1月31日 撒但：引诱人犯罪的试探者
撒但：引诱人犯罪的试探者
你为神所做的服事越显著，撒但在同一时刻暗中筹划致命阴谋的可能性就越大。
当你正为了神的荣耀执行某项重要使命时，撒但往往会现身。牠会像蛇一样盘踞在你的路旁，吐出毒信，散布恶毒的谎言。这条古蛇从来不是神国圣工的朋友。他曾给犹太人提供过一个冠冕堂皇的借口：“时候还没有到！”。其实神的时间早已到了，只是魔鬼的时候还没到；因此牠歪曲了对神的护理（Providence）的理解，表现得好像弥赛亚还不该来到一样。
基督的一生有两个特别显著的时期：一是祂受洗、开始公开事奉之时；二是祂受难、事奉达到巅峰之时。在这两个关键时刻，祂都与魔鬼有过激烈的交锋。这应当让你明白这位试探大师的行事手段了：你所处的位置越显眼，你为神所做的服事越显著，撒但在同一时刻暗中筹划致命阴谋的可能性就越大。如果连新兵都需要穿戴全副军装来防备撒但试探的子弹，那么站在阵地最前线的将领和军官，岂不更当警醒？
然而，撒但也并不总是等到你肩负重大使命时才出手；牠会沿途抓住每一个机会来练习牠的诱惑技巧。如果牠能找到某个具体的事物作为诱饵，牠的工作就更容易了。正如牠趁夏娃正贪恋地注视着那棵树时飞快地出手一样。既然夏娃的眼目已先被吸引住了，撒但便顺水推舟，将那引诱之物打磨得悦人眼目，以此来唤醒夏娃心中原本就潜伏着的私欲。如果我们倚窗倾听试探的甜言蜜语，撒但便心满意足，因为牠知道牠的“求爱”迟早会被接纳。若我们不愿向罪屈服，就必须谨慎，不要在试探的门前徘徊或逗留。如果你不愿被试探掳去，就不要用游离的目光去张望，也不要让思想停留在那些你不愿安置在心中的事物上。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：创32章，可3章，
个人灵修：斯8章，罗3章
JANUARY 31, SATURDAY
SATAN AS TEMPTER TO SIN
The more eminent your service for God, the greater the probability that Satan is at that very moment hatching some deadly scheme against you.
Satan will come on the scene when you are on some notable errand for God’s glory. He will raise himself up like a snake in your path, hissing his venomous lies. This old serpent never was a friend to kingdom work. What a handsome excuse he served the Jews: “The time is not come!” God’s time was come, but not the devil’s; and therefore he perverted the sense of Providence, as if it were not yet time for the Messiah.
Two periods stand out in Christ’s life: His entrance into public ministry at His Baptism, and the culmination of it at His Passion. At both He had a fierce encounter with the devil. This should give you an idea of how the master tempter works. The more public your place, and the more eminent your service for God, the greater the probability that Satan is at that very moment hatching some deadly scheme against you. If even the cadet corps need to be armed against Satan’s bullets of temptation, how much more the commanders and officers, who stand in the front line of battle!
Satan will not always wait until you are on an important mission to tempt you, however; he will seize every opportunity along the way to practice his enticing skills. His job is made a little easier if he can find some object to enforce his temptation. Thus he took Eve when she was looking with longing at the tree. Since her own eye first enticed her, it was all the easier for Satan to take the object of her affection, polish it to a high gloss, and with it quicken a lust which lay dormant in her heart. If we lean out the window to hear temptation’s serenade, Satan is satisfied that his suit may in time be granted. If we do not wish to yield to sin, we must take care not to walk by or sit at the door of the occasion. Do not look on temptation with a wandering eye if you do not wish to be taken by it, nor allow your mind to dwell on that which you do not want lodged in your heart.