Wednesday, 04 August 2021
Title: For Him Are All Things
Author: Pastor Wallace Ong

“For from him and through him and for him are all things.” Romans 11:36

God’s WORD proclaims Christ Jesus as the source of all blessing in Romans 11:36, “For from him and through him and for him are all things.” This verse comprises both the extravagant and the mundane, everyday gifts in our lives. Jesus told us in Matt 28:18 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” and in James 1:17 “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens” and it is because of His love for us.

I remembered once when I was treated by a physical therapist due to my shoulder pain. The therapist stretched and bent my arm in an uncomfortable position which caused a natural response to tense up the arm due to the pain and fear. My therapist gently told me: “It is okay, relax your arm so that you will experience less pain when I move your arm.” I think I heard that at least 10-15 times during the therapy session. And true enough when I took a deep breath to relax my arm and trusted the therapist to do her job, I found that I experienced less pain and was less anxious.

Today many of us suffer from difficulty due to the pandemic. We display more expressions of fear rather than have inner freedom in Christ. Many things in our everyday lives can cause us to be uptight and tense, but we should grow in our trust in Christ by reminding ourselves that “for him are all things” and learn to relax in God’s goodness and faithfulness instead of worrying. As we draw on God’s strength we will learn to live in a world with freedom and peace, and we can hear from our Lord saying to us, “It is okay, you can relax.” Therefore, let us keep our eyes directed at the One who says, ‘‘Do not be afraid,” so that we may slowly let go of our fear and place our trust in HIM.

To increase our trust with God and find our rest in Him, we need to always remind ourselves of God’s blessings in our life. We can learn to cultivate a heart that acknowledges all the goodness of God we experience each day, especially the ones we often take for granted. For example, fresh air in the morning, breakfast with family, the beautiful sunrise outside our window and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. When we daily cultivate such heart in appreciation and thanksgiving to acknowledge God’s love for us and all things come from Him, we will find freedom and strength in Him.

What are the “all things” that God has already given to you? Opening our eyes to those blessings will help us to develop a joyful heart to overcome the hard situation around us.

Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your powerful and wonderful WORD that always gives us strength in time of need. Help us, O Lord, to understand the peace that you give to us that is beyond our thoughts and feelings. Help us, O Lord, to really trust that peace is there for us to claim even in the midst of our moments of despair. In the precious name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

班底浸信教会✝️
每日灵粮
星期三, 2021年8月4日✅
标题：万有都归于祂
作者：王振威传道
翻译：陈健萍姐妹

【罗马书11:36】因为万有都是本于他，倚靠他，归于他。

罗马书11:36，上帝的话语宣告基督耶稣是所有祝福的源泉，“因为万有都是本于他，倚靠他，归于他。” 这一节经文既包括我们生活中奢侈的恩赐，也包括平凡的日常恩赐。耶稣在马太福音28:18告诉我们：“天上地上一切权柄都赐给我了。” 雅各书1:17 “各样美好的赏赐，各样完备的恩赐，都是从上面、从众光之父降下来的。” 这是因为祂对我们的爱。

记得有一次，我因为肩痛接受了理疗师的治疗。治疗师以一种让我感到不舒服的姿势伸展我的胳膊，这引起了我由于疼痛和恐惧而使手臂绷紧的自然反应。我的治疗师温和地告诉我：“没关系，放松你的手臂，这样当我摆动你的手臂时，你就不会感到那么痛了。” 在治疗过程中，这句话我至少听过10到15次了。果不其然，当我深吸一口气放松手臂，并相信治疗师会做好她的工作时，我发现我感受到的疼痛和焦虑都减少了。

今天，由于大流行病，我们许多人都遭受着困难。我们表露的恐惧更多于在基督里所享有的内心的自由。在日常生活中，许多事情都会让我们感到紧张不安，但我们应该通过提醒自己 “万有都归于祂” 来增长我们对基督的信靠，并学会在上帝的良善和信实中放松，而不是忧虑。当我们汲取上帝的力量时，我们将学会在一个自由与平安的世界里生活。我们也会听到我们的主对我们说：“没关系，你可以放松。” 因此，让我们把目光转向说 “不要害怕” 的那位，这样我们就可以慢慢放下我们的恐惧，信靠 祂 。

为了提升我们对上帝的信靠，并在祂里面得到安息，我们需要时刻提醒自己上帝在我们生命中的祝福。我们可以学习培养一颗确认我们每天所经历一切上帝的恩惠的心，尤其那些我们经常认为是理所当然的恩惠。例如：早晨的新鲜空气、与家人共进早餐、窗外美丽的日出，以及新冲泡好的咖啡的芳香。当我们每天培养这样一颗欣赏并感恩的心，承认上帝对我们的爱，而且一切都是来自祂的时候，我们就会从祂得到自由和力量。

上帝已经赐给您的 “万有” 是什么？开启我们的眼睛，看到这些祝福会帮助我们培养一颗喜乐的心来克服我们周遭的艰难处境。

祈祷：
亲爱的天父，我们感谢祢大能和奇妙的话语，在我们需要的时候总给予我们力量。主啊，求祢帮助我们明白，祢所赐给我们的平安是超越我们的思想和感受的。主啊，求祢帮助我们着实地相信，即使在我们失望的时刻，我们依然可以获取平安。我们奉耶稣宝贵的名祈祷，阿们。