I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church . . . —Colossians 1:24
We take our own spiritual consecration and try to make it into a call of God, but when we get right with Him He brushes all this aside. Then He gives us a tremendous, riveting pain to fasten our attention on something that we never even dreamed could be His call for us. And for one radiant, flashing moment we see His purpose, and we say, “Here am I! Send me” (Isaiah 6:8).
This call has nothing to do with personal sanctification, but with being made broken bread and poured-out wine. Yet God can never make us into wine if we object to the fingers He chooses to use to crush us. We say, “If God would only use His own fingers, and make me broken bread and poured-out wine in a special way, then I wouldn’t object!” But when He uses someone we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, to crush us, then we object. Yet we must never try to choose the place of our own martyrdom. If we are ever going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed—you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed.
I wonder what finger and thumb God has been using to squeeze you? Have you been as hard as a marble and escaped? If you are not ripe yet, and if God had squeezed you anyway, the wine produced would have been remarkably bitter. To be a holy person means that the elements of our natural life experience the very presence of God as they are providentially broken in His service. We have to be placed into God and brought into agreement with Him before we can be broken bread in His hands. Stay right with God and let Him do as He likes, and you will find that He is producing the kind of bread and wine that will benefit His other children.
呼召的使命
現在我為你們受苦，倒覺快樂，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）
我們在自以為是的分別為聖上，自己製造出呼召來；但當我們與神的關係和諧無間，他就把一切挪開，把我們接駁到我們從未夢想過的東西。這過程痛苦得可怖，但就在金光閃耀得一瞬，卻看出神得心意。就說：[我在這裡，請差遣我。 ]
這呼召與個人成聖無關，乃是要我們成為破碎得餅，澆奠的酒。若拒絕神的擠壓，酒永遠不會成酒。但願神用自己的指頭，用特別的方法來是我成劈開的餅澆奠的酒就好了！但他往往用我們不喜歡的人，或用我們曾說死也不依順的環境來做壓器，於是，我們就抗拒了。我們千萬不可自己挑選殉道的場景。若要成酒，就必須被壓榨；葡萄是不能喝的，必須被擠壓才能成酒。我不知道神用什麼樣的指頭來擠壓，而你就像彈子一般滾避開去。若神在你尚未成熟時壓榨你，那酒就會苦澀得可怕。分別為聖的意思，就是天然生命的每一部分，被神破碎。在事奉中，有神自己的臨在。我們若要在他手中成為劈開的餅，就要先與他配合。要與神有正確的關係，讓他可以隨意而行。這樣你會發現，他要用你做出對其他兒女有益的餅和酒來。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你今天是我脫離慌張忙亂讓我保持平靜和單純屬你。願你使這個地方成為神的居所，以及人靈魂進入天堂的門檻。
September 30, 2013
September 29, 2013
The Awareness of the Call
. . . for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! —1 Corinthians 9:16
We are inclined to forget the deeply spiritual and supernatural touch of God. If you are able to tell exactly where you were when you received the call of God and can explain all about it, I question whether you have truly been called. The call of God does not come like that; it is much more supernatural. The realization of the call in a person’s life may come like a clap of thunder or it may dawn gradually. But however quickly or slowly this awareness comes, it is always accompanied with an undercurrent of the supernatural—something that is inexpressible and produces a “glow.” At any moment the sudden awareness of this incalculable, supernatural, surprising call that has taken hold of your life may break through—”I chose you . . .” (John 15:16). The call of God has nothing to do with salvation and sanctification. You are not called to preach the gospel because you are sanctified; the call to preach the gospel is infinitely different. Paul describes it as a compulsion that was placed upon him.
If you have ignored, and thereby removed, the great supernatural call of God in your life, take a review of your circumstances. See where you have put your own ideas of service or your particular abilities ahead of the call of God. Paul said, “. . . woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” He had become aware of the call of God, and his compulsion to “preach the gospel” was so strong that nothing else was any longer even a competitor for his strength.
If a man or woman is called of God, it doesn’t matter how difficult the circumstances may be. God orchestrates every force at work for His purpose in the end. If you will agree with God’s purpose, He will bring not only your conscious level but also all the deeper levels of your life, which you yourself cannot reach, into perfect harmony.
對神呼召的體認
我是不得已的，若不傳福音，我就有禍了。 （林前九16）
我們很容易忘記神那神秘超然的觸摸。你若能清楚說明在那裡得到神怎麼樣的呼召，我就懷疑你是否真有神的呼召。神的呼召不是這樣來的，它比這更超然。一個人在一生中對這呼召的體認，可能是像霹靂雷想般驟至，也可以像黎明般逐漸破曉，但無論它怎樣來，總隨著超然的暗湧而來，不能以言辭來說明，而且總帶著火光。這無法測度、超然、叫人驚愕、抓住你整個生命的呼召，隨時都會突然臨到－－[我揀選了你。 ]神的呼召與扽就成聖沒有關係。不是因為你成聖了，所以召你去傳福音；傳福音的呼召與此全然不同。保羅形容這是一件不得已的必然任務。
若你阻擋了神在你生命中超然的呼召，試查察一下，看看你哪一方面沒有把神放在首位，只以自己事奉的見解，或性格的專長為首。保羅說：[若不傳福音，我就有禍了。 ]他既已體認神的呼召，就專為此努力，心無旁騖。
人被神呼召，不必管環境怎樣不利，萬事都要互相效力至終指向神的目標。你若順服神的計劃，他不但把你意識可及的生命，就是生命中你無法探測的深邃，都調協和諧起來。
祈禱◆願今天充滿了神的能力，聲音和平安。我何其渴望在一切事物中認知到你那寬大的心！願你保守我裡面那種被呼召的感覺，歷久彌新和充滿活力。
We are inclined to forget the deeply spiritual and supernatural touch of God. If you are able to tell exactly where you were when you received the call of God and can explain all about it, I question whether you have truly been called. The call of God does not come like that; it is much more supernatural. The realization of the call in a person’s life may come like a clap of thunder or it may dawn gradually. But however quickly or slowly this awareness comes, it is always accompanied with an undercurrent of the supernatural—something that is inexpressible and produces a “glow.” At any moment the sudden awareness of this incalculable, supernatural, surprising call that has taken hold of your life may break through—”I chose you . . .” (John 15:16). The call of God has nothing to do with salvation and sanctification. You are not called to preach the gospel because you are sanctified; the call to preach the gospel is infinitely different. Paul describes it as a compulsion that was placed upon him.
If you have ignored, and thereby removed, the great supernatural call of God in your life, take a review of your circumstances. See where you have put your own ideas of service or your particular abilities ahead of the call of God. Paul said, “. . . woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” He had become aware of the call of God, and his compulsion to “preach the gospel” was so strong that nothing else was any longer even a competitor for his strength.
If a man or woman is called of God, it doesn’t matter how difficult the circumstances may be. God orchestrates every force at work for His purpose in the end. If you will agree with God’s purpose, He will bring not only your conscious level but also all the deeper levels of your life, which you yourself cannot reach, into perfect harmony.
對神呼召的體認
我是不得已的，若不傳福音，我就有禍了。 （林前九16）
我們很容易忘記神那神秘超然的觸摸。你若能清楚說明在那裡得到神怎麼樣的呼召，我就懷疑你是否真有神的呼召。神的呼召不是這樣來的，它比這更超然。一個人在一生中對這呼召的體認，可能是像霹靂雷想般驟至，也可以像黎明般逐漸破曉，但無論它怎樣來，總隨著超然的暗湧而來，不能以言辭來說明，而且總帶著火光。這無法測度、超然、叫人驚愕、抓住你整個生命的呼召，隨時都會突然臨到－－[我揀選了你。 ]神的呼召與扽就成聖沒有關係。不是因為你成聖了，所以召你去傳福音；傳福音的呼召與此全然不同。保羅形容這是一件不得已的必然任務。
若你阻擋了神在你生命中超然的呼召，試查察一下，看看你哪一方面沒有把神放在首位，只以自己事奉的見解，或性格的專長為首。保羅說：[若不傳福音，我就有禍了。 ]他既已體認神的呼召，就專為此努力，心無旁騖。
人被神呼召，不必管環境怎樣不利，萬事都要互相效力至終指向神的目標。你若順服神的計劃，他不但把你意識可及的生命，就是生命中你無法探測的深邃，都調協和諧起來。
祈禱◆願今天充滿了神的能力，聲音和平安。我何其渴望在一切事物中認知到你那寬大的心！願你保守我裡面那種被呼召的感覺，歷久彌新和充滿活力。
September 28, 2013
The “Go” of Unconditional Identification
Jesus . . . said to him, ’One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor . . . and come, take up the cross, and follow Me’ —Mark 10:21
The rich young ruler had the controlling passion to be perfect. When he saw Jesus Christ, he wanted to be like Him. Our Lord never places anyone’s personal holiness above everything else when He calls a disciple. Jesus’ primary consideration is my absolute annihilation of my right to myself and my identification with Him, which means having a relationship with Him in which there are no other relationships. Luke 14:26 has nothing to do with salvation or sanctification, but deals solely with unconditional identification with Jesus Christ. Very few of us truly know what is meant by the absolute “go” of unconditional identification with, and abandonment and surrender to, Jesus.
“Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him . . .” (Mark 10:21). This look of Jesus will require breaking your heart away forever from allegiance to any other person or thing. Has Jesus ever looked in this way at you? This look of Jesus transforms, penetrates, and captivates. Where you are soft and pliable with God is where the Lord has looked at you. If you are hard and vindictive, insistent on having your own way, and always certain that the other person is more likely to be in the wrong than you are, then there are whole areas of your nature that have never been transformed by His gaze.
“One thing you lack . . . .” From Jesus Christ’s perspective, oneness with Him, with nothing between, is the only good thing.
“. . . sell whatever you have . . . .” I must humble myself until I am merely a living person. I must essentially renounce possessions of all kinds, not for salvation (for only one thing saves a person and that is absolute reliance in faith upon Jesus Christ), but to follow Jesus. “. . . come. . . and follow Me.” And the road is the way He went.
[去]的無條件認同
你還缺少一件，……你還要來跟從我。 （可十21）
那年輕富有的官有股追求完美的熱情，他一看見主耶穌，就像想他。主呼召門徒的時候，從不把個人的聖潔放在首位；他以自我主權的絕對降服，與他完全認同為先決條件－－這是一種不夾雜別的關係的關係。路加福音十四章26節與救恩成聖完全無關，這經文是論到與主無條件的認同。很少人真認識降服主的絕對一[去]不回。
[耶穌看著他就愛他。 ]被耶穌的目光觸及意味著永遠脫離其他任何人或物。他曾否看著你？主的目光改變人、抓住人。你向神特別柔順的時候，一定是曾經被主目光看過。你若剛硬堅持己意，自以為義，把過錯歸咎別人，就表示你天性中仍有大部分未經主目光的注視而改變。
[你還缺少一件……]在主看來，唯一[善美]之事，就是與他聯合，沒有別的事物在中間阻隔。變賣你所有的……]我必須放下自己，知道只剩下一個意識。我必須徹底捨棄一切，不是為靈魂得救（只有一件事可以救人－－就是絕對仰望耶穌基督），乃是為跟從耶穌。 [來跟從我。 ]這道路就是他當日所行的道路。
祈禱◆主啊，我完完全全地來到你面前。我感到自己全然地需要你，我只等候你向我說話，此外我還能向你說什麼呢？正如沙漠的沙粒靜臥在陽光之下，讓我也在你面前坦然躺下。
The rich young ruler had the controlling passion to be perfect. When he saw Jesus Christ, he wanted to be like Him. Our Lord never places anyone’s personal holiness above everything else when He calls a disciple. Jesus’ primary consideration is my absolute annihilation of my right to myself and my identification with Him, which means having a relationship with Him in which there are no other relationships. Luke 14:26 has nothing to do with salvation or sanctification, but deals solely with unconditional identification with Jesus Christ. Very few of us truly know what is meant by the absolute “go” of unconditional identification with, and abandonment and surrender to, Jesus.
“Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him . . .” (Mark 10:21). This look of Jesus will require breaking your heart away forever from allegiance to any other person or thing. Has Jesus ever looked in this way at you? This look of Jesus transforms, penetrates, and captivates. Where you are soft and pliable with God is where the Lord has looked at you. If you are hard and vindictive, insistent on having your own way, and always certain that the other person is more likely to be in the wrong than you are, then there are whole areas of your nature that have never been transformed by His gaze.
“One thing you lack . . . .” From Jesus Christ’s perspective, oneness with Him, with nothing between, is the only good thing.
“. . . sell whatever you have . . . .” I must humble myself until I am merely a living person. I must essentially renounce possessions of all kinds, not for salvation (for only one thing saves a person and that is absolute reliance in faith upon Jesus Christ), but to follow Jesus. “. . . come. . . and follow Me.” And the road is the way He went.
[去]的無條件認同
你還缺少一件，……你還要來跟從我。 （可十21）
那年輕富有的官有股追求完美的熱情，他一看見主耶穌，就像想他。主呼召門徒的時候，從不把個人的聖潔放在首位；他以自我主權的絕對降服，與他完全認同為先決條件－－這是一種不夾雜別的關係的關係。路加福音十四章26節與救恩成聖完全無關，這經文是論到與主無條件的認同。很少人真認識降服主的絕對一[去]不回。
[耶穌看著他就愛他。 ]被耶穌的目光觸及意味著永遠脫離其他任何人或物。他曾否看著你？主的目光改變人、抓住人。你向神特別柔順的時候，一定是曾經被主目光看過。你若剛硬堅持己意，自以為義，把過錯歸咎別人，就表示你天性中仍有大部分未經主目光的注視而改變。
[你還缺少一件……]在主看來，唯一[善美]之事，就是與他聯合，沒有別的事物在中間阻隔。變賣你所有的……]我必須放下自己，知道只剩下一個意識。我必須徹底捨棄一切，不是為靈魂得救（只有一件事可以救人－－就是絕對仰望耶穌基督），乃是為跟從耶穌。 [來跟從我。 ]這道路就是他當日所行的道路。
祈禱◆主啊，我完完全全地來到你面前。我感到自己全然地需要你，我只等候你向我說話，此外我還能向你說什麼呢？正如沙漠的沙粒靜臥在陽光之下，讓我也在你面前坦然躺下。
September 27, 2013
The “Go” of Renunciation
. . . someone said to Him, ’Lord, I will follow You wherever You go’ —Luke 9:57
Our Lord’s attitude toward this man was one of severe discouragement, “for He knew what was in man” (John 2:25). We would have said, “I can’t imagine why He lost the opportunity of winning that man! Imagine being so cold to him and turning him away so discouraged!” Never apologize for your Lord. The words of the Lord hurt and offend until there is nothing left to be hurt or offended. Jesus Christ had no tenderness whatsoever toward anything that was ultimately going to ruin a person in his service to God. Our Lord’s answers were not based on some whim or impulsive thought, but on the knowledge of “what was in man.” If the Spirit of God brings to your mind a word of the Lord that hurts you, you can be sure that there is something in you that He wants to hurt to the point of its death.
Luke 9:58 These words destroy the argument of serving Jesus Christ because it is a pleasant thing to do. And the strictness of the rejection that He demands of me allows for nothing to remain in my life but my Lord, myself, and a sense of desperate hope. He says that I must let everyone else come or go, and that I must be guided solely by my relationship to Him. And He says, “. . . the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Luke 9:59 This man did not want to disappoint Jesus, nor did he want to show a lack of respect for his father. We put our sense of loyalty to our relatives ahead of our loyalty to Jesus Christ, forcing Him to take last place. When your loyalties conflict, always obey Jesus Christ whatever the cost.
Luke 9:61 The person who says, “Lord, I will follow You, but . . .,” is the person who is intensely ready to go, but never goes. This man had reservations about going. The exacting call of Jesus has no room for good-byes; good-byes, as we often use them, are pagan, not Christian, because they divert us from the call. Once the call of God comes to you, start going and never stop.
[去]的放棄
你無論往那裡去，我要跟從你。 （路九57）
主叫這人極度的洩氣，他用這個態度是因為他知道人心。我們會說：[多可惜，失去了得著那個人的機會！ ][竟用北風把他凍結，叫他沮喪而回。 ]不必為你的主抱歉。主的話往往頂撞刺傷，知道無可再頂撞刺傷。主耶穌對那些至終摧毀人事奉神的東西，絕不憐惜呵護。主的回答不是順口而出，乃是根據他對人內心的認識而說。若神的靈叫你想起主一句刺傷你的話，那麼一定有什麼東西，是主想戳傷至死地的。
第58節這幾句話，對那為悅己心而事奉主的人是當頭棒喝。棄絕的要求是嚴峻的，最後只剩下我的主，我，和一個孤絕的盼望。 [讓那一百倍去或留，你的目標必須是我與你的關係，而我沒有枕頭的地方。 ]
第59節這人不想令耶穌失望，也不想傷父親的心。我們會把對家人敏感的忠誠，替代了對主耶穌的忠誠，主耶穌竟排在末位。在效忠的矛盾裡，必須不惜代價順服主。
第61節有人說：[主，我要跟從你，但……]這人準備齊全了，卻從不出發。他還有一兩項保留。主耶穌肯定的呼召是沒有話別的餘地，因為話別往往出於不信者，而非信徒。神的呼召一來，就要出發，不可止步。
祈禱◆我們感謝你，因為在你裡面沒有永別。我們向你祈求，願你的冠冕和印記臨到我們每個人，直至我們能面對面地見你。
Our Lord’s attitude toward this man was one of severe discouragement, “for He knew what was in man” (John 2:25). We would have said, “I can’t imagine why He lost the opportunity of winning that man! Imagine being so cold to him and turning him away so discouraged!” Never apologize for your Lord. The words of the Lord hurt and offend until there is nothing left to be hurt or offended. Jesus Christ had no tenderness whatsoever toward anything that was ultimately going to ruin a person in his service to God. Our Lord’s answers were not based on some whim or impulsive thought, but on the knowledge of “what was in man.” If the Spirit of God brings to your mind a word of the Lord that hurts you, you can be sure that there is something in you that He wants to hurt to the point of its death.
Luke 9:58 These words destroy the argument of serving Jesus Christ because it is a pleasant thing to do. And the strictness of the rejection that He demands of me allows for nothing to remain in my life but my Lord, myself, and a sense of desperate hope. He says that I must let everyone else come or go, and that I must be guided solely by my relationship to Him. And He says, “. . . the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Luke 9:59 This man did not want to disappoint Jesus, nor did he want to show a lack of respect for his father. We put our sense of loyalty to our relatives ahead of our loyalty to Jesus Christ, forcing Him to take last place. When your loyalties conflict, always obey Jesus Christ whatever the cost.
Luke 9:61 The person who says, “Lord, I will follow You, but . . .,” is the person who is intensely ready to go, but never goes. This man had reservations about going. The exacting call of Jesus has no room for good-byes; good-byes, as we often use them, are pagan, not Christian, because they divert us from the call. Once the call of God comes to you, start going and never stop.
[去]的放棄
你無論往那裡去，我要跟從你。 （路九57）
主叫這人極度的洩氣，他用這個態度是因為他知道人心。我們會說：[多可惜，失去了得著那個人的機會！ ][竟用北風把他凍結，叫他沮喪而回。 ]不必為你的主抱歉。主的話往往頂撞刺傷，知道無可再頂撞刺傷。主耶穌對那些至終摧毀人事奉神的東西，絕不憐惜呵護。主的回答不是順口而出，乃是根據他對人內心的認識而說。若神的靈叫你想起主一句刺傷你的話，那麼一定有什麼東西，是主想戳傷至死地的。
第58節這幾句話，對那為悅己心而事奉主的人是當頭棒喝。棄絕的要求是嚴峻的，最後只剩下我的主，我，和一個孤絕的盼望。 [讓那一百倍去或留，你的目標必須是我與你的關係，而我沒有枕頭的地方。 ]
第59節這人不想令耶穌失望，也不想傷父親的心。我們會把對家人敏感的忠誠，替代了對主耶穌的忠誠，主耶穌竟排在末位。在效忠的矛盾裡，必須不惜代價順服主。
第61節有人說：[主，我要跟從你，但……]這人準備齊全了，卻從不出發。他還有一兩項保留。主耶穌肯定的呼召是沒有話別的餘地，因為話別往往出於不信者，而非信徒。神的呼召一來，就要出發，不可止步。
祈禱◆我們感謝你，因為在你裡面沒有永別。我們向你祈求，願你的冠冕和印記臨到我們每個人，直至我們能面對面地見你。
September 26, 2013
The “Go” of Reconciliation
If you . . . remember that your brother has something against you . . . —Matthew 5:23
This verse says, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you . . . .” It is not saying, “If you search and find something because of your unbalanced sensitivity,” but, “If you . . . remember . . . .” In other words, if something is brought to your conscious mind by the Spirit of God— “First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:24). Never object to the intense sensitivity of the Spirit of God in you when He is instructing you down to the smallest detail.
“First be reconciled to your brother . . . .” Our Lord’s directive is simple— “First be reconciled . . . .” He says, in effect, “Go back the way you came— the way indicated to you by the conviction given to you at the altar; have an attitude in your mind and soul toward the person who has something against you that makes reconciliation as natural as breathing.” Jesus does not mention the other person— He says for you to go. It is not a matter of your rights. The true mark of the saint is that he can waive his own rights and obey the Lord Jesus.
“. . . and then come and offer your gift.” The process of reconciliation is clearly marked. First we have the heroic spirit of self-sacrifice, then the sudden restraint by the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit, and then we are stopped at the point of our conviction. This is followed by obedience to the Word of God, which builds an attitude or state of mind that places no blame on the one with whom you have been in the wrong. And finally there is the glad, simple, unhindered offering of your gift to God.
無可指摘的態度
若想起弟兄向你懷怨……（太五23）
當你來到祭壇前，想起弟兄向你懷怨，若這不是病態地、敏感地翻出來的事，而是[想起]，那就是說神的靈在提醒你，那麼就要[先去同弟兄和好，然後來獻禮物]。聖靈要徹底教導你的時候，千萬不要拒絕他在你裡面那種極度的敏感性。
[先去同弟兄和好……]主的吩咐是簡明的:[先和好。 ]從原路回去，依從祭壇所得的指示回去。對那向你懷怨的人，要有正確的態度，以致和解就像呼吸一樣自然。耶穌並沒有提到另外那個人，他只說－－你去。不必考慮自己的主權。聖徒的印記就是放棄自己的主權，順服主耶穌。
[然後來獻禮物。 ]過程很清楚。首先，是放下英雄氣概；然後被聖靈敏銳的查察，在服罪中停下來；接著向神的話順服，對那懷怨的，在心志與心性上，建立無可指摘的態度；最後是快樂的、單純的、無阻攔的向神獻上禮物。
祈禱◆[我們的主為大，最有能力；他的智慧無法測度。 ]所有能力和智慧肯定是屬於你，而我又肯定地渴望著你，並藉著你的恩典，叫你的道路能在我身上通行無阻。
This verse says, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you . . . .” It is not saying, “If you search and find something because of your unbalanced sensitivity,” but, “If you . . . remember . . . .” In other words, if something is brought to your conscious mind by the Spirit of God— “First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:24). Never object to the intense sensitivity of the Spirit of God in you when He is instructing you down to the smallest detail.
“First be reconciled to your brother . . . .” Our Lord’s directive is simple— “First be reconciled . . . .” He says, in effect, “Go back the way you came— the way indicated to you by the conviction given to you at the altar; have an attitude in your mind and soul toward the person who has something against you that makes reconciliation as natural as breathing.” Jesus does not mention the other person— He says for you to go. It is not a matter of your rights. The true mark of the saint is that he can waive his own rights and obey the Lord Jesus.
“. . . and then come and offer your gift.” The process of reconciliation is clearly marked. First we have the heroic spirit of self-sacrifice, then the sudden restraint by the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit, and then we are stopped at the point of our conviction. This is followed by obedience to the Word of God, which builds an attitude or state of mind that places no blame on the one with whom you have been in the wrong. And finally there is the glad, simple, unhindered offering of your gift to God.
無可指摘的態度
若想起弟兄向你懷怨……（太五23）
當你來到祭壇前，想起弟兄向你懷怨，若這不是病態地、敏感地翻出來的事，而是[想起]，那就是說神的靈在提醒你，那麼就要[先去同弟兄和好，然後來獻禮物]。聖靈要徹底教導你的時候，千萬不要拒絕他在你裡面那種極度的敏感性。
[先去同弟兄和好……]主的吩咐是簡明的:[先和好。 ]從原路回去，依從祭壇所得的指示回去。對那向你懷怨的人，要有正確的態度，以致和解就像呼吸一樣自然。耶穌並沒有提到另外那個人，他只說－－你去。不必考慮自己的主權。聖徒的印記就是放棄自己的主權，順服主耶穌。
[然後來獻禮物。 ]過程很清楚。首先，是放下英雄氣概；然後被聖靈敏銳的查察，在服罪中停下來；接著向神的話順服，對那懷怨的，在心志與心性上，建立無可指摘的態度；最後是快樂的、單純的、無阻攔的向神獻上禮物。
祈禱◆[我們的主為大，最有能力；他的智慧無法測度。 ]所有能力和智慧肯定是屬於你，而我又肯定地渴望著你，並藉著你的恩典，叫你的道路能在我身上通行無阻。
September 25, 2013
The “Go” of Relationship
Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two—Matthew 5:41
Our Lord’s teaching can be summed up in this: the relationship that He demands for us is an impossible one unless He has done a super-natural work in us. Jesus Christ demands that His disciple does not allow even the slightest trace of resentment in his heart when faced with tyranny and injustice. No amount of enthusiasm will ever stand up to the strain that Jesus Christ will put upon His servant. Only one thing will bear the strain, and that is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ Himself— a relationship that has been examined, purified, and tested until only one purpose remains and I can truly say, “I am here for God to send me where He will.” Everything else may become blurred, but this relationship with Jesus Christ must never be.
The Sermon on the Mount is not some unattainable goal; it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has changed my nature by putting His own nature in me. Jesus Christ is the only One who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount.
If we are to be disciples of Jesus, we must be made disciples supernaturally. And as long as we consciously maintain the determined purpose to be His disciples, we can be sure that we are not disciples. Jesus says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you. . .” (John 15:16). That is the way the grace of God begins. It is a constraint we can never escape; we can disobey it, but we can never start it or produce it ourselves. We are drawn to God by a work of His supernatural grace, and we can never trace back to find where the work began. Our Lord’s making of a disciple is supernatural. He does not build on any natural capacity of ours at all. God does not ask us to do the things that are naturally easy for us— He only asks us to do the things that we are perfectly fit to do through His grace, and that is where the cross we must bear will always come.
[去]的關係
有人強逼你走一里路，你就同他走二里。 （太五41）
除非主在我們身上行超然的工作，否則他所要求的那種是不可能的。主耶穌要求門徒在遇到暴虐不平時，不可有絲毫的怨恨，即使藏在內心也不可。無論怎樣的熱誠，也受不住主耶穌加在工人身上的考驗。只有一件事可以，就是與他有密切的關係，經歷過他潔淨的磨坊，以致只有一個心志留存－－[我在此任神差派往何方。 ]別的東西都可以消失，但與主的關係絕對不可。
登山寶訓不是一套理想。它說明了我內心要發生的事：就是當主改變我，把他自己的性情放在我裡面時所要成就的光景。只有耶穌基督才能達成登山寶訓。我們若要做主的門徒，就必須循超然的途徑；若死持作門徒的存心，就必不能作門徒。 [我揀選了你們。 ]這是神恩典的開始。這個催迫是我們無法逃避的，我們可以不聽命，但我們斷不能產生這個催迫。神超然的恩典是圖畫的主筆，我們無法追溯他工作的起源。他塑造門徒的工作是超然的，並不建基於天然的力量。神不會叫我們做人力容易達成的事，他只叫我們做那些憑恩典才能應付裕如的事，而十字架往往就循這個途徑而來。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著那環繞我，是我猶如在天堂的聖徒祈禱，我讚美你。為著那透過你的救贖而臨到我的無言恩典，我稱頌你。
Our Lord’s teaching can be summed up in this: the relationship that He demands for us is an impossible one unless He has done a super-natural work in us. Jesus Christ demands that His disciple does not allow even the slightest trace of resentment in his heart when faced with tyranny and injustice. No amount of enthusiasm will ever stand up to the strain that Jesus Christ will put upon His servant. Only one thing will bear the strain, and that is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ Himself— a relationship that has been examined, purified, and tested until only one purpose remains and I can truly say, “I am here for God to send me where He will.” Everything else may become blurred, but this relationship with Jesus Christ must never be.
The Sermon on the Mount is not some unattainable goal; it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has changed my nature by putting His own nature in me. Jesus Christ is the only One who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount.
If we are to be disciples of Jesus, we must be made disciples supernaturally. And as long as we consciously maintain the determined purpose to be His disciples, we can be sure that we are not disciples. Jesus says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you. . .” (John 15:16). That is the way the grace of God begins. It is a constraint we can never escape; we can disobey it, but we can never start it or produce it ourselves. We are drawn to God by a work of His supernatural grace, and we can never trace back to find where the work began. Our Lord’s making of a disciple is supernatural. He does not build on any natural capacity of ours at all. God does not ask us to do the things that are naturally easy for us— He only asks us to do the things that we are perfectly fit to do through His grace, and that is where the cross we must bear will always come.
[去]的關係
有人強逼你走一里路，你就同他走二里。 （太五41）
除非主在我們身上行超然的工作，否則他所要求的那種是不可能的。主耶穌要求門徒在遇到暴虐不平時，不可有絲毫的怨恨，即使藏在內心也不可。無論怎樣的熱誠，也受不住主耶穌加在工人身上的考驗。只有一件事可以，就是與他有密切的關係，經歷過他潔淨的磨坊，以致只有一個心志留存－－[我在此任神差派往何方。 ]別的東西都可以消失，但與主的關係絕對不可。
登山寶訓不是一套理想。它說明了我內心要發生的事：就是當主改變我，把他自己的性情放在我裡面時所要成就的光景。只有耶穌基督才能達成登山寶訓。我們若要做主的門徒，就必須循超然的途徑；若死持作門徒的存心，就必不能作門徒。 [我揀選了你們。 ]這是神恩典的開始。這個催迫是我們無法逃避的，我們可以不聽命，但我們斷不能產生這個催迫。神超然的恩典是圖畫的主筆，我們無法追溯他工作的起源。他塑造門徒的工作是超然的，並不建基於天然的力量。神不會叫我們做人力容易達成的事，他只叫我們做那些憑恩典才能應付裕如的事，而十字架往往就循這個途徑而來。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著那環繞我，是我猶如在天堂的聖徒祈禱，我讚美你。為著那透過你的救贖而臨到我的無言恩典，我稱頌你。
September 24, 2013
The “Go” of Preparation
If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift—Matthew 5:23-24
It is easy for us to imagine that we will suddenly come to a point in our lives where we are fully prepared, but preparation is not suddenly accomplished. In fact, it is a process that must be steadily maintained. It is dangerous to become settled and complacent in our present level of experience. The Christian life requires preparation and more preparation.
The sense of sacrifice in the Christian life is readily appealing to a new Christian. From a human standpoint, the one thing that attracts us to Jesus Christ is our sense of the heroic, and a close examination of us by our Lord’s words suddenly puts this tide of enthusiasm to the test. “. . . go your way. First be reconciled to your brother. . . .” The “go” of preparation is to allow the Word of God to examine you closely. Your sense of heroic sacrifice is not good enough. The thing the Holy Spirit will detect in you is your nature that can never work in His service. And no one but God can detect that nature in you. Do you have anything to hide from God? If you do, then let God search you with His light. If there is sin in your life, don’t just admit it— confess it. Are you willing to obey your Lord and Master, whatever the humiliation to your right to yourself may be?
Never disregard a conviction that the Holy Spirit brings to you. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to bring it to your mind, it is the very thing He is detecting in you. You were looking for some big thing to give up, while God is telling you of some tiny thing that must go. But behind that tiny thing lies the stronghold of obstinacy, and you say, “I will not give up my right to myself”— the very thing that God intends you to give up if you are to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
[去]的準備
所以你在祭壇上獻禮物的時候，若想起弟兄向你懷怨，就把禮物留在壇前，先去同弟兄和好，然後來獻禮物。 （太五23-24）
我們很容易幻想自己會達到一個完全準備妥當的地步，但其實準備功夫不是突然間可以作成，準備乃是一個不斷持續的過程。陷進固有的經歷中，是一種危險。我們要準備加上準備。 [犧牲精神]對青年信徒來說，是很具吸引力。按人性論，唯一吸引我們向主耶穌的，就是那英雄氣概。可是在主話的細察下，這熱潮要受到考驗。主說：[先去同弟兄和好。 ][去]的準備，是先讓神的話查驗。單有英雄氣概是不夠的。聖靈要在你身上查處不合用於事奉的意向。這意向，除了神以外，沒有人能查察出來。你有什麼東西要向神隱藏？若有，就讓神用他的光來搜查。若有罪，就要認罪，不要單單承認。不管是怎樣卑躬，你願意順服主麼？
千萬不可不顧良心的譴責。若神的靈叫你想起那事，那事就是重要的，是他所要查察的。你以往不斷要找些大的事來放棄，神卻要你註一些小事。因為在這小事的背後，正藏著頑梗的大本營：[我不肯放棄自己的主權。 ]若要作耶穌基督的門徒，神要你放棄的正是你的主權。
祈禱◆主啊，讓今天充滿了對你的讚美。願你使我脫離各式各樣的煩擾。為著我的思想能專注於你，我讚美你，但我仍渴望你的美善臨到我身上。
It is easy for us to imagine that we will suddenly come to a point in our lives where we are fully prepared, but preparation is not suddenly accomplished. In fact, it is a process that must be steadily maintained. It is dangerous to become settled and complacent in our present level of experience. The Christian life requires preparation and more preparation.
The sense of sacrifice in the Christian life is readily appealing to a new Christian. From a human standpoint, the one thing that attracts us to Jesus Christ is our sense of the heroic, and a close examination of us by our Lord’s words suddenly puts this tide of enthusiasm to the test. “. . . go your way. First be reconciled to your brother. . . .” The “go” of preparation is to allow the Word of God to examine you closely. Your sense of heroic sacrifice is not good enough. The thing the Holy Spirit will detect in you is your nature that can never work in His service. And no one but God can detect that nature in you. Do you have anything to hide from God? If you do, then let God search you with His light. If there is sin in your life, don’t just admit it— confess it. Are you willing to obey your Lord and Master, whatever the humiliation to your right to yourself may be?
Never disregard a conviction that the Holy Spirit brings to you. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to bring it to your mind, it is the very thing He is detecting in you. You were looking for some big thing to give up, while God is telling you of some tiny thing that must go. But behind that tiny thing lies the stronghold of obstinacy, and you say, “I will not give up my right to myself”— the very thing that God intends you to give up if you are to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
[去]的準備
所以你在祭壇上獻禮物的時候，若想起弟兄向你懷怨，就把禮物留在壇前，先去同弟兄和好，然後來獻禮物。 （太五23-24）
我們很容易幻想自己會達到一個完全準備妥當的地步，但其實準備功夫不是突然間可以作成，準備乃是一個不斷持續的過程。陷進固有的經歷中，是一種危險。我們要準備加上準備。 [犧牲精神]對青年信徒來說，是很具吸引力。按人性論，唯一吸引我們向主耶穌的，就是那英雄氣概。可是在主話的細察下，這熱潮要受到考驗。主說：[先去同弟兄和好。 ][去]的準備，是先讓神的話查驗。單有英雄氣概是不夠的。聖靈要在你身上查處不合用於事奉的意向。這意向，除了神以外，沒有人能查察出來。你有什麼東西要向神隱藏？若有，就讓神用他的光來搜查。若有罪，就要認罪，不要單單承認。不管是怎樣卑躬，你願意順服主麼？
千萬不可不顧良心的譴責。若神的靈叫你想起那事，那事就是重要的，是他所要查察的。你以往不斷要找些大的事來放棄，神卻要你註一些小事。因為在這小事的背後，正藏著頑梗的大本營：[我不肯放棄自己的主權。 ]若要作耶穌基督的門徒，神要你放棄的正是你的主權。
祈禱◆主啊，讓今天充滿了對你的讚美。願你使我脫離各式各樣的煩擾。為著我的思想能專注於你，我讚美你，但我仍渴望你的美善臨到我身上。
September 23, 2013
The Missionary’s Goal
He . . . said to them, ’Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem . . . ’ —Luke 18:31
In our natural life our ambitions change as we grow, but in the Christian life the goal is given at the very beginning, and the beginning and the end are exactly the same, namely, our Lord Himself. We start with Christ and we end with Him—”. . . till we all come . . . to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ . . .” (Ephesians 4:13), not simply to our own idea of what the Christian life should be. The goal of the missionary is to do God’s will, not to be useful or to win the lost. A missionary is useful and he does win the lost, but that is not his goal. His goal is to do the will of his Lord.
In our Lord’s life, Jerusalem was the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will upon the cross, and unless we go there with Jesus we will have no friendship or fellowship with Him. Nothing ever diverted our Lord on His way to Jerusalem. He never hurried through certain villages where He was persecuted, or lingered in others where He was blessed. Neither gratitude nor ingratitude turned our Lord even the slightest degree away from His purpose to go “up to Jerusalem.”
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master” (Matthew 10:24). In other words, the same things that happened to our Lord will happen to us on our way to our “Jerusalem.” There will be works of God exhibited through us, people will get blessed, and one or two will show gratitude while the rest will show total ingratitude, but nothing must divert us from going “up to [our] Jerusalem.”
“. . . there they crucified Him . . .” (Luke 23:33). That is what happened when our Lord reached Jerusalem, and that event is the doorway to our salvation. The saints, however, do not end in crucifixion; by the Lord’s grace they end in glory. In the meantime our watchword should be summed up by each of us saying, “I too go ’up to Jerusalem.’ “
傳道者的目標
看哪，我們上耶路撒冷去。 （路十八31）
在天然生命中，我們會按著發展而改變自己的野心。可是在信徒生命中，目標一開始就擺明出來，而這目標是始終如一的：主自己。我們始於基督，也終於基督－－[直等到我們……長大成人，滿有基督長成的身量。 ]我們並不是依自己認為的理想信徒生命而行。傳道人的目標是要行神的旨意，不是要大得使用，不是要贏得許多不信的人。他當然要合用，也當然要贏多人信主，但那不是他的目標。他的目標是遵行神的旨意。
在主的一生中，耶路撒冷是他在十架上成就天父旨意的頂峰。我們若未與他同往，就並未與他同行。主上耶路撒冷的路上，沒有什麼事物可以叫他灰心。在備受攻擊的村鎮，他沒匆匆避過；在大受擁戴的地方，他也不會流連不去。不管人對他感恩或是忘恩，總不能叫他走向耶路撒冷的心意改變一丁點兒。
[僕人不能高過主人。 ]在往耶路撒冷的路上，我們也要遭遇同樣的事。神的工作會透過我們彰顯，有人得著祝福，一兩個人會表示感激，其他的人可能會忘恩負義。可是，不要讓任何事物使我們偏離上耶路撒冷的路。
[他們在那裡釘他十字架。 ]這就是主到耶路撒冷所遭遇的，而這卻開啟我們得救的門。聖徒的終局不是釘十字架；憑神的恩典，他們的終局是榮耀的。在這當兒，我們口號是：也上耶路撒冷去。
祈禱◆主啊，我能夠認識你是何等美好；我何其需要靠近你。當你成為我的生命時，我怎能顫抖！
In our natural life our ambitions change as we grow, but in the Christian life the goal is given at the very beginning, and the beginning and the end are exactly the same, namely, our Lord Himself. We start with Christ and we end with Him—”. . . till we all come . . . to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ . . .” (Ephesians 4:13), not simply to our own idea of what the Christian life should be. The goal of the missionary is to do God’s will, not to be useful or to win the lost. A missionary is useful and he does win the lost, but that is not his goal. His goal is to do the will of his Lord.
In our Lord’s life, Jerusalem was the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will upon the cross, and unless we go there with Jesus we will have no friendship or fellowship with Him. Nothing ever diverted our Lord on His way to Jerusalem. He never hurried through certain villages where He was persecuted, or lingered in others where He was blessed. Neither gratitude nor ingratitude turned our Lord even the slightest degree away from His purpose to go “up to Jerusalem.”
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master” (Matthew 10:24). In other words, the same things that happened to our Lord will happen to us on our way to our “Jerusalem.” There will be works of God exhibited through us, people will get blessed, and one or two will show gratitude while the rest will show total ingratitude, but nothing must divert us from going “up to [our] Jerusalem.”
“. . . there they crucified Him . . .” (Luke 23:33). That is what happened when our Lord reached Jerusalem, and that event is the doorway to our salvation. The saints, however, do not end in crucifixion; by the Lord’s grace they end in glory. In the meantime our watchword should be summed up by each of us saying, “I too go ’up to Jerusalem.’ “
傳道者的目標
看哪，我們上耶路撒冷去。 （路十八31）
在天然生命中，我們會按著發展而改變自己的野心。可是在信徒生命中，目標一開始就擺明出來，而這目標是始終如一的：主自己。我們始於基督，也終於基督－－[直等到我們……長大成人，滿有基督長成的身量。 ]我們並不是依自己認為的理想信徒生命而行。傳道人的目標是要行神的旨意，不是要大得使用，不是要贏得許多不信的人。他當然要合用，也當然要贏多人信主，但那不是他的目標。他的目標是遵行神的旨意。
在主的一生中，耶路撒冷是他在十架上成就天父旨意的頂峰。我們若未與他同往，就並未與他同行。主上耶路撒冷的路上，沒有什麼事物可以叫他灰心。在備受攻擊的村鎮，他沒匆匆避過；在大受擁戴的地方，他也不會流連不去。不管人對他感恩或是忘恩，總不能叫他走向耶路撒冷的心意改變一丁點兒。
[僕人不能高過主人。 ]在往耶路撒冷的路上，我們也要遭遇同樣的事。神的工作會透過我們彰顯，有人得著祝福，一兩個人會表示感激，其他的人可能會忘恩負義。可是，不要讓任何事物使我們偏離上耶路撒冷的路。
[他們在那裡釘他十字架。 ]這就是主到耶路撒冷所遭遇的，而這卻開啟我們得救的門。聖徒的終局不是釘十字架；憑神的恩典，他們的終局是榮耀的。在這當兒，我們口號是：也上耶路撒冷去。
祈禱◆主啊，我能夠認識你是何等美好；我何其需要靠近你。當你成為我的生命時，我怎能顫抖！
September 22, 2013
The Missionary’s Master and Teacher
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am . . . . I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master . . .—John 13:13, 16
To have a master and teacher is not the same thing as being mastered and taught. Having a master and teacher means that there is someone who knows me better than I know myself, who is closer than a friend, and who understands the remotest depths of my heart and is able to satisfy them fully. It means having someone who has made me secure in the knowledge that he has met and solved all the doubts, uncertainties, and problems in my mind. To have a master and teacher is this and nothing less— “. . . for One is your Teacher, the Christ . . .” (Matthew 23:8).
Our Lord never takes measures to make me do what He wants. Sometimes I wish God would master and control me to make me do what He wants, but He will not. And at other times I wish He would leave me alone, and He does not.
“You call Me Teacher and Lord . . .”— but is He? Teacher, Master, and Lord have little place in our vocabulary. We prefer the words Savior, Sanctifier, and Healer. The only word that truly describes the experience of being mastered is love, and we know little about love as God reveals it in His Word. The way we use the word obey is proof of this. In the Bible, obedience is based on a relationship between equals; for example, that of a son with his father. Our Lord was not simply God’s servant— He was His Son. “. . . though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience. . .” (Hebrews 5:8). If we are consciously aware that we are being mastered, that idea itself is proof that we have no master. If that is our attitude toward Jesus, we are far away from having the relationship He wants with us. He wants us in a relationship where He is so easily our Master and Teacher that we have no conscious awareness of it—a relationship where all we know is that we are His to obey.
傳道者的主人
你們稱呼我夫子，稱呼我主，你們說的不錯，我本來是。 （約十三13）
有一位主人與被人驅使，是兩回事。有一位主人，就是有一位元比我更認識我的人；他比朋友更親密；他深入我內心的深處，叫我滿足；他解決我心思裡一切的困惑與疑難，叫我安穩。這就是主人的意思，不折不扣－－只有一位是我們的主人，就是基督。
主從不勉強人順服，也不會設計使我們做他要我做的。有時我寧願神管制我，迫我做某些事，可是他不會這樣；有時我又希望他不要管我，但他也不會這樣。 [你們稱呼我夫子，稱呼我主]－－他果真是麼？夫子和主，在我們的字彙中很少出現；我們喜歡用救主、使人成聖者、醫治者等字眼。唯一可以描寫有一位主人這經歷的字眼，就是愛，而我們對神所啟示的愛，認識又那麼少。這在我們對[順服]一詞的運用上，就可以看出來。在聖經中，順服是根據平等關係而言，就是兒子與父親的關係。我們的主並不是神的僕人，他是神的兒子。 [他雖然為兒子，還是……學了順服。 ]若我們以為是被轄管，這就是我們並未有主人的明證；這種對耶穌的態度，與他所想望的關係相距實在太遠。他要我們與他的關係，應該是自然地以他為主人，只知道我們屬他，聽他的話。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我懷著靈性上極之枯乾和貧乏的感覺，來到你面前；噢，主啊，為著你的名，求你激發我。我不會在你面前悲嘆，卻會被你的靈所充滿。
To have a master and teacher is not the same thing as being mastered and taught. Having a master and teacher means that there is someone who knows me better than I know myself, who is closer than a friend, and who understands the remotest depths of my heart and is able to satisfy them fully. It means having someone who has made me secure in the knowledge that he has met and solved all the doubts, uncertainties, and problems in my mind. To have a master and teacher is this and nothing less— “. . . for One is your Teacher, the Christ . . .” (Matthew 23:8).
Our Lord never takes measures to make me do what He wants. Sometimes I wish God would master and control me to make me do what He wants, but He will not. And at other times I wish He would leave me alone, and He does not.
“You call Me Teacher and Lord . . .”— but is He? Teacher, Master, and Lord have little place in our vocabulary. We prefer the words Savior, Sanctifier, and Healer. The only word that truly describes the experience of being mastered is love, and we know little about love as God reveals it in His Word. The way we use the word obey is proof of this. In the Bible, obedience is based on a relationship between equals; for example, that of a son with his father. Our Lord was not simply God’s servant— He was His Son. “. . . though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience. . .” (Hebrews 5:8). If we are consciously aware that we are being mastered, that idea itself is proof that we have no master. If that is our attitude toward Jesus, we are far away from having the relationship He wants with us. He wants us in a relationship where He is so easily our Master and Teacher that we have no conscious awareness of it—a relationship where all we know is that we are His to obey.
傳道者的主人
你們稱呼我夫子，稱呼我主，你們說的不錯，我本來是。 （約十三13）
有一位主人與被人驅使，是兩回事。有一位主人，就是有一位元比我更認識我的人；他比朋友更親密；他深入我內心的深處，叫我滿足；他解決我心思裡一切的困惑與疑難，叫我安穩。這就是主人的意思，不折不扣－－只有一位是我們的主人，就是基督。
主從不勉強人順服，也不會設計使我們做他要我做的。有時我寧願神管制我，迫我做某些事，可是他不會這樣；有時我又希望他不要管我，但他也不會這樣。 [你們稱呼我夫子，稱呼我主]－－他果真是麼？夫子和主，在我們的字彙中很少出現；我們喜歡用救主、使人成聖者、醫治者等字眼。唯一可以描寫有一位主人這經歷的字眼，就是愛，而我們對神所啟示的愛，認識又那麼少。這在我們對[順服]一詞的運用上，就可以看出來。在聖經中，順服是根據平等關係而言，就是兒子與父親的關係。我們的主並不是神的僕人，他是神的兒子。 [他雖然為兒子，還是……學了順服。 ]若我們以為是被轄管，這就是我們並未有主人的明證；這種對耶穌的態度，與他所想望的關係相距實在太遠。他要我們與他的關係，應該是自然地以他為主人，只知道我們屬他，聽他的話。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我懷著靈性上極之枯乾和貧乏的感覺，來到你面前；噢，主啊，為著你的名，求你激發我。我不會在你面前悲嘆，卻會被你的靈所充滿。
September 21, 2013
The Missionary’s Predestined Purpose
Now the Lord says, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant . . . —Isaiah 49:5
The first thing that happens after we recognize our election by God in Christ Jesus is the destruction of our preconceived ideas, our narrow-minded thinking, and all of our other allegiances— we are turned solely into servants of God’s own purpose. The entire human race was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Sin has diverted the human race onto another course, but it has not altered God’s purpose to the slightest degree. And when we are born again we are brought into the realization of God’s great purpose for the human race, namely, that He created us for Himself. This realization of our election by God is the most joyful on earth, and we must learn to rely on this tremendous creative purpose of God. The first thing God will do is force the interests of the whole world through the channel of our hearts. The love of God, and even His very nature, is introduced into us. And we see the nature of Almighty God purely focused in
John 3:16
— “For God so loved the world. . . ”
We must continually keep our soul open to the fact of God’s creative purpose, and never confuse or cloud it with our own intentions. If we do, God will have to force our intentions aside no matter how much it may hurt. A missionary is created for the purpose of being God’s servant, one in whom God is glorified. Once we realize that it is through the salvation of Jesus Christ that we are made perfectly fit for the purpose of God, we will understand why Jesus Christ is so strict and relentless in His demands. He demands absolute righteousness from His servants, because He has put into them the very nature of God.
Beware lest you forget God’s purpose for your life
傳道者的預選
耶和華從我出胎造就我作他的僕人。 （賽四十九5）
我們一清楚在耶穌基督裡被神選召，第一件發生的事就是偏見、狹隘的思想、愛國主義的破滅，變成神的僕人，為完成他的計劃。整個人類原是為榮耀神，永遠享受神而被造的。罪惡把人類帶入歧途，但卻不能改變神原意的一絲一毫。我們重生得救時，就立時進入神對人類偉大的用心裡去；我是為神而被造的，神創造了我。明白神的選召，是世上最快樂不過的體會，我們必須信賴神偉大的創造計劃。神要作在我們身上的第一件事，就是要把對世界的關注，灌注到一顆心的通道裡去。他把愛，就是自己的本性，引進我們裡面，而全能神的本性，就集中在約翰福音三章16節：[神愛世人……].
我們要保持心靈向神創造的本意敞開，不要把自己的意念攙雜在裡面。若非如此，不管我們多痛苦，神也要把我們的意圖壓碎。傳道者的任務，就是作神的僕人，讓神得著榮耀。若我們明白在主的救恩里，成為完全適合神用的人，就明白主耶穌的要求何以這樣決絕。他要求他的僕人絕對的正直，因為他已把自己的本性放在他們裡面。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著我所負責的這些人，我懇求你帶領我與你的計劃活潑相連。為著今天所擁有的一切機會，求你重新膏立我。讓我看見你救恩的作為。
The first thing that happens after we recognize our election by God in Christ Jesus is the destruction of our preconceived ideas, our narrow-minded thinking, and all of our other allegiances— we are turned solely into servants of God’s own purpose. The entire human race was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Sin has diverted the human race onto another course, but it has not altered God’s purpose to the slightest degree. And when we are born again we are brought into the realization of God’s great purpose for the human race, namely, that He created us for Himself. This realization of our election by God is the most joyful on earth, and we must learn to rely on this tremendous creative purpose of God. The first thing God will do is force the interests of the whole world through the channel of our hearts. The love of God, and even His very nature, is introduced into us. And we see the nature of Almighty God purely focused in
John 3:16
— “For God so loved the world. . . ”
We must continually keep our soul open to the fact of God’s creative purpose, and never confuse or cloud it with our own intentions. If we do, God will have to force our intentions aside no matter how much it may hurt. A missionary is created for the purpose of being God’s servant, one in whom God is glorified. Once we realize that it is through the salvation of Jesus Christ that we are made perfectly fit for the purpose of God, we will understand why Jesus Christ is so strict and relentless in His demands. He demands absolute righteousness from His servants, because He has put into them the very nature of God.
Beware lest you forget God’s purpose for your life
傳道者的預選
耶和華從我出胎造就我作他的僕人。 （賽四十九5）
我們一清楚在耶穌基督裡被神選召，第一件發生的事就是偏見、狹隘的思想、愛國主義的破滅，變成神的僕人，為完成他的計劃。整個人類原是為榮耀神，永遠享受神而被造的。罪惡把人類帶入歧途，但卻不能改變神原意的一絲一毫。我們重生得救時，就立時進入神對人類偉大的用心裡去；我是為神而被造的，神創造了我。明白神的選召，是世上最快樂不過的體會，我們必須信賴神偉大的創造計劃。神要作在我們身上的第一件事，就是要把對世界的關注，灌注到一顆心的通道裡去。他把愛，就是自己的本性，引進我們裡面，而全能神的本性，就集中在約翰福音三章16節：[神愛世人……].
我們要保持心靈向神創造的本意敞開，不要把自己的意念攙雜在裡面。若非如此，不管我們多痛苦，神也要把我們的意圖壓碎。傳道者的任務，就是作神的僕人，讓神得著榮耀。若我們明白在主的救恩里，成為完全適合神用的人，就明白主耶穌的要求何以這樣決絕。他要求他的僕人絕對的正直，因為他已把自己的本性放在他們裡面。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著我所負責的這些人，我懇求你帶領我與你的計劃活潑相連。為著今天所擁有的一切機會，求你重新膏立我。讓我看見你救恩的作為。
September 20, 2013
The Divine Commandment of Life
. . . be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect —Matthew 5:48
Our Lord’s exhortation to us in Matthew 5:38-48 is to be generous in our behavior toward everyone. Beware of living according to your natural affections in your spiritual life. Everyone has natural affections— some people we like and others we don’t like. Yet we must never let those likes and dislikes rule our Christian life. “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (1 John 1:7), even those toward whom we have no affection.
The example our Lord gave us here is not that of a good person, or even of a good Christian, but of God Himself. “. . . be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” In other words, simply show to the other person what God has shown to you. And God will give you plenty of real life opportunities to prove whether or not you are “perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Being a disciple means deliberately identifying yourself with God’s interests in other people. Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
The true expression of Christian character is not in good-doing, but in God-likeness. If the Spirit of God has transformed you within, you will exhibit divine characteristics in your life, not just good human characteristics. God’s life in us expresses itself as God’s life, not as human life trying to be godly. The secret of a Christian’s life is that the supernatural becomes natural in him as a result of the grace of God, and the experience of this becomes evident in the practical, everyday details of life, not in times of intimate fellowship with God. And when we come in contact with things that create confusion and a flurry of activity, we find to our own amazement that we have the power to stay wonderfully poised even in the center of it all.
生命的神聖定律
所以你們要完全，像你們的天父完全一樣。 （太五48）
在這經文中，主勸勉我們對所有人都要寬大慷慨。在屬靈的生活中。當心依從人性的喜好行事。人人都有天然的喜好，我們喜歡某些人，不喜歡某些人。切勿讓這些喜好操縱我們基督徒的生命。 [我們若在光明中行，如同神在光中]，神可以使我們與天性不喜歡的人相交。
主給我們的榜樣不是一個好人，也不是一個好的基督徒，乃是神自己。 [所以你們要完全，像你們的天父完全一樣。 ]－－向人表彰神向你表彰的；神在實際生活上會給我們足夠的機會，去證明我們是否像他一樣完全。作門徒，就是立志要愛神所關注的人。 [叫你們彼此相愛，我怎樣愛你們，你們也要怎樣相愛。 ]
信徒品德的表現不在於善行，乃在於像神。若神的靈已改變你的內心，你生命所表現的是屬天的特性，而不是好人的特性。神的生命在我們裡面，表現的就是神的生命，不是力求敬虔的人的生命。信徒的秘訣，就是藉神的恩典，使超然的在他裡面成為自然，這種經歷並非在與神相交的時刻中表現，而是在日常生活的細節中實行。當我們碰到叫人頭昏腦脹的事，便會稀奇自己竟有能力保持平靜安穩。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，當今天這個屬你的日子正要展開，願你在一切事情上，成為我們獨特的珍寶。願你的靈充滿我們，以致我們各人都被那甜蜜、愜意的屬靈能力所改變。
Our Lord’s exhortation to us in Matthew 5:38-48 is to be generous in our behavior toward everyone. Beware of living according to your natural affections in your spiritual life. Everyone has natural affections— some people we like and others we don’t like. Yet we must never let those likes and dislikes rule our Christian life. “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (1 John 1:7), even those toward whom we have no affection.
The example our Lord gave us here is not that of a good person, or even of a good Christian, but of God Himself. “. . . be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” In other words, simply show to the other person what God has shown to you. And God will give you plenty of real life opportunities to prove whether or not you are “perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Being a disciple means deliberately identifying yourself with God’s interests in other people. Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
The true expression of Christian character is not in good-doing, but in God-likeness. If the Spirit of God has transformed you within, you will exhibit divine characteristics in your life, not just good human characteristics. God’s life in us expresses itself as God’s life, not as human life trying to be godly. The secret of a Christian’s life is that the supernatural becomes natural in him as a result of the grace of God, and the experience of this becomes evident in the practical, everyday details of life, not in times of intimate fellowship with God. And when we come in contact with things that create confusion and a flurry of activity, we find to our own amazement that we have the power to stay wonderfully poised even in the center of it all.
生命的神聖定律
所以你們要完全，像你們的天父完全一樣。 （太五48）
在這經文中，主勸勉我們對所有人都要寬大慷慨。在屬靈的生活中。當心依從人性的喜好行事。人人都有天然的喜好，我們喜歡某些人，不喜歡某些人。切勿讓這些喜好操縱我們基督徒的生命。 [我們若在光明中行，如同神在光中]，神可以使我們與天性不喜歡的人相交。
主給我們的榜樣不是一個好人，也不是一個好的基督徒，乃是神自己。 [所以你們要完全，像你們的天父完全一樣。 ]－－向人表彰神向你表彰的；神在實際生活上會給我們足夠的機會，去證明我們是否像他一樣完全。作門徒，就是立志要愛神所關注的人。 [叫你們彼此相愛，我怎樣愛你們，你們也要怎樣相愛。 ]
信徒品德的表現不在於善行，乃在於像神。若神的靈已改變你的內心，你生命所表現的是屬天的特性，而不是好人的特性。神的生命在我們裡面，表現的就是神的生命，不是力求敬虔的人的生命。信徒的秘訣，就是藉神的恩典，使超然的在他裡面成為自然，這種經歷並非在與神相交的時刻中表現，而是在日常生活的細節中實行。當我們碰到叫人頭昏腦脹的事，便會稀奇自己竟有能力保持平靜安穩。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，當今天這個屬你的日子正要展開，願你在一切事情上，成為我們獨特的珍寶。願你的靈充滿我們，以致我們各人都被那甜蜜、愜意的屬靈能力所改變。
September 19, 2013
Are You Going on With Jesus?
You are those who have continued with Me in My trials —Luke 22:28
It is true that Jesus Christ is with us through our temptations, but are we going on with Him through His temptations? Many of us turn back from going on with Jesus from the very moment we have an experience of what He can do. Watch when God changes your circumstances to see whether you are going on with Jesus, or siding with the world, the flesh, and the devil. We wear His name, but are we going on with Him? “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66).
The temptations of Jesus continued throughout His earthly life, and they will continue throughout the life of the Son of God in us. Are we going on with Jesus in the life we are living right now?
We have the idea that we ought to shield ourselves from some of the things God brings around us. May it never be! It is God who engineers our circumstances, and whatever they may be we must see that we face them while continually abiding with Him in His temptations. They are His temptations, not temptations to us, but temptations to the life of the Son of God in us. Jesus Christ’s honor is at stake in our bodily lives. Are we remaining faithful to the Son of God in everything that attacks His life in us?
Are you going on with Jesus? The way goes through Gethsemane, through the city gate, and on “outside the camp” (Hebrews 13:13). The way is lonely and goes on until there is no longer even a trace of a footprint to follow— but only the voice saying, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19)
你繼續與主同行麼？
我在磨煉之中，常和我同在的就是你們。 （路二十二28）
我們受試探的時候，主耶穌與我們同在，這是不錯的。可是，他受試探時我們與他同行麼？不少人一經驗到主為我們成就什麼之後，就不再與他往前行了。注意神把你的環境轉移，看你是否仍與主耶穌同行，還是與世界為友，隨從肉體與魔鬼。我們佩戴著他的徽號，可是有沒有與他同行？ [從此他門徒中多有退去的，不再和他同行。 ]耶穌在一生中不斷受到試探；那末，神兒子在我們裡面的生命，也會不斷受試探。我們現在的生活是否與耶穌同行？
我們會有保護自己的念頭，以為應該躲避一些神安排在我們周圍的東西。千萬不可！神所安排的際遇，不管是什麼，我們都必鬚麵對；同時在他的試探裡，要與他不斷同行。那些試探不是對我們而發，乃是對他，對我們裡面神的兒子而發的。耶穌基督的尊榮，係於我們這肉身上，我們是否持守對神兒子的忠貞？
你不斷與主同行麼？這條路要經過客西馬尼園、城門口，直到營外；這道路孤單寂寞，你不會再看見任何足跡，只剩下一個聲音說：[跟從我。 ]
祈禱◆主啊，為著這個清晨，我能享有與你相交這個珍貴權利，我讚美你；願你今天在我裡面動工，以致我可以[立志行事……為要成就你的美意]。
It is true that Jesus Christ is with us through our temptations, but are we going on with Him through His temptations? Many of us turn back from going on with Jesus from the very moment we have an experience of what He can do. Watch when God changes your circumstances to see whether you are going on with Jesus, or siding with the world, the flesh, and the devil. We wear His name, but are we going on with Him? “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66).
The temptations of Jesus continued throughout His earthly life, and they will continue throughout the life of the Son of God in us. Are we going on with Jesus in the life we are living right now?
We have the idea that we ought to shield ourselves from some of the things God brings around us. May it never be! It is God who engineers our circumstances, and whatever they may be we must see that we face them while continually abiding with Him in His temptations. They are His temptations, not temptations to us, but temptations to the life of the Son of God in us. Jesus Christ’s honor is at stake in our bodily lives. Are we remaining faithful to the Son of God in everything that attacks His life in us?
Are you going on with Jesus? The way goes through Gethsemane, through the city gate, and on “outside the camp” (Hebrews 13:13). The way is lonely and goes on until there is no longer even a trace of a footprint to follow— but only the voice saying, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19)
你繼續與主同行麼？
我在磨煉之中，常和我同在的就是你們。 （路二十二28）
我們受試探的時候，主耶穌與我們同在，這是不錯的。可是，他受試探時我們與他同行麼？不少人一經驗到主為我們成就什麼之後，就不再與他往前行了。注意神把你的環境轉移，看你是否仍與主耶穌同行，還是與世界為友，隨從肉體與魔鬼。我們佩戴著他的徽號，可是有沒有與他同行？ [從此他門徒中多有退去的，不再和他同行。 ]耶穌在一生中不斷受到試探；那末，神兒子在我們裡面的生命，也會不斷受試探。我們現在的生活是否與耶穌同行？
我們會有保護自己的念頭，以為應該躲避一些神安排在我們周圍的東西。千萬不可！神所安排的際遇，不管是什麼，我們都必鬚麵對；同時在他的試探裡，要與他不斷同行。那些試探不是對我們而發，乃是對他，對我們裡面神的兒子而發的。耶穌基督的尊榮，係於我們這肉身上，我們是否持守對神兒子的忠貞？
你不斷與主同行麼？這條路要經過客西馬尼園、城門口，直到營外；這道路孤單寂寞，你不會再看見任何足跡，只剩下一個聲音說：[跟從我。 ]
祈禱◆主啊，為著這個清晨，我能享有與你相交這個珍貴權利，我讚美你；願你今天在我裡面動工，以致我可以[立志行事……為要成就你的美意]。
September 18, 2013
His Temptation and Ours
We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin —Hebrews 4:15
Until we are born again, the only kind of temptation we understand is the kind mentioned in James 1:14, “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” But through regeneration we are lifted into another realm where there are other temptations to face, namely, the kind of temptations our Lord faced. The temptations of Jesus had no appeal to us as unbelievers because they were not at home in our human nature. Our Lord’s temptations and ours are in different realms until we are born again and become His brothers. The temptations of Jesus are not those of a mere man, but the temptations of God as Man. Through regeneration, the Son of God is formed in us (see Galatians 4:19), and in our physical life He has the same setting that He had on earth. Satan does not tempt us just to make us do wrong things— he tempts us to make us lose what God has put into us through regeneration, namely, the possibility of being of value to God. He does not come to us on the premise of tempting us to sin, but on the premise of shifting our point of view, and only the Spirit of God can detect this as a temptation of the devil.
Temptation means a test of the possessions held within the inner, spiritual part of our being by a power outside us and foreign to us. This makes the temptation of our Lord explainable. After Jesus’ baptism, having accepted His mission of being the One “who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) He “was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Matthew 4:1) and into the testing devices of the devil. Yet He did not become weary or exhausted. He went through the temptation “without sin,” and He retained all the possessions of His spiritual nature completely intact.
他的試探與我們的試探
因我們的大祭司，並非不能體恤我們的軟弱，他也曾凡事受過試探，與我們一樣，只是他沒有犯罪。 （來四15）
未重生之前，我們唯一的試探是雅各所說的：[各人被試探，乃是被自己的私慾牽引誘惑的。 ]可是重生之後，便被提升到另一範圍的試探，就是面對主所受的試探。主耶穌受的試探對我們並不吸引，再人性中全無地位。主的試探與我們的試探是兩個完全不同的領域，直等到我們重生了，成為他的弟兄。主耶穌的試探不是人的試探，乃是神成為人的試探。我們重生之後，神的兒子在我們裡面成形，他在我們的肉身生命中，面對他昔日在地上所面對的。撒旦並不引誘我們去做壞事，乃是要我們失去神藉重生放進我們裡面的生命，就是在神手中成為貴重合用的潛能。它並不是要引誘人犯罪，乃是要改變人的觀點。惟有聖靈才可以偵察出這是魔鬼的試探。
試探是外在勢力對人的考驗，要攻擊人性中所擁有的。這就解明了主耶穌所受的試探。耶穌受洗之後，接受了除去世人罪孽的責任，神的靈就立即把他放在魔鬼的考驗場裡。不過他沒有被打倒，他經過試探，卻沒有犯罪，仍然保持他人格的完整。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，對於與你一同守望、與你一同經歷試探的意義，我所了解的是何等膚淺。願你在今天早上吸引我靠近你，以你的大能使我專注於你，直至我的生活言談只為了你。
Until we are born again, the only kind of temptation we understand is the kind mentioned in James 1:14, “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” But through regeneration we are lifted into another realm where there are other temptations to face, namely, the kind of temptations our Lord faced. The temptations of Jesus had no appeal to us as unbelievers because they were not at home in our human nature. Our Lord’s temptations and ours are in different realms until we are born again and become His brothers. The temptations of Jesus are not those of a mere man, but the temptations of God as Man. Through regeneration, the Son of God is formed in us (see Galatians 4:19), and in our physical life He has the same setting that He had on earth. Satan does not tempt us just to make us do wrong things— he tempts us to make us lose what God has put into us through regeneration, namely, the possibility of being of value to God. He does not come to us on the premise of tempting us to sin, but on the premise of shifting our point of view, and only the Spirit of God can detect this as a temptation of the devil.
Temptation means a test of the possessions held within the inner, spiritual part of our being by a power outside us and foreign to us. This makes the temptation of our Lord explainable. After Jesus’ baptism, having accepted His mission of being the One “who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) He “was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Matthew 4:1) and into the testing devices of the devil. Yet He did not become weary or exhausted. He went through the temptation “without sin,” and He retained all the possessions of His spiritual nature completely intact.
他的試探與我們的試探
因我們的大祭司，並非不能體恤我們的軟弱，他也曾凡事受過試探，與我們一樣，只是他沒有犯罪。 （來四15）
未重生之前，我們唯一的試探是雅各所說的：[各人被試探，乃是被自己的私慾牽引誘惑的。 ]可是重生之後，便被提升到另一範圍的試探，就是面對主所受的試探。主耶穌受的試探對我們並不吸引，再人性中全無地位。主的試探與我們的試探是兩個完全不同的領域，直等到我們重生了，成為他的弟兄。主耶穌的試探不是人的試探，乃是神成為人的試探。我們重生之後，神的兒子在我們裡面成形，他在我們的肉身生命中，面對他昔日在地上所面對的。撒旦並不引誘我們去做壞事，乃是要我們失去神藉重生放進我們裡面的生命，就是在神手中成為貴重合用的潛能。它並不是要引誘人犯罪，乃是要改變人的觀點。惟有聖靈才可以偵察出這是魔鬼的試探。
試探是外在勢力對人的考驗，要攻擊人性中所擁有的。這就解明了主耶穌所受的試探。耶穌受洗之後，接受了除去世人罪孽的責任，神的靈就立即把他放在魔鬼的考驗場裡。不過他沒有被打倒，他經過試探，卻沒有犯罪，仍然保持他人格的完整。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，對於與你一同守望、與你一同經歷試探的意義，我所了解的是何等膚淺。願你在今天早上吸引我靠近你，以你的大能使我專注於你，直至我的生活言談只為了你。
September 17, 2013
Is There Good in Temptation?
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man . . . —1 Corinthians 10:13
The word temptation has come to mean something bad to us today, but we tend to use the word in the wrong way. Temptation itself is not sin; it is something we are bound to face simply by virtue of being human. Not to be tempted would mean that we were already so shameful that we would be beneath contempt. Yet many of us suffer from temptations we should never have to suffer, simply because we have refused to allow God to lift us to a higher level where we would face temptations of another kind.
A person’s inner nature, what he possesses in the inner, spiritual part of his being, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the true nature of the person being tempted and reveals the possibilities of his nature. Every person actually determines or sets the level of his own temptation, because temptation will come to him in accordance with the level of his controlling, inner nature.
Temptation comes to me, suggesting a possible shortcut to the realization of my highest goal— it does not direct me toward what I understand to be evil, but toward what I understand to be good. Temptation is something that confuses me for a while, and I don’t know whether something is right or wrong. When I yield to it, I have made lust a god, and the temptation itself becomes the proof that it was only my own fear that prevented me from falling into the sin earlier.
Temptation is not something we can escape; in fact, it is essential to the well-rounded life of a person. Beware of thinking that you are tempted as no one else–what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save us from temptations–He sustains us in the midst of them (see Hebrews 2:18 and Hebrews 4:15-16).
試探何益？
你們所遇見的試探，無非是人所能受的。 （林前十13）
[試探]一詞地位日益低落，我們很容易把這詞錯用。試探並非等於罪。凡是人，都會遇到試探。若說不會受試探，實在是自貶身價。不過，許多人所受的試探，本是不該受的。這完全是由於我們不肯讓神領我們到一個更高的境地，去面對另一種試探的緣故。
人內在的性向，就是他人的性格，決定他外在所受的試探。所受的試探是配合受試探者的本質，同時也顯出他的潛能。每一個人都有他獨特受試探的背景，試探也會沿著他主要的性向而來。
試探為人所要實現的最高目標，提供了一條捷徑－－並不是我走向邪惡，乃是朝著我認為善的方向走。試探是一些令我一時感到困惑的東西，因我不知它到底是對還是錯。向試探低頭，就是奉情慾為神；也證明過去不是沒有犯這罪，只是不敢做出來。
試探是無可避免的，對一個人的完整生命是不可或缺的。別以為從沒有人像你一樣，受到這樣的試探；你所經歷的，其實是整個人類共有的經歷，並非前所未有。神不會救我們離開試探，他乃是在試探當中救拔我們（來二18）。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我們對你的認知，被即時的現況所堵塞，產生了窒息的感覺；求你拯救和悅納我們。
The word temptation has come to mean something bad to us today, but we tend to use the word in the wrong way. Temptation itself is not sin; it is something we are bound to face simply by virtue of being human. Not to be tempted would mean that we were already so shameful that we would be beneath contempt. Yet many of us suffer from temptations we should never have to suffer, simply because we have refused to allow God to lift us to a higher level where we would face temptations of another kind.
A person’s inner nature, what he possesses in the inner, spiritual part of his being, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the true nature of the person being tempted and reveals the possibilities of his nature. Every person actually determines or sets the level of his own temptation, because temptation will come to him in accordance with the level of his controlling, inner nature.
Temptation comes to me, suggesting a possible shortcut to the realization of my highest goal— it does not direct me toward what I understand to be evil, but toward what I understand to be good. Temptation is something that confuses me for a while, and I don’t know whether something is right or wrong. When I yield to it, I have made lust a god, and the temptation itself becomes the proof that it was only my own fear that prevented me from falling into the sin earlier.
Temptation is not something we can escape; in fact, it is essential to the well-rounded life of a person. Beware of thinking that you are tempted as no one else–what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save us from temptations–He sustains us in the midst of them (see Hebrews 2:18 and Hebrews 4:15-16).
試探何益？
你們所遇見的試探，無非是人所能受的。 （林前十13）
[試探]一詞地位日益低落，我們很容易把這詞錯用。試探並非等於罪。凡是人，都會遇到試探。若說不會受試探，實在是自貶身價。不過，許多人所受的試探，本是不該受的。這完全是由於我們不肯讓神領我們到一個更高的境地，去面對另一種試探的緣故。
人內在的性向，就是他人的性格，決定他外在所受的試探。所受的試探是配合受試探者的本質，同時也顯出他的潛能。每一個人都有他獨特受試探的背景，試探也會沿著他主要的性向而來。
試探為人所要實現的最高目標，提供了一條捷徑－－並不是我走向邪惡，乃是朝著我認為善的方向走。試探是一些令我一時感到困惑的東西，因我不知它到底是對還是錯。向試探低頭，就是奉情慾為神；也證明過去不是沒有犯這罪，只是不敢做出來。
試探是無可避免的，對一個人的完整生命是不可或缺的。別以為從沒有人像你一樣，受到這樣的試探；你所經歷的，其實是整個人類共有的經歷，並非前所未有。神不會救我們離開試探，他乃是在試探當中救拔我們（來二18）。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我們對你的認知，被即時的現況所堵塞，產生了窒息的感覺；求你拯救和悅納我們。
September 16, 2013
Praying to God in Secret
When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place . . . —Matthew 6:6
The primary thought in the area of religion is— keep your eyes on God, not on people. Your motivation should not be the desire to be known as a praying person. Find an inner room in which to pray where no one even knows you are praying, shut the door, and talk to God in secret. Have no motivation other than to know your Father in heaven. It is impossible to carry on your life as a disciple without definite times of secret prayer.
“When you pray, do not use vain repetitions . . .” (Matthew 6:7). God does not hear us because we pray earnestly— He hears us solely on the basis of redemption. God is never impressed by our earnestness. Prayer is not simply getting things from God— that is only the most elementary kind of prayer. Prayer is coming into perfect fellowship and oneness with God. If the Son of God has been formed in us through regeneration (see Galatians 4:19), then He will continue to press on beyond our common sense and will change our attitude about the things for which we pray.
“Everyone who asks receives . . .” (Matthew 7:8). We pray religious nonsense without even involving our will, and then we say that God did not answer— but in reality we have never asked for anything. Jesus said, “. . . you will ask what you desire. . .” (John 15:7). Asking means that our will must be involved. Whenever Jesus talked about prayer, He spoke with wonderful childlike simplicity. Then we respond with our critical attitude, saying, “Yes, but even Jesus said that we must ask.” But remember that we have to ask things of God that are in keeping with the God whom Jesus Christ revealed.
宗教神聖的領域
你禱告的時候，要進你的內屋，關上門，禱告你在暗中的父。 （太六6）
在宗信信仰中，最主要的觀念就是仰望神，不仰望人。切不可有這個動機：希望人家知道你時刻禱告。要進入內室，在沒有人知道你在禱告的地方，關上門，暗中與神交談。禱告唯一的動機，就是認識你在天上的父。若要過門徒的生活，就要按時在暗中禱告，此外別無他途。
[你們禱告，不可……用許多重複話。 ]（第7節）神聽我們禱告，並不是因為我們懇切；他並不受我們的迫切誠心打動，他聽我們只因他的救贖。禱告並非單單向神求東西，那隻是最原始的起點。禱告是與神完全的合一。神的兒子若藉重生成形在我們裡面，他必然會超越我們的常理觀念，改變我們對所求事物的態度。
[凡祈求的，就得著。 ]我們禱告時往往用敬虔的術語，可是我們的意志並不在裡面，然後我們又怨神不垂聽；其實我們根本就沒有求什麼。耶穌說：[你們要什麼，可以求。 ]求的意思就是我們的意志也在裡面。耶穌把小孩子的至純與禱告相提並論；但我們卻發出批判：[好是好的，可是……]。耶穌說：[求吧。 ]但得記著我們所求於神的必須與主耶穌所彰顯神的心意相符。
祈禱◆主啊，今早的[每日亮光]發出何其有力的說話：[要剛強和具有勇氣；不要恐懼，也不要喪膽；因為無論你往哪裡去，主你的神都會與你在一起。 ]阿們！哈利路亞！
The primary thought in the area of religion is— keep your eyes on God, not on people. Your motivation should not be the desire to be known as a praying person. Find an inner room in which to pray where no one even knows you are praying, shut the door, and talk to God in secret. Have no motivation other than to know your Father in heaven. It is impossible to carry on your life as a disciple without definite times of secret prayer.
“When you pray, do not use vain repetitions . . .” (Matthew 6:7). God does not hear us because we pray earnestly— He hears us solely on the basis of redemption. God is never impressed by our earnestness. Prayer is not simply getting things from God— that is only the most elementary kind of prayer. Prayer is coming into perfect fellowship and oneness with God. If the Son of God has been formed in us through regeneration (see Galatians 4:19), then He will continue to press on beyond our common sense and will change our attitude about the things for which we pray.
“Everyone who asks receives . . .” (Matthew 7:8). We pray religious nonsense without even involving our will, and then we say that God did not answer— but in reality we have never asked for anything. Jesus said, “. . . you will ask what you desire. . .” (John 15:7). Asking means that our will must be involved. Whenever Jesus talked about prayer, He spoke with wonderful childlike simplicity. Then we respond with our critical attitude, saying, “Yes, but even Jesus said that we must ask.” But remember that we have to ask things of God that are in keeping with the God whom Jesus Christ revealed.
宗教神聖的領域
你禱告的時候，要進你的內屋，關上門，禱告你在暗中的父。 （太六6）
在宗信信仰中，最主要的觀念就是仰望神，不仰望人。切不可有這個動機：希望人家知道你時刻禱告。要進入內室，在沒有人知道你在禱告的地方，關上門，暗中與神交談。禱告唯一的動機，就是認識你在天上的父。若要過門徒的生活，就要按時在暗中禱告，此外別無他途。
[你們禱告，不可……用許多重複話。 ]（第7節）神聽我們禱告，並不是因為我們懇切；他並不受我們的迫切誠心打動，他聽我們只因他的救贖。禱告並非單單向神求東西，那隻是最原始的起點。禱告是與神完全的合一。神的兒子若藉重生成形在我們裡面，他必然會超越我們的常理觀念，改變我們對所求事物的態度。
[凡祈求的，就得著。 ]我們禱告時往往用敬虔的術語，可是我們的意志並不在裡面，然後我們又怨神不垂聽；其實我們根本就沒有求什麼。耶穌說：[你們要什麼，可以求。 ]求的意思就是我們的意志也在裡面。耶穌把小孩子的至純與禱告相提並論；但我們卻發出批判：[好是好的，可是……]。耶穌說：[求吧。 ]但得記著我們所求於神的必須與主耶穌所彰顯神的心意相符。
祈禱◆主啊，今早的[每日亮光]發出何其有力的說話：[要剛強和具有勇氣；不要恐懼，也不要喪膽；因為無論你往哪裡去，主你的神都會與你在一起。 ]阿們！哈利路亞！
September 15, 2013
What To Renounce
We have renounced the hidden things of shame . . . —2 Corinthians 4:2
Have you “renounced the hidden things of shame” in your life—the things that your sense of honor or pride will not allow to come into the light? You can easily hide them. Is there a thought in your heart about anyone that you would not like to be brought into the light? Then renounce it as soon as it comes to mind—renounce everything in its entirety until there is no hidden dishonesty or craftiness about you at all. Envy, jealousy, and strife don’t necessarily arise from your old nature of sin, but from the flesh which was used for these kinds of things in the past (see Romans 6:19 and 1 Peter 4:1-3). You must maintain continual watchfulness so that nothing arises in your life that would cause you shame.
“. . . not walking in craftiness. . .” (2 Corinthians 4:2). This means not resorting to something simply to make your own point. This is a terrible trap. You know that God will allow you to work in only one way—the way of truth. Then be careful never to catch people through the other way—the way of deceit. If you act deceitfully, God’s blight and ruin will be upon you. What may be craftiness for you, may not be for others—God has called you to a higher standard. Never dull your sense of being your utmost for His highest—your best for His glory. For you, doing certain things would mean craftiness coming into your life for a purpose other than what is the highest and best, and it would dull the motivation that God has given you. Many people have turned back because they are afraid to look at things from God’s perspective. The greatest spiritual crisis comes when a person has to move a little farther on in his faith than the beliefs he has already accepted
棄絕什麼？
將那些暗昧可恥的事棄絕了。 （林後四2）
你有沒有將暗昧可恥的事棄絕？ －－那些你廉恥之心不想敞露的東西。要遮掩這些事並不難。你心中是否有一些念頭，是不想放在光中的？當這些念頭一出現，就要立刻棄絕，完全的棄絕，直至沒有絲毫可恥詭詐在你裡面隱藏。嫉忌、貪戀、爭競－－未必是出於罪根性，而是因為你在過去的日子中，肢體慣於和這種事（參羅六19，彼前四1-2）。要不住的警醒，使生命沒有絲毫可恥的東西生長。
[不行詭詐]，詭詐就是運用手段以求達到目的。這是個極大的網羅。若你知道神只容許你以某一方法行事，那麼，就不可用別的方法。不然，神的責難必然臨到。人家做的事，在你看來是行詭詐，但在他們可能並非詭詐，因為神給你另一個觀點。切勿削弱竭誠為主的敏銳性觸覺。你所作的某件事，可能叫你離開神的旨意去追求別的目標：若是這樣，詭詐就隨之而生，而你對神也變得遲鈍。許多人退後，是由於不敢從神的觀點看事物。一個人若要越過自己已接納的信念，在屬靈上就有大危機。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，求你護衛我生命的中心免受腐蝕；願你隱密地保守我，使我與你有著滿意的關係，以致我能彰顯你的榮耀。
Have you “renounced the hidden things of shame” in your life—the things that your sense of honor or pride will not allow to come into the light? You can easily hide them. Is there a thought in your heart about anyone that you would not like to be brought into the light? Then renounce it as soon as it comes to mind—renounce everything in its entirety until there is no hidden dishonesty or craftiness about you at all. Envy, jealousy, and strife don’t necessarily arise from your old nature of sin, but from the flesh which was used for these kinds of things in the past (see Romans 6:19 and 1 Peter 4:1-3). You must maintain continual watchfulness so that nothing arises in your life that would cause you shame.
“. . . not walking in craftiness. . .” (2 Corinthians 4:2). This means not resorting to something simply to make your own point. This is a terrible trap. You know that God will allow you to work in only one way—the way of truth. Then be careful never to catch people through the other way—the way of deceit. If you act deceitfully, God’s blight and ruin will be upon you. What may be craftiness for you, may not be for others—God has called you to a higher standard. Never dull your sense of being your utmost for His highest—your best for His glory. For you, doing certain things would mean craftiness coming into your life for a purpose other than what is the highest and best, and it would dull the motivation that God has given you. Many people have turned back because they are afraid to look at things from God’s perspective. The greatest spiritual crisis comes when a person has to move a little farther on in his faith than the beliefs he has already accepted
棄絕什麼？
將那些暗昧可恥的事棄絕了。 （林後四2）
你有沒有將暗昧可恥的事棄絕？ －－那些你廉恥之心不想敞露的東西。要遮掩這些事並不難。你心中是否有一些念頭，是不想放在光中的？當這些念頭一出現，就要立刻棄絕，完全的棄絕，直至沒有絲毫可恥詭詐在你裡面隱藏。嫉忌、貪戀、爭競－－未必是出於罪根性，而是因為你在過去的日子中，肢體慣於和這種事（參羅六19，彼前四1-2）。要不住的警醒，使生命沒有絲毫可恥的東西生長。
[不行詭詐]，詭詐就是運用手段以求達到目的。這是個極大的網羅。若你知道神只容許你以某一方法行事，那麼，就不可用別的方法。不然，神的責難必然臨到。人家做的事，在你看來是行詭詐，但在他們可能並非詭詐，因為神給你另一個觀點。切勿削弱竭誠為主的敏銳性觸覺。你所作的某件事，可能叫你離開神的旨意去追求別的目標：若是這樣，詭詐就隨之而生，而你對神也變得遲鈍。許多人退後，是由於不敢從神的觀點看事物。一個人若要越過自己已接納的信念，在屬靈上就有大危機。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，求你護衛我生命的中心免受腐蝕；願你隱密地保守我，使我與你有著滿意的關係，以致我能彰顯你的榮耀。
September 14, 2013
Arguments or Obedience
. . . the simplicity that is in Christ. —2 Corinthians 11:3
Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly until a long time passes, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put His pressure, then obey Him in that matter. Bring all your “arguments and . . . every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” regarding the matter, and everything will become as clear as daylight to you (2 Corinthians 10:5). Your reasoning capacity will come later, but reasoning is not how we see. We see like children, and when we try to be wise we see nothing (see Matthew 11:25).
Even the very smallest thing that we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is completely sufficient to account for spiritual confusion, and spending all of our time thinking about it will still never make it clear. Spiritual confusion can only be conquered through obedience. As soon as we obey, we have discernment. This is humiliating, because when we are confused we know that the reason lies in the state of our mind. But when our natural power of sight is devoted and submitted in obedience to the Holy Spirit, it becomes the very power by which we perceive God’s will, and our entire life is kept in simplicity.
幻想與靈感
向基督所存純一清潔的心
純一是看清事務的要訣.聖徒有時思路不清,可是應該可以毫無困難的看得清楚.屬靈的迷亂並不是靠思想可以得出頭緒.
必須順服神,就清楚了.屬乎理性的事,你可以賴思想得著出路,但屬靈的事,只會愈想愈一團糟.若在什麼事上神的手加壓力, 就要順服,把幻想拘禁在你對基督得順服裡; 這樣,一切就會明亮如白晝.理智是在後面才用的,但憑自己的聰明去看事物, 就一無所見. ( 太十一25)
我們若容讓極小的事不順服聖靈的控制, 就會陷入屬靈的迷亂中,即使花上多少思慮,也不能叫事態明朗. 屬靈的亂堆, 只有靠順服才可以澄清. 我們一順服, 就能辨明. 這是叫我們羞愧, 因為在迷亂之中, 我們知道問題是出於心志的狀態. 天然的視力若交給聖靈,就變成透察神旨意的能力,而整個生命也就能保持純一.
祈禱◆噢，我何等渴望被祢全然佔有,讓我的身,心,靈都被祢如火挑旺. 黑暗中仍潛伏著許多東西, 這些東西是何等的丟臉.
Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly until a long time passes, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put His pressure, then obey Him in that matter. Bring all your “arguments and . . . every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” regarding the matter, and everything will become as clear as daylight to you (2 Corinthians 10:5). Your reasoning capacity will come later, but reasoning is not how we see. We see like children, and when we try to be wise we see nothing (see Matthew 11:25).
Even the very smallest thing that we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is completely sufficient to account for spiritual confusion, and spending all of our time thinking about it will still never make it clear. Spiritual confusion can only be conquered through obedience. As soon as we obey, we have discernment. This is humiliating, because when we are confused we know that the reason lies in the state of our mind. But when our natural power of sight is devoted and submitted in obedience to the Holy Spirit, it becomes the very power by which we perceive God’s will, and our entire life is kept in simplicity.
幻想與靈感
向基督所存純一清潔的心
純一是看清事務的要訣.聖徒有時思路不清,可是應該可以毫無困難的看得清楚.屬靈的迷亂並不是靠思想可以得出頭緒.
必須順服神,就清楚了.屬乎理性的事,你可以賴思想得著出路,但屬靈的事,只會愈想愈一團糟.若在什麼事上神的手加壓力, 就要順服,把幻想拘禁在你對基督得順服裡; 這樣,一切就會明亮如白晝.理智是在後面才用的,但憑自己的聰明去看事物, 就一無所見. ( 太十一25)
我們若容讓極小的事不順服聖靈的控制, 就會陷入屬靈的迷亂中,即使花上多少思慮,也不能叫事態明朗. 屬靈的亂堆, 只有靠順服才可以澄清. 我們一順服, 就能辨明. 這是叫我們羞愧, 因為在迷亂之中, 我們知道問題是出於心志的狀態. 天然的視力若交給聖靈,就變成透察神旨意的能力,而整個生命也就能保持純一.
祈禱◆噢，我何等渴望被祢全然佔有,讓我的身,心,靈都被祢如火挑旺. 黑暗中仍潛伏著許多東西, 這些東西是何等的丟臉.
September 13, 2013
After Surrender— Then What?
I have finished the work which You have given Me to do —John 17:4
True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.
Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me . . . and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— “Come to Me.” And it is a voluntary coming.
Surrender for Devotion. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . . ” (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, “If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me.” And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and Philippians 4:19).
Surrender for Death. “. . . another will gird you . . .” (John 21:18 ; also see John 21:19). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being “united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death” (Romans 6:5) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.
And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.
順服之後又怎樣？
你所託付我的事，我已成全了。 （約十七4）
順服不在於外在生活的順服，而在於意志的順服，這點一旦達到，一切問題都解決了。在人一生中，要面臨的決定性時刻並不多；其中最決定性的時刻，就是意志的順服。神從來不強逼人順服他，也不會苦苦哀求人順服，他是等候人甘心情願把意志降服。這場仗是一次過的，打完就不必再打。
得釋放的順服。 [到我這裡來，我就使你得安息。 ] 只有再我們明白了救恩得意義後，才會把意志降服主，得著安息。任何叫人心思困惑的事，都是對意志的呼喚－－[到我這裡來。 ] 這是出於自願的行動。
獻身的順服。 [若有人要跟從我，就當捨己。 ] 這裡的降服，是指把己交給耶穌，成為一個有他安息的己。 [你若願作我得門徒，就把你自己的主權交給我。 ]這樣，你餘下的人生，就是這個降服的彰顯。一旦這樣降服了，就不再有什麼[假如]。我們不比再理會環境，因為耶穌就是一切。
至死的順服（約二十一18-19）。 [……別人要把你束上……] 你懂不懂什麼叫做視死如歸？當心在狂喜中對神許下順服的願；你很容易會收回的。要緊的是你與耶穌在他的死上聯合，直至他不感興趣的東西，你也一點不再感興趣。
順服之後又怎樣？順服之後的整個生命，就是渴求與神親密無間的契合。
祈禱◆主啊，我懇求能夠看見你。我一直被外院的生活所佔據，遠離了你；求你寬恕我，吸引我靠近你，以致我能再次與你共用罕有的相交。
True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.
Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me . . . and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— “Come to Me.” And it is a voluntary coming.
Surrender for Devotion. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . . ” (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, “If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me.” And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and Philippians 4:19).
Surrender for Death. “. . . another will gird you . . .” (John 21:18 ; also see John 21:19). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being “united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death” (Romans 6:5) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.
And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.
順服之後又怎樣？
你所託付我的事，我已成全了。 （約十七4）
順服不在於外在生活的順服，而在於意志的順服，這點一旦達到，一切問題都解決了。在人一生中，要面臨的決定性時刻並不多；其中最決定性的時刻，就是意志的順服。神從來不強逼人順服他，也不會苦苦哀求人順服，他是等候人甘心情願把意志降服。這場仗是一次過的，打完就不必再打。
得釋放的順服。 [到我這裡來，我就使你得安息。 ] 只有再我們明白了救恩得意義後，才會把意志降服主，得著安息。任何叫人心思困惑的事，都是對意志的呼喚－－[到我這裡來。 ] 這是出於自願的行動。
獻身的順服。 [若有人要跟從我，就當捨己。 ] 這裡的降服，是指把己交給耶穌，成為一個有他安息的己。 [你若願作我得門徒，就把你自己的主權交給我。 ]這樣，你餘下的人生，就是這個降服的彰顯。一旦這樣降服了，就不再有什麼[假如]。我們不比再理會環境，因為耶穌就是一切。
至死的順服（約二十一18-19）。 [……別人要把你束上……] 你懂不懂什麼叫做視死如歸？當心在狂喜中對神許下順服的願；你很容易會收回的。要緊的是你與耶穌在他的死上聯合，直至他不感興趣的東西，你也一點不再感興趣。
順服之後又怎樣？順服之後的整個生命，就是渴求與神親密無間的契合。
祈禱◆主啊，我懇求能夠看見你。我一直被外院的生活所佔據，遠離了你；求你寬恕我，吸引我靠近你，以致我能再次與你共用罕有的相交。
September 12, 2013
Going Through Spiritual Confusion
Jesus answered and said, ’You do not know what you ask’ —Matthew 20:22
There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you.
The Shrouding of His Friendship (see Luke 11:5-8). Jesus gave the illustration here of a man who appears not to care for his friend. He was saying, in effect, that is how the heavenly Father will appear to you at times. You will think that He is an unkind friend, but remember?He is not. The time will come when everything will be explained. There seems to be a cloud on the friendship of the heart, and often even love itself has to wait in pain and tears for the blessing of fuller fellowship and oneness. When God appears to be completely shrouded, will you hang on with confidence in Him?
The Shadow on His Fatherhood (see Luke 11:11-13). Jesus said that there are times when your Father will appear as if He were an unnatural father?as if He were callous and indifferent— but remember, He is not. “Everyone who asks receives . . .” (Luke 11:10). If all you see is a shadow on the face of the Father right now, hang on to the fact that He will ultimately give you clear understanding and will fully justify Himself in everything that He has allowed into your life.
The Strangeness of His Faithfulness (see Luke 18:1-8). “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Will He find the kind of faith that counts on Him in spite of the confusion? Stand firm in faith, believing that what Jesus said is true, although in the meantime you do not understand what God is doing. He has bigger issues at stake than the particular things you are asking of Him right now.
屬靈的困惑
你們不知道所求的是什麼。 （太二十22）
在屬靈生命中，有時會有困惑的時刻；若強說沒有是解決不了問題的。這不是對或不對的問題，而是神有時要領你走一條你不明白的路，只有經過了這一段困惑時期，你才知道神想要的是甚麼。
他的友情隱藏了（路十一5-8）。耶穌比喻中的那個人，好像對他的朋友漠不關心；有時候，在我們看來，天父也好像那個人。時候到了，一切都會明朗。心中的友情被雲層遮蔽，有時連愛本身也要在痛苦與眼淚中等待那更完全契合的福氣。當神似乎完全隱藏了，你能否依然因著對他的信心而堅持？
他的父愛在陰影裡（路十一11-13）。耶穌說，天父有時像一個不近人情的父親，冷漠不仁；要記住他不是這樣的。我已告訴你：[凡祈求的就得著。 ]若此刻他的臉被陰影遮蔽，要持守到底，因為至終他必向你清楚解明，叫你知道他所容許的事都有其用意。
他信實不比尋常（路十八1-8）。 [人子來的時候，遇得見世上有信德麼？ ]他能否找到在困惑中仍緊抓著他信心的人？要在信心中起步，知道耶穌所說的是可信的，雖然當時你不明白他所作的。在你所祈求的事以外，神還有更重大更危急的事。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，今天我將要奉你的名傳講你的資訊，但我至今仍沒有聖靈的感動。噢，因著耶穌基督的緣故，求你將你的思想傳達至我那靈性遲緩的腦袋中。
There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you.
The Shrouding of His Friendship (see Luke 11:5-8). Jesus gave the illustration here of a man who appears not to care for his friend. He was saying, in effect, that is how the heavenly Father will appear to you at times. You will think that He is an unkind friend, but remember?He is not. The time will come when everything will be explained. There seems to be a cloud on the friendship of the heart, and often even love itself has to wait in pain and tears for the blessing of fuller fellowship and oneness. When God appears to be completely shrouded, will you hang on with confidence in Him?
The Shadow on His Fatherhood (see Luke 11:11-13). Jesus said that there are times when your Father will appear as if He were an unnatural father?as if He were callous and indifferent— but remember, He is not. “Everyone who asks receives . . .” (Luke 11:10). If all you see is a shadow on the face of the Father right now, hang on to the fact that He will ultimately give you clear understanding and will fully justify Himself in everything that He has allowed into your life.
The Strangeness of His Faithfulness (see Luke 18:1-8). “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Will He find the kind of faith that counts on Him in spite of the confusion? Stand firm in faith, believing that what Jesus said is true, although in the meantime you do not understand what God is doing. He has bigger issues at stake than the particular things you are asking of Him right now.
屬靈的困惑
你們不知道所求的是什麼。 （太二十22）
在屬靈生命中，有時會有困惑的時刻；若強說沒有是解決不了問題的。這不是對或不對的問題，而是神有時要領你走一條你不明白的路，只有經過了這一段困惑時期，你才知道神想要的是甚麼。
他的友情隱藏了（路十一5-8）。耶穌比喻中的那個人，好像對他的朋友漠不關心；有時候，在我們看來，天父也好像那個人。時候到了，一切都會明朗。心中的友情被雲層遮蔽，有時連愛本身也要在痛苦與眼淚中等待那更完全契合的福氣。當神似乎完全隱藏了，你能否依然因著對他的信心而堅持？
他的父愛在陰影裡（路十一11-13）。耶穌說，天父有時像一個不近人情的父親，冷漠不仁；要記住他不是這樣的。我已告訴你：[凡祈求的就得著。 ]若此刻他的臉被陰影遮蔽，要持守到底，因為至終他必向你清楚解明，叫你知道他所容許的事都有其用意。
他信實不比尋常（路十八1-8）。 [人子來的時候，遇得見世上有信德麼？ ]他能否找到在困惑中仍緊抓著他信心的人？要在信心中起步，知道耶穌所說的是可信的，雖然當時你不明白他所作的。在你所祈求的事以外，神還有更重大更危急的事。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，今天我將要奉你的名傳講你的資訊，但我至今仍沒有聖靈的感動。噢，因著耶穌基督的緣故，求你將你的思想傳達至我那靈性遲緩的腦袋中。
September 11, 2013
Missionary Weapons (2)
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet —John 13:14
Ministering in Everyday Opportunities. Ministering in everyday opportunities that surround us does not mean that we select our own surroundings— it means being God’s very special choice to be available for use in any of the seemingly random surroundings which He has engineered for us. The very character we exhibit in our present surroundings is an indication of what we will be like in other surroundings.
The things Jesus did were the most menial of everyday tasks, and this is an indication that it takes all of God’s power in me to accomplish even the most common tasks in His way. Can I use a towel as He did? Towels, dishes, sandals, and all the other ordinary things in our lives reveal what we are made of more quickly than anything else. It takes God Almighty Incarnate in us to do the most menial duty as it ought to be done.
Jesus said, “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (13:15). Notice the kind of people that God brings around you, and you will be humiliated once you realize that this is actually His way of revealing to you the kind of person you have been to Him. Now He says we should exhibit to those around us exactly what He has exhibited to us.
Do you find yourself responding by saying, “Oh, I will do all that once I’m out on the mission field”? Talking in this way is like trying to produce the weapons of war while in the trenches of the battlefield–you will be killed while trying to do it.
We have to go the “second mile” with God (see Matthew 5:41). Yet some of us become worn out in the first ten steps. Then we say, “Well, I’ll just wait until I get closer to the next big crisis in my life.” But if we do not steadily minister in everyday opportunities, we will do nothing when the crisis comes.
傳道者的彈藥
我是你們的主，你們的夫子，尚且洗你們的腳，你們也當彼此洗腳。 （約十三14）
就現有機會事奉，是不揀選自己的環境，而是在神安排的任何環境下，都為神所選用。我們在現有環境下表現的特性，可以代表在任何別的環境下的表現。耶穌所作的，是最卑下的日常工作；這就是說我需要神全部的能力，才能依他的腳踪作最平常普通的事。我能像他那樣用一條毛巾麼？毛巾、碗碟、鞋，以及一切日常生活中卑微的事，比別的東西更能反映出我們的本相。最低賤的任務，若要做得完全，就需要我們裡面那位元道成肉身的全能主去做。
[我給你們作了榜樣，叫你們照著我向你們所作的去作。 ]留意神擺在你周圍的人；他要藉此使你認識在他眼中你是怎麼樣的人，你會因此而羞愧。他現在說：[要照我向你所作的，向那個人行。 ]你會說：[呀！到了海外的工廠，我自然會一一去做了。 ]這樣的說法，就等於去到戰壕才製造彈藥，結果在製造的當兒，就送命了。
我們要與神行第[二里路]。有些人在頭十碼就放棄了，因為神要我們行看不見方向的路，我們就說：[我還是等到重大關頭來到時再走。 ]若你在日常小事上不穩步前進，危機來到時，你什麼也做不來。
祈禱◆[耶和華必作王]；噢，主啊，今天願你統治的能力，為著你的榮耀，在你僕人身上彰顯。
Ministering in Everyday Opportunities. Ministering in everyday opportunities that surround us does not mean that we select our own surroundings— it means being God’s very special choice to be available for use in any of the seemingly random surroundings which He has engineered for us. The very character we exhibit in our present surroundings is an indication of what we will be like in other surroundings.
The things Jesus did were the most menial of everyday tasks, and this is an indication that it takes all of God’s power in me to accomplish even the most common tasks in His way. Can I use a towel as He did? Towels, dishes, sandals, and all the other ordinary things in our lives reveal what we are made of more quickly than anything else. It takes God Almighty Incarnate in us to do the most menial duty as it ought to be done.
Jesus said, “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (13:15). Notice the kind of people that God brings around you, and you will be humiliated once you realize that this is actually His way of revealing to you the kind of person you have been to Him. Now He says we should exhibit to those around us exactly what He has exhibited to us.
Do you find yourself responding by saying, “Oh, I will do all that once I’m out on the mission field”? Talking in this way is like trying to produce the weapons of war while in the trenches of the battlefield–you will be killed while trying to do it.
We have to go the “second mile” with God (see Matthew 5:41). Yet some of us become worn out in the first ten steps. Then we say, “Well, I’ll just wait until I get closer to the next big crisis in my life.” But if we do not steadily minister in everyday opportunities, we will do nothing when the crisis comes.
傳道者的彈藥
我是你們的主，你們的夫子，尚且洗你們的腳，你們也當彼此洗腳。 （約十三14）
就現有機會事奉，是不揀選自己的環境，而是在神安排的任何環境下，都為神所選用。我們在現有環境下表現的特性，可以代表在任何別的環境下的表現。耶穌所作的，是最卑下的日常工作；這就是說我需要神全部的能力，才能依他的腳踪作最平常普通的事。我能像他那樣用一條毛巾麼？毛巾、碗碟、鞋，以及一切日常生活中卑微的事，比別的東西更能反映出我們的本相。最低賤的任務，若要做得完全，就需要我們裡面那位元道成肉身的全能主去做。
[我給你們作了榜樣，叫你們照著我向你們所作的去作。 ]留意神擺在你周圍的人；他要藉此使你認識在他眼中你是怎麼樣的人，你會因此而羞愧。他現在說：[要照我向你所作的，向那個人行。 ]你會說：[呀！到了海外的工廠，我自然會一一去做了。 ]這樣的說法，就等於去到戰壕才製造彈藥，結果在製造的當兒，就送命了。
我們要與神行第[二里路]。有些人在頭十碼就放棄了，因為神要我們行看不見方向的路，我們就說：[我還是等到重大關頭來到時再走。 ]若你在日常小事上不穩步前進，危機來到時，你什麼也做不來。
祈禱◆[耶和華必作王]；噢，主啊，今天願你統治的能力，為著你的榮耀，在你僕人身上彰顯。
September 10, 2013
Missionary Weapons (1)
When you were under the fig tree, I saw you —John 1:48
Worshiping in Everyday Occasions. We presume that we would be ready for battle if confronted with a great crisis, but it is not the crisis that builds something within us— it simply reveals what we are made of already. Do you find yourself saying, “If God calls me to battle, of course I will rise to the occasion”? Yet you won’t rise to the occasion unless you have done so on God’s training ground. If you are not doing the task that is closest to you now, which God has engineered into your life, when the crisis comes, instead of being fit for battle, you will be revealed as being unfit. Crises always reveal a person’s true character.
A private relationship of worshiping God is the greatest essential element of spiritual fitness. The time will come, as Nathanael experienced in this passage, that a private “fig-tree” life will no longer be possible. Everything will be out in the open, and you will find yourself to be of no value there if you have not been worshiping in everyday occasions in your own home. If your worship is right in your private relationship with God, then when He sets you free, you will be ready. It is in the unseen life, which only God saw, that you have become perfectly fit. And when the strain of the crisis comes, you can be relied upon by God.
Are you saying, “But I can’t be expected to live a sanctified life in my present circumstances; I have no time for prayer or Bible study right now; besides, my opportunity for battle hasn’t come yet, but when it does, of course I will be ready”? No, you will not. If you have not been worshiping in everyday occasions, when you get involved in God’s work, you will not only be useless yourself but also a hindrance to those around you.
God’s training ground, where the missionary weapons are found, is the hidden, personal, worshiping life of the saint.
傳道者的彈藥
你在無花果樹底下，我就看見你了。 （約一48）
我們一位面臨重大關頭的時候，不然應付得來；可是，重大關頭只會揭露我們的本相，不會給我們加增什麼。 [要是神呼召我，我自會應付得來。 ]除非你能善處工廠的工作，在神面前有真材實料，否則，在重大關頭時，你必不能應付。倘若現在你連神在你身旁安排的事也不作，當重大關頭來到，你不但擔當不起，反而顯得不合用。重要關頭往往能把人的品性顯露出來。
在隱秘處敬拜神，是人合用與否的先決條件。時候到了，不會再有[無花果樹下]的生活，你要出到外頭，在日光之下工作。那時你會發現，除非在家中你一向敬拜神，否則就一無可取。所以要有正確的敬拜，這樣，當神釋放你，你才准備妥當；因為在除了神就沒有人看得見的生命裡，你已完全茁壯合用。考驗來到，神才可以倚重你。
[現今的環境不容我過成聖的生活，我現在沒有時間讀經祈禱，我的機會還未來到，若時機一到，我自然可以應付。 ]錯了。你若一向沒有經常趁機會敬拜，一旦進入工廠，你不但無用，更會成為同工極大的障礙。聖徒私下隱藏的敬拜生活，乃是傳道工廠的彈藥。
祈禱◆噢，主，我的神，幫助我敬拜你。為著你的恆久不變，我讚美你。感動我，噢，主啊，藉著你的能力更新我的靈，使它對你和你的真理更加渴慕與感激。
Worshiping in Everyday Occasions. We presume that we would be ready for battle if confronted with a great crisis, but it is not the crisis that builds something within us— it simply reveals what we are made of already. Do you find yourself saying, “If God calls me to battle, of course I will rise to the occasion”? Yet you won’t rise to the occasion unless you have done so on God’s training ground. If you are not doing the task that is closest to you now, which God has engineered into your life, when the crisis comes, instead of being fit for battle, you will be revealed as being unfit. Crises always reveal a person’s true character.
A private relationship of worshiping God is the greatest essential element of spiritual fitness. The time will come, as Nathanael experienced in this passage, that a private “fig-tree” life will no longer be possible. Everything will be out in the open, and you will find yourself to be of no value there if you have not been worshiping in everyday occasions in your own home. If your worship is right in your private relationship with God, then when He sets you free, you will be ready. It is in the unseen life, which only God saw, that you have become perfectly fit. And when the strain of the crisis comes, you can be relied upon by God.
Are you saying, “But I can’t be expected to live a sanctified life in my present circumstances; I have no time for prayer or Bible study right now; besides, my opportunity for battle hasn’t come yet, but when it does, of course I will be ready”? No, you will not. If you have not been worshiping in everyday occasions, when you get involved in God’s work, you will not only be useless yourself but also a hindrance to those around you.
God’s training ground, where the missionary weapons are found, is the hidden, personal, worshiping life of the saint.
傳道者的彈藥
你在無花果樹底下，我就看見你了。 （約一48）
我們一位面臨重大關頭的時候，不然應付得來；可是，重大關頭只會揭露我們的本相，不會給我們加增什麼。 [要是神呼召我，我自會應付得來。 ]除非你能善處工廠的工作，在神面前有真材實料，否則，在重大關頭時，你必不能應付。倘若現在你連神在你身旁安排的事也不作，當重大關頭來到，你不但擔當不起，反而顯得不合用。重要關頭往往能把人的品性顯露出來。
在隱秘處敬拜神，是人合用與否的先決條件。時候到了，不會再有[無花果樹下]的生活，你要出到外頭，在日光之下工作。那時你會發現，除非在家中你一向敬拜神，否則就一無可取。所以要有正確的敬拜，這樣，當神釋放你，你才准備妥當；因為在除了神就沒有人看得見的生命裡，你已完全茁壯合用。考驗來到，神才可以倚重你。
[現今的環境不容我過成聖的生活，我現在沒有時間讀經祈禱，我的機會還未來到，若時機一到，我自然可以應付。 ]錯了。你若一向沒有經常趁機會敬拜，一旦進入工廠，你不但無用，更會成為同工極大的障礙。聖徒私下隱藏的敬拜生活，乃是傳道工廠的彈藥。
祈禱◆噢，主，我的神，幫助我敬拜你。為著你的恆久不變，我讚美你。感動我，噢，主啊，藉著你的能力更新我的靈，使它對你和你的真理更加渴慕與感激。
September 09, 2013
Do It Yourself (2)
. . . bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ . . . —2 Corinthians 10:5
Determinedly Discipline Other Things. This is another difficult aspect of the strenuous nature of sainthood. Paul said, according to the Moffatt translation of this verse, “. . . I take every project prisoner to make it obey Christ . . . .” So much Christian work today has never been disciplined, but has simply come into being by impulse! In our Lord’s life every project was disciplined to the will of His Father. There was never the slightest tendency to follow the impulse of His own will as distinct from His Father’s will— “the Son can do nothing of Himself . . . ” (John 5:19). Then compare this with what we do— we take “every thought” or project that comes to us by impulse and jump into action immediately, instead of imprisoning and disciplining ourselves to obey Christ.
Practical work for Christians is greatly overemphasized today, and the saints who are “bringing every thought [and project] into captivity” are criticized and told that they are not determined, and that they lack zeal for God or zeal for the souls of others. But true determination and zeal are found in obeying God, not in the inclination to serve Him that arises from our own undisciplined human nature. It is inconceivable, but true nevertheless, that saints are not “bringing every thought [and project] into captivity,” but are simply doing work for God that has been instigated by their own human nature, and has not been made spiritual through determined discipline.
We have a tendency to forget that a person is not only committed to Jesus Christ for salvation, but is also committed, responsible, and accountable to Jesus Christ’s view of God, the world, and of sin and the devil. This means that each person must recognize the responsibility to “be transformed by the renewing of [his] mind. . . .” (Romans 12:2).
自己做
又將人所有的心意奪回，使他都順服基督。 （林後十5）
這是信徒成聖須竭盡心力的另一面。保羅說：[我將所有計劃都封鎖，使它們都歸服於基督。 ]（摩法特譯本）今天多少基督徒的事工是沒有紀律，只出於一時衝動的！主每一件事都律己，遵照父的旨意。他沒有一絲行動，是脫離父的旨意，出於私意的衝動－－[子憑自己不能作什麼。 ]
再看看我們自己－－有活現的宗教經歷，就立刻衝動地把計劃付諸行動，而不是把它約束在對基督的順服裡。這時代太強調實際工作，以致那些為主把計劃俘擄的人，被批評為不熱心為神，也不愛靈魂。真心的熱誠，在於順服神，而不在於人性、不受約束的事奉熱誠。聖徒還未把每一計劃俘擄，就按本性－－未經定志律己而來的屬靈性情－－慫動去作神的工作，這雖是不可思議，卻確有其事。
我們很容易會忘記人不單要在救恩上歸服基督，也要歸服於基督對神、對世界、對罪、對魔鬼的觀點。這就是說，他必須藉心意的更新而改變。
祈禱◆主啊，我來到你面前。求你將你的生命豐盛地賜給我，直至我的理解力、想像力和言語，都全屬於你。你更新了我的靈，使我重獲救恩之樂，你是何等偉大！
Determinedly Discipline Other Things. This is another difficult aspect of the strenuous nature of sainthood. Paul said, according to the Moffatt translation of this verse, “. . . I take every project prisoner to make it obey Christ . . . .” So much Christian work today has never been disciplined, but has simply come into being by impulse! In our Lord’s life every project was disciplined to the will of His Father. There was never the slightest tendency to follow the impulse of His own will as distinct from His Father’s will— “the Son can do nothing of Himself . . . ” (John 5:19). Then compare this with what we do— we take “every thought” or project that comes to us by impulse and jump into action immediately, instead of imprisoning and disciplining ourselves to obey Christ.
Practical work for Christians is greatly overemphasized today, and the saints who are “bringing every thought [and project] into captivity” are criticized and told that they are not determined, and that they lack zeal for God or zeal for the souls of others. But true determination and zeal are found in obeying God, not in the inclination to serve Him that arises from our own undisciplined human nature. It is inconceivable, but true nevertheless, that saints are not “bringing every thought [and project] into captivity,” but are simply doing work for God that has been instigated by their own human nature, and has not been made spiritual through determined discipline.
We have a tendency to forget that a person is not only committed to Jesus Christ for salvation, but is also committed, responsible, and accountable to Jesus Christ’s view of God, the world, and of sin and the devil. This means that each person must recognize the responsibility to “be transformed by the renewing of [his] mind. . . .” (Romans 12:2).
自己做
又將人所有的心意奪回，使他都順服基督。 （林後十5）
這是信徒成聖須竭盡心力的另一面。保羅說：[我將所有計劃都封鎖，使它們都歸服於基督。 ]（摩法特譯本）今天多少基督徒的事工是沒有紀律，只出於一時衝動的！主每一件事都律己，遵照父的旨意。他沒有一絲行動，是脫離父的旨意，出於私意的衝動－－[子憑自己不能作什麼。 ]
再看看我們自己－－有活現的宗教經歷，就立刻衝動地把計劃付諸行動，而不是把它約束在對基督的順服裡。這時代太強調實際工作，以致那些為主把計劃俘擄的人，被批評為不熱心為神，也不愛靈魂。真心的熱誠，在於順服神，而不在於人性、不受約束的事奉熱誠。聖徒還未把每一計劃俘擄，就按本性－－未經定志律己而來的屬靈性情－－慫動去作神的工作，這雖是不可思議，卻確有其事。
我們很容易會忘記人不單要在救恩上歸服基督，也要歸服於基督對神、對世界、對罪、對魔鬼的觀點。這就是說，他必須藉心意的更新而改變。
祈禱◆主啊，我來到你面前。求你將你的生命豐盛地賜給我，直至我的理解力、想像力和言語，都全屬於你。你更新了我的靈，使我重獲救恩之樂，你是何等偉大！
September 08, 2013
Do It Yourself (1)
. . . casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God . . . —2 Corinthians 10:5
Determinedly Demolish Some Things. Deliverance from sin is not the same as deliverance from human nature. There are things in human nature, such as prejudices, that the saint can only destroy through sheer neglect. But there are other things that have to be destroyed through violence, that is, through God’s divine strength imparted by His Spirit. There are some things over which we are not to fight, but only to “stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord . . .” (see Exodus 14:13). But every theory or thought that raises itself up as a fortified barrier “against the knowledge of God” is to be determinedly demolished by drawing on God’s power, not through human effort or by compromise (see 2 Corinthians 10:4).
It is only when God has transformed our nature and we have entered into the experience of sanctification that the fight begins. The warfare is not against sin; we can never fight against sin— Jesus Christ conquered that in His redemption of us. The conflict is waged over turning our natural life into a spiritual life. This is never done easily, nor does God intend that it be so. It is accomplished only through a series of moral choices. God does not make us holy in the sense that He makes our character holy. He makes us holy in the sense that He has made us innocent before Him. And then we have to turn that innocence into holy character through the moral choices we make. These choices are continually opposed and hostile to the things of our natural life which have become so deeply entrenched— the very things that raise themselves up as fortified barriers “against the knowledge of God.” We can either turn back, making ourselves of no value to the kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish these things, allowing Jesus to bring another son to glory (see Hebrews 2:10).
自己做
將各樣的計謀，各樣阻攔人認識神的那些自高之事，一概攻破了。 （林後十5）
從罪得釋放，並不等於從人性中得釋放。人性中有些東西（例如偏見），聖徒要不顧，才能毀滅；有些東西要靠強力，就是神屬天得能力來拆毀；而另外有些東西則不用爭戰，我們只管站住，靜靜觀看神的拯救。任何理論或觀念，若阻礙了對神的認識，就必須立志靠神的能力去拆毀，而不是靠肉體的努力或妥協（林後十4）。
惟有當我們的性情被神改造，進入成聖的經驗裡去，這一場爭戰才可開始。這場仗不是向罪打，我們永無法與罪對抗：耶穌嫉妒的救贖已對付了罪。戰線是在於把天然生命轉為屬靈生命，這不是容易的，神也不想把這事變得容易。這事的作成，是要經過一連串的道德選擇，神使我們成聖，並不在品性上；乃是叫我們無罪，然後把這無罪透過一連串的道德選擇，轉變成為聖潔的品性。這些選擇往往不斷與我們天然生命的盤踞點，及那些阻攔我們認識神的保壘對抗。我們以回頭，在神的國里一事無成；或者，我們可以決意拆毀這些東西，讓耶穌多得一個兒子進到榮耀裡去。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你這天成為一個完全屬乎你這位王的日子。感動我們，噢，主啊，讓我們在屬靈和物質上的一切生活，都可以配合你的計劃。只要是出於你的感動，一切都會變得美好。
Determinedly Demolish Some Things. Deliverance from sin is not the same as deliverance from human nature. There are things in human nature, such as prejudices, that the saint can only destroy through sheer neglect. But there are other things that have to be destroyed through violence, that is, through God’s divine strength imparted by His Spirit. There are some things over which we are not to fight, but only to “stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord . . .” (see Exodus 14:13). But every theory or thought that raises itself up as a fortified barrier “against the knowledge of God” is to be determinedly demolished by drawing on God’s power, not through human effort or by compromise (see 2 Corinthians 10:4).
It is only when God has transformed our nature and we have entered into the experience of sanctification that the fight begins. The warfare is not against sin; we can never fight against sin— Jesus Christ conquered that in His redemption of us. The conflict is waged over turning our natural life into a spiritual life. This is never done easily, nor does God intend that it be so. It is accomplished only through a series of moral choices. God does not make us holy in the sense that He makes our character holy. He makes us holy in the sense that He has made us innocent before Him. And then we have to turn that innocence into holy character through the moral choices we make. These choices are continually opposed and hostile to the things of our natural life which have become so deeply entrenched— the very things that raise themselves up as fortified barriers “against the knowledge of God.” We can either turn back, making ourselves of no value to the kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish these things, allowing Jesus to bring another son to glory (see Hebrews 2:10).
自己做
將各樣的計謀，各樣阻攔人認識神的那些自高之事，一概攻破了。 （林後十5）
從罪得釋放，並不等於從人性中得釋放。人性中有些東西（例如偏見），聖徒要不顧，才能毀滅；有些東西要靠強力，就是神屬天得能力來拆毀；而另外有些東西則不用爭戰，我們只管站住，靜靜觀看神的拯救。任何理論或觀念，若阻礙了對神的認識，就必須立志靠神的能力去拆毀，而不是靠肉體的努力或妥協（林後十4）。
惟有當我們的性情被神改造，進入成聖的經驗裡去，這一場爭戰才可開始。這場仗不是向罪打，我們永無法與罪對抗：耶穌嫉妒的救贖已對付了罪。戰線是在於把天然生命轉為屬靈生命，這不是容易的，神也不想把這事變得容易。這事的作成，是要經過一連串的道德選擇，神使我們成聖，並不在品性上；乃是叫我們無罪，然後把這無罪透過一連串的道德選擇，轉變成為聖潔的品性。這些選擇往往不斷與我們天然生命的盤踞點，及那些阻攔我們認識神的保壘對抗。我們以回頭，在神的國里一事無成；或者，我們可以決意拆毀這些東西，讓耶穌多得一個兒子進到榮耀裡去。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你這天成為一個完全屬乎你這位王的日子。感動我們，噢，主啊，讓我們在屬靈和物質上的一切生活，都可以配合你的計劃。只要是出於你的感動，一切都會變得美好。
September 07, 2013
Fountains of Blessings
The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life —John 4:14
The picture our Lord described here is not that of a simple stream of water, but an overflowing fountain. Continue to “be filled” (Ephesians 5:18) and the sweetness of your vital relationship to Jesus will flow as generously out of you as it has been given to you. If you find that His life is not springing up as it should, you are to blame— something is obstructing the flow. Was Jesus saying to stay focused on the Source so that you may be blessed personally? No, you are to focus on the Source so that out of you “will flow rivers of living water”— irrepressible life (John 7:38).
We are to be fountains through which Jesus can flow as “rivers of living water” in blessing to everyone. Yet some of us are like the Dead Sea, always receiving but never giving, because our relationship is not right with the Lord Jesus. As surely as we receive blessings from Him, He will pour out blessings through us. But whenever the blessings are not being poured out in the same measure they are received, there is a defect in our relationship with Him. Is there anything between you and Jesus Christ? Is there anything hindering your faith in Him? If not, then Jesus says that out of you “will flow rivers of living water.” It is not a blessing that you pass on, or an experience that you share with others, but a river that continually flows through you. Stay at the Source, closely guarding your faith in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow into the lives of others with no dryness or deadness whatsoever.
Is it excessive to say that rivers will flow out of one individual believer? Do you look at yourself and say, “But I don’t see the rivers”? Through the history of God’s work you will usually find that He has started with the obscure, the unknown, the ignored, but those who have been steadfastly true to Jesus Christ.
福泉
我所賜的水，要在他裡頭成為泉源。 （約四14）
主所描寫的，不是一條河道，乃是一個活泉。 [要被充滿]，這樣，聖徒與主耶穌生命關係的甜美，就會豐富不絕地湧流，正如主傾倒給他的一樣。你若發現生命並不能如意地湧流，問題一定是在你身上；一定是有阻塞的障礙物。要保持與源頭接駁，這樣你就會大得福祉？不，你會有活水江流湧流，是無法歇止的生命。
我們要成為活水湧流的江河，讓主耶穌湧流而出，使每個人得福。有些人像死海，只接受而不付出，因為他們與主耶穌得關係並不和諧。我們接受他的生命，是肯定的；這樣，他透過我們湧流，也該是肯定的。主若沒有暢順的湧流，你與他的關係必然有了缺陷。你與他之間有何阻隔？什麼阻攔你對他的信念？若沒有，耶穌說：[你要湧流出活水江河。 ]不是福氣的傳遞，不是經驗的申述，乃是江河的湧流。要持定源頭，謹守對主的信心和與他的關係，這樣，你就有不住 的水供應別人，不枯乾，也不死涸。
個別信徒要湧流出江河，是否誇張之言？你會說：[我看不見江河。 ]記著不要從[我是什麼人？ ]的觀點來看自己。神工作的歷史，往往是從隱藏的、不為人知的、被人忽視的，但對主耶穌基督堅貞不移的人開始。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，讓我重拾那因你與我同在而有的獨特喜樂，使我在這個地方全屬於你。我似乎不適宜作任何事情，惟獨等候你。噢，主啊，給我顯示一個永久的標記。
The picture our Lord described here is not that of a simple stream of water, but an overflowing fountain. Continue to “be filled” (Ephesians 5:18) and the sweetness of your vital relationship to Jesus will flow as generously out of you as it has been given to you. If you find that His life is not springing up as it should, you are to blame— something is obstructing the flow. Was Jesus saying to stay focused on the Source so that you may be blessed personally? No, you are to focus on the Source so that out of you “will flow rivers of living water”— irrepressible life (John 7:38).
We are to be fountains through which Jesus can flow as “rivers of living water” in blessing to everyone. Yet some of us are like the Dead Sea, always receiving but never giving, because our relationship is not right with the Lord Jesus. As surely as we receive blessings from Him, He will pour out blessings through us. But whenever the blessings are not being poured out in the same measure they are received, there is a defect in our relationship with Him. Is there anything between you and Jesus Christ? Is there anything hindering your faith in Him? If not, then Jesus says that out of you “will flow rivers of living water.” It is not a blessing that you pass on, or an experience that you share with others, but a river that continually flows through you. Stay at the Source, closely guarding your faith in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow into the lives of others with no dryness or deadness whatsoever.
Is it excessive to say that rivers will flow out of one individual believer? Do you look at yourself and say, “But I don’t see the rivers”? Through the history of God’s work you will usually find that He has started with the obscure, the unknown, the ignored, but those who have been steadfastly true to Jesus Christ.
福泉
我所賜的水，要在他裡頭成為泉源。 （約四14）
主所描寫的，不是一條河道，乃是一個活泉。 [要被充滿]，這樣，聖徒與主耶穌生命關係的甜美，就會豐富不絕地湧流，正如主傾倒給他的一樣。你若發現生命並不能如意地湧流，問題一定是在你身上；一定是有阻塞的障礙物。要保持與源頭接駁，這樣你就會大得福祉？不，你會有活水江流湧流，是無法歇止的生命。
我們要成為活水湧流的江河，讓主耶穌湧流而出，使每個人得福。有些人像死海，只接受而不付出，因為他們與主耶穌得關係並不和諧。我們接受他的生命，是肯定的；這樣，他透過我們湧流，也該是肯定的。主若沒有暢順的湧流，你與他的關係必然有了缺陷。你與他之間有何阻隔？什麼阻攔你對他的信念？若沒有，耶穌說：[你要湧流出活水江河。 ]不是福氣的傳遞，不是經驗的申述，乃是江河的湧流。要持定源頭，謹守對主的信心和與他的關係，這樣，你就有不住 的水供應別人，不枯乾，也不死涸。
個別信徒要湧流出江河，是否誇張之言？你會說：[我看不見江河。 ]記著不要從[我是什麼人？ ]的觀點來看自己。神工作的歷史，往往是從隱藏的、不為人知的、被人忽視的，但對主耶穌基督堅貞不移的人開始。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，讓我重拾那因你與我同在而有的獨特喜樂，使我在這個地方全屬於你。我似乎不適宜作任何事情，惟獨等候你。噢，主啊，給我顯示一個永久的標記。
September 06, 2013
The Far-Reaching Rivers of Life
He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow rivers of living water —John 7:38
A river reaches places which its source never knows. And Jesus said that, if we have received His fullness, “rivers of living water” will flow out of us, reaching in blessing even “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) regardless of how small the visible effects of our lives may appear to be. We have nothing to do with the outflow— “This is the work of God, that you believe. . .” (John 6:29). God rarely allows a person to see how great a blessing he is to others.
A river is victoriously persistent, overcoming all barriers. For a while it goes steadily on its course, but then comes to an obstacle. And for a while it is blocked, yet it soon makes a pathway around the obstacle. Or a river will drop out of sight for miles, only later to emerge again even broader and greater than ever. Do you see God using the lives of others, but an obstacle has come into your life and you do not seem to be of any use to God? Then keep paying attention to the Source, and God will either take you around the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never focus your eyes on the obstacle or the difficulty. The obstacle will be a matter of total indifference to the river that will flow steadily through you if you will simply remember to stay focused on the Source. Never allow anything to come between you and Jesus Christ— not emotion nor experience— nothing must keep you from the one great sovereign Source.
Think of the healing and far-reaching rivers developing and nourishing themselves in our souls! God has been opening up wonderful truths to our minds, and every point He has opened up is another indication of the wider power of the river that He will flow through us. If you believe in Jesus, you will find that God has developed and nourished in you mighty, rushing rivers of blessing for others.
生命的擴散力
活水……江河。 （約七38）
河流所到之處，是源頭無法可知的。耶穌說我們若領受了他的豐盛，不管我們的生命多微小，也能像活水江河，造福地極。這湧流不是我們的功勞－－[信……這就是神的工作……]。神很少讓一個人知道自己給別人帶來多大的祝福。河流是百折不撓的，能克服一切障礙。它順流而下，遇到障礙物，停滯一下，不一會又會繞過它繼續湧流。有時河流好像突然消失好幾里，但一下子又再复現，變得又大又寬闊。你看見神在使用很多人的生命，但你的生命卻出現了障礙物，你覺得自己毫無用處。這時要注目源頭，神會帶你繞道而行，或是把障礙挪開。不要注目在難處上，只要對準源頭，難處對於從你裡面流出的江河，是毫無辦法的。不要讓任何事物，包括感情與經歷，介入你與主耶穌之間；不要讓任何事物，使你與那最高的總源頭隔開。
想想你裡頭孕育著何等光遠而又具醫治力的河流！神向我們敞開他奇妙的真理，每一個敞開處，都表示他要把江河更大的能力透過我們湧流，你若相信主耶穌，就必發現神正在你裡面培育強而有力的水流，要成為別人的祝福。
祈禱◆[你不要怕他們，因那為你爭戰的是耶和華－－你的神。 ]主啊，今早當我讀經，這句話一直浮現在我腦海中。我何等完全地仰賴你！
A river reaches places which its source never knows. And Jesus said that, if we have received His fullness, “rivers of living water” will flow out of us, reaching in blessing even “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) regardless of how small the visible effects of our lives may appear to be. We have nothing to do with the outflow— “This is the work of God, that you believe. . .” (John 6:29). God rarely allows a person to see how great a blessing he is to others.
A river is victoriously persistent, overcoming all barriers. For a while it goes steadily on its course, but then comes to an obstacle. And for a while it is blocked, yet it soon makes a pathway around the obstacle. Or a river will drop out of sight for miles, only later to emerge again even broader and greater than ever. Do you see God using the lives of others, but an obstacle has come into your life and you do not seem to be of any use to God? Then keep paying attention to the Source, and God will either take you around the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never focus your eyes on the obstacle or the difficulty. The obstacle will be a matter of total indifference to the river that will flow steadily through you if you will simply remember to stay focused on the Source. Never allow anything to come between you and Jesus Christ— not emotion nor experience— nothing must keep you from the one great sovereign Source.
Think of the healing and far-reaching rivers developing and nourishing themselves in our souls! God has been opening up wonderful truths to our minds, and every point He has opened up is another indication of the wider power of the river that He will flow through us. If you believe in Jesus, you will find that God has developed and nourished in you mighty, rushing rivers of blessing for others.
生命的擴散力
活水……江河。 （約七38）
河流所到之處，是源頭無法可知的。耶穌說我們若領受了他的豐盛，不管我們的生命多微小，也能像活水江河，造福地極。這湧流不是我們的功勞－－[信……這就是神的工作……]。神很少讓一個人知道自己給別人帶來多大的祝福。河流是百折不撓的，能克服一切障礙。它順流而下，遇到障礙物，停滯一下，不一會又會繞過它繼續湧流。有時河流好像突然消失好幾里，但一下子又再复現，變得又大又寬闊。你看見神在使用很多人的生命，但你的生命卻出現了障礙物，你覺得自己毫無用處。這時要注目源頭，神會帶你繞道而行，或是把障礙挪開。不要注目在難處上，只要對準源頭，難處對於從你裡面流出的江河，是毫無辦法的。不要讓任何事物，包括感情與經歷，介入你與主耶穌之間；不要讓任何事物，使你與那最高的總源頭隔開。
想想你裡頭孕育著何等光遠而又具醫治力的河流！神向我們敞開他奇妙的真理，每一個敞開處，都表示他要把江河更大的能力透過我們湧流，你若相信主耶穌，就必發現神正在你裡面培育強而有力的水流，要成為別人的祝福。
祈禱◆[你不要怕他們，因那為你爭戰的是耶和華－－你的神。 ]主啊，今早當我讀經，這句話一直浮現在我腦海中。我何等完全地仰賴你！
September 05, 2013
Watching With Jesus
Stay here and watch with Me —Matthew 26:38
“Watch with Me.” Jesus was saying, in effect, “Watch with no private point of view at all, but watch solely and entirely with Me.” In the early stages of our Christian life, we do not watch with Jesus, we watch for Him. We do not watch with Him through the revealed truth of the Bible even in the circumstances of our own lives. Our Lord is trying to introduce us to identification with Himself through a particular “Gethsemane” experience of our own. But we refuse to go, saying, “No, Lord, I can’t see the meaning of this, and besides, it’s very painful.” And how can we possibly watch with Someone who is so incomprehensible? How are we going to understand Jesus sufficiently to watch with Him in His Gethsemane, when we don’t even know why He is suffering? We don’t know how to watch with Him— we are only used to the idea of Jesus watching with us.
The disciples loved Jesus Christ to the limit of their natural capacity, but they did not fully understand His purpose. In the Garden of Gethsemane they slept as a result of their own sorrow, and at the end of three years of the closest and most intimate relationship of their lives they “all . . . forsook Him and fled” (Matthew 26:56).
“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit . . .” (Acts 2:4). “They” refers to the same people, but something wonderful has happened between these two events— our Lord’s death, resurrection, and ascension— and the disciples have now been invaded and “filled with the Holy Spirit.” Our Lord had said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you . . .” (Acts 1:8). This meant that they learned to watch with Him the rest of their lives.
傳道者的警醒
同我警醒。 （太二十六40）
[同我警醒。 ]－－完全沒有自己的私見，單單與主一同警醒。初時，我們不會與主一同警醒，只會為他警醒。我們不懂得透過聖經的啟示和生活的環境，與他一同警醒。主一直想用一個特定的客西馬尼，帶我們與他同心，有一同的體驗，可是我們不肯去。我們說：[不，主啊，我看不出這有何用處，太苦了。 ]怎樣可以與一個難以捉摸的物件一同警醒呢？我們若不明他受苦的目的，怎能對耶穌有充分的了解，以致肯在客西馬尼與他一同警醒？我們根本不懂得怎樣與他一同警醒，只習慣於他與我們一同警醒的觀念。
門徒愛耶穌，只到天然本能的限度為止，因她們不明白他在做什麼。在客西馬尼園中，她們因憂愁睡著了。在三年親密關係結束的時候，他們都離棄他逃跑了。 [他們都被聖靈充滿。 ]同樣是[他們]，只是奇妙的事發生了。就是主的死、復活、升天，門徒被聖靈充滿，主曾說：[聖靈降臨在你們身上，你們就必得著能力。 ]就是他們已學會終其一生與主一同警醒。
祈禱◆主啊，今天早上，為著你的話－－[主用手攙扶他]，我感謝你。
“Watch with Me.” Jesus was saying, in effect, “Watch with no private point of view at all, but watch solely and entirely with Me.” In the early stages of our Christian life, we do not watch with Jesus, we watch for Him. We do not watch with Him through the revealed truth of the Bible even in the circumstances of our own lives. Our Lord is trying to introduce us to identification with Himself through a particular “Gethsemane” experience of our own. But we refuse to go, saying, “No, Lord, I can’t see the meaning of this, and besides, it’s very painful.” And how can we possibly watch with Someone who is so incomprehensible? How are we going to understand Jesus sufficiently to watch with Him in His Gethsemane, when we don’t even know why He is suffering? We don’t know how to watch with Him— we are only used to the idea of Jesus watching with us.
The disciples loved Jesus Christ to the limit of their natural capacity, but they did not fully understand His purpose. In the Garden of Gethsemane they slept as a result of their own sorrow, and at the end of three years of the closest and most intimate relationship of their lives they “all . . . forsook Him and fled” (Matthew 26:56).
“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit . . .” (Acts 2:4). “They” refers to the same people, but something wonderful has happened between these two events— our Lord’s death, resurrection, and ascension— and the disciples have now been invaded and “filled with the Holy Spirit.” Our Lord had said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you . . .” (Acts 1:8). This meant that they learned to watch with Him the rest of their lives.
傳道者的警醒
同我警醒。 （太二十六40）
[同我警醒。 ]－－完全沒有自己的私見，單單與主一同警醒。初時，我們不會與主一同警醒，只會為他警醒。我們不懂得透過聖經的啟示和生活的環境，與他一同警醒。主一直想用一個特定的客西馬尼，帶我們與他同心，有一同的體驗，可是我們不肯去。我們說：[不，主啊，我看不出這有何用處，太苦了。 ]怎樣可以與一個難以捉摸的物件一同警醒呢？我們若不明他受苦的目的，怎能對耶穌有充分的了解，以致肯在客西馬尼與他一同警醒？我們根本不懂得怎樣與他一同警醒，只習慣於他與我們一同警醒的觀念。
門徒愛耶穌，只到天然本能的限度為止，因她們不明白他在做什麼。在客西馬尼園中，她們因憂愁睡著了。在三年親密關係結束的時候，他們都離棄他逃跑了。 [他們都被聖靈充滿。 ]同樣是[他們]，只是奇妙的事發生了。就是主的死、復活、升天，門徒被聖靈充滿，主曾說：[聖靈降臨在你們身上，你們就必得著能力。 ]就是他們已學會終其一生與主一同警醒。
祈禱◆主啊，今天早上，為著你的話－－[主用手攙扶他]，我感謝你。
September 04, 2013
His!
They were Yours, You gave them to Me . . . —John 17:6
A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit has brought about this realization: “You are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). To say, “I am not my own,” is to have reached a high point in my spiritual stature. The true nature of that life in actual everyday confusion is evidenced by the deliberate giving up of myself to another Person through a sovereign decision, and that Person is Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit interprets and explains the nature of Jesus to me to make me one with my Lord, not that I might simply become a trophy for His showcase. Our Lord never sent any of His disciples out on the basis of what He had done for them. It was not until after the resurrection, when the disciples had perceived through the power of the Holy Spirit who Jesus really was, that He said, “Go” (Matthew 28:19; also see Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8).
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). He was not saying that this person cannot be good and upright, but that he cannot be someone over whom Jesus can write the word Mine. Any one of the relationships our Lord mentions in this verse can compete with our relationship with Him. I may prefer to belong to my mother, or to my wife, or to myself, but if that is the case, then, Jesus said, “[You] cannot be My disciple.” This does not mean that I will not be saved, but it does mean that I cannot be entirely His.
Our Lord makes His disciple His very own possession, becoming responsible for him. “. . . you shall be witnesses to Me . . .” (Acts 1:8). The desire that comes into a disciple is not one of doing anything for Jesus, but of being a perfect delight to Him. The missionary’s secret is truly being able to say, “I am His, and He is accomplishing His work and His purposes through me.”
Be entirely His!
我們要完全屬祂！
他們本是你的，你將他們賜給我。 （約十七6）
傳道者就是得到聖靈啟迪，知道[你不是自己]的人。能夠說[我不屬於自己]，就是靈命達到了一個高峰。生命的真正本質，是故意把主權放棄，一心尊尚另一位為主，這另一位就是耶穌基督。聖靈把耶穌的本性向我解明，是要叫我與主合一，而不是要我成為可誇耀的展覽品。主從不單憑他為門徒所作的事，而差派他們出去，直到他復活了，因聖靈的能力，門徒認識耶穌是誰，然後他才說：[去。 ][人到我這裡來，若不恨……不能作我的門徒。 ]他不是說他不能做個正直良善的人，而是不能稱為[我的]。每一個主所說的關係，都可以是與主爭競的。我若選擇屬於母親，或妻子，或自己，這樣耶穌會說：[你不能作我的門徒。 ]這不是說我並不得救，而是我不能成為[他的]。主視門徒為他的產業，他為耶穌做什麼，乃是要成為他所喜悅的。作傳道人的秘訣是－－我屬他，透過我成就他的大工。我們要完全屬他。
祈禱◆主啊，願你今天臨到我，帶領我進入你神性計劃的一切美善中；感動我的心，讓我能明白你的道路，並在其中歡喜快樂。
A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit has brought about this realization: “You are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). To say, “I am not my own,” is to have reached a high point in my spiritual stature. The true nature of that life in actual everyday confusion is evidenced by the deliberate giving up of myself to another Person through a sovereign decision, and that Person is Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit interprets and explains the nature of Jesus to me to make me one with my Lord, not that I might simply become a trophy for His showcase. Our Lord never sent any of His disciples out on the basis of what He had done for them. It was not until after the resurrection, when the disciples had perceived through the power of the Holy Spirit who Jesus really was, that He said, “Go” (Matthew 28:19; also see Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8).
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). He was not saying that this person cannot be good and upright, but that he cannot be someone over whom Jesus can write the word Mine. Any one of the relationships our Lord mentions in this verse can compete with our relationship with Him. I may prefer to belong to my mother, or to my wife, or to myself, but if that is the case, then, Jesus said, “[You] cannot be My disciple.” This does not mean that I will not be saved, but it does mean that I cannot be entirely His.
Our Lord makes His disciple His very own possession, becoming responsible for him. “. . . you shall be witnesses to Me . . .” (Acts 1:8). The desire that comes into a disciple is not one of doing anything for Jesus, but of being a perfect delight to Him. The missionary’s secret is truly being able to say, “I am His, and He is accomplishing His work and His purposes through me.”
Be entirely His!
我們要完全屬祂！
他們本是你的，你將他們賜給我。 （約十七6）
傳道者就是得到聖靈啟迪，知道[你不是自己]的人。能夠說[我不屬於自己]，就是靈命達到了一個高峰。生命的真正本質，是故意把主權放棄，一心尊尚另一位為主，這另一位就是耶穌基督。聖靈把耶穌的本性向我解明，是要叫我與主合一，而不是要我成為可誇耀的展覽品。主從不單憑他為門徒所作的事，而差派他們出去，直到他復活了，因聖靈的能力，門徒認識耶穌是誰，然後他才說：[去。 ][人到我這裡來，若不恨……不能作我的門徒。 ]他不是說他不能做個正直良善的人，而是不能稱為[我的]。每一個主所說的關係，都可以是與主爭競的。我若選擇屬於母親，或妻子，或自己，這樣耶穌會說：[你不能作我的門徒。 ]這不是說我並不得救，而是我不能成為[他的]。主視門徒為他的產業，他為耶穌做什麼，乃是要成為他所喜悅的。作傳道人的秘訣是－－我屬他，透過我成就他的大工。我們要完全屬他。
祈禱◆主啊，願你今天臨到我，帶領我進入你神性計劃的一切美善中；感動我的心，讓我能明白你的道路，並在其中歡喜快樂。
September 03, 2013
Pouring Out the Water of Satisfaction
He would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord —2 Samuel 23:16
What has been like “water from the well of Bethlehem” to you recently— love, friendship, or maybe some spiritual blessing (2 Samuel 23:16)? Have you taken whatever it may be, even at the risk of damaging your own soul, simply to satisfy yourself? If you have, then you cannot pour it out “to the Lord.” You can never set apart for God something that you desire for yourself to achieve your own satisfaction. If you try to satisfy yourself with a blessing from God, it will corrupt you. You must sacrifice it, pouring it out to God— something that your common sense says is an absurd waste.
How can I pour out “to the Lord” natural love and spiritual blessings? There is only one way— I must make a determination in my mind to do so. There are certain things other people do that could never be received by someone who does not know God, because it is humanly impossible to repay them. As soon as I realize that something is too wonderful for me, that I am not worthy to receive it, and that it is not meant for a human being at all, I must pour it out “to the Lord.” Then these very things that have come to me will be poured out as “rivers of living water” all around me (John 7:38). And until I pour these things out to God, they actually endanger those I love, as well as myself, because they will be turned into lust. Yes, we can be lustful in things that are not sordid and vile. Even love must be transformed by being poured out “to the Lord.”
If you have become bitter and sour, it is because when God gave you a blessing you hoarded it. Yet if you had poured it out to Him, you would have been the sweetest person on earth. If you are always keeping blessings to yourself and never learning to pour out anything “to the Lord,” other people will never have their vision of God expanded through you.
把滿足的水澆奠
……他卻不肯喝，將水奠在耶和華面前……(撒下二十三16)
對你來說，什麼東西像是從伯利恆井裡打來的水？是愛？朋友？還是屬靈的祝福？你若只顧滿足自己，就必危害自己的靈命。這樣，就無法把它傾在主面前。凡是拿來滿足自己的東西，必無法分別為聖歸神。你若拿神的賜福來滿足自己，就必致敗壞。你必須把它獻上，完全傾倒。
我怎樣把天然的愛或屬靈的祝福傾倒給主呢？只有一個方法，就是立定心志。一個不認識神的人，永沒法接受別人所作的某些事，因為這些事並非人力所能報償的。要是我說：[這太偉大了，我不配受，根本不是血肉之軀的人可以接受的，我必須把它傾出來給主。 ]就在這一刻，這些東西就傾在湧流四方的活泉里。我若不這樣傾倒，就會危害自己和所愛的人，因為它會變成情慾。在並不污穢卑劣的事情上，也可以產生貪戀的情慾。愛必須為主完全傾倒，才能達到主變象的境界。
若為自己緊緊抓住神的賜福，你就會愈來愈苦澀煩躁；相反地，你若早把它澆奠在主前，就早已成為從天而降最愉快的人。你若只會一味接受賜福，而從不學習為主傾倒，別人的眼界就永不會因你得著擴闊。
祈禱◆主啊，這個早上，我懷著一份靈性失敗的感覺，來到你面前。藉著你的恩典來潔淨我，讓我重回基督耶穌在天上的地方。
What has been like “water from the well of Bethlehem” to you recently— love, friendship, or maybe some spiritual blessing (2 Samuel 23:16)? Have you taken whatever it may be, even at the risk of damaging your own soul, simply to satisfy yourself? If you have, then you cannot pour it out “to the Lord.” You can never set apart for God something that you desire for yourself to achieve your own satisfaction. If you try to satisfy yourself with a blessing from God, it will corrupt you. You must sacrifice it, pouring it out to God— something that your common sense says is an absurd waste.
How can I pour out “to the Lord” natural love and spiritual blessings? There is only one way— I must make a determination in my mind to do so. There are certain things other people do that could never be received by someone who does not know God, because it is humanly impossible to repay them. As soon as I realize that something is too wonderful for me, that I am not worthy to receive it, and that it is not meant for a human being at all, I must pour it out “to the Lord.” Then these very things that have come to me will be poured out as “rivers of living water” all around me (John 7:38). And until I pour these things out to God, they actually endanger those I love, as well as myself, because they will be turned into lust. Yes, we can be lustful in things that are not sordid and vile. Even love must be transformed by being poured out “to the Lord.”
If you have become bitter and sour, it is because when God gave you a blessing you hoarded it. Yet if you had poured it out to Him, you would have been the sweetest person on earth. If you are always keeping blessings to yourself and never learning to pour out anything “to the Lord,” other people will never have their vision of God expanded through you.
把滿足的水澆奠
……他卻不肯喝，將水奠在耶和華面前……(撒下二十三16)
對你來說，什麼東西像是從伯利恆井裡打來的水？是愛？朋友？還是屬靈的祝福？你若只顧滿足自己，就必危害自己的靈命。這樣，就無法把它傾在主面前。凡是拿來滿足自己的東西，必無法分別為聖歸神。你若拿神的賜福來滿足自己，就必致敗壞。你必須把它獻上，完全傾倒。
我怎樣把天然的愛或屬靈的祝福傾倒給主呢？只有一個方法，就是立定心志。一個不認識神的人，永沒法接受別人所作的某些事，因為這些事並非人力所能報償的。要是我說：[這太偉大了，我不配受，根本不是血肉之軀的人可以接受的，我必須把它傾出來給主。 ]就在這一刻，這些東西就傾在湧流四方的活泉里。我若不這樣傾倒，就會危害自己和所愛的人，因為它會變成情慾。在並不污穢卑劣的事情上，也可以產生貪戀的情慾。愛必須為主完全傾倒，才能達到主變象的境界。
若為自己緊緊抓住神的賜福，你就會愈來愈苦澀煩躁；相反地，你若早把它澆奠在主前，就早已成為從天而降最愉快的人。你若只會一味接受賜福，而從不學習為主傾倒，別人的眼界就永不會因你得著擴闊。
祈禱◆主啊，這個早上，我懷著一份靈性失敗的感覺，來到你面前。藉著你的恩典來潔淨我，讓我重回基督耶穌在天上的地方。
September 02, 2013
A Life of Pure and Holy Sacrifice
He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow . . . —John 7:38
Jesus did not say, “He who believes in Me will realize all the blessings of the fullness of God,” but, in essence, “He who believes in Me will have everything he receives escape out of him.” Our Lord’s teaching was always anti-self-realization. His purpose is not the development of a person— His purpose is to make a person exactly like Himself, and the Son of God is characterized by self-expenditure. If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain but what He pours through us that really counts. God’s purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us. Our spiritual life cannot be measured by success as the world measures it, but only by what God pours through us— and we cannot measure that at all.
When Mary of Bethany “broke the flask . . . of very costly oil . . . and poured it on [Jesus’] head,” it was an act for which no one else saw any special occasion; in fact, “. . . there were some who . . . said, ’Why was this fragrant oil wasted?’ ” (Mark 14:3-4). But Jesus commended Mary for her extravagant act of devotion, and said, “. . . wherever this gospel is preached . . . what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her” (Mark 14:9). Our Lord is filled with overflowing joy whenever He sees any of us doing what Mary did— not being bound by a particular set of rules, but being totally surrendered to Him. God poured out the life of His Son “that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). Are we prepared to pour out our lives for Him?
“He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”— and hundreds of other lives will be continually refreshed. Now is the time for us to break “the flask” of our lives, to stop seeking our own satisfaction, and to pour out our lives before Him. Our Lord is asking who of us will do it for Him?
神聖的祭
信我的人……從他腹中要流出……（約七38）
耶穌不是說：[信我的人，要領受神豐盛的福分。 ]他乃是說：[信我的人，要從他裡面流出領受的一切。 ]主的教訓總是與自我實現相違。他的目的不是要發揮個人，而是要使人完全像他。神兒子的特質就是自我的傾倒。我們若相信耶穌，那麼最重要的不是得著什麼，乃是我們信耶穌，那麼最重要的不是得著什麼，乃是我們倒出多少。神不是造我們成為顆顆圓潤的葡萄，乃是要把我們的甜汁擠出來。在屬靈的領域裡，生命不能以成功來衡量，而是要看我們倒出什麼，這個也是我們無法量估的。
伯大尼的馬利亞打破玉瓶，倒在耶穌的頭上，沒有人能看出是什麼理由；門徒甚至看為浪費。但耶穌稱讚馬利亞這愛的傾盡，並說凡福音傳到的地方，[也要述說這女人所作的以為紀念]。主若看見我們行馬利亞所行的，不計較經濟得失，完全獻上給他的時候，他的喜樂是無法形容。神傾盡他兒子的生命，為拯救世界，我們能否為他傾盡生命？ [信我的人，從他腹中要流出活水的江河來。 ]－－許多的生命會不斷得著更新。如今是把生命之瓶打破的時候，不要再眷戀追求自我滿足，要把生命傾出去。主正在問誰肯為他這樣傾出？
祈禱◆噢，主啊，在絕對的貧乏中，我投向尼。求你在肉身、思想、道德和靈性上臨到我，使我有效地彰顯你、歸榮耀予你。
Jesus did not say, “He who believes in Me will realize all the blessings of the fullness of God,” but, in essence, “He who believes in Me will have everything he receives escape out of him.” Our Lord’s teaching was always anti-self-realization. His purpose is not the development of a person— His purpose is to make a person exactly like Himself, and the Son of God is characterized by self-expenditure. If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain but what He pours through us that really counts. God’s purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us. Our spiritual life cannot be measured by success as the world measures it, but only by what God pours through us— and we cannot measure that at all.
When Mary of Bethany “broke the flask . . . of very costly oil . . . and poured it on [Jesus’] head,” it was an act for which no one else saw any special occasion; in fact, “. . . there were some who . . . said, ’Why was this fragrant oil wasted?’ ” (Mark 14:3-4). But Jesus commended Mary for her extravagant act of devotion, and said, “. . . wherever this gospel is preached . . . what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her” (Mark 14:9). Our Lord is filled with overflowing joy whenever He sees any of us doing what Mary did— not being bound by a particular set of rules, but being totally surrendered to Him. God poured out the life of His Son “that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). Are we prepared to pour out our lives for Him?
“He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”— and hundreds of other lives will be continually refreshed. Now is the time for us to break “the flask” of our lives, to stop seeking our own satisfaction, and to pour out our lives before Him. Our Lord is asking who of us will do it for Him?
神聖的祭
信我的人……從他腹中要流出……（約七38）
耶穌不是說：[信我的人，要領受神豐盛的福分。 ]他乃是說：[信我的人，要從他裡面流出領受的一切。 ]主的教訓總是與自我實現相違。他的目的不是要發揮個人，而是要使人完全像他。神兒子的特質就是自我的傾倒。我們若相信耶穌，那麼最重要的不是得著什麼，乃是我們信耶穌，那麼最重要的不是得著什麼，乃是我們倒出多少。神不是造我們成為顆顆圓潤的葡萄，乃是要把我們的甜汁擠出來。在屬靈的領域裡，生命不能以成功來衡量，而是要看我們倒出什麼，這個也是我們無法量估的。
伯大尼的馬利亞打破玉瓶，倒在耶穌的頭上，沒有人能看出是什麼理由；門徒甚至看為浪費。但耶穌稱讚馬利亞這愛的傾盡，並說凡福音傳到的地方，[也要述說這女人所作的以為紀念]。主若看見我們行馬利亞所行的，不計較經濟得失，完全獻上給他的時候，他的喜樂是無法形容。神傾盡他兒子的生命，為拯救世界，我們能否為他傾盡生命？ [信我的人，從他腹中要流出活水的江河來。 ]－－許多的生命會不斷得著更新。如今是把生命之瓶打破的時候，不要再眷戀追求自我滿足，要把生命傾出去。主正在問誰肯為他這樣傾出？
祈禱◆噢，主啊，在絕對的貧乏中，我投向尼。求你在肉身、思想、道德和靈性上臨到我，使我有效地彰顯你、歸榮耀予你。
September 01, 2013
Destined To Be Holy
. . it is written, ’Be holy, for I am holy’ —1 Peter 1:16
We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God.
Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer.
Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.
命定的聖潔
你們要聖潔，因為我是聖潔的。 （彼前一16）
要經常對自己重申人生的目標。人最終的目標，不是幸福，不是健康，而是聖潔。今天我們有太多要眷戀的東西，以致分心。正直、良善、崇高的喜好，自有它們的價值；可是，神卻要叫它們退縮一旁。因為最重要的事，是人願否接納那能使他變得聖潔的神。人要不惜任何代價，與神建立密切正確的關係。
我真相信要成為聖潔麼？真相信神能進入我裡面，使我成聖麼？若你的講道真叫我相信自己不潔，我會對你所講的產生反感。我對所傳的福音產生強烈的反感，因為它暴露了我的不潔，但同時也挑起了我強烈的強求。神對人類一項終極的命定，就是要我們聖潔。他唯一目的是製造聖徒。神不是一副永遠只賜福予人的機器；他來救人也不是出於可憐同情。他來拯救，因為他創造的人原是聖潔的。救贖就是藉著耶穌基督的死，神把我重新與他聯合，再沒有任何阻隔的影兒。
千萬不可因同情自己或別人，而容許任何與聖潔的神不相合的事。聖潔就是不玷污－－舌頭不玷污，思想不玷污，因為生活上任何細節都在神細察之下。聖潔不單是神賜給我的，更是我怎樣彰顯神所賜給我的。
祈禱◆主，全能的神，你是聖潔的；你的奇妙非讚美所能說盡，你應許過以你的恩典來使我成為聖潔。
We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God.
Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer.
Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.
命定的聖潔
你們要聖潔，因為我是聖潔的。 （彼前一16）
要經常對自己重申人生的目標。人最終的目標，不是幸福，不是健康，而是聖潔。今天我們有太多要眷戀的東西，以致分心。正直、良善、崇高的喜好，自有它們的價值；可是，神卻要叫它們退縮一旁。因為最重要的事，是人願否接納那能使他變得聖潔的神。人要不惜任何代價，與神建立密切正確的關係。
我真相信要成為聖潔麼？真相信神能進入我裡面，使我成聖麼？若你的講道真叫我相信自己不潔，我會對你所講的產生反感。我對所傳的福音產生強烈的反感，因為它暴露了我的不潔，但同時也挑起了我強烈的強求。神對人類一項終極的命定，就是要我們聖潔。他唯一目的是製造聖徒。神不是一副永遠只賜福予人的機器；他來救人也不是出於可憐同情。他來拯救，因為他創造的人原是聖潔的。救贖就是藉著耶穌基督的死，神把我重新與他聯合，再沒有任何阻隔的影兒。
千萬不可因同情自己或別人，而容許任何與聖潔的神不相合的事。聖潔就是不玷污－－舌頭不玷污，思想不玷污，因為生活上任何細節都在神細察之下。聖潔不單是神賜給我的，更是我怎樣彰顯神所賜給我的。
祈禱◆主，全能的神，你是聖潔的；你的奇妙非讚美所能說盡，你應許過以你的恩典來使我成為聖潔。
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