於2022-06-15發佈


Day 140
每日成長
雷克-喬納 Rick Joyner
翻譯:Kate 2022.6.14
轉載/轉寄 請註明出處:國度禱告網

當一個孩子出生時,他或她在生命的前幾年會成長得非常快。然後他們會出現生長緩慢的高原期。他們也會經歷 "生長高峰",在此期間,孩子的食慾會趨於增長,導致他們在短時間內長出兩三英寸。這些突增可能是痛苦的,拉伸肌肉造成所謂的 "生長痛"。即便如此,只要他們有這些疼痛,他們就在繼續成長。靈性的成長與此類似。

基督徒在重生後也會經歷同樣的過程。在我們新的靈性生活的頭幾年,我們往往會急劇成長,並開始表現出我們獨特的靈性個性。然後我們通常會有一些平緩的時間。從那時起,屬靈成長的高峰期出現了,在短時間內造成了很大的成長。就像自然增長的衝刺一樣,靈性增長的衝刺也可能是痛苦的,因為它在拉伸我們。但正是通過這樣的拉伸,我們仍然是新皮袋,能夠容納主想給我們的新酒。我們應該學會認識這些衝刺,並根據需要欣賞它們,因為正是通過它們,我們知道我們仍在成長。

在自然界中,一旦停止成長,就開始了死亡的過程。衰老就是死亡的過程。首先,我們開始意識到我們的肌肉開始變得更快疲勞,然後開始在運動中變得有點酸痛,這導致我們變得更弱,因為我們傾向於抵制困難和痛苦的運動,然後導致肌肉萎縮。然後我們的眼睛開始變得暗淡,如此反復。我們可以與這個過程作爭戰,但在某些時刻,它將會獲勝。

到目前為止,我還沒有遇到過喜歡衰老的人,但衰老目前是生活的一部分,大多數人都學會了適應。你可以學會在生命的後期階段享受和繁榮。然而,在屬靈上,我們永遠不該開始死亡的過程,而是繼續成長。只要我們在地上,就應該繼續獲得屬靈能力和異象,因為我們屬靈的成長是沒有限制的。即便如此,如果你停止成長,你將開始屬靈死亡。如果你不在屬靈上取得新進展,你就會失去它。

正如我們在《出埃及記》16:4中所讀到的:" 耶和華對摩西說:我要將糧食從天降給你們。百姓可以出去,每天收每天的分,我好試驗他們遵不遵我的法度。"我相信這仍然是對神的子民的試驗,這決定了他們是否會在主的指示下行走。這是對我們是否願意每天第一件事就是起床,尋求來自天上的新鮮 "嗎哪 "的試驗。這種每天從天上來的新鮮話語將幫助我們保持靈性的新鮮。當我們停止每天收集它時,我們將開始變得陳舊,並經常開始在靈性上退化。

這種每天的 "嗎哪",或每天從天上來的話語,可以幫助維持我們,使我們在靈性上保持新鮮狀態,但我們需要比這更多來真正實現靈性成長。成長需要的不僅僅是維持我們的需要。這就是為什麼一個孩子在經歷成長的高峰期時,食慾會有相當大的增長。我們需要來自神的新鮮嗎哪,但我們也需要道的肉。除非我們追求更多更深入的理解,以及更多增加我們的異象,否則我們將不會成長。正如哥林多前書2:10所說:只有神藉著聖靈向我們顯明了,因為聖靈參透萬事,就是神深奧的事也參透了。聖靈也想在我們裡面活動,尋找神的深奧。

詩篇103:7說:"他使摩西知道他的法則,叫以色列人曉得他的作為。"。許多人只滿足於看到主的行為。他們會跑來跑去觀察。這不是壞事,因為想觀察神的行為不是一件壞事,但我們必須想要的不僅僅是看到祂的行為,我們必須渴望知道祂的法則,如果我們要成長為成熟的人。

如果我們找到的知識不能使我們伸展,那麼我們可能就沒有得到應有的成長。許多人只追求已經與他們的信心一致的知識。這是一種舊皮袋的心態。這不是成長之路,也不是通往真理之路。我們必須為了知識的真實性而追求知識,無論它是否與我們目前對某一問題的信念一致。地上有哪個人,或者除了耶穌之外,曾經在地上行走過的人,曾經完全瞭解上帝的道?所以我們總是有空間在知識上成長。即便如此,我們在知識上的成長,甚至對祂的方式的瞭解,都不應該是我們的最終目標。我們的目標是看到祂道路的榮耀,使我們改變成祂的樣式。


Growing Daily
Rick Joyner

When a child is born, he or she will grow very fast for the first few years of their life. Then they will have plateaus where growth slows. They will also experience "growth spurts," during which time the child's appetite will tend to grow, causing them to shoot up two or three inches in short periods of time. These spurts can be painful, stretching the muscles causing what is known as "growing pains." Even so, as long as they are having them, they are continuing to grow. Spiritual growth is similar to this.

Christians go through the same process after they are born again. The first few years of our new spiritual lives we tend to grow dramatically, and begin exhibiting our unique spiritual personalities. Then we usually have times of leveling off a bit. From that time on, spiritual growth spurts occur causing much growth in short periods of time. Like natural growth spurts, spiritual growth spurts can also be painful because they are stretching us. But it is through such stretching that we remain new wineskins, which are able to hold the new wine that the Lord wants to give us. We should learn to recognize these spurts, and appreciate them as needed because it is by them that we know we are still growing.

In the natural, once we stop growing we start the process of dying. Aging is the process of dying. First we begin to realize that our muscles start getting tired more quickly. Then we start getting a bit sore with exercise. This causes us to get weaker as we tend to resist difficult and painful exercises, which then causes atrophy to the muscles. Then our eyes start to grow dim, and so on. We can fight this process, but at some point it is going to win.

To date I have never met anyone who enjoys aging, but it is presently a part of life that most learn to adjust to. You can learn to enjoy and prosper in the later stages of life. However, spiritually we should never begin this process of dying, but continue growing. We should continue gaining spiritual strength and vision for as long as we are on the earth because there is no limit to how much we can grow spiritually. Even so, if you stop growing, you will start dying spiritually. If you are not taking new ground in the spirit, you are losing it.

As we have read in Exodus 16:4, "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.'" I believe this remains a test for the people of God, which determines whether they will walk in the Lord's instruction or not. This is the test of whether we will get up first thing every day and seek fresh "manna" from heaven. This fresh daily word from heaven will help keep us fresh spiritually. When we stop gathering it every day, we will start to grow stale and often start to deteriorate spiritually.

This daily "manna," or a daily word from heaven, can help sustain us and keep us in a fresh state spiritually, but we need more than this to actually grow spiritually. Growth requires more than what is needed to just sustain us. This is why a child's appetite will tend to increase quite dramatically when they are going through a growth spurt. We need the fresh manna from God, but we also need the meat of the Word. We will not grow unless we are pursuing more and more depth of understanding, and more increase in our vision. As I Corinthians 2:10 states, "For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God." The Spirit also wants to move in us to search the depths of God.

Psalm 103:7 says, "He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel." Many are content to see the Lord's acts. They will run to and fro to observe them. This is not bad, as it is never a bad thing to want to observe the deeds of God, but we must want more than just seeing His acts, we must desire to know His ways if we are going to grow to maturity.

If the knowledge we are finding does not stretch us a bit then we are probably not growing as we could. Many only pursue the knowledge that already agrees with their beliefs. This is an old wineskin mentality. This is not the way to grow or the way to truth. We must pursue knowledge for the sake of it being true, whether it agrees with our present beliefs about a matter or not. What man on the earth, or who has ever walked the earth with the exception of Jesus, has ever fully known the ways of God? So there is always room for us to grow in knowledge. Even so, our growing in knowledge, even the knowledge of His ways, should not be our ultimate goal. Our goal is to see the glory of His ways so that we are changed into His likeness.