双语灵修（葛培理牧师）：8 月 20 日 基督家庭

8 月 20 日

基督家庭

总要披戴主耶稣基督，不要为肉体安排，去放纵私欲。

罗马书 13:14

如果我们在危机时刻依然能保持对主的信靠，那么基督对我们来说一定是绝对真实的。谁能知道那时刻离我们有多近呢？在联合国大会、各国政要会议、全球各大报刊或电视网络编辑办公室及各国人民中，凡有洞察力的人都可以听到神审判的脚步声。事态正迅速地发展着！转向神的需要从未如此迫切。

神曾用以赛亚的话来挫败古时不敬虔的入侵者，今天这话依然对我们适用：“当趁耶和华可寻找的时候寻找他，相近的时候求告他；恶人当离弃自己的道路；不义的人当除掉自己的意念，归向耶和华，耶和华就必怜恤他；当归向我们的神，因为神必广行赦免。”（以赛亚书55:6-7）。

在与歌利亚的交锋中，大卫证明了：外在的盔甲远不如穿盔甲的人重要。除非那些有目标、有信心并正直的人同心合意、坚定不移地对主忠心，否则的话，未来的世界必定是黑暗的。

为了准备好去面对那不可避免的苦难和逼迫，我们需要促进、加强发展“基督徒细胞小组” 。 它们最理所当然应该在家庭中产生。当今美国以及世界各地，我们正目睹了多少家庭被侵蚀、解体。离婚率飙升，不举行婚礼的“同居”越来越普遍。只有稳固的基督徒家庭才能在即将到来的世界浩劫中幸存下来。也只有当我们每个家庭成员确信耶稣基督是绝对真实的，我们才能建立稳固的家庭。

今日祷告：

天父，求祢在基督里建立我的家庭，差遣我们到世界各地去，使人作祢的门徒，又使顺从跟随耶稣的群体不断增加；奉耶稣的名祷告，阿们。

August 20

THE FAMILY OF FAITH

Clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Romans 13:14, NIV

Christ must be vitally real to us if we are to remain faithful to Him in the hour of crisis. And who knows how near that hour may be? The wheels of God’s judgment can be heard by discerning people in the assembly of the United Nations, in the conferences of political leaders, in the offices of the editors of great newspapers or television networks around the world-and among the people throughout the nations. Things are happening fast! The need for a turning to God has never been more urgent.

The words of Isaiah, whom God used to confound an ancient godless aggressor, are appropriate for us today: “Seek the Lord while he may be found: call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon” (55:6-7, NIV).

In his encounter with Goliath, David proved that outward armor is not nearly so important as the man within the armor. Unless men of purpose, integrity, and faith stand together in unswerving loyalty to Jesus Christ, the future of the world is dark indeed.

To prepare ourselves for the suffering and persecution which seems so inevitable, we need also to foster and strengthen the small group movement, the concept of “Christian cells.” One obvious area where this process should take place is in the family. In the United States today, as well as in other parts of the world, we are witnessing the breakdown and erosion of the family unit. Divorce is rampant, and “living together” without the formality of a wedding ceremony is increasingly common. It is only the strong Christian family unit that can survive the coming world holocaust. And only as Jesus Christ is vitally real to us as family members can we build strong families!

Pray for the Day:

Father, build up my family in Christ, and send us out into the world to make disciples and to multiply groups that will follow Jesus in obedience; in Jesus’ Name, Amen.