須自己順服。一順服，我就成就了在屬靈領域中神所定命的。個人生命中也許充塞了無數瑣事，根本無人留意的；可是若在這等無常的際遇中順服主，這些事就成為我見神面的洞口。
當我與神面對面，會發現千萬人因我的順服而蒙福。人的心一旦順服，神的救贖就必然產生創造力。我若順服基督，神的救贖就會透過我湧流倒別的生命上，因為在順服的行動背後，是全能神的實體。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你探測我靈裡最深藏的動機- 聖靈就在此處為我們代求，並且看出我們未能表達的禱文。
November 01, 2012
“You Are Not Your Own”
Do you not know that . . . you are not your own? —1 Corinthians 6:19
There is no such thing as a private life, or a place to hide in this world, for a man or woman who is intimately aware of and shares in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. God divides the private life of His saints and makes it a highway for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other. No human being can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ. We are not sanctified for ourselves. We are called into intimacy with the gospel, and things happen that appear to have nothing to do with us. But God is getting us into fellowship with Himself. Let Him have His way. If you refuse, you will be of no value to God in His redemptive work in the world, but will be a hindrance and a stumbling block.
The first thing God does is get us grounded on strong reality and truth. He does this until our cares for ourselves individually have been brought into submission to His way for the purpose of His redemption. Why shouldn’t we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God’s purpose and enter a slow death through self-pity. And all the so-called Christian sympathy of others helps us to our deathbed. But God will not. He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, “Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine.” If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?
你不屬自己
豈不知……你們不是自己的人。 （林前六19）
一個在耶穌基督受苦上有分的人，根本就沒有所謂的私生活，亦即[世界裡的世界]。神把聖徒的私生活打碎了，造成一條通道，是通往他自己的通道。除非人與主耶穌認同，否則沒有人能受得住這個。我們成聖，不是為自己，乃是蒙召同得福音的好處；與我們無關的事發生，為要叫我們與神相交。所以，要讓神旨意通行，否則你不但在他救贖世界的大工上沒有絲毫用處，反成為阻礙。
神首先做的，是使我們面對最粗陋的現實，直至我們對任何發生在個人身上的時不再介懷，只要他救贖的目的達成。我們為何不可以經歷一下心痛欲絕呢？通過這些門徒，神開啟與他兒子相通的道路。多半人一受痛楚，就仆倒；我們坐在神心意的門檻上，死在自憐自憫之中。信徒間所謂同情心，更加速了死亡率。神卻不是這樣，他拿著他兒子釘痕的手，說：[進來與我相交，起來發光。 ]若破碎的心靈能使神的旨意在世上成就，那麽，要為他破碎你的心而感謝他。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你今天的說話帶著能力和恩慈。願你引導我，與你進入內心隱密的相交，以致你可以正確地傳達你自己。
There is no such thing as a private life, or a place to hide in this world, for a man or woman who is intimately aware of and shares in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. God divides the private life of His saints and makes it a highway for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other. No human being can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ. We are not sanctified for ourselves. We are called into intimacy with the gospel, and things happen that appear to have nothing to do with us. But God is getting us into fellowship with Himself. Let Him have His way. If you refuse, you will be of no value to God in His redemptive work in the world, but will be a hindrance and a stumbling block.
The first thing God does is get us grounded on strong reality and truth. He does this until our cares for ourselves individually have been brought into submission to His way for the purpose of His redemption. Why shouldn’t we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God’s purpose and enter a slow death through self-pity. And all the so-called Christian sympathy of others helps us to our deathbed. But God will not. He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, “Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine.” If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?
你不屬自己
豈不知……你們不是自己的人。 （林前六19）
一個在耶穌基督受苦上有分的人，根本就沒有所謂的私生活，亦即[世界裡的世界]。神把聖徒的私生活打碎了，造成一條通道，是通往他自己的通道。除非人與主耶穌認同，否則沒有人能受得住這個。我們成聖，不是為自己，乃是蒙召同得福音的好處；與我們無關的事發生，為要叫我們與神相交。所以，要讓神旨意通行，否則你不但在他救贖世界的大工上沒有絲毫用處，反成為阻礙。
神首先做的，是使我們面對最粗陋的現實，直至我們對任何發生在個人身上的時不再介懷，只要他救贖的目的達成。我們為何不可以經歷一下心痛欲絕呢？通過這些門徒，神開啟與他兒子相通的道路。多半人一受痛楚，就仆倒；我們坐在神心意的門檻上，死在自憐自憫之中。信徒間所謂同情心，更加速了死亡率。神卻不是這樣，他拿著他兒子釘痕的手，說：[進來與我相交，起來發光。 ]若破碎的心靈能使神的旨意在世上成就，那麽，要為他破碎你的心而感謝他。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你今天的說話帶著能力和恩慈。願你引導我，與你進入內心隱密的相交，以致你可以正確地傳達你自己。
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