双语灵修（葛培理牧师）：4月15日 归于上帝

4月15日

归于上帝

“所以，弟兄们，我以神的慈悲劝你们，将身体献上，当作活祭，是圣洁的，是神所喜悦的；你们如此事奉乃是理所当然的。”

罗马书12:1

4月15日是美国人胆战心惊的日子。因为这一天是我们向政府申报所得税的截止日期。通常人们会拖到最后才急于去填写早该完成的报税表格。大城市的邮局一直开到午夜，成千上万的拖延者匆忙赶去邮局，确保他们的报税表在十二点之前盖上邮戳，以免被罚款。

耶稣对门徒说：「这样，凯撒的物当归给凯撒；神的物当归给神。」（太22:21）当我们每年在这个时候赶着纳税给政府的时候，也应当思考，我们亏欠神有多少。我们的一切都是祂的！我们不能忘了，我们是神用重价买来的，神的儿子为我们破碎了身体，流出了宝血。

因为我们属于神，我们也相信救主耶稣赦免了我们的罪，神就有权期望我们奉献给祂。我们有义务将身体献上，当作活祭，是圣洁的，是神所喜悦的。我们应当守什一奉献。此外，神希望我们和他有交通和团契，就像我们这些为人父母的也都希望和孩子有同样的关系。

神希望我们借着祷告与他交谈，并通过阅读圣经和圣灵的引导来得到祂的回应。神认为这是理所当然的，事实也的确如此，因为祂为我们做的太多太多。

今日祷告：

天父，我把我的生命献给祢作为活祭。求祢用圣灵充满我，引导我遵行祢的旨意；奉耶稣的名，阿门。

April 15

RENDERING UNTO GOD

I beseech you therefore,brethren,by the mercies of God,that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,holy,acceptable unto God,which is your reasonable service.Romans 12:1

April 15 in the United States is a day dreaded by most Americans.It is the day when our income taxes are due to be paid to the government.Often there is a frantic rush to complete the forms that should have been done much earlier but were put off.Post offices in big cities stay open until midnight,and thousands of procrastinators hurry down to make sure their returns are postmarked by twelve o’clock so they will not have to pay a penalty.

Jesus told His followers to“render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s”(Matthew 22:21).At such a time of year when we are preoccupied with what we owe the government,we would benefit by thinking about what we owe God.We owe God everything!We have been bought and paid for with a terrible price,the broken body and shed blood of God’s Son.

Because we belong to God,if we have trusted in Christ to save us from our sins,God has a right to expect that we would render certain things unto Him.We have an obligation to present our bodies a“living sacrifice,made holy and acceptable to God.”We are commanded to present God with our tithes and offerings.And beyond that,God wants to have communion and fellowship with His children,much as those of us who are parents want the same relationship with our own children.

God wants us to speak to Him through prayer and to receive His answers through the reading of His Word and the leadership of His Holy Spirit.God describes all of this as“reasonable,”and so it is for One who has done so much for us.

Pray for the Day:

Father,take my life.I offer it to You as a living sacrifice.Fill me with Your Holy Spirit,and lead me to do Your will;in Jesus’Name,Amen.