605 中翻英 (305) Blessed is everyone who does trust God. 凡信靠上帝的, 必蒙祝福. 12/88/2023

605 中翻英 (305)     Blessed is everyone who does trust God.  凡信靠上帝的, 必蒙祝福.    12/8/2023

十二月八日

「凡不因我跌倒的，就有福了。」（路7:23）

施洗約翰不喜歡，也可以說是不明白主工作的方式。他曾期待以色列國另一次的新复興，正如舊約里以利亞所見證的那一次。而現在他卻被關在監牢里，接近死亡的邊沿。他既不能再有任何偉大的工作和成就，那么主耶穌為何不采取一些行動，來證明這第二位以利亞的職事？

當神沒有按著我們的期望去進行祂的工作時，我們是否因此就跌倒呢？我們曾尋求認識祂的旨意，并只求祂得著榮耀，然而祂的道路，卻多令我們大感失望。我們曾遭遇絕境而毫無出路，我們病了，期待祂來醫治，但卻得不到醫治。我們短缺金錢，但經濟的供應卻遲遲不來。或者比這些更糟的就是：在某些工作或事情中，神自己的尊榮似乎受到危險的威脅。祂必須為自己的名，親自出來干預——然而神卻不下手。其它還有：不利的情勢全無改變，監牢的門戶仍然緊閉，罪人的硬心猶未溶化，也沒有人喊說：「先生，我當怎樣行才可以得救？」等等。

但總有一天，一切事情都會解釋明白。當我們站在審判台前的時候，不但我們要受審判，神還要將一切事情向我們闡述。我們將在好些事情上被證明是錯了。但也有許多的事情，主要對我們說：「我是對的，但你們也是對的。」

August 8

Blessed is he. whosoever shall not be offfened in me.  Luk 7:23

John the Baptist did not like it.  He had looked for a new revival such as the first Elijah had witnessed, and here he lay in prison with death imminent.  If he himself must achieve nothing, surely Jesus ought to take some action to vindicate the second Elijah ministry.

Are we offended when God does not do what we feel He should? We have sought to know His will and want only His glory, and yet many of His ways we find disappointing.  We have met some impasse and found no way through; we were ill and expected Him to heal us, and we were not healed;  we are short of money, and money does not come.  Or far worse, it is some matter in which God's very honor seems at stake.  He must come in for the sake of His name ----and yet He does not. The situation is unchange, no prison gate is open, no hearts melt, no one cries "Sirs, what must I do?"

There is a day when all will be explained.  When we stand before the judgment seat, not only shall we be judged; God will explain things to us.  In much we shall be proved wrong, but  there will be many things of which He will say, "I was fight, but you were right also."      

Dec. 9

You also ought to wash one another's feet.  John 13:14

The washjng alluded to here is for refreshment; it does not rf something elate to sin.  Unlike sin, the dust and dirt that gather  on our feet are inevitable.  To roll in the dustwould be sin, certainly, but if we touch the earth at all,  our feet will be dusty.  A brother working long hours in an office comes back home at the end of the day, tired and out of tune with things.  He finds it difficult to recover the refreshment of communion with the Lord he had in his morning quiet time.  There is a coating of somethings upon him which makes him unable to rise up to the Lord at once.

But a friend meets him and quie spontaneously praise the Lord.  At once he feels a lifting power.  It isas though someone had taken a duster and wiped the film away.  His feet are clean once more.  To "wash one another's feet. " is to return things to their former freahness in this way.  It is possible to be largely  unaware of the fact that we are doing it and yet to be constantly used thus to refresh our brethren in Christ.  I tell you, it is one of the greatest ministries. 

Dec. 10