Wednesday, 24 November 2021
Title: Final Destination
By Ted Hoo

Matthew 6:10 – Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

It is easy to for us to think that God’s kingdom will be coming one day on earth, as it is in heaven now and it will come at a time in the future. The Jews and the Christians understand it as the Messiah King is coming to rule in the physical kingdom on earth. Does Jesus mean that we are to pray to observe everything that is contradictory to God’s ways and make it our prayer to God for Him to intervene in all that is ungodly viz. injustices and evil in the world? What about the righteous actions of Christians that show God’s attributes in justice, in mercy, in alleviating sufferings and helping those in need? Their very acts reflect the God that we believe in and thus point the world to the coming kingdom of God and His goodness, His rest and His love. On the other hand, all who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and savior are born again of the Spirit and thus have Jesus as their Lord and savior. We can access the kingdom of God on earth under the Lordship of God. This is the Spiritual kingdom of God on earth that is not visibly seen by the world. If our mission on earth were only invisible and spiritual, the Prophets of old would not have addressed issues like injustice, broken-heartednes, poverty and disease. Life in God’s kingdom is practical and we are to work out God’s purpose for each of our individual lives to influence the world with God’s reign in our individual living. The world is facing a lot of problems: climate change, natural catastrophes, famine and broken economy. Whatever the challenges, we are to follow Him who is able to keep us from falling. We are thus to align our lives with what God has said in His word. When we do that we surrender every decision and choice we make in our lives viz. we serve at His pleasure. What He says, we will do, not by force but by our own choice. In His kingdom we are secure both in our physical lives and in our salvation and place in heaven. We are protected and we are provided for and we have peace knowing always that He is with us till the end of the world (Matthew 28:20).

Prayer: Almighty God,
You are our true ruler. You have an ultimate purpose and Your purpose will prevail. Let us do nothing that would work against Your purpose. Help us to respect and honor those You chose to put over us on earth. But help us to understand that our life on earth is a temporary pilgrimage and this world is not our home. As James 4 says, we are but a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. But the kingdom of God lasts forever and that is where our true citizenship lies. Amen.

班底浸信教会
每日灵粮
星期三, 2021年11月24日
标题：终结站
作者：何福华医生
翻译：薛秀合姐妹

马太福音6:10 – 愿你的国降临；愿你的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上。

我们很容易认为上帝的国度有一天会降临在地上，如同现在在天上一样，它将会在未来某个时刻到来。犹太人和基督徒将其理解为弥赛亚君王即将统治地上的物质王国。耶稣的意思是否说我们要祈祷，要觉察与上帝的方式相抵触的一切，并祈求上帝干预所有不敬虔的事，即世界上的不公和邪恶？对于基督徒在公义、怜悯、减轻痛苦和帮助有需要的人方面表现出上帝属性的正义行为又如何呢？他们如此行反映了我们所相信的上帝，从而将世界指向即将到来的上帝的国度和祂的良善、祂的安息并祂的爱。另一方面，所有接受耶稣为他们的主和救主的人都是从圣灵重生，因此有耶稣成为他们的主和救主。我们可以在上帝的主权之下进入上帝在地上的国度。这是上帝在地上的属灵国度，是世人无法看见的。如果我们在地上的使命只是无形的和属灵的，古代先知就不会处理诸如不公正、心碎、贫困和疾病等问题。在上帝国度里的生活是实际的，我们要在各自的生命确定上帝的旨意，通过上帝在我们个人生活中的统治来影响世界。世界正面临着很多问题：气候变化、自然灾害、饥荒和经济崩溃。无论遇到什么挑战，我们都要跟随那位能保守我们不跌倒的祂。因此，我们应当使我们的生活与上帝在祂的话语中所说的保持一致。当我们这样做时，我们交出我们在生活中作的每一个决定和选择，即我们听命于祂。祂所说的，我们会去做，不是强迫，而是我们自己的选择。在祂的国度里，我们的生命、我们的救恩和在天堂的地位都是安稳的。我们受到了保护，我们得到供应，我们也拥有平安，因为我们知道祂会永远与我们同在，直到世界的末了（马太福音 28:20）。

祷告：全能的上帝，

祢是我们真正的统治者。祢有一个终极目标，而且祢的目标将要获胜。让我们不作任何违背祢旨意的事。帮助我们在世上懂得敬重和尊敬那些祢所拣选领导我们的人。但求祢帮助我们了解，我们在地上的生活仅是一个短暂的人生的途程，这个世界非我们的家。正如雅各书第4章所说，我们原来是一片云雾，出现少时就不见了。但是上帝的国度是永远长存的，而这就是我们真正的公民身份所在之处。阿们。