(516) 「灵粮主题 TODAY’s Topic」 神奥秘的旨意与神的帮助、何其审判的时机, 都是公平且正确的 God’s Mysterious Will, God’s Help, and the Timing of Judgment are All Fair and Correct

「灵粮经节 TODAY’s Verses」：「我们不致消灭，是出於耶和华诸般的慈爱；是因祂的怜悯不致断绝。每早晨，这都是新的；神的诚实极其广大！我心说：“耶和华是我的分，因此，我要仰望祂。”凡等候耶和华，心里寻求祂的，耶和华必施恩给他。人仰望耶和华，静默等候祂的救恩，这原是好的; Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. 」（Lamentations 耶利米哀歌 3: 22-26 节）

「灵粮分享 TODAY’s Sharing」：加拿大温莎市河滨浸信会 Riverside Baptist Church 的布兰登·泰勒牧师 Rev. Brandon Taylor, 曾以 “活在希望中，不要灰心或绝望 Living with Hope, Not Discouragement or Despair” 为主题讲道，引用了《耶利米哀歌》 3 章 21-26 节, 与今日灵粮的经节几乎相称。牧者特别提到这哀歌里的3章25-26节告诉我们，安静等候神拯救脱离日常生活的挑战是很好的。 因为，像大卫王在他自己所经历的人生中，就在诗篇23篇里告诉安慰着我们说，耶和华是我们的牧者，祂一生都与我们同行，即使在死荫的幽谷，祂也与我们同在。 因此，我们的神对我们有如此的恩待，我们就要等候神奥秘的旨意与祂的帮助、何其审判的时机。 今日灵粮的经节告诉我们，耶和华是有着诸般的慈爱；因祂给我们的怜悯是不致断绝。所以我们要相信神有的是他爱我们的主权和祂的时间来临，我们必须忍耐等待他那神秘的旨意为我们做工，祂来帮助的时机和未来的审判对人类都是公平、公正、正确的。

今晨在「纯全喜乐 Pure Joys」里，读到约翰·派博牧师 Rev. John Piper 写了一篇， “神的旨意” 的分享。牧者引用罗马书 Romans 11: 33 节，提示我们要遵守确认神的旨意来处事待人，因为主的裁判 （祂的旨意） 是完全正确而且公道的。就如使徒保罗在这罗马书经节里给他的犹太人选民和我们作信徒们的一个忠告提醒，意眛而感叹着像唱赞美诗 Doxology 一般的说： “神丰富的智慧是多么的深！ 祂的判断是多么难以预料啊！ 找到祂也是多么的困难啊！” 这也就是「今日灵粮 Spiritual FOOD TODAY」主题所要分享的, “神奥秘的旨意与神的帮助、何其审判的时机, 都是公平且正确的”。 因为，今日灵粮所引用的耶利米哀歌， 尤其是 3 章 25 节里说的，凡等候耶和华，心里寻求祂的，耶和华必照祂的旨意施恩帮助你，成全你的需求与祷告！

约翰牧师在这份分享里，例举了一个非常有名人的悔改与他信靠神旨意的比喻，来鼓励劝勉着我们说：这美国第 16 任的总统亚伯拉罕·林肯 Abraham Lincoln 生于 1809 年。在他 40 多岁时，他仍对信仰持着怀疑的态度，有时甚至会嘲讽宗教。所以，最令人惊讶的是，在他个人的经历和管理国家的苦难中，却促使林肯总统认识了神，而不是远离神。他的悔改得救与信靠神的旨意，以及他的行事为人，在战乱中管理国家，坚持着信心，他的行迹和奇迹可以若述如下：

（1）1862 年，林肯 53 岁时，11 岁的儿子威廉·威利 William Willie 夭折。林肯的妻子试图通过寻找新世纪的媒介来减轻她的悲痛。林肯则求助于华盛顿纽约大道长老会的牧师菲尼亚斯·格利 Rev. Phineas Gurley。经过几次长谈后，格利牧师认为林肯开悔改始转向基督。林肯吐露， “很多次我被一种势不可挡的确信压倒跪下，我没有别的去处” ；（2） 另一方面，南北战争所带来伤亡的恐怖每天都在袭击他。华盛顿有 50 个疗伤医院，国会大厦的圆形大厅里放着 2,000 个为受伤士兵准备的床位。在这些临时医院里，每天都大概有 50 位士兵死去。所有这些都促使林肯一步步地更相信神的旨意。 “我们不得不相信，神创造了世界，他仍旧掌管着世界”；（3）在林肯遇刺前一个月， 他发表了第二次就职演说，是他关于神的旨意与内战关系最著名的讲说。值得注意的是，他没有将神简单说成是北方联邦或南方联盟的支持者，神有祂自己的旨意，祂并不为任何一方的罪开脱。

林肯说：“我们天真地希望着，我们热忱地祈祷着，希望这场战争的重创可以很快地过去。可是，假使神要让战争再继续下去，直到 250 年来奴隶无偿劳动所积聚的财富化为乌有，并像 3,000 年前所说的那样，等到鞭笞所流的每一滴血，被刀剑之下所流的每一滴血所抵消，那么我们仍然只能说 ‘主的裁判是完全正确而且公道的’。”

最后，约翰牧师在分享里要为所有失去亲人、遭受伤害和处在悲痛中的人祷告，愿这些境遇可以唤醒你，就像唤醒林肯一样，这不是空洞的虚无主义，而是对神奇妙莫测的旨意的无限智慧和爱的更深的倚靠。大家星期五和周末，尤其是星期六庆祝农历元宵节快乐，龙年蒙恩！

「灵粮祷告 TODAY’s Prayer」：当一切都说完了，在本篇分享的总结里 「今日灵粮 Spiritual FOOD TODAY」也就引用诗篇 Psalm 143: 10 节让大家在主的爱里能互相祷告、互相勉励。在这节经文中，遭受人生苦难，到处给人追杀的大卫王，都持有决信劝勉我们做神儿女的，活在这纷乱多难的世界里，更要多依靠祷告祈求神的帮助和祝福，说：“求你指教我遵行你的旨意，因你是我的神。你的灵本为善；求你引我到平坦之地。”在媒体网线上，做个荣休传教的工作者，在这篇结语里，我们也再次重引希伯来书 Hebrews 13: 21 节里作者使徒的祝福语，献给大家在主内的弟兄姊妹有着你们每星期的陪伴和分享，感到祝福也就这样地祷告着说：但愿神，“在一切美善之事上使你们完备，好遵行祂的旨意。愿神藉着耶稣基督，在我们里面行祂看为喜悦的事。愿荣耀归于祂，直到永永远远！…” 奉主名祷告，阿门！

Rev. Brandon Taylor of Riverside Baptist Church in Windsor, Canada, once preached on the topic of "Living with Hope, Not Discouragement or Despair", quoted it reads Lamentations 3:21-26, which is almost equivalent to today’s spiritual food verses. The pastor specifically mentioned chapter 3 verses 25-26 of Lamentations, which tells us that it is good to wait quietly for God to deliver us from the challenges of daily life. Because in his own life experience, King David told us to comfort us in Psalm 23, saying that the Lord is our Shepherd, He walks with us all our lives, even in the valley of the shadow of death, He is with us we are in this together. Therefore, understanding that our God has been so kind to us, and we must wait for God’s mysterious will and His help, and for His timing of judgment. Today’s spiritual food verses tells us that the Lord has all kinds of lovingkindness; for His mercy towards us will never fail. Therefore, we must believe that God has the sovereignty of His love for us and the coming of His time. We must wait patiently for His mysterious will to work for us. The timing of His coming to help and the coming judgment will be fair, just, and right for mankind.

This morning in "纯全喜乐 Pure Joys ", I read an article written by Rev. John Piper, sharing about "The Will of God." The pastor quoted Romans 11:33, reminding us to abide by and confirm God's will when working and dealing with others, because the Lord's judgment (His will) is completely correct and fair. Just like the apostle Paul gave a warning to his Jewish elects as God’s chosen people and us as believers in his Romans verse, he said with insight and sigh like singing the hymn Doxology: "How deep is the rich wisdom of God! He how unpredictable is His judgment! How difficult it is to find Him!" This is what the theme of "今日灵粮 Spiritual FOOD TODAY" is about to share, " God’s Mysterious Will, God’s Help, and the Timing of Judgment are All Fair and Correct”. Because the Lamentations of Jeremiah cited in today’s spiritual food, especially what is said in 3: 25, is that whoever waits for the Lord and seeks Him in his heart, the Lord will graciously help you according to His will and fulfill your prayers and needs!

In this sharing, Pastor John gave an example of a very famous person's repentance and his belief in God's will, to encourage and exhort us: Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in 1809. In his 40s, he remained skeptical of faith and sometimes even ridiculed religion. Therefore, the most surprising thing is that his personal experiences and the sufferings of running a country led President Lincoln to know God instead of staying away from God. His repentance and salvation and trust in God’s will, as well as his conduct, the miracles of managing the country during war and persisting in faith are as follows:

(1) In 1862, when Lincoln was 53 years old, his 11-year-old son William Willie died. Lincoln's wife tried to ease her grief by finding New Age mediums. Lincoln turned to Rev. Phineas Gurley, pastor of New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington. After several long conversations, Pastor Gurley believed that Lincoln began to repent and turn to Christ. Lincoln confided, "Many times I have been brought to my knees by an overwhelming certainty that I had no other place to go"; (2) On the other hand, the horror of the casualties caused by the Civil War struck him every day. There are 50 healing hospitals in Washington, and there are 2,000 beds for wounded soldiers in the Capitol Rotunda. About 50 soldiers died every day in these makeshift hospitals. All of this prompted Lincoln to believe more and more in God's will. “We have to believe that God created the world and He still controls it”; (3) One month before Lincoln was assassinated, he delivered his second inaugural address, which was his most famous speech on the relationship between God’s will and the Civil War as explained. It is worth noting that he did not simply describe God as a supporter of the Union or the Confederacy, but God has His own will, and He does not excuse the sins of either party.

Lincoln said: "We naively hope, we pray fervently, that the devastation of this war will soon be over. However, if God allows the war to continue, until the wealth accumulated by slaves' unpaid labor for 250 years has become to nothing, and as it was said 3,000 years ago, until every drop of blood shed by the lash is counterbalanced by every drop of blood shed by the sword, then we can still only say that 'the Lord's judgment is entirely correct and just of'."

Finally, in his sharing, Pastor John would like to pray for all those who have lost loved ones, suffered injuries, and are in grief. May these situations awaken you, just like Lincoln awakened. This is not empty nihilism, but a sense of the wonders of God, the infinite wisdom of the unfathomable will and the deeper dependence of love. Happy Friday and great weekend everyone, especially on Saturday with your Celebration of Chinese Lantern Festival, and may your family and you be blessed in this Year of the Dragon!

When everything is said and done, in the summary of this article, "今日灵粮Spiritual Food TODAY " would like to quote Psalm 143: 10, allowing everyone to pray for each other, and encourage each other in the love of the Lord. In this verse, King David, who suffered hardships in life and was hunted down everywhere, holds firm convictions and exhorts us, as children of God, living in this chaotic and troubled world, to rely more on prayer and supplication to God for help and blessings, saying: "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground." Working on the Media Network as an Emeritus Worker in Mission to this conclusion, we once again would like to quote the blessings from the author and apostle in his verse of Hebrews 13:21, dedicating it to all our brothers and sisters and friends in the Lord with nothing, but feel blessed by your company and sharing every week. This is how I have prayed: May the Lord, "equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever! …” Pray in the name of the Lord, Amen!

(516) Whisper, Dr. John 张皇卿博士编写于 at 脸书网站：https://www.facebook.com/johnking9999 和 and 维克斯网站：http://johnking9999.wixsite.com/website Edmonton, AB, Canada Friday 02. 23. 2024.