Category: Odds & Ends

“The same Jesus who turned water into wine can transform your home, your life, your family, and your future. He is still in the miracle-working business, and his business is the business of transformation.” – Pastor Adrian Rogers

“The new life is not a matter of mere moral reformation, but of spiritual transformation.” – John R. W. Stott

“We take what we think are the tools of spiritual transformation into our own hands and try to sculpt ourselves into robust Christlike specimens. But spiritual transformation is primarily the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the Master Sculptor.” — Jerry Bridges

“把水变成酒的同一个耶稣能够改变你的家、你的生活、你的家庭和你的未来。他仍然在做奇迹的工作，而他的事业就是改变人生。”——牧师艾德里安·罗杰斯

“新生活不仅仅是道德上的改造，而是灵性的转变。”——约翰·R·W·斯托

“我们把自己认为能带来灵性转变的工具掌握在自己手中，试图将自己雕琢成健壮的基督化样本。但灵性的转变主要是圣灵的工作。他才是大师雕塑家。”——杰瑞·布里奇斯

“God gives his gifts where he finds the vessel empty enough to receive them.” — C. S. Lewis

“上帝把礼物给那些容器足够空，可以接收它的人。”——C. S. 路易斯

By Dr. Jim Denison

Researchers at Harvard and Duke University recently collaborated in a landmark publication called The Handbook of Religion and Health. Its findings with regard to social health were nothing less than stunning:
• For delinquency and crime, sixty-nine studies found that higher religiosity was associated with lower rates of delinquent and criminal behavior. Only one study reported a negative association, yielding a positive-to-negative ratio of 69:1.
• For social support, the religiosity positive-to-negative ratio for increased altruism, generosity, volunteering, and charitable giving was 22:1.
• For substance abuse and addiction, the religiosity positive-to-negative ratio was 43:1.
• For marital and family stability, the religiosity positive-to-negative ratio was 19:1.
A synopsis of the report explained:

Many faith communities provide structured forms of support, including marital education, counseling, and peer support groups. In addition, faith-based welfare and assistance programs often function as informal safety nets, offering material, emotional, and social support during periods of heightened stress such as job loss, serious illness, injury, family bereavement, or natural disasters. Multifaceted marital support during challenges can help protect against divorce.

The study adds that higher levels of religious involvement are also strongly associated with better mental and physical health. The greatest benefits are seen among those who attend religious services weekly or more often, a fact that makes my point today.

“Let us not neglect our meeting together”

Yesterday we discussed the “friendship depth gap” and the importance of developing transparent relationships in which we can share our real challenges and pain. Today, let’s set that conversation in a larger social context.

St. Augustine advised us, “Take care of your body as if you were going to live forever; take care of your soul as if you were going to die tomorrow.” Such “soul care” has long been the purview of the community of faith.

From the moment three thousand people were baptized at Pentecost, “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). Every description of the church in the New Testament is collective: a body with many members (1 Corinthians 12:12), a vine with many branches (John 15:1–7), and so on. There are no solos in the book of Revelation.

Paul Minear’s classic study, Images of the Church in the New Testament, lists ninety-six such images. I read through them again and found that each was collective, from “the salt of the earth” to “the people of God,” “the Holy City,” “the new humanity,” and “the kingdom of God.” Apparently, what the Lord said of humanity prior to the Fall—“It is not good that the man should be alone”—is even more true after it (Genesis 2:18). We have all sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), so we all need saving grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9). We best experience such grace when we live our faith in the family of God.

This is why we are urged to pray for each other (Ephesians 6:18), confess our sins to each other (James 5:16), forgive one another (Ephesians 4:32), encourage each other (Hebrews 10:24–25), worship together (Colossians 3:16), and work together (Ephesians 4:16). In short, “Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do” (Hebrews 10:25 NLT).

“What life is really all about”

If you’re looking for hope in hard times, reject the atomizing existentialism of our secularized society and take a step into a redemptive faith community. Share your fears with fellow believers as they share theirs with you. Step beyond what feels safe but lonely into what is risky but transformative.

Tim Keller noted,

“If this world was made by a triune God, a being of community, then relationships of love are what life is really all about.”

“Christian community means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. There is no Christian community that is more than this, and none that is less than this.” —Dietrich Bonheffer

吉姆·丹尼森博士著

哈佛大学和杜克大学的研究人员最近在一本名为《宗教与健康手册》的里程碑式刊物中进行了合作研究。关于社会健康的发现简直令人震惊：
• 关于违法和犯罪，69项研究发现，更高的宗教信仰与更低的违法和犯罪行为率相关。只有一项研究报告了负相关，因此正负比例为69:1。
• 关于社会支持，宗教信仰与增加利他行为、慷慨、志愿服务和慈善捐赠的正负比例为22:1。
• 关于物质滥用和成瘾，宗教信仰的正负比例是43:1。
• 关于婚姻和家庭稳定，宗教信仰的正负比例是19:1。
报告摘要解释道：

许多信仰团体提供结构化的支持形式，包括婚姻教育、咨询和同伴支持小组。此外，基于信仰的福利和援助项目通常作为非正式的安全网，在工作丢失、严重疾病、受伤、家庭丧失或自然灾害等压力增加的时期，提供物质、情感和社会支持。在面对挑战时，多方面的婚姻支持有助于防止离婚。

研究还指出，更高程度的宗教参与也与更好的心理和身体健康密切相关。每周或更频繁参加宗教活动的人获得的益处最大，这一点正好说明了我今天的观点。

“别忘了我们要聚会”

昨天我们讨论了“友谊深度差距”以及建立透明关系的重要性，在这种关系中我们可以分享真实的挑战和痛苦。今天，让我们把这个话题放到更大的社会背景中来看看。

圣奥古斯丁曾建议我们：“照顾你的身体，就好像你会永远活着；照顾你的灵魂，就好像你明天就会死去。”这样的“灵魂关怀”早已是信仰社区的职责所在。

从五旬节那三千人受洗的那一刻起，“他们专心遵守使徒的教导，彼此交接，共擘饼、祈祷”（使徒行传 2:42）。新约中对教会的每一个描述都是集体的：一个有许多肢体的身体（哥林多前书 12:12）、一株多枝的葡萄树（约翰福音 15:1-7）等等。在《启示录》中没有单独行动的。

保罗·米尼尔的经典研究《新约中的教会形象》列出了九十六种这样的形象。我再次阅读这些内容，发现每一个都是集体性的，从“地上的盐”到“神的子民”“圣城”“新人类”和“神的国”。显然，主在堕落前对人类所说的话——“那人独居不好”——在堕落之后更加真实（创世纪 2:18）。我们都犯了罪，亏缺了神的荣耀（罗马书 3:23），所以我们都需要藉着信心得到救恩的恩典（以弗所书 2:8-9）。当我们在神的家庭中实践我们的信仰时，最能体验到这种恩典。

这就是为什么我们被鼓励为彼此祷告（以弗所书 6:18）、向彼此认罪（雅各书 5:16）、彼此饶恕（以弗所书 4:32）、互相鼓励（希伯来书 10:24–25）、一起敬拜（歌罗西书 3:16）、共同努力（以弗所书 4:16）。总之，“我们不可停止聚会，好像那些人一样”（希伯来书 10:25 新生命版）。

“生活真正的意义是什么”

如果你在困难时期寻找希望，那就拒绝我们世俗化社会中的原子化存在主义，迈入一个有救赎意义的信仰群体。把你的恐惧告诉其他信徒，同时倾听他们分享的恐惧。走出看似安全却孤独的生活，进入险中有变的转变之路。

蒂姆·凯勒指出，

“如果这个世界是由三位一体的上帝创造的，一个有共同体性质的存在，那么生命真正的意义就是充满爱的关系。”

“基督徒团体意味着通过耶稣基督以及在耶稣基督里面的团体。没有任何基督徒团体会超出这个范围，也没有任何会低于这个范围。” —迪特里希·邦赫费尔

“Humility is the garden of all the virtues.” —John Chrysostom

“谦逊是所有美德的花园。”——约翰·金口尔

“God has proven himself as a faithful father. Now it falls to us to be trusting children.” — Max Lucado

“上帝已经证明了自己是一位忠实的父亲。现在轮到我们做值得信赖的孩子了。” — 马克斯·卢卡多