你對一切都保持新鮮嗎?
耶穌回答說:「我實實在在地告訴你:人若不重生,就不能見神的國。」《約翰福音 3:3》
有時候我們對參加禱告會充滿新鮮感和熱情,但對於擦鞋這樣平凡的任務,我們是否也能感受到同樣的新鮮感呢?
被聖靈重生是神明顯的工作,像風一樣神秘,又如同神自己令人驚訝一樣。我們不知道它從何開始——它隱藏在我們靈魂的深處。從上頭重生是一個持續、永久和永恆的開始,它一直在思想、言語和生活中提供新鮮——是神的生命持續不斷的驚喜。陳腐是我們生活中某些方面與神脫節的跡象。我們對自己說:「我必須做這件事,否則它永遠都不會完成。」這是陳舊的第一個跡象。此刻我們感到新鮮,還是陳腐、瘋狂地在心裡搜尋要做的事?新鮮感不是順服的結果;它來自聖靈。順服使我們「在光明中,如祂在光明中一樣。」(約翰一書 1:7)
要嫉妒地保護你與神的關係。耶穌祈求「使他們合而為一,像我們一樣。」之間沒有任何東西(約福音17:22)。讓你的整個生命始終不斷地向耶穌基督敞開,不要假裝對祂敞開。你的生命是否來自神自己以外的任何源泉?如果你依賴其他東西作為你新鮮和力量的來源,當祂的力量離開時,你會意識不到的。
來自章伯斯的智慧
真誠意味着外表和實際完全一致。《登山寶訓研究》
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