3月14日 順服

順從誰，就作誰的奴僕。（羅六16）

要省察自己被什麼力量轄制，首先要承認一個難以接受的事實，就是我這樣轄制，自己要負責，因為我向此力量屈服了。我若做自己的奴僕，便要自己承擔責任，因為我向自己屈服了。同樣地，我若順服神，是因為自己向神降服。

人若自幼順從了自私自利之心，就會發現這是世上最強暴的捆鎖。這種因降服而形成的桎梏，是人本性沒有能力擺脫的。你只要對情欲稍為縱容（所謂情欲，就是人一定要立刻得著的，這包括肉體的情欲和心思上的情欲），便成為它的奴僕了。一旦降服，你儘管恨自己不該如此，也無濟於事。除非有神的救贖，靠自己絕對沒有解救的出路；所以必須完全謙卑屈服在主耶穌面前，惟有他能潰敗轄制你的權勢。“耶和華用膏膏我……報告被擄的得釋放。”我們在極小的事上，便可以發現：“啊！我要放下這嗜好是隨時都做得到的。”是不能的。你會發覺這嗜好牢牢地轄制著你，因為你是甘願向它降服。唱“他斷開一切鎖鏈”很容易，但同時卻明明活在自我的捆鎖裡。只有降服于耶穌才能解脫人生中任何的奴役。

祈禱◆主啊，我讚美你，你阻止我即時要為自己尋求各樣的東西，你使我唯獨尋求你那永久的憑證——你的感動，讓我獲得在你裡面的平安。

March 14 Obedience

“His servants ye are to whom ye obey.” Romans 6:16

The first thing to do in examining the power that dominates me is to take hold of the unwelcome fact that I am responsible for being thus dominated. If I am a slave to myself, I am to blame because at a point away back I yielded to myself. Likewise, if I obey God I do so because I have yielded myself to Him.

Yield in childhood to selfishness, and you will find it the most enchaining tyranny on earth. There is no power in the human soul of itself to break the bondage of a disposition formed by yielding. Yield for one second to anything in the nature of lust （remember what lust is: “I must have it at once,” whether it be the lust of the flesh or the lust of the mind） – once yield and though you may hate yourself for having yielded, you are a bondslave to that thing. There is no release in human power at all but only in the Redemption. You must yield yourself in utter humiliation to the only One Who can break the dominating power viz., the Lord Jesus Christ – “He hath anointed me . . . to preach deliverance to all captives.”

You find this out in the most ridiculously small ways – “Oh, I can give that habit up when I like.” You cannot, you will find that the habit absolutely dominates you because you yielded to it willingly. It is easy to sing – “He will break every fetter” and at the same time be living a life of obvious slavery to yourself. Yielding to Jesus will break every form of slavery in any human life.