那根断了的枝子
当我的小红莓灌木丛开始成熟和结果子的时候，我会努力保护枝子不被折断。可是，有一天我还是发现一根断了的枝子躺在地上。而且我惊奇地发现，上面的果子仍在成长变熟，而且是甜的。
那根断了的枝子让我想到今天的经文，并想到我的母亲。过去几年我母亲一直渴望“离世与主同在”。当考虑到她日益虚弱的身体和衰退的记忆力时，这是可以理解的。当她真的离开人世时，她将乘上那应许的翅膀，她在世所作的工也会随着她。
母亲有一次说，她和我父亲曾希望他们的几个孩子过上更好的生活 (意思是有更多财富) 。可在后来的年日里，那个希望变成了一个祷告，盼望她的孩子及孙子长大都能爱主和服事主。正如她向我们所见证的，这个祷告已经被应允了，而且仍在被应允。所以，当她离世与主同在时，她昔日祷告和作工所结的甜美果子将会继续成熟，并且一路随着她。
所有在主里面而死的人，都安稳于神慈爱的怀抱，这不是靠着他们自己的功绩。然而我们的行为有其影响力，我们所作的工会留下果效。你有没有留下你的见证呢？
宝贵的主，感谢祢赐下引导之光：祢应许说，我们忠心作工的果效会随着我们。无论是现在还是将来，求祢以圣灵激励我们，始终忠于耶稣。奉祂的名祷告，阿们。
启示录 14:6-13
6我又看见另有一位天使飞在空中，有永远的福音要传给住在地上的人，就是各国、各族、各方、各民。
7他大声说：“应当敬畏神，将荣耀归给他！因他施行审判的时候已经到了。应当敬拜那创造天地海和众水泉源的。”
8又有第二位天使接着说：“叫万民喝邪淫、大怒之酒的巴比伦大城倾倒了！倾倒了！”
9又有第三位天使接着他们，大声说：“若有人拜兽和兽像，在额上或在手上受了印记，
10这人也必喝神大怒的酒；此酒斟在神忿怒的杯中纯一不杂。他要在圣天使和羔羊面前，在火与硫磺之中受痛苦。
11他受痛苦的烟往上冒，直到永永远远。那些拜兽和兽像，受它名之印记的，昼夜不得安宁。”
12圣徒的忍耐就在此；他们是守神诫命和耶稣真道的。
13我听见从天上有声音说：“你要写下：从今以后，在主里面而死的人有福了！”圣灵说：“是的，他们息了自己的劳苦，做工的果效也随着他们。”
Continuing Fruit
"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord... They will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them." — Revelation 14:13
When the bushes in my raspberry patch begin to mature and produce fruit, I try to protect the branches from breaking off. One day, however, I found a broken branch on the ground. And I was amazed to find that the fruit on it was still ripening and sweet.
That broken branch brought today's verse—and my mother—to mind. For the past few years my mother has been yearning to "go and be with the Lord." This is understandable, given her increasingly feeble body and fleeting memory. When she does depart this world, she will go on the wings of a promise being fulfilled. Her deeds will follow her.
My mother once said that she and my father used to wish for their children to have a better life (meaning more possessions) than they had. In later years, that wish changed into a prayer that all her children and grandchildren would grow up to love and serve the Lord. As she has witnessed to us, that prayer has been and is still being answered. So, when she goes to be with the Lord, the sweet fruit of her prayers and deeds will continue to ripen and follow her.
All who die in the Lord are firmly in God's loving embrace through no merit of their own. Yet our actions have impact, and our deeds leave legacies. Do you have a legacy of witness?
Precious Lord, thank you for the guiding light of your promise that our faithful deeds will follow us. For this life and the next, inspire us by your Spirit to remain faithful to Jesus. In his name, Amen.
诵读: 楚云
片头: 张妙阳
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