你对一切都保持新鲜吗?
耶稣回答说:「我实实在在地告诉你:人若不重生,就不能见神的国。」《约翰福音 3:3》
有时候我们对参加祷告会充满新鲜感和热情,但对于擦鞋这样平凡的任务,我们是否也能感受到同样的新鲜感呢?
被圣灵重生是神明显的工作,像风一样神秘,又如同神自己令人惊讶一样。我们不知道它从何开始——它隐藏在我们灵魂的深处。从上头重生是一个持续、永久和永恒的开始,它一直在思想、言语和生活中提供新鲜——是神的生命持续不断的惊喜。陈腐是我们生活中某些方面与神脱节的迹象。我们对自己说:「我必须做这件事,否则它永远都不会完成。」这是陈旧的第一个迹象。此刻我们感到新鲜,还是陈腐、疯狂地在心里搜寻要做的事?新鲜感不是顺服的结果;它来自圣灵。顺服使我们「在光明中,如祂在光明中一样。」(约翰一书 1:7)
要嫉妒地保护你与神的关系。耶稣祈求「使他们合而为一,像我们一样。」之间没有任何东西(约福音17:22)。让你的整个生命始终不断地向耶稣基督敞开,不要假装对祂敞开。你的生命是否来自神自己以外的任何源泉?如果你依赖其他东西作为你新鲜和力量的来源,当祂的力量离开时,你会意识不到的。
来自章伯斯的智慧
真诚意味着外表和实际完全一致。《登山宝训研究》
0120 Are You Fresh for Everything?
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” —John 3:3
Sometimes we are fresh and eager to attend a prayer meeting, but do we feel that same freshness for such mundane tasks as polishing shoes?
Being born again by the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, and as surprising as God Himself. We don’t know where it begins— it is hidden away in the depths of our soul. Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual, and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking, talking, and living— a continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication that something in our lives is out of step with God. We say to ourselves, “I have to do this thing or it will never get done.” That is the first sign of staleness. Do we feel fresh this very moment or are we stale, frantically searching our minds for something to do? Freshness is not the result of obedience; it comes from the Holy Spirit. Obedience keeps us “in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7).
Jealously guard your relationship with God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one just as We are one” — with nothing in between (John 17:22). Keep your whole life continually open to Jesus Christ. Don’t pretend to be open with Him. Are you drawing your life from any source other than God Himself? If you are depending on something else as your source of freshness and strength, you will not realize when His power is gone.
Being born of the Spirit means much more than we usually think. It gives us new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything through the never-ending supply of the life of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same. —Studies in the Sermon on the Mount