於2021-03-11發佈


平安的武器 

一個成熟基督徒的三個基本特性是愛、喜樂和平安。這些特性隨著我們對神的信仰成長,追求像祂一樣,這三個特性也是神賜給我們最「強大的屬神武器」。

主允許一些促使我們成長的人和狀況出現在我們生命中,藉以幫助我們成熟。為著愛,祂會給我們一些不是那麼可愛的人。試煉和困境將考驗著我們的喜樂和平安,為要幫助我們在其中成長,因為主真正的平安和喜樂不是基於狀況,乃是基於祂。

一切我們在基督裡所成為的樣式,都是出於祂的恩典。我們是祂的工藝,祂是陶匠,在我們這些泥土裡面工作。我們擁有許多怎樣與祂最佳同工的教導,但既然一切都是基於祂的恩典,彼得前書五章5-7節給予我們如何連於祂恩典的美好教導:

因為神阻擋驕傲的人,賜恩給謙卑的人。
所以,你們要自卑,服在神大能的手下,到了時候祂必叫你們升高。 
你們要將一切的憂慮卸給神,因為祂顧念你們。 

寧可魔鬼對我們所有的阻擋,也不要神阻擋我們;為此緣故,我們應當懼怕變得驕傲勝過懼怕任何魔鬼。地上有什麼財寶能比神的恩典更加寶貴呢? 

顯然,我們都應追求祂賜下更多恩典的謙卑,勝過其他財寶。在這段經文裡,彼得告訴我們要將憂慮卸給神,為什麼呢?因為憂鬱就是驕傲!它是最可怕的驕傲,認為問題對神來說太大,所以我們必須用擔憂來承載其重量。 

擔憂或憂鬱是信心的相反,羅馬書十四章23節說:「凡不出於信心的都是罪。」因為掛慮顯然是不信的罪,所以我們必須為它悔改。如果我們在任何事上掛慮增加,代表我們太專注在其上,我們必須悔改,將我們的注意力轉向神,祂是何等偉大。 

隨著這世界的情況變得越來越不穩定,每個人的掛慮幾乎都戲劇性地增長。主甚至警告我們,會有這樣的時候來到,人的心只因為懼怕而消化。身為祂的祭司和使者,在這樣的時候,我們必須在相反的心志上成長─平安、喜樂和愛,祂說這些特性將使人認出我們是祂的門徒。 

我們可以認出成熟基督徒的一個基本特性,就是他們以神為中心,而不是以自己或世界為中心。當困難臨到,他們最先的反應不是想到自己,而是在這樣的景況中主要如何使用他們。或許基督徒生命的終極成熟是加拉太書二章20節所定義的:「現在活著的不再是我,乃是基督在我裡面活著。」 

在基督裡的終極成熟,是向自己渴望和需要死去,完全專注在神在我們裡面做什麼,以及祂要藉著我們做什麼。耶穌告訴我們怎樣能達到這樣的境界,當祂說:「凡要救自己生命的,必喪掉生命;凡為我喪掉生命的,必得著生命」(馬太福音16:25)。 

我們可能以為,當我們停止專注在自己、我們的需要和我們的想要,我們將失去自己的生命,這是真的。然而,這是獲得我們所能擁有最偉大和滿足的生命。主應許我們,我們若先求祂的國,祂會看顧我們需要的每件事(馬太福音6:33)。神可以為我們所供應的,遠遠好過我們為自己所供應的,因此這是我們所能擁有的最好交易。 

亞當和夏娃墮落的第一個結果,就是他們開始注視自己。他們先前完全專注在神身上,以及祂為他們供應的一切,到一個地步,他們甚至沒有意識到自己是赤身露體的。要從墮落的後果中得釋放,我們必須成熟到一個地步,我們再次以神為中心,並且充滿感恩,為著祂在我們生命中的供應,為著我們全然轉向祂,以及祂會如何使用我們。 

世界在此時越來越需要這樣的基督徒,在跟隨祂的過程中,任何我們可能會失去的事物只是短暫的,不過是一陣雲霧,但在我們可能失去之處所得著的卻持續到永遠。 

(摘自喬納word for the week, Week 10, 2021)
 

The Weapon of Peace

    Three basic characteristics of a mature Christian is love, joy, and peace. All of these grow with our faith in God, and the pursuit to be like Him. These are also three of the most “divinely powerful weapons” we have been given.

         The Lord helps us mature by allowing people and conditions in our life that require us to grow in these. For love He will send those to us who are not very lovable. Trials and difficulties will test our joy and peace to help us grow in these, because the true peace and joy of The Lord are not based on conditions but on Him.      

         All that we become in Christ is the result of His grace. We are His workmanship, He is The Potter who is working with us, the clay. We have many instructions how to best work with Him in this, but since it is all based on His grace, we are given good instructions of how to abide in His grace in I Peter 5:5-7:

         “God is opposed to the proud, but gives His grace to the humble.

         “Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 

         “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

         It would be better to have all of the demons opposing us rather than have God oppose us. For this reason, we should fear becoming proud more than we fear any demon. What treasure on earth could be more valuable than the grace of God? 

         Obviously, we should be in pursuit of the humility that He gives His grace to more than any other treasure. In this text Peter tells us to do this by casting our anxiety on Him! Why? Because anxiety is pride! It is the most terrible pride of thinking that a problem is too big for God, so we have to carry the weight of it with our worry.  

         To worry or be anxious is the opposite of faith. In Romans 14:23 we are told that “whatever is not from faith is sin.” Since anxiety is obviously a sin of unbelief, it is something that we must repent of. If we are growing in anxiety over anything, then we are too focused on it, and we must repent and turn our attention back to our God and how big He is.         

         As the conditions in the world become more unstable, the anxiety is growing dramatically with almost everyone. The Lord even warned that times were coming when men’s hearts would fail just because of the fear. As His priests and messengers during this time we must be growing in the opposite spirit—the peace, joy, and love that He says His disciples will be known by. 

         A basic characteristic by which we can recognize mature Christians is that they are God-focused instead of self-focused, or world-focused. When troubles come their first reaction is not to think of themselves, but how The Lord wants to use them in this situation. Perhaps the ultimate mature Christian life is defined by Galatians 2:20: “it is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me.” 

         Ultimate maturity in Christ is a life that is dead to our own desires and wants, and focused entirely on what The Lord wants to do in us and through us. Jesus told us how to get to this place when He said, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25).

         We may think that when we cease to focus on ourselves, our needs and our wants, that we are losing our lives, and that is true. However, it is the way to gain the greatest and most fulfilling life we could ever have. The Lord promised that if we would seek His kingdom first He would take care of everything that we need (see Matthew 6:33). God can provide for us far better than we can provide for ourselves, so this is the best trade we could ever make. 

         The first result of the fall was that Adam and Eve looked at themselves. They were so focused on God and what He had provided for them up to that point that they did not even realize they were naked. To be delivered from the consequences of the fall we must mature to a place where we are again so God- focused, and so thankful for what He has provided for us in our life, that we are fully tuned to Him and how He would use us. 

         The world is in increasing need of such Christians in this time. Anything that we might lose by following Him is only temporary, a mere vapor, but what we gain in place of what we may have lost will last forever.