We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . . —Romans 8:28
The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance. God by His providence brings you into circumstances that you can’t understand at all, but the Spirit of God understands. God brings you to places, among people, and into certain conditions to accomplish a definite purpose through the intercession of the Spirit in you. Never put yourself in front of your circumstances and say, “I’m going to be my own providence here; I will watch this closely, or protect myself from that.” All your circumstances are in the hand of God, and therefore you don’t ever have to think they are unnatural or unique. Your part in intercessory prayer is not to agonize over how to intercede, but to use the everyday circumstances and people God puts around you by His providence to bring them before His throne, and to allow the Spirit in you the opportunity to intercede for them. In this way God is going to touch the whole world with His saints.
Am I making the Holy Spirit’s work difficult by being vague and unsure, or by trying to do His work for Him? I must do the human side of intercession— utilizing the circumstances in which I find myself and the people who surround me. I must keep my conscious life as a sacred place for the Holy Spirit. Then as I lift different ones to God through prayer, the Holy Spirit intercedes for them.
Your intercessions can never be mine, and my intercessions can never be yours, “. . . but the Spirit Himself makes intercession” in each of our lives (Romans 8:26). And without that intercession, the lives of others would be left in poverty and in ruin.
環境是不知不覺中的聖地
萬事都互相效力，叫愛神的人得益處。 （羅八28）
信徒的際遇是神所命定的，信徒生命中沒有偶然那一回事。神在他的旨意中，預備一些你不明白的環境，但神的靈卻明白。他把你帶到某些地方，叫你遇到某些人，遭遇某些事，為使聖靈的代求透過你，行在某一道路上。切勿在環境中說：[我要自己作主；我要當心這個，小心那個。 ]一切環境都在神手中，所以不必為所處的環境滿腹狐疑。你代求的責任，不是要千辛萬苦，乃是用神給你日常的生活際遇，把神安排給你碰到的人帶到他座前，讓你裡面的聖靈有機會為他們代求。這樣，神就能透過聖徒得著整個世界。
我是否無目的，叫聖靈難以工作？我是否要代替聖靈來工作？在代求的事上，我要盡上人的本分，這是指我所處的環境，和我接觸的人。我得把這有知覺的生命作聖靈的聖地，把不同的人帶到神面前，讓聖靈為他們代求。你的代求不能代替我的，我的代求也不能代替你的，只有聖靈在我們個別生命中代求。沒有這代求，人的生命就必受到虧損。
祈禱◆主啊，我投向你，因著你大能的救贖，我以那偉大的勝利禱文來作祈禱：[我們若照他的旨意求什麽，他就听我們，這是我們向他所存坦然無懼的心。 ]
November 07, 2014
November 06, 2014
Intimate Theology
Do you believe this? —John 11:26
Martha believed in the power available to Jesus Christ; she believed that if He had been there He could have healed her brother; she also believed that Jesus had a special intimacy with God, and that whatever He asked of God, God would do. But— she needed a closer personal intimacy with Jesus. Martha’s theology had its fulfillment in the future. But Jesus continued to attract and draw her in until her belief became an intimate possession. It then slowly emerged into a personal inheritance— “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ . . .” (John 11:27).
Is the Lord dealing with you in the same way? Is Jesus teaching you to have a personal intimacy with Himself? Allow Him to drive His question home to you— “Do you believe this?” Are you facing an area of doubt in your life? Have you come, like Martha, to a crossroads of overwhelming circumstances where your theology is about to become a very personal belief? This happens only when a personal problem brings the awareness of our personal need.
To believe is to commit. In the area of intellectual learning I commit myself mentally, and reject anything not related to that belief. In the realm of personal belief I commit myself morally to my convictions and refuse to compromise. But in intimate personal belief I commit myself spiritually to Jesus Christ and make a determination to be dominated by Him alone.
Then, when I stand face to face with Jesus Christ and He says to me, “Do you believe this?” I find that faith is as natural as breathing. And I am staggered when I think how foolish I have been in not trusting Him earlier
信心歷程
你信這話麽？ （約十一26）
馬大相信耶穌有能力行事；她型心他若在場，就可以醫治她的弟弟。她也相信與神有特別的關係，他求神什麽，神都成就。可是，她需要與耶穌有更親密的個人關係。馬大的信心是在未來才實現的；耶穌領她體驗，直至信心成為她個人的財富，然後形成一個特有的產業- [主啊，是的，我信你是基督……]
主對你是否也一樣？主是否教導你，使你進入與他個人親密的關係裡？讓神的問題追逼你 - [你信這話麽？ ]你懷疑的是什麽？你所遭遇的，有否像馬大的一樣，把你帶到一處，叫你的信仰快要變成個人的信仰？這個地步，非透過難處而產生個人問題，不能達致。
相信就是完全委身。在心智上委身，就是把一切與這委身無關的事擯棄；在信仰上委身，在道德上就絕不與其他信仰妥協；在特殊信仰上委身，就把靈交給耶穌基督，決志只讓主居首位。當我面對主耶穌，他對我說：[你信這話麽？ ]我會發現信心像呼吸一樣自然，而詫異以往為何愚昧地不信靠。
祈禱◆主啊，並非基於任何不配的感覺，或自覺不足，或是任何關乎自己的思想；我來，只因你是你。
Martha believed in the power available to Jesus Christ; she believed that if He had been there He could have healed her brother; she also believed that Jesus had a special intimacy with God, and that whatever He asked of God, God would do. But— she needed a closer personal intimacy with Jesus. Martha’s theology had its fulfillment in the future. But Jesus continued to attract and draw her in until her belief became an intimate possession. It then slowly emerged into a personal inheritance— “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ . . .” (John 11:27).
Is the Lord dealing with you in the same way? Is Jesus teaching you to have a personal intimacy with Himself? Allow Him to drive His question home to you— “Do you believe this?” Are you facing an area of doubt in your life? Have you come, like Martha, to a crossroads of overwhelming circumstances where your theology is about to become a very personal belief? This happens only when a personal problem brings the awareness of our personal need.
To believe is to commit. In the area of intellectual learning I commit myself mentally, and reject anything not related to that belief. In the realm of personal belief I commit myself morally to my convictions and refuse to compromise. But in intimate personal belief I commit myself spiritually to Jesus Christ and make a determination to be dominated by Him alone.
Then, when I stand face to face with Jesus Christ and He says to me, “Do you believe this?” I find that faith is as natural as breathing. And I am staggered when I think how foolish I have been in not trusting Him earlier
信心歷程
你信這話麽？ （約十一26）
馬大相信耶穌有能力行事；她型心他若在場，就可以醫治她的弟弟。她也相信與神有特別的關係，他求神什麽，神都成就。可是，她需要與耶穌有更親密的個人關係。馬大的信心是在未來才實現的；耶穌領她體驗，直至信心成為她個人的財富，然後形成一個特有的產業- [主啊，是的，我信你是基督……]
主對你是否也一樣？主是否教導你，使你進入與他個人親密的關係裡？讓神的問題追逼你 - [你信這話麽？ ]你懷疑的是什麽？你所遭遇的，有否像馬大的一樣，把你帶到一處，叫你的信仰快要變成個人的信仰？這個地步，非透過難處而產生個人問題，不能達致。
相信就是完全委身。在心智上委身，就是把一切與這委身無關的事擯棄；在信仰上委身，在道德上就絕不與其他信仰妥協；在特殊信仰上委身，就把靈交給耶穌基督，決志只讓主居首位。當我面對主耶穌，他對我說：[你信這話麽？ ]我會發現信心像呼吸一樣自然，而詫異以往為何愚昧地不信靠。
祈禱◆主啊，並非基於任何不配的感覺，或自覺不足，或是任何關乎自己的思想；我來，只因你是你。
November 05, 2014
Partakers of His Suffering
. . . but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings . . . —1 Peter 4:13
If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process, you will never be surprised by what comes your way. You say, “Oh, I can’t deal with that person.” Why can’t you? God gave you sufficient opportunities to learn from Him about that problem; but you turned away, not heeding the lesson, because it seemed foolish to spend your time that way.
The sufferings of Christ were not those of ordinary people. He suffered “according to the will of God” (1 Peter 4:19), having a different point of view of suffering from ours. It is only through our relationship with Jesus Christ that we can understand what God is after in His dealings with us. When it comes to suffering, it is part of our Christian culture to want to know God’s purpose beforehand. In the history of the Christian church, the tendency has been to avoid being identified with the sufferings of Jesus Christ. People have sought to carry out God’s orders through a shortcut of their own. God’s way is always the way of suffering— the way of the “long road home.”
Are we partakers of Christ’s sufferings? Are we prepared for God to stamp out our personal ambitions? Are we prepared for God to destroy our individual decisions by supernaturally transforming them? It will mean not knowing why God is taking us that way, because knowing would make us spiritually proud. We never realize at the time what God is putting us through— we go through it more or less without understanding. Then suddenly we come to a place of enlightenment, and realize— “God has strengthened me and I didn’t even know it!”
與基督一同受苦
倒要歡喜，因為你們是與基督一同受苦。 （彼前四13）
如果你要蒙神使用，你便要經歷許多事；不是為你本身而遭遇，乃是要把你造成神手中合用的器皿，使你明白別人心裡的景況，以致不會因所遇見的感到詫異。 [唉，我不能應付那個人。 ]為什麽不能？神讓你有足夠的機會在他面前學習這功課，只是你故意避開，認為這樣花時間太愚蠢了。
基督受的苦不是普通人的苦，他乃是按神的旨意受苦，不是照人的看法受苦。只有當我們與基督連合，才會明白神的用意。基督教化的一部分，就是要明白神的目的。在教會歷史中，可以見到人逃避與主一同受苦的傾向；人總是想用自己的捷徑，以求完成神的使命。可是，神的道路卻必定是那漫長受苦的路。
我們有分於基督的受苦麽？我們肯不肯讓神把個人的野心除掉？肯不肯藉生命的改變，把個人的志向毀掉？這不是說可以完全明白為何神領我們這樣走：這樣會叫我們成為屬靈的自大者。當時我們無法知道神的心意，我們會或多或少有點誤解；過後，卻全恍然大悟，說：[看，神把我裝備了，我竟然不察覺！ ]
祈禱◆主啊，願那些在肉身上擔負重壓的人，能藉著你的支持來繼續承擔。願你使他們能避免敵人的嚴苛對待，願主的喜樂能奇妙地成為他們的力量。
If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process, you will never be surprised by what comes your way. You say, “Oh, I can’t deal with that person.” Why can’t you? God gave you sufficient opportunities to learn from Him about that problem; but you turned away, not heeding the lesson, because it seemed foolish to spend your time that way.
The sufferings of Christ were not those of ordinary people. He suffered “according to the will of God” (1 Peter 4:19), having a different point of view of suffering from ours. It is only through our relationship with Jesus Christ that we can understand what God is after in His dealings with us. When it comes to suffering, it is part of our Christian culture to want to know God’s purpose beforehand. In the history of the Christian church, the tendency has been to avoid being identified with the sufferings of Jesus Christ. People have sought to carry out God’s orders through a shortcut of their own. God’s way is always the way of suffering— the way of the “long road home.”
Are we partakers of Christ’s sufferings? Are we prepared for God to stamp out our personal ambitions? Are we prepared for God to destroy our individual decisions by supernaturally transforming them? It will mean not knowing why God is taking us that way, because knowing would make us spiritually proud. We never realize at the time what God is putting us through— we go through it more or less without understanding. Then suddenly we come to a place of enlightenment, and realize— “God has strengthened me and I didn’t even know it!”
與基督一同受苦
倒要歡喜，因為你們是與基督一同受苦。 （彼前四13）
如果你要蒙神使用，你便要經歷許多事；不是為你本身而遭遇，乃是要把你造成神手中合用的器皿，使你明白別人心裡的景況，以致不會因所遇見的感到詫異。 [唉，我不能應付那個人。 ]為什麽不能？神讓你有足夠的機會在他面前學習這功課，只是你故意避開，認為這樣花時間太愚蠢了。
基督受的苦不是普通人的苦，他乃是按神的旨意受苦，不是照人的看法受苦。只有當我們與基督連合，才會明白神的用意。基督教化的一部分，就是要明白神的目的。在教會歷史中，可以見到人逃避與主一同受苦的傾向；人總是想用自己的捷徑，以求完成神的使命。可是，神的道路卻必定是那漫長受苦的路。
我們有分於基督的受苦麽？我們肯不肯讓神把個人的野心除掉？肯不肯藉生命的改變，把個人的志向毀掉？這不是說可以完全明白為何神領我們這樣走：這樣會叫我們成為屬靈的自大者。當時我們無法知道神的心意，我們會或多或少有點誤解；過後，卻全恍然大悟，說：[看，神把我裝備了，我竟然不察覺！ ]
祈禱◆主啊，願那些在肉身上擔負重壓的人，能藉著你的支持來繼續承擔。願你使他們能避免敵人的嚴苛對待，願主的喜樂能奇妙地成為他們的力量。
November 04, 2014
The Authority of Truth
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you —James 4:8
It is essential that you give people the opportunity to act on the truth of God. The responsibility must be left with the individual— you cannot act for him. It must be his own deliberate act, but the evangelical message should always lead him to action. Refusing to act leaves a person paralyzed, exactly where he was previously. But once he acts, he is never the same. It is the apparent folly of the truth that stands in the way of hundreds who have been convicted by the Spirit of God. Once I press myself into action, I immediately begin to live. Anything less is merely existing. The moments I truly live are the moments when I act with my entire will.
When a truth of God is brought home to your soul, never allow it to pass without acting on it internally in your will, not necessarily externally in your physical life. Record it with ink and with blood— work it into your life. The weakest saint who transacts business with Jesus Christ is liberated the second he acts and God’s almighty power is available on his behalf. We come up to the truth of God, confess we are wrong, but go back again. Then we approach it again and turn back, until we finally learn we have no business going back. When we are confronted with such a word of truth from our redeeming Lord, we must move directly to transact business with Him. “Come to Me . . .” (Matthew 11:28). His word come means “to act.” Yet the last thing we want to do is come. But everyone who does come knows that, at that very moment, the supernatural power of the life of God invades him. The dominating power of the world, the flesh, and the devil is now paralyzed; not by your act, but because your act has joined you to God and tapped you in to His redemptive power.
真實的權威
你們親近神，神就必親近你們。 （雅四8）
我們必須讓人有機會行神的真理，這責任是個人的，別人無法代行。他必須蓄意去行，但福音的資訊也該引導他的行動。不肯行動叫人癱瘓，使人依然故我；一有行動，就不同了。多少被神的靈感動的人，都因不肯行動而受阻擋。行動的那一刻，我就活了；其馀的時候，我不過是存在的個體。以整個意志投入行動，就是我存在的個體。以整個意志投入行動，就是我真正活著的時候。
不要讓神放在你心裡的某一真理成為過去，無所行動。不單是肉身的行動，更是意誌上的。不管用筆墨或用血，要把它記錄下來。最柔弱的信徒若與耶穌基督相交，在他行動的那一刻，就得著釋放，神的大能就屬於他了。我們明白神的真理，承認自己的錯，又重蹈覆轍；以後又再達到真理，但不久又故態復萌；這情況要到我們學會不應回頭，才停止下來。對救主的話要全無保留地接納，與他來一次交易。他說[來]，就是交易的意思。 [到我這裡來。 ]我們往往非到最後也不肯[來]。其實過來人就知道，一[來]，神超然的生命就立刻進到他裡面。世界、肉體、魔鬼對他的控制就立刻癱瘓，不是因為你的行動，而是因你的行動把你連接到神救贖的大能去。
祈禱◆主啊，我只有一件事情- 就是有聲和無聲的需要你。 [靈性貧乏]這詞，正描述了我對自己的一點認識。我來到你面前，全然地需要你。
It is essential that you give people the opportunity to act on the truth of God. The responsibility must be left with the individual— you cannot act for him. It must be his own deliberate act, but the evangelical message should always lead him to action. Refusing to act leaves a person paralyzed, exactly where he was previously. But once he acts, he is never the same. It is the apparent folly of the truth that stands in the way of hundreds who have been convicted by the Spirit of God. Once I press myself into action, I immediately begin to live. Anything less is merely existing. The moments I truly live are the moments when I act with my entire will.
When a truth of God is brought home to your soul, never allow it to pass without acting on it internally in your will, not necessarily externally in your physical life. Record it with ink and with blood— work it into your life. The weakest saint who transacts business with Jesus Christ is liberated the second he acts and God’s almighty power is available on his behalf. We come up to the truth of God, confess we are wrong, but go back again. Then we approach it again and turn back, until we finally learn we have no business going back. When we are confronted with such a word of truth from our redeeming Lord, we must move directly to transact business with Him. “Come to Me . . .” (Matthew 11:28). His word come means “to act.” Yet the last thing we want to do is come. But everyone who does come knows that, at that very moment, the supernatural power of the life of God invades him. The dominating power of the world, the flesh, and the devil is now paralyzed; not by your act, but because your act has joined you to God and tapped you in to His redemptive power.
真實的權威
你們親近神，神就必親近你們。 （雅四8）
我們必須讓人有機會行神的真理，這責任是個人的，別人無法代行。他必須蓄意去行，但福音的資訊也該引導他的行動。不肯行動叫人癱瘓，使人依然故我；一有行動，就不同了。多少被神的靈感動的人，都因不肯行動而受阻擋。行動的那一刻，我就活了；其馀的時候，我不過是存在的個體。以整個意志投入行動，就是我存在的個體。以整個意志投入行動，就是我真正活著的時候。
不要讓神放在你心裡的某一真理成為過去，無所行動。不單是肉身的行動，更是意誌上的。不管用筆墨或用血，要把它記錄下來。最柔弱的信徒若與耶穌基督相交，在他行動的那一刻，就得著釋放，神的大能就屬於他了。我們明白神的真理，承認自己的錯，又重蹈覆轍；以後又再達到真理，但不久又故態復萌；這情況要到我們學會不應回頭，才停止下來。對救主的話要全無保留地接納，與他來一次交易。他說[來]，就是交易的意思。 [到我這裡來。 ]我們往往非到最後也不肯[來]。其實過來人就知道，一[來]，神超然的生命就立刻進到他裡面。世界、肉體、魔鬼對他的控制就立刻癱瘓，不是因為你的行動，而是因你的行動把你連接到神救贖的大能去。
祈禱◆主啊，我只有一件事情- 就是有聲和無聲的需要你。 [靈性貧乏]這詞，正描述了我對自己的一點認識。我來到你面前，全然地需要你。
November 03, 2014
A Bondservant of Jesus
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me . . . —Galatians 2:20
These words mean the breaking and collapse of my independence brought about by my own hands, and the surrendering of my life to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. God may bring me up to this point three hundred and sixty-five times a year, but He cannot push me through it. It means breaking the hard outer layer of my individual independence from God, and the liberating of myself and my nature into oneness with Him; not following my own ideas, but choosing absolute loyalty to Jesus. Once I am at that point, there is no possibility of misunderstanding. Very few of us know anything about loyalty to Christ or understand what He meant when He said, “. . . for My sake” (Matthew 5:11). That is what makes a strong saint.
Has that breaking of my independence come? All the rest is religious fraud. The one point to decide is— will I give up? Will I surrender to Jesus Christ, placing no conditions whatsoever as to how the brokenness will come? I must be broken from my own understanding of myself. When I reach that point, immediately the reality of the supernatural identification with Jesus Christ takes place. And the witness of the Spirit of God is unmistakable— “I have been crucified with Christ . . .”
The passion of Christianity comes from deliberately signing away my own rights and becoming a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Until I do that, I will not begin to be a saint.
One student a year who hears God’s call would be sufficient for God to have called the Bible Training College into existence. This college has no value as an organization, not even academically. Its sole value for existence is for God to help Himself to lives. Will we allow Him to help Himself to us, or are we more concerned with our own ideas of what we are going to be?
耶穌的奴隸
我已經與基督同釘十字架，現在活著的，不再是我，乃是基督在我裡面活著。 （加二20）
這句話的意思是我親手折斷自己的主權，完全降服於主耶穌至高的權威。沒有人可以替我做，我必須自己去行。神可以在一年有三百六十五次叫我們面臨作決定的時刻，可是他不能推我過去。我必須打破脫離神而獨立的外殼，釋放整個人格，與他合一；不再跟從自己的主意，完全效忠主耶穌。一旦，如此，就無可爭辯了。很少人真正知道甚麽叫效忠基督- 就是[為我（主）的緣故。 ]有這個才有精忠的聖徒。
這破碎的關鍵到了沒有？其他的事都不過是敬虔的偽殼。決定性的一點是- 我肯不肯無條件投降，順服基督？我必須打破實現自我的企圖，這樣，與主認同的超然事實就隨即出現，聖靈的見證就明明可見- [我已經與基督同釘十字架。 ]
我對基督教的熱誠，就是特意把自己的主權捨棄，作耶穌基督的奴僕。若非如此，我尚未踏上成聖之路。
只要每年有一個學生被神呼召，就是以肯定這間神學院的存在價值。若只作為一間機構，這學院沒有什麽價值。它不是為學術研究，其最大的用意是讓神可以隨意得著人的生命。他可以隨意使用我們麽？還是我們仍然讓自我實現的念頭佔據？
祈禱◆主啊，因著我肉體的軟弱，我與你的相交也顯得枯燥乏味，然而我的心卻是欣喜的，我的肉體亦將在盼望中安息。
These words mean the breaking and collapse of my independence brought about by my own hands, and the surrendering of my life to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. God may bring me up to this point three hundred and sixty-five times a year, but He cannot push me through it. It means breaking the hard outer layer of my individual independence from God, and the liberating of myself and my nature into oneness with Him; not following my own ideas, but choosing absolute loyalty to Jesus. Once I am at that point, there is no possibility of misunderstanding. Very few of us know anything about loyalty to Christ or understand what He meant when He said, “. . . for My sake” (Matthew 5:11). That is what makes a strong saint.
Has that breaking of my independence come? All the rest is religious fraud. The one point to decide is— will I give up? Will I surrender to Jesus Christ, placing no conditions whatsoever as to how the brokenness will come? I must be broken from my own understanding of myself. When I reach that point, immediately the reality of the supernatural identification with Jesus Christ takes place. And the witness of the Spirit of God is unmistakable— “I have been crucified with Christ . . .”
The passion of Christianity comes from deliberately signing away my own rights and becoming a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Until I do that, I will not begin to be a saint.
One student a year who hears God’s call would be sufficient for God to have called the Bible Training College into existence. This college has no value as an organization, not even academically. Its sole value for existence is for God to help Himself to lives. Will we allow Him to help Himself to us, or are we more concerned with our own ideas of what we are going to be?
耶穌的奴隸
我已經與基督同釘十字架，現在活著的，不再是我，乃是基督在我裡面活著。 （加二20）
這句話的意思是我親手折斷自己的主權，完全降服於主耶穌至高的權威。沒有人可以替我做，我必須自己去行。神可以在一年有三百六十五次叫我們面臨作決定的時刻，可是他不能推我過去。我必須打破脫離神而獨立的外殼，釋放整個人格，與他合一；不再跟從自己的主意，完全效忠主耶穌。一旦，如此，就無可爭辯了。很少人真正知道甚麽叫效忠基督- 就是[為我（主）的緣故。 ]有這個才有精忠的聖徒。
這破碎的關鍵到了沒有？其他的事都不過是敬虔的偽殼。決定性的一點是- 我肯不肯無條件投降，順服基督？我必須打破實現自我的企圖，這樣，與主認同的超然事實就隨即出現，聖靈的見證就明明可見- [我已經與基督同釘十字架。 ]
我對基督教的熱誠，就是特意把自己的主權捨棄，作耶穌基督的奴僕。若非如此，我尚未踏上成聖之路。
只要每年有一個學生被神呼召，就是以肯定這間神學院的存在價值。若只作為一間機構，這學院沒有什麽價值。它不是為學術研究，其最大的用意是讓神可以隨意得著人的生命。他可以隨意使用我們麽？還是我們仍然讓自我實現的念頭佔據？
祈禱◆主啊，因著我肉體的軟弱，我與你的相交也顯得枯燥乏味，然而我的心卻是欣喜的，我的肉體亦將在盼望中安息。
November 02, 2014
Obedience or Independence?
If you love Me, keep My commandments —John 14:15
Our Lord never insists on obedience. He stresses very definitely what we ought to do, but He never forces us to do it. We have to obey Him out of a oneness of spirit with Him. That is why whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an “If,” meaning, “You do not need to do this unless you desire to do so.” “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . .” (Luke 9:23). In other words, “To be My disciple, let him give up his right to himself to Me.” Our Lord is not talking about our eternal position, but about our being of value to Him in this life here and now. That is why He sounds so stern (see Luke 14:26). Never try to make sense from these words by separating them from the One who spoke them.
The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear. If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself. Jesus Christ will not force me to obey Him, but I must. And as soon as I obey Him, I fulfill my spiritual destiny. My personal life may be crowded with small, petty happenings, altogether insignificant. But if I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God. Then, when I stand face to face with God, I will discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed. When God’s redemption brings a human soul to the point of obedience, it always produces. If I obey Jesus Christ, the redemption of God will flow through me to the lives of others, because behind the deed of obedience is the reality of Almighty God.
權柄與自主
你們若愛我，就必遵守我的命令。 （約十四15）
我們的主從不堅持要人順服他；他雖然強調什麽是當行的，卻從不運用手段強逼我們去行。我們順服他必須出於靈裡的合一。因此，主談到作門徒時，總加上[若]字- 你要是不想，可以不做。 [若有人要跟從我，就當捨己。 ]你要放棄自己的主權，把它交給主。主並不是論及永世的地位，他乃是說在現今的景況中，怎樣才可以成為他合用的器皿。正因如此，主的話聽來是這樣嚴厲（比較路十四26）。千萬不要撇下說這話的那一位主，去解釋經文。
主並沒有給我什麽規條，他把標准說得很清楚；我若是愛他，會毫不猶豫去遵行他的話。若我猶豫不行，就表明我另有所愛，而這一位與他爭競的，就是我自己。主耶穌不會推我順服他，我必須自己順服。一順服，我就成就了在屬靈領域中神所定命的。個人生命中也許充塞了無數瑣事，根本無人留意的；可是若在這等無常的際遇中順服主，這些事就成為我見神面的洞口。
當我與神面對面，會發現千萬人因我的順服而蒙福。人的心一旦順服，神的救贖就必然產生創造力。我若順服基督，神的救贖就會透過我湧流倒別的生命上，因為在順服的行動背後，是全能神的實體。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你探測我靈裡最深藏的動機- 聖靈就在此處為我們代求，並且看出我們未能表達的禱文。
Our Lord never insists on obedience. He stresses very definitely what we ought to do, but He never forces us to do it. We have to obey Him out of a oneness of spirit with Him. That is why whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an “If,” meaning, “You do not need to do this unless you desire to do so.” “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . .” (Luke 9:23). In other words, “To be My disciple, let him give up his right to himself to Me.” Our Lord is not talking about our eternal position, but about our being of value to Him in this life here and now. That is why He sounds so stern (see Luke 14:26). Never try to make sense from these words by separating them from the One who spoke them.
The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear. If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself. Jesus Christ will not force me to obey Him, but I must. And as soon as I obey Him, I fulfill my spiritual destiny. My personal life may be crowded with small, petty happenings, altogether insignificant. But if I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God. Then, when I stand face to face with God, I will discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed. When God’s redemption brings a human soul to the point of obedience, it always produces. If I obey Jesus Christ, the redemption of God will flow through me to the lives of others, because behind the deed of obedience is the reality of Almighty God.
權柄與自主
你們若愛我，就必遵守我的命令。 （約十四15）
我們的主從不堅持要人順服他；他雖然強調什麽是當行的，卻從不運用手段強逼我們去行。我們順服他必須出於靈裡的合一。因此，主談到作門徒時，總加上[若]字- 你要是不想，可以不做。 [若有人要跟從我，就當捨己。 ]你要放棄自己的主權，把它交給主。主並不是論及永世的地位，他乃是說在現今的景況中，怎樣才可以成為他合用的器皿。正因如此，主的話聽來是這樣嚴厲（比較路十四26）。千萬不要撇下說這話的那一位主，去解釋經文。
主並沒有給我什麽規條，他把標准說得很清楚；我若是愛他，會毫不猶豫去遵行他的話。若我猶豫不行，就表明我另有所愛，而這一位與他爭競的，就是我自己。主耶穌不會推我順服他，我必須自己順服。一順服，我就成就了在屬靈領域中神所定命的。個人生命中也許充塞了無數瑣事，根本無人留意的；可是若在這等無常的際遇中順服主，這些事就成為我見神面的洞口。
當我與神面對面，會發現千萬人因我的順服而蒙福。人的心一旦順服，神的救贖就必然產生創造力。我若順服基督，神的救贖就會透過我湧流倒別的生命上，因為在順服的行動背後，是全能神的實體。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你探測我靈裡最深藏的動機- 聖靈就在此處為我們代求，並且看出我們未能表達的禱文。
November 01, 2014
“You Are Not Your Own”
Do you not know that . . . you are not your own? —1 Corinthians 6:19
There is no such thing as a private life, or a place to hide in this world, for a man or woman who is intimately aware of and shares in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. God divides the private life of His saints and makes it a highway for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other. No human being can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ. We are not sanctified for ourselves. We are called into intimacy with the gospel, and things happen that appear to have nothing to do with us. But God is getting us into fellowship with Himself. Let Him have His way. If you refuse, you will be of no value to God in His redemptive work in the world, but will be a hindrance and a stumbling block.
The first thing God does is get us grounded on strong reality and truth. He does this until our cares for ourselves individually have been brought into submission to His way for the purpose of His redemption. Why shouldn’t we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God’s purpose and enter a slow death through self-pity. And all the so-called Christian sympathy of others helps us to our deathbed. But God will not. He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, “Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine.” If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?
你不屬自己
豈不知……你們不是自己的人。 （林前六19）
一個在耶穌基督受苦上有分的人，根本就沒有所謂的私生活，亦即[世界裡的世界]。神把聖徒的私生活打碎了，造成一條通道，是通往他自己的通道。除非人與主耶穌認同，否則沒有人能受得住這個。我們成聖，不是為自己，乃是蒙召同得福音的好處；與我們無關的事發生，為要叫我們與神相交。所以，要讓神旨意通行，否則你不但在他救贖世界的大工上沒有絲毫用處，反成為阻礙。
神首先做的，是使我們面對最粗陋的現實，直至我們對任何發生在個人身上的時不再介懷，只要他救贖的目的達成。我們為何不可以經歷一下心痛欲絕呢？通過這些門徒，神開啟與他兒子相通的道路。多半人一受痛楚，就仆倒；我們坐在神心意的門檻上，死在自憐自憫之中。信徒間所謂同情心，更加速了死亡率。神卻不是這樣，他拿著他兒子釘痕的手，說：[進來與我相交，起來發光。 ]若破碎的心靈能使神的旨意在世上成就，那麽，要為他破碎你的心而感謝他。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你今天的說話帶著能力和恩慈。願你引導我，與你進入內心隱密的相交，以致你可以正確地傳達你自己。
There is no such thing as a private life, or a place to hide in this world, for a man or woman who is intimately aware of and shares in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. God divides the private life of His saints and makes it a highway for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other. No human being can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ. We are not sanctified for ourselves. We are called into intimacy with the gospel, and things happen that appear to have nothing to do with us. But God is getting us into fellowship with Himself. Let Him have His way. If you refuse, you will be of no value to God in His redemptive work in the world, but will be a hindrance and a stumbling block.
The first thing God does is get us grounded on strong reality and truth. He does this until our cares for ourselves individually have been brought into submission to His way for the purpose of His redemption. Why shouldn’t we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God’s purpose and enter a slow death through self-pity. And all the so-called Christian sympathy of others helps us to our deathbed. But God will not. He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, “Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine.” If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?
你不屬自己
豈不知……你們不是自己的人。 （林前六19）
一個在耶穌基督受苦上有分的人，根本就沒有所謂的私生活，亦即[世界裡的世界]。神把聖徒的私生活打碎了，造成一條通道，是通往他自己的通道。除非人與主耶穌認同，否則沒有人能受得住這個。我們成聖，不是為自己，乃是蒙召同得福音的好處；與我們無關的事發生，為要叫我們與神相交。所以，要讓神旨意通行，否則你不但在他救贖世界的大工上沒有絲毫用處，反成為阻礙。
神首先做的，是使我們面對最粗陋的現實，直至我們對任何發生在個人身上的時不再介懷，只要他救贖的目的達成。我們為何不可以經歷一下心痛欲絕呢？通過這些門徒，神開啟與他兒子相通的道路。多半人一受痛楚，就仆倒；我們坐在神心意的門檻上，死在自憐自憫之中。信徒間所謂同情心，更加速了死亡率。神卻不是這樣，他拿著他兒子釘痕的手，說：[進來與我相交，起來發光。 ]若破碎的心靈能使神的旨意在世上成就，那麽，要為他破碎你的心而感謝他。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你今天的說話帶著能力和恩慈。願你引導我，與你進入內心隱密的相交，以致你可以正確地傳達你自己。
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