Category: Odds & Ends

At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus wraps up his teaching by telling his followers:

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24–27)

In this passage, Jesus makes clear that it’s not enough to simply hear Christ’s commands or to have a vague understanding of what they mean. It’s only when we put those commands into action that we can find the kind of foundation necessary to weather the storms that will inevitably come our way.

Most people in America today have at least a passing awareness of who Jesus is and are even familiar with some of his teachings. But familiarity is not enough. Christ demands obedience, and nothing less will suffice.

We are blessed to live in a time when at least some elements of Christ’s commands for how we should live and how we should treat one another are already accepted as the morally right thing to do. That puts us head and shoulders above those first Christians, who lived in a world built on a view much closer to Thucydides than Jesus.

At the same time, though, the lost around us are unlikely to take that next step from awareness to obedience unless they see us do it first.

So, as we finish up for today, ask the Holy Spirit if there are any areas of your life where you’ve settled for less than full obedience? Are there cracks in your foundation, or rooms built on sand?

Most of us have some area we have tried to keep back as our own. But God’s promise is that they won’t hold up for long. And I fear the same will be true of our nation as well unless something changes.

And that’s where you and I come in.

God has given us the privilege of partnering with him in helping to bring our culture back to Jesus, one life at a time. – Dr. Ryan Denison

在登山宝训的结尾，耶稣通过告诉他的追随者来总结他的教导：

凡听见我这话就去行的，好比一个聪明人，把房子盖在磐石上。雨淋、水冲、风吹、撞着那房子，房子总不倒塌，因为根基立在磐石上。凡听见我这话不去行的，好比一个无知的人，把房子盖在沙土上。雨淋、水冲、风吹、撞着那房子，房子就倒塌了，并且倒塌得很厉害。

在这段经文中，耶稣明确指出，仅仅听从基督的命令或对其含义有模糊的理解是远远不够的。只有当我们将这些命令付诸行动时，我们才能找到应对必将到来的风暴所需的那种坚实基础。

今天美国的大多数人至少对耶稣有所了解，甚至熟悉他的一些教义。但仅仅熟悉是不够的。基督要求顺从，其他任何东西都不能代替。

我们很幸运生活在这样一个时代，至少基督教关于我们应如何生活以及如何互相对待的一些教导，已经被接受为道德上正确的行为。这使我们远远超越了那些早期基督徒，他们生活在一个世界中，这个世界的价值观与修昔底德的思想相比，更接近于他而非耶稣。

然而，与此同时，除非迷失的人先看到我们这样做，否则他们不太可能从意识迈向服从这一步。

所以，在我们今天结束的时候，问问圣灵，在你生活的哪些方面，你是否甘于不完全顺服？你的基础是否有裂缝，或者房间是否建在沙土上？

我们大多数人都有一些想要保留为自己的领域。但上帝的应许是，它们不会持续太久。我担心，除非有所改变，我们的国家也会出现同样的情况。

这就是你我出场的地方。

上帝赐予我们与他合作的特权，帮助将我们的文化一点一滴地带回耶稣面前。Dr. Ryan Denison

“Peace of heart is the natural outcome of purity of heart.” – Spiros Zodhiates

“If your goal is purity of heart, be prepared to be thought very odd.” —Elisabeth Elliot

“心灵的平静是心灵纯净的自然结果。”——斯皮罗斯·佐迪亚特斯

“如果你的目标是心灵的纯净，就要做好被人认为非常古怪的准备。” — 伊丽莎白·艾略特

“Sin will always take you further than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay.” – Adrian Rogers

“罪总会把你带得比你想去的地方更远，让你停留比你想待的时间更久，并且让你付出的代价比你愿意支付的更多。”——阿德里安·罗杰斯

“Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.” —John Owen

“要消灭罪恶，否则它将消灭你。” — 约翰·欧文

“Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Psalm 16:11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy;

Acts 2:28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.

“No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.” — C. S. Lewis

Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

“喜悦是上帝存在的最可靠标志。”——皮埃尔·泰雅尔·德·夏尔丹

诗篇 16:11 你必将生命的道路指示我；在你面前有满足的喜乐；

使徒行传 2:28 你必将生命的道路指示我；在你面前，我必充满喜乐。

“没有哪颗真诚且持续渴望喜悦的心会错过它。寻求的人会找到。敲门的人会得到开启。”——C·S·路易斯

马太福音 7:7 “你们祈求，就给你们；寻找，就寻见；敲门，就给你们开门。

8 因为凡祈求的，就得着；寻找的，就寻见；敲门的，就给他开门。”