害怕死去的麦子
假定与信心
经文
诗篇三十七1-26
1（大卫的诗。）不要为作恶的心怀不平，也不要向那行不义的生出嫉妒。
2因为他们如草快被割下，又如青菜快要枯干。
3你当倚靠耶和华而行善，住在地上，以他的信实为粮；
4又要以耶和华为乐，他就将你心里所求的赐给你。
5当将你的事交托耶和华，并倚靠他，他就必成全。
6他要使你的公义如光发出，使你的公平明如正午。
7你当默然倚靠耶和华，耐性等候他；不要因那道路通达的和那恶谋成就的心怀不平。
8当止住怒气，离弃忿怒；不要心怀不平，以致作恶。
9因为作恶的必被剪除；惟有等候耶和华的必承受地土。
10还有片时，恶人要归于无有；你就是细察他的住处也要归于无有。
11但谦卑人必承受地土，以丰盛的平安为乐。
12恶人设谋害义人，又向他咬牙。
13主要笑他，因见他受罚的日子将要来到。
14恶人已经弓上弦，刀出鞘，要打倒困苦穷乏的人，要杀害行动正直的人。
15他们的刀必刺入自己的心；他们的弓必被折断。
16一个义人所有的虽少，强过许多恶人的富余。
17因为恶人的膀臂必被折断；但耶和华是扶持义人。
18耶和华知道完全人的日子；他们的产业要存到永远。
19他们在急难的时候不致羞愧，在饥荒的日子必得饱足。
20恶人却要灭亡。耶和华的仇敌要像羊羔的脂油（或译：像草地的华美）；他们要消灭，要如烟消灭。
21恶人借贷而不偿还；义人却恩待人，并且施舍。
22蒙耶和华赐福的必承受地土；被他咒诅的必被剪除。
23义人的脚步被耶和华立定；他的道路，耶和华也喜爱。
24他虽失脚也不至全身仆倒，因为耶和华用手搀扶他（或译：搀扶他的手）。
25我从前年幼，现在年老，却未见过义人被弃，也未见过他的后裔讨饭。
26他终日恩待人，借给人；他的后裔也蒙福！
信息分享
今天我们会思想神设置在金钱上的第二个目的，就是肯定祂在我们生命中那充满爱的引导。神要使用金钱，不论是足够或缺乏，来确认祂在我们生命中所作出的许多决定里、都有祂的指示和引导。我经常会遇到一些基督徒，他们告诉我，在属灵生命的进程里，最大的功课是在神赐予或不赐予金钱时，懂得如何学习辨别神的引导。
好些年前，一位牧者与我谈及他怎样求神在执行某个计划中引导他，可是他的祷告是：「主啊，请给我这项事工所需的金钱，否则的话事情没有办法完成。」结果因为没钱，那位牧者只好向人借钱来执行那个计划。但是几个星期以后，计划出现了严重的困难，他被迫宣告破产。
我对他说：「你知道是甚么令你在神没有提供金钱的情况下仍然继续往前走吗？」他停了几分钟后含着眼泪回答：「我没有掌握好假定和信心之间的分别。」我问：「那分别是甚么呢？」他回答说：「信心是相信神透过我们来实现祂的计划；假定是我们自己决定想要实现甚么，并认为那是神的心意，要神在这事上帮助我们。」
我们总是很轻易地宣称基督是我们生命的主，但正如有人这么说：「我们惟有完全顺服基督在我们日常生活的决定上所作的推动或限制，这样才是真正的尊祂为主。」
「金钱的赏赐与否，其中都有神的引导」
进深研究
诗四十六1-11，四十1；赛二十六8
1. 我们可以怎样认识神？
2. 你今天会花多少时间等候神？
祈祷
我的主、我的神，您知道每当我以为您没有马上行动的时候，我就会「催促」您。求您帮助我对于圣灵的工作有敏锐的判断力，也理解您在我生命中所设置的限制。奉主耶稣的名祈求。阿们。
The Corn of Wheat Afraid to Die
Presumption versus faith
Bible reading:
Psalm 37:1-26
1 Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The blameless spend their days under the Lord's care, and their inheritance will endure forever.
19 In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish: Though the Lord's enemies are like the flowers of the field, they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously;
22 those the Lord blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be destroyed.
23 The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing.[b]
Message
We look now at God's second purpose for money: to confirm His loving direction in our lives. God will use the supply of money or the lack of it to confirm His direction and guidance for many of the decisions we make in our lives. I constantly meet Christians who tell me that one of the biggest lessons they have learned in the Christian life is that of discerning God's guidance through His giving or His withholding of money.
Some years ago, a minister shared with me how he had asked God to guide him over a certain project, and part of his prayer, he said, went like this: "Lord, give me the money to do this, or else it just cannot be done." The money didn't come, so the minister went ahead and borrowed money for the project. A few weeks later, the project got into difficulties and he was declared bankrupt.
I said to him: "Do you know what made you go ahead even though God did not provide the money?" He paused for a few minutes, and said with tears in his eyes: "I had not then learned the difference between presumption and faith." "What is the difference?" I asked. He replied: "Faith is trusting God to achieve His purposes through us, presumption is deciding what we want to accomplish and trying to get God to do it for us." It is so easy to claim that Christ is Lord of our lives, but, as someone put it: "His Lordship is only confirmed when we are obedient to the promptings and limitations which He places on our daily decisions."
"God gives or withholds money to guide us"
Prayer
My Lord and my God, You know my proneness to "nudge" You when I don't think You are working things out right. Make me sensitive to the promptings of Your Spirit and the limitations that You set upon my life. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.
Further study
Psalm 46:1-11; 40:1
Isaiah 26:8
1.How can we know God?
2. How much time will you spend waiting on Him today?
本文英文版权属 CWR 所有，承蒙允准刊载。
背景音乐版权属 赞美之泉音乐事工 所有，承蒙允准使用。