4月25日 承认神所赐的恩典
承认神所赐的恩典
“因为真受割礼的，乃是我们这以神的灵敬拜、在基督耶稣里夸口、不靠着肉体的”（腓3:3）。
如果你自称基督徒多年，生命中却罕见果子，也许你该深挖一下信仰告白的根基：看看你种下的种子，是否栽在了律法主义的贫瘠焦土里？ 若是如此，请立即将其拔出，将灵魂重新栽种在神的怜悯这一沃土中。大卫曾解释为何那些显赫一时的人会忽然枯干，而他却能兴旺：“看哪，这就是那不以神为他力量的人，只倚仗他丰富的财物……至于我，就像神殿中的青橄榄树；我永永远远倚靠神的慈爱。”（诗 52:7-8）
当你强迫自己的行为去背负救恩的重担时，你不仅会被压垮，还会弄丢那在基督里的真实安慰。福音的安慰必须是由福音的根生长出来的，这根就是基督。“因为真受割礼的，乃是我们这以神的灵敬拜、在基督耶稣里夸口、不靠着肉体的”（腓3:3）。要得着这安慰，第一步就是打发走所有“山寨”的安慰者。正如一位名医会要求病人停止服用那些损害健康的游医偏方，圣灵这位灵魂的医生也要求你辞退旧有的“土郎中”——即每一项企图用来换取功德的本分与顺服，转而单单仰赖祂。
你的灵魂是否从深处呼喊，渴望里面有平安？那么请查验，你是从哪个器皿里舀水。若用的是你“自给自足”的器皿，那供应不仅有限，且很快就会干涸；它是掺杂的、稀释的，毫无滋养。 最关键的是，若你将这安慰据为己有而不承认其为神的赏赐，这安慰在本质上就是偷来的“赃物”。你想从赃物中得到真平安吗？明明天父拥有你一生都支取不完的丰盛恩典，你却偏要去作贼，这是何等愚昧！
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：民2章，诗36章，
个人灵修：传12章，门1章
APRIL 25, SATURDAY
ACKNOWLEDGE GOD’S GIFTS
“We are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3).
If you are one of those who have claimed for years to be a Christian, but you see little fruit in your life, perhaps you should dig down to the root of your profession and find out whether the seed you planted was cultivated in the barren soil of legalism. If so, pull it up at once, and replant your soul in a fertile field—God’s mercy. David gave an account of how he came to prosper when some who were rich and famous suddenly withered and died: “Lo,” he said, “this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches … But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever” (Psalm 52:7–8).
Not only do you crush your grace by making it carry the burden of your salvation, but you also deprive yourself of true comfort in Christ. Gospel-comfort springs from a Gospel-root, which is Christ. “We are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3). The first step to receiving the Gospel comfort is to send away all comforters of our own. A physician asks his patient to stop going to every other doctor who has been tampering with his health, and trust him for a cure. As your spiritual physician, the Holy Spirit asks your soul to send away all the old practitioners—every duty, every other course of obedience—and lean only on Him.
Does your soul cry out from its depths for inward peace? Then check to see what vessel you are drawing your comfort from. If it is the vessel of your own sufficiency, the supply is finite and will soon run dry. It is mixed, or diluted, and therefore not very nourishing. Above all, it is stolen if you claim it as your own and do not acknowledge it as God’s gift to you. Now how much comfort can you expect from stolen goods? And how foolish to play the thief when your Father has so much more and better to give you than you could pilfer in a lifetime!