希伯来书9:27 按着定命，人人都有一死，死后且有审判。
约翰福音3:16-17 神爱世人，甚至将祂的独生子赐给他们，叫一切信祂的不致灭亡，反得永生。 17 因为神差祂的儿子降世，不是要定世人的罪，乃是要叫世人因祂得救。
有一位军阀每次处决死刑犯时，都会留给犯人最后的机会，选择一枪毙命，或是选择进入侧墙的一扇门。从来没有人知道进入那扇门的命运将如何？因为所有死刑犯都宁可选择一枪毙命，也不愿进入里面不知有何光景的那扇门。
一天，酒酣耳热后，军阀显得很开心。旁人大胆地问他：「大帅，您可不可以告诉我们，从那扇门走进去究竟会有什么结果？」
「没什么啦！其实走进那扇门的人只要踏上几个台阶，便可以顺利地自由离开了。人们不想走进去，只是不敢面对不可知的未来罢了。」军阀回答。
Our quest to manage life by taming thoughts would fail the test of relevancy if we did not discuss lust. To lust is to crave what does not belong to you. Lust and love are not synonyms. Romance is healthy. God wired you to connect deeply, enjoyably, and nakedly to a person of the opposite sex under the canopy of marriage. Ever since Adam saw Eve, the power of sexual attraction has been part of life. God gave sex as a gift—a wedding gift.
“Enjoy the wife you married as a young man! Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose—don’t ever quit taking delight in her body. Never take her love for granted!” (Proverbs 5:19 MSG). Delight in each other!
希伯来书9:27 按着定命，人人都有一死，死后且有审判。
约翰福音3:16-17 神爱世人，甚至将祂的独生子赐给他们，叫一切信祂的不致灭亡，反得永生。 17 因为神差祂的儿子降世，不是要定世人的罪，乃是要叫世人因祂得救。
有一位军阀每次处决死刑犯时，都会留给犯人最后的机会，选择一枪毙命，或是选择进入侧墙的一扇门。从来没有人知道进入那扇门的命运将如何？因为所有死刑犯都宁可选择一枪毙命，也不愿进入里面不知有何光景的那扇门。
一天，酒酣耳热后，军阀显得很开心。旁人大胆地问他：「大帅，您可不可以告诉我们，从那扇门走进去究竟会有什么结果？」
「没什么啦！其实走进那扇门的人只要踏上几个台阶，便可以顺利地自由离开了。人们不想走进去，只是不敢面对不可知的未来罢了。」军阀回答。
It would be folly to think life can be lived with no setbacks. But problems have no more power over us than we allow them to have. Remember, joy is more than a good mood. It is a deep-seated confidence in God’s presence, power, and promises. Joy might feel elusive, and finding it might take a long time. But it always remains an option.
Some of the saddest words in Scripture are recorded in Mark 6:5 (CEB). “[Jesus] was unable to do any miracles there, except that he placed his hands on a few sick people and healed them.” Why was Jesus unable to do the works? The answer is found in the next passage: “He was appalled by their disbelief” (Mark 6:6 CEB).
What a tragic loss! God was in their midst, and they did not seek him. Let’s not make the same mistake.
Assess your joy level. The prophet Jeremiah modeled the vigilance we need. He was nicknamed the “Weeping Prophet” because he was exactly that. His beloved nation had turned from God. But then he remembered the answer for his despair. “This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases” (Lamentations 3:21-22 ESV).
We choose what we remember. So, let’s remember our call to joy. Stay in the present moment. Harvard researchers discovered that unhappy people focus on what is not happening; happy people focus on what is happening. Wasn’t this the point Jesus made in the Sermon on the Mount? “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear” (Matthew 6:25 NIV). Don’t settle for a joyless life!
哥林多前书 12:18-21
但如今，神随自己的意思把肢体俱各安排在身上了。 19 若都是一个肢体，身子在哪里呢？ 20 但如今肢体是多的，身子却是一个。 21 眼不能对手说：「我用不着你。」头也不能对脚说：「我用不着你。」
王先生是一个不苟言笑的人，平常很吝啬给人赞美或掌声。有一天他在家里吃饭，发现有一道烤鸭的鸭子只有一条腿，于是问太太：「为什么这只鸭子只有一只脚？」。太太说：「有什么好奇怪的，我们家的鸭子都只有一只脚呀。」
「我不信，所有鸭子都有两只脚，为什么只有我们家的鸭子比较特别？」「不信，你不会自己到池塘去看。」于是王先生跑到池塘去看他的鸭子。
鸭子正好在睡午觉，因此都缩著一条腿，只用一条腿站立。看过去，好像所有的鸭子真的都只有一条腿。王先生灵机一动，朝鸭子栖息的方向很用力地鼓掌，鼓掌的声音把鸭子都惊醒了，纷纷把缩著的那只脚放了下来。
The first Christians were joyful Christians. The phrase “joyful Christian” is redundant. Do we need the adjective? Ideally, we should not have to put joyful in front of Christian. But we do because we tend to major in contingent joy and not courageous joy. Let’s invite God to deposit unspeakable joy in our hearts.
According to a study from sociologists at Harvard University, joy is contagious, spreading among friends, neighbors, and colleagues like the flu. Joy has a ripple effect. The pursuit of happiness is more than a line in the Declaration of Independence. It is a necessary step in enhancing the happiness of others. Is it time for you to bump up your joy level?
路加福音 19:1-10
耶稣进了耶利哥，正经过的时候， 2 有一个人名叫撒该，做税吏长，是个财主， 3 他要看看耶稣是怎样的人。只因人多，他的身量又矮，所以不得看见。 4 就跑到前头，爬上桑树，要看耶稣，因为耶稣必从那里经过。 5 耶稣到了那里，抬头一看，对他说：「撒该，快下来！今天我必住在你家里。」
在广大的世界里，我们常觉得自己只不过是群众中一个微不足道的小人物罢了。世界的趋势驱使我们除去个人的特质，要我们认同周围的人，而且成为与他们相同的一份子。然而，神却以祂独特的方式来爱我们。
耶稣在前往耶路撒冷的路上，群众蜂拥包围祂，矮小的撒该非得爬上一棵树，才看得到耶稣。撒该原想，只要看最伟大的教师一眼，就心满意足，但耶稣居然停下来，抬头直视他！对他说：「撒该，快下来！今天我必住在你家里。」
南丁格尔(Florence Nightingale)是近代护理学的创始人，但很多人不知道，她其实也是统计学的传奇人物，她是用统计改变世界的护理先锋。
Jesus said: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11 NIV).
The joy Jesus offers is unlike the one promised at the car dealership or shopping mall. It is not a joy that depends upon circumstance. Peter spoke of this joy. “Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8 NKJV). Peter was writing to persecuted Christians. Adversaries took their rights, property, and possessions. But no one could take their Jesus. No one could take their joy.
Courageously joyful people have tethered their hearts to the foundation of God. Is that to say your life will be storm-free? Is that to say no sorrow will come your way? No. But that is to say your sorrow will not last forever.
诗篇 90:10-12
我们一生的年日是七十岁，若是强壮可到八十岁，但其中所矜夸的不过是劳苦愁烦；转眼成空，我们便如飞而去。11 谁晓得祢怒气的权势？谁按著祢该受的敬畏晓得祢的愤怒呢？12 求祢指教我们怎样数算自己的日子，好叫我们得着智慧的心。
一位年轻的姊妹忙著作孩童语言发展研究，跟ChatGPT诉苦：「统计数据很麻烦！作分析图表也是！」ChatGPT回应：「真的懂妳！做统计真的很折磨人，尤其是面对一堆数字、检定、图表、报告的时候；但是，统计其实也改变过很多人的人生，我分享一个真实故事，希望可以给妳一点力量。」
南丁格尔(Florence Nightingale)是近代护理学的创始人，但很多人不知道，她其实也是统计学的传奇人物，她是用统计改变世界的护理先锋。
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每日亲近神 2012-2018 数据整理中