if he is calling you to 召唤

 But we can avoid intentionally putting ourselves in tempting situations. And there are certain people and conditions that bring out the worst in us. Ultimately, we must value our relationship with God over our comfort. We must value our spiritual health over our earthly satisfaction. The longer we remain onnected to something, the more dependent on it we become. We should never rely completely on one person or activity to make us happy. People change, circumstances change. But the Bible says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If he is calling you to cut ties with something or someone you value, then do it. Nothing and no one should be placed above Jesus Christ in your life. Maybe he is showing you that your heart is not in the right place. Losing those relationships is not God's punishment. It is his mercy. It is his way of showing you that he is sufficient for you. Cutting ties does not mean you are giving up. It does not mean you do not care. It simply means that you are choosing wisely to walk away before you get hurt even more. And if you are waiting for the right time, you'll be waiting forever. It is often easier to get it over with, so that you can begin to heal. Cutting ties will likely be difficult. It might cause some growing pains as you get acclimated to living without that person or that thing in your life. You might feel helpless and afraid at first. It might hurt to lose something or to lose that friendship, but in time you can trust that God will help you to breathe on your own. In time God will show you that it was all working for your good. It can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking God cannot use you. You may not feel good enough because you have previously fallen into sin. Maybe your backgrounds, your past, and upbringing makes you feel as though you are too bad, too damaged, to be used by the Lord. However, God does not use the worthy. If he did there would be nobody that would qualify to make that list. We're all broken sinners in desperate need of being saved by God. And dear friends, the good news is that God can and does turn things around. He can change a cold  hardened heart and fill it with love and compassion. He can change the one who is angry and hateful, and make them forgiving and humble. Now for a moment I want to highlight three biblical characters who were used by God. But by today's standards many Christians would have turned these men away and perhaps even ridiculed them because of their sins. But this is the point I'd like to put across to you. God uses those who we consider  broken. God uses those who we consider weak because in him that which is broken is made whole and in him that which is weak is made strong. Consider Moses. God stepped into Moses's life in a very mighty way. While all other male babies his age were being killed by the Pharaoh, God spared his life. Moses was put into a river on a babysized boat and pulled out of the river by the Pharaoh's daughter. You would think someone saved in such a miraculous way would live a life entirely to God. However, Moses committed the most heinous sin a human can commit. He was a murderer. While he did not grow up in slavery due to living with the Pharaoh's daughter, the rest of the Israelites did. As an adult, Moses watched an Egyptian beat an Israelite. This infuriated him. He went to the Egyptian and beat him to death. Instead of admitting his sin, he hid the dead body and fled. Not only was Moses a murderer but also a coward. Many years later, God told Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh about releasing the people of Israel from slavery. And despite his hesitation, despite his past, God still used Moses to perform mighty miracles and lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. Next, David was a man after God's own heart. While he loved God, he was at one point an adulterous murderer. As king it was his duty to go and lead his men while they were at war. This is what all leaders of the foreign armies were doing at the time. However, while Israel was at war, king David stayed home. After waking up from his midday nap, he saw a woman bathing. Her name was Bethsheba and she was married to a man named Uriah. Uriah was out at war. David decided to sleep with Bethsheba and she got pregnant. Instead of David admitting his sin, he tries to cover it up by bringing Uriah home from war to sleep with his wife, Bethsheba. However Uriah is an honorable man and does not want to sleep with his wife while the rest of Israel is at war. Since king David cannot get Uriah to sleep with Bethsheba, he signs Uriah's death notice. He gives Uriah a note that he is not supposed to read. Uriah hand delivers the note to his commanding officer. This note sends Uriah to the  front lines and leads to his death. Finally, we have Paul the apostle. Before he was Paul the apostle, he was known as Saul from Tarsus. This Saul would go door to door and beat up Christians. It is believed that he also killed them. In the book of Acts the first person to die for following Jesus Christ was a man named Steven. Steven gave a speech about Jesus and called everyone to repent and trust in Jesus. At the end of the speech, Steven is stoned to death. It says of Saul in Acts 8:1 "and Saul approved of his execution." At the least, Saul approved and was happy with the execution. At the most, he set up the execution. Saul killed followers of Jesus Christ. According to our standards as humans, we would have discarded these three individuals. We would have said that they were too far gone for committing such evil sins. If they walked into the front doors of our church and asked for a job, we would quickly turn them away. We most likely would have called for them to be arrested, kept behind bars for the rest of their days. 

However, God was still able to turn their lives completely around. God was stil able to use them to do extraordinary things. Moses leads the people of Israel out of slavery and into the promised land. David is known as the greatest king that Israel ever had and is a man after God's own heart. Apostle Paul wrote over half of the New testament and is one of the  greatest church planters to ever walk the earth. God touched and convicted their hearts and they answered the call of the Lord and repented. Do you feel as if you cannot be forgiven by God. Do you feel as if you're too far off from God. That is not the truth and it is a lie straight from Satan. If God can forgive David of adultery and murder, can forgive Moses of murder and can forgive Paul of murder, God can certainly forgive you. The shame that you feel is not from God. While God may convict you of sin, he does not cause the feeling of shame. God offers second, third, and fourth chances. Jesus was asked how many times we should forgive someone. He answers in Matthew 18, where the Bible reads, "then Peter came up and said to him 'Lord, how often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him as many as seven times?" Jesus said to him "I do not say to you seven times but 77 times." Jesus is not telling us to only forgive someone 77 times. 77 is a number that means as many times as they sin. So, if we are called to forgive that many times, our good Heavenly Father wil forgive us. We must only trust in the blood of Jesus and turn to him in faith and in repentance. You are not too bad for God to use. God can and will use anyone to change the world and bring his kingdom from heaven to earth. He is calling you right now to repent and turn toward him. As you do, he will use a broken sinner like you in ways you would never have imagined. No matter what your hardship might be. Be strong in faith. Don't allow yourself to be moved because as soon as you let go of God's sure promises, you are bound to get swept up into the madness of this world. Jesus Christ is the only sure foundation in this fickle and ever changing world. Jesus alone is our steadfast anchor. Circumstances change, people change, social norms and public perceptions change, but the word of God remains true forever. In the book of Matthew, Jesus says "heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away." That is why we can stand confidently in him. That is why we can cling to him. When we feel like we are slipping away into the chaos of life, he will rescue us and place our feet back on solid ground. What does it mean to be unshakable in your faith. It does not mean never having doubts. It doesn't mean never being afraid. It simply means that when trouble comes our way, we don't panic. We don't lose hope. We don't turn to the world or to ourselves for answers. Instead, we are able to rest in the promises of God. In Daniel 6:10, the Bible says, "now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed he, went home and in his upper room with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as was his custom since early days." Daniel had a custom, a way of doing things that involved time alone with God by praying three times in a day. What can you say is your custom. When you can become consistent at setting aside time for the Lord, he will draw closer to you. Another way for you to be more consistent is by making sure you feed your spirit. Jesus said "'man shall not live by bread alone." What did Jesus mean by this. He meant that physical bread only serves to feed the body. But Jesus in John 6:35 said, "I am the bread of life whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." This means that only Jesus can satisfy our deepest needs and longings. Once you become consistent at chasing the Lord, consistent at feeding your spirit with the bread of life , then you wil find that all you could ever want or desire is in Jesus. Jesus Christ is all encompassing. Only he can make us whole. In addition to feeding your spirit with the bread of life in order to become more consistent with God, you need to feed your faith. The more your faith grows, the more real God becomes to you. The more your faith grows, the more apparent it is in your life and in your heart that you need God. And what this does is it not only lights up a fire within you but it fuels the fire. The more your faith grows, the more you want the Lord, the more you hunger and chase for him. Feeding your faith is important because faith sees the invisible. That is why we're told to walk by faith and not by sight. The human eyes only see what is in front of them. If there is a disease in your body, your natural eye will see that disease. It will see and feel the pain. But faith on the other hand sees the miracle. Faith sees God instead of the disease. Faith believes what others would call unbelievable. Faith receives the impossible. I encourage you to feed your faith because faith will defeat every attack that comes in the form of doubt, discouragements, and impossibilities. Another thing that will help you to build consistency in your relationship with God is being watchful. Matthew 24:42 says, "therefore stay awake for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming." We do not know the day nor the hour that Jesus Christ will return and so what better motivation is there to remain consistent with God than guessing the return of Christ. Being watchful means that you have one eye in the Bible and you have one eye looking and verifying all the signs that the Bible is telling us. You're looking at the state of the world and you're looking at what the Bible saying regarding this. I found that when I'm taking heed of God's warnings about the last days, I become more focused on examining my life to ensure I am living in God's will. And finally, in order to be more consistent with God, love to pray, enjoy prayer moments , and keep praying. Consistency in prayer will bring you closer to Jesus and will help you to walk in victory. When you make prayer a regular practice, you make communicating with God a regular practice and you have to be intentional about your prayer life. In order to be consistent I found that you start small. If it's 5 minutes today, make it 10 minutes tomorrow and then make it 15 minutes. As you do this, you will find that God will reveal himself to you through prayer. You connect with God through prayer. So, I encourage you to strive to be more consistent in your relationship with God. Strive to be more consistent when it comes to reading God's word, when it comes to feeding your spirit and feeding your faith. When you become consistent in your walk with Christ , you will find that you wil experience a more fruitful relationship with the Lord. What you love will change because your heart is renewed, your passions and desires will change and be aligned to all that is pleasing to God. So strive, strive for consistency, contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints .

Jude1:3 ~ Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.

但是我们可以避免故意将自己置于诱惑的境地。有些人和某些情况会让我们表现得更糟糕。最终，我们必须重视与上帝的关系，而不是我们的舒适。我们必须重视我们的精神健康，而不是我们世俗的满足。我们与某件事联系的时间越长，我们就越依赖它。我们永远不应该完全依靠一个人或一件事来让我们快乐。人会变，环境也会变。但圣经说耶稣基督昨日、今日、一直到永远是一样的。如果他呼召你与你珍视的某事或某人断绝关系，那就这么做吧。在你的生命中，没有任何事物或任何人应该被置于耶稣基督之上。也许他在向你表明你的心不在正确的地方。失去这些关系不是上帝的惩罚。这是他的怜悯。这是他向你表明他对你来说足够了的方式。断绝关系并不意味着你放弃了。这并不意味着你不在乎。 这只是意味着你明智地选择在受到更大伤害之前离开。如果你在等待合适的时机，你将永远等待。结束它通常更容易，这样你就可以开始痊愈。切断联系可能会很困难。在你适应没有那个人或那件事的生活时，它可能会引起一些成长的烦恼。一开始你可能会感到无助和害怕。失去一些东西或失去友谊可能会很痛苦，但随着时间的推移，你可以相信上帝会帮助你独立呼吸。随着时间的推移，上帝会让你知道这一切都是为了你的利益。你可能很容易陷入认为上帝不能使用你的陷阱。你可能觉得自己不够好，因为你以前犯过罪。也许你的背景、过去和成长经历让你觉得自己太坏、太受伤，不适合被主使用。然而，上帝不会使用有价值的人。如果他这样做，就没有人有资格列入那个名单了。 我们都是破碎的罪人，极度需要上帝的拯救。亲爱的朋友们，好消息是，上帝能够而且确实扭转了局面。他可以改变一颗冰冷坚硬的心，用爱和同情填满它。他可以改变一个愤怒和仇恨的人，让他们变得宽容和谦卑。现在我想暂时强调一下上帝使用的三个圣经人物。但按照今天的标准，许多基督徒会因为他们的罪而拒绝这些人，甚至嘲笑他们。但这是我想向你们阐明的观点。上帝使用那些我们认为破碎的人。上帝使用那些我们认为软弱的人，因为在他里面破碎的变成完整的，软弱的变成坚强的。想想摩西。上帝以非常强大的方式进入了摩西的生活。当其他与他同龄的男婴都被法老杀死时，上帝饶恕了他的性命。 摩西被放在婴儿船上放入河中，然后被法老的女儿从河中拉出来。你可能会认为以这种神奇的方式获救的人会完全向上帝祈祷。然而，摩西犯下了人类所能犯下的最滔天大罪。他是个杀人犯。虽然他因为与法老的女儿生活在一起而没有在奴役中长大，但其他以色列人却是这样。成年后的摩西看到一个埃及人殴打一个以色列人。这激怒了他。他去找埃及人并将他打死。他非但没有承认自己的罪行，反而藏匿尸体逃跑了。摩西不仅是个杀人犯，还是个懦夫。许多年后，上帝告诉摩西去和法老谈释放以色列人民免于奴役。尽管摩西犹豫不决，尽管他过去有过这样的经历，上帝仍然使用摩西行了大奇迹，带领以色列人出了埃及。接下来，大卫是一个合神心意的人。 虽然他爱上帝，但他曾一度犯有通奸罪。作为国王，他有责任在士兵们打仗时带领他们出去。当时所有外国军队的领导人都在做这件事。然而，当以色列处于战争之中时，大卫王却待在家里。他从午睡中醒来后，看到一个女人在洗澡。她名叫伯示巴，她嫁给了一个名叫乌利亚的男人。乌利亚当时正在外征战。大卫决定与伯示巴同寝，结果她怀孕了。大卫不承认自己的罪行，反而试图掩盖罪行，他把乌利亚从战场带回家，让他与妻子伯示巴同寝。然而，乌利亚是个正直的人，在以色列其他军队处于战争之中时，他不想与妻子同寝。由于大卫王无法让乌利亚与伯示巴同寝，他签署了乌利亚的讣告。他给了乌利亚一张纸条，不许他阅读。乌利亚亲手将纸条交给他的指挥官。这张纸条将乌利亚送上前线并导致他的死亡。最后，我们有使徒保罗。在他成为使徒保罗之前，他被称为来自大数的扫罗。这个扫罗会挨家挨户殴打基督徒。据信他也杀死了他们。在使徒行传中，第一个因跟随耶稣基督而死的人是一个名叫史蒂文的人。史蒂文发表了关于耶稣的演讲，并呼吁所有人悔改并信靠耶稣。在演讲结束时，史蒂文被石头砸死。使徒行传 8:1 中说扫罗“并且扫罗同意处决他”。至少，扫罗同意并且对处决感到高兴。最多，他策划了处决。扫罗杀害了耶稣基督的追随者。按照我们人类的标准，我们会抛弃这三个人。我们会说他们犯下如此邪恶的罪行，太堕落了。 如果他们走进我们教堂的前门并要求工作，我们会很快将他们拒之门外。我们很可能会要求将他们逮捕，并在监狱里度过余生。然而，上帝仍然能够彻底改变他们的生命。上帝仍然能够使用他们去做非凡的事情。摩西带领以色列人民摆脱奴役，进入应许之地。大卫被称为以色列有史以来最伟大的国王，是一个合神心意的人。使徒保罗写了新约一半以上的内容，是地球上有史以来最伟大的教会建立者之一。上帝触摸并感化了他们的心，他们回应了主的呼召并悔改了。你是否觉得你无法得到上帝的宽恕？你是否觉得你离上帝太远了？这不是事实，而是撒旦的谎言。 如果上帝可以宽恕大卫的通奸和谋杀，可以宽恕摩西的谋杀，可以宽恕保罗的谋杀，那么上帝当然也可以宽恕你。你所感到的羞耻并非来自上帝。虽然上帝可能会判你知罪，但他不会让你感到羞耻。上帝提供了第二次、第三次和第四次机会。耶稣被问到我们应该原谅一个人多少次。他在马太福音第 18 章中回答道，圣经中写道：“那时彼得进前来，对他说：‘主啊，我弟兄得罪我，我当饶恕他七次到几次呢？’耶稣对他说：“我不对你说七次，而是七十七次。”耶稣并不是告诉我们只能原谅某人 77 次。77 这个数字表示他们犯罪的次数。所以，如果我们被要求原谅那么多次，我们仁慈的天父就会原谅我们。我们必须只信靠耶稣的宝血，并凭着信心和悔改转向他。 你并不坏到上帝不能使用。上帝能够而且将会使用任何人来改变世界，将他的国度从天上带到地上。他现在正在呼唤你悔改并转向他。当你这样做时，他会以你从未想象过的方式使用像你这样破碎的罪人。无论你的困难是什么。要坚定信念。不要让自己动摇，因为一旦你放弃上帝确定的承诺，你必然会被卷入这个世界的疯狂之中。耶稣基督是这个变化无常的世界唯一可靠的根基。只有耶稣是我们坚定的支柱。环境在变，人在变，社会规范和公众观念在变，但上帝的话语永远真实。在马太福音中，耶稣说：“天地要废去，我的话却不能废去。”这就是为什么我们可以自信地站在他里面。这就是为什么我们可以紧紧抓住他。 当我们感觉自己快要陷入生活的混乱时，他会拯救我们，让我们的脚重新站稳脚跟。坚定不移的信念意味着什么？这并不意味着永远没有怀疑。这并不意味着永远没有害怕。它只是意味着当麻烦来临时，我们不会惊慌。我们不会失去希望。我们不会向世界或自己寻求答案。相反，我们能够安息在上帝的承诺中。在但以理书6:10中，圣经说：“但以理知道这禁令盖了玉玺，就回到家里。他楼上的窗户开向耶路撒冷，当日跪在他上帝面前祈祷感谢，这是他从小就有的规矩。”但以理有一个习惯，就是每天三次独自与上帝祈祷。你能说什么就是你的习惯。当你能坚持为上帝留出时间时，他就会更亲近你。让你更加坚持的另一种方法是确保滋养你的精神。耶稣说“人活着不是单靠食物。”耶稣这话是什么意思呢？他的意思是，物质的食物只能喂养身体。 但耶稣在约翰福音 6:35 中说：“我就是生命的粮，到我这里来的，必不饿；信我的，永远不渴。”这意味着只有耶稣才能满足我们最深层的需求和渴望。一旦你坚持不懈地追随主，坚持不懈地用生命的粮滋养你的灵魂，你就会发现你想要的或渴望的一切都在耶稣里面。耶稣基督包罗万象。只有他能使我们完整。除了用生命的粮滋养你的灵魂以便与上帝更加一致之外，你还需要滋养你的信仰。你的信仰越增长，上帝对你来说就越真实。你的信仰越增长，你生命中和心中对上帝的需要就越明显。这不仅点燃了你内心的火焰，而且还为这火增添了燃料。你的信仰越增长，你就越想要主，你就越饥渴慕义、追随他。 滋养你的信仰非常重要，因为信仰能看到看不见的东西。这就是为什么我们被告知要凭着信仰而不是凭着眼见行事。人的眼睛只能看到眼前的事物。如果你的身体有疾病，你的肉眼会看到那种疾病。它会看到并感受到疼痛。但另一方面，信仰看到的是奇迹。信仰看到的是上帝而不是疾病。信仰相信别人称之为难以置信的事情。信仰接受不可能的事情。我鼓励你滋养你的信仰，因为信仰将击败以怀疑、沮丧和不可能的形式出现的一切攻击。另一件可以帮助你与上帝建立一致关系的事情是保持警惕。马太福音 24:42 说：“所以，你们要警醒，因为不知道你们的主是哪一天来到。”我们不知道耶稣基督什么时候再来，所以还有什么比猜测基督的再来更好的动力来与上帝保持一致呢？ 保持警醒意味着你要一只眼睛注视着圣经，另一只眼睛注视并核实圣经告诉我们的所有迹象。你在观察世界的状况，你在观察圣经对此的说法。我发现，当我留意上帝关于末日的警告时，我会更加专注于审视自己的生活，以确保自己生活在上帝的旨意中。最后，为了与上帝更加一致，要热爱祈祷，享受祈祷的时刻，并坚持祈祷。坚持祈祷会让你更接近耶稣，并帮助你走向胜利。当你把祈祷变成一种常规练习时，你就把与上帝的交流变成了一种常规练习，你必须有意识地进行祈祷生活。为了保持一致，我发现你从小事做起。如果今天是 5 分钟，明天是 10 分钟，然后是 15 分钟。当你这样做时，你会发现上帝会通过祈祷向你显现。你通过祈祷与上帝联系。 因此，我鼓励你努力与神保持更加一致的关系。努力在阅读神的话语、滋养你的灵和信心方面更加一致。当你与基督同行时变得一致，你会发现你与主的关系会更加富有成果。你所爱的会改变，因为你的心被更新了，你的激情和愿望会改变，并与所有讨神喜悦的事情保持一致。所以，要努力，努力保持一致，为从前一次交付圣徒的真道竭力争辩。

犹大书1:3 ~ 亲爱的朋友们，虽然我很渴望写信给你们，告诉我们共同的救恩，但我感到不得不写信敦促你们为从前一次交付圣徒的真道竭力争辩。