结语 神 赐 予我 们 的恩典，在于 祂 借着耶 稣 基督的仆人 传扬 福音，使我 们 能因信主耶 稣 基督而 称 义 。 换 言之，我 们 唯 独 因信耶 稣 而得 称 为义 。如今我 们既属 于基督耶 稣 ，便不再 处 于神的震怒或 审 判之下，而是活在 祂 那不可 动摇 的 爱 中—— 这爱 已 浇 灌在我 们 的心里。因此，我 们 成了 爱 神的人，也成了彼此相 爱 、彼此接 纳并乐 于分享 与 关 怀 的人。 简 而言之，我 们 已成 为 一 个 充 满 主 爱 的群体。 借着主耶 稣 基督在十字架上的死，我 们 罪得赦免；借着 祂 的 复 活，我 们 在神面前被算 为义 。我 们 因此蒙受了 极 大的福分， 获 得了救恩 与 永生。 这 救恩是源于耶 稣 基督恩典的 礼 物，也是至高无上的 礼 物。作 为这 至高 礼 物的 领 受者，我 们 必 须 活出合乎主心意的生命。我 们 要 怀 着 对 救恩之恩的感恩之心敬拜神， 并 经历 生命的更新 与 改 变 。我 们 要 将 自己的意愿放下在十字架前，同心 寻 求主的旨意， 并 按此旨意生活；我 们 要 过 一 种 蒙神喜 悦与悦 纳 的事奉生活。 我 们 都是蒙恩的 债户 ，因此必 须顺 服主的主 权 ，活出 为 神 结 果子的生命。我 们 要勇敢 传扬 福音 与 信心的信息，毫不羞愧。神若 帮 助我 们 ， 谁 能 敌挡 我 们 呢？我 们既 是 真 正的基督徒，就必 须 追求 灵 命的成熟。我 们 要凭信心生活——那是一 种 在看似毫无指望 时 仍存盼望的信心。在 属灵争 战 中，我 们 要 过 得 胜 的生活， 坚 信凡在基督里的人就不被定罪 这 一 真 理。愿我 们 都能活出 与 福音相 称 的生命。
Our God turns our sorrow
into joy!
God rescued the Jews
from the hands of their enemies,
turning their sorrow and
tears into joy and celebration.
On that historic day,
Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews
throughout the provinces
of the Persian Empire,
instructing them to
annually observe
the 14th and 15th days
of the month of Adar
(the days when the Jews
gathered together and defended themselves
against their enemies,
killing 75,000 who hated them)
as days of feasting and
joy, of giving presents to one another and gifts to the poor.
Thus, the Jews followed
Mordecai's instructions
and celebrated these
days as an annual festival called "Purim,"
meaning "lots"
or "destiny" (Internet).
(Ref.: Esther 9:16-23).
This festival of Purim
commemorates the day when the Jews,
under threat from their
enemy Haman who plotted to destroy them
by casting lots and
choosing the 13th day of the month of Adar,
were instead saved by
God using Esther and Mordecai.
God moved King Ahasuerus
to issue a decree
reversing Haman's evil
plot to annihilate the Jews,
thereby rescuing them
and bringing judgment upon Haman, his sons,
and all the enemies of
the Jews (vv. 24-26, 31).
All the Jews agreed to establish this
tradition of celebration
for themselves and their
descendants,
and for all who would
join their community as Jews,
ensuring that they would
annually observe these two days at the appointed time.
And they vowed to
observe these days of Purim annually,
celebrating them with
joy and sending gifts to each other and to the poor.
These days were to be remembered and observed throughout every generation,
every family, province, and city in the Persian Empire,
so that the Jews would
never forget
the events that had
happened to them (vv. 27-28).
When I meditate on these
words, I am reminded of Psalms 30:11 –
"You turned my
mourning into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy."
Applying Jeremiah 31:13
to this,
"God turns our
sorrow into joy and comforts us,
giving us joy instead of
mourning."
When I reflect on the
mention of the Jews feasting,
I am reminded of Psalms
23:5 –
"You prepare a
table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with
oil; my cup overflows."
Similarly, when God
rescues us and grants us victory, as He did for the Jews,
we learn the lesson to
rest, celebrate,
exchange gifts with one
another, and also to help the poor.
댓글
댓글 쓰기