馬可福音13:32-37 但那日子、那時辰，沒有人知道，連天上的使者也不知道，子也不知道，唯有父知道。 33 你們要謹慎，警醒祈禱，因為你們不曉得那日期幾時來到。 34 這事正如一個人離開本家，寄居外邦，把權柄交給僕人，分派各人當做的工，又吩咐看門的警醒。 35 所以，你們要警醒，因為你們不知道家主什麼時候來，或晚上，或半夜，或雞叫，或早晨。 36 恐怕他忽然來到，看見你們睡著了。 37 我對你們所說的話，也是對眾人說：要警醒！」
垃圾時間(Garbage time)常用於有時間限制的多種體育賽事，通常在一場比賽中，雙方隊伍的得分分數差距太大，已經難以改變勝負結果，這時剩餘的比賽時間就被稱為垃圾時間。在垃圾時間，雙方成員就不大會盡力投入比賽，大家準備搓掉時間而結束比賽。
也許我們會想：我已經信神，可以得永生了，那我剩餘的人生呢？是不是就等於是體育賽事中的垃圾時間？
在一支隊伍吞下11敗後又即將接續吞下敗仗時，教練準備放棄比賽，派出板凳球員上場來消磨垃圾時間；但這位在過去23場比賽只上場不到55分鐘的球員，卻為球隊帶來了最好的成績。我們可以從林書豪的身上得到學習。
“‘The battle belongs to the Lord” (1 Samuel 17:47 MEV). When everyone stared at Goliath, David never gave him the time of day. David found a source of strength into which he could tap. The right thoughts led to the right reaction.
No one needs to tell you giants roam this world. No one needs to tell you this life is a battle. But maybe someone needs to remind you the battle belongs to the Lord. You never fight alone. You never fight solo. You never face a challenge without the backup of God Almighty. God is with you as you face your giant. With you as you are wheeled into surgery. With you as you enter the cemetery. With you, always. Silence the voice that says, “The challenge is too great.” And welcome God’s voice that reminds, “The battle belongs to the Lord.”
Your mindset is your most valuable tool. It’s time to screen thoughts, interrupt thoughts, extract and replace thoughts. And I know just the fellow to help us. God called him “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22 NIV). Why? He made this six-word motto his mantra: “The battle belongs to the Lord” (1 Samuel 17:47 MEV).
Goliath stood nine feet nine inches tall and wore 126 pounds of armor. David was the youngest in his family—a teenager. He showed up and piped up. “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26 NIV).
David sees a battle; he thinks of God. He sees the Philistines; he thinks of God’s armies. And he announces, “The battle belongs to the Lord.” How does David’s reaction to the enemy compare with yours?
路加福音15:18-20 我要起來，到我父親那裡去，向他說：「父親，我得罪了天，又得罪了你。 19 從今以後，我不配稱為你的兒子，把我當做一個雇工吧！」』 20 於是起來，往他父親那裡去。相離還遠，他父親看見，就動了慈心，跑去抱著他的頸項，連連與他親嘴。
我們在生活中會接觸或經歷許許多多、形形色色的人們，有如雙手捧著滿把海灘的細砂，隨著歲月的流失，細砂似也從手指間隙悄然流走，其中偶有小海螺、小貝殼…，總會讓我們留下難忘的回憶。
他是我五十多年前在教會主日學服事的失親孩子，與祖母同住，住在我們教會後面巷子裡的簡陋房子，他常來教會玩，自然也參加了主日學的活動。當年的他，皮膚黝黑、身材瘦小，學習有點遲緩，個性躁動、倔強，常會罵人、打架，主日學的孩子雖不至於拒絕他，但也常與他保持距離。他一直是主日學的頭痛人物，通常需要幾個老師特別注意照顧。
詩篇4:6 有許多人說：「誰能指示我們什麼好處？」耶和華啊，求祢仰起臉來，光照我們！
詩篇31:16 求祢使祢的臉光照僕人，憑祢的慈愛拯救我。
小兄弟倆人合住在小房間裏，白天沒有陽光，覺得非常陰暗。他們看見外面的陽光很是羨慕，兩人就商量說，我們去把外面的陽光掃一點進來。
於是，兄弟倆拿著掃帚和畚箕，走到外面去掃陽光。掃的時候，畚箕裏好像裝滿了陽光，等到他們把畚箕搬到房間裏的時候，裏面的陽光就不見了。這樣一而再，再而三的掃了許多次，屋內還是一點陽光都沒有。
母親看見很訝異，問說：「你們作甚麼？」他們回答說：「房間裏太黑了，我們要掃一點陽光進來。」母親說：「傻孩子，只要把窗戶打開，陽光自然會進來，何必掃呢？」
Satan wants you to look back, to obsess over past failures. Yet, the grace of Christ invites you to move forward, enter a new life. “His blood will make our consciences pure from useless acts so we may serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14 NCV).
The disciples of Christ abandoned their Lord. They left him to carry his cross alone. What would have happened if they had lived in the past? We would not have their gospels, their influence, their teachings.
What about you? If you fail to move forward, who wins? What messages will go untaught? Words unsaid? People unloved? Organizations unled? Children unparented? Confess your struggle to God. He will hear, and he will help. Help will come through a circle of good friends. Get smart, make some changes, time for a new start! It’s time to come home.
I do not know how to say this tactfully, so I won’t try: don’t listen to stupid people. And when it comes to sexuality, everyone is stupid but God. Don’t think you can lust and not get hurt or hurt someone else. At the same time, don’t underestimate God’s love. You have not out-sinned God’s grace. Move from self-reliance to God-reliance.
One of the greatest toys is the Etch-A-Sketch. Twist the two knobs and watch a figure appear. The genius of the device is not in the creating but in the erasing. Just shake the toy and you get a fresh start. In God’s hands, your heart is an Etch-A-Sketch. And he can do what you cannot do: he can wipe away the past.
創世記28:20-22
雅各許願說：「神若與我同在，在我所行的路上保佑我，又給我食物吃、衣服穿， 21 使我平平安安地回到我父親的家，我就必以耶和華為我的神， 22 我所立為柱子的石頭也必做神的殿。凡祢所賜給我的，我必將十分之一獻給祢。」
創世記28:10-22記載雅各從別是巴出發，前往哈蘭投靠母舅拉班的初始旅程。從別是巴到哈蘭，兩地相距約800公里（台灣南北距離的兩倍），在古代，這是段漫長的旅程，靠著步行或騎駱駝，長途跋涉需要數週甚至數月的時間。
經過幾天路程，雅各來到路斯，望向遙遠的哈蘭，隨地枕著石頭睡覺，我們可以想像當時雅各內心的惶恐與不安。睡夢中，神在天梯向雅各祝福，雅各睡醒驚懼說：「這地方何等可畏！…乃是神的殿…」於是，把所枕的石頭立作柱子，澆油在上面，將那地方改名叫伯特利（意為神的殿），同時向神許願說：
「神若與我同在，在我所行的路上保佑我，又給我食物吃，衣服穿，使我平平安安地回到我父親的家，我就必以耶和華為我的神。…」（創世記28:20-22）
Romans 6:13 (NCV) reads, “Do not offer the parts of your body to serve sin, as things to be used in doing evil…Offer the parts of your body to God to be used in doing good.”
When temptation strikes, immediately initiate the Uproot and Replant strategy. Go nuclear on the immoral. Yank lust like a dentist yanks a rotten tooth—pull it out by the roots. Lay claim to scriptures like this one: “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV).
Meditate on Christ. Running toward him is the easiest way to run from sin. We keep wrong thoughts out by keeping the right thoughts in. Ponder heaven. Memorize verses. Write psalms. Listen to Christian worship music. In running toward God, you are running from sin, and the run is so much more enjoyable.
馬太福音7:1-2
你們不要論斷人，免得你們被論斷。 2 因為你們怎樣論斷人，也必怎樣被論斷；你們用什麼量器量給人，也必用什麼量器量給你們。
網路一篇文章寫著：有個人初到美國不久，某天早晨到公園散步，看到一些白人坐在草坪上聊天、曬太陽。他心想：「美國人生活真是悠閒，有錢又懂得享受生活。」走了不久，又看到幾個黑人也悠閒地坐在草坪的另一邊，這位先生不禁想到：「唉！黑人失業的問題真嚴重，這些人大概都在領社會救濟金過生活。」
一個人對同樣悠閒地坐在草坪上的白人和黑人，從既有的印象或認知，竟然可以產生如此南轅北轍的主觀想法。哈茲立特有句話：「偏見是無知的孩子。」說得一點都不錯，「人」合「扁」為偏，人一旦有了偏見，就會把「人」看「扁」、看「偏」了。
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