1月24日 节制与忍耐
节制与忍耐
当你步入逆境的窄路时，撒但会在路边布下成千上万的试探。
然而，知识并非恩典工作的终点；在知识之上，我们还必须加上节制。若没有节制，信心和理性很快就会向今生的享乐让步。节制是一位极好的管家，它定期察验灵魂，梳理圣徒的情感，使人不至于为了个人娱乐而忽略圣洁的本分。若你对受造之物的安逸——甚至是对手足亲情的喜爱——超过了对主的爱，你就无法成为一名基督的精兵。因此，要祈求节制，好让你内心的“灵命仪表”始终保持在安全范围之内。
想象一下，你现在装备精良，正在顺境中向天国迈步挺进；但你是否也预备好了迎接恶劣的天气——也就是逆境的磨炼呢？当你步入逆境的窄路时，撒但会在路边布下成千上万的试探，那时你已无法像在顺境中那样自由奔跑。你或许能逃过世界的试探，却可能在苦难来临时被击倒，除非你学会忍耐。因此，使徒命令说：“有了知识，又要加上节制；有了节制，又要加上忍耐”（彼后 1:6）。
你是否有忍耐？这确实是极美的德行，但仅有忍耐还不够，你还必须具备敬虔。所以彼得继续说：“有了忍耐，又要加上敬虔”（6节）。敬虔涵盖了对神的一切内在与外在的敬拜。你的道德或许无可指摘，但若你不敬拜神，你在本质上就是无神论者；你若敬拜祂，却不按着圣经的方式，那你就是拜偶像的人；你若按规条行事，却没有福音的灵，你就是假冒为善的人。唯有那“靠着圣灵按着真理”献上的敬拜，才能领人进入真敬虔的内室（约4:24）。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：创25章，太24章，
个人灵修：斯1章，徒24章
JANUARY 24, SATURDAY
TEMPERANCE AND PATIENCE
Satan will line the hedges with a thousand temptations when you come into the narrow lanes of adversity.
But knowledge is not the end of the work of grace. To it we must add temperance. Without it, both faith and reason may soon relinquish their rightful place to temporal pleasures. Temperance is an excellent steward. It regularly inspects the soul and sets the saint’s affections in order so that he does not ignore holy duties to pursue his own entertainment. If you allow your love of creature comforts—or even your pleasure in family and loved ones—to outrun your love for the Lord, you cannot be a victorious soldier for Christ. Therefore, pray for temperance, which keeps the spiritual gauge of your heart well within the safety range.
Imagine yourself now well equipped and marching toward heaven while basking in prosperity. Should you not also prepare for foul weather—i.e., a period of adversity? Satan will line the hedges with a thousand temptations when you come into the narrow lanes of adversity, where you cannot run as in the day of your prosperity. You may manage to escape an alluring world, only to be flattened when trouble strikes, unless you know how to persevere. Therefore, the apostle commands, “to temperance [add] patience” (2 Peter 1:6).
Do you have patience? An excellent grace indeed, but not enough. You must be pious as well. So Peter continues, “to patience [add] godliness” (v. 6). Godliness encompasses the whole worship of God, inward and outward. Your morals may be impeccable, but if you do not worship God, then you are an atheist. If you worship Him and that devoutly, but not according to Scripture, you are an idolater. If according to the rule, but not according to the spirit of the Gospel, then you are a hypocrite. The only worship that leads to the inner chamber of true godliness is that which is done “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).