纯真的心

有一个小镇很久没有下雨了，令当地农作物损失惨重，於是牧师把大家集合起来，准备在教堂里开一个祈求降雨的祷告会。
众人中有一个小女孩， 因个子太小，几乎没有人看得到她，但她也来参加祈雨祷告会。

就在这时候，牧师注意到小女孩所带來的东西，激动地在台上指着她说：「那位小妹妹真叫我感动！」於是大家順着他手指的方向看了过去。

牧师接着说：「我们今天来祷告祈求上帝降雨，可是整个会堂中，只有她一个人今天带着雨伞！」大家仔细一看；果然，她的座位旁挂了一把红色的小雨伞;这时大家沉静了一下，紧接而来的，是一阵掌声與泪水交织的美景。

有时我们不得不说：小孩子其实一点都不「小」，他们其实很「大」！他们的爱心很大！他们的信心更大！

最痛的时候

A Life Of Commitment

When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; for He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed. Ecclesiastes 5:4

Making a vow or a commitment has always been God’s way of relating to His people. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of commitment. God is a commitment-making and commitment-keeping God. More than 300 times in the Bible, He says, “I am a covenant-keeping God!” A covenant is an agreement confirmed by oath between two parties. In His relationship with Abraham, God gave a promise (Gen. 17:7). As we look at the history of the Jewish people, we see God’s faithfulness in keeping His covenant with Abraham no matter how impossible the circumstances seemed to be.

When we make faith promises, God wants us to keep our word. In the book of Judges, Jephthah made a vow to offer whatever comes out of his house to meet him as a burnt offering to the LORD (Judg. 11:30-31).When he came to his house at Mizpah after the victorious battle, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and dancing. It was a tough call. The Bible records, “and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed” (11:39). Jephthah kept his promise.

God is looking for men and women who would swear to their own hurt and keep their vows. Why? Because character is built through commitment. If we don’t value commitment, everything in our life will fall apart. Nothing great ever happens without making commitments. There are three life commitments that we must make:

(1) Commitment to people. We are commanded to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39). It takes commitment to love people because “love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:4-7).

(2) Commitment to spiritual fitness. “Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness. Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next” (1 Tim. 4:7-8, NLT).

(3) Commitment to our life’s purpose. “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). The apostle Paul was totally committed to his purpose and he allowed nothing to distract him. This is the kind of life God wants us to live—a life of commitment.

The Season Of Preparation

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

There is a season of preparation for every servant of God, but very few are willing to pay the price of being made ready for the task. The prophet Isaiah describes the season of preparation of the Messiah: “The LORD has called Me from the womb; from the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, and made Me a polished shaft; in His quiver He has hidden Me” (Is. 49:1-2). Like a polished arrow, Jesus was prepared and hidden in the quiver of His heavenly Father.

The “quiver experience” is very hard for most people. Many would think that after going through the painful experiences of being polished and sharpened in the hands of God, they are ready to be sent forth. But now they ask, why am I waiting aimlessly in the secret place of the Master’s quiver? But this is a time to learn patience. God has a perfect time to “shoot” forth the believer so that it hits the mark God ordains for him. Look at Jesus. He came to the earth at the perfect moment in history. Galatians 4:4 says, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son.” Jesus, who was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, waited patiently for the moment in which He would be revealed.

Moses was destined to be the great leader of Israel, but there was a perfect time known only to God for the release of that “arrow.” When Moses killed the Egyptian, it was not the perfect time for him to be Israel’s spiritual leader. Moses had to be in the quiver for another 40 years. David was destined to be king over Israel. He was anointed when he was about 17 years of age, but he did not ascend to the throne until he was 30. David had to wait in the quiver for 13 years.

While David could have killed Saul on a number of occasions to gain the throne for himself, he did not. He chose to submit himself to God’s divine time and not man’s. Temptations and pressure will come to you, from without and from within, urging you to move ahead of God’s timing. However, let us develop patience and wait for the timing of the Lord, for He is the only perfect Marksman. Remember the exhortation in Hebrews 6:12 that says, “That you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Beautiful Savoir

We are the reason

God Tests The Heart

But, O LORD of hosts, You who judge righteously, testing the mind and the heart, let me see Your vengeance on them, for to You I have revealed my cause. Jeremiah 11:20

God tests the mind and the heart of His servants. He will arrange situations to reveal a person’s true inner motivations, intentions, thoughts, values and priorities that cause him to make choices or act in a certain way. In Numbers 22-24, Balak, the king of Moab, saw how Israel had defeated all of her enemies in the land. He feared they would destroy his nation as well. Consequently, he offered to pay the prophet Balaam to curse Israel and to put an end to their victories (22:6). Balaam responded to Balak that the Lord had told him not to go with the elders of Moab to curse the people of Israel. Balak tried again, sending more distinguished ambassadors to persuade Balaam to do otherwise (22:15).

This time, God told Balaam to go with the elders of Moab and Midian, but to speak only the word that He would give (22:20). Balaam went to Balak, but each time he inquired of the Lord, the Lord told him to bless Israel. And this greatly frustrated the Moabites and Midianites. But God was testing Balaam’s motivation. God allowed Balak to tempt the prophet’s motivation continually. Would he sell out, or would he be faithful to God’s word? Balaam was tempted again and again and each time the size of the bribe increased (22:7, 15, 17). Unfortunately, it appeared that Balaam’s motivation did not stay pure, though he initially tried to remain faithful to speaking only the word of the Lord (23:12, 26). Balaam failed the test.

Deuteronomy 8:2 says, “And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” Deuteronomy 8:16 says, “Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end.”

We see then that God uses tests to expose our heart condition, not to harm us, but to do us good in the end. It is to purify us so that our desires are for His kingdom and His glory. A person may serve God for what he can get out of God, rather than what he can give to Him. A person may use his gifts to glorify himself, rather than God. God puts His servants through tests to expose any ungodly desire, so that He can replace it with a righteous desire to serve Him out of a pure heart of love. “He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness” (Mal. 3:3).

James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Therefore, do not be double-minded like Balaam, but draw near to God and stay pure in your heart toward Him.