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The Privilege of Choice

It would have been nice if God had let us order life like we order a meal. I’ll take good health and a high IQ. I’ll pass on the music skills, but give me a fast metabolism. Would’ve been nice, but it didn’t happen.

When it came to your life on earth, you weren’t given a voice or a vote. But when it comes to life after death, you were. In my book that seems like a good deal, wouldn’t you agree? Have we been given any greater privilege than that of choice?

You’ve made some bad choices in life, haven’t you? You’ve chosen the wrong friends, maybe the wrong career, even the wrong spouse. You look back and say, “If only. If only I could make up for those bad choices.” Well… you can. One good choice for eternity offsets a thousand bad ones on earth. The choice is yours.

雅各的天梯

创世记28章13-15节    耶和华站在梯子以上,说:「我是耶和华你祖亚伯拉罕的神,也是以撒的神,我要将你现在所躺卧之地赐给你和你的后裔。你的后裔必像地上的尘沙那样多,必向东西南北开展。地上万族必因你和你的后裔得福。  我也与你同在,你无论往哪里去,我必保佑你,领你归回这地,总不离弃你,直到我成全了向你所应许的。」

利百加耸动雅各去骗取以撒的祝福,因为她也像当年的撒莱,要用自己的方法去解决神的问题。撒莱叫亚伯兰和婢女同房,生下以实玛利,他们的后裔彼此为敌;利百加叫雅各去欺骗自己的父亲,最后也是落得一家人分散,从此与爱子天人永隔。但是以扫也是她的孩子,她断然不愿见两个儿子自相残杀,因此心生一计,要把雅各送走。

最好的理由就是以扫娶了两个赫人的女子为妻,这赫人媳妇和希伯来婆婆的生活习惯,文化背景都很不一样,让作婆婆的很心烦,因此以撒也同意让雅各去利百加的娘家找个媳妇回来。以扫直到此时才明白父母亲不喜欢他的赫人媳妇,因此立刻去娶了以实玛利的女儿玛哈拉,他的堂妹。所以我们可以看到,以扫也很想得到父母的欢心,只是他行事实在太冲动了。

God’s Hand, God’s Nail

God has penned a list of our faults. The list God has made, however, cannot be read. The words can’t be deciphered. The mistakes are covered. The sins are hidden. Those at the top are hidden by His hand; those down the list are covered by His blood. Your sins are blotted out by Jesus.

The Bible says, “He has forgiven you all your sins: He has utterly wiped out the written evidence of broken commandments which always hung over our heads, and has completely annulled it by nailing it to the cross” (JB Phillips NT).

He knew the source of those sins was you, and since He couldn’t bear the thought of eternity without you, Jesus Himself chose the nails. The hand is the hand of God. The nail is the nail of God. And as the hands of Jesus opened for the nails, the doors of heaven opened for you!

和平之子以撒

创世记 26章22节    以撒离开那里,又挖了一口井,他们不为这井争竞了,他就给那井起名叫利河伯。他说:「耶和华现在给我们宽阔之地,我们必在这地昌盛。」

亚伯拉罕在迦南地第一次遇到饥荒时,他立刻就去了埃及。以撒这时也碰到饥荒,神很及时地向以撒显现,叫他不要下埃及。神说:「你不要下埃及去,要住在我所指示你的地。」换句话说,神要以撒留在神要他住的地方,是哪里呢?是迦南。环境虽然有问题,但是神没有问题,神要以撒学习在困难中倚靠神。

以撒对神的信心是从亚伯拉罕而来的,他曾经被作为祭物献给耶和华,他也曾为利百加祷告求子。这些都是他对神的经历,但是他和神的距离还是很远,神是高高在上的神,他父亲的神。直到神向他显现,耶和华才成了以撒的神。所以张文亮老师说:「真实的信仰,不是灵验,而是个人与主的关系。」

Your Canceled Record

How would you feel if a list of your weaknesses were posted so that everyone, including Christ Himself, could see? Yes, Christ has chronicled your shortcomings. And, yes, that list has been made public. But you’ve never seen it. Neither have I.

Come with me to the hill of Calvary. Watch as the soldiers shove the Carpenter to the ground and stretch His arms against the beams. One presses a knee against a forearm and a spike against a hand. Jesus turns His face toward the nail just as the soldier lifts the hammer to strike it.

Couldn’t Jesus have stopped him? Why? Why didn’t Jesus resist? Through the eyes of Scripture, we see what others missed but Jesus saw. He took it [the list] and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross!”

以扫和雅各

创世记25章23节    耶和华对她说:「两国在你腹内,两族要从你身上出来,这族必强于那族,将来大的要服侍小的。」

这是旧约里第一对双胞胎兄弟的故事,它给了我们很多遐想的空间。第一,当夫妻遇到不孕之事时,要互相代祷,而不是指责。因为以撒祷告,所以利百加怀孕,而且怀了双胞胎。我有时想,倘若以撒没有为利百加代祷,利百加真的就不会怀孕吗?那么神对亚伯拉罕和以撒的应许怎能应验?你认为呢?不过不管怎样,以撒为所有的丈夫立了一个很好的榜样。

虽然我们也知道,利百加的怀孕是迟早的事,因为这是神的命定,神的应许;但并不是所有不孕的人只要祷告就会有孩子。有的人祷告,神应允;但有的人祷告多年,神还是不给。我们不知道这其中的原因,但是相信以后见了主,一切就都明白了。我们还是要凡事祷告,神喜欢我们凡事仰望祂,但是生育的主权还是在神的手里。

如睡一觉

创世记24章26-27节      那人就低头向耶和华下拜, 说:「耶和华我主人亚伯拉罕的神是应当称颂的!因祂不断地以慈爱、诚实待我主人。至于我,耶和华在路上引领我,直走到我主人的兄弟家里。」

摩西说:「祢叫他们如水冲去,他们如睡一觉。早晨他们如生长的草,早晨发芽生长,晚上割下枯干。(诗90:5-6)」他们是指世人,摩西形容人的一生如生长的草,早晨发芽生长,晚上割下枯干。撒拉在127岁时,息了地上的劳苦。灭世的洪水之前,神预定人的寿命120岁(创6:3);所以撒拉活到127岁,在世人的眼中算是很长寿了;那么亚伯拉罕呢?你猜猜看,待会告诉你。

撒拉死时,以撒37岁,未婚。亚伯拉罕终于想到该帮以撒娶个妻子了,以撒的性情可能有点内向,所以也没有出去和当地的迦南女子鬼混。亚伯拉罕希望找个本家的孩子,但是又不想让以撒远行,所以就找了一个老仆人去美索不达米亚,也就是亚伯拉罕的原居地,到了亚伯拉罕的兄弟居住的拿鹤的城。

Give God All Your Mistakes

God not only wants the mistakes we’ve made—He wants the ones we’re making. Are you drinking too much? Are you cheating at work or cheating at marriage? Mismanaging your life?

Don’t pretend nothing’s wrong. The first step after a stumble must be in the direction of the cross. 1 John 1:9 promises, “If we confess our sins to God, He can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.”

Start with your bad moments. And while you’re there, give God your “mad” moments. There’s a story about a man bitten by a dog. When he learned the dog had rabies, he began a list. The doctor said, “There’s no need for you to make a will—you’ll be fine.” “Oh, I’m not making a will” he said, “I’m making a list of all the people I want to bite!” God wants that list! He wants you to leave it at the cross.

耶和华以勒

创世记 22章14节  亚伯拉罕给那地方起名叫耶和华以勒,直到今日人还说:「在耶和华的山上必有预备。」

圣经里给我们看到的亚伯拉罕,并不是像一般人想的,一直都是信心满溢。相反地,亚伯拉罕之所以成为信心之父,是经过了许多的考验和失败。神让我们看到亚伯拉罕跟随祂的点点滴滴,让我们明白,祂知道我们不过是人,祂知道我们的软弱和不足,即使我们失败,祂仍然愿意陪伴我们,等待我们,牵着我们的手一直到永恒。所以,明白这事之后,我们若再看到有人没有信心的表现,也就不用太愤怒了,这就是人的本相,神允许我们慢慢成长,我们也要容忍别人的不足,让他们慢慢成长。

在神和亚伯拉罕讨论过所多玛和蛾摩拉的存亡之后,你可能会想,有过与神面对面的经历,这个人应该不会再犯错了。你一定没想到,他真的又说谎了。当他们搬到非利士地的基拉耳时,他又骗人说撒拉是他的妹妹。结果基拉耳王亚比米勒来把撒拉取去,结果全家遭天谴,妇女都不能生育了。亚比米勒知错后向亚伯拉罕道歉,又赔他一笔钱,亚伯拉罕又赚了。神真的很怜悯恩待亚伯拉罕。

We Have a Sin Problem

Can you live without sin for one day? No. How about one hour? Can you do it? No…nor can I. And if we can’t live without sin, we have a problem. Proverbs 10:16 says, we’re evil and “evil people are paid with punishment.” What can we do?

Well, observe what Jesus does with our filth. He carries it to the Cross. God speaks to Isaiah in chapter 50:6, “I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.” You see, mingled with his blood and sweat was the essence of our sin. Angels were a prayer away. Couldn’t they have taken the spittle away? They could have, but Jesus never commanded them to. Why? The sinless One took on the face of a sinner, so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint.