You shall not go out with haste, . . . for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard —Isaiah 52:12
Security from Yesterday. “. . . God requires an account of what is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.
Security for Tomorrow. “. . . the Lord will go before you . . . .” This is a gracious revelation— that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our “rear guard.” And God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.
Security for Today. “You shall not go out with haste . . . .” As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.
Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.
昨日
以色列的神必作你們的後裔。 （賽五十二12）
脫離昨天的保證。 [神需要用過去的事。 ]
年終的時候，我們會期待地指望神帶領將來，但回想過去，也會帶來焦慮。今天對神恩典的享受，很容易受過去的罪與錯失影響。可是神是管理昨天的神，他容許過去的回憶存留，為的是將來的屬靈培育。神有時用過去提醒我們，免得我們停在現今膚淺的滿足裡。
明天的保證。 [因為耶和華必在你們前頭行。 ]
這是滿有恩典的啟示，神在我們失敗的地方守衛，留意不讓我們重蹈覆轍。若他不作後盾，我們勢必再犯。神的手伸到昨天去，為我們的良心清除存貨。
今天的保證。 [你們出來必不至急忙。 ]
在進入新一年之際，讓我們不要急躁鹵莽、興奮忘舊，也不要輕率衝動，只要從忍耐中得力，知道以色列的神必在前頭行。昨天無可挽回，錯過的機會永難再得，但神可以把這摧毀性得焦慮，變成建設性得心思，作將來之用。讓過去睡吧，但要睡在主耶穌的懷裡。
把一去不復返的過去放在他手中，然後與他一同踏進必要來到的將來。
祈禱◆主耶穌啊，[父一切的豐盛，都在你裡面居住]；[萬物都交在你的手裡]；[天上地下所有的權柄都賜給你了]－－噢，我天上的父神，願你按照你在基督耶穌榮耀裡的豐盛，滿足我一切的需要。
December 31, 2014
December 30, 2014
“And Every Virtue We Possess”
. . . All my springs are in you —Psalm 87:7
Our Lord never “patches up” our natural virtues, that is, our natural traits, qualities, or characteristics. He completely remakes a person on the inside— “. . . put on the new man . . .” (Ephesians 4:24). In other words, see that your natural human life is putting on all that is in keeping with the new life. The life God places within us develops its own new virtues, not the virtues of the seed of Adam, but of Jesus Christ. Once God has begun the process of sanctification in your life, watch and see how God causes your confidence in your own natural virtues and power to wither away. He will continue until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus. Thank God if you are going through this drying-up experience!
The sign that God is at work in us is that He is destroying our confidence in the natural virtues, because they are not promises of what we are going to be, but only a wasted reminder of what God created man to be. We want to cling to our natural virtues, while all the time God is trying to get us in contact with the life of Jesus Christ— a life that can never be described in terms of natural virtues. It is the saddest thing to see people who are trying to serve God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them. They are depending solely on what they have by virtue of heredity. God does not take our natural virtues and transform them, because our natural virtues could never even come close to what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands. But as we bring every part of our natural bodily life into harmony with the new life God has placed within us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.
And every virtue we possess
Is His alone.
我們一切的美德
我的泉源都在你裡面。 （詩八十七7）
我們的主從不修補天然美德，他乃是從裡面重新再造。 [穿上新人]，意思是你要給肉體的生命穿上與新生命相配的衣服。神種在我們裡頭的生命，會萌發本身的美德，不是亞當的，乃是主耶穌的。你成聖以後，會叫你對天然美德，並個人一切力量的信心枯萎，直至你學會怎樣從主耶穌復活的泉源中支取生命。你若正經歷那乾涸的階段，就得感謝神。
神在我們裡面作工的徵象，就是敗壞我們對天然德行的信念，因為那些本不是神應許的，不過是他初造人時所剩餘的品質。我們總是抓住天然品德，而神卻不住要我接駁到主耶穌的生命去，他的美德是無法用天然德行來比較的。最可悲的是事奉神的人，一味仗賴從遺傳而得的品質，這些並不是神恩典所賜下的。神不會建立並改變天然的德行，因為天然德行不能達到耶穌萬分之一的心意。任何天然的愛、忍耐、清潔，都不可能達到他的要求。只有把肉體生命的每一部分配合神放在我們裡頭的生命，他才能透過我們彰顯主耶穌的美德。而我們所有的一切美德也只是他的。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，你是永遠的活井，我所有清新的泉源都在你裡面。我來到你面前；願你大能的生命在我裡面湧現，真正地流入我的身體和心靈中。
Our Lord never “patches up” our natural virtues, that is, our natural traits, qualities, or characteristics. He completely remakes a person on the inside— “. . . put on the new man . . .” (Ephesians 4:24). In other words, see that your natural human life is putting on all that is in keeping with the new life. The life God places within us develops its own new virtues, not the virtues of the seed of Adam, but of Jesus Christ. Once God has begun the process of sanctification in your life, watch and see how God causes your confidence in your own natural virtues and power to wither away. He will continue until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus. Thank God if you are going through this drying-up experience!
The sign that God is at work in us is that He is destroying our confidence in the natural virtues, because they are not promises of what we are going to be, but only a wasted reminder of what God created man to be. We want to cling to our natural virtues, while all the time God is trying to get us in contact with the life of Jesus Christ— a life that can never be described in terms of natural virtues. It is the saddest thing to see people who are trying to serve God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them. They are depending solely on what they have by virtue of heredity. God does not take our natural virtues and transform them, because our natural virtues could never even come close to what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands. But as we bring every part of our natural bodily life into harmony with the new life God has placed within us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.
And every virtue we possess
Is His alone.
我們一切的美德
我的泉源都在你裡面。 （詩八十七7）
我們的主從不修補天然美德，他乃是從裡面重新再造。 [穿上新人]，意思是你要給肉體的生命穿上與新生命相配的衣服。神種在我們裡頭的生命，會萌發本身的美德，不是亞當的，乃是主耶穌的。你成聖以後，會叫你對天然美德，並個人一切力量的信心枯萎，直至你學會怎樣從主耶穌復活的泉源中支取生命。你若正經歷那乾涸的階段，就得感謝神。
神在我們裡面作工的徵象，就是敗壞我們對天然德行的信念，因為那些本不是神應許的，不過是他初造人時所剩餘的品質。我們總是抓住天然品德，而神卻不住要我接駁到主耶穌的生命去，他的美德是無法用天然德行來比較的。最可悲的是事奉神的人，一味仗賴從遺傳而得的品質，這些並不是神恩典所賜下的。神不會建立並改變天然的德行，因為天然德行不能達到耶穌萬分之一的心意。任何天然的愛、忍耐、清潔，都不可能達到他的要求。只有把肉體生命的每一部分配合神放在我們裡頭的生命，他才能透過我們彰顯主耶穌的美德。而我們所有的一切美德也只是他的。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，你是永遠的活井，我所有清新的泉源都在你裡面。我來到你面前；願你大能的生命在我裡面湧現，真正地流入我的身體和心靈中。
December 29, 2014
Deserter or Disciple?
From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more —John 6:66
When God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear vision of His will, you must “walk in the light” of that vision (1 John 1:7). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by it, if you don’t “walk in the light” of it you will sink to a level of bondage never envisioned by our Lord. Mentally disobeying the “heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19) will make you a slave to ideas and views that are completely foreign to Jesus Christ. Don’t look at someone else and say, “Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why can’t I?” You have to “walk in the light” of the vision that has been given to you. Don’t compare yourself with others or judge them— that is between God and them. When you find that one of your favorite and strongly held views clashes with the “heavenly vision,” do not begin to debate it. If you do, a sense of property and personal right will emerge in you— things on which Jesus placed no value. He was against these things as being the root of everything foreign to Himself— “. . . for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). If we don’t see and understand this, it is because we are ignoring the underlying principles of our Lord’s teaching.
Our tendency is to lie back and bask in the memory of the wonderful experience we had when God revealed His will to us. But if a New Testament standard is revealed to us by the light of God, and we don’t try to measure up, or even feel inclined to do so, then we begin to backslide. It means your conscience does not respond to the truth. You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.
逃兵還是門徒？
從此他門徒中多有退去的，不再和他同行。 （約六66）
神藉聖靈透過他的話語，現實他的心意，使你心靈興奮萬分；但你若不行在這異象的光中，就沉淪在努力的狀態中，受制於一種不屬於主的觀點。你若心裡不服從天上來的異象，就必服役於主耶穌以外的觀點。不要指著別人說：[看哪，他持那些觀點，仍然順利亨通，我為什麼不可以？ ]你要行在異象的光中，不要與人比較，或判斷別人，那是他與神之間的事。你若發現自己所喜悅的觀點，與天上來的異象相違，你為此爭辯，漸漸裡面就會產生一種擁有感和個人權利感，這些都是主耶穌所棄絕的。他反對這些，因為這一切是叫人離開神的根源。 [人的生命不在乎家道豐富。 ]我們不體會這一點，是因為我們漠視主基本的教訓。
我們很容易回想過往美妙的經歷。可是，神的光若向你顯示一個標準，而你未能達到，或不想達到，那你就開始退後了，因為這表示你的良心對真理並未作出回應。真理一旦開啟，便再也無法依然故我。那一刻就決定你是向前做主的真門徒，還是退後做逃兵。
祈禱◆主啊，願我們四周的每一寸空間，今天都被你所充滿。願你引導的手，適當而奇妙地掌管一切；願你將我們舉起，進入你奇妙的計劃中，並且使我們不至衝動鹵莽。
When God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear vision of His will, you must “walk in the light” of that vision (1 John 1:7). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by it, if you don’t “walk in the light” of it you will sink to a level of bondage never envisioned by our Lord. Mentally disobeying the “heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19) will make you a slave to ideas and views that are completely foreign to Jesus Christ. Don’t look at someone else and say, “Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why can’t I?” You have to “walk in the light” of the vision that has been given to you. Don’t compare yourself with others or judge them— that is between God and them. When you find that one of your favorite and strongly held views clashes with the “heavenly vision,” do not begin to debate it. If you do, a sense of property and personal right will emerge in you— things on which Jesus placed no value. He was against these things as being the root of everything foreign to Himself— “. . . for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). If we don’t see and understand this, it is because we are ignoring the underlying principles of our Lord’s teaching.
Our tendency is to lie back and bask in the memory of the wonderful experience we had when God revealed His will to us. But if a New Testament standard is revealed to us by the light of God, and we don’t try to measure up, or even feel inclined to do so, then we begin to backslide. It means your conscience does not respond to the truth. You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.
逃兵還是門徒？
從此他門徒中多有退去的，不再和他同行。 （約六66）
神藉聖靈透過他的話語，現實他的心意，使你心靈興奮萬分；但你若不行在這異象的光中，就沉淪在努力的狀態中，受制於一種不屬於主的觀點。你若心裡不服從天上來的異象，就必服役於主耶穌以外的觀點。不要指著別人說：[看哪，他持那些觀點，仍然順利亨通，我為什麼不可以？ ]你要行在異象的光中，不要與人比較，或判斷別人，那是他與神之間的事。你若發現自己所喜悅的觀點，與天上來的異象相違，你為此爭辯，漸漸裡面就會產生一種擁有感和個人權利感，這些都是主耶穌所棄絕的。他反對這些，因為這一切是叫人離開神的根源。 [人的生命不在乎家道豐富。 ]我們不體會這一點，是因為我們漠視主基本的教訓。
我們很容易回想過往美妙的經歷。可是，神的光若向你顯示一個標準，而你未能達到，或不想達到，那你就開始退後了，因為這表示你的良心對真理並未作出回應。真理一旦開啟，便再也無法依然故我。那一刻就決定你是向前做主的真門徒，還是退後做逃兵。
祈禱◆主啊，願我們四周的每一寸空間，今天都被你所充滿。願你引導的手，適當而奇妙地掌管一切；願你將我們舉起，進入你奇妙的計劃中，並且使我們不至衝動鹵莽。
December 28, 2014
Continuous Conversion
. . . unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven —Matthew 18:3
These words of our Lord refer to our initial conversion, but we should continue to turn to God as children, being continuously converted every day of our lives. If we trust in our own abilities, instead of God’s, we produce consequences for which God will hold us responsible. When God through His sovereignty brings us into new situations, we should immediately make sure that our natural life submits to the spiritual, obeying the orders of the Spirit of God. Just because we have responded properly in the past is no guarantee that we will do so again. The response of the natural to the spiritual should be continuous conversion, but this is where we so often refuse to be obedient. No matter what our situation is, the Spirit of God remains unchanged and His salvation unaltered. But we must “put on the new man . . .” (Ephesians 4:24). God holds us accountable every time we refuse to convert ourselves, and He sees our refusal as willful disobedience. Our natural life must not rule— God must rule in us.
To refuse to be continuously converted puts a stumbling block in the growth of our spiritual life. There are areas of self-will in our lives where our pride pours contempt on the throne of God and says, “I won’t submit.” We deify our independence and self-will and call them by the wrong name. What God sees as stubborn weakness, we call strength. There are whole areas of our lives that have not yet been brought into submission, and this can only be done by this continuous conversion. Slowly but surely we can claim the whole territory for the Spirit of God.
不斷迴轉
你們若不迴轉，變成小孩子的樣式……（太十八3）
這話不但在我們初信之時十分真確，就是在我們生命的每一天，也要迴轉，向神作小孩子。我們若信賴自己的頭腦過於神，他就要我們負責後果。我們的身體既在神安排下進入新的境況，就要讓天然生命順服聖靈的指揮。一次成功，並不等於第二次也可以成功。肉體生命與屬靈生命的關係，是不斷的迴轉，這是我們本性所不願的。不管在什麼環境下，神的靈始終不變，神的救恩也不變，但我們要[穿上新人]。我們每次不肯迴轉，神都要我們自己負責，因為我們的拒絕，是出於故意的頑梗。我們不要被肉體的生命管轄，必須讓神掌管。
屬靈生命的阻礙，是不肯經常迴轉悔改，我們用許多頑梗的藉口，在神的寶座前自傲地說：[我不肯。 ]我們尊崇獨立固執，給它們錯誤的稱號。神看作頑梗的軟弱，我們卻稱之為力量。我們生命中還有許多地方未受管治的，這只有靠經常迴轉才可以達成。逐漸地，我們必然被聖靈收復所有失地。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願我能被你帶進你與我同在的境地，從你的立場觀看事情。今天早上，我要向你的百姓說話，噢，主啊，以你恩慈的靈重新膏立我。
These words of our Lord refer to our initial conversion, but we should continue to turn to God as children, being continuously converted every day of our lives. If we trust in our own abilities, instead of God’s, we produce consequences for which God will hold us responsible. When God through His sovereignty brings us into new situations, we should immediately make sure that our natural life submits to the spiritual, obeying the orders of the Spirit of God. Just because we have responded properly in the past is no guarantee that we will do so again. The response of the natural to the spiritual should be continuous conversion, but this is where we so often refuse to be obedient. No matter what our situation is, the Spirit of God remains unchanged and His salvation unaltered. But we must “put on the new man . . .” (Ephesians 4:24). God holds us accountable every time we refuse to convert ourselves, and He sees our refusal as willful disobedience. Our natural life must not rule— God must rule in us.
To refuse to be continuously converted puts a stumbling block in the growth of our spiritual life. There are areas of self-will in our lives where our pride pours contempt on the throne of God and says, “I won’t submit.” We deify our independence and self-will and call them by the wrong name. What God sees as stubborn weakness, we call strength. There are whole areas of our lives that have not yet been brought into submission, and this can only be done by this continuous conversion. Slowly but surely we can claim the whole territory for the Spirit of God.
不斷迴轉
你們若不迴轉，變成小孩子的樣式……（太十八3）
這話不但在我們初信之時十分真確，就是在我們生命的每一天，也要迴轉，向神作小孩子。我們若信賴自己的頭腦過於神，他就要我們負責後果。我們的身體既在神安排下進入新的境況，就要讓天然生命順服聖靈的指揮。一次成功，並不等於第二次也可以成功。肉體生命與屬靈生命的關係，是不斷的迴轉，這是我們本性所不願的。不管在什麼環境下，神的靈始終不變，神的救恩也不變，但我們要[穿上新人]。我們每次不肯迴轉，神都要我們自己負責，因為我們的拒絕，是出於故意的頑梗。我們不要被肉體的生命管轄，必須讓神掌管。
屬靈生命的阻礙，是不肯經常迴轉悔改，我們用許多頑梗的藉口，在神的寶座前自傲地說：[我不肯。 ]我們尊崇獨立固執，給它們錯誤的稱號。神看作頑梗的軟弱，我們卻稱之為力量。我們生命中還有許多地方未受管治的，這只有靠經常迴轉才可以達成。逐漸地，我們必然被聖靈收復所有失地。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願我能被你帶進你與我同在的境地，從你的立場觀看事情。今天早上，我要向你的百姓說話，噢，主啊，以你恩慈的靈重新膏立我。
December 27, 2014
Where the Battle is Won or Lost
’If you will return, O Israel,’ says the Lord . . . —Jeremiah 4:1
Our battles are first won or lost in the secret places of our will in God’s presence, never in full view of the world. The Spirit of God seizes me and I am compelled to get alone with God and fight the battle before Him. Until I do this, I will lose every time. The battle may take one minute or one year, but that will depend on me, not God. However long it takes, I must wrestle with it alone before God, and I must resolve to go through the hell of renunciation or rejection before Him. Nothing has any power over someone who has fought the battle before God and won there.
I should never say, “I will wait until I get into difficult circumstances and then I’ll put God to the test.” Trying to do that will not work. I must first get the issue settled between God and myself in the secret places of my soul, where no one else can interfere. Then I can go ahead, knowing with certainty that the battle is won. Lose it there, and calamity, disaster, and defeat before the world are as sure as the laws of God. The reason the battle is lost is that I fight it first in the external world. Get alone with God, do battle before Him, and settle the matter once and for all.
In dealing with other people, our stance should always be to drive them toward making a decision of their will. That is how surrendering to God begins. Not often, but every once in a while, God brings us to a major turning point— a great crossroads in our life. From that point we either go toward a more and more slow, lazy, and useless Christian life, or we become more and more on fire, giving our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory.
勝敗所在
耶和華說，以色列啊，你若回來歸向我……（耶四1）
爭戰的勝敗決定於在神面前意志的隱秘處，而不是外在的世界。神的靈提醒我，催促我獨自見神，在他面前作戰。若不這樣行，我每次必敗。爭戰是一分鐘還是一年，是在於我的決定，而不是神；但必須在神面前自己摔跤，斷然棄絕主權。沒有什麼能推倒一個在神面前爭戰勝利的人。
我若說：[還是等到事情來到，再試試神吧！ ]我必發覺自己辦不到。我要在神面前，自己在心靈的隱秘處，沒有他人騷擾的地方，好好解決；然後放膽地出去，因為知道仗已經打贏了。若在那裡打敗，災禍難處必然不絕臨到，就如神的命令一樣堅定。仗打不贏的道理，是我想先從外在世界去打。其實應該獨自見神，在那裡先打勝了，才可一次過解決問題。對得其他人也是如此，要把他們推到意志的邊緣－－完全歸服的起點。有時候，神帶我們來到一個頂點，就是生命的大分水線；從那一點，我們可以逐漸退隱過一種無大用處的信徒生活；或從那一點，我們為神的榮耀燒旺－－竭誠為主。
祈禱◆噢，我的神，請你現在感動我。在其中一次改變生命的觸動中，你確實從所有事物中清楚而具體地啟示你自己；在那些燦爛的時刻中，我看見你、敬拜你，並讚歎你.
Our battles are first won or lost in the secret places of our will in God’s presence, never in full view of the world. The Spirit of God seizes me and I am compelled to get alone with God and fight the battle before Him. Until I do this, I will lose every time. The battle may take one minute or one year, but that will depend on me, not God. However long it takes, I must wrestle with it alone before God, and I must resolve to go through the hell of renunciation or rejection before Him. Nothing has any power over someone who has fought the battle before God and won there.
I should never say, “I will wait until I get into difficult circumstances and then I’ll put God to the test.” Trying to do that will not work. I must first get the issue settled between God and myself in the secret places of my soul, where no one else can interfere. Then I can go ahead, knowing with certainty that the battle is won. Lose it there, and calamity, disaster, and defeat before the world are as sure as the laws of God. The reason the battle is lost is that I fight it first in the external world. Get alone with God, do battle before Him, and settle the matter once and for all.
In dealing with other people, our stance should always be to drive them toward making a decision of their will. That is how surrendering to God begins. Not often, but every once in a while, God brings us to a major turning point— a great crossroads in our life. From that point we either go toward a more and more slow, lazy, and useless Christian life, or we become more and more on fire, giving our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory.
勝敗所在
耶和華說，以色列啊，你若回來歸向我……（耶四1）
爭戰的勝敗決定於在神面前意志的隱秘處，而不是外在的世界。神的靈提醒我，催促我獨自見神，在他面前作戰。若不這樣行，我每次必敗。爭戰是一分鐘還是一年，是在於我的決定，而不是神；但必須在神面前自己摔跤，斷然棄絕主權。沒有什麼能推倒一個在神面前爭戰勝利的人。
我若說：[還是等到事情來到，再試試神吧！ ]我必發覺自己辦不到。我要在神面前，自己在心靈的隱秘處，沒有他人騷擾的地方，好好解決；然後放膽地出去，因為知道仗已經打贏了。若在那裡打敗，災禍難處必然不絕臨到，就如神的命令一樣堅定。仗打不贏的道理，是我想先從外在世界去打。其實應該獨自見神，在那裡先打勝了，才可一次過解決問題。對得其他人也是如此，要把他們推到意志的邊緣－－完全歸服的起點。有時候，神帶我們來到一個頂點，就是生命的大分水線；從那一點，我們可以逐漸退隱過一種無大用處的信徒生活；或從那一點，我們為神的榮耀燒旺－－竭誠為主。
祈禱◆噢，我的神，請你現在感動我。在其中一次改變生命的觸動中，你確實從所有事物中清楚而具體地啟示你自己；在那些燦爛的時刻中，我看見你、敬拜你，並讚歎你.
December 26, 2014
“Walk in the Light”
If we walk in the light as He is in the light . . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin —1 John 1:7
To mistake freedom from sin only on the conscious level of our lives for complete deliverance from sin by the atonement through the Cross of Christ is a great error. No one fully knows what sin is until he is born again. Sin is what Jesus Christ faced at Calvary. The evidence that I have been delivered from sin is that I know the real nature of sin in me. For a person to really know what sin is requires the full work and deep touch of the atonement of Jesus Christ, that is, the imparting of His absolute perfection.
The Holy Spirit applies or administers the work of the atonement to us in the deep unconscious realm as well as in the conscious realm. And it is not until we truly perceive the unrivaled power of the Spirit in us that we understand the meaning of 1 John 1:7, which says, “. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” This verse does not refer only to conscious sin, but also to the tremendously profound understanding of sin which only the Holy Spirit in me can accomplish.
I must “walk in the light as He is in the light . . .”— not in the light of my own conscience, but in God’s light. If I will walk there, with nothing held back or hidden, then this amazing truth is revealed to me: “. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses [me] from all sin” so that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke in me. On the conscious level it produces a keen, sorrowful knowledge of what sin really is. The love of God working in me causes me to hate, with the Holy Spirit’s hatred for sin, anything that is not in keeping with God’s holiness. To “walk in the light” means that everything that is of the darkness actually drives me closer to the center of the light.
行在光中
我們若在光明中行，如同神在光明中……他兒子耶穌的血也洗淨我們一切的罪。 （約壹一7）
自覺脫離罪，得享自由；並不等於已蒙救贖，從罪中得釋放。若混淆二者，是嚴重得錯誤。人必須重生，才知何為罪；而罪就是耶穌在十字架上所面對的。我從罪中得釋放的證據，就是認識我裡頭的罪。主耶穌的救恩使人有分於他絕對的完全，叫人知道罪是什麼？聖靈使救恩在我們裡面生效，在非意識的領域，也在意識可及的領域；只有當我們體會聖靈在我們裡面那無可比擬的能力，我們才明白約翰一書一章7節的意思：[耶穌的血也洗淨我們一切的罪。 ]這不單指意識的罪，更是指因內居的聖靈而對罪有深切的認識。
我若像神一樣行在光中，不是自己良心的光，而是神的光－－沒有任何遮掩，就必希奇地領悟－－耶穌的血洗淨我一切的罪，以致神無法找出可指斥的。在我的意識中，他叫我對罪有一種敏銳而強烈的知覺。神的愛又在我裡面，叫我像聖靈恨罪一樣，恨惡一切與神聖潔相違的東西。行在光中的意思，就是每一件黑暗的事物，都驅策我更接近光的中樞。
祈禱◆潔淨我，噢，主啊，使我脫去靈裡一切的罪污，願你那充滿光輝的美善，今天臨到我身上。
To mistake freedom from sin only on the conscious level of our lives for complete deliverance from sin by the atonement through the Cross of Christ is a great error. No one fully knows what sin is until he is born again. Sin is what Jesus Christ faced at Calvary. The evidence that I have been delivered from sin is that I know the real nature of sin in me. For a person to really know what sin is requires the full work and deep touch of the atonement of Jesus Christ, that is, the imparting of His absolute perfection.
The Holy Spirit applies or administers the work of the atonement to us in the deep unconscious realm as well as in the conscious realm. And it is not until we truly perceive the unrivaled power of the Spirit in us that we understand the meaning of 1 John 1:7, which says, “. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” This verse does not refer only to conscious sin, but also to the tremendously profound understanding of sin which only the Holy Spirit in me can accomplish.
I must “walk in the light as He is in the light . . .”— not in the light of my own conscience, but in God’s light. If I will walk there, with nothing held back or hidden, then this amazing truth is revealed to me: “. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses [me] from all sin” so that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke in me. On the conscious level it produces a keen, sorrowful knowledge of what sin really is. The love of God working in me causes me to hate, with the Holy Spirit’s hatred for sin, anything that is not in keeping with God’s holiness. To “walk in the light” means that everything that is of the darkness actually drives me closer to the center of the light.
行在光中
我們若在光明中行，如同神在光明中……他兒子耶穌的血也洗淨我們一切的罪。 （約壹一7）
自覺脫離罪，得享自由；並不等於已蒙救贖，從罪中得釋放。若混淆二者，是嚴重得錯誤。人必須重生，才知何為罪；而罪就是耶穌在十字架上所面對的。我從罪中得釋放的證據，就是認識我裡頭的罪。主耶穌的救恩使人有分於他絕對的完全，叫人知道罪是什麼？聖靈使救恩在我們裡面生效，在非意識的領域，也在意識可及的領域；只有當我們體會聖靈在我們裡面那無可比擬的能力，我們才明白約翰一書一章7節的意思：[耶穌的血也洗淨我們一切的罪。 ]這不單指意識的罪，更是指因內居的聖靈而對罪有深切的認識。
我若像神一樣行在光中，不是自己良心的光，而是神的光－－沒有任何遮掩，就必希奇地領悟－－耶穌的血洗淨我一切的罪，以致神無法找出可指斥的。在我的意識中，他叫我對罪有一種敏銳而強烈的知覺。神的愛又在我裡面，叫我像聖靈恨罪一樣，恨惡一切與神聖潔相違的東西。行在光中的意思，就是每一件黑暗的事物，都驅策我更接近光的中樞。
祈禱◆潔淨我，噢，主啊，使我脫去靈裡一切的罪污，願你那充滿光輝的美善，今天臨到我身上。
December 25, 2014
His Birth and Our New Birth
"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us" —Matthew 1:23
His Birth in History. “. . . that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form.
His Birth in Me. “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you . . .” (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a “Bethlehem” for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that “Christ is formed” in me. And once “Christ is formed” in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.
God Evident in the Flesh. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ.
他的降生與我們的新生
必有童女懷孕生子，給她起名叫以馬內利。就是神與我們同在的意思。 （賽七14）
他在歷史中誕生。 [因此所要生的聖者，必稱為神的兒子。 ]（路一35）耶穌基督是降生到世界，不是從這世界而出。他不是從歷史演進而生，乃是從歷史以外而來。耶穌基督不是人類最好的一個；他是完全無法算在人類之內的一位。他不是人變作神，乃是神成了肉身，成了人的形狀，是從外而來的。他的生命最崇高最聖潔，卻從最卑微的門進來。主的誕生，是降臨人間。
他在我裡面誕生。 [我為你們再受生產之苦，直等到基督成形在你們心裡。 ](加四19)主是從外面進到人類歷史，同樣也從外面進到我裡面。我有沒有讓自己的生命，成為神兒子的伯利恆？我必須從神而生，這與天然的生產完全不同，否則便不能進入神的國度裡。 [你們必須重生]，這不是命令，而是一項基本的事實。新生的本質，就是我完全降服神，以致基督成形在我裡面，他的本性開始透過我工作。神在肉身顯現－－這是救恩為你我所成就的事實。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，當我們在今早思想以賽亞書第五十三章，願祢的榮耀將它顯明；願祢使我們變得柔和與溫順，被祢所激勵和振奮，並且將我們提升至這種榮耀的事奉，以致我們可以捕捉祢的形象。
His Birth in History. “. . . that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form.
His Birth in Me. “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you . . .” (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a “Bethlehem” for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that “Christ is formed” in me. And once “Christ is formed” in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.
God Evident in the Flesh. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ.
他的降生與我們的新生
必有童女懷孕生子，給她起名叫以馬內利。就是神與我們同在的意思。 （賽七14）
他在歷史中誕生。 [因此所要生的聖者，必稱為神的兒子。 ]（路一35）耶穌基督是降生到世界，不是從這世界而出。他不是從歷史演進而生，乃是從歷史以外而來。耶穌基督不是人類最好的一個；他是完全無法算在人類之內的一位。他不是人變作神，乃是神成了肉身，成了人的形狀，是從外而來的。他的生命最崇高最聖潔，卻從最卑微的門進來。主的誕生，是降臨人間。
他在我裡面誕生。 [我為你們再受生產之苦，直等到基督成形在你們心裡。 ](加四19)主是從外面進到人類歷史，同樣也從外面進到我裡面。我有沒有讓自己的生命，成為神兒子的伯利恆？我必須從神而生，這與天然的生產完全不同，否則便不能進入神的國度裡。 [你們必須重生]，這不是命令，而是一項基本的事實。新生的本質，就是我完全降服神，以致基督成形在我裡面，他的本性開始透過我工作。神在肉身顯現－－這是救恩為你我所成就的事實。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，當我們在今早思想以賽亞書第五十三章，願祢的榮耀將它顯明；願祢使我們變得柔和與溫順，被祢所激勵和振奮，並且將我們提升至這種榮耀的事奉，以致我們可以捕捉祢的形象。
December 24, 2014
The Hidden Life
. . . your life is hidden with Christ in God —Colossians 3:3
The Spirit of God testifies to and confirms the simple, but almighty, security of the life that “is hidden with Christ in God.” Paul continually brought this out in his New Testament letters. We talk as if living a sanctified life were the most uncertain and insecure thing we could do. Yet it is the most secure thing possible, because it has Almighty God in and behind it. The most dangerous and unsure thing is to try to live without God. For one who is born again, it is easier to live in a right-standing relationship with God than it is to go wrong, provided we heed God’s warnings and “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7).
When we think of being delivered from sin, being “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18), and “walk[ing] in the light,” we picture the peak of a great mountain. We see it as very high and wonderful, but we say, “Oh, I could never live up there!” However, when we do get there through God’s grace, we find it is not a mountain peak at all, but a plateau with plenty of room to live and to grow. “You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip” (Psalm 18:36).
When you really see Jesus, I defy you to doubt Him. If you see Him when He says, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (John 14:27), I defy you to worry. It is virtually impossible to doubt when He is there. Every time you are in personal contact with Jesus, His words are real to you. “My peace I give to you . . .” (John 14:27)— a peace which brings an unconstrained confidence and covers you completely, from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. “. . . your life is hidden with Christ in God,” and the peace of Jesus Christ that cannot be disturbed has been imparted to you.
隱藏的生命
你們的生命與基督一同藏在神裡面。 （西三3）
我與基督一同藏在神裡面的生命有大能安穩，這事實是神的靈見證的，並且也不斷見諸新約的各書信中。我往往視成聖生活中最不穩定的東西，其實這是最有保障的，因為全能的神在裡面在後面支援著。最不穩固的，是不靠神而活。我們若已重生，只要肯聽神的警告，行在光中，最容易的是與神有正確的關係，而最難的是走差路。有時想脫離罪惡，被聖靈充滿，行在光明中，好像高山的頂崇高峻妙，我們就會說：[可惜，我怎麼也攀不上去！ ]但一旦靠神恩典上去了，卻發現這原來不是一個山頂，而是一片高原，有足夠的地方生長。 [你使我的道路寬廣。 ]
你若真看見耶穌，我保證你不會對他疑惑。當他說[你心裡不要憂愁]，你若真看見他，必然不會憂愁，因為他在這裡，根本不用疑惑。每次你單獨與他相交，他的話都活現出來。 [我將我的平安賜給你們。 ]這平安要從頭頂滲透至腳踵，是無可抗拒的可靠。 [你們的生命與基督一同藏在神裡面]，主無比的平安就臨到你。
祈禱◆[與基督一同藏在神裡面]的生命，是何等喜樂的生命！可是，我的神，儘管有著你一切的恩典和忍耐，我仍然不敢有一刻想到我離開這生命有多遠。然而，我是你所造的，我要感謝你。
The Spirit of God testifies to and confirms the simple, but almighty, security of the life that “is hidden with Christ in God.” Paul continually brought this out in his New Testament letters. We talk as if living a sanctified life were the most uncertain and insecure thing we could do. Yet it is the most secure thing possible, because it has Almighty God in and behind it. The most dangerous and unsure thing is to try to live without God. For one who is born again, it is easier to live in a right-standing relationship with God than it is to go wrong, provided we heed God’s warnings and “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7).
When we think of being delivered from sin, being “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18), and “walk[ing] in the light,” we picture the peak of a great mountain. We see it as very high and wonderful, but we say, “Oh, I could never live up there!” However, when we do get there through God’s grace, we find it is not a mountain peak at all, but a plateau with plenty of room to live and to grow. “You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip” (Psalm 18:36).
When you really see Jesus, I defy you to doubt Him. If you see Him when He says, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (John 14:27), I defy you to worry. It is virtually impossible to doubt when He is there. Every time you are in personal contact with Jesus, His words are real to you. “My peace I give to you . . .” (John 14:27)— a peace which brings an unconstrained confidence and covers you completely, from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. “. . . your life is hidden with Christ in God,” and the peace of Jesus Christ that cannot be disturbed has been imparted to you.
隱藏的生命
你們的生命與基督一同藏在神裡面。 （西三3）
我與基督一同藏在神裡面的生命有大能安穩，這事實是神的靈見證的，並且也不斷見諸新約的各書信中。我往往視成聖生活中最不穩定的東西，其實這是最有保障的，因為全能的神在裡面在後面支援著。最不穩固的，是不靠神而活。我們若已重生，只要肯聽神的警告，行在光中，最容易的是與神有正確的關係，而最難的是走差路。有時想脫離罪惡，被聖靈充滿，行在光明中，好像高山的頂崇高峻妙，我們就會說：[可惜，我怎麼也攀不上去！ ]但一旦靠神恩典上去了，卻發現這原來不是一個山頂，而是一片高原，有足夠的地方生長。 [你使我的道路寬廣。 ]
你若真看見耶穌，我保證你不會對他疑惑。當他說[你心裡不要憂愁]，你若真看見他，必然不會憂愁，因為他在這裡，根本不用疑惑。每次你單獨與他相交，他的話都活現出來。 [我將我的平安賜給你們。 ]這平安要從頭頂滲透至腳踵，是無可抗拒的可靠。 [你們的生命與基督一同藏在神裡面]，主無比的平安就臨到你。
祈禱◆[與基督一同藏在神裡面]的生命，是何等喜樂的生命！可是，我的神，儘管有著你一切的恩典和忍耐，我仍然不敢有一刻想到我離開這生命有多遠。然而，我是你所造的，我要感謝你。
December 23, 2014
Sharing in the Atonement
God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . —Galatians 6:14
The gospel of Jesus Christ always forces a decision of our will. Have I accepted God’s verdict on sin as judged on the Cross of Christ? Do I have even the slightest interest in the death of Jesus? Do I want to be identified with His death— to be completely dead to all interest in sin, worldliness, and self? Do I long to be so closely identified with Jesus that I am of no value for anything except Him and His purposes? The great privilege of discipleship is that I can commit myself under the banner of His Cross, and that means death to sin. You must get alone with Jesus and either decide to tell Him that you do not want sin to die out in you, or that at any cost you want to be identified with His death. When you act in confident faith in what our Lord did on the cross, a supernatural identification with His death takes place immediately. And you will come to know through a higher knowledge that your old life was “crucified with Him” (Romans 6:6). The proof that your old life is dead, having been “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20), is the amazing ease with which the life of God in you now enables you to obey the voice of Jesus Christ.
Every once in a while our Lord gives us a glimpse of what we would be like if it were not for Him. This is a confirmation of what He said— “. . . without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). That is why the underlying foundation of Christianity is personal, passionate devotion to the Lord Jesus. We mistake the joy of our first introduction into God’s kingdom as His purpose for getting us there. Yet God’s purpose in getting us into His kingdom is that we may realize all that identification with Jesus Christ means.
個人怎樣有分於救贖？
但我斷不以別的誇口，只誇我們主耶穌基督的十字架。 （加六14）
耶穌基督的福音總牽涉到意志的問題。我接受神在基督十字架上對罪的宣判麼？我對耶穌的死，有絲毫興趣麼？我願意與他的死連合，對罪、對世界、對自己的興趣完全殺滅；以致除了他，一概看為有損麼？作門徒的最大權利，就是在十字架上籤上名字，表示對罪死了。你要單獨來到耶穌面前，對他說你不願意罪從你身上除淨，或對他說你願意不計代價，與他的死聯合。只要你超乎知識的知識，告訴你是神在你裡面的生命，叫你順服主的聲音，這是出奇的輕省容易。
有時候，主會讓我們看看沒有了他我們會怎樣，要證明他說：[離了我，你們就不能作什麼。 ]因此，基督徒的基石是個人對主耶穌全心全意的愛慕效忠。我們往往以為初信主進入天國時那種驚喜之情，就是神的目的。其實他給我們這經歷，目的是要我們體會什麼是與主耶穌合一。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著你自己，和靠著你那無所不能的恩典，我學習進入你的同在中；我讚美你。願你的恩典，亮光和智慧觸摸我的身體和心靈；願你的觸摸帶來光明和生氣。
The gospel of Jesus Christ always forces a decision of our will. Have I accepted God’s verdict on sin as judged on the Cross of Christ? Do I have even the slightest interest in the death of Jesus? Do I want to be identified with His death— to be completely dead to all interest in sin, worldliness, and self? Do I long to be so closely identified with Jesus that I am of no value for anything except Him and His purposes? The great privilege of discipleship is that I can commit myself under the banner of His Cross, and that means death to sin. You must get alone with Jesus and either decide to tell Him that you do not want sin to die out in you, or that at any cost you want to be identified with His death. When you act in confident faith in what our Lord did on the cross, a supernatural identification with His death takes place immediately. And you will come to know through a higher knowledge that your old life was “crucified with Him” (Romans 6:6). The proof that your old life is dead, having been “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20), is the amazing ease with which the life of God in you now enables you to obey the voice of Jesus Christ.
Every once in a while our Lord gives us a glimpse of what we would be like if it were not for Him. This is a confirmation of what He said— “. . . without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). That is why the underlying foundation of Christianity is personal, passionate devotion to the Lord Jesus. We mistake the joy of our first introduction into God’s kingdom as His purpose for getting us there. Yet God’s purpose in getting us into His kingdom is that we may realize all that identification with Jesus Christ means.
個人怎樣有分於救贖？
但我斷不以別的誇口，只誇我們主耶穌基督的十字架。 （加六14）
耶穌基督的福音總牽涉到意志的問題。我接受神在基督十字架上對罪的宣判麼？我對耶穌的死，有絲毫興趣麼？我願意與他的死連合，對罪、對世界、對自己的興趣完全殺滅；以致除了他，一概看為有損麼？作門徒的最大權利，就是在十字架上籤上名字，表示對罪死了。你要單獨來到耶穌面前，對他說你不願意罪從你身上除淨，或對他說你願意不計代價，與他的死聯合。只要你超乎知識的知識，告訴你是神在你裡面的生命，叫你順服主的聲音，這是出奇的輕省容易。
有時候，主會讓我們看看沒有了他我們會怎樣，要證明他說：[離了我，你們就不能作什麼。 ]因此，基督徒的基石是個人對主耶穌全心全意的愛慕效忠。我們往往以為初信主進入天國時那種驚喜之情，就是神的目的。其實他給我們這經歷，目的是要我們體會什麼是與主耶穌合一。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著你自己，和靠著你那無所不能的恩典，我學習進入你的同在中；我讚美你。願你的恩典，亮光和智慧觸摸我的身體和心靈；願你的觸摸帶來光明和生氣。
December 22, 2014
The Drawing of the Father
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him . . . —John 6:44
When God begins to draw me to Himself, the problem of my will comes in immediately. Will I react positively to the truth that God has revealed? Will I come to Him? To discuss or deliberate over spiritual matters when God calls is inappropriate and disrespectful to Him. When God speaks, never discuss it with anyone as if to decide what your response may be (see Galatians 1:15-16). Belief is not the result of an intellectual act, but the result of an act of my will whereby I deliberately commit myself. But will I commit, placing myself completely and absolutely on God, and be willing to act solely on what He says? If I will, I will find that I am grounded on reality as certain as God’s throne.
In preaching the gospel, always focus on the matter of the will. Belief must come from the will to believe. There must be a surrender of the will, not a surrender to a persuasive or powerful argument. I must deliberately step out, placing my faith in God and in His truth. And I must place no confidence in my own works, but only in God. Trusting in my own mental understanding becomes a hindrance to complete trust in God. I must be willing to ignore and leave my feelings behind. I must will to believe. But this can never be accomplished without my forceful, determined effort to separate myself from my old ways of looking at things. I must surrender myself completely to God.
Everyone has been created with the ability to reach out beyond his own grasp. But it is God who draws me, and my relationship to Him in the first place is an inner, personal one, not an intellectual one. I come into the relationship through the miracle of God and through my own will to believe. Then I begin to get an intelligent appreciation and understanding of the wonder of the transformation in my life.
父吸引人
若不是差我的父吸引人，就沒有能到我這裡來的。 （約六44）
神吸引我的時候，就是要運用意志的時候－－我對神賜的啟示有反應嗎？我肯到他那裡去麼？把屬靈的事拿來議論，是不合體統的；神說話的時候，不要人討論。信心不是一項智力上的舉動，乃是一種道德的反應，特意要把自己投上去。我願否絕無保留地把自己投上，照神所說的去做？若肯，就會發現自己紮根於安穩如神寶座的實體上。
傳福音的時候，記得要提出意志的問題。信仰必須出於意志。意志必須順服，而不是屈服在說服力之下，乃是立誌全部投向神和他所說的話，直至不再把信心建在自己所作的事上，而是惟獨信神。其中的攔阻在於我不肯信神，只信自己頭腦的理解。以感覺上來說，我必須不顧一切的投注，必須憑意志相信；這樣，我必須盡很大的努力，把以往對事物的看法丟棄，只對準神自己，否則便無法做到。
人有一種向自己以外去尋索的本能。是神先吸引我，我與他的首要關係，是個人的，不是理智上的。我因著神的吸引，和我決意的相信，便進入與神的關係中，然後，開始在理智上體會並明白這相交的奇妙。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你大能的同在，今天如帳棚般四面環繞我，願你的榮耀就在其中。
When God begins to draw me to Himself, the problem of my will comes in immediately. Will I react positively to the truth that God has revealed? Will I come to Him? To discuss or deliberate over spiritual matters when God calls is inappropriate and disrespectful to Him. When God speaks, never discuss it with anyone as if to decide what your response may be (see Galatians 1:15-16). Belief is not the result of an intellectual act, but the result of an act of my will whereby I deliberately commit myself. But will I commit, placing myself completely and absolutely on God, and be willing to act solely on what He says? If I will, I will find that I am grounded on reality as certain as God’s throne.
In preaching the gospel, always focus on the matter of the will. Belief must come from the will to believe. There must be a surrender of the will, not a surrender to a persuasive or powerful argument. I must deliberately step out, placing my faith in God and in His truth. And I must place no confidence in my own works, but only in God. Trusting in my own mental understanding becomes a hindrance to complete trust in God. I must be willing to ignore and leave my feelings behind. I must will to believe. But this can never be accomplished without my forceful, determined effort to separate myself from my old ways of looking at things. I must surrender myself completely to God.
Everyone has been created with the ability to reach out beyond his own grasp. But it is God who draws me, and my relationship to Him in the first place is an inner, personal one, not an intellectual one. I come into the relationship through the miracle of God and through my own will to believe. Then I begin to get an intelligent appreciation and understanding of the wonder of the transformation in my life.
父吸引人
若不是差我的父吸引人，就沒有能到我這裡來的。 （約六44）
神吸引我的時候，就是要運用意志的時候－－我對神賜的啟示有反應嗎？我肯到他那裡去麼？把屬靈的事拿來議論，是不合體統的；神說話的時候，不要人討論。信心不是一項智力上的舉動，乃是一種道德的反應，特意要把自己投上去。我願否絕無保留地把自己投上，照神所說的去做？若肯，就會發現自己紮根於安穩如神寶座的實體上。
傳福音的時候，記得要提出意志的問題。信仰必須出於意志。意志必須順服，而不是屈服在說服力之下，乃是立誌全部投向神和他所說的話，直至不再把信心建在自己所作的事上，而是惟獨信神。其中的攔阻在於我不肯信神，只信自己頭腦的理解。以感覺上來說，我必須不顧一切的投注，必須憑意志相信；這樣，我必須盡很大的努力，把以往對事物的看法丟棄，只對準神自己，否則便無法做到。
人有一種向自己以外去尋索的本能。是神先吸引我，我與他的首要關係，是個人的，不是理智上的。我因著神的吸引，和我決意的相信，便進入與神的關係中，然後，開始在理智上體會並明白這相交的奇妙。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你大能的同在，今天如帳棚般四面環繞我，願你的榮耀就在其中。
December 21, 2014
Experience or God’s Revealed Truth?
We have received . . . the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God —1 Corinthians 2:12
My experience is not what makes redemption real— redemption is reality. Redemption has no real meaning for me until it is worked out through my conscious life. When I am born again, the Spirit of God takes me beyond myself and my experiences, and identifies me with Jesus Christ. If I am left only with my personal experiences, I am left with something not produced by redemption. But experiences produced by redemption prove themselves by leading me beyond myself, to the point of no longer paying any attention to experiences as the basis of reality. Instead, I see that only the reality itself produced the experiences. My experiences are not worth anything unless they keep me at the Source of truth— Jesus Christ.
If you try to hold back the Holy Spirit within you, with the desire of producing more inner spiritual experiences, you will find that He will break the hold and take you again to the historic Christ. Never support an experience which does not have God as its Source and faith in God as its result. If you do, your experience is anti-Christian, no matter what visions or insights you may have had. Is Jesus Christ Lord of your experiences, or do you place your experiences above Him? Is any experience dearer to you than your Lord? You must allow Him to be Lord over you, and pay no attention to any experience over which He is not Lord. Then there will come a time when God will make you impatient with your own experience, and you can truthfully say, “I do not care what I experience— I am sure of Him!”
Be relentless and hard on yourself if you are in the habit of talking about the experiences you have had. Faith based on experience is not faith; faith based on God’s revealed truth is the only faith there is.
經歷還是啟示？
我們所領受的……乃是從神來的靈，叫我們能知道神開恩賜給我們的事。 （林前二12）
救贖本身是[真實]的，而不是我對救恩的經歷；不過若不是用我能體會的語言傳遞出來，救恩對我就毫無意義。重生之後，神的靈就立即把我從自己和自己的經歷中領出來，使我與耶穌基督連合。若我仍留在自己的經歷中，那些經歷必然不是從救恩而來。那經歷若是由救恩產生的，最好的明證是我脫離自己，不再以自己的經歷作為[真實]的基礎，而只專注於帶來這些經歷的實體。我的經歷若不叫我對準源頭－－主耶穌，就一文不值。
你若堵住聖靈，要為自己製造一些主觀的經歷，你會發覺他會爆溢而出，把你帶回曆史的基督面前。經歷若不植根於神，也不叫你對神產生信心，就不當培育。若然，不管你所見的異像是什麼，你的經歷與基督敵對的，主耶穌是你經歷中的主？還是你要經歷作他的主？有沒有經歷是比主更寶貴的？他要作你的主，你對那些不以他為主的經歷，不應重視。你會來到一個地步，神叫你對自己的經歷不耐煩－－[不管我的經歷是什麼，我只求持定神。 ]你若有很多機會談及自己的經歷，就得對自己無情一點。肯定自信的信心，不是信心；對神有把握的信心，才是唯一的信心。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，求你除去這思想上的枷鎖，為我帶來平安、純潔和能力。願今天你以溫柔、憐憫和恩典來充滿我。
My experience is not what makes redemption real— redemption is reality. Redemption has no real meaning for me until it is worked out through my conscious life. When I am born again, the Spirit of God takes me beyond myself and my experiences, and identifies me with Jesus Christ. If I am left only with my personal experiences, I am left with something not produced by redemption. But experiences produced by redemption prove themselves by leading me beyond myself, to the point of no longer paying any attention to experiences as the basis of reality. Instead, I see that only the reality itself produced the experiences. My experiences are not worth anything unless they keep me at the Source of truth— Jesus Christ.
If you try to hold back the Holy Spirit within you, with the desire of producing more inner spiritual experiences, you will find that He will break the hold and take you again to the historic Christ. Never support an experience which does not have God as its Source and faith in God as its result. If you do, your experience is anti-Christian, no matter what visions or insights you may have had. Is Jesus Christ Lord of your experiences, or do you place your experiences above Him? Is any experience dearer to you than your Lord? You must allow Him to be Lord over you, and pay no attention to any experience over which He is not Lord. Then there will come a time when God will make you impatient with your own experience, and you can truthfully say, “I do not care what I experience— I am sure of Him!”
Be relentless and hard on yourself if you are in the habit of talking about the experiences you have had. Faith based on experience is not faith; faith based on God’s revealed truth is the only faith there is.
經歷還是啟示？
我們所領受的……乃是從神來的靈，叫我們能知道神開恩賜給我們的事。 （林前二12）
救贖本身是[真實]的，而不是我對救恩的經歷；不過若不是用我能體會的語言傳遞出來，救恩對我就毫無意義。重生之後，神的靈就立即把我從自己和自己的經歷中領出來，使我與耶穌基督連合。若我仍留在自己的經歷中，那些經歷必然不是從救恩而來。那經歷若是由救恩產生的，最好的明證是我脫離自己，不再以自己的經歷作為[真實]的基礎，而只專注於帶來這些經歷的實體。我的經歷若不叫我對準源頭－－主耶穌，就一文不值。
你若堵住聖靈，要為自己製造一些主觀的經歷，你會發覺他會爆溢而出，把你帶回曆史的基督面前。經歷若不植根於神，也不叫你對神產生信心，就不當培育。若然，不管你所見的異像是什麼，你的經歷與基督敵對的，主耶穌是你經歷中的主？還是你要經歷作他的主？有沒有經歷是比主更寶貴的？他要作你的主，你對那些不以他為主的經歷，不應重視。你會來到一個地步，神叫你對自己的經歷不耐煩－－[不管我的經歷是什麼，我只求持定神。 ]你若有很多機會談及自己的經歷，就得對自己無情一點。肯定自信的信心，不是信心；對神有把握的信心，才是唯一的信心。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，求你除去這思想上的枷鎖，為我帶來平安、純潔和能力。願今天你以溫柔、憐憫和恩典來充滿我。
December 20, 2014
The Right Kind of Help
And I, if I am lifted up . . . will draw all peoples to Myself —John 12:32
Very few of us have any understanding of the reason why Jesus Christ died. If sympathy is all that human beings need, then the Cross of Christ is an absurdity and there is absolutely no need for it. What the world needs is not “a little bit of love,” but major surgery.
When you find yourself face to face with a person who is spiritually lost, remind yourself of Jesus Christ on the cross. If that person can get to God in any other way, then the Cross of Christ is unnecessary. If you think you are helping lost people with your sympathy and understanding, you are a traitor to Jesus Christ. You must have a right-standing relationship with Him yourself, and pour your life out in helping others in His way— not in a human way that ignores God. The theme of the world’s religion today is to serve in a pleasant, non-confrontational manner.
But our only priority must be to present Jesus Christ crucified— to lift Him up all the time (see 1 Corinthians 2:2). Every belief that is not firmly rooted in the Cross of Christ will lead people astray. If the worker himself believes in Jesus Christ and is trusting in the reality of redemption, his words will be compelling to others. What is extremely important is for the worker’s simple relationship with Jesus Christ to be strong and growing. His usefulness to God depends on that, and that alone.
The calling of a New Testament worker is to expose sin and to reveal Jesus Christ as Savior. Consequently, he cannot always be charming and friendly, but must be willing to be stern to accomplish major surgery. We are sent by God to lift up Jesus Christ, not to give wonderfully beautiful speeches. We must be willing to examine others as deeply as God has examined us. We must also be sharply intent on sensing those Scripture passages that will drive the truth home, and then not be afraid to apply them.
正確工作的路線
我若從地上被舉起來，就要吸引萬人來歸我。 （約十二32）
很少人真正明白主耶穌受死的原因。若世人需要的只是同情，那末耶穌的十字架不過是場鬧劇，根本用不著。世界所需要的，不是一點點愛，乃是開刀動手術。當你面對一個在靈性上遇到困難的人，要提醒自己那在十字架上的耶穌基督。若那人可以從別的途徑到神那裡，耶穌基督的十字架就是多餘。你若以為能用自己的同情心或體諒去幫助人，你就是主的叛徒。你必須與神保持正確的關係，依他的方法，為他傾倒，而不是忽略了神，依人的方法去傾倒，但今日最響的調子，卻是溫和派的宗教。
有一件事不能不做的，就是每時每刻高舉被釘的主耶穌。任何教義不植根於耶穌的十字架的，必領人入歧途。工人若深信耶穌基督，緊抓他救贖的真實，和說話的人，必然被吸引。神的工人是否有用，全賴他與耶穌基督的單純關係。而這種關係是長存的，也是日益加深的。
新約的工人蒙召，是要揭發罪惡並指出耶穌是救主，因此他不能詩情畫意，乃是要嚴謹開刀。我們被差是要高舉主耶穌，不是要發表美妙的論說。我們的搜索必須深入，像神搜索我們一樣；對聖經要敏銳，把真理直截闡明，不留情地應用。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我察覺到我最近的內心，是何其缺少將我對耶穌的信心實踐出來，那些隱藏的意欲似乎經常出沒。願你將基督裡的單純引進我的生命，又使我對事情有更深入的看法－－唯一關注的是凡事獲得你的認可。
Very few of us have any understanding of the reason why Jesus Christ died. If sympathy is all that human beings need, then the Cross of Christ is an absurdity and there is absolutely no need for it. What the world needs is not “a little bit of love,” but major surgery.
When you find yourself face to face with a person who is spiritually lost, remind yourself of Jesus Christ on the cross. If that person can get to God in any other way, then the Cross of Christ is unnecessary. If you think you are helping lost people with your sympathy and understanding, you are a traitor to Jesus Christ. You must have a right-standing relationship with Him yourself, and pour your life out in helping others in His way— not in a human way that ignores God. The theme of the world’s religion today is to serve in a pleasant, non-confrontational manner.
But our only priority must be to present Jesus Christ crucified— to lift Him up all the time (see 1 Corinthians 2:2). Every belief that is not firmly rooted in the Cross of Christ will lead people astray. If the worker himself believes in Jesus Christ and is trusting in the reality of redemption, his words will be compelling to others. What is extremely important is for the worker’s simple relationship with Jesus Christ to be strong and growing. His usefulness to God depends on that, and that alone.
The calling of a New Testament worker is to expose sin and to reveal Jesus Christ as Savior. Consequently, he cannot always be charming and friendly, but must be willing to be stern to accomplish major surgery. We are sent by God to lift up Jesus Christ, not to give wonderfully beautiful speeches. We must be willing to examine others as deeply as God has examined us. We must also be sharply intent on sensing those Scripture passages that will drive the truth home, and then not be afraid to apply them.
正確工作的路線
我若從地上被舉起來，就要吸引萬人來歸我。 （約十二32）
很少人真正明白主耶穌受死的原因。若世人需要的只是同情，那末耶穌的十字架不過是場鬧劇，根本用不著。世界所需要的，不是一點點愛，乃是開刀動手術。當你面對一個在靈性上遇到困難的人，要提醒自己那在十字架上的耶穌基督。若那人可以從別的途徑到神那裡，耶穌基督的十字架就是多餘。你若以為能用自己的同情心或體諒去幫助人，你就是主的叛徒。你必須與神保持正確的關係，依他的方法，為他傾倒，而不是忽略了神，依人的方法去傾倒，但今日最響的調子，卻是溫和派的宗教。
有一件事不能不做的，就是每時每刻高舉被釘的主耶穌。任何教義不植根於耶穌的十字架的，必領人入歧途。工人若深信耶穌基督，緊抓他救贖的真實，和說話的人，必然被吸引。神的工人是否有用，全賴他與耶穌基督的單純關係。而這種關係是長存的，也是日益加深的。
新約的工人蒙召，是要揭發罪惡並指出耶穌是救主，因此他不能詩情畫意，乃是要嚴謹開刀。我們被差是要高舉主耶穌，不是要發表美妙的論說。我們的搜索必須深入，像神搜索我們一樣；對聖經要敏銳，把真理直截闡明，不留情地應用。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我察覺到我最近的內心，是何其缺少將我對耶穌的信心實踐出來，那些隱藏的意欲似乎經常出沒。願你將基督裡的單純引進我的生命，又使我對事情有更深入的看法－－唯一關注的是凡事獲得你的認可。
December 19, 2014
The Focus Of Our Message
I did not come to bring peace but a sword —Matthew 10:34
Never be sympathetic with a person whose situation causes you to conclude that God is dealing harshly with him. God can be more tender than we can conceive, and every once in a while He gives us the opportunity to deal firmly with someone so that He may be viewed as the tender One. If a person cannot go to God, it is because he has something secret which he does not intend to give up— he may admit his sin, but would no more give up that thing than he could fly under his own power. It is impossible to deal sympathetically with people like that. We must reach down deep in their lives to the root of the problem, which will cause hostility and resentment toward the message. People want the blessing of God, but they can’t stand something that pierces right through to the heart of the matter.
If you are sensitive to God’s way, your message as His servant will be merciless and insistent, cutting to the very root. Otherwise, there will be no healing. We must drive the message home so forcefully that a person cannot possibly hide, but must apply its truth. Deal with people where they are, until they begin to realize their true need. Then hold high the standard of Jesus for their lives. Their response may be, “We can never be that.” Then drive it home with, “Jesus Christ says you must.” “But how can we be?” “You can’t, unless you have a new Spirit” (see Luke 11:13).
There must be a sense of need created before your message is of any use. Thousands of people in this world profess to be happy without God. But if we could be truly happy and moral without Jesus, then why did He come? He came because that kind of happiness and peace is only superficial. Jesus Christ came to “bring . . . a sword” through every kind of peace that is not based on a personal relationship with Himself.
注意什麼？
我來，並不是叫地上太平，乃是叫地上動刀兵。 （太十34）
若有人的遭遇令你覺得神是冷酷無情的，不要對這人表示同情。神比想像中更柔和，他有時讓我們經歷艱難，是為我們的好處。人若不能通達主前，是由於他藏著不肯放下的東西－－[我承認有錯，但我不打算放棄它。 ]對這樣的人是不需要同情的：即使他們憎惡敵擋我們的信息，也要直斥其非。人都愛神的祝福，可是卻不肯接受那些命中要害的東西。
神若是使用你，作他的僕人，你的信息就該不通融遷就，直指問題根源，否則人就得不著醫治。把信息清楚傳明，使人無可諱避。先從人的本相著手，直到他們發現自己的缺欠，然後舉出主耶穌的榜樣：[我們永遠也不能像耶穌一樣！ ]你就立即說：[耶穌基督說你必須如此。 ][我們怎能如此？ ][你不能，除非你有了更新的聖靈。 ]（路十一13）
先要喚起人的需要，你的信息才派用場。世上千萬人沒有神，生活依然快活。我在耶穌未來以先，原是快活的，道德也不差，他來到底做什麼？原來那種快樂平安是建築在錯誤的水平上；耶穌基督來，就是要用刀劍刺透一切不是建基於與他個人關係的平安。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，今天我來到你的面前，願你的美善、恩典和充滿安慰的平安臨到我。願沒有任何風暴、不適或焦慮，觸動你在我生命中和在此處的平安。
Never be sympathetic with a person whose situation causes you to conclude that God is dealing harshly with him. God can be more tender than we can conceive, and every once in a while He gives us the opportunity to deal firmly with someone so that He may be viewed as the tender One. If a person cannot go to God, it is because he has something secret which he does not intend to give up— he may admit his sin, but would no more give up that thing than he could fly under his own power. It is impossible to deal sympathetically with people like that. We must reach down deep in their lives to the root of the problem, which will cause hostility and resentment toward the message. People want the blessing of God, but they can’t stand something that pierces right through to the heart of the matter.
If you are sensitive to God’s way, your message as His servant will be merciless and insistent, cutting to the very root. Otherwise, there will be no healing. We must drive the message home so forcefully that a person cannot possibly hide, but must apply its truth. Deal with people where they are, until they begin to realize their true need. Then hold high the standard of Jesus for their lives. Their response may be, “We can never be that.” Then drive it home with, “Jesus Christ says you must.” “But how can we be?” “You can’t, unless you have a new Spirit” (see Luke 11:13).
There must be a sense of need created before your message is of any use. Thousands of people in this world profess to be happy without God. But if we could be truly happy and moral without Jesus, then why did He come? He came because that kind of happiness and peace is only superficial. Jesus Christ came to “bring . . . a sword” through every kind of peace that is not based on a personal relationship with Himself.
注意什麼？
我來，並不是叫地上太平，乃是叫地上動刀兵。 （太十34）
若有人的遭遇令你覺得神是冷酷無情的，不要對這人表示同情。神比想像中更柔和，他有時讓我們經歷艱難，是為我們的好處。人若不能通達主前，是由於他藏著不肯放下的東西－－[我承認有錯，但我不打算放棄它。 ]對這樣的人是不需要同情的：即使他們憎惡敵擋我們的信息，也要直斥其非。人都愛神的祝福，可是卻不肯接受那些命中要害的東西。
神若是使用你，作他的僕人，你的信息就該不通融遷就，直指問題根源，否則人就得不著醫治。把信息清楚傳明，使人無可諱避。先從人的本相著手，直到他們發現自己的缺欠，然後舉出主耶穌的榜樣：[我們永遠也不能像耶穌一樣！ ]你就立即說：[耶穌基督說你必須如此。 ][我們怎能如此？ ][你不能，除非你有了更新的聖靈。 ]（路十一13）
先要喚起人的需要，你的信息才派用場。世上千萬人沒有神，生活依然快活。我在耶穌未來以先，原是快活的，道德也不差，他來到底做什麼？原來那種快樂平安是建築在錯誤的水平上；耶穌基督來，就是要用刀劍刺透一切不是建基於與他個人關係的平安。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，今天我來到你的面前，願你的美善、恩典和充滿安慰的平安臨到我。願沒有任何風暴、不適或焦慮，觸動你在我生命中和在此處的平安。
December 18, 2014
Test of Faithfulness
We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . . —Romans 8:28
It is only a faithful person who truly believes that God sovereignly controls his circumstances. We take our circumstances for granted, saying God is in control, but not really believing it. We act as if the things that happen were completely controlled by people. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, or object of our faith— the Lord Jesus Christ. God may cause our circumstances to suddenly fall apart, which may bring the realization of our unfaithfulness to Him for not recognizing that He had ordained the situation. We never saw what He was trying to accomplish, and that exact event will never be repeated in our life. This is where the test of our faithfulness comes. If we will just learn to worship God even during the difficult circumstances, He will change them for the better very quickly if He so chooses.
Being faithful to Jesus Christ is the most difficult thing we try to do today. We will be faithful to our work, to serving others, or to anything else; just don’t ask us to be faithful to Jesus Christ. Many Christians become very impatient when we talk about faithfulness to Jesus. Our Lord is dethroned more deliberately by Christian workers than by the world. We treat God as if He were a machine designed only to bless us, and we think of Jesus as just another one of the workers.
The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through us. God calls us to His service and places tremendous responsibilities on us. He expects no complaining on our part and offers no explanation on His part. God wants to use us as He used His own Son.
忠心的考驗
我們曉得萬事都互相效力，叫愛神的人得益處。 （羅八28）
只有忠心耿耿的人，才相信神安排環境。我們往往過於隨便，不相信自己的境遇是神所安排；口頭上雖然說相信，但當事情發生，往往視作人的作為。在任何情況下忠心，是指只有一個忠心的對象，就是我們的主。神若忽然改變某一個環境，我們就發現自己的不忠，因為沒有看出這是出於神。我們根本看不出他的用意，而那件事我們的一生中也不會再重演。忠心的考驗都是在那刻臨到的。我們若學會在苦痛的環境中敬拜他，神願意的話，可以在兩秒鐘內把環境扭轉。
向耶穌基督效忠，是我們今日抗拒的事。我們可以忠於工作、事奉、或任何事情，但別叫我們效忠耶穌基督。不少信徒對效忠基督感到不耐煩。信主的人把主從寶座上推下來，比世界的人更甚。神成為一幅祝福人的機器，耶穌基督成為工人中的工人。重點不是在我們為神工作，而是在我們完全效忠，以致他能透過我作工－－[我寄望於你的，是要你全力事奉，不發怨言，不求解釋。 ]神要用我們，像他用他兒子一樣。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你今天的臉光光照我們，使我們都以極大的甜蜜和自由來配合你的計劃，並且活潑輕快地與你一起走過。
It is only a faithful person who truly believes that God sovereignly controls his circumstances. We take our circumstances for granted, saying God is in control, but not really believing it. We act as if the things that happen were completely controlled by people. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, or object of our faith— the Lord Jesus Christ. God may cause our circumstances to suddenly fall apart, which may bring the realization of our unfaithfulness to Him for not recognizing that He had ordained the situation. We never saw what He was trying to accomplish, and that exact event will never be repeated in our life. This is where the test of our faithfulness comes. If we will just learn to worship God even during the difficult circumstances, He will change them for the better very quickly if He so chooses.
Being faithful to Jesus Christ is the most difficult thing we try to do today. We will be faithful to our work, to serving others, or to anything else; just don’t ask us to be faithful to Jesus Christ. Many Christians become very impatient when we talk about faithfulness to Jesus. Our Lord is dethroned more deliberately by Christian workers than by the world. We treat God as if He were a machine designed only to bless us, and we think of Jesus as just another one of the workers.
The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through us. God calls us to His service and places tremendous responsibilities on us. He expects no complaining on our part and offers no explanation on His part. God wants to use us as He used His own Son.
忠心的考驗
我們曉得萬事都互相效力，叫愛神的人得益處。 （羅八28）
只有忠心耿耿的人，才相信神安排環境。我們往往過於隨便，不相信自己的境遇是神所安排；口頭上雖然說相信，但當事情發生，往往視作人的作為。在任何情況下忠心，是指只有一個忠心的對象，就是我們的主。神若忽然改變某一個環境，我們就發現自己的不忠，因為沒有看出這是出於神。我們根本看不出他的用意，而那件事我們的一生中也不會再重演。忠心的考驗都是在那刻臨到的。我們若學會在苦痛的環境中敬拜他，神願意的話，可以在兩秒鐘內把環境扭轉。
向耶穌基督效忠，是我們今日抗拒的事。我們可以忠於工作、事奉、或任何事情，但別叫我們效忠耶穌基督。不少信徒對效忠基督感到不耐煩。信主的人把主從寶座上推下來，比世界的人更甚。神成為一幅祝福人的機器，耶穌基督成為工人中的工人。重點不是在我們為神工作，而是在我們完全效忠，以致他能透過我作工－－[我寄望於你的，是要你全力事奉，不發怨言，不求解釋。 ]神要用我們，像他用他兒子一樣。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你今天的臉光光照我們，使我們都以極大的甜蜜和自由來配合你的計劃，並且活潑輕快地與你一起走過。
December 17, 2014
Redemption— Creating the Need it Satisfies
The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him . . . —1 Corinthians 2:14
The gospel of God creates the sense of need for the gospel. Is the gospel hidden to those who are servants already? No, Paul said, “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe . . .” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). The majority of people think of themselves as being completely moral, and have no sense of need for the gospel. It is God who creates this sense of need in a human being, but that person remains totally unaware of his need until God makes Himself evident. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you . . .” (Matthew 7:7). But God cannot give until a man asks. It is not that He wants to withhold something from us, but that is the plan He has established for the way of redemption. Through our asking, God puts His process in motion, creating something in us that was nonexistent until we asked. The inner reality of redemption is that it creates all the time. And as redemption creates the life of God in us, it also creates the things which belong to that life. The only thing that can possibly satisfy the need is what created the need. This is the meaning of redemption— it creates and it satisfies.
Jesus said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32). When we preach our own experiences, people may be interested, but it awakens no real sense of need. But once Jesus Christ is “lifted up,” the Spirit of God creates an awareness of the need for Him. The creative power of the redemption of God works in the souls of men only through the preaching of the gospel. It is never the sharing of personal experiences that saves people, but the truth of redemption. “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).
救贖創造需要，也滿足需要
然而屬血氣的人不領會神聖靈的事，反倒以為愚拙。 （林前二14）
神的福音能叫人產生對福音的需要。保羅說：[如果我們的福音蒙蔽。 ]是對那些惡人蒙蔽嗎？不是的。 [蒙蔽在滅亡的人身上，此等不信之人，被這世界的神弄瞎了心眼。 ]大多數人都有自己持守的道德觀念，覺得不需要福音。神於是造出這個需要來；他若不彰顯自己，根本沒有人覺得有此需要。耶穌說：[祈求，就給你們。 ]但人未祈求，神就不能給。不是他保留不給，但這是他根據救贖所定下的原則。正因我們求，神就作工，為我們創造那些未求之前不存在的東西。救贖的精義，就是不斷的創造。救贖既在我們裡面創造了神的生命，也創造屬於那生命的東西。惟有叫人產生這需要的，才能滿足這需要。這就是救贖的意思－－它創造，它也滿足。
[人子若從地上被舉起來，就必吸引萬人來歸我。 ]我們傳講自己的經歷，別人雖感興趣，可是卻不喚起他的需要。若耶穌基督被舉起來，神的靈便叫人覺得需要基督。在傳揚福音的背後，是神不斷創造的救贖大工在人心裡動工。個人見證絕對不能拯救人。 [我對你們說的話，就是靈，就是生命。 ]
祈禱◆主啊，我何其渴望看見你、聽見你、默想你和愈來愈像你！你曾經說過：[又要以耶和華為樂，他就將你心裡所求的賜給你。 ]
The gospel of God creates the sense of need for the gospel. Is the gospel hidden to those who are servants already? No, Paul said, “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe . . .” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). The majority of people think of themselves as being completely moral, and have no sense of need for the gospel. It is God who creates this sense of need in a human being, but that person remains totally unaware of his need until God makes Himself evident. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you . . .” (Matthew 7:7). But God cannot give until a man asks. It is not that He wants to withhold something from us, but that is the plan He has established for the way of redemption. Through our asking, God puts His process in motion, creating something in us that was nonexistent until we asked. The inner reality of redemption is that it creates all the time. And as redemption creates the life of God in us, it also creates the things which belong to that life. The only thing that can possibly satisfy the need is what created the need. This is the meaning of redemption— it creates and it satisfies.
Jesus said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32). When we preach our own experiences, people may be interested, but it awakens no real sense of need. But once Jesus Christ is “lifted up,” the Spirit of God creates an awareness of the need for Him. The creative power of the redemption of God works in the souls of men only through the preaching of the gospel. It is never the sharing of personal experiences that saves people, but the truth of redemption. “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).
救贖創造需要，也滿足需要
然而屬血氣的人不領會神聖靈的事，反倒以為愚拙。 （林前二14）
神的福音能叫人產生對福音的需要。保羅說：[如果我們的福音蒙蔽。 ]是對那些惡人蒙蔽嗎？不是的。 [蒙蔽在滅亡的人身上，此等不信之人，被這世界的神弄瞎了心眼。 ]大多數人都有自己持守的道德觀念，覺得不需要福音。神於是造出這個需要來；他若不彰顯自己，根本沒有人覺得有此需要。耶穌說：[祈求，就給你們。 ]但人未祈求，神就不能給。不是他保留不給，但這是他根據救贖所定下的原則。正因我們求，神就作工，為我們創造那些未求之前不存在的東西。救贖的精義，就是不斷的創造。救贖既在我們裡面創造了神的生命，也創造屬於那生命的東西。惟有叫人產生這需要的，才能滿足這需要。這就是救贖的意思－－它創造，它也滿足。
[人子若從地上被舉起來，就必吸引萬人來歸我。 ]我們傳講自己的經歷，別人雖感興趣，可是卻不喚起他的需要。若耶穌基督被舉起來，神的靈便叫人覺得需要基督。在傳揚福音的背後，是神不斷創造的救贖大工在人心裡動工。個人見證絕對不能拯救人。 [我對你們說的話，就是靈，就是生命。 ]
祈禱◆主啊，我何其渴望看見你、聽見你、默想你和愈來愈像你！你曾經說過：[又要以耶和華為樂，他就將你心裡所求的賜給你。 ]
December 16, 2014
Wrestling Before God
Take up the whole armor of God . . . praying always . . . —Ephesians 6:13,18
You must learn to wrestle against the things that hinder your communication with God, and wrestle in prayer for other people; but to wrestle with God in prayer is unscriptural. If you ever do wrestle with God, you will be crippled for the rest of your life. If you grab hold of God and wrestle with Him, as Jacob did, simply because He is working in a way that doesn’t meet with your approval, you force Him to put you out of joint (see Genesis 32:24-25). Don’t become a cripple by wrestling with the ways of God, but be someone who wrestles before God with the things of this world, because “we are more than conquerors through Him . . .” (Romans 8:37). Wrestling before God makes an impact in His kingdom. If you ask me to pray for you, and I am not complete in Christ, my prayer accomplishes nothing. But if I am complete in Christ, my prayer brings victory all the time. Prayer is effective only when there is completeness— “take up the whole armor of God . . .”
Always make a distinction between God’s perfect will and His permissive will, which He uses to accomplish His divine purpose for our lives. God’s perfect will is unchangeable. It is with His permissive will, or the various things that He allows into our lives, that we must wrestle before Him. It is our reaction to these things allowed by His permissive will that enables us to come to the point of seeing His perfect will for us. “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . .” (Romans 8:28)— to those who remain true to God’s perfect will— His calling in Christ Jesus. God’s permissive will is the testing He uses to reveal His true sons and daughters. We should not be spineless and automatically say, “Yes, it is the Lord’s will.” We don’t have to fight or wrestle with God, but we must wrestle before God with things. Beware of lazily giving up. Instead, put up a glorious fight and you will find yourself empowered with His strength.
在神面前摔跤
所以要拿起神所賜的全副軍裝……隨時多方禱告祈求……（弗六13-18）
你要與攔阻你親近神的東西摔跤，為別人禱告時也要摔跤；但千萬不要在禱告中與神摔跤，那是不合聖經真理的。你若真與神摔跤，勢必一生瘸腿。若神給你一些你不想要的東西，就像雅各一樣抓住神，與他摔跤，你就逼使神折斷你的腿骨。不要做阻擋神路的人，要在神面前摔跤，必在他國度裡見功效。若要我為你代求，而我在基督裡並不完全的話，禱告就無功效；但若我在基督裡完全，禱告就隨時生效。惟有在完全裡禱告才有功效，[所以要拿起神所賜的全副軍裝。 ]
總要分辨什麼是神的命令，什麼是他的旨意，就是他在我們身上的計劃。我們不能更改神的命令，但必須在他面前與他的旨意摔跤。對神旨意的反應，能幫助我們遵守他的命令。 [萬事都互相效力，叫愛神的人得益處]－－就是忠於神的吩咐和主耶穌恩召人。神的旨意是神兒女顯露出來的途徑。我們不必像水母般軟綿綿地說：[這是神的旨意。 ]我們不是再神面前爭鬥，也不是與神摔跤，乃是與事物摔跤。當心不可在神面前怠惰地閒坐，應光榮而戰，直到抓住了他的能力。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，倘若我有任何剛強的一面，那隻是在你裡面得著的剛強。今天早上，我因想起這話而滿心歡喜－－[你們要靠著主，倚賴他的大能大力作剛強的人。 ]
You must learn to wrestle against the things that hinder your communication with God, and wrestle in prayer for other people; but to wrestle with God in prayer is unscriptural. If you ever do wrestle with God, you will be crippled for the rest of your life. If you grab hold of God and wrestle with Him, as Jacob did, simply because He is working in a way that doesn’t meet with your approval, you force Him to put you out of joint (see Genesis 32:24-25). Don’t become a cripple by wrestling with the ways of God, but be someone who wrestles before God with the things of this world, because “we are more than conquerors through Him . . .” (Romans 8:37). Wrestling before God makes an impact in His kingdom. If you ask me to pray for you, and I am not complete in Christ, my prayer accomplishes nothing. But if I am complete in Christ, my prayer brings victory all the time. Prayer is effective only when there is completeness— “take up the whole armor of God . . .”
Always make a distinction between God’s perfect will and His permissive will, which He uses to accomplish His divine purpose for our lives. God’s perfect will is unchangeable. It is with His permissive will, or the various things that He allows into our lives, that we must wrestle before Him. It is our reaction to these things allowed by His permissive will that enables us to come to the point of seeing His perfect will for us. “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . .” (Romans 8:28)— to those who remain true to God’s perfect will— His calling in Christ Jesus. God’s permissive will is the testing He uses to reveal His true sons and daughters. We should not be spineless and automatically say, “Yes, it is the Lord’s will.” We don’t have to fight or wrestle with God, but we must wrestle before God with things. Beware of lazily giving up. Instead, put up a glorious fight and you will find yourself empowered with His strength.
在神面前摔跤
所以要拿起神所賜的全副軍裝……隨時多方禱告祈求……（弗六13-18）
你要與攔阻你親近神的東西摔跤，為別人禱告時也要摔跤；但千萬不要在禱告中與神摔跤，那是不合聖經真理的。你若真與神摔跤，勢必一生瘸腿。若神給你一些你不想要的東西，就像雅各一樣抓住神，與他摔跤，你就逼使神折斷你的腿骨。不要做阻擋神路的人，要在神面前摔跤，必在他國度裡見功效。若要我為你代求，而我在基督裡並不完全的話，禱告就無功效；但若我在基督裡完全，禱告就隨時生效。惟有在完全裡禱告才有功效，[所以要拿起神所賜的全副軍裝。 ]
總要分辨什麼是神的命令，什麼是他的旨意，就是他在我們身上的計劃。我們不能更改神的命令，但必須在他面前與他的旨意摔跤。對神旨意的反應，能幫助我們遵守他的命令。 [萬事都互相效力，叫愛神的人得益處]－－就是忠於神的吩咐和主耶穌恩召人。神的旨意是神兒女顯露出來的途徑。我們不必像水母般軟綿綿地說：[這是神的旨意。 ]我們不是再神面前爭鬥，也不是與神摔跤，乃是與事物摔跤。當心不可在神面前怠惰地閒坐，應光榮而戰，直到抓住了他的能力。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，倘若我有任何剛強的一面，那隻是在你裡面得著的剛強。今天早上，我因想起這話而滿心歡喜－－[你們要靠著主，倚賴他的大能大力作剛強的人。 ]
December 15, 2014
“Approved to God”
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth —2 Timothy 2:15
If you cannot express yourself well on each of your beliefs, work and study until you can. If you don’t, other people may miss out on the blessings that come from knowing the truth. Strive to re-express a truth of God to yourself clearly and understandably, and God will use that same explanation when you share it with someone else. But you must be willing to go through God’s winepress where the grapes are crushed. You must struggle, experiment, and rehearse your words to express God’s truth clearly. Then the time will come when that very expression will become God’s wine of strength to someone else. But if you are not diligent and say, “I’m not going to study and struggle to express this truth in my own words; I’ll just borrow my words from someone else,” then the words will be of no value to you or to others. Try to state to yourself what you believe to be the absolute truth of God, and you will be allowing God the opportunity to pass it on through you to someone else.
Always make it a practice to stir your own mind thoroughly to think through what you have easily believed. Your position is not really yours until you make it yours through suffering and study. The author or speaker from whom you learn the most is not the one who teaches you something you didn’t know before, but the one who helps you take a truth with which you have quietly struggled, give it expression, and speak it clearly and boldly.
蒙神悅納
你當努力，在神面前得蒙喜悅，作無愧的工人，接著正意分解真理的道。 （提後二15）
要是你不能在任何題目上表達自己，就當好好努力，直至你能表達出來，否則，有些人會因此一生貧瘠。試把神某些真理對自己再三說出來，力求改進，神會藉你的話叫別人得益。要進入神的壓酒池，竭力用各種方式把道理表達，時候到了，那些話就成為別人得力的美酒。若你懶洋洋地說：[我自己不必努力去表達，我可以藉用別人的話。 ]這樣，不但自己無用，對別人也無益。試把神的真理說出來，這樣你就給神機會，把資訊帶給人。
經常保持反謅的習慣，刺激腦袋再三思想那些理所當然的東西。經過苦練，崗位才真正成為我們的。一個作者叫你收益最大，不是因他把你從不知曉的東西告訴你，而是他把你不能表達的東西表達出來。
祈禱◆主啊，我願稱頌和讚美你，然而，當我身體軟弱，我感到讚美你是何其困難，但為何必然是這樣呢？這意味著惟有當我感到愉快，我才讚美你。但願我的心能持續不斷地讚美你！
If you cannot express yourself well on each of your beliefs, work and study until you can. If you don’t, other people may miss out on the blessings that come from knowing the truth. Strive to re-express a truth of God to yourself clearly and understandably, and God will use that same explanation when you share it with someone else. But you must be willing to go through God’s winepress where the grapes are crushed. You must struggle, experiment, and rehearse your words to express God’s truth clearly. Then the time will come when that very expression will become God’s wine of strength to someone else. But if you are not diligent and say, “I’m not going to study and struggle to express this truth in my own words; I’ll just borrow my words from someone else,” then the words will be of no value to you or to others. Try to state to yourself what you believe to be the absolute truth of God, and you will be allowing God the opportunity to pass it on through you to someone else.
Always make it a practice to stir your own mind thoroughly to think through what you have easily believed. Your position is not really yours until you make it yours through suffering and study. The author or speaker from whom you learn the most is not the one who teaches you something you didn’t know before, but the one who helps you take a truth with which you have quietly struggled, give it expression, and speak it clearly and boldly.
蒙神悅納
你當努力，在神面前得蒙喜悅，作無愧的工人，接著正意分解真理的道。 （提後二15）
要是你不能在任何題目上表達自己，就當好好努力，直至你能表達出來，否則，有些人會因此一生貧瘠。試把神某些真理對自己再三說出來，力求改進，神會藉你的話叫別人得益。要進入神的壓酒池，竭力用各種方式把道理表達，時候到了，那些話就成為別人得力的美酒。若你懶洋洋地說：[我自己不必努力去表達，我可以藉用別人的話。 ]這樣，不但自己無用，對別人也無益。試把神的真理說出來，這樣你就給神機會，把資訊帶給人。
經常保持反謅的習慣，刺激腦袋再三思想那些理所當然的東西。經過苦練，崗位才真正成為我們的。一個作者叫你收益最大，不是因他把你從不知曉的東西告訴你，而是他把你不能表達的東西表達出來。
祈禱◆主啊，我願稱頌和讚美你，然而，當我身體軟弱，我感到讚美你是何其困難，但為何必然是這樣呢？這意味著惟有當我感到愉快，我才讚美你。但願我的心能持續不斷地讚美你！
December 14, 2014
The Great Life
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled . . . —John 14:27
Whenever we experience something difficult in our personal life, we are tempted to blame God. But we are the ones in the wrong, not God. Blaming God is evidence that we are refusing to let go of some disobedience somewhere in our lives. But as soon as we let go, everything becomes as clear as daylight to us. As long as we try to serve two masters, ourselves and God, there will be difficulties combined with doubt and confusion. Our attitude must be one of complete reliance on God. Once we get to that point, there is nothing easier than living the life of a saint. We encounter difficulties when we try to usurp the authority of the Holy Spirit for our own purposes.
God’s mark of approval, whenever you obey Him, is peace. He sends an immeasurable, deep peace; not a natural peace, “as the world gives,” but the peace of Jesus. Whenever peace does not come, wait until it does, or seek to find out why it is not coming. If you are acting on your own impulse, or out of a sense of the heroic, to be seen by others, the peace of Jesus will not exhibit itself. This shows no unity with God or confidence in Him. The spirit of simplicity, clarity, and unity is born through the Holy Spirit, not through your decisions. God counters our self-willed decisions with an appeal for simplicity and unity.
My questions arise whenever I cease to obey. When I do obey God, problems come, not between me and God, but as a means to keep my mind examining with amazement the revealed truth of God. But any problem that comes between God and myself is the result of disobedience. Any problem that comes while I obey God (and there will be many), increases my overjoyed delight, because I know that my Father knows and cares, and I can watch and anticipate how He will unravel my problems.
偉大的生命
我留下平安給你們，我將我的平安賜給你們……你們心裡不要憂愁……（約十四27）
個人經歷若有什麼難過的事，我們很容易會怪責神；但出錯的實在不是神，而是我們。我們必定有什麼執著不肯放手，一旦肯放手，一切就必晴朗如白晝。若我們要同時事奉神，又事奉自己，就必產生困惑。我們必須對神抱完全信賴的態度，這樣，過成聖生活就輕而易舉了。有難處是因我們侵奪聖靈的主權，欲達成自己的目的。
你什麼時候順服神，他的印證就是平安。那無比的平安，不是天然的，乃是主耶穌的平安。若平安不來，就要等候直至得著，或找出沒有平安的因由。若你行事是出於衝動，或英雄氣概，主的平安就不會印證；因為其中沒有對神的單純與信心。單純的靈是從聖靈而生的，不是出於你的決定，每一個決定，都帶來反作用，以致失掉單純。
我一不順服，問題就來了。我若順服，問題就不會出於我與神之間，而只會挑旺我的心，叫我稀奇神啟示的奇妙。神與我之間任何的問題，都是出於順服。反之，若許多的問題在我順服神的當兒出現，只會增加我驚喜的欣愉，因為天父是明察的，我將可細察他怎樣解決這些問題。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我投向你。我原本是一個無家可歸的人，直至你以你平安的穩妥、你慈愛的甜蜜感覺感動我，我的生命才產生改變。
Whenever we experience something difficult in our personal life, we are tempted to blame God. But we are the ones in the wrong, not God. Blaming God is evidence that we are refusing to let go of some disobedience somewhere in our lives. But as soon as we let go, everything becomes as clear as daylight to us. As long as we try to serve two masters, ourselves and God, there will be difficulties combined with doubt and confusion. Our attitude must be one of complete reliance on God. Once we get to that point, there is nothing easier than living the life of a saint. We encounter difficulties when we try to usurp the authority of the Holy Spirit for our own purposes.
God’s mark of approval, whenever you obey Him, is peace. He sends an immeasurable, deep peace; not a natural peace, “as the world gives,” but the peace of Jesus. Whenever peace does not come, wait until it does, or seek to find out why it is not coming. If you are acting on your own impulse, or out of a sense of the heroic, to be seen by others, the peace of Jesus will not exhibit itself. This shows no unity with God or confidence in Him. The spirit of simplicity, clarity, and unity is born through the Holy Spirit, not through your decisions. God counters our self-willed decisions with an appeal for simplicity and unity.
My questions arise whenever I cease to obey. When I do obey God, problems come, not between me and God, but as a means to keep my mind examining with amazement the revealed truth of God. But any problem that comes between God and myself is the result of disobedience. Any problem that comes while I obey God (and there will be many), increases my overjoyed delight, because I know that my Father knows and cares, and I can watch and anticipate how He will unravel my problems.
偉大的生命
我留下平安給你們，我將我的平安賜給你們……你們心裡不要憂愁……（約十四27）
個人經歷若有什麼難過的事，我們很容易會怪責神；但出錯的實在不是神，而是我們。我們必定有什麼執著不肯放手，一旦肯放手，一切就必晴朗如白晝。若我們要同時事奉神，又事奉自己，就必產生困惑。我們必須對神抱完全信賴的態度，這樣，過成聖生活就輕而易舉了。有難處是因我們侵奪聖靈的主權，欲達成自己的目的。
你什麼時候順服神，他的印證就是平安。那無比的平安，不是天然的，乃是主耶穌的平安。若平安不來，就要等候直至得著，或找出沒有平安的因由。若你行事是出於衝動，或英雄氣概，主的平安就不會印證；因為其中沒有對神的單純與信心。單純的靈是從聖靈而生的，不是出於你的決定，每一個決定，都帶來反作用，以致失掉單純。
我一不順服，問題就來了。我若順服，問題就不會出於我與神之間，而只會挑旺我的心，叫我稀奇神啟示的奇妙。神與我之間任何的問題，都是出於順服。反之，若許多的問題在我順服神的當兒出現，只會增加我驚喜的欣愉，因為天父是明察的，我將可細察他怎樣解決這些問題。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我投向你。我原本是一個無家可歸的人，直至你以你平安的穩妥、你慈愛的甜蜜感覺感動我，我的生命才產生改變。
December 13, 2014
Intercessory Prayer
. . . men always ought to pray and not lose heart —Luke 18:1
You cannot truly intercede through prayer if you do not believe in the reality of redemption. Instead, you will simply be turning intercession into useless sympathy for others, which will serve only to increase the contentment they have for remaining out of touch with God. True intercession involves bringing the person, or the circumstance that seems to be crashing in on you, before God, until you are changed by His attitude toward that person or circumstance. Intercession means to “fill up . . . [with] what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ” (Colossians 1:24), and this is precisely why there are so few intercessors. People describe intercession by saying, “It is putting yourself in someone else’s place.” That is not true! Intercession is putting yourself in God’s place; it is having His mind and His perspective.
As an intercessor, be careful not to seek too much information from God regarding the situation you are praying about, because you may be overwhelmed. If you know too much, more than God has ordained for you to know, you can’t pray; the circumstances of the people become so overpowering that you are no longer able to get to the underlying truth.
Our work is to be in such close contact with God that we may have His mind about everything, but we shirk that responsibility by substituting doing for interceding. And yet intercession is the only thing that has no drawbacks, because it keeps our relationship completely open with God.
What we must avoid in intercession is praying for someone to be simply “patched up.” We must pray that person completely through into contact with the very life of God. Think of the number of people God has brought across our path, only to see us drop them! When we pray on the basis of redemption, God creates something He can create in no other way than through intercessory prayer.
求什麼？
常常禱告，不可灰心。 （路十八1）
你若不深信救贖的實在，就無法代求；因為你只會把代求變成對人類無可奈何的同情，徒增人的自滿自足與神隔絕。代求，是把激動你心的那個人或事，帶到神面前，知道你被神對那人那事的態度所推動。代求是[補滿基督患難的缺欠]，無怪乎代求的人那麼少。很多人說代求是[設身處地的為那人著想]，不！代求其實是把自己放在神的位置上，從他的角度看事物。
作為一個神的工人，你所知道的實情是神要你知道的，否則便會重壓難當。知得過多，過於神要你知道的，你就無法禱告；因人的景況把你壓下去，以致你不能進入現實去。
我們的工作是在凡事上與神聯繫，可是我們卻因做個活躍不已的工人，而推卸這個職責。我們拼命做一些可統計的工作，但不做代求的工作。代求是完全沒有纏繞網羅的，因為可使我們與神的關係完全敝開。
代求時要當心的，就是不要草草了事。心靈必須著實地接觸神的生命。試想神在我們生命的路途上，叫我們遇見多少的人，而我們卻輕易的讓他們溜走，若我們踏穩在救贖的根基上禱告，神就會創造除代求以外無法成就的新事。
祈禱◆主啊，願你高舉我，使我靠近你，以致你那完美的閃耀著喜樂的救恩，能為著你的榮耀而臨到我和照亮我。求你保守我，讓我向你的代求通行無阻。
You cannot truly intercede through prayer if you do not believe in the reality of redemption. Instead, you will simply be turning intercession into useless sympathy for others, which will serve only to increase the contentment they have for remaining out of touch with God. True intercession involves bringing the person, or the circumstance that seems to be crashing in on you, before God, until you are changed by His attitude toward that person or circumstance. Intercession means to “fill up . . . [with] what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ” (Colossians 1:24), and this is precisely why there are so few intercessors. People describe intercession by saying, “It is putting yourself in someone else’s place.” That is not true! Intercession is putting yourself in God’s place; it is having His mind and His perspective.
As an intercessor, be careful not to seek too much information from God regarding the situation you are praying about, because you may be overwhelmed. If you know too much, more than God has ordained for you to know, you can’t pray; the circumstances of the people become so overpowering that you are no longer able to get to the underlying truth.
Our work is to be in such close contact with God that we may have His mind about everything, but we shirk that responsibility by substituting doing for interceding. And yet intercession is the only thing that has no drawbacks, because it keeps our relationship completely open with God.
What we must avoid in intercession is praying for someone to be simply “patched up.” We must pray that person completely through into contact with the very life of God. Think of the number of people God has brought across our path, only to see us drop them! When we pray on the basis of redemption, God creates something He can create in no other way than through intercessory prayer.
求什麼？
常常禱告，不可灰心。 （路十八1）
你若不深信救贖的實在，就無法代求；因為你只會把代求變成對人類無可奈何的同情，徒增人的自滿自足與神隔絕。代求，是把激動你心的那個人或事，帶到神面前，知道你被神對那人那事的態度所推動。代求是[補滿基督患難的缺欠]，無怪乎代求的人那麼少。很多人說代求是[設身處地的為那人著想]，不！代求其實是把自己放在神的位置上，從他的角度看事物。
作為一個神的工人，你所知道的實情是神要你知道的，否則便會重壓難當。知得過多，過於神要你知道的，你就無法禱告；因人的景況把你壓下去，以致你不能進入現實去。
我們的工作是在凡事上與神聯繫，可是我們卻因做個活躍不已的工人，而推卸這個職責。我們拼命做一些可統計的工作，但不做代求的工作。代求是完全沒有纏繞網羅的，因為可使我們與神的關係完全敝開。
代求時要當心的，就是不要草草了事。心靈必須著實地接觸神的生命。試想神在我們生命的路途上，叫我們遇見多少的人，而我們卻輕易的讓他們溜走，若我們踏穩在救贖的根基上禱告，神就會創造除代求以外無法成就的新事。
祈禱◆主啊，願你高舉我，使我靠近你，以致你那完美的閃耀著喜樂的救恩，能為著你的榮耀而臨到我和照亮我。求你保守我，讓我向你的代求通行無阻。
December 12, 2014
Personality
. . . that they may be one just as We are one . . . —John 17:22
Personality is the unique, limitless part of our life that makes us distinct from everyone else. It is too vast for us even to comprehend. An island in the sea may be just the top of a large mountain, and our personality is like that island. We don’t know the great depths of our being, therefore we cannot measure ourselves. We start out thinking we can, but soon realize that there is really only one Being who fully understands us, and that is our Creator.
Personality is the characteristic mark of the inner, spiritual man, just as individuality is the characteristic of the outer, natural man. Our Lord can never be described in terms of individuality and independence, but only in terms of His total Person— “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). Personality merges, and you only reach your true identity once you are merged with another person. When love or the Spirit of God come upon a person, he is transformed. He will then no longer insist on maintaining his individuality. Our Lord never referred to a person’s individuality or his isolated position, but spoke in terms of the total person— “. . . that they may be one just as We are one . . . .” Once your rights to yourself are surrendered to God, your true personal nature begins responding to God immediately. Jesus Christ brings freedom to your total person, and even your individuality is transformed. The transformation is brought about by love— personal devotion to Jesus. Love is the overflowing result of one person in true fellowship with another.
性格
使他們合而為一，像我們合而為一。 （約十七22）
性格就是指我們與別人不同的特質，是獨特的，難以估量的，就連我們自己也往往不盡了解。海上的小島，往往是大山頂尖。性格就如小島，至於底下的奧秘，我們一無所知，因此便無法衡量自己。我們自以為自知，但最終才知道只有一位明白我們，就是造我們的神。性格是屬靈生命的特質，正如個性是天然生命的特質。我們只能以性格，而斷不能以個別性和獨立性來說明主的身份。 [我與父原為一。 ]性格是可以融合的，只有當你與別人融合，才顯出你真正身份。當愛或是神的靈激動一個人，他就會改變，不再堅持自己分隔的個別性。主從不按個性，也就是人與人隔離的身份說話，他只提到性格－－[使他們合而為一，像我們合而為一]。你若把自己的主權放棄給神，你性格的真本質就立刻像神呼應。耶穌基督把人的性格釋放了，而人的個性也隨之改變。改變的元素是愛，就是個人對主耶穌的忠誠。愛是人格的傾出，與另一個人格相通契合。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，這是你的日子，我祈求你以你那極大的恩福施恩給我。能夠靠近你是何等的奇妙！
Personality is the unique, limitless part of our life that makes us distinct from everyone else. It is too vast for us even to comprehend. An island in the sea may be just the top of a large mountain, and our personality is like that island. We don’t know the great depths of our being, therefore we cannot measure ourselves. We start out thinking we can, but soon realize that there is really only one Being who fully understands us, and that is our Creator.
Personality is the characteristic mark of the inner, spiritual man, just as individuality is the characteristic of the outer, natural man. Our Lord can never be described in terms of individuality and independence, but only in terms of His total Person— “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). Personality merges, and you only reach your true identity once you are merged with another person. When love or the Spirit of God come upon a person, he is transformed. He will then no longer insist on maintaining his individuality. Our Lord never referred to a person’s individuality or his isolated position, but spoke in terms of the total person— “. . . that they may be one just as We are one . . . .” Once your rights to yourself are surrendered to God, your true personal nature begins responding to God immediately. Jesus Christ brings freedom to your total person, and even your individuality is transformed. The transformation is brought about by love— personal devotion to Jesus. Love is the overflowing result of one person in true fellowship with another.
性格
使他們合而為一，像我們合而為一。 （約十七22）
性格就是指我們與別人不同的特質，是獨特的，難以估量的，就連我們自己也往往不盡了解。海上的小島，往往是大山頂尖。性格就如小島，至於底下的奧秘，我們一無所知，因此便無法衡量自己。我們自以為自知，但最終才知道只有一位明白我們，就是造我們的神。性格是屬靈生命的特質，正如個性是天然生命的特質。我們只能以性格，而斷不能以個別性和獨立性來說明主的身份。 [我與父原為一。 ]性格是可以融合的，只有當你與別人融合，才顯出你真正身份。當愛或是神的靈激動一個人，他就會改變，不再堅持自己分隔的個別性。主從不按個性，也就是人與人隔離的身份說話，他只提到性格－－[使他們合而為一，像我們合而為一]。你若把自己的主權放棄給神，你性格的真本質就立刻像神呼應。耶穌基督把人的性格釋放了，而人的個性也隨之改變。改變的元素是愛，就是個人對主耶穌的忠誠。愛是人格的傾出，與另一個人格相通契合。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，這是你的日子，我祈求你以你那極大的恩福施恩給我。能夠靠近你是何等的奇妙！
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