在母亲节，领受喜乐：在旅程中发现满足
在旅程中的喜乐

“愿一切寻求你的，因你高兴欢喜。愿那些喜爱你救恩的，常说：‘当尊耶和华为大！’”

 诗篇 40:16

        一百六十九英里。这是 Ellie 一天内为送孩子们参加课外活动所开车的总里程数，而且这样的一天一周要发生好几次。我们当中的许多人都经历过这样的情形吧？不管是通勤、送学步的孩子去上学前班，或是接送大孩子去排球训练、青少年聚会——或甚至这些全都包含在内——很多女性都能理解花大量时间坐在车里的感受。
        这样的生活很容易让人觉得：“我被造不是为了这样的琐事。”觉得沉重、觉得被压得喘不过气。
        Ellie 起初记录行车里程只是为了好玩。但随着里程表数字的不断跳动，她的心情却愈发烦躁。每次坐进驾驶座，她心里都会泛起一阵厌烦。如果孩子们在车里因为久坐而发脾气，那就更糟糕了——那个温柔体贴的妈妈不见了，取而代之的是一个情绪紧绷、容易暴怒的女人，她会怒斥孩子：“这是你们选择的活动，又不是我非要你们去！”
       有一天，交通特别糟糕，女儿们情绪低落，而且她们还迟到了。Ellie 再也忍不住了。她送完孩子后，决定不去赶行程，而是出去走走。她边走边感到沮丧和紧张……这时，竟然下起了雨。
       她终于抬起头来向神倾诉这一切。（“真的？现在下雨？”）但她这才发现，居然只下在她一个人身上！这正是神对她心情的一个完美写照。但更重要的是，她惊讶地看到，其余的天空竟然布满了难以形容、如电影般壮观的云朵。若不是这场雨，她根本不会停下来抬头仰望这壮丽的画面。
 若不是下雨，她根本不会停下来仰望这壮丽的画面。
        “谢谢你，上帝。”她轻声说道，“谢谢你让我停下来，看见这一切。”
         她拍了许多照片，想着要和女儿们分享。然后她意识到：这景象不仅让她从沮丧中暂时抽离，转而看见值得称颂的美好，也让她想到可以与孩子们一同分享、一起赞美神的理由。
        她也意识到另一个事实：这些云彩可能在她整个开车途中就已经在那里了，但她却完全错过了。她开始思考：如果她不再对每次接送心生厌烦，而是期待着每天神要向她展示的事物，会发生什么？
        姐妹们，我们多少次都是这样？那样的美好常常就在我们头顶之上，只是我们直到神差来一场小雨，才被唤醒、才愿意抬头。下次当你因突发的延误、抛锚的汽车，或是排得满满的行程被打断而情绪濒临崩溃时——抬头吧。去看看神要向你显明什么，看看那能带给你旅途喜乐的事物。
 “有福的人，是那些在卑微之处仍能看见美好的人，而别人却看不见。”

 ——卡米耶·毕沙罗（Camille Pissarro）
摘自Revelation Media于2025年5月3日星期六上午7:59发送的电子邮件

Receive Find Joy in Time for Mother’s Day
Joy in the Journey

But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness in you. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, “The Lord is great!”  — Psalm 40:16, NLT

        One hundred and sixty-nine miles. That is the distance Ellie drove her kids in one day. Multiple times a week. Just for after-school activities. Many of us have been there, right? Whether we are commuting, driving toddlers to preschool or older students to volleyball or youth group—or all of the above—many women can relate to spending lots of time in the car.
        It is easy to start feeling, I was made for more than this. To feel burdened. Put upon.
        Ellie had originally started tracking her miles for fun. But watching the odometer tick over soon brought frustration. Every time she got into the driver’s seat, dread bubbled to the surface. And if her children acted irritable about being in the car for so long, watch out! Long gone was the compassionate mom—she was replaced by an on-edge woman who snapped that it was their choice to do the activities, not hers.
        One particular day, the traffic was horrible, her girls were grumpy, and they were late. Ellie was fed up. She dropped them off and decided to walk outside instead of trying to cram in an errand. She walked along, discouraged and stressed…and then it started to rain.
        She finally looked up to the sky to talk to God about this. (Because really? Rain? Now?!) That’s when she noticed that it was raining only on her. What a perfect message from God about her mood. But more importantly, she was stunned to see that the rest of the sky was filled with indescribable, movie-worthy clouds. If it had not started raining, she would not have paused to look up and see this glorious sight.
         If it had not started raining, she would not have paused to look up and see this glorious sight.
        Thank you, God, she whispered. Thank you for forcing me to pause and see this.
        She took tons of pictures, eager to share them with her girls. Then she realized: the beauty had not only caused her to pause her discouragement long enough to see something worthy of praise, it had also caused her to turn her thoughts to something she could show her kids, something they could praise God for as well.
        She also realized something else. Those cloud formations had probably been their during her whole drive, and she had totally missed them. What would happen if she stopped dreading each drive and started eagerly looking for what God would show her each day?
Sisters, how often is there such beauty above us—something we miss until God sends a little rainstorm to wake us up? The next time we are on our last nerve because of an unexpected delay, a broken-down car, or an interruption in a packed schedule, look up. Let’s look for what God is trying to show us that will give us joy in the journey.
        “Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.”                     

—Camille Pissarro
Quote from an email from Revelation Media, Sat, May 3 at 7:59 AM, 2025.

神知道什么对我们有益
魏愛玲師母

世人对“善”的定义与上帝的定义截然不同！罗马书8:28说：“我们知道，万事都互相效力，叫愛神的人得益处，就是按他旨意被召的人。”
          所以这节经文说，上帝在万事上行事——不仅仅是孤立的事件——是为了我们的益处！我们知道这并不意味着发生在我们身上的一切都是善的。在这个堕落的世界里，邪恶盛行，但上帝能够扭转一切境况，为我们带来长久的益处！上帝行事并非为了让我们快乐，而是为了成就祂的旨意。也请注意，这应许并非针对所有人，只有愛上帝并按祂旨意蒙召的人才能领受。蒙召的人是那些被圣灵感动并有能力接受基督的人。这些人（我们）对生活有了新的视角和心态。他们（我们）信靠的是上帝，而不是人生的财富；他们（我们）在天堂而非尘世寻求安全；他们（我们）学会接受痛苦和逼迫，而不是怨恨，因为上帝与他们（我们）同在。
         上帝的最终目标是让我们更像耶稣！上帝是一位慈愛的良父。祂知道什么对我们有益，也总是知道我们需要什么，好让我们能够成就祂为我们预备的旨意！我们现在知道，在基督徒的生活中，这个过程绝非易事！上帝所成就的“善”远比个人的境遇更为广阔。上帝正在建立祂的国度……“使万物与自己和好”，而终极的善也包含在这过程中……
       我们的天父比我们更了解我们所需要做的！祂与我们同行，让祂的生命更深地进入我们里面！这周我读了卡罗琳·阿伦兹（Carolyn Arends）的一篇灵修文章，想和大家分享一些其中的内容。
        我们来看歌罗西书1:19-23“因为父喜欢叫一切的丰盛在他里面居住，既然借着他在十字架上所流的血成就了和平，便借着他叫万有，无论是地上的、天上的，都与自己和好了。你们从前与　神隔绝，因着恶行，心里与祂为敌；但如今祂借着基督的肉身受死，叫你们与自己和好，都成了圣洁，没有瑕疵，无可责备，把你们引到自己面前。只要你们在所信的道上恒心，根基稳固，坚定不移，不被引动失去福音的盼望。这福音就是你们所听过的，也是传于普天下万人听的；我保罗也作了这福音的执事。”
          在我们今天早上我所用的圣经版本上说：“因为上帝乐意将祂一切的丰盛都居住在祂（耶稣）里面… 另一个翻译 NAS 说：“天父乐意将祂的丰盛体现在祂的儿子耶稣身上…”使万物与自己和好”… 耶稣在十字架上的牺牲带来了上帝与所有受造物之间的和解与和平！
这段经文的第20节使用了“全部”，但这并不意味着每个人都已经得救或将要得救！它指的是，凡愿意信靠基督的人，都有一条得救的道路！除了基督，我们的罪不可能得到赦免和除去！
         灵修作家卡罗琳谈到她听了一场复活节布道，牧师说的一句话引起了她的注意！牧师说：“世间的承诺都空洞无物！但复活节的空洞却充满了承诺！”空的十字架、空的坟墓、空的裹尸布……都充满了希望！”这位名叫卡罗琳的作家对他的话感到困扰，因为“空洞”通常带有负面的感觉。她还意识到，即使在上帝的话语中，如果你不认识主并且不研读圣经，我们有时也会发现一些难以理解和接受的事情。例如……“能力是在人的软弱上显得完全”（哥林多后书 12:9）或“愚拙的叫智慧人羞愧”（哥林多前书 1:27），或“温柔的人承受地土”（马太福音 5:5），或“虚心的人得天国”（马太福音 5:3）或“若不死就不能生”（约翰福音 12:24）….卡罗琳说，在经历困难的情况下，她很难从这些话语和承诺中找到安慰。
         她说，当她感到心碎空虚，而母亲又面临死亡时，很难感到喜乐和感恩。然而，当她默想复活，聆听讲道，并铭记主的牺牲时……她意识到，即使是死亡也充满希望……只要……我们相信祂是我们的救主！她祈祷并得到确据，就像我们在挣扎中祈祷并得到确据一样，她不是一个人在受苦，因为宇宙之主宰上帝披着我们的皮肤，为我们而死，永远消除了死亡的毒钩……
        我最近看到一首诗，上面写着：
        若非坟墓空无，我心早已空虚；
        若非坟墓空无，盼望也将无依；
        若非坟墓空无，生命失却真义。
        唯因主坟是空，生命便被充满！
  安·沃斯坎普
          没有耶稣受难日，就没有复活节！我们可以看到上帝的愛和美好的计划，看到耶稣的牺牲，圣灵不断提醒我们要常存感恩的心，坚定我们的信仰，分享福音。
         昨天，魏牧师在希伯来书 2:3 中提醒我们“我们若忽略这么大的救恩，怎能逃罪呢？这救恩起初是主亲自宣布的，后来是听见的人给我们证实了！”所以，我们想起主耶稣传讲救恩的信息，而上帝也藉着倾倒圣灵和祂的恩赐来证实祂的信息！所以，上帝用尽一切可能的方法来说服人们信靠耶稣，别无其他，才能获得救恩。忽略上帝赐予的救恩是愚昧又危险的！所以希伯来书2:1-2警告我们：“要越发郑重所听见的道理，免得我们随流失去”……这段经文并非教导信徒会失去救恩！作为信徒，我们只需要在基督徒生活中不停滞不前，避免自满和自以为是！让我们不断省察自己，聆听圣灵的声音，并彼此代祷！

GOD KNOWS WHAT’S GOOD FOR US
Elinda West
At Early Morning Prayer on April 24, 2025
 

The world’s definition of “good” is very different from God’s definition!  Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” 
        So this verse says God works in ALL THINGS–not just isolated incidents—FOR OUR GOOD!   We know this doesn’t mean all that happens to us is good. Evil is prevalent in our fallen world, but God is able to turn every circumstance around for our LONG-RANGE GOOD!  God is not working to make us happy, but to fulfill HIS purpose. Notice also that this promise is NOT for everyone, it can only be claimed by those who love God and are called according to HIS purpose. Those who are “CALLED” are those the Holy Spirit convinces and enables to receive Christ.  These people (we) have a new perspective, a new mind-set on life.  They (we) trust in God, not life’s treasures, they(we) look for security in heaven, not on earth; they(we) learn to accept, not resent, pain and persecution because God is with them(us).
        God’s ultimate goal is to make us more like JESUS!  God IS a GOOD GOOD FATHER. He knows what’s good for us and He always knows what we need so that we can accomplish his purpose for us! We know by now in our Christian life the process won’t be easy! The “GOOD” that God is working toward is much more expansive than one individual’s personal circumstances. God is establishing his kingdom… “reconciling all things to himself” and the ultimate good is to be INCLUDED in that process….
        Our Heavenly Father knows more than we do what we need! And then He walks with us in the process of letting HIS LIFE go deeper INTO us!  I was reading a devotional this week by Carolyn Arends that I thought I would share some words from.
        Let’s look at Colossians 1:19-23.  “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in HIM, and through HIM to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through HIS blood, shed on the cross.” 
       Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.  But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation– IF, you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. In our translation this morning it says, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in HIM (Jesus)…another translation NAS says,” It was the Father’s GOOD pleasure to have His fullness manifested in Jesus His Son…”to reconcile all things to Himself”….Jesus sacrifice on the cross brought reconciliation and peace between God and all of creation!  Verse 20 in this text uses ALL but does not mean everyone has been or will be saved!  It means THE WAY has been made for anyone who is willing to trust Christ to be saved! Apart from Christ there is no way for our sin to be forgiven and removed! 
        This devotional writer Carolyn was speaking about hearing an Easter Sermon and something the pastor said caught her attention!  The pastor said, “The world offers promises full of emptiness! But Easter offers emptiness full of promise! Empty cross, empty tomb, empty graveclothes… all are full of promise!”
         This writer named Carolyn felt troubled by his words because EMPTINESS usually holds a negative feeling. She also realized that even in God’s Word we find things that are sometimes hard to understand and accept IF you don’t know the Lord and study your bible. For example… “strength being made perfect in weakness” (2Cor 12:9) or “foolish things confounding the wise” (1 Cor 1:27), or “the meek inheriting the earth” (Mt 5:5), or “the poor in spirit getting the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:3) or “dying in order to live” (Jn 12:24)….Carolyn said she  found it hard when going through difficult circumstances to find comfort in all these words and promises.
         She says when she feels broken and empty, and her mom is facing death it is difficult to be joyful and thankful.  However, when she was meditating on the resurrection, hearing the sermon, and remembering our LORD’S SACRIFICE… she realized that even DEATH is full of promise… IF… we believe in Him as our Savior! She prayed and she was assured, just as we pray and are assured in our struggle, that she is NOT suffering ALONE because the God of the universe wore our skin, died our death and removed the sting of death forever…  
        I saw a poem recently that said:
        “If the tomb wasn’t empty, I would be! 
         If the tomb wasn’t empty, our hope would be! 
        If the tomb wasn’t empty our hearts would be!
       ONLY because the tomb is empty, can life be fulfilling!”
                         Ann Voskamp
          Without Good Friday there would be no Resurrection Sunday! We can see God’s Love and Good Plan and we see Jesus’ sacrifice and we have the Holy Spirit to keep reminding us to keep a Thankful Heart, stand firm in our faith and share the Good News.
         Yesterday Wei Mushr reminded us in Hebrews 2:3 “how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard HIM!”  So, we are reminded the Lord Jesus preached the message of salvation and God confirmed his message by pouring out the Holy Spirit and His gifts! So, God used every means possible to convince people to trust Jesus and nothing else for our salvation.
         To ignore the salvation God has provided is foolish and dangerous! So, we have this warning in Hebrews 2: 1-2 to “pay more careful attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away” … These verses in this text do NOT teach that believers can lose their salvation!!  We just need, as believers to Not grow stagnate in our Christian life, we need to avoid complacency and self-righteousness!! Let’s keep examining ourselves, keep our ears open to the Holy Spirit and praying for one another!