1月4日 基督徒蒙召要服事
基督徒蒙召要服事
那些曾与你亲密无间、深藏心底的罪，如今必须被你践踏在脚下。这需要何等的勇气与决心！
士兵被召是为了投身于积极的服役生活，基督徒亦是如此。这份呼召本身的性质，就排除了安逸享乐的可能。如果你曾想过只做一个“避暑的士兵”（意指只在舒适环境下服役），请务必重新审视你的使命。你所受领的属灵军令是严峻而艰巨的。正如使徒保罗一样，我不愿你对此无知，因此，我要简要列出神给你的几项指令。
那些曾与你亲密无间、深藏心底的罪，如今必须被你践踏在脚下。这需要何等的勇气与决心！你可能觉得，当亚伯拉罕被要求亲手献上“你独生的儿子，你所爱的以撒”时（参创22:2），那是极限的试炼。然而，与眼前的命令相比，那又算得了什么呢？主在说：“灵魂啊，把你心中最宠爱的私欲，就是你的‘以撒’，那个你指望从中获得最大快乐的罪，抓起来献给我。要在我的面前倾倒它的血，把献祭的刀刺入它的心脏，而且要甘心乐意地去行！”
属人的性情对这话是难以承受的！我们的私欲绝不会像以撒那样温顺地躺在祭坛上，也不会像那被牵往宰杀之地却不开口的羔羊（赛53:7）。我们的肉体会咆哮、会尖叫，用凄厉的哭喊撕裂我们的心。的确，在我们的心全然顺服这条命令之前，灵魂要经历怎样的冲突、挣扎与剧烈的阵痛，谁能言尽呢？又有谁能完全识破，那“受宠的私欲”为了自保，会玩弄怎样狡黠的辩词呢？
当圣灵责备你的罪时，撒但会试图说服你：“这不过是个微不足道的小罪，留着它吧。”或者，它会用“隐秘”的承诺来利诱你的心：“你既可以留着我，又可以保住你的名声。我绝不会公开露面，让你在邻里面前蒙羞。你只需把我关在心灵的阁楼里，不让人看见就好；只要你偶尔在暗地里，让你的心思意念与我尽情相拥。”
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：创4章，太4章，
个人灵修：拉4章，徒4章
JANUARY 4, SUNDAY
THE CHRISTIAN’S CALL TO SERVICE
Those sins which have lain nearest yourheart must now be trampled under your feet.And what courage and resolution this requires!
The soldier is summoned to a life of active duty, and so is the Christian. The very nature of the calling precludes a life of ease. If you had thought to be a summer soldier, consider your commission carefully. Your spiritual orders are rigorous. Like the apostle, I would not have you be ignorant on this point and will, therefore, list a few of your directives.
Those sins which have lain nearest your heart must now be trampled under your feet. And what courage and resolution this requires! You think Abraham was tested to the limit when called upon to take Isaac, “thine only son … whom thou lovest” (Genesis 22:2), and offer him up with his own hands. Yet what was that to this. “Soul, take the lust which is the child dearest to your heart, your Isaac, the sin from which you intend to gain the greatest pleasure. Lay hands on it and offer it up, pour out its blood before Me; run the sacrificing knife into the very heart of it—and do it joyfully!”
This is more than the human spirit can bear to hear. Our lust will not lie so patiently on the altar as Isaac, nor as the Lamb brought dumb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7). Our flesh will roar and shriek, rending the heart with its hideous cries. Indeed, who can express the conflict, the wrestlings, the convulsions of spirit we endure before we can put our heart into such a command? Or who can fully recount the cleverness with which such a lust will plead for itself?
When the Spirit convicts you of sin, Satan will try to convince you, “It is such a little one—spare it.” Or he will bribe the soul with a vow of secrecy: “You can keep me and your good reputation, too. I will not be seen in your company to shame you among your neighbors. You may shut me up in the attic of your heart, out of sight, if only you will let me now and then have the wild embraces of your thoughts and affections in secret.”