Wednesday, 24 June 2020
Title: Seek God’s Face
Author: Pastor Wallace Ong

Psalm 24:3-6

3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

Do we long to ascend the hill of the Lord? Do we fancy standing in His holy place? Do we want to receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of our salvation? Some of us may want all of that, but others only want God’s help, His blessings, and God to answer their prayers. What about to be someone who has clean hand and a pure heart that does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully? Well, that would be good-to-have but too hard-to-do!

Psalmist in Psalm 24 told us to be the generation who seek God, not only seek Him but have an intimate relationship with Him – seek His face. Like David in Psalm 27:4 declared, “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple.” In the midst of being surrounded by armies of enemies wanting to take His life, David sought to dwell in the house of the Lord and gazed upon the beauty of the Lord.

Many of us would want to have immediate help to resolve our problems and get rid of the challenges. However, in this fallen world, we will always have problems and challenges, hence it is important that we have a place of rest and security in helping us to recuperate ourselves. For example, after a tiring workday when we encounter many problems and challenges, we look forward to going home to be with our family, to have a hot home cook meal, to be greeted by the smiley faces of our children, and to be surrounded by people who love and care for us. Our family is where we find rest, peace, security, comfort, and joy. It is the ‘safe sanctuary’ for us to regain and recharge our emotional, mental and physical strength.

Do we have this kind of intimacy with our Father in Heaven? Do we long to be in His presence? When we have such intimacy with God, we will have a TRUE resting place for ourselves. We will have peace in our heart. When we put our trust in God, we will seek His wisdom and solve our daily problems with godly approach. We will relate with people around us with God’s grace and love, and not take matters into our own hands and react recklessly.

There is a simple common phrase, “Hurt people hurt people.” People who have been hurt in life often respond by striking out and hurt people who are around them. Conversely, when we have found love, peace, rest, joy, and security in Christ by having an intimate relationship with Him, we will become the person as depicted in Psalm 24:3-5 “Ascend the hill of the Lord, stand in His holy place, with a clean hand and pure heart receive blessing and righteousness from God, and become the generation that seek God”. We will be like David – the man who is after God’s heart.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your mercy and grace to redeem us by the blood of Christ. You have loved us so much, that it is beyond our comprehension. O Lord, help us to love you in return and to want to be close to you each day. Teach us to desire for you and to seek your face daily. When we are weak and wander away from you, bring us back to you, O Mighty God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

每日灵粮
星期三, 2020年6月24日
标题：寻求上帝的面
作者：王振威传道
翻译：杨惠光弟兄

诗篇24：3-6
谁能登耶和华的山？谁能站在他的圣所？就是手洁心清，不向虚妄，起誓不怀诡诈的人。他必蒙耶和华赐福，又蒙救他的神使他成义。这是寻求耶和华的族类，是寻求你面的雅各。

我们渴望登上耶和华的山吗？我们愿意站在他的圣所吗？我们是否渴望得到上帝的祝福并救赎主的公义？我们当中的某些人可能想要以上的一切，但其他人只希望得到上帝的帮助，他的祝福以及祷告蒙应允。至于成为一个手洁心清、不倾向虚妄并且不发假誓的人呢？嗯！那是每个人想要的，但却很难实现！

诗篇24的诗人告诉我们要成为自己世代寻求神的人，不但寻求并要与祂有亲密的关系——与祂面对面。就像大卫在诗篇27：4中说：“有一件事，我曾求耶和华，我仍要寻求，就是一生一世住在耶和华的殿中，瞻仰他的荣美，在他的殿里求问。”大卫在被想要夺走他生命的敌人大军包围时，选择住在耶和华的殿中，瞻仰耶和华的荣美。

许多人面对问题时都希望能立即得到帮助并逃脱挑战。但是，在这个堕落的世界中，我们总是会不断遇到问题和挑战。因此，重要的是我们需要有一个安全和供我们安静下来的地方，以帮助我们能静养。例如，在辛劳的工作日中，当我们遇到许多问题和挑战时，我们期望回家与家人在一起，享受热喷喷的家常饭菜，受到孩子们笑脸的迎接，周围都是爱护我们的人。我们的家庭是我们找到安息、平安、安全、舒适和欢乐的地方。这是我们重新获得和恢复情绪、精神和身体力量的“安全庇护所”。

我们与天父有这种亲密关系吗？我们是否渴望与他同在？当我们与上帝如此亲密时，我们将为自己拥有一个真正的安息之所。我们内心将拥有平安。当我们将自己交托给上帝时，我们将寻求上帝的智慧，并以虔诚的态度解决日常的问题。我们将以上帝的恩典和爱与周围的人交往，不要什么事情都自己解决，也不要鲁莽行事。

有一个简单的语录，“受伤害的人会伤害别人”。生活中受到伤害的人通常会以打击并伤害周围的人来做出反应。相反，当我们通过与基督的亲密关系在基督里找到爱、平安、安息、喜乐和安全时，我们将成为诗篇24：3-5所描绘的人： “就是手洁心清，不向虚妄，起誓不怀诡诈的人。他必蒙耶和华赐福，又蒙救他的神使他成义。” 我们就能够像大卫—— 成为一个合神心意的人。

祷告：

亲爱的天父，感谢你的怜悯和恩典，用基督的宝血救赎我们。你这么爱我们，完全超出我们的理解。上帝啊，请帮助我们回报你，并渴望每天与你亲近。教我们渴望你并每天寻求袮的面。全能的上帝啊，当我们软弱无助，从你身边徘徊时，将我们带回你身边。奉耶稣的名，阿们。