3月14日 天国的公民
天国的公民
你所事奉的君王洞察你的心，没有什么比你全心爱祂更能讨祂喜悦。
省察你的心： 若你发现，你生命的所有权确实已经转让给了基督，就当为此赞美神。因为你已是天国的公民，不再是地狱的子民。请在你的心灵日历上记下你属灵重生的那一天，并为此欢庆吧！那是你的婚娶之日：正如保罗对哥林多人所说：“我曾把你们许配一个丈夫……就是基督”（林后11:2）。这位基督也已将永生的应许赐给你。你可知道？从你归入祂治下的那一刻起，生命树上一切甘甜的果子便都属你了。这是神在完全的爱中，赐给新妇的完美礼物——而祂如今正在使这新妇成为完全。
亲爱的圣徒，要常常提醒自己，神在你身上施行了何等奇妙的改变。撒但会试探你，让你怀疑选择基督作主是否明智，因此，务要将神的应许如门闩般钉在你心门的门框上。这些应许会成为属灵的屏障，将你的灵魂“分别”出来。撒但必会如同逃避瘟疫一般，在这些应许面前逃离。撒但曾用罪的枷锁囚禁你——那是烟雾弥漫的坑穴，不要让时光冲淡了你对那坑穴的记忆，否则，牠可能会用旧日的谎言和虚假的承诺将你引诱回去。请将那往日的恐怖与你如今品尝到的属天滋味作个对比，这样你就会明白：你在地上所经历的最大的喜乐，也不过是天国丰盛美好气味的一丝一缕而已。
紧紧抓住这美好的盼望吧，这会赐予你所需的勇气，当四围看似都是撒但的国度在兴旺发达时，紧紧抓住这盼望会使你仍能忠心地事奉基督。你没有任何借口推卸服事；即便你并未蒙召去讲道或施洗，你仍能参与其中，扶持那些蒙召的人。你的祷告能磨快传道人的宝剑，能拆毁重重拦阻，好让基督的国度不断扩张。
你所事奉的君王洞察你的心，没有什么比你全心爱祂更能讨祂喜悦。祂何等渴望看到你这样的心志：即便你可以自由地选择君王，制定律法，可你依然除祂以外别无所爱，在祂已颁布的律例以外，也别无所求。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：出25章，约4章，
个人灵修：箴1章，林后13章
MARCH 14, SATURDAY
CITIZENS OF HEAVEN
You serve a prince who knows your heart. Nothing pleases Him more than for you to love Him completely.
Check your heart. If you find that a transfer of title has indeed been made out to Christ, praise God that you are a citizen of heaven and not of hell. Mark the day of your spiritual birth on the calendar of your heart and call for a celebration! It is your marriage day: “I have espoused you to one husband … Christ,” Paul told the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 11:2). This same Christ has given you the promise of eternal life. Do you know that from the hour you come under His dominion, all the sweet fruit of the tree of life is yours? It is a perfect gift given in perfect love to the bride which He is even now perfecting.
Dear saint, remind yourself often of the change that God has made in you. Satan will tempt you to doubt the wisdom of choosing Christ as your sovereign, so nail God’s promises on the upper doorpost of your heart. They will keep your soul in quarantine; Satan will run from them as from the plague. And don’t let time erode the memory of the smoky hole where Satan kept you in the bondage of sin, or he may entice you back with his old lies and broken promises. Compare this horror to the taste of heaven you have already received and know that your greatest joy on earth is but a whiff of all that heaven holds.
Clinging to such a wonderful prospect should give you the courage you need to serve Christ faithfully while Satan’s principality prospers all around you. You cannot excuse yourself from service. Even though you may not be called to preach and baptize, you can still be used to help those who are. Your prayers whet the minister’s sword; they break down barriers so Christ’s kingdom can be enlarged.
You serve a prince who knows your heart. Nothing pleases Him more than for you to love Him completely. How He longs to know that if you were free to choose your own king and to make your own laws, you would choose none other than Himself, nor any laws except those He has already decreed.