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July 24
"Then believed they his words; they sang his praise. They soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel; but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request; but sent leanncess into their soul." (Psa. 106:12-15.)
WE read of Moses, that "he endured, as seeing him who is invisible." Exactly the opposite was true of the children of Israel in this record. They endured only when the circumstances were favorable; they were largely governed by the things that appealed to their senses, in place of resting in the invisible and eternal God.
In the present day there are those who live intermittent Christian lives because they have become occupied with the outward, and center in circumstances, in place of centering in God. God wants us more and more to see Him in everything, and to call nothing small if it bears us His message.
Here we read of the children of Israel, "Then they believed his words." They did not believe till after they saw-when they saw Him work, then they believed. They really doubted God when they came to the Red Sea; but when God opened the way and led them across and they saw Pharaoh and his host drowned- "then they believed."
They led an up and down life because of this kind of faith; it was a faith that depended upon circumstances. This is not the kind of faith God wants us to have.
The world says "seeing is believing," but God wants us to believe in order to see. The Psalmist said, "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."
Do you believe God only when the circumstances are favorable, or do you believe no matter what the circumstances may be?
─C. H. P.
Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.
─St. Augustine.
「耶和華萬軍之神阿!求您使我們回載,使您的臉發光,我們便要得救。」詩篇八十篇19節
以色列人處在憂傷困乏之中,當神棄絕他們,仇敵便嘲笑他們,在我們所看到的經文中,詩人三次強調他的禱告:「彰顯出您的全能,來吧!拯救我們。」
今天雖有為數不少的教會,但仇敵仍然十分高興,因為基督徒實在太沒有能力勝過醉酒、敗壞、愛世界和貪財等罪,神的兒女常自問道:「沒有復興的希望嗎?難道無能為力嗎?」難道神不願祂的子民聖潔無罪,勝過罪惡並且反對在基督徒和異教徒中讚美基督的事?難道神未曾有過大愛的應許,差遣聖靈來成就我們的禱告?難道神不等待我們禱告去開始復興的工作?復興是何等的需要並實現出來,神渴望我們抓住祂的應許,並經驗君尊祭司的權利(彼前二9)
復興從那裏開始?答案是神的兒女奉獻自己成為聖靈工作的器皿,他們自己與罪隔絕,並且領人歸主;基督徒必須實行並證明他生命的目的就是事奉神,使其與主犧牲寶血相稱。當神的兒女在任何事物都要有奉獻的態度,復興的工作就已經是他的生活,工作如基督的犧牲上開始了。
親愛的神之兒女!利用任何微小的事物去得到更深或更豐盛的生命,至少其目的為領人歸向耶穌並且事奉祂,樂於為他們代求。
「你們的義,若不勝於文士和法利賽人的義,斷不能進天國。」馬太福音五章20節
門徒的特性,不在他行善,卻在他有善的動機,因為他已被神超然的恩典化成了善人,那超過善行的,是善心。耶穌基督來,要給那些凡願意的人的一種新精神,勝過文士和法利賽人的義。耶穌說──「如果你是我的門徒,你不但要有正當的生活,而且也要有正當的動機,正當的理想,正當心靈的休憩。你必得清潔你的動機,莫讓神看出一點譴責的地方。誰能站在神的面前,沒有指責呢?只有神的兒子。但是耶穌基督也要藉著祂的救贖,把祂的性情放到人的裡面,叫人變成孩提之童,天真而無玷污。神所要求的純潔,是不可能的,除非我能改造過來;這種改造的功夫是耶穌藉救贖所要成功的,不是我們的事。
人不能因服從法律而使自己純潔。耶穌基督沒有將條規與法律給與我們;祂的教訓是真理,只有藉著祂所賦與的性情纔能鮮明。改變動機,是耶穌基督救贖人類的奇妙。祂不改變人的性情;而是改變人類性情的本源。
「使律法的義,成就在我們這……只隨從聖靈的人身上。」羅馬書八章4節
當我們剛信主時,對聖靈的認識很有限,也許我們能從某事中的體驗,或是經上對聖靈的描述有個概略的觀念。但是在我們以貴賓的身份接受祂之後,祂會永遠地住在我們心中,而且在我們內心深處向我們說話。聖靈永恆的工作不但不會止息,祂的能力更會增加,甚至顯得更為榮耀。祂住在我們裡面的力量會向外發展,使我們的禱告有果效,能為病人祈求醫治,樂於分享神的祝福,能「……充充足足的成就一切,超過我們所求所想的。」(弗三20)
對於聖潔的基督徒來說,主的同在是雙份的,祂不僅在我們心中,同時也奇妙地運行在我們生命中的每一件事上。祂是我們裡面的基督,是我們每個日子中,以天上地下權柄祝福我們的神。
聖靈是我們奇妙的工作者,是我們豐富充足的神和保護者。今天祂正盼望能藉著我們大大地動工,就像摩西、但以理以及保羅的時代祂所做的。