於2012-09-16發佈
明白歷史有助於塑造未來

水被視為地上不變的資產,它可能會改變形狀,卻永遠是相同的容量。能源也被視為無法毀壞,只能改變形狀。同樣的理論也用在財富;倘若真是這樣,在經濟衰退期間就不會失去真正的財富,只是移轉到他人手裡。
神知道水在哪裡,能源在哪裡,也知道財富在哪裡。所羅門說:『你豈要定睛在虛無的錢財上嗎?因錢財必長翅膀,如鷹向天飛去。』(箴言23:5)。他也說:『手懶的,要受貧窮;手勤的,卻要富足。』(箴言10:4)
錢財和財富是兩碼子的事;錢財來的快去的也快,財富卻建造在辛勤工作、持久力、耐力,學習克服挫敗,將失敗轉變為機會。正如有人曾說過:『倘若我們沒有累積財富的經驗,也不會有守住的智慧。』這似乎也成為物理學中的社會法則;這即是何以,至今贏樂透彩的人,沒有一個有快樂的結局。倘若他們沒有賺錢,而是贏錢,他們幾乎注定要失去。藝人和運動員可能賺千百萬,也很容易立刻破產。

財富遠超過金錢或物質資產;知識上的財富遠比金錢更有價值,好名聲是財富,我們工作所建立的遺產亦是財富,還有我們為永恆所投資的屬靈財富。哪一種財富得著我們最大的注意與投入?哪一種是我們所擁有的最大財富?

奈傑爾.畢龐(Negiel Bigpond)是一位偉大的美國印地安人領袖,我視他為基督肢體的長老。他告訴我們當他母親快要死的時候,她不單只告訴他她愛他,也告訴他要轉化什麼。她說:『倘若你沒有做我們教導你、預備你去做的事,我們就不會存在。』奈傑爾終於瞭解她的意思;她看生命如一條河,不停流動、去到某個地方。倘若她的孩子沒有繼續家族的使命,這條河就會停止流動,很快就會全然被遺忘。

今日我們所承載的是前人與神同行所貢獻的,倘若教會從世界中被剪除,最後會彷彿教會從沒有存在過─我們全都被遺忘。相同的原則也應用在美國;倘若在我們看守時失去美國共和國,我們將會失去過去三百年先人所建造與保衛的一切。

毀掉一棵植物最快速的方式便是切斷它的根,毀掉一個國家最快速的方式則是切斷它的歷史。幾個月前有一件引起公憤的事,一本美國公立學校所使用的歷史教科書上說,穆斯林早在哥倫布之前就發現美國。強烈的抗議促使這些書立即回收,但美國歷史國際修訂版已流傳超過半世紀,其中一本歷史教科書,記載一百個以上伊斯蘭如何塑造美國的例子,裡頭卻只有四個例子談到我們基督教與猶太教共有的根源,而且那四個都不是正面的例子。這也造成強烈的抗議,而現在的美國人變得刻意要知道歷史,好讓孩子所學到的歷史不會太扭曲。

聖經事實上就是神對待人的歷史;倘若我們不知道此,魔鬼絕對會扭曲聖經,然後再扭曲我們。身為神國度的公民,我們可以做最重要的一件事就是認識我們的歷史。身為我們國家的公民,我們可以做最重要的一件事便是知道我們的歷史。我們必須確保我們做了自己的部分,好讓河水不在我們這裡停止流動。

 (摘自喬納 word for the week, Week 35, 2012)


Knowing History Will Help Shape Our Future - The Path of Life, Part 28
Week 35, 2012 
Rick Joyner 

     It is considered that water is a fixed asset on the earth. It can change forms, but there will always be the same amount here. It is also believed that energy cannot be destroyed but simply changes forms. It is a theory that the same is true of wealth. If this is true, then no real wealth has been lost during this economic downturn. It has only changed hands.

     God knows where all the water is, where all of the energy is, and where all of the wealth is. Solomon said: “Will you set your eyes on that which is not? Riches certainly make for itself wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven” (Proverbs 23:5 NKJV). He also said: “Sloth makes you poor; diligence brings wealth (Proverbs 10:4 The Message).

     Riches and wealth are not the same thing. Riches tend to come fast and leave fast. Wealth is built with hard work, endurance, patience, learning to overcome setbacks and turning them into opportunities. As someone once said, “If we did not have the experience of making wealth, neither will we have the wisdom to keep it.” This too seems to be one of the social laws of physics. This is why, to date, there does not seem to be a single happy ending for anyone who has won a major lottery. If they did not make the money, but rather won it, they are almost certain to lose it. Entertainers and athletes can earn tens of millions and just as quickly end up bankrupt.

     Wealth is more than money or physical assets. There is a wealth of knowledge that can be far more valuable than money. There is wealth in a good name, in a heritage we build through our works. Then there is our spiritual wealth that we have invested for eternity. Which of these accounts has the most of our attention and devotion? Which would we say is the biggest account we have?

     Negiel Bigpond is a great Native American leader, and I consider him an elder in the body of Christ. He told us that when his mother was dying she did not just tell him that she loved him, but she told him what translated, “If you do not do what we taught you and prepared you to do, we did not exist.” Negiel finally understood what she meant. She saw life as a river, flowing, going somewhere. If her children did not carry on the family mission, then the river stopped flowing and would soon be entirely forgotten.

     Today we are carrying on what all who walked with God before us contributed, and if the church were cut off from the world, eventually it would be as if it never existed—we would all be forgotten. The same is true of America. If we lose the Republic on our watch, we will be losing what so many gave to build and defend over the last three hundred years.

     The quickest way to kill a plant is to cut it off from its roots. The quickest way to kill a nation is to cut it off from its history. A few months ago there was an outrage when a new history textbook used in U.S. public schools said that Muslims had discovered America before Columbus. The outcry caused an immediate retraction of these books, but there have been intentional revisions of our American history for over half a century. One history textbook was said to have had more than 100 examples of how Islam shaped America, and only four to our Judeo/Christian roots, and those four were not positive. This too caused an outcry, and now Americans are becoming intentional about knowing our history so that it will not be so perverted when taught to our children.

     The Bible is essentially a history of God’s dealings with mankind. If we do not know this, you can be sure that the devil will distort it and then us. One of the most important things we can do as a citizen of the kingdom is know our history. One of the most essential things we can do as a citizen of our nation is to know our history. Then we must be sure that we do our part so that the river does not stop with us.