NIV
靈修
新聞
貼圖
為教會
"Here you should once for all mark where and what the true nature of religion is; its work and effect is within; its glory, its life, its perfection, is all within. It is merely and solely the raising a new life, new love and a new birth in the inward spirit of our heart. This was the spiritual nature of religion in its first beginning, and this alone is its whole nature to the end of time. It is nothing else but the power and life and Spirit of God, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, working, creating and reviving life in the fallen soul, and driving all its evil out of it. Religion is no true Divine service, no proper worshipping of God, has no good in it, can remove no evil out of man, raise no Divine life in him, but so far as it serves, worships, conforms, and gives itself up to this operation of the Holy Triune God, as living and dwelling in the soul."Keep close to this idea of religion as an inward spiritual life in the soul; observe all its works within you, the death and life that are found there; seek for no good, no comfort, but in the inward awakening of all that is holy and heavenly in your heart; and then so much as you have of this inward religion, so much you have of a real salvation. For salvation is nothing but a victory over nature; so far as you resist and renounce your own vain, selfish and earthly nature, so far as you overcome all your own natural tempers of the old man, so far God enters into you, lives and operates in you, He is in you the Light, the Life, and the Spirit of your soul; and you are in Him that new creature that worships Him in spirit and in truth.
"All Scripture brings us to the conclusion that our religious services are only so many ways of giving up ourselves more and more to the inward working, quickening, sanctifying Spirit of God in us; and all for this end, that a true, real, Christ-like nature be formed in us, by the same Spirit by which it was formed in the holy Virgin Mary."
How much there is of religion in which man has his own thoughts of what it should be. Oh, let us seek to study what God counts true religion. Nothing less than this,- that He Himself, by His Spirit, should live and work in us as the Light and the Life of our souls. As we take these thoughts of God into our hearts, we shall see that a continual depending upon Him, a continual receiving of His Holy Spirit breathing His life into us, and a continual breathing of our heart and its longing after Him, is the life of Christ in us. It is this will enable us continually to worship, to pray, and to work in His holy presence.
All human teaching and, indeed, all human beings shall pass away as the grass of the meadow; but we are here assured that the Word of the LORD is of a very different character, for it shall endure forever.
In seasons of severe trial, the Christian has nothing on earth that he can trust to, and is therefore compelled to cast himself on his God alone. When his vessel is on its beam-ends, and no human deliverance can avail, he must simply and entirely trust himself to the providence and care of God. Happy storm that wrecks a man on such a rock as this! O blessed hurricane that drives the soul to God and God alone! There is no getting at our God sometimes because of the multitude of our friends; but when a man is so poor, so friendless, so helpless that he has nowhere else to turn, he flies into his Fathers arms, and is blessedly clasped therein! When he is burdened with troubles so pressing and so peculiar, that he cannot tell them to any but his God, he may be thankful for them; for he will learn more of his Lord then than at any other time. Oh, tempest-tossed believer, it is a happy trouble that drives thee to thy Father! Now that thou hast only thy God to trust to, see that thou puttest thy full confidence in him. Dishonour not thy Lord and Master by unworthy doubts and fears; but be strong in faith, giving glory to God. Show the world that thy God is worth ten thousand worlds to thee. Show rich men how rich thou art in thy poverty when the Lord God is thy helper. Show the strong man how strong thou art in thy weakness when underneath thee are the everlasting arms. Now is the time for feats of faith and valiant exploits. Be strong and very courageous, and the Lord thy God shall certainly, as surely as he built the heavens and the earth, glorify himself in thy weakness, and magnify his might in the midst of thy distress. The grandeur of the arch of heaven would be spoiled if the sky were supported by a single visible column, and your faith would lose its glory if it rested on anything discernible by the carnal eye. May the Holy Spirit give you to rest in Jesus this closing day of the month.
As he is in the light! Can we ever attain to this? Shall we ever be able to walk as clearly in the light as he is whom we call “Our Father,” of whom it is written, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all?” Certainly, this is the model which it set before us, for the Saviour himself said, “Be ye perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect;” and although we may feel that we can never rival the perfection of God, yet we are to seek after it, and never to be satisfied until we attain to it. The youthful artist, as he grasps his early pencil, can hardly hope to equal Raphael or Michael Angelo, but still, if he did not have a noble beau ideal before his mind, he would only attain to something very mean and ordinary. But what is meant by the expression that the Christian is to walk in light as God is in the light? We conceive it to import likeness, but not degree. We are as truly in the light, we are as heartily in the light, we are as sincerely in the light, as honestly in the light, though we cannot be there in the same measure. I cannot dwell in the sun, it is too bright a place for my residence, but I can walk in the light of the sun; and so, though I cannot attain to that perfection of purity and truth which belongs to the Lord of hosts by nature as the infinitely good, yet I can set the Lord always before me, and strive, by the help of the indwelling Spirit, after conformity to his image. That famous old commentator, John Trapp, says, “We may be in the light as God is in the light for quality, but not for equality.” We are to have the same light, and are as truly to have it and walk in it as God does, though, as for equality with God in his holiness and purity, that must be left until we cross the Jordan and enter into the perfection of the Most High. Mark that the blessings of sacred fellowship and perfect cleansing are bound up with walking in the light.
How strong is the snare of the things that are seen, and how necessary for God to keep us in the things that axe unseen! If Peter is to walk on the water he must walk; if he is going to swim, he must swim, but he cannot do both. If the bird is going to fly it must keep away from fences and the trees, and trust to its buoyant wings. But if it tries to keep within easy reach of the ground, it will make poor work of flying. 
A simple love for Christ is the basis for our devotional lives. When our hearts are soft and malleable, He is able to turn us ‘this way and that’. In contrast to this, the book of Proverbs speaks of a man who is unable to be directed. It says the one ‘who hardens his heart will fall into calamity’. Similarly, he who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy.
Sometimes, the Lord may lead us in a direction that is not of our choosing. We read in the book of Revelation that John had ‘to turn to see the voice that was speaking’ to him. John was looking the wrong way and needed to turn. However, the fact that he could turn is very significant. It shows that he didn’t have a stiff neck, and his heart was soft and malleable. Life’s difficulties can cause us to respond in two ways. We can become hard, or we become soft, pliable and devoted to Christ.
We can recall the children of Israel meeting the Lord, returning to the Lord and being devoted to Him at various times. We might say that the critical issue was their returning. Of course, this is the meaning of the word ‘repentance’. It is to turn and to return. Do we need to return? What do we need to return to? It may be the simplicity of a prayer life every day. Is it as simple as being more open in our relationships? Should we be a little more given in life? Do we feel our hearts crusting over? Return today. Allow the cry of your heart to be, ‘Lord, help me to return’.
It is an encouraging thought that the Lord gives ‘more grace’. Indeed, He gives ‘greater grace’. Let us consider that the grace and strength that He
has given us in the past is not sufficient for the future. It is not as though His grace toward us is lacking in any way. Rather, we must find a ‘greater
grace’ for the work that is before us. The apostle Paul accounted that James, Peter and John, as fellow apostles, recognised the grace that was in him. Grace is given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Not only are we to be strengthened by grace, we are also to stand in this grace. We have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace by which we stand.
At this time, we must draw near to the throne of grace. This is most certainly not some religious endeavour. It is in this presentation of ourselves that we are strengthened by grace. When we draw near to Him, He pours out upon us the Spirit of grace and supplication. He draws us into the secret
place of prayer. And it is here that we draw near with confidence and cry out to Him. Most certainly, we must not cast away our confidence which
has great reward. When we draw aside to the place of supplication, He pours upon us the abundance of His grace. This is not simply temporary
help which carries us through difficult times. It is ‘more grace’; it is ‘greater
grace’. At this time, the Lord is equipping us for the work yet ahead of us. It is essential that we abide in Him so that when He appears we may have
confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame.
Upon hearing of Lazarus’ death, Jesus wept for their unbelief. If only they could see. If only His friends would believe in Him. As the Lamb foreordained from before the ages, He knows the day and hour of every soul. He knows their appointed times. And He knew already that His friend Lazarus was deathly sick and that he would die. However, He also knew that his time had not yet come, and that He must awaken Lazarus from his premature sleep. ‘Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.’ What a glorious story of friendship, compassion, faith and resurrection! We need read only a little way further to find the end of the matter. Lazarus was raised from the dead after four days in the tomb. The real import of the story, however, was in what Jesus was teaching them about Himself, and about His call to a household of faith. Strikingly, the Master was not teaching Lazarus as much as He was addressing Mary and Martha, as He had done previously. In the account of Lazarus, Jesus was teaching us about the faith, commitment and culture of their house. He taught Mary and Martha, as women, to believe in resurrection life, and to nurture this kind of faith as the culture of the home. We are reminded of the women of faith reported in the book of Hebrews, who ‘received their dead raised to life again [while] others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection’. Mary and Martha were faithful women of this kind. They remind us that women, in motherhood and household nurture, are never far from the threat of death, and are forever believing for life out of death.
The blood of Jesus was sprinkled seven times, corresponding to His seven wounds. The first three wounds are the wounds that belong to the altar. The three sprinklings that correspond to the first three wounds define the blood of the altar. The last four wounds are the wounds that belong to the cross. The last four sprinklings that correspond to these wounds define the blood of the cross. These seven sprinklings fell upon Christ when He was lifted up as our mercy seat. In this way, a full atonement was accomplished for us. There are two other key elements to note regarding Christ’s passion. Firstly, the last supper is the partaking of the covenant. This is the eating and drinking of Christ’s sacrifice that leads a participant into the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, the partaking of His altar. This occurred before the wounding of Christ began. The communion meal is the covenant promise made, that gives us participation in His body and blood. Then, after Christ’s wounding and death, we note the piercing of His side. This happened after He was physically dead. His suffering had ceased. His work was accomplished and He was no longer a living sacrifice. The blood and water that flowed from His side are the elements of the new and living way flowing from His cross. This is the stream of life that continues to flow from the throne of God and the Lamb, for all of time and eternity. These elements of blood and water give power for sanctification to every believer. The water is the word of the covenant. The blood is zoe life, giving capacity to walk the new and living way; and the Spirit bears witness.
