十一月二十一日
不要叫神的聖靈擔憂。（弗4：30）
信徒一切所有的都必須來自基督，但惟一的來源乃是賜各樣恩典的聖靈。一切福氣既然都得藉著聖靈臨到你，因此單有默想、崇拜或恩工，若無聖靈分別爲聖的工作是産生不出好東西來的。就是好種子撒在你的心裏，若他不使種子生長，你就不喜歡也不能作他所喜悅的事。你願意爲耶穌講道嗎？但若聖靈不摸你的舌頭，你怎能開口呢？你願意禱告嗎？若聖靈不爲你代求，那是多麽單調乏味的一件事呀！你願制服你的罪嗎？你願意成爲聖潔嗎？你願意學主的榜樣嗎？你願意達到靈性的至高之境嗎？你要像神的天使一樣熱切地服侍主嗎？你不能沒有聖靈——“離了我，你們就不能作什麽。”
葡萄枝呀！你若無汁水是不能結果子的！神的兒女呀！若神不藉著他的聖靈賜生命給你，你就不會有生命！因此，我們就不當使他擔憂，使他因我們的罪而發怒。我們不要在心中消滅他任何大小的感動；讓我們遵從他每一個指示。若聖靈有這麽大的能力，那麽我們無論作什麽事都不可沒有他；若不先尋求他的賜福，我們就不當發動、從事或絕定什麽事。讓我們把他當得的榮耀歸給他，知道我們離了他就極其軟弱；因此我們要專心靠他，幷這樣禱告說：“願你敞開我的心和整個的我，好叫你進來；當我的心接受了聖靈之後，願你的聖靈自由使用我。”
“皆屬主，皆屬主，我身與我靈皆屬主。”
November
21
“Grieve
not the Holy Spirit.”–Ephesians 4:30
All that the believer has must come from Christ, but it comes solely
through the channel of the Spirit of grace. Moreover, as all blessings thus
flow to you through the Holy Spirit, so also no good thing can come out of you
in holy thought, devout worship, or gracious act, apart from the sanctifying
operation of the same Spirit. Even if the good seed be sown in you, yet it lies
dormant except he worketh in you to will and to do of his own good pleasure. Do
you desire to speak for Jesus–how can you unless the Holy Ghost touch your
tongue? Do you desire to pray? Alas! what dull work it is unless the Spirit
maketh intercession for you! Do you desire to subdue sin? Would you be holy?
Would you imitate your Master? Do you desire to rise to superlative heights of
spirituality? Are you wanting to be made like the angels of God, full of zeal
and ardour for the Master’s cause? You cannot without the Spirit–“Without
me ye can do nothing.” O branch of the vine, thou canst have no fruit
without the sap! O child of God, thou hast no life within thee apart from the
life which God gives thee through his Spirit! Then let us not grieve him or
provoke him to anger by our sin. Let us not quench him in one of his faintest
motions in our soul; let us foster every suggestion, and be ready to obey every
prompting. If the Holy Spirit be indeed so mighty, let us attempt nothing
without him; let us begin no project, and carry on no enterprise, and conclude
no transaction, without imploring his blessing. Let us do him the due homage of
feeling our entire weakness apart from him, and then depending alone upon him,
having this for our prayer, “Open thou my heart and my whole being to
thine incoming, and uphold me with thy free Spirit when I shall have received
that Spirit in my inward parts.”
