Sunday, January 31, 2010

Keep Pressing Forward

1st Get Ready ( DO YOU REALLY GET YOURS SELVE FOR BATTLE AND GET A NEW ASSIGNMENT)
2nd Get Your HEART READY


BE HUMBLE AND REPENT. TURN BACK AND DONT LOOK BACK OUR SCAR. JUST FOCUS TO CHRIST MY ONLY HOPE...

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

The Power of Purpose

But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which 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 all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Philippians 1:12-14

Paul might have been forgiven had he chosen to take a little sabbatical as he sat in prison, awaiting his trial. Yet he used even this opportunity to advance the gospel. Paul was a leader who never drifted from his mission. He determined to leave his mark wherever he went.

How did Paul's sense of purpose keep him in the battle as he sat in prison? What did he learn behind bars? Consider the following:

A purpose will motivate you.
A purpose will keep your priorities straight.
A purpose will develop your potential.
A purpose will give you power to live in the present.
A purpose will help you evaluate your progress.

Monday, January 4, 2010

不要惧怕

「不要惧怕」

「那〔主的〕天使对他们说:『不要惧怕!』」 路2:10

惧怕随时会对毫无准备的人张牙舞爪。试想像妻子乍闻丈夫的心脏病已无药可施,不禁会问:他还能活多久?若只剩下我一人,日子会变成怎样?有时,惧怕还会直闯我们的心窝,令我们对神失去把握,好像诗人一样问神:「你掩面不顾我要到几时呢?」(诗篇13:1)
不管我们是对未来缺乏把握,抑或因神不顾我们而愤愤不平,我们都明白与惧怕交战的心路历程。所以,我们必须回答的问题是:有甚么良药可以治愈惧怕所造成的重大创伤?对付惧怕的唯一方法,是与主同在,祂对我们说:「不要惧怕!」
圣经和神的子民所流露的信心,都不约而同地表达了这个主题。神早已在旧约圣经提到这安慰信息:「你不要害怕!因为我救赎了你。我曾提你的名召你,你是属我的。……不要害怕,因我与你同在」(以赛亚书43:1-5)。神的子民因知道他们不是孤单的,便得着安慰。海德堡要理答问这样说:「我不属乎自己,无论是生是死,我都属乎信实的救主耶稣基督」(问答1)。
我们任何时间都不会孤单。既然耶稣已来到世上,还有甚么方法比转向耶稣更能应付惧怕?


祷告
亲爱的主,「我的亮光,我的拯救」,祢「是我性命的保障,我还惧怕谁呢?」感谢祢借着圣子和圣灵与我们同活。阿们。

Sunday, November 29, 2009

THANKS FOR EMPLOYMENT

THANKS FOR EMPLOYMENT

[When a person can] accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. Ecclesiastes 5:19
If you meet someone and spend an extended time talking, you eventually reach the point when you begin to discuss what you do for a living or what you did before you retired. I love to hear about what people do for a living because they usually tell something exciting or infuriating or interesting about their line of work.
I am thankful for employment. I am thankful for a job that allows me to feed my family and provide for my children. I am thankful for the means to own a home, a car, and other things needed in a typical home.
I am thankful for employment that has meaning and gives me the satisfaction of doing something worthwhile. Most jobs, when boiled down to their basics, do not sound like much. One person rents tuxedos, another fixes pipes, another cleans office buildings, and another sells shoes. But each job is necessary and provides a sense of worth and calls for creativity and intelligence.
Our jobs provides us with an opportunity to do what we do well. They allow us to express ourselves and be a part of a community that is pulling together toward an efficient, prosperous, and effective society.
Let’s thank God for things to do and tasks to accomplish. Let’s be thankful that he ahs given us a way to provide for ourselves and for those who depend on us. If you are employed, praise God for your job.
PRAYER

Father, thank you for work that allows us to express ourselves and enables us to provide for our needs. Help those who are out of work to find meaningful employment. Amen.

为工作感谢

「〔当人能够〕取自己的分,在他劳碌中喜乐,这乃是神的恩赐。」 传5:19
当你与初相识的人愈谈愈起劲时,免不了就会谈到彼此的职业(或退休前的职业)问题。我很喜爱听人谈及他们的职业,因为当人在谈到自己的职业时,总有很多兴奋、烦扰,或有趣的事情要说。
我十分感谢神赐给我工作。我为能因工作而赚到钱供养家庭子女感恩,也为能因工作而赚到钱买屋、买车及买家中一切的所需感恩。
我十分感谢神赐我的是一份有意义的工作,使我从中得着满足。实在说来,很多工作都不是伟大的,如有人是出租名贵礼服的,有人是修理水管的,有人是清洁办公室的,又有人是卖鞋子的。然而,每种工作都有必要,都有它的存在价值,而且都需运用创意及头脑去作。
我们的工作提供我们机会,去做我们擅长的事。它使我们成为小区的一分子,与别人共同建立一个有效率的、繁荣而有建设性的社会。
让我们为有工作要做及有责任要完成而感谢神吧。让我们为神赐下工作使我们能供养家庭而感谢神吧。只要你是有职业的,就当为此感谢!
祷告

父啊,感谢祢赐我们工作,让我们在工作上发挥自己,并满足各样生活的所需。求祢帮助现在失业的人,能够找到一份有意义的工作。阿们。

Friday, October 30, 2009

Fear Not!

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"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7

God calls each of us to engage in spiritual warfare at times. Whenever satan wants to come against one of God's children, he does so by trying to intimidate through fear. Goliath's formidable size and arrogant boasting intimidated Saul and Israel's army. And because God's anointing had fallen from Saul, he was unable to respond with courage to Goliath's charge. Fear paralyzes and torments. That is why Saul could not respond.

The anointing had fallen on David, who was just a young boy, but mighty in spirit. David did not cower at the size or shouts of the giant Goliath. He saw Goliath through the eyes of God, who saw him as a mere speck. David had righteous indignation for an affront to the armies of the living God.

David did not weigh the risk of failure because his faith was resting totally in God. That is another important factor in overcoming fear-complete trust in God. When the Lord began training me to confront fear, the training grounds were a groundless lawsuit, intimidations, and calamity that confronted my very existence. Learning that these were merely tactics of the enemy, designed to instill fear, allowed me to stand firm in God's power to overcome.

Do not fear sudden calamity if you are walking uprightly before God. It may be setting the stage for a great victory that will bring praise and honor to your heavenly Father. These battles are training grounds for greater victories to come.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

传达目标

传达目标


不可靠的使者造成祸害,可靠的传达促进进展。

箴言13。17(英文版今日圣经直译)

在尼希米带领百姓重建耶路撒冷城墙的故事里,我们看到当整个计划已经完成一半的时候,百姓开始灰心,想要放弃。就如同许多教会的情形一般,当他们失去目标感时,就被疲惫、挫折、惧怕所击倒。尼希米借着将任务重新规划,以及将异象重新灌注给百姓,来复兴百姓继续工作。他提醒他们所做的是何等重要,并教他们确信神必定帮助他们完成目标(尼4:6—15)。结果城墙 52天就完成了。

虽然城墙52天就完成了,但是百姓却曾在中途就灰心了:才开始26天就灰心!因此尼希米必须更新他们的异象。从这个故事,我得到所谓的“尼希米原则”:异象与目标必须每26天就重述一次,才能使教会继续朝正确的方向前进。换句话说,至少一个月要传达目标一次。人类——以及教会——如此快就失去目标感,这真是令人惊讶的事!

一旦你确认了教会的目标,你就必须持续不断地向教会中每一个人清楚传达。这不是只做一次就算了,这是领导者最主要的责任。如果你没能好好地向你教会的成员传达目标声明,那还不如没有目标声明。

传达异象和目标的方法

有几种方法可以传达你教会的异象和目标。

圣经经文

教导有关教会的圣经真理。我已经提过,圣经是最伟大的教会增长教科书。经常且耐心地教导有关教会的教义,以圣经章节、比喻及解说,来带领大家看教会的异象的每一个部分都是出自圣经。

记号

伟大的领导者都知道使用记号能发挥很大的力量。人们需要透过视觉表象的传达,才能抓住某些观念。记号可以作为有力的传达工具,因为记号能激发强烈的情感与情绪。比方说,你若是看到有人画一个纳粹的记号在教堂的墙上,你一定会义愤填膺,又如,国旗会使你感到光荣、骄傲。

基督教的十字架,共产党的斧头与镰刀,回教的弯月都曾征服世界的某块大陆。在马鞍峰教会,我们使用两个记号——五个同心圆跟一个菱形棒球场—一来象征我们的目标。这些会在下两章加以解释。

口号

人们往往早已忘了讲道的信息,却对口号、标语、精髓的句子久久不忘。很多历史上的重要事件都是系于一个关键口号“记得阿拉莫!”(Alamo是 1836年,墨西哥与德州战争时的一个战场,墨西哥曾在那里屠杀当地全部的德州人,译者注),“击沉俾斯麦!”(Bismarck是19世纪统一德国的首相,此处指一艘著名的德国战舰,译者注),“不自由,毋宁死!’等等都是例子。历史证明一句简单的口号,坚定的重述,能激励人去做他们本来不会去做的事 ——甚至是在战场上舍命。

马鞍峰教会发展出成打的标语来强化教会的异象:“每个信徒都是牧者”;“所有的领袖都是学生”;“我们得救是为了服事”;“评估是为了要卓越”;“不计代价赢得失丧的人”,以及其他许多标语口号。我常常要抽出时间来想出一些新鲜、简明的方法来传达旧有的意念。

故事

耶稣使用简单的故事帮助人们明白他的异象。马大福音13章34节说:“耶稣用比喻对群众讲述这一切;除了用比喻,他就不对他们说什么。”(现代中文译本)

以故事的方式来描述你教会的目标。比如,当我说到传福音的重要时,我就提到最近马鞍峰教会的成员,向朋友分享福音并领人归主的见证。当我说到团契的重要时,我就读一封信,是一个孤单的人写他在我们教会的大家庭如何得到安慰。当我说到门徒训练的重要时,我可能会讲到一对夫妇怎样因着灵命的成长,而挽救了他们的婚姻,或是某个人如何应用圣经的原则解决个人问题的见证。

我在马鞍峰教会有几则“范例”式的故事,是我一说再说的;这些故事非常有力地说明了我们教会的目标。有一则我很喜欢讲的故事是:有一次,连续有5位平信徒牧师比我先去医院探望一个人;当我去到那里时,护士不肯让我看那个病人,因为“已经有太多牧师来看过他了”!自从那时开始,我就一直夸那5位带职传道人。人们总是倾向于做那些被赞赏的事情,所以,当你教会的信徒服事教会时,就夸奖他们,把他们的故事拿出来讲。

详尽明确

一定要提供实际、清楚、具体的行动步骤,来说明你的教会要如何执行目标。对于每一个目标,都要提出缜密的行动计划’,如行事时间表、场地、雇用人员等等。这些明确的细节是人们所关心的。

记得,除非够明确,否则无法推动。异象若模糊就没有吸引力。教会的异象越明确,越能吸引人的注意及委身。传达目标最明确的方法,就是让会众将这些目标应用到个人的生活上。

God's Double-Talk

"The Lord said to Moses, 'When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.'" Exodus 4:21

就真如,我拼信心与那差我来去为他行大事。有时候不知道前面的路是如何但是上帝告诉我们当我们去的时候,他的荣耀就会与我们同在。。。。
Have you ever had a boss tell you to do something only to have him sabotage your ability to complete the task? Nothing is more frustrating than to begin to carry out a task and have your superior thwart your effort to do what he asked you to do. Moses must have felt this way after God told him to go to Pharaoh and tell him to release the people of Israel. He said, "I am going to give you the power to release the children of Israel by the miracles I will do through you." Yet at the same time, He told Moses they would not be released because He was going to put a hard heart in Pharaoh. How do we reconcile this?

In my own life, I knew God called me to certain endeavors. Yet every time I turned around, a roadblock stood in my way. It took years of plodding along before the light came on as to why there was such a distance between what God called me to do and the manifestation of that calling. When David was anointed king of Israel, it was years before he realized the manifestation of that calling. There were a number of reasons for these delays.

In the case of Moses and Israel, God wanted to demonstrate His power in such a way that generations would be able to hear the story of their deliverance from their ancestors. God wanted greater glory from the situation. God also wanted to deal with Egypt by sending specific plagues. Finally, the very process built character in Moses and tested Moses to see if he would stay the course.

There is a time for everything. If God has called you to some endeavor and you are frustrated that it has not manifested, know that times of preparation and simmering are required before the vision can be achieved. Seldom does God call and manifest something at the same time. There is preparation. There is testing. There is relationship building between you and God that must take place. Once this is complete, you will see the vision materialize.

顺城。