讀經:彼得前書第五章

默想:「務要謹守、警醒,因為你們的仇敵魔鬼,如同吼叫的獅子,遍地遊行,尋找可吞吃的人。」(彼前5:8)

默想一:基督徒為什麼「務要謹守、儆醒」?因為我們的仇敵魔鬼撒但知道自己的時候不多,牠就像死亡前的掙扎,使牠本來殺害人靈魂的兇殘面目表露出來,像一隻「吼叫的獅子」,到處吞吃撕碎,。但到那時,牠不能再假裝成「光明的天使」了。在公義審判的神面前,牠必站立不住,被扔到硫磺的火湖裡受永刑是牠的結局(啟20:10)。

默想二:怎樣的人是魔鬼在尋找要吞吃的人?就是那些軟弱而打盹(不警醒)的基督徒。事實上,我們沒有哪一個人能誇自己是剛強的人。魔鬼知道我們的弱點,牠也知道我們喜歡什麼,就利用世界來勾引我們,目的是要我們遠離神。為此我們一定要「儆醒禱告,免得入了迷惑」(太26:41),用堅固的信心抵擋魔鬼。

禱告: ,天父上帝,感謝袮永遠同在的應許。袮不僅是我的力量,也是我隨時的幫助。屬靈爭戰越來越激烈時,求袮的聖靈充滿我、管理我、引導我、提醒我,我願「靠著主耶穌,依賴祂的大能大力,作剛強的人」(弗6:10)。奉耶穌得勝的名禱告,阿們!

Bible Reading: 1 Peter 5.

Insight:  “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1Pe 5:8)

Insight one: Why do Christians have to “be alert and of sober mind”? It is because our enemy, the devil Satan, knows that it does not have much time left. It is like the struggling before death, which makes the devil expose its brutal face of killing human souls. It is like a “roaring lion”, devours and rips everywhere. But by then, it can no longer pretend to be an “angel of light”. It cannot stand against God’s righteous judgment. The end of the devil is to be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur for ever and ever. (Rev 20:10)

Insight two: What kind of people is the devil looking for and devour? They are the Christians who are weak and who slumber (not alert). In fact, none of us can boast that we are strong people. The devil knows our weaknesses, and it knows what we like. It uses the world to seduce us in order to keep us away from God. For this we must “watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” (Mat 26:41) We resist the devil with our strong faith.

Prayer: God heavenly Father, thank You for the promise that You will ever be with me. You are not only my strength, but also my very present help. When spiritual warfare becomes more and more fierce, please have Your Holy Spirit fills in me, rules me, guides me, alerts me, and I would like to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. (Eph 6:10) I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

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