收到家裡的來電, 得知祖母(細麻)去世了, 心裡有點難過但並不是沒有昐望, 因為祖母已信主多年, 我們他日在天家定必再遇。反而婆婆前幾天也是經歷危險時期, 患病多年的她年事已高也是有點擔心的,神容讓婆婆存留是否因為她堅硬的心還等待我們再一次又一次的向她傳福音,期昐婆婆亦能好似祖母一樣得著永生。
老實說, 作為留學生最擔心的就是得知海外親人病倒, 也是讓我一直在外所擔心的, 主啊期昐未聞福音的家人有一天也能得著這永生。
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2011年12月28日
「神是足夠的!」
“如果我們得到安慰,也是要使你們得到安慰。這安慰使你們能夠忍受我們所受那樣的痛苦。”哥林多後書1章6節下
在大學預科班那年,我痛失了一位室友,她在19歲自殺離世。而過去幾年內,我們的兩位鄰居亦受到喪偶之痛,其中一位的丈夫在42歲便因癌病離去,而另外一位的丈夫(58歲)及兒子(29歲)因空難而同時喪生。在我擔任校長時,我們也曾有一名11歲的孩子在小息因心跳停頓而去世。
痛苦是人生的一部分,也是無法解釋的。儘管我們嘗試尋根究底,希望找出苦難的原因,從而避免受苦。但是,痛苦有時是生存的副產品。痛苦本不是我們應得的,或是神要刻意造成或這是祂的懲罰。
這也是約伯記又是歌林多後書的信息。
約伯的朋友都向約伯說過同樣的話,他們說:「約伯,你一定做了一些可憎惡的事,神才這樣苦待你。悔改吧,祂便會復興你。」同樣,使徒保羅的朋友指責他不是真正基督的門徒,因為他面對艱鉅的逼迫和苦難。這兩卷聖經的訊息是:苦難是會發生的,逼迫是會發生的。停止尋找因由,只需要信靠神在當中的主權。神已經足夠的!
當你失掉一切:摰愛、家園、事業、聲譽、健康等,神對你是否足夠呢?當你失去了一切,這時你才能真正經歷最重要的真理-神是足夠的!
祈禱:
主神啊,祢創造了我,祢是創造主,是我生命的主。祢是我一切所需要的。祢不單是足夠,祢更是足夠有餘的!阿們!
若你相信神是足夠的,這如何助你度過現在的境況呢?
__________________
英文原著:蕭倩娜博士
28 Dec 2011
God is Enough!
“And if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.” -2 Corinthians 1:6b
As a college co-ed, I lost a roommate to suicide at the age of 19. Within the last few years, two of our next-door neighbors experienced the loss of loved ones - one lost her husband at 42 to cancer, and the other lost her husband (58) and son (29) in an airplane crash. When I was a principal of a school, we experienced the loss of a child at the age of 11 to a cardiac arrest he experienced during recess.
Suffering is a part of life. And suffering is inexplicable. Although we try to root out the cause of suffering in our attempts to avoid it, suffering sometimes is just a byproduct of being alive. It is not something we deserve or caused or a punishment from God.
That is the message of Job and it is also the message of 2 Corinthians.
The friends of Job tried to tell him the same thing, saying, “You, Job must have done something awful for God to be treating you this way. Repent and He will restore!” Similarly, the friends of St. Paul accused him of not being a true apostle of Christ because he faced such tremendous persecution and sufferings. The message of both these books of the Bible is: Suffering happens. Persecution happens. Stop trying to figure out the cause and just trust God’s sovereignty through it. God is enough!
Is God enough when you’ve lost everything - loved ones, homes, careers, reputations, health? When you’ve lost everything, that’s when you can experience the most vital truth of all - that God is enough!
Prayer:
Lord God, You created me. You are the Lord of creation and the Lord of my life. You are ALL I need. You are not only enough - You are more than enough! Amen.
How does it help you with your current situation to believe that God is enough?
____________________________
By Dr. Sheila Schuller Coleman