Abide in Me . . . —John 15:4
In the matter of determination. The Spirit of Jesus is put into me by way of the atonement by the Cross of Christ. I then have to build my thinking patiently to bring it into perfect harmony with my Lord. God will not make me think like Jesus— I have to do it myself. I have to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). “Abide in Me”— in intellectual matters, in money matters, in every one of the matters that make human life what it is. Our lives are not made up of only one neatly confined area.
Am I preventing God from doing things in my circumstances by saying that it will only serve to hinder my fellowship with Him? How irrelevant and disrespectful that is! It does not matter what my circumstances are. I can be as much assured of abiding in Jesus in any one of them as I am in any prayer meeting. It is unnecessary to change and arrange my circumstances myself. Our Lord’s inner abiding was pure and unblemished. He was at home with God wherever His body was. He never chose His own circumstances, but was meek, submitting to His Father’s plans and directions for Him. Just think of how amazingly relaxed our Lord’s life was! But we tend to keep God at a fever pitch in our lives. We have none of the serenity of the life which is “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).
Think of the things that take you out of the position of abiding in Christ. You say, “Yes, Lord, just a minute— I still have this to do. Yes, I will abide as soon as this is finished, or as soon as this week is over. It will be all right, Lord. I will abide then.” Get moving— begin to abide now. In the initial stages it will be a continual effort to abide, but as you continue, it will become so much a part of your life that you will abide in Him without any conscious effort. Make the determination to abide in Jesus wherever you are now or wherever you may be placed in the future.
趕快行動！
你們要常在我裡面。 （約十五4）
藉著救贖，耶穌的靈進到我裡面。此後，我就得完全按照主的心意耐心地被塑造。神不會使我像耶穌一樣去思想，我必須自己去做，我必須將所有的心意奪回，使之順服基督。 [常在我裡面。 ]－－在知識上、金錢上，並在一切與人生有關的事上。我們不是活在一個匣子裡。
我有沒有阻撓神行事；認為這些事會妨礙我與他的交通？這是魯莽的態度。環境怎樣根本不重要，重要的是我是否確實的住在主裡，正如我在禱告中與主同住一樣。我無須自行改變或調整環境；對於主，這種內住的光景是分毫不受影響的。主無論置身何處，都與神同住。他從不挑選環境，只柔和謙卑的順服父神為他所作的一切安排。試想主的人生是何等的閒適！至於我們，卻把神置於緊張關頭，沒有與基督一同藏在神裡面的那種平穩。
想想那些妨礙你與主同住的東西：[主啊，是的，不過等一下，我要先做這個；是的，我完成了這個就與你同住；過了這個星期就沒事了，那時就可以與你同住。 ]趕快行動吧！現在就住在主裡！在起初的階段，要不斷的努力工作，直至成為生命的律，使你在不知不覺中便與他同住。所以，你無論置身何處，都要立志住在耶穌裡面。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我懷著讚美和感恩來到你面前，但仍然渴求對你的良善自覺地有更深的欣賞。求你在今天賜福予我，讓我有更廣闊的胸懷和能力去讚美你。
June 14, 2014
June 13, 2014
Getting There (3)
. . . come, follow Me —Luke 18:22
Where our individual desire dies and sanctified surrender lives. One of the greatest hindrances in coming to Jesus is the excuse of our own individual temperament. We make our temperament and our natural desires barriers to coming to Jesus. Yet the first thing we realize when we do come to Jesus is that He pays no attention whatsoever to our natural desires. We have the idea that we can dedicate our gifts to God. However, you cannot dedicate what is not yours. There is actually only one thing you can dedicate to God, and that is your right to yourself (see Romans 12:1). If you will give God your right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you— and His experiments always succeed. The one true mark of a saint of God is the inner creativity that flows from being totally surrendered to Jesus Christ. In the life of a saint there is this amazing Well, which is a continual Source of original life. The Spirit of God is a Well of water springing up perpetually fresh. A saint realizes that it is God who engineers his circumstances; consequently there are no complaints, only unrestrained surrender to Jesus. Never try to make your experience a principle for others, but allow God to be as creative and original with others as He is with you.
If you abandon everything to Jesus, and come when He says, “Come,” then He will continue to say, “Come,” through you. You will go out into the world reproducing the echo of Christ’s “Come.” That is the result in every soul who has abandoned all and come to Jesus.
Have I come to Him? Will I come now?
到主那裡去
來跟從我。 （可一17）
跟從耶穌最大的阻礙之一是性情做藉口。自己的性情加上天然的傾向，往往成為我們就近主的障礙。來到主面前，首先會發現他並不理會我們天然的傾向。我們都有一種概念，以為可以把自己的天賦才能奉獻給神。其實，你根本不可能把不屬於你的東西奉獻出來，只有一樣是你可以奉獻的，就是你的主權（羅十二1）。只要你把自己的主權交給神，他就會在你身上作一項神聖的試驗；而他的試驗是必然成功的。聖徒的標誌之一，就是在德行上的創新力，這種創新力是從向主耶穌完全降服而來的。在聖徒的生命中，有一股奇異的活泉不斷的湧出來，把生命重生。神的靈是一口水井，他所湧出來泉水，是萬古常新的。聖徒知道是神安排各種環境際遇，因此不怨嘆愁苦，反而不顧一切地奔向耶穌。切勿從經驗中製造原則；神在別人身上所做創新的工作，必作在你身上。
你若完全委身於耶穌，他叫你[來]，你就來，這樣他就會繼續透過你說[來]；你在世上就不斷的發出基督[來]的呼聲。這是每個降服主，到耶穌跟前來的人必然的結果。我有沒有來就耶穌？我現在肯不肯來？
祈禱◆噢，主啊，你偉大而榮耀的計劃，在我們眾人心靈的目光前，已經成就和正在成就。主啊，我們雖不見前路，卻認識和信靠你。願你保守我們的思想和心靈，在你裡面得以剛強和平靜。
Where our individual desire dies and sanctified surrender lives. One of the greatest hindrances in coming to Jesus is the excuse of our own individual temperament. We make our temperament and our natural desires barriers to coming to Jesus. Yet the first thing we realize when we do come to Jesus is that He pays no attention whatsoever to our natural desires. We have the idea that we can dedicate our gifts to God. However, you cannot dedicate what is not yours. There is actually only one thing you can dedicate to God, and that is your right to yourself (see Romans 12:1). If you will give God your right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you— and His experiments always succeed. The one true mark of a saint of God is the inner creativity that flows from being totally surrendered to Jesus Christ. In the life of a saint there is this amazing Well, which is a continual Source of original life. The Spirit of God is a Well of water springing up perpetually fresh. A saint realizes that it is God who engineers his circumstances; consequently there are no complaints, only unrestrained surrender to Jesus. Never try to make your experience a principle for others, but allow God to be as creative and original with others as He is with you.
If you abandon everything to Jesus, and come when He says, “Come,” then He will continue to say, “Come,” through you. You will go out into the world reproducing the echo of Christ’s “Come.” That is the result in every soul who has abandoned all and come to Jesus.
Have I come to Him? Will I come now?
到主那裡去
來跟從我。 （可一17）
跟從耶穌最大的阻礙之一是性情做藉口。自己的性情加上天然的傾向，往往成為我們就近主的障礙。來到主面前，首先會發現他並不理會我們天然的傾向。我們都有一種概念，以為可以把自己的天賦才能奉獻給神。其實，你根本不可能把不屬於你的東西奉獻出來，只有一樣是你可以奉獻的，就是你的主權（羅十二1）。只要你把自己的主權交給神，他就會在你身上作一項神聖的試驗；而他的試驗是必然成功的。聖徒的標誌之一，就是在德行上的創新力，這種創新力是從向主耶穌完全降服而來的。在聖徒的生命中，有一股奇異的活泉不斷的湧出來，把生命重生。神的靈是一口水井，他所湧出來泉水，是萬古常新的。聖徒知道是神安排各種環境際遇，因此不怨嘆愁苦，反而不顧一切地奔向耶穌。切勿從經驗中製造原則；神在別人身上所做創新的工作，必作在你身上。
你若完全委身於耶穌，他叫你[來]，你就來，這樣他就會繼續透過你說[來]；你在世上就不斷的發出基督[來]的呼聲。這是每個降服主，到耶穌跟前來的人必然的結果。我有沒有來就耶穌？我現在肯不肯來？
祈禱◆噢，主啊，你偉大而榮耀的計劃，在我們眾人心靈的目光前，已經成就和正在成就。主啊，我們雖不見前路，卻認識和信靠你。願你保守我們的思想和心靈，在你裡面得以剛強和平靜。
June 12, 2014
Getting There (2)
They said to Him, ’Rabbi . . . where are You staying?’ He said to them, ’Come and see’ —John 1:38-39
Where our self-interest sleeps and the real interest is awakened. “They . . . remained with Him that day . . . .” That is about all some of us ever do. We stay with Him a short time, only to wake up to our own realities of life. Our self-interest rises up and our abiding with Him is past. Yet there is no circumstance of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.
“You are Simon . . . . You shall be called Cephas” (John 1:42). God writes our new name only on those places in our lives where He has erased our pride, self-sufficiency, and self-interest. Some of us have our new name written only in certain spots, like spiritual measles. And in those areas of our lives we look all right. When we are in our best spiritual mood, you would think we were the highest quality saints. But don’t dare look at us when we are not in that mood. A true disciple is one who has his new name written all over him— self-interest, pride, and self-sufficiency have been completely erased.
Pride is the sin of making “self” our god. And some of us today do this, not like the Pharisee, but like the tax collector (see Luke 18:9-14). For you to say, “Oh, I’m no saint,” is acceptable by human standards of pride, but it is unconscious blasphemy against God. You defy God to make you a saint, as if to say, “I am too weak and hopeless and outside the reach of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.” Why aren’t you a saint? It is either that you do not want to be a saint, or that you do not believe that God can make you into one. You say it would be all right if God saved you and took you straight to heaven. That is exactly what He will do! And not only do we make our home with Him, but Jesus said of His Father and Himself, “. . . We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). Put no conditions on your life— let Jesus be everything to you, and He will take you home with Him not only for a day, but for eternity.
到主那裡去
拉比，在那裡住？ ……你們來看……來跟從我。 （約一38-39）
[這一天便與他同住。 ]我們中間不少往往就是這樣，一覺之後，清醒過來，又去面對現實。一己的利益來到，就不再與主同住了。其實，任何的一種生活情況都不足以阻礙我們，使我們不與主同住（即不住在主裡）。
[你是西門，你要稱為磯法。 ]神在我們生命中，只有在驕傲、自滿、自利被抹除的地方，寫下新的名字。有些人的新名是斑點式的，像屬靈的痳疹一般。在某些地方，我們看來很不錯。當屬靈情緒高昂，我們會認為自己是高等聖徒；不過，在情緒低落的時候，請別看我們了。作門徒的，是全身都寫滿了新名；自私自利、驕傲自滿等，全都被抹掉了。
驕傲即是神化自我。對今人來說，這已不是法利賽人的模式，乃是稅吏的模式了。 [啊，我不是聖徒哩]，這個說法在人的傲氣中，是可以接受的；可是卻無形中是對神的褻瀆。其實際上的意思是說：你抗拒神，不要他使你成為聖徒。 [我太軟弱，無可救要，救恩對我也無濟於事。 ]在人面前的謙遜，可能無形中褻瀆了神。你為什麼不是聖徒？是你不要作聖徒，還是你不信神能使你成為聖徒？你說：[神若救我，把我直接帶上天堂就好了。 ]其實這正是他要做的！ [我們來就他，與他同住吧。 ]不要作繭自縛，要讓耶穌成為你的一切；這樣，他就必帶住你一同歸家，直到永永遠遠。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我的思想有多少部分，被近來環繞身邊的興趣所佔據，以致這些身旁的東西都成了中心。願你自己成為我生命中固定的中心，和環繞我身邊的一切。
Where our self-interest sleeps and the real interest is awakened. “They . . . remained with Him that day . . . .” That is about all some of us ever do. We stay with Him a short time, only to wake up to our own realities of life. Our self-interest rises up and our abiding with Him is past. Yet there is no circumstance of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.
“You are Simon . . . . You shall be called Cephas” (John 1:42). God writes our new name only on those places in our lives where He has erased our pride, self-sufficiency, and self-interest. Some of us have our new name written only in certain spots, like spiritual measles. And in those areas of our lives we look all right. When we are in our best spiritual mood, you would think we were the highest quality saints. But don’t dare look at us when we are not in that mood. A true disciple is one who has his new name written all over him— self-interest, pride, and self-sufficiency have been completely erased.
Pride is the sin of making “self” our god. And some of us today do this, not like the Pharisee, but like the tax collector (see Luke 18:9-14). For you to say, “Oh, I’m no saint,” is acceptable by human standards of pride, but it is unconscious blasphemy against God. You defy God to make you a saint, as if to say, “I am too weak and hopeless and outside the reach of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.” Why aren’t you a saint? It is either that you do not want to be a saint, or that you do not believe that God can make you into one. You say it would be all right if God saved you and took you straight to heaven. That is exactly what He will do! And not only do we make our home with Him, but Jesus said of His Father and Himself, “. . . We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). Put no conditions on your life— let Jesus be everything to you, and He will take you home with Him not only for a day, but for eternity.
到主那裡去
拉比，在那裡住？ ……你們來看……來跟從我。 （約一38-39）
[這一天便與他同住。 ]我們中間不少往往就是這樣，一覺之後，清醒過來，又去面對現實。一己的利益來到，就不再與主同住了。其實，任何的一種生活情況都不足以阻礙我們，使我們不與主同住（即不住在主裡）。
[你是西門，你要稱為磯法。 ]神在我們生命中，只有在驕傲、自滿、自利被抹除的地方，寫下新的名字。有些人的新名是斑點式的，像屬靈的痳疹一般。在某些地方，我們看來很不錯。當屬靈情緒高昂，我們會認為自己是高等聖徒；不過，在情緒低落的時候，請別看我們了。作門徒的，是全身都寫滿了新名；自私自利、驕傲自滿等，全都被抹掉了。
驕傲即是神化自我。對今人來說，這已不是法利賽人的模式，乃是稅吏的模式了。 [啊，我不是聖徒哩]，這個說法在人的傲氣中，是可以接受的；可是卻無形中是對神的褻瀆。其實際上的意思是說：你抗拒神，不要他使你成為聖徒。 [我太軟弱，無可救要，救恩對我也無濟於事。 ]在人面前的謙遜，可能無形中褻瀆了神。你為什麼不是聖徒？是你不要作聖徒，還是你不信神能使你成為聖徒？你說：[神若救我，把我直接帶上天堂就好了。 ]其實這正是他要做的！ [我們來就他，與他同住吧。 ]不要作繭自縛，要讓耶穌成為你的一切；這樣，他就必帶住你一同歸家，直到永永遠遠。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我的思想有多少部分，被近來環繞身邊的興趣所佔據，以致這些身旁的東西都成了中心。願你自己成為我生命中固定的中心，和環繞我身邊的一切。
June 11, 2014
Getting There (1)
Come to Me . . . —Matthew 11:28
Where sin and sorrow stops, and the song of the saint starts. Do I really want to get there? I can right now. The questions that truly matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by these words— “Come to Me.” Our Lord’s words are not, “Do this, or don’t do that,” but— “Come to me.” If I will simply come to Jesus, my real life will be brought into harmony with my real desires. I will actually cease from sin, and will find the song of the Lord beginning in my life.
Have you ever come to Jesus? Look at the stubbornness of your heart. You would rather do anything than this one simple childlike thing— “Come to Me.” If you really want to experience ceasing from sin, you must come to Jesus.
Jesus Christ makes Himself the test to determine your genuineness. Look how He used the word come. At the most unexpected moments in your life there is this whisper of the Lord— “Come to Me,” and you are immediately drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus changes everything. Be “foolish” enough to come and commit yourself to what He says. The attitude necessary for you to come to Him is one where your will has made the determination to let go of everything and deliberately commit it all to Him.
“. . . and I will give you rest”— that is, “I will sustain you, causing you to stand firm.” He is not saying, “I will put you to bed, hold your hand, and sing you to sleep.” But, in essence, He is saying, “I will get you out of bed— out of your listlessness and exhaustion, and out of your condition of being half dead while you are still alive. I will penetrate you with the spirit of life, and you will be sustained by the perfection of vital activity.” Yet we become so weak and pitiful and talk about “suffering” the will of the Lord! Where is the majestic vitality and the power of the Son of God in that?
到主那裡去
到我這裡來。 （太十一28）
我想到那裡去嗎？現在就可以去了。人生真正重大的問題本來是極少的，而這些問題都在[到我這裡來]這句話裡得了答案。不是做這個，不做那個；而是[到我這裡來]。只要來到耶穌跟前，生活就會按照我真正的渴望度過；我會真的脫離罪，真正找到主所賜的樂歌。
你曾否到耶穌這裡來？當心你心中的頑梗，叫你寧願做許多別的事，也不甘願像個天真的孩子般[到我這裡來]。你若真想斷絕罪，就必須來就耶穌。耶穌基督拿自己做試金石。請留意他如何用[來]這個字。在人最意想不到的時刻，主微聲說[到我這裡來]，你立即就被他吸引過去。
與基督的接觸，會改變人的一切。你要絕聖去智，成為愚拙，來親就耶穌，照他所說的去行。 [來]的態度就是肯完全放棄一切，立志將所有的交付他。
[我就使你們得安息]，就是說[我會扶持你]。不是[我會把你送上床，執著你的手，哼著眠歌，把你送入夢鄉]。而是[我要叫你從床上起來，從頹廢疲憊中出來，從半生不死得狀況下出來；我要以生命的靈充滿你，你便有完全的生命。 ]我們有時會可憐兮兮地說：[為神的旨意而受苦！ ]這種態度，哪能彰顯兒子無上的生命力與大能呢？
祈禱◆[如甘霖滋潤田地]；[如露水降在以色列]－－噢，主啊，今天早上這些說話，來到我的腦海中，是帶著甜蜜的迫切感。願你今天好像甘霖、露水般臨到我們當中，滋潤、塑造和賜福我們。我懷著極大和歡欣的期望來到你的面前。
Where sin and sorrow stops, and the song of the saint starts. Do I really want to get there? I can right now. The questions that truly matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by these words— “Come to Me.” Our Lord’s words are not, “Do this, or don’t do that,” but— “Come to me.” If I will simply come to Jesus, my real life will be brought into harmony with my real desires. I will actually cease from sin, and will find the song of the Lord beginning in my life.
Have you ever come to Jesus? Look at the stubbornness of your heart. You would rather do anything than this one simple childlike thing— “Come to Me.” If you really want to experience ceasing from sin, you must come to Jesus.
Jesus Christ makes Himself the test to determine your genuineness. Look how He used the word come. At the most unexpected moments in your life there is this whisper of the Lord— “Come to Me,” and you are immediately drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus changes everything. Be “foolish” enough to come and commit yourself to what He says. The attitude necessary for you to come to Him is one where your will has made the determination to let go of everything and deliberately commit it all to Him.
“. . . and I will give you rest”— that is, “I will sustain you, causing you to stand firm.” He is not saying, “I will put you to bed, hold your hand, and sing you to sleep.” But, in essence, He is saying, “I will get you out of bed— out of your listlessness and exhaustion, and out of your condition of being half dead while you are still alive. I will penetrate you with the spirit of life, and you will be sustained by the perfection of vital activity.” Yet we become so weak and pitiful and talk about “suffering” the will of the Lord! Where is the majestic vitality and the power of the Son of God in that?
到主那裡去
到我這裡來。 （太十一28）
我想到那裡去嗎？現在就可以去了。人生真正重大的問題本來是極少的，而這些問題都在[到我這裡來]這句話裡得了答案。不是做這個，不做那個；而是[到我這裡來]。只要來到耶穌跟前，生活就會按照我真正的渴望度過；我會真的脫離罪，真正找到主所賜的樂歌。
你曾否到耶穌這裡來？當心你心中的頑梗，叫你寧願做許多別的事，也不甘願像個天真的孩子般[到我這裡來]。你若真想斷絕罪，就必須來就耶穌。耶穌基督拿自己做試金石。請留意他如何用[來]這個字。在人最意想不到的時刻，主微聲說[到我這裡來]，你立即就被他吸引過去。
與基督的接觸，會改變人的一切。你要絕聖去智，成為愚拙，來親就耶穌，照他所說的去行。 [來]的態度就是肯完全放棄一切，立志將所有的交付他。
[我就使你們得安息]，就是說[我會扶持你]。不是[我會把你送上床，執著你的手，哼著眠歌，把你送入夢鄉]。而是[我要叫你從床上起來，從頹廢疲憊中出來，從半生不死得狀況下出來；我要以生命的靈充滿你，你便有完全的生命。 ]我們有時會可憐兮兮地說：[為神的旨意而受苦！ ]這種態度，哪能彰顯兒子無上的生命力與大能呢？
祈禱◆[如甘霖滋潤田地]；[如露水降在以色列]－－噢，主啊，今天早上這些說話，來到我的腦海中，是帶著甜蜜的迫切感。願你今天好像甘霖、露水般臨到我們當中，滋潤、塑造和賜福我們。我懷著極大和歡欣的期望來到你的面前。
June 10, 2014
And After That What’s Next To Do?
. . . seek, and you will find . . . —Luke 11:9
Seek if you have not found. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss . . .” (James 4:3). If you ask for things from life instead of from God, “you ask amiss”; that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment. The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God. “. . . seek, and you will find . . . .” Get to work— narrow your focus and interests to this one thing. Have you ever sought God with your whole heart, or have you simply given Him a feeble cry after some emotionally painful experience? “. . . seek, [focus,] and you will find . . . .”
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. . .” (Isaiah 55:1). Are you thirsty, or complacent and indifferent— so satisfied with your own experience that you want nothing more of God? Experience is a doorway, not a final goal. Beware of building your faith on experience, or your life will not ring true and will only sound the note of a critical spirit. Remember that you can never give another person what you have found, but you can cause him to have a desire for it.
“. . . knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). “Draw near to God . . .” (James 4:8). Knock— the door is closed, and your heartbeat races as you knock. “Cleanse your hands . . .” (James 4:8). Knock a bit louder— you begin to find that you are dirty. “. . . purify your hearts . . .” (James 4:8). It is becoming even more personal— you are desperate and serious now— you will do anything. “Lament . . . ” (James 4:9). Have you ever lamented, expressing your sorrow before God for the condition of your inner life? There is no thread of self-pity left, only the heart-rending difficulty and amazement which comes from seeing what kind of person you really are. “Humble yourselves . . . ” (James 4:10). It is a humbling experience to knock at God’s door— you have to knock with the crucified thief. “. . . to him who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:10).
第二步妙法
尋找就尋見。 （路十一9）
[你們求也得不著，因為你們妄求。 ]你求的若是今生的事物，而不是從神來的就是妄求，就是出於實現自我的慾望。你愈是實現自我，就愈不會尋求神。 [尋找就尋見。 ]去實行吧，聚精會神在尋找方面。你是全心尋求神，還是在受刺激痛楚之下，向神沒精打采地哀求？尋找，要專心，那你就尋見。
[你們一切乾渴的都當就近水來。 ]你是渴慕神，還是漠然不關心－－只滿足於自己的經歷，以致對神再無所求？經歷是個通道，不是目的。要謹慎，不要把信心建築在經歷之上，那鏗然之聲必隨即響起，加以責難，因你無法把所找到的傳給別人，你只能叫他羨慕你所得著的。
[叩門，就給你們開門。 ][要親近神。 ]叩門－－那門是關閉的，叩的時候你會心驚膽戰。 [潔淨你們的手]－－稍為用力一點叩，就會發現自己的污穢。 [潔淨你們的心]－－這一層更加深切了；這是你很真誠逼切，什麼都肯做了。 [要受苦]－－你曾否因你內在的光景，在神面前受苦？這時你已沒有絲毫自憐了，只有一種因詫異而來的心碎，因發覺原來自己的本相是這樣的。 [自卑]－－叩神的門是一件卑躬屈膝的事－－你要與那被釘十架的大盜同叩門。 [叩門的就給他開門。 ]
祈禱◆噢，主啊，但願我對你有更活潑的感應，而你的豐盛一直與我同在。
Seek if you have not found. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss . . .” (James 4:3). If you ask for things from life instead of from God, “you ask amiss”; that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment. The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God. “. . . seek, and you will find . . . .” Get to work— narrow your focus and interests to this one thing. Have you ever sought God with your whole heart, or have you simply given Him a feeble cry after some emotionally painful experience? “. . . seek, [focus,] and you will find . . . .”
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. . .” (Isaiah 55:1). Are you thirsty, or complacent and indifferent— so satisfied with your own experience that you want nothing more of God? Experience is a doorway, not a final goal. Beware of building your faith on experience, or your life will not ring true and will only sound the note of a critical spirit. Remember that you can never give another person what you have found, but you can cause him to have a desire for it.
“. . . knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). “Draw near to God . . .” (James 4:8). Knock— the door is closed, and your heartbeat races as you knock. “Cleanse your hands . . .” (James 4:8). Knock a bit louder— you begin to find that you are dirty. “. . . purify your hearts . . .” (James 4:8). It is becoming even more personal— you are desperate and serious now— you will do anything. “Lament . . . ” (James 4:9). Have you ever lamented, expressing your sorrow before God for the condition of your inner life? There is no thread of self-pity left, only the heart-rending difficulty and amazement which comes from seeing what kind of person you really are. “Humble yourselves . . . ” (James 4:10). It is a humbling experience to knock at God’s door— you have to knock with the crucified thief. “. . . to him who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:10).
第二步妙法
尋找就尋見。 （路十一9）
[你們求也得不著，因為你們妄求。 ]你求的若是今生的事物，而不是從神來的就是妄求，就是出於實現自我的慾望。你愈是實現自我，就愈不會尋求神。 [尋找就尋見。 ]去實行吧，聚精會神在尋找方面。你是全心尋求神，還是在受刺激痛楚之下，向神沒精打采地哀求？尋找，要專心，那你就尋見。
[你們一切乾渴的都當就近水來。 ]你是渴慕神，還是漠然不關心－－只滿足於自己的經歷，以致對神再無所求？經歷是個通道，不是目的。要謹慎，不要把信心建築在經歷之上，那鏗然之聲必隨即響起，加以責難，因你無法把所找到的傳給別人，你只能叫他羨慕你所得著的。
[叩門，就給你們開門。 ][要親近神。 ]叩門－－那門是關閉的，叩的時候你會心驚膽戰。 [潔淨你們的手]－－稍為用力一點叩，就會發現自己的污穢。 [潔淨你們的心]－－這一層更加深切了；這是你很真誠逼切，什麼都肯做了。 [要受苦]－－你曾否因你內在的光景，在神面前受苦？這時你已沒有絲毫自憐了，只有一種因詫異而來的心碎，因發覺原來自己的本相是這樣的。 [自卑]－－叩神的門是一件卑躬屈膝的事－－你要與那被釘十架的大盜同叩門。 [叩門的就給他開門。 ]
祈禱◆噢，主啊，但願我對你有更活潑的感應，而你的豐盛一直與我同在。
June 09, 2014
Then What’s Next To Do?
Everyone who asks receives . . . —Luke 11:10
Ask if you have not received. There is nothing more difficult than asking. We will have yearnings and desires for certain things, and even suffer as a result of their going unfulfilled, but not until we are at the limit of desperation will we ask. It is the sense of not being spiritually real that causes us to ask. Have you ever asked out of the depths of your total insufficiency and poverty? “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God . . . ” (James 1:5), but be sure that you do lack wisdom before you ask. You cannot bring yourself to the point of spiritual reality anytime you choose. The best thing to do, once you realize you are not spiritually real, is to ask God for the Holy Spirit, basing your request on the promise of Jesus Christ (see Luke 11:13). The Holy Spirit is the one who makes everything that Jesus did for you real in your life.
“Everyone who asks receives . . . .” This does not mean that you will not get if you do not ask, but it means that until you come to the point of asking, you will not receive from God (see Matthew 5:45). To be able to receive means that you have to come into the relationship of a child of God, and then you comprehend and appreciate mentally, morally, and with spiritual understanding, that these things come from God.
“If any of you lacks wisdom . . . .” If you realize that you are lacking, it is because you have come in contact with spiritual reality— do not put the blinders of reason on again. The word ask actually means “beg.” Some people are poor enough to be interested in their poverty, and some of us are poor enough spiritually to show our interest. Yet we will never receive if we ask with a certain result in mind, because we are asking out of our lust, not out of our poverty. A pauper does not ask out of any reason other than the completely hopeless and painful condition of his poverty. He is not ashamed to beg— blessed are the paupers in spirit (see Matthew 5:3).
第二步妙法
因為凡祈求的就得著。 （路十一10）
沒有一件事比祈求更難的了。我們會渴望、愛慕，甚至受煎熬；但非等到山窮水盡，無路可走，我們決不會祈求。只有一種不現實的感覺才催使我們去祈求。你有沒有從德性貧乏的深坑中向神祈求？ [你們中間若有缺少智慧的，可以向神求……]但千萬要弄清楚你是真的缺少智慧，你無法照自己的意思隨時面對實際的事物。你若覺得沒有屬靈的實在，第二步最佳的辦法就是照主的話求聖靈（參路十一13）。聖靈的工作就是把耶穌為你所成就的一切，變成真實。
[凡祈求的就得著。 ]這不是說，你不求就得不著（比較太五45），而是說你未去到求的地方，就始終不能從神領受什麼。領受的意思就是已與神建立父子的關係，在理智上、精神上，以及屬靈的悟性上，都知道是從神而來的。
[你們中間若有缺少智慧的……]你知道自己的缺乏，因為你摸著了屬靈的實際。請勿把你理智的閃燈亮起。人們會說：[傳簡單的福音給我們吧；不用叫我們成為聖潔，因為這使人覺得自己一貧如洗，這感覺並不好受。 ][求]就是乞求的意思。有些人家徒四壁而安於貧窮，我們中間一些人在屬靈上也是如此。心目中若有目的去求，就永不會從神獲得；因為是出於情慾，而不是由於貧窮。乞丐求乞，除了一貧如洗的理由之外，便沒有別的理由。因此他並不恥於求乞－－靈裡貧窮的人有福了。
祈禱◆主啊，為著這教會，我稱頌你，因為她正證明你是[窮乏人的力量、是急難中困苦人的力量，是波浪中的避難所、是熱氣下的庇蔭]。
Ask if you have not received. There is nothing more difficult than asking. We will have yearnings and desires for certain things, and even suffer as a result of their going unfulfilled, but not until we are at the limit of desperation will we ask. It is the sense of not being spiritually real that causes us to ask. Have you ever asked out of the depths of your total insufficiency and poverty? “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God . . . ” (James 1:5), but be sure that you do lack wisdom before you ask. You cannot bring yourself to the point of spiritual reality anytime you choose. The best thing to do, once you realize you are not spiritually real, is to ask God for the Holy Spirit, basing your request on the promise of Jesus Christ (see Luke 11:13). The Holy Spirit is the one who makes everything that Jesus did for you real in your life.
“Everyone who asks receives . . . .” This does not mean that you will not get if you do not ask, but it means that until you come to the point of asking, you will not receive from God (see Matthew 5:45). To be able to receive means that you have to come into the relationship of a child of God, and then you comprehend and appreciate mentally, morally, and with spiritual understanding, that these things come from God.
“If any of you lacks wisdom . . . .” If you realize that you are lacking, it is because you have come in contact with spiritual reality— do not put the blinders of reason on again. The word ask actually means “beg.” Some people are poor enough to be interested in their poverty, and some of us are poor enough spiritually to show our interest. Yet we will never receive if we ask with a certain result in mind, because we are asking out of our lust, not out of our poverty. A pauper does not ask out of any reason other than the completely hopeless and painful condition of his poverty. He is not ashamed to beg— blessed are the paupers in spirit (see Matthew 5:3).
第二步妙法
因為凡祈求的就得著。 （路十一10）
沒有一件事比祈求更難的了。我們會渴望、愛慕，甚至受煎熬；但非等到山窮水盡，無路可走，我們決不會祈求。只有一種不現實的感覺才催使我們去祈求。你有沒有從德性貧乏的深坑中向神祈求？ [你們中間若有缺少智慧的，可以向神求……]但千萬要弄清楚你是真的缺少智慧，你無法照自己的意思隨時面對實際的事物。你若覺得沒有屬靈的實在，第二步最佳的辦法就是照主的話求聖靈（參路十一13）。聖靈的工作就是把耶穌為你所成就的一切，變成真實。
[凡祈求的就得著。 ]這不是說，你不求就得不著（比較太五45），而是說你未去到求的地方，就始終不能從神領受什麼。領受的意思就是已與神建立父子的關係，在理智上、精神上，以及屬靈的悟性上，都知道是從神而來的。
[你們中間若有缺少智慧的……]你知道自己的缺乏，因為你摸著了屬靈的實際。請勿把你理智的閃燈亮起。人們會說：[傳簡單的福音給我們吧；不用叫我們成為聖潔，因為這使人覺得自己一貧如洗，這感覺並不好受。 ][求]就是乞求的意思。有些人家徒四壁而安於貧窮，我們中間一些人在屬靈上也是如此。心目中若有目的去求，就永不會從神獲得；因為是出於情慾，而不是由於貧窮。乞丐求乞，除了一貧如洗的理由之外，便沒有別的理由。因此他並不恥於求乞－－靈裡貧窮的人有福了。
祈禱◆主啊，為著這教會，我稱頌你，因為她正證明你是[窮乏人的力量、是急難中困苦人的力量，是波浪中的避難所、是熱氣下的庇蔭]。
June 08, 2014
What’s Next To Do?
If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them —John 13:17
Be determined to know more than others. If you yourself do not cut the lines that tie you to the dock, God will have to use a storm to sever them and to send you out to sea. Put everything in your life afloat upon God, going out to sea on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and your eyes will be opened. If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the calm waters just inside the harbor, full of joy, but always tied to the dock. You have to get out past the harbor into the great depths of God, and begin to know things for yourself— begin to have spiritual discernment.
When you know that you should do something and you do it, immediately you know more. Examine where you have become sluggish, where you began losing interest spiritually, and you will find that it goes back to a point where you did not do something you knew you should do. You did not do it because there seemed to be no immediate call to do it. But now you have no insight or discernment, and at a time of crisis you are spiritually distracted instead of spiritually self-controlled. It is a dangerous thing to refuse to continue learning and knowing more.
The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you create your own opportunities to sacrifice yourself, and your zeal and enthusiasm are mistaken for discernment. It is easier to sacrifice yourself than to fulfill your spiritual destiny, which is stated in Romans 12:1-2. It is much better to fulfill the purpose of God in your life by discerning His will than it is to perform great acts of self-sacrifice. “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice . . .” (1 Samuel 15:22). Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you have never been. “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know . . .” (John 7:17).
下一步是什麼？
你們既知道這事，若是去行就有福了。 （約十三17）
你若不切斷錨索，神就會用風暴來把它們折斷，好送你出去。把所有的交給神，在他旨意的狂瀾中出去，你的眼就必開啟。你若相信耶穌，就不可老是留在風平浪靜的港口內，滿心快樂地度日，被纜繩一直拴住。你必須從港口出來，進入神的深處，親自探索，要得屬靈得亮光，能以分辨是非。
若是做了該做的事，你隨即就知道的更多。試檢討一下你的靈性在什麼地方停滯了。你就必發現在某一件該做的事上你沒有去做，因為覺得沒有逼切的呼召。如今你失去了知覺與分辨力了。在緊要關頭上，你的靈性分了心，不能收斂起來。不繼續求知，是很危險的。
虛偽的順服，就是製造自我犧牲，誤把熱情當做明辨。犧牲自己比達成屬靈任務容易很多，這就是羅馬書十二章1至2節所說的。察驗神的心意，成全他在你身上的旨意，比自我犧牲的壯舉要好很多。 [聽命勝於獻祭。 ]當神要在你身上成就還未成就的，要追憶你往日聽見神的光景。 [若是去行……就知道……]。
祈禱◆主啊，在關於人的事情上，我的思想模糊。求你成為他們的堅固城堡，因為似乎沒有人注意或關心他們。讓他們免受敵人的壓迫，因著他們對你的忠心，願你保存他們。主啊，願你以大能承擔此事。
Be determined to know more than others. If you yourself do not cut the lines that tie you to the dock, God will have to use a storm to sever them and to send you out to sea. Put everything in your life afloat upon God, going out to sea on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and your eyes will be opened. If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the calm waters just inside the harbor, full of joy, but always tied to the dock. You have to get out past the harbor into the great depths of God, and begin to know things for yourself— begin to have spiritual discernment.
When you know that you should do something and you do it, immediately you know more. Examine where you have become sluggish, where you began losing interest spiritually, and you will find that it goes back to a point where you did not do something you knew you should do. You did not do it because there seemed to be no immediate call to do it. But now you have no insight or discernment, and at a time of crisis you are spiritually distracted instead of spiritually self-controlled. It is a dangerous thing to refuse to continue learning and knowing more.
The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you create your own opportunities to sacrifice yourself, and your zeal and enthusiasm are mistaken for discernment. It is easier to sacrifice yourself than to fulfill your spiritual destiny, which is stated in Romans 12:1-2. It is much better to fulfill the purpose of God in your life by discerning His will than it is to perform great acts of self-sacrifice. “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice . . .” (1 Samuel 15:22). Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you have never been. “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know . . .” (John 7:17).
下一步是什麼？
你們既知道這事，若是去行就有福了。 （約十三17）
你若不切斷錨索，神就會用風暴來把它們折斷，好送你出去。把所有的交給神，在他旨意的狂瀾中出去，你的眼就必開啟。你若相信耶穌，就不可老是留在風平浪靜的港口內，滿心快樂地度日，被纜繩一直拴住。你必須從港口出來，進入神的深處，親自探索，要得屬靈得亮光，能以分辨是非。
若是做了該做的事，你隨即就知道的更多。試檢討一下你的靈性在什麼地方停滯了。你就必發現在某一件該做的事上你沒有去做，因為覺得沒有逼切的呼召。如今你失去了知覺與分辨力了。在緊要關頭上，你的靈性分了心，不能收斂起來。不繼續求知，是很危險的。
虛偽的順服，就是製造自我犧牲，誤把熱情當做明辨。犧牲自己比達成屬靈任務容易很多，這就是羅馬書十二章1至2節所說的。察驗神的心意，成全他在你身上的旨意，比自我犧牲的壯舉要好很多。 [聽命勝於獻祭。 ]當神要在你身上成就還未成就的，要追憶你往日聽見神的光景。 [若是去行……就知道……]。
祈禱◆主啊，在關於人的事情上，我的思想模糊。求你成為他們的堅固城堡，因為似乎沒有人注意或關心他們。讓他們免受敵人的壓迫，因著他們對你的忠心，願你保存他們。主啊，願你以大能承擔此事。
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