1128 貧民的富有
…蒙神的恩典…就白白地稱義…《羅馬書 3:24》
神恩典的福音喚醒了人類靈魂中強烈的渴望和同樣強烈的怨恨，因為它所揭示的真理並不讓人愉快或容易接受的。人們特定的驕傲促使他們不斷地給予，但前來接受禮物卻又是另一回事。我可以捨生殉道，我會奉獻我的一生服事，我願意做任何事；但請不要把我羞辱到最該下地獄的罪人的程度，並告訴我，我所必須做的就是接受耶穌基督的救恩禮物。
我們必須認識到，我們無法通過自己的努力從神那裡賺取或贏得任何東西。我們必須要麼接受神的禮物，要麼就沒有它活着。我們領受最大的屬靈祝福，就是當我們認識到自己一無所有的時候；在認識這一點之前，我們的主是無能為力的。只要我們認為自己本身還有還行，祂就不能為我們做什麼；我們必須通過窮乏之門進入祂的國。只要我們還是「富足」，特別是在驕傲/尊嚴或獨立方面，神就無法為我們做什麼。只有當我們在靈里感到饑渴時，我們才會接受聖靈。神必要本質的恩賜是通過聖靈被放在我們裡面並在我們身上發揮功效；祂將耶穌活潑的生命分賜給我們，使我們真正活着。祂將「超越」我們的東西置於我們「之內」；那「超越」的一旦進入「內在」，它就立即上升到「上面」，我們就被提升到耶穌所活的和統治的國度（見約翰福音3:5）。
來自章伯斯的智慧
今天所強調的是在組織的發展；口號是：「我們必須讓這件事繼續下去。」如果我們是在神的秩序中，事情就會順利進行；如果我們不是在祂的秩序中，事情就不會成就。《改變像祂的樣式》
1128 The Riches of the Destitute
…being justified freely by His grace… —Romans 3:24
The gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the truth that it reveals is not palatable or easy to swallow. There is a certain pride in people that causes them to give and give, but to come and accept a gift is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom; I will dedicate my life to service— I will do anything. But do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. We must enter into His kingdom through the door of destitution. As long as we are “rich,” particularly in the area of pride or independence, God can do nothing for us. It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was “beyond” us and places it “within” us. And immediately, once “the beyond” has come “within,” it rises up to “the above,” and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns (see John 3:5).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The emphasis to-day is placed on the furtherance of an organization; the note is, “We must keep this thing going.” If we are in God’s order the thing will go; if we are not in His order, it won’t. —-Conformed to His Image, 357 R