二十
个祝福教导我们何为短暂,何为永恒
Day
20
Blessing #
9: Teaching Us What’s Temporary and What’s Eternal

今日读经

  • 以赛亚书 40:1-11

1 你们的上帝说:
“要安慰,安慰我的百姓。
2 要对耶路撒冷说安慰的话,
向它宣告,
它的战争已结束,
它的罪孽已赦免;
它为自己一切的罪,
已从耶和华手中加倍受罚。”

3 有声音呼喊着:
“要在旷野为耶和华预备道路,
在沙漠为我们的上帝修直大道。
4 一切山洼都要填满,
大小山冈都要削平;
陡峭的要变为平坦,
崎岖的必成为平原。
5 耶和华的荣耀必然显现,
凡有血肉之躯的都一同看见,
因为这是耶和华亲口说的。”

6 有声音说:“你喊叫吧!”
我说:“我喊叫什么呢?”
凡有血肉之躯的尽都如草,
他的一切荣美像野地的花。
7 耶和华吹一口气,
草就枯干,花也凋谢。
百姓诚然是草;
8 草必枯干,花必凋谢,
惟有我们上帝的话永远立定。

9 报好信息的锡安哪,
要登高山;
报好信息的耶路撒冷啊,
要极力扬声。
扬声不要惧怕,
对犹大的城镇说:
“看哪,你们的上帝!”
10 看哪,主耶和华必以大能临到,
他的膀臂必为他掌权;
看哪,他的赏赐在他那里,
他的报应在他面前。
11 他要像牧人牧养自己的羊群,
用膀臂聚集羔羊,抱在胸怀,
慢慢引导那乳养小羊的。

灵修与祷告

生活在2020年的美国,人们面临的一个危险是有种战无不胜的感觉。在其他时代、其他地方,人们有先见之明,明白战争会夺走他们的一些儿子,分娩会夺走他们的一些女儿,而疾病会夺去他们多人的生命。比起我们,他们更加清楚地知道,即便此生中最宝贵的福分,都是短暂的。

置身于一个充斥着Wi-Fi和口味新奇的咖啡,从小就要打各种疫苗的世界,我们很容易就会忘记这一点。事实上,在新冠病毒肆虐之前,我们不禁认为以赛亚的警告有点夸大其词:“凡有血肉之躯的尽都如草,他的一切荣美像野地的花。耶和华吹一口气,草就枯干,花也凋谢。”(以赛亚书40:6-7)。以赛亚啊,有些东西的确是短暂的,但肯定不是“凡”事都这样!

可是前几周所发生的一切使人们从顽固的反对变成顺服的接受。谁能想到,职业体育联赛竟然会停止?边境竟然会关闭?国际航班竟然会停飞?教会礼拜竟然被取消?连迪士尼的魔力之门也都关上了?

一切都可能被拿走。我们最可靠的系统也不总是可靠。一切都是短暂的。这里所说的一切,不包括……上帝的应许。

以赛亚接着对比说:“草必枯干,花必凋谢,惟有我们上帝的话永远立定。”(以赛亚书40:8)当我们承认地上的一切都是短暂的,我们就会对惟有上帝的话必永远立定这一事实露出开心的微笑。即使什么都关,也关不了记载他给我们的各样应许的圣经。你永远都不会收到寄自 the-holy-one@gmail.com 的电邮,为计划的改变向你道歉(译注:"the holy one" 意为“至圣者”)。无论我们的计划如何改变,上帝的计划永远不变。

这个病毒教会我们地上的一切是多么短暂,而拥有上帝永存之道是多么奇妙!所以今天在你读圣经时,请记住,这世上没有任何东西可以阻止耶稣的应许得以成就。什么也阻止不了。

如果这是当今混乱时代中的唯一祝福,那么我们又多一种方式来证明,基督>新冠病毒。


  • 花点时间向神献上感恩与祈求


Today's Bible Reading

  • Isaiah 40:6-11

Comfort for God’s People

1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.

3 A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

The Word of God Stands Forever

6 A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.

The Greatness of God

9 Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.

Devotional and Prayer

One of the dangers of living in 2020 America is the feeling of invincibility. In other times and places, people expected war to take some of their sons, childbirth to take some of their daughters, and disease to take many of their lives. They knew, way better than we do, that even the most precious blessings of this life are temporary.

That’s easy for us to forget in a world of Wi-Fi, fancy coffee, and childhood vaccinations. In fact, before the Coronavirus, we were tempted to think Isaiah was exaggerating when he warned, “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall,” (Isaiah 40:6-7) Some stuff might be temporary, but surely not “all,” Isaiah!

But the last few weeks have turned our staunch objections into humble admissions. Who would have thought that professional sports would ever just stop? That national borders would close? That international travel would be grounded? That church services would be suspended? That Disney’s magical gates would stay shut?

Any and everything can be taken away. Our most reliable systems can’t always be relied upon. Everything is temporary. Everything, that is, except . . . God’s promises.

Isaiah contrasts, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” (Isaiah 40:8) While we admit that everything earthly is temporary, we smile at the fact that God’s Word endures forever. No closing can close the book on his promises to us. You will never get an email from the-holy-one-@-Gmail-dot-com apologizing for a change in plans. Nothing can change God’s plans, no matter how much our plans change.

This virus has taught us how temporary everything on earth is. And how wonderful it is to have a Word that endures forever. So as you read your Bible today, recall how nothing can stop Jesus’ promises from coming true. Nothing.

If that’s the only blessing in these crazy times, it will prove, in one more way, that Christ > Corona.


  • Take a moment to give thanks and prayers to God