[今日經文 Today’s Reading: 創世記 Genesis 12-15]
1 耶和華對亞伯蘭說：「你要離開本地、本族、父家，往我所要指示你的地去。 2 我必使你成為大國，我必賜福給你，使你的名為大；你要使別人得福。 3 為你祝福的，我必賜福給他；詛咒你的，我必詛咒他。地上的萬族都必因你得福。」4 亞伯蘭就遵照耶和華的吩咐去了；羅得也和他同去。亞伯蘭離開哈蘭的時候年七十五歲。
創世記 genesis 12:1-4
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
神呼召亞伯蘭，對他說：「你要離開本地、本族、父家，往我所要指示你的地去。」 亞伯蘭不知道自己最終的歸宿在哪裡，但即使到了七十五歲高齡，他也沒有向神提問或爭論； 聖經只是說「亞伯蘭就遵照耶和華的吩咐去了。」 難怪亞伯拉罕被稱為「信心之父」！ 為了到達上帝的應許之地，我們需要離開我們的「舒適區」（早上也許就是我們的床！）。 只有當我們完全依靠神時，我們才能成為許多人的祝福。
美國已經遠離了上帝，轉而擁抱了世界的諸神。 美國今天的局勢為基督徒敲響了警鐘！ 我們在「吾珥」待得太久了。
寇爾森很深刻地描述了這種情況：
戰鬥使人精疲力竭，我們試著從戰場撤離， 退到安全的聖殿中，藉著投身大型教會所提供的每個節目， 保持忙碌， 希望藉此可以使我們自己和孩子們逃脫將要來臨的荒涼。
該是我們離開「舒適區」的時候了，讓我們進入文化，在那裏我們被呼召成為「變革推動者」，為黑暗帶來光明。 寇爾森的呼聲仍在等待我們的回應：
我們必須成為敢於將基督教從城堡心態和神聖堡壘掙脫出來的人; 並且，再次將它建立成為一種偉大的 生活系統和文化力量，承認造物主是一切萬有的主宰。……這是個充滿契機的歷史時刻，當教會忠心於她的呼召時，總是帶來 文化的改革。 當教會是真正的教會、一個在生活各個層面順從聖經教導、活出信仰的群體時，ㄧ定會 更新周遭文化、並 創造新文化。
2007年，當我離開紐約市和我的工作領域，與家人一起前往肯塔基州路易斯維爾，在那裡我開始我在神學院的學習時，我體驗到了亞伯拉罕「離開本地、本族、父家」時的感受。 但現在我可以見證神確實是信實的，如果我沒有離開「吾珥」，我就無法回應神的呼召建立「吹號者事工」。
願神幫助我們離開「舒適區」，憑著信心邁入「神所要指示我們的地！」 這樣做，我們將為許多人帶來祝福！
禱告：親愛的天父，請賜給我們信心和勇氣，讓我們走出舒適區，進入你指示我們進入的土地。奉耶穌的名，阿們。
When God called Abram, He said, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” Abram did not know where his final destination would be, yet even at the old age of seventy-five he did not ask questions or argue with God; the Bible simply states “So Abram went”. No wonder Abraham is called “the Father of Faith”! In order to reach the Promised Land of God, we need to leave our “comfort zone” (which in the mornings perhaps is our beds!). Only when we are wholly dependent on God can we become a blessing to many.
America has drifted away from God and has instead embraced the gods of the world. The country’s situation today is a wake up call for Christians! For too long we have remained in “Ur”.
Chuck Colson described this situation well:
Battle weary, we are tempted to withdraw into the safety of our sanctuaries, to keep busy by plugging into every program offered by our megachurches, hoping to keep ourselves and our children safe from the coming desolation.
It is about time to leave our “comfort zone”, to step into the culture where we are called to be “change agents” to bring light to the darkness. Colson’s charge is still awaiting our response:
We must be men and women who will dare to wrest Christianity free from its fortress mentality, its sanctuary stronghold, and establish it once again as the great life system and cultural force that acknowledges the Creator as sovereign over all… this is a historic moment of opportunity, and when the church is faithful to its calling, it always leads to a reformation of culture.
2007 when I left NYC and my field of work to go with my family to Louisville, KY where I would begin my seminary studies, I experienced a small sense of what Abraham probably felt to leave his home and the life he was accustomed to. But now I can testify that God is indeed faithful and that without leaving my “Ur” I wouldn’t have been able to respond to God’s calling to establish 「Trumpeter Ministries」.
May God help us to leave our “comfort zone” and to step by faith into “the land that God will show us”! In doing so, we will bring blessing to many!
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, please give us the faith and courage to step out of our comfort zone and to step into the land You want us to be in. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
希伯來語單字 Hebrew words:
- גּוֹי gôy (n) = nation 國
- בָּרַךְ bāreḵ (v) = to bless 賜福
- אֶרֶץ ‘ereṣ (n) = land; earth 地
