《今日靈修默想》:『我拿什麼報答耶和華向我所賜的一切厚恩?我要舉起救恩的杯,稱揚耶和華的名。』(詩116:12-13)

默想一:今年的感恩節有什麼要感恩的嗎?有人以為今年只要是成功、亨通、賺錢、升官、無病、無災就有得感恩了。但如果沒有呢?事實上,那些擁有物質豐富和成功的人不一定會感恩,反而更不滿足,更空虛、更吝嗇、更不安。但信了主就不一樣,我們會有說不完的感恩,因為每一刻都活在主豐富的恩典裡。我們越數算神的恩典,感恩加倍地多;感恩越多,報恩加倍地多;報恩越多,喜樂加倍地多。

默想二:基督徒為什麼要向神獻上「感恩」?是因為我的一切從神而來,因此『我要以感謝為祭獻給神』(詩116:17)!神不要求我們拿什麼東西來報答祂,因為萬有都是祂所造,祂不缺乏什麼。祂要的是我們那一顆感恩的心—報答祂在十字架上的救恩。報答主恩,唯有高舉十字架,因十字架是我們得勝的旗號;傳揚十字架,因十字架是我們信仰的中心;背負十字架,因十字架通往永生之路。詩人說:「凡以感謝獻上為祭的、便是榮耀我。」(詩50:23)

禱告:親愛的天父,我滿心感謝袮,因袮的救恩臨到我這卑微的人。今年的感恩節,求祢開啟我的眼睛,讓我看見祢豐富的供應,並且細細數算祢所賜的一切恩惠。因著袮的大愛,我願用自己的生命來彰顯十字架的榮耀,以此來報答袮的奇異恩典。奉耶穌基督的名禱告,阿們!

《Today’s spiritual meditation》:  “What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” (Psa 116:12-13)

Meditation one: Is there anything to be grateful in this Thanksgiving season? Some people think it is grateful as long as the year is successful, prosperous, profitable, promoted, healthy, and disaster-free. But what if it is not? In fact, those who possess abundance and success in material are not necessarily grateful, but may even be more disgruntled, more emptiness, more miserly, and more anxious. Yet believing in the Lord is different. We have unceasing gratitude because we live in the Lord’s abundant grace every moment. The more we count the grace of God, the more we are grateful; the more we are grateful, the more we repay the grace; the more we repay the grace, the more joy we have.

Meditation two: Why do Christians sacrifice “thank offerings” to God? It is because everything that I have comes from God, so “I will sacrifice a thank offering to God” (Psa 116:17)! God does not require us to repay Him with anything, because He created everything and He does not lack anything. What He wants is our grateful heart – to repay His salvation on the cross. To repay the Lord’s grace, we should just hold up the cross because the cross is our victorious banner. Preach the cross, because the cross is the center of our faith. Carry the cross, because the cross leads to the way to eternal life. The psalmist said: “Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me.” (Psa 50:23)

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, I have such profound gratitude to You because Your salvation has come to a lowliest person like me. In this year’s Thanksgiving, please open my eyes, let me see your abundant supply and count all the blessings you bestow. Because of your great love, I am willing to dedicate my own life to manifest the glory of the cross to repay Your amazing grace. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

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