Jesus takes us as we are and makes us what we should be.

耶稣接纳我们的本相，并陶造我们活出祂的样式。

Show me your ways, , teach me your paths. Psalm 25:4

耶和华啊，求祢将祢的道指示我，将祢的路教训我！-诗篇25篇4节

As a boy, I watched my father plow fields that had never been cultivated. On the first pass the plowshare would turn up large rocks that he hauled away. Then, he would plow the field again, and then again, to further break up the soil. With each pass the plow turned up other, smaller rocks that he cast aside. The process continued, requiring many passes through the field.

在小时候，我看着父亲在从未犁过的田地上耕作。在第一次犁田时，父亲会将翻出来的大块石头搬走。然后，他会一次又一次地犁田，翻松土壤。父亲每犁一趟田，就会捡出石块丢弃，犁地越多次，翻出来的石块也越小。这样的过程要持续好几趟，才能够完成犁地工作。

Growth in grace can look like a similar process. When we first become believers, some “big” sins may be exposed. We confess them to God and accept His forgiveness. But as the years pass by, and as God’s Word passes through us and sinks into our innermost being, the Holy Spirit brings other sins to the surface. Sins of the spirit once thought to be mere peccadilloes—small, seemingly unimportant offenses—are revealed as ugly, ruinous attitudes and actions. Sins like pride, self-pity, complaining, pettiness, prejudice, spite, self-serving indulgence.

在恩典中成长也有点类似这样的过程。当我们初信主时，有些“大”的罪被显露出来，我们向上帝认罪，祈求赦免。随着日子过去，因着上帝的话语进入我们的生命，洗涤我们的心灵，圣灵会让我们看见自己其他的罪。心思意念中的罪，曾一度被视为不过是微小、无关紧要的罪，但却展现出丑陋、具有毁坏性的态度和行为。这些罪包括骄傲、自怜、埋怨、吝啬、偏见、怨恨和自私自利等。

God reveals each sin so He can cast it aside. He reveals to heal. When harmful hidden attitudes come to the surface, we can pray as the psalmist David did, “For the sake of your name, , forgive my iniquity, though it is great” (Psalm 25:11).

上帝叫这些罪一一浮现出来，是为了将之除去，让我们得着医治。当这些有害的、隐藏的态度浮出表面时，我们可以像诗人大卫那样祷告说：“耶和华啊，求祢因祢的名赦免我的罪，因为我的罪重大。”（诗篇25篇11节）

Humbling exposure, though painful, is good for the soul. It’s one of the ways in which He “instructs sinners in his ways.” He “guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” (vv. 8–9).

这丑陋的一面被显露出来，固然让人感到痛苦，却是对心灵有益。上帝用这样的方式“指示罪人走正路。祂必按公平引领谦卑人，将祂的道教训他们”（8-9节）。

Dear heavenly Father, Thank You for remembering us according to Your love, Lord. Instruct us and guide us. Teach us to live as those who have been forgiven much. And May we show that grace and mercy to others.

Psalm 25:1-11 NIV

1    In you, Lord my God,
    I put my trust.

2 I trust in you;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you
    will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
    who are treacherous without cause.

4 Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
    for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
    and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
    for you, Lord, are good.

8 Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
    and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
    forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

诗篇 25:1-11 

1 耶和华啊，我的心仰望你。
2 我的神啊，我素来倚靠你，求你不要叫我羞愧，不要叫我的仇敌向我夸胜。
3 凡等候你的必不羞愧，唯有那无故行奸诈的必要羞愧。
4 耶和华啊，求你将你的道指示我，将你的路教训我。
5 求你以你的真理引导我，教训我，因为你是救我的神，我终日等候你。
6 耶和华啊，求你记念你的怜悯和慈爱，因为这是亘古以来所常有的。
7 求你不要记念我幼年的罪愆和我的过犯，耶和华啊，求你因你的恩惠，按你的慈爱记念我。
8 耶和华是良善正直的，所以他必指示罪人走正路。
9 他必按公平引领谦卑人，将他的道教训他们。
10 凡遵守他的约和他法度的人，耶和华都以慈爱、诚实待他。
11 耶和华啊，求你因你的名赦免我的罪，因为我的罪重大。

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

God’s desire to cleanse us of our sins should be matched by our desire for that cleansing. In Psalm 139 David reflects, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (vv. 23–24). His prayer expresses a longing for the cleansing and restoration that can only come from God. John echoes that invitation in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” And Jesus Himself stands ready to help. John wrote, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1). What a great promise!

上帝的心意是要洁净我们的罪，我们的回应也当是渴望得着洁净。在诗篇139篇，大卫自省说：“上帝啊，求祢鉴察我，知道我的心思；试炼我，知道我的意念，看在我里面有什么恶行没有，引导我走永生的道路”（23-24节）。他的祈求表达了渴望得着唯有上帝才能赐予的洁净和复兴。同样地，在约翰一书1章9节，约翰也这么说：“我们若认自己的罪，上帝是信实的，是公义的，必要赦免我们的罪，洗净我们一切的不义。”耶稣每时刻都能帮助我们，约翰写道：“我小子们哪，我将这些话写给你们，是要叫你们不犯罪。若有人犯罪，在父那里我们有一位中保，就是那义者耶稣基督”（约翰一书2章1节）。这是多么美好的应许啊！

Is unconfessed sin hindering your relationship with the Father? He stands ready to forgive!

你有尚未承认的罪，阻碍了你与天父之间的关系吗？祂正等着赦免你！

整理：于姊妹