3月24日 撒但的日子已经数定
撒但的日子已经数定
买主要当心。时间终将显明撒但是如何欺骗了你。
撒但的日子已经数定，这对恶人来说绝非好消息。罪人眼下似乎正过着快活日子，以为这种光景会一直持续下去。在任何一天，你都能听见他们纵情欢笑，而基督的门徒却在哀恸忧伤。他们身着绫罗绸缎，招摇过市，圣徒却在破衣烂衫中瑟瑟发抖。魔鬼极力满足他们感官的情欲，正如君王用赏赐和升迁来笼络臣仆一般。巴勒曾对巴兰说：“我岂不能使你得尊荣吗？”（民22:37）
唉，这实在令人惊诧。但考虑到人全然败坏的本性，又不足为奇。撒但就是这样用牠那金色的钩子，牵着罪人的鼻子走。只要牠在钩子上挂上一点尊荣、财富或享乐，罪人的心就会像鱼吞鱼饵那样急切地扑上去。牠甚至能叫人为了“一块饼”而犯罪。底马就是如此，他因贪恋现今的世界，就离弃了福音。
一颗邪恶的心竟如此急于领取魔鬼许下的“奖赏”，以至于完全忽略了神针对同样的恶行所宣告的可怕工价。那些落入魔鬼网罗的人，都是铁了心要享受不义之果的人。那果子悬挂在试探之树上，看起来何等诱人。只要咬上一口，你就欲罢不能。但你要当心！撒但所提供的任何东西都带着咒诅。牠的赏赐和牠自己一样，都是被玷污的；对于人的灵魂来说，那是致命的毒药（参 提前6:9）。
你在与魔鬼交易之前，难道不该先问问：牠的应许是否有担保？牠能确保这笔交易稳妥，并使你不至于在神的审判台前被告发吗？牠能保证你死的时候，在另一个世界里不至于沦为一无所有吗？买主要当心。时间终将显明撒但是如何欺骗了你。罪人却说：“可是我已经开始享受牠给的快乐了，我现在就正在享受。至于基督所应许的大多数事，我得等到进了天堂才能得着。”
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：出35章，约14章，
个人灵修：箴11章，弗4章
MARCH 24, TUESDAY
SATAN’S DAYS ARE NUMBERED
Let the buyer be warned. Time will show how Satan has cheated you.
The fact that Satan’s days are numbered is bad news for the wicked. Sinners at present have a merry time of it and seem to think it will go on forever. On any given day you can hear them laughing while Christ’s disciples weep and mourn. They rustle by in their silks, while the saints shiver in rags. The devil is careful to gratify their sensuous nature, as a prince rewards his courtiers with pensions and preferments. “Am I not able indeed to promote thee to honor?” Balak asked Balaam (Numbers 22:37).
Oh, it is strange—and yet not strange, considering man’s degenerate nature—to see how Satan leads sinners by the nose with his gilded hook. Let him but bait it with honor, or wealth, or pleasure, and their hearts strain after it as eagerly as fish for a worm. He can get them to sin for a morsel of bread. It happened to Demas, who forsook the Gospel for the world’s pleasures.
An evil heart is so eager to collect the bonuses which the devil promises that it ignores the dreadful wages God threatens to pay for the same work. The men who fall into the devil’s snare are those resolved to feast on the fruit of unrighteousness. How it glistens as it hangs on the tree of temptation. One bite, and you want more. But beware! Nothing Satan offers is free of his curse. His rewards are as contaminated as he is. They are poison to the souls of men (1 Timothy 6:9).
Would it not be wise, before you barter with the devil, to ask if his promises come with a warranty? Can he secure the bargain and keep you from a lawsuit with God? Can he guarantee that when you die you will not be left destitute in another world? Let the buyer be warned. Time will show how Satan has cheated you. “Oh, but I have already begun to collect on the pleasures he offers, I am enjoying them right now,” the sinner says. “And I would have to wait until heaven for most of the things Christ promises.”