11月23日 使信徒分心的事
耶和华啊，求你怜悯我们，怜悯我们！因为我们被藐视，已到极处。（诗一二三3）
最要当心的，不是那些破坏我们对神信仰的事，而是破坏我们基督徒性情的事。“所以当谨守你们的心，不可行诡诈。”心智的影响至大，它是直透人心灵的仇敌，叫人的心偏离神。心智的某些倾向，是绝不容稍有放任的；若放任，就使我们对神的信心偏离。除非恢复在神面前安息的心，否则我们对他的信心就尽失，掌管我们的只是对肉体和智慧的信心。
提防“今生的忧虑”，因为这些事叫心灵产生错误的性情。很细微的事也足以分散我们对神的心，其能力之大，叫人诧异。要拒绝被今生的挂虑所占有。
另一分心的事，就是好辩的欲念。圣奥古斯丁祷告说：“主啊，救我脱离自我辩护的情欲。”心智的倾向，会破坏对神的信心。“我一定要为自己解释清楚，我一定要叫人明白。”主从来不解释什么；他让错处自己更正。
我们有时察觉别人的属灵生命停滞不前，接着就批评起来；这样，我们就阻塞了通往神的道路。神给我们洞悉力，并不是要我们批评，乃是要我们代求。
祈祷◆多少时候，我发现在我里面的是“律”，而不是我的智力，“看见耶和华的使者而跨进田间”。主啊，求你加添我属灵的敏锐，以致我可以察觉到你最微小的举动。
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.
