0228 現在你們信嗎？
現在我們曉得你凡事都知道，也不用人問你，因此我們信你是從神出來的。耶穌說：「現在你們信嗎？」《約翰福音16:30-31》
許多基督徒工人離開，將耶穌基督置於一旁，卻試圖出於責任感或因他們自己的分辨力感到需要來事奉祂；這原因實際上是缺乏耶穌復活的生命。我們的靈魂因依賴我們自己的宗教理解而失去了與神的親密接觸（見箴言3:5-6）。這不是故意犯的罪，沒有附加的懲罰。但一旦一個人意識到他如何阻礙了他對耶穌基督的理解，並給自己帶來了不確定性、悲傷和困難，他就會懷着羞愧和悔恨，不得不歸回。
我們需要在更深的層次上依靠耶穌復活的生命，超過我們現今依靠的程度。我們應該養成在每件事上不斷尋求祂的建言的習慣，而不是做出我們自己常識性的決定，然後請求祂祝福。祂不能祝福那些決定；那不屬於祂的領域，而且那些決定脫離了現實。如果我們只是出於責任感做某事，我們就是試圖要達到與耶穌基督競爭的標準。我們成為一個驕傲、傲慢的人，認為我們在每種情況下都知道該怎麼做。我們把責任感放在我們生命的寶座上，而不是讓耶穌復活的生命坐在寶座上。我們沒有被告知要行走在我們的良心之光或責任感之光中，而是要「在光明中行走，如同神在光明中…」（約翰一書 1:7）。當我們出於責任感做某事時，很容易向他人解釋我們行動的原因。但當我們出於順服主而做某事時，就沒有其他解釋了——只有順服。這就是為什麼一個聖徒很容易被嘲笑和誤解的原因。
來自章伯斯的智慧
信心的根源是對那一位的認識，而最大陷阱之一，就是認為神一定會帶領我們到成功。《竭誠為主》，3月19日。
0228 Do You Now Believe?
“By this we believe….” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?” —John 16:30-31
“Now we believe….” But Jesus asks, “Do you…? Indeed the hour is coming…that you…will leave Me alone” (John 16:31-32). Many Christian workers have left Jesus Christ alone and yet tried to serve Him out of a sense of duty, or because they sense a need as a result of their own discernment. The reason for this is actually the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. Our soul has gotten out of intimate contact with God by leaning on our own religious understanding (see Proverbs 3:5-6). This is not deliberate sin and there is no punishment attached to it. But once a person realizes how he has hindered his understanding of Jesus Christ, and caused uncertainties, sorrows, and difficulties for himself, it is with shame and remorse that he has to return.
We need to rely on the resurrection life of Jesus on a much deeper level than we do now. We should get in the habit of continually seeking His counsel on everything, instead of making our own commonsense decisions and then asking Him to bless them. He cannot bless them; it is not in His realm to do so, and those decisions are severed from reality. If we do something simply out of a sense of duty, we are trying to live up to a standard that competes with Jesus Christ. We become a prideful, arrogant person, thinking we know what to do in every situation. We have put our sense of duty on the throne of our life, instead of enthroning the resurrection life of Jesus. We are not told to “walk in the light” of our conscience or in the light of a sense of duty, but to “walk in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7). When we do something out of a sense of duty, it is easy to explain the reasons for our actions to others. But when we do something out of obedience to the Lord, there can be no other explanation— just obedience. That is why a saint can be so easily ridiculed and misunderstood.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest snares is the idea that God is sure to lead us to success. –My Utmost for His Highest, March 19, 761 L