3月5日

標　　題： 認識神

經　　節： 認識你─獨一的真神，並且認識你所差來的耶穌基督，這就是永生。（約翰福音十七章3節）

由生活經驗中認識神，與由神學教科書認識神，根本上是兩碼事。根據聖經，除非你曾經歷神，你不能夠說自己認識神（腓立比書三：8、10）。聖經知識總是離不開經驗之談。你可能愈來愈氣餒，因為你所讀到的聖經真理，比你的經歷要豐盛太多了。

如果你的生命從未經歷神大能的作為，不要安於神權能的二手經驗，也就是單單慶賀神在別人身上的作為就心滿意足。耶穌的禱告是要你能夠在生活中認識祂，並經歷祂的存在。不要只因為自己不曾經歷，就對聖經上所有關於神大能的記載大打折扣。要將你的經驗提高到聖經的標準，而不是降低聖經標準，來遷就你的經驗。不要以擁有頭腦知識來理解神的大愛，就心滿意足。耶穌為你能夠經歷祂長闊高深的大愛祈禱。祂要你在每日生活中，經歷祂豐盛無盡的大愛。

如果你覺得自己尚未經歷某些聖經真理，你要持守這些真理，並且求神讓你每日經歷它們。求問神，你的生活有哪些地方需要調整，好能經歷祂的應許。不要放棄神任何的應許，緊緊握住這些應許，直到你經歷它們。

Knowing God

"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3)

Knowing God through experience is radically different than knowing about God from a theology textbook. According to the Bible, you cannot say you know God unless you have experienced Him (Phil. 3:8, 10). Biblical knowledge always involves experience. You may become discouraged because the truths you read about in the Bible are much richer than the reality of your own experience.

If you have not experienced God’s power at work in and through your life, do not settle for a secondhand knowledge of God’s power, rejoicing in what He has done in others. Jesus’ prayer was that you would come to know God and His presence in your life and experience. Don’t discount the power of God as described in Scripture simply because you have not experienced it. Bring your experience up to the standard of Scripture, never reduce Scripture to the level of your experience. Don’t settle for a head knowledge of God’s love. Jesus prayed that you would experience the depth and width and height of His love and that you would enjoy God’s full and unending love in the day-to-day experiences of your life.

If you sense there are biblical truths that you are not experiencing, keep that truth before you and ask God to bring it into your everyday experience. Ask God if there are any adjustments you need to make in order to receive His promise. Don’t give up on the promises of God, stay with them until you are fully experiencing them.