无敬畏心
读经: 使徒行传12章20-24节
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
金句: 「百姓喊着说：『这是上帝的声音，不是人的声音。』……主的使者立刻罚他。」(使徒行传12章22-23节）
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
全年读经: 约伯记25-27章；使徒行传12章 
希律王穿戴着华美的朝服，向一群极欲取悦他的群众发表演说。众人对他的演说阿谀奉承，希律王则陶醉在其中。他们喊着说：「这是上帝的声音，不是人的声音」(使徒行传12章22节)。希律本应敬畏独一真神，拒绝这样的奉承，但他没有这么做。结果，他因为没有「归荣耀给上帝」而立刻遭到天使的击打，最后在痛苦折磨中死去。这一切都是因为他缺乏敬畏上帝的心。
反观保罗与巴拿巴，则因对上帝有莫大的敬畏之心，想到被人敬拜，他们简直是惶恐不已（使徒行传14章14-15节）。当时，使徒保罗行神迹医好了一名生来瘸腿的人，结果围观的人群一见此事，便大声喊叫说：「有上帝借着人形降临在我们中间了！」他们甚至准备了祭物，要献给保罗和巴拿巴（11-13节）。这两位使徒得知之后，就「撕开衣裳，跳进众人中间，喊着说：『......为什么做这事呢？』」(14-15节)
这两则对比鲜明的圣经故事，让我们听到一声庄严的呼召：「在这个缺乏敬畏的世代，要将尊荣归给上帝。」只有他配得荣耀、称赞与尊荣，也唯有他当受我们的敬拜。HVL
敬畏真神要信他，　
并存虔诚敬拜心；
承认他有至高权，　
谦卑顺服他训言。Hess
荣耀不要归与我们，不要归与我们要......归在你的名下！
──诗篇115篇1节

                                                  
July 3, 2007
Irreverence
READ: Acts 12:20-24
The people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him. —Acts 12:22-23

King Herod, dressed in his royal apparel, delivered an oration to an audience eager to win his favor. He reveled in their flattering response. “[This is] the voice of a god and not of a man!” shouted the crowd (Acts 12:22). Fear and awe of the one true God should have led him to protest, but he didn’t. For his failure to “give glory to God,” he was immediately struck by an angel of the Lord. He suffered an excruciating death because of his lack of reverence for God.
Paul and Barnabas, on the other hand, had such a great reverence for God that they nearly panicked at the thought of being worshiped (Acts 14:14-15). Upon seeing the apostle Paul miraculously heal a man who had been crippled from birth, the onlookers shouted, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” Then they prepared to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas (vv.11-13). When the apostles heard this, they “tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out, . . . ‘Why are you doing these things?’” (vv.14-15).
In these contrasting biblical accounts, we see a solemn call to give God reverence in our irreverent world. He is the only one who is worthy of glory, praise, and honor. He is the only one who merits our worship. —Herbert Vander Lugt
To fear the Lord means giving Him
Our reverence, trust, and awe,
Acknowledging His sovereignty,
Submitting to His law. —Hess

Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory. —Psalm 115:1