牧者心聲
分辨神在你日常生活中的作為
周曉暉牧師
2023 年 1 月 7 日／8 日
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今年北宣家以這一句話，作為全體的屬靈成長方向：
分辨神在你日常生活中的作為，
並分享這故事⋯⋯
在生活裡，經歷神的帶領和恩情過後，我們會否向神謝恩？
謝恩後，我們也要好好為這經歷「存檔」，而「存檔」的最佳方法，就是與別人分享。你有否這樣的經驗，每逢要講述見證，你只想起多年前的得救見證，而不易想到近期如何經歷神？你大概不是沒有經歷，而是沒有把經歷好好「存檔」。沒有被述說的經歷，會隨著時間而褪色，你往後也不易記起神常有的同行。
在風風雨雨的人生季節裡，神當然有祂的旨意和作為。若能認清楚神有些甚麼帶領，辨別到祂是怎樣走進我們的處境中，那會有助我們面對當下。哥林多後書二章14節：「感謝神！常率領我們在基督裡誇勝，並藉著我們在各處顯揚那因認識基督而有的香氣。」我們要明辨神的帶領與作為，然後「存檔」——多向人述說祂的恩情。
「明辨」，是要讓人知道自己正在經歷神的作為。當然，我們不能牽強附會，把自己的經歷貿然對號入座。「明辨」就是以智慧作出分辨，哪些事是神的手在動工？在哪些事裡面，神正顯明祂的心意？「明辨」的準則之一就是去問：神說了甚麼？最基本的，就是從神親自的啟示和祂起初頒佈的誡命，去認識到祂的性情與標準。當以色列民被拯救出埃及，經歷了神所行的大能奇事後，神就在西奈山向他們傳達十誡。透過誡命，神的子民就能認識神，知道怎樣去敬畏祂，得著生活中的智慧。
提到「十誡」，人多會聯想起一系列的「這樣不許、那樣不准」的禁令。
十誡的原文直譯是「十句話」，這十句話盛載著神的心意，是屬神子民在生命與日常中需用上的智慧。就如父母對幼童說：「不可進入廚房。」這句話是嚴苛的禁令、限制孩子探索的自由嗎？當然不是！這句話是愛。父母心中就是不想孩子超越這界限後，發生意外；因為一次嚴重的受傷，就會影響往後生活及活動的自由。
箴言說：「敬畏耶和華是智慧的開端；認識至聖者便是聰明。」（九 10）在這一季，我們會重溫這「十句話」，認識神親口的吩咐，並在日常生活中分辨出祂對我們的指引，進一步體會祂的心意，經歷祂常有的恩情。
This year, the direction of spiritual growth for the NPAC family is this:
Discerning God's works in your daily life and share the stories…
Having experienced God’s guidance, grace and love in our daily life, will we give thanks to God?
After giving thanks, we also need to properly "file" the experience. The best way to "file" this would be to share it with others. Have you ever had the experience that every time you are to give a testimony, you could only recall your conversion testimony years ago but not how you have experienced God recently? It is quite likely that it is not because you do not have recent experiences. It is just that you have not "filed" them properly. Unrecounted experiences fade as time goes by. It would also not be easy for you to remember how God has walked with you as He always does.
In life's stormy seasons, God certainly has His will and works. If we can clearly discern God's guidance and how He steps into our situations, it will help us face what is before us. 2 Corinthians 2:14 says: "But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere." We need to discern the guidance and works of God and "file" them – to share His grace and love with others more.
We "discern" so we know we are experiencing God's works. Of course, we cannot be too far-fetched and attribute all our experiences to the works of God. To "discern" means to distinguish with wisdom which are the works of God's hands. What are the instances in which God is revealing His will? One yardstick for "discernment" is to ask: What did God say? Fundamentally, we need to know God’s character and standards through His revelation of Himself and the early commandments He proclaimed. After the Israelites were rescued from Egypt and had experienced God’s mighty deeds, God proclaimed the Ten Commandments to them at Mount Sinai. Through the commandments, the people of God were able to know God, how to fear Him and get wisdom for daily life.
Talking about the "Ten Commandments," people usually think of a series of "you shall not do this; you shall not do that" kind of prohibitions.
The literal translation of the "Ten Commandments" from the original language is really "Ten Words." These ten words or statements are filled with the will of God and represent the wisdom that the people of God need in life and in their daily encounters. It is like parents saying to a child: "Do not go into the kitchen." Is this a harsh prohibition that restricts the child's freedom of exploration? Certainly not! It is love. In the parents' hearts, they do not want the child to trespass and get an accident. It is because a serious injury will affect the child's freedom in life and activity in the rest of his life.
Proverbs says: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" (9:10). In this first quarter, we will review these "Ten Words," to know the commands from God Himself and discern His guidance for us in our daily life. This will help us further understand His heart and experience His enduring grace and love.
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