0628 被神緊握【得着】
我乃是竭力追求，或者可以得着基督耶穌所以得着我的。 《腓立比書 3:12》
永遠不要選擇成為神的工人，但一旦神呼召你，如果你「偏離左右」（申命記5:32），你就有禍了。我們在這裡為神作工，不是因為我們選擇這樣做，而是因為神已經「抓住」了我們。一旦祂這樣做了，我們就不會再有這樣的想法：「嗯，我真的不適合做這個。」你所要傳講的也是由神來決定，而不是由你自己的天然傾向或慾望決定。讓你的靈魂堅定地與神保持聯繫，並記住你被呼召不僅是要傳達你的見證，也是要傳福音。每個基督徒都必須見證神的真理，但當談到呼召去傳道時，必須有神的手緊抓着你，令你極其痛苦，你的生命被神緊握【得着】，就是為了那個目的。我們有多少人像這樣被掌握呢？
永遠不可淡化神的話語，要以其不加稀釋的嚴格般傳講。對神的話語必須堅定不畏縮地忠心，但當你與他人交往時，則記住你是誰——你不是在天上被造的某個特殊者，而是一個靠恩典得救的罪人。
「弟兄們，我不是以為自己已經得着了，我只有一件事，就是忘記背後，努力面前的，向著標竿直跑，要得神在基督耶穌里從上面召我來得的獎賞。」（腓立比書 3:13-14）
來自章伯斯的智慧
「人子來的時候，遇得見世上有信德么？」我們對良好的原則、良好的管理、良好的常識都有信心，但我們當中誰對耶穌基督有信心呢？肉體的勇氣是偉大的，道德的勇氣更偉大，但是在面對生活中巨大問題時信靠耶穌基督的人，抵得上一群英雄。《至善》
0628 Held by the Grip of God
I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. —Philippians 3:12
Never choose to be a worker for God, but once God has placed His call on you, woe be to you if you “turn aside to the right hand or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32). We are not here to work for God because we have chosen to do so, but because God has “laid hold of” us. And once He has done so, we never have this thought, “Well, I’m really not suited for this.” What you are to preach is also determined by God, not by your own natural leanings or desires. Keep your soul steadfastly related to God, and remember that you are called not simply to convey your testimony but also to preach the gospel. Every Christian must testify to the truth of God, but when it comes to the call to preach, there must be the agonizing grip of God’s hand on you— your life is in the grip of God for that very purpose. How many of us are held like that?
Never water down the Word of God, but preach it in its undiluted sternness. There must be unflinching faithfulness to the Word of God, but when you come to personal dealings with others, remember who you are— you are not some special being created in heaven, but a sinner saved by grace.
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do…I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” We all have faith in good principles, in good management, in good common sense, but who amongst us has faith in Jesus Christ? Physical courage is grand, moral courage is grander, but the man who trusts Jesus Christ in the face of the terrific problems of life is worth a whole crowd of heroes. —The Highest Good, 544 R