Tuesday 9th November 2021
Title: Grateful and contented heart
By: Pastor Andrew Lim
感恩知足的心 Grateful and contented heart
An old saying goes, “Kindness like a drop of water given in need shall be returned with a burst of spring”. Another saying is “Such kindness of a warm sun, can’t be repaid by grass”. Being grateful is the most beautiful and gracious attitude in the world. It is one of the most basic aspects of being a human being – to learn to be grateful and thankful.
When we know how to be grateful, we will discover the goodness and beauty in our surroundings – it’s all so marvellous! When we learn to be grateful for every single thing that happens to us, whether good or bad, we will not be easily defeated by life difficulties, but instead, we will see it as a life challenge. The importance of being grateful transcends our boundaries of understanding; If you want to be happy and successful, then you need to learn to be grateful.
Everyone should have a grateful heart; to be thankful for the lovingkindness of our parents – It is our parents who taught and raised us up; to be grateful for the guidance of our good teachers; to be grateful to those mentors who inspired us; to be thankful to those friends who have stood by us, supported, and helped us. Whose kindness we receive, naturally, to whom we would need to be grateful! When we receive grace from God, of course, we must also be grateful to God. Because He gave us the breath of life, a warm home and our fathers and mothers who raised us up, so that we, as children, could grow up free of the worries and troubles of life.
感恩带着行动
Gratitude with action.
Being grateful means that we are willing to reciprocate. We should try to find ways to reciprocate any of the kindness of helping hands we received from others. Being grateful to our parents, we will respect and support our parents when we have grown up, accompanying them in their old age. Being grateful to our good teachers for their good guidance, we will be respectful and polite to them. To be grateful is to know to give back: Being grateful to God means entering His door with a grateful heart and His yard full of praise.
In fact, when we come to God and thank Him every day, we are reminding ourselves: we are not alone in the battle of life nor are we alone in facing all difficulties. It is also a reminder that God is listening to all our prayers; He is with us. The Bible says, “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks for everything. because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
How are we to repay the Grace of God who has saved us with His awesome Grace? How can I repay the Lord for all the kindness he has bestowed upon me?
I will raise the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord before all people. We know we can’t really repay the kindness God showed to us, so instead, we give back to society by building schools, opening hospitals, orphanages, nursing homes, drug rehab centres and etc to extend our grace to society and those in need around us.
While we are grateful for our good health, we should know that there are still many who are suffering from sickness and are lying in hospital beds. While we are grateful for our wealth, we should remember there are still many who are suffering from starvation; while we are grateful for our strong marriage, we must be reminded that there are many families that are undergoing desperate times. If we are grateful but could not care for members who have encountered misfortune, our acts of gratitude become a kind of show-off. All the grace we receive is from God. This world is full of unpredictability; the health and wealth that people have today may disappear tomorrow or at any time. So, why the need to boast?
Thus, while you are grateful, don’t regard the grace you received as a reward you deserve. Everything we have now is temporary. We are just caretakers for all we have. We currently are blessed with a little more than others so that we can have the opportunities to give to others and bless them. The Bible says: “But what kind of person I have become today, I can only be accomplished by the grace of God.” The Bible also says: “All good gifts and all perfect rewards come from above.
知足常乐 Contented heart
We need not only be grateful but also have a contented heart. Those who are not content with what they have would live hard and painful lives – their desires are hard to fulfil. Their hearts are huge but bottomless. People who are not satisfied desperately try to fill their hearts with more things, and the more they fill, the greedier they become. After a lion is full, it will stop hunting – this is instinctive, and it shows contentment of heart. It will not have the insatiate desire to kill all its prey, lest causing the extinctions thereof, maintaining the balance of nature and the animal world. Therefore, we should also learn contentment from nature.
Be grateful for everything we face and learn how to be grateful; be grateful to all the people who made you the person you are today. Employers will praise grateful employees, parents will adore grateful children, friends will appreciate grateful friends, and God will be pleased with His grateful children. We must be grateful for the presence of God in our lives, and we must be thankful for the countless immeasurable grace from God. For Christians, being grateful is a sign of God’s blessings in life.
Dear Father God, thank you for your countless grace in my life. I am grateful for the ups and downs in my life so that they could mould me into the person You want me to be. Although I don’t know what will happen tomorrow nor could I foresee the future, I believe that all good gifts and all perfect rewards come from above. Please help me be a person who is grateful in everything, to learn how to be grateful and content. My sincere thanks in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
每日灵粮
星期二， 2021年11月9日
标题：感恩知足的心
作者：林金儀傳道
翻译 : 陈劲年姐妹
感恩知足的心 Grateful and contented heart
古话常说: “滴水之恩当涌泉相报”，另外常常被提到的是：“谁言寸草心，报得三春晖” 。感恩是世界是最美善的一种情感，做人最起码的根本就是要学会知恩和感恩，当我们懂得感恩，就会发现到原来自己生活周围的一切，都是那么的美好。當我们晓得對一切发生的事物充滿感恩，就不轻易被面对的困難打倒，而會將它視為一種人生的挑戰。感恩的重要性超乎我們的想像，如果想過得快樂、獲得成功，那麼就得學會感恩。
人人都应该要有感恩之情，感恩父母恩情，因为是父母供书教学并养育了我们，感恩良师善导，生命过程中有许多良师教诲启发了我们，感恩良朋益友，是朋友扶携了我们。我们受谁的恩慧，自然而然就会感谢谁！我们从上帝那里领受恩典，当然也要向上帝感恩。因祂給我们生命氣息，又給我一個溫暖的家，因著生我養我的爸爸、媽媽，我可以無憂無慮地成长生活。
感恩带着行动 Gratitude with action
感恩，意味著我们愿意付出、回饋一些東西。任何曾經幫助過我们的人，要試著回饋對方；任何向我们伸出過援手的人，要找機會償還。感恩父母恩情，就会在长大后晓得孝敬供养父母、父母亲养我们大，我们陪他们老。感恩良师善导教诲，就会对老师恭敬有礼。感恩，就是懂得回饋：感恩上帝就是：我们是带着感恩进入他的门，并赞美地进入他的院子。
其实当我们每一天到神面前感谢上帝，我们就是在提醒自己：我们不是在孤军作战，你不是独个儿面对困难。而是提醒自己：上帝在聆听我们的每一个祷告，祂与我们同在。圣经上说，“要常常喜乐.不住的祷告。凡事谢恩。因为这是神在基督耶稣里向你们所定的旨意。”
我们蒙受了上帝的救赎之恩，怎能不去报恩呢？我拿什么报答耶和华向我所赐的一切厚恩？我要举起救恩的杯，称扬耶和华的名。我要在他众民面前向耶和华还我的愿。”不能报恩在上帝身上，所以我们回馈社会：开办学校、医院、孤儿院、老人院、诫毒中心等，去造福社会上，你身边有需要的人。
当我们为健康感恩的时候，要想到还有很多人的身体正在遭遇病患，躺在病床上；当我们为拥有财富感恩的时候，要想到还有很多人的肚腹正在忍受饥饿；当我们为婚姻感恩的时候，要想到还有很多人的家庭正在经历变故……倘若我们在感恩的时候，不能关爱遭遇不幸的肢体，我们的感恩就成了一种炫耀。我们今天所蒙受的所有恩典，都是上帝恩赐的。世事难料，今天人所拥有的健康、财富，明天或随时都可能失去，所以何必夸耀呢？
所以别在感恩的时候，把所蒙的恩典当作自己应得的奖赏，而我们现今所拥有的一切都是暂时的，我们只不过是一个管理者，我们现在比别人多一点，就是让我们有机会可以分享多一点，成为别人的祝福。圣经说：“然而我今日成了何等人，是蒙神的恩才成的。”圣经又说：“各样美善的恩赐和各样全备的赏赐都是从上头来的。
知足常乐 Contented heart
我们不单是要感恩，还需要知足。不知足的人活得艰难痛苦，因为心欲难填满。心就这么大，却宛如一个无底洞，不知足的人拼命往心里填东西，装得越多便愈贪婪，不知足的人肯定被物奴，心被财迷。獅子飽腹之後不再捕捉獵物，這是本能，也是知足，它不會貪得無厭地將它的下一級生物鏈趕盡殺絕，導致生物鏈斷裂。我們也應該從自然界學習知足。
凡事感恩、学会感恩；感恩一切造就了你的人。老板会喜欢会感恩的员工、父母会喜欢会感恩的孩子、朋友会喜欢会感恩的朋友、上帝也会喜欢晓得感恩的子民。我们要感恩生命中有上帝的同在，要感恩数算上帝无数的恩典。感恩对基督徒来说是生命中的大大小小蒙上帝赐福的标记。
亲爱的父上帝，谢谢您，因为在我的生命中有大大小小无数的恩典，感恩生命中所經歷的甜酸苦辣，为要陶造我们成为更好的我。虽然我不知道明天和将来會發生什麼事，但是我相信：各样美善的恩赐和各样全备的赏赐都是从上头来的。求您让我成为凡事感恩、学会感恩并知足的人.诚心感谢是奉主耶稣基督的名，阿们！