11月23日 使信徒分心的事
耶和華啊，求你憐憫我們，憐憫我們！因為我們被藐視，已到極處。（詩一二三3）
最要當心的，不是那些破壞我們對神信仰的事，而是破壞我們基督徒性情的事。“所以當謹守你們的心，不可行詭詐。”心智的影響至大，它是直透人心靈的仇敵，叫人的心偏離神。心智的某些傾向，是絕不容稍有放任的；若放任，就使我們對神的信心偏離。除非恢復在神面前安息的心，否則我們對他的信心就盡失，掌管我們的只是對肉體和智慧的信心。
提防“今生的憂慮”，因為這些事叫心靈產生錯誤的性情。很細微的事也足以分散我們對神的心，其能力之大，叫人詫異。要拒絕被今生的掛慮所佔有。
另一分心的事，就是好辯的欲念。聖奧古斯丁禱告說：“主啊，救我脫離自我辯護的情欲。”心智的傾向，會破壞對神的信心。“我一定要為自己解釋清楚，我一定要叫人明白。”主從來不解釋什麼；他讓錯處自己更正。
我們有時察覺別人的屬靈生命停滯不前，接著就批評起來；這樣，我們就阻塞了通往神的道路。神給我們洞悉力，並不是要我們批評，乃是要我們代求。
祈禱◆多少時候，我發現在我裡面的是“律”，而不是我的智力，“看見耶和華的使者而跨進田間”。主啊，求你加添我屬靈的敏銳，以致我可以察覺到你最微小的舉動。
November 23 Distraction Of Antipathy
“Have mercy upon us, 0 Lord,
have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly piled with contempt.” Psalm 123:3
The thing of which we have to beware is
not so much damage to our belief in God as damage to our Christian temper.
“Therefore take heed to thy spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.” The temper
of mind is tremendous in its effects, it is the enemy that penetrates right
into the soul and distracts the mind from God. There are certain tempers of
mind in which we never dare indulge; if we do, we find they have distracted us
from faith in God, and until we get back to the quiet mood before God, our
faith in Him is nil, and our confidence in the flesh and in human ingenuity is
the thing that rules.
Beware of “the cares of this world,”
because they are the things that produce a wrong temper of soul. It is
extraordinary what an enormous power there is in simple things to distract our
attention from God. Refuse to be swamped with the cares of this life.
Another thing that distracts us is the
lust of vindication. St. Augustine prayed – “O Lord, deliver me from this lust
of always vindicating myself.” That temper of mind destroys the soul’s faith in
God. “I must explain myself; I must get people to understand.” Our Lord never
explained anything; He left mistakes to correct themselves.
When we discern that people are not going
on spiritually and allow the discernment to turn to criticism, we block our way
to God. God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that
we may intercede.
