2008-10-20 Devotionals Today

知信行網上團契為各主內肢體提供的每日靈糧，歡迎訂閱，推介及奉獻支持。 《網絡天糧》查詢，請電郵：ccf@ccfellow.org 訂閱天糧 | 轉介天糧 | 修訂訂閱 | 奉獻支持 甚麼是「重生」？ 粵語)國語 第20天 讀經：   約翰壹書五章1至6節 我們經常聽見人說，他們是「重生的基督徒」，究竟「重生」是甚麼意思呢？約翰在五章1節說凡信耶穌是基督的，都是從神而生的。換言之，人相信耶穌基督之後，他就成為神家裡的人。每人的信主經歷未必一樣，但來到決志的那一刻，卻同樣要藉著相信耶穌基督進到神的面前，並且成為神家裡的人。決志相信並非表示「我相信神」那樣簡單。許多人隨口說「神祝福你」，但他們究竟是否真正認識神卻頗令人成疑。決志相信的另一層意思，乃是表明「我承認我是個失喪的罪人，理應遭到神的懲罰，因此，便要接受耶穌基督作為我的救主，將我從罪的刑罰中拯救出來」。 「重生」的意義包括我愛父神，但同時亦愛神家中的每一個人。一個愛家的人，除了愛父母之外，當然還愛他的兄弟姊妹。一個愛家的人，就會對家人表示關心、會對他們顯出忍耐，以及喜歡與他們相聚交談。有些基督徒卻總是等候別人關心自己。這是不對的。反之，一個真正愛護弟兄姊妹的基督徒，總會時刻記掛著別人的需要，和經常尋找機會去服侍別人。 此外，「重生」的另一項標記，就是我們的信心能使我們勝過周遭的世界(4至5節)。約翰親眼見證它的真實。他當時所處的世界充滿了仇恨，但基督卻教導他們要去愛。這個充滿仇恨的世界甚至竭力攔阻教會的開始，但基督的愛卻成了爭勝的武器。當時的基督徒甚至愛那些想殺害他們的人。時至今天，我們的世界仍然是充滿仇恨，但我們最犀利的武器，就是愛那些失喪的罪人、我們對神的信靠，和確信我們是神家裡的人，終有一天必能藉著基督完全得勝。 禱告： 主啊，求你助我在世人面前見證自己是個「重生」的人。 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 'BORN AGAIN'-WHAT IS THAT? Day 20 Bible Reading:   1 John 5:1-6 'BORN AGAIN'-WHAT IS THAT? We hear of many people speaking about being 'born again' these days. What does the phrase mean? John speaks about someone being born of God (v. 1). Being born into God's family is the result of believing in Christ. We may come to that place by different roads but we all have to come to the place of faith-putting our trust in God and in his Son Jesus Christ. We are then born into God's family. Believing is more than saying 'I believe in God'. A lot of public speakers use the phrase 'God bless you', but we wonder if they know the God they are talking about. Believing is saying in one way or another 'I see myself as a lost sinner, who deserves God's punishment. I take Jesus Christ as my Saviour.' Being 'born again' means that we will love the Father and also that we will love the other members of God's family. Usually a child's love for his 'or her parents will include love for the sisters and brothers also. Love for members of God's family will be shown by our caring for them, our patience with them and our desire to have fellowship with them. Some Christians are always wanting other people to do things for them. The true loving Christian will be looking for things he or she can do for others. Another great evidence of being born again is that by our faith we will be victorious over the world around us (vv. 4-5). John could see how this was working out. The world of his day was filled with hate. The word Christ gave was 'love'. That world which knew only hate has long since passed away. It tried to stop the Christian church from ever getting started, but the love of Christ became a new weapon in an old world. The Christians showed how they could even love their enemies who wanted to kill them. Our world is still very much the same but our greatest weapons are our love for lost sinners, our faith in God himself and the strong assurance that we are members of God's family who one day will win the final victory through Christ. A PRAYER: Lord let the world see in me today what it means to be 'born again'.