〈申命记〉 12:18 要在耶和华─你的 神面前吃，在耶和华─你 神所要选择的地方，你和儿女、仆婢，并住在你城里的利未人，都可以吃；也要因你手所办的，在耶和华─你 神面前欢乐。
读了这段经文之后，我心里有一种很深的感动。摩西在前面几章讲到神为以色列人做的事情，神给他们的律法，神为他们预备的美地，但是都不如这里的信息那么令人感动。神为了和以色列人建立关系，做出了许多无可伦比的神蹟奇事，又给他们最完备的建国方略（律法等），但是都不如这里的信息来得直接，神要选民在神的面前欢乐度日。
神不是包青天，准备了龙头铡、虎头铡和狗头铡，专门等那些犯法的人上前来，就给他铡一下。祂希望以色列人，祂的子民都因为手所办的一切事蒙神祝福，因而在神面前欢乐。
Control freaks are easily frustrated. We can’t take control, because control is not ours to take. The Bible has a better idea. Rather than seeking control, relinquish it. Peace is within reach, not for lack of problems, but because of the presence of a sovereign Lord.
Rather than rehearse the chaos of the world, rejoice in the Lord’s sovereignty, as the Apostle Paul did. From prison he wrote, “The things which have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to the rest, that my chains are in Christ” (Philippians 1:12-13).
In the innermost of his being, Paul was a man who believed in the steady hand of a good God, protected and preserved by God’s love. He lived beneath the shadow of God’s wings. Do you?
〈申命记〉 11:11-12你们要过去得为业的那地乃是有山有谷、雨水滋润之地，是耶和华─你 神所眷顾的；从岁首到年终，耶和华─你 神的眼目时常看顾那地。
在前一章摩西说以色列人曾是悖逆的百姓，但是他希望百姓进迦南之后，记念神的作为，效法神，好像蒙慈爱的儿女一样。
对以色列人而言，神所有的作为，包括使埃及人的车辆全军覆没，以色列可拉族反叛的人被地吞噬，都是为了让以色列人知所依归，知所事从。
所以摩西告诫以色列人：「所以，你们要守我今日所吩咐的一切诫命，使你们胆壮，能以进去，得你们所要得的那地，并使你们的日子在耶和华向你们列祖起誓、应许给他们和他们后裔的地上得以长久；那是流奶与蜜之地。」(申11:8-9)
以色列人守诫命，正如我们今天守政府条例。诫命里的限制，都是为了使以色列人在神所赐的地上得以长久；政府的条例也是希望我们能平安而健康地活下去。
〈申命记〉 10:12 以色列啊，现在耶和华─你 神向你所要的是甚么呢？只要你敬畏耶和华─你的 神，遵行祂的道，爱祂，尽心尽性事奉祂，遵守祂的诫命律例，就是我今日所吩咐你的，为要叫你得福。
以色列人是悖逆的百姓，神却因为祂的恩召而不忍弃绝他们。我们也都是活在过犯中不知悔改的人，神的慈绳爱索却也未曾弃绝我们。
神依然赐下十诫，吩咐摩西：「你起来引导这百姓，使他们进去得我向他们列祖起誓应许所赐之地。」祂也依然赐下独生子耶稣基督，为我们的过犯被钉上十字架，使我们的罪得赦免；又为我们复活，使我们得永生；又赐下圣灵，把神的话语放在我们心中， 使我们的石心变为肉心。
那么，神向我们要的是什么呢？
If anyone had a reason to be anxious it was the apostle Paul. Envision an old man as he gazes out the window of a Roman prison. Half-blind, squinting just to read. Awaiting trial before the Roman emperor. His future is as gloomy as his jail cell.
Yet to read his words, you’d think he’d just arrived at a Jamaican beach hotel. His letter to the Philippians bears not a word of fear or complaint. Not one! Instead, he lifts his thanks to God and calls on his readers to do the same. “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4)
Paul’s challenge is a decision deeply rooted in the confidence that God exists, that he is in control, and that he is good. Rejoice in the Lord always. You can’t run the world, but you can entrust it to God.
〈申命记〉 9: 5 你进去得他们的地，并不是因你的义，也不是因你心里正直，乃是因这些国民的恶。
有一位犹太人的拉比说，他很喜欢听他的祖父母讲以前的故事。他的祖父母是二次大战后的幸存者，他们做了一个家谱，并且告诉子孙们，那些长辈和亲戚的名字有何特别的意义。他从不认识那些亲人，但是在回忆那些亲人时，他的祖父母仿佛就因而得到很大的安慰。他自己也因而得到很奇妙的鼓励，因为他终于有「家族的故事」，可以让他的儿女或子孙们知道他们的先祖是哪些人，是怎样的人。他说，犹太人的习俗教导他们要知道过去的历史，才能明白前面要走的方向。因此他们在过节时，往往有一段述史的时间，提醒他们和神的关系。
It is not God’s will that you face every day with dread and trepidation.
I have a childhood memory that I cherish. My father loved corn bread and buttermilk. About ten o’clock each night he would meander into the kitchen and crumble a piece of corn bread into a glass of buttermilk, stand at the counter and drink it. Then he’d make the rounds to the front and back doors, checking the locks. Once everything was secure, he would step into the bedroom I shared with my brother and say something like, “Everything is secure, boys. You can go to sleep now.”
I have no inclination to believe that God loves corn bread and buttermilk, but I do believe he loves his children. He keeps everything secure. He oversees your world. And by his power you will “be anxious for nothing” and discover the “peace…that passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:4-8 RSV).
The anxious heart says, “There’s trouble out there!” So you don’t sleep well, you don’t laugh often, misfortune lurks…it’s just a matter of time. As a result, you’re anxious.
How can this be? Our cars are safer than ever. We regulate food and water and electricity. Yet if worry were an Olympic event, we’d win the gold medal. Keep in mind anxiety is not a sin; it’s an emotion. It can, however, lead to sinful behavior. When we numb our fears with six-packs or food binges, or when we peddle our fears to anyone who’ll buy them, we’re sinning.
Jesus gave this word: “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with…the anxieties of life.” (Luke 21:34 NIV). God made you for more than a life of angst and mind-splitting worry. He has a new chapter for your life, and he is ready to write it.
〈申命记〉 8:18 你要记念耶和华─你的 神，因为得货财的力量是祂给你的，为要坚定祂向你列祖起誓所立的约，像今日一样。
曾有一则新闻说到在厦门有座桥上，有许多人跪在那里低头认错。在这些人面前有一张纸，上面写着他们的姓名、年记，以及做了什么错事。有一个43岁的男人说，他没有达到销货的目标；有一个39岁的男人写：我必须在桥上跪一个小时，因为我没有完成我的工作。这些纸上没有说明他们来自哪个公司。但是用这样羞辱的方法来惩罚员工还真是少见。幸好我们的神不因为我们不守祂的诫命，就羞辱我们。圣灵的管教总是在个人的生命里进行，以建造为目的。当然，神也会把隐藏的罪显露出来，免得我们犯罪之后还洋洋得意。但祂的目的是管教，不是羞辱。
Anxiety is a meteor shower of what-ifs. The sky is falling, and it’s falling disproportionately on you. Anxiety ain’t fun!
One would think Christians would be exempt from anxiety. But we are not. It’s enough to make us wonder if the apostle Paul was out of touch with reality when he wrote in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing.” Is that what he meant? Not exactly. He wrote the phrase in the present active tense—implying an ongoing state. As if to say, “Don’t let anything in life leave you perpetually breathless and in angst.”
The presence of anxiety is unavoidable, but the prison of anxiety is optional. Could you use some calm? Of course you could. We all could. We all could use a word of comfort. And God is ready to give it.
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