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Your Test Is Part of Your Call

2026-08-20 in /by

God sees the needs of tomorrow and, accordingly, creates the training of today.

He did so with Agnes. As a young girl she was on fire for her faith. She left her home, her family, and country and became a missionary. She gave God everything, and God gave her a test: loneliness. She felt as if God had left her. On and off for fifty years, she battled a secret pain. Only late in life did she come to see her suffering as a way to understand the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all the people who feel unwanted. It was only then that Agnes—Mother Teresa—saw her test as part of her call.

Your test is a part of your call as well.

耶利哥之役

2026-08-20 in , /by

〈约书亚记〉 6:25   约书亚却把妓女喇合与她父家，并她所有的，都救活了；因为她隐藏了约书亚所打发窥探耶利哥的使者，她就住在以色列中，直到今日。

阅读经文：〈约书亚记〉 6:15-27

你有没有觉得很奇怪？第七天要攻城时，神却要以色列的兵丁绕城七次，为何不让他们节省精力去打仗，反而要他们绕城七次，在又饿又累时才攻打呢？你会发现神的想法和人的想法往往不一样。因为神知道，这个仗是祂要打的，以色列人只是助手而已。只靠以色列人能对付得了耶利哥的两重城墙吗？何况还有骁勇善战的耶利哥人？所以当你发现神不按着你的祷告和想法去回应你时，你要感谢，因为天父已经有更好的方法来回应你的祷告。

在攻打耶利哥城时，约书亚宣布了几件事：第一，城中所有的人，不论男女老少、牛羊和驴都要死，只有喇合和她家中的可以存活。第二，不可取那当灭的物，免得连累全营，使全营受咒诅。第三，唯有金子、银子和铜铁的器皿，都要归耶和华为圣。第四，不可重修耶利哥城。

绕城七日的预备

2026-08-19 in , /by

〈约书亚记〉 6: 3     你们的一切兵丁要围绕这城，一日围绕一次，六日都要这样行。

阅读经文：〈约书亚记 〉6:1-14

以色列人在旷野走了四十年，现在进到迦南地的大多数人都是在旷野出生的；即使有在埃及出生的，对于城巿的印象也模糊不清了。来到迦南地，看到耶利哥城那么高大的城墙，可能都是生平第一次。没有人知道，他们要怎样攻打耶利哥城。好像作梦一样，要攻打铜墙铁壁般的耶利哥城？不知道你有没有看过电视剧三国里演的攻城，他们有火炮先射，然后有云梯前扑后继地上，以色列人什么都没有。连埃及人那样的战车都没有。他们凭什么去打耶利哥城？耶利哥城里的人又为何怕他们怕成那个样子，他们怕的是谁？竟然因以色列人而把城门关得严紧，无人敢出入？

The Enemy of the Saint

2026-08-19 in /by

The prophet Elijah was headline news in the nation. He was also a sitting duck for a big head. So, in a preemptive measure, God led him to a creek where Elijah would be utterly dependent upon a brook for water and some birds for food.

The enemy of the saint is pride. We must fight it like the foe it is. Take note of your “hat size.” Are you getting a big head? Then volunteer for menial tasks—wash dishes, sweep floors.

You are loved but not indispensable. You are God’s child but not God’s golden child. You have a place in God’s plan, but you are not essential to God’s plan. The smaller we are, the more room there is for God.

耶和华军队的元帅

2026-08-18 in , /by

〈约书亚记〉 5:13-14   约书亚靠近耶利哥的时候，举目观看，不料，有一个人手里有拔出来的刀，对面站立。约书亚到他那里，问他说：「你是帮助我们呢，是帮助我们敌人呢？」他回答说：「不是的，我来是要作耶和华军队的元帅。」约书亚就俯伏在地下拜，说：「我主有甚么话吩咐仆人。」

经文：〈约书亚记〉 5:10-15

以色列人出埃及的第四十年正月初十，以色列人过了约旦河，接着约书亚做火石刀，为以色列人行割礼，紧接着就是逾越节了。约书亚的动作真的很快，三天之内，把这些事都摆平了。正月十四日晚上过逾越节家家户户烤羊羔，那是一个怎样的场面啊！到处都是香喷喷的烤羊味，令人垂涎三尺。逾越节的第二天，他们吃了当地的出产，无酵饼和烘的谷；逾越节的第三天，吗哪就不再下降，再也没有吗哪了。这时，以色列人才发现，在旷野里让他们感到厌烦的吗哪，原来在世间找不到，原来那是稀奇之物，原来那是上天之珍。他们竟然身在福中不知福。很多东西都是没有了，我们才会感到它们的宝贵，神的恩典之奇妙。

Absorb Spiritual Power

2026-08-18 in /by

A person with no input from God has the vibrancy of Shafter Lake. It languishes a few miles west of my West Texas hometown. Envision a brackish mud puddle the size of a football field. Unlike true lakes, Shafter has no pure source. No river fills to flows through it. Gas, oil, and saltwater puddle and fume. Not a pleasant sight. The lake without an entrance or exit stinks.

So does the life with no divine source. Hence the invitation of Jesus. “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way” (John 7:37-38 MSG).

Like a plant absorbs light from the sun, the believer absorbs spiritual power from the divine.

除去埃及的羞辱

2026-08-17 in , /by

〈约书亚记〉 5:9   耶和华对约书亚说：「我今日将埃及的羞辱从你们身上滚去了。」因此那地方名叫吉甲，直到今日。

阅读经文：〈约书亚记〉 5:1-9

大敌当前，在耶利哥人和其他迦南人的密切「监视」下，神竟然要求以色列人先对自己的壮士们动刀，行割礼。我们都知道成人行割礼后，要忍受几乎一星期的疼痛和坐立不安。雅各的儿子利未和西缅可杀尽示剑城的人，就是叫他们行割礼，才允许妹妹底拿和示剑结緍。示剑人不察，行了割礼（割包皮手术）后，大家疼痛不已时，利未和西缅便把他们都杀了。可见行了割礼之后，这些大男人是不能打仗的。神为何会在他们的敌人面前，让他们变得如此软弱，岂不十分危险？

Savor the Stillness

2026-08-17 in /by

Do you feel isolated from family and friends? Perhaps your isolation is less geographical and more ideological. Do you feel alone in your opinions and concerns? When we follow the crowd, we feel safe. When we swim against the tide, we need strength.

Turn to God as your best friend. Find what it means to walk in the Spirit, to lean on and lean into him as your comforter. Meditate on Scripture. Read inspirational books. Enjoy times of worship. Lay claim to a quiet spot where you can hear God’s voice. Speak less when you are in his presence.

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 NKJV). Learn to savor the stillness. Trust God’s stops as well as God’s steps.

吉甲立石

2026-08-16 in , /by

〈约书亚记〉 4:24要使地上万民都知道耶和华的手大有能力，也要使你们永远敬畏耶和华你们的神。

阅读经文：〈约书亚记〉  4:1-24

摩西带领以色列人过红海已是一件令人争议许久的神蹟，约书亚率领另一代的以色列人走干地、过约旦河，更是让人惊讶得难以置信。有可能吗？有人说，约旦河并不是一年到头河水汹涌，漫过两岸，但是在旱季时，有多处地方都可以涉水而过。根据史丹福大学的阿摩司教授查考历史，约旦河在1160年、1267年、1546年、1834年、1906年、1924年、1927年曾数次因地震而河堤陷塌，大量的泥沙充塞河道，兴起一道拦河坝，因此有人认为，约书亚带领以色列人渡河时会不会就是这样的自然现象？

Step Out of the Traffic

2026-08-14 in /by

God sent Elijah into the rocky, raw, and lonely land of the Kerith Ravine. He had no temple for worship, no faith fraternity for strength. It would be years before he enjoyed fellowship with faithful Jews. Preparation by separation. Purposeful silence and solitude are basic courses in Unbreakable Courage 101.

Jesus found his Kerith in the obscure days of Nazareth and the quiet days in the wilderness. In order to gather strength for the cross, he sought time alone in the Garden of Gethsemane. If Jesus needed Kerith-like solitude, how much more do we? God’s invitation is compelling. From Psalm 46:10 (MSG): “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me…” When did you last “step out of the traffic” to be alone with your Father?