Stunning Grace

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I’ve never been surprised by God’s judgment, but I’m still stunned by his grace. God’s judgment has never been a problem for me. In fact, it always seems right. Lightning bolts on Sodom. Fire on Gomorrah. Good job, God! Egyptians swallowed in the Red Sea. They had it coming. Discipline is easy for me to swallow, logical to assimilate. But God’s grace? Anything but.

Examples? How much time do you have? Peter denied Christ before he preached Christ. Zacchaeus, the crook. The cleanest part of his life was the money he’d laundered, but Jesus still had time for him. The thief on the cross – hung-out to die one minute, heaven-bound and smiling the next.

Story after story. Surprise after surprise! Search the pages, read the stories. Find one person who came seeking a second chance and left with a stern lecture. Search. You won’t find it.

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聖誕快樂

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以賽亞書 9:2  在黑暗中行走的百姓看見了大光，住在死蔭之地的人有光照耀他們。

以賽亞書 9:6  因有一嬰孩為我們而生，有一子賜給我們，政權必擔在他的肩頭上。他名稱為奇妙、策士、全能的神、永在的父、和平的君。

最近朋友送給我一首歌，歌名叫「Christmas With a Capital “C”」，是幾個美國福音歌手新推出的一首聖誕歌曲。它是這樣開始的：「當我去咖啡店時，女店員對我說：假期快樂。我說，我很快樂，但是只有一個節日能讓我如此快樂，那就是聖誕節，一個記念耶穌基督降生的日子。不管你怎樣稱呼它，你也沒辦法改變它。聖誕快樂，以一個大寫的C字開頭…..」

自從北美的公立學校禁止慶祝「聖誕節」以來，我想我們都彆得很辛苦，不知道如何去表達心裡的那份抗議，這首歌實在把我們的心事都唱出來。是的，沒有一個節日能夠帶給我們今天有如此的喜樂，因為耶穌基督降生在我們中間。

萬鬼節剛剛過去不久，在許多機關和學校都大事特事地慶祝。有的公司特令職員當天可以穿睡衣上班，打扮成鬼怪；有的銀行也命令職員打扮成妖精魔鬼；學校裡更不用說了，在小學裡為了慶祝鬼節，為了開萬鬼會，老師只上半天課，下半天都拿來搞鬼。

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天使的方言

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路加福音 1:26-33  到了第六個月，天使加百列奉神的差遣往加利利的一座城去，這城名叫拿撒勒； 27 到一個童女那裡，是已經許配大衛家的一個人，名叫約瑟，童女的名字叫馬利亞。 28 天使進去，對她說：「蒙大恩的女子，我問你安，主和你同在了！」 29 馬利亞因這話就很驚慌，又反覆思想這樣問安是什麼意思。 30 天使對她說：「馬利亞，不要怕，你在神面前已經蒙恩了。 31 你要懷孕生子，可以給祂起名叫耶穌。 32 祂要為大，稱為至高者的兒子；主神要把祂祖大衛的位給祂， 33 祂要做雅各家的王，直到永遠；祂的國也沒有窮盡。」

在這個聖誕季，我們總是聽到天使的歌聲。事實上，聖經從未提及天使會唱歌；只提到他們在聖殿裡彼此呼喊，他們有自己的語言，並用言語讚美主。那麼，我們為何會有天使唱歌這種美好的誤解呢？

首先，天使的聲音在我們聽來如同音樂一般悅耳動聽。相反，我們現代的音樂聽起來卻像是叫喊、呻吟和爭吵。所以你看，我們的歌聲甚至不如我們說話的聲音悅耳。你知道漢語比其他語言更具音樂性嗎？我們應該利用這個特點，好好說話。

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Who Can Be Against Us?

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Paul asks the question in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The question isn’t simply, “Who can be against you?” You could answer that one. Who is against you? Disease, inflation, corruption, exhaustion. Calamities confront, fears imprison. Were Paul’s question, “Who can be against us?” we could list our foes much easier than we could fight them.

God is for us. God is for us. God is for us. Your parents may have forgotten you, your teachers may have neglected you, your siblings may be ashamed of you. But within reach of your prayers is the maker of the oceans – God! God is for you. Not may be, not has been, not was, but God is! He is for you. Today. At this hour. At this minute. As you hear this, he is with you. God is for you.

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