9月22日
標 題：預備你的心
經 節：所以要約束你們的心，謹慎自守，專心盼望耶穌基督顯現的時候所帶來給你們的恩。（彼得前書一章13節）
你的心思意念是一件美好的東西！你可以熟背改變生命的經文，成為每日生活的力量。你可以默想神的話，發現神莊嚴偉大的真理。你可以分辨真理與謬誤；你可以回憶神過去的祝福。
一些最有能力的神僕，訓練自己的心思意念來服事神。摩西曾經在埃及的最高學府受教育，他為以色列人編輯律法書。以賽亞以自己博學的背景，寫出聖經中佔有崇高地位的先知書。保羅曾經受教於迦瑪列的門下，迦瑪列是當代最傑出的教師。保羅因著這些訓練成為神手中的器皿，描述出新約中許多的神學理論。
可悲的是，今日的基督徒並沒有操練他們的心思意念，好為神所使用。他們允許其他人為他們思考屬靈的事。如果他們在一本書上可以查找神學思想，就不會費心去研讀神的話。如果講員說了一些權威性的話，他們查都不查，也不管他的話是否合乎聖經標準，就馬上接受他的看法。
保羅鼓勵基督徒要努力使心志成熟（哥林多前書十四：20）。他說自己屬靈的心思意念雖不成熟，然而，他已經操練自己的心思，好能夠明瞭神最偉大的真理（哥林多前書十三：11）。他不允許其他人為他思考。當你成為基督徒時，神會更新你的心思意念（羅馬書十二：2）。要使用自己的心思意念在榮耀神的事情上。
Prepare Your Mind
Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober,
and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the
revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:13)
Your mind is a wonderful thing! You can memorize
life-changing passages of Scripture that can undergird you in your daily life;
you can meditate upon God’s Word, discovering His magnificent truths; you can
discern between truth and falsehood; you can recall God’s past blessings.
Some of God’s most effective servants were those
who disciplined their minds for His service. Moses, educated in the best
schools of Egypt, assembled the books of the Law for the Israelites. Isaiah
used his scholarly mind to write an exalted prophetic book in Scripture. Paul
learned under Gamaliel, the outstanding teacher of his day, and it was through
Paul that God presented much of the theology found in the New Testament.
Sadly, many Christians today do not exercise their
minds to be of service to God. They allow others to do their spiritual thinking
for them. If they can find their theology from a book, they will not bother to
study God’s Word themselves. If a speaker makes an authoritative statement,
they readily accept it without verifying whether it is biblical.
Paul urged Christians to strive for maturity in
their thinking (1 Cor. 14:20). He said there was a time when his spiritual
thinking was immature, but he had prepared his mind to know and understand the
great truths of God (1 Cor. 13:11). He had not allowed others to do his
thinking for him. When you became a Christian, God renewed your mind (Rom.
12:2). Be certain to use your mind in a way that brings glory to God.
