[今日經文 Today’s Reading: 創世記 Genesis 31-34]
26 那人說：「天快亮了，讓我走吧！」雅各說：「你不給我祝福，我就不讓你走。」 27 那人說：「你叫甚麼名字？」他說：「雅各。」 28 那人說：「你的名字不要再叫雅各，要叫以色列，因為你與 神和人較力，都得勝了。」
創世記 Genesis 32:26-28
26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
雅各不是一個完美的人，但他是一個拼命尋求神祝福的人。 雅各知道他所擁有的一切都來自上帝：“你向僕人所施的一切慈愛和信實，我一點也不配得。我先前只用我的一根杖過這約旦河，如今我卻成了兩隊。” （創世記 32:10）
我們中的許多人都像雅各； 我們一個人來到美國，手裡拿著兩個手提箱，但上帝賜予我們家庭、房子和事業。 所以首先，讓我們記住，這並不是我們配得上這一切，而是我們從一位仁慈的上帝那裡得到了豐富的祝福。 其次，我們需要繼續尋求上帝的祝福，不是為了享受財富，而是為了我們自己和我們周圍人的幸福。
雅各為得著神的祝福而與神摔跤，就是說雅各看重神，拼命尋求神的祝福。 Anita Diamant 在她的《如何養育一個猶太孩子》一書中說得很好：
“[上帝的] 祝福可以提醒我們，我們不是宇宙的中心（麵包來自許多雙手的工作和光合作用的奇蹟），活著是件好事（而且足夠健康，可以醒來 ， 吃， …）。”
讓我們尋求神的祝福！ 使我們在祂面前謙卑，知道我們迫切需要神，一切美好的事物都從神而來，也知道連活著都是神的祝福。
禱告：親愛的上帝，請謙卑我們，讓我們意識到我們需要祢的祝福。 給我們像雅各一樣強烈的渴望，渴望得到祢的祝福！ 奉耶穌的名。 阿們。
Jacob was not a perfect man, but he was a person who desperately sought God’s blessing. Jacob knew all that he had was from God: “I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.” (Gen. 32:10)
Many of us are like Jacob; we came to America a single individual with two suitcases in hand, but God blessed us with a family, a house, a career. So first, let us remember that it is not that we are worthy of all of this but it is rather that we have received abundant blessings from a gracious God. Second, we need to continue to seek God’s blessing, not for the enjoyment of wealth but for our wellbeing and for the wellbeing of those around us.
Jacob’s wrestling with God in order to obtain His blessing meant that Jacob cared for and desperately sought God’s blessing. Anita Diamant in her book “How to Raise a Jewish Child’ said it well:
“[God’s] [b]lessings can remind us that we are not the center of the universe (the bread comes from the work of many hands and the miracle of photosynthesis), that it is good to be alive (and healthy enough to wake, eat, …).”
Let us seek God’s blessing! May we be humble before Him and know that we desperately need God, that all good things are from God, and also that even being alive is only due to God’s blessing.
Prayer: Dear God, please humble us so that we realize we need Your blessing. Give us a strong desire like Jacob, to be desperate to receive Your blessing! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
谢谢，郑立新牧师每天发给我宝贵信息，使我得着很多。请问牧师是今天上课吗？我之前那种方式算报名吗？
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