Luke 6: 48 (NJKV) He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.
Amidst the diverse teachings and theological stands today, we need to be careful regarding the theology and conviction that we hold. Many have walked away from the Lord, whereas others keep up their outward religious practice while inside they are full of bitterness against God. Although some have been offended by God and left the race, we want to be those who can pick ourselves up and continue onto the finishing line. One thing that will help us to prevail in our fight of faith is to know and be deeply convinced that God is always good.
Nahum1:7 (NKJV) The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.
There is a natural tendency for us to be upset and resentful when something bad happens to us or those we know. We may wonder, “why do bad things happen to good people?” or “why can’t God stop or do something about it?”, but the worst attitude that one can have is to blame or accuse God as evil or as the source of our suffering. Instead, we should have the deep conviction that God is good regardless of our suffering, because this is what will stop us from giving up or being bitter. We should have faith that His eyes are on the righteous and He will deliver us from the adversity though He never promised a quick fix. That’s where resilience and perseverance play a major role in ensuring that we don’t give up. Resilience is built on the foundation that God is good all the time even when we don’t understand it during our pain, grief and suffering.
James 1:16-17 (NKJV) Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
There are Christians who’ve been deceived by the devil into thinking that he and the hierarchy of fallen angels don’t exist, so they are unaware that there is spiritual warfare, they don’t take responsibility for their decisions made in the flesh, they have strayed and are living independently of God. Moreover, they’ve bought into the deception that God is the source of their suffering because He is angry with them and wants to punish and torment them for their sins. However, what they have forgotten is that God has chosen to see us in Christ despite our imperfections and weaknesses, we are in a covenant relationship with Him, and He has chosen to love us unconditionally—that is the foundation of His love, which is built on unconditional love.
Sermon Series: Resilience (Part 1)
奠定正确的根基
路加福音 6:48 (NJKV) 他像一个人盖房子，深深的挖地，把根基安在磐石上。到发大水的时候，水冲那房子，房子总不能摇动，因为根基立在磐石上。
在当今形形色色的教义和神学立场中，我们需要谨慎对待我们所持有的神学和信念。许多人已经放弃了与主同行，而另一些人则维持着表面的宗教行为，内心却充满了对神的苦毒。虽然有些人感觉被神冒犯而离开了赛道，但我们要成为那些能够保持振作，继续向着终点奔跑之人。能够帮助我们在信仰的途中获胜的一件事是知道并深信上帝总是良善的。
那鸿书1:7 耶和华本为善、在患难的日子为人的保障．并且认得那些投靠他的人。
当坏事发生在我们或我们认识的人身上时，我们会自然而然地感到沮丧和怨恨。我们可能想知道，“为什么坏事会发生在好人身上？”或者“为什么上帝不能阻止或做些什么呢？”人可以采取的最糟糕的态度就是责备或指责上帝是邪恶的，或者认为祂是我们痛苦的根源。相反，我们应该深信，无论我们如何受苦，上帝都是善良的，因为这能阻止我们黯然放弃或心怀苦毒。我们应该相信祂的眼目正看顾义人，祂会救我们脱离逆境，尽管祂从未承诺过会帮我们快速解决。在确保我们不放弃这一方面，韧性和毅力起到了主要的作用。韧性是建立在上帝永远良善的基础上，即使我们在遭受痛苦，悲伤和苦难时不能明白这一点。
雅各书 1:16-17 我亲爱的弟兄们、不要看错了。各样美善的恩赐，和各样全备的赏赐，都是从上头来的，从众光之父那里降下来的。在他并没有改变，也没有转动的影儿。
有些基督徒被魔鬼欺骗，认为祂和一众堕落天使都不存在，所以他们不知道有属灵的争战，他们不为自己在血气中做出的决定负责，他们已经迷失并独立于上帝而生活。此外，他们受欺哄于是相信上帝是他们痛苦的根源，因为沈对他们很生气，想要因着他们的罪而惩罚并折磨他们。然而，他们忘记的是，尽管我们不完美又软弱，但上帝选择在基督里看顾我们，我们与祂有盟约关系，祂选择无条件地爱我们——这是祂爱的基础，是建立在无条件的爱之上的。
讲章系列：韧性（第 1 部分）