謙理（千里）之行，始於足下

在教會的生活中，我最感恩的一件服事，就是每兩年跟弟兄姐妹一起讀完一遍聖經，今年已經是第五輪。神在這個過程中，不斷地堅固、建造我們的教會。在過去一輪的兩年讀經中，很多弟兄姐妹更是開始了「耕心禱讀」，每天從早到晚不同時段聚集、讀經、禱告，以線上為主、線下為輔的方式兩年完成通讀聖經。「耕心禱讀」不僅可以幫助大家瞭解神的話語，也建立了肢體之間彼此代禱、互相關懷的教會文化，甚至很多福音朋友通過「耕心禱讀」明白了基督信仰，信主受洗。

說到讀經，每個人都有不同的感受。有的人覺得聖經是「五穀糙米」，雖然知道有好處，但卻難以下嚥；有的人覺得聖經是「良藥苦口」，有了問題才到聖經裡去尋找醫治和藥方；但有的人卻覺得聖經是「滿漢全席」，營養全面且色香味俱全，每天都讀得迫不及待，有滋有味。

要想讀經讀得像「滿漢全席”，除了要正確理解聖經中的信息（information）之外，也要注重聖經對我們生命的建造（formation）。這包括把聖經「讀得懂」，就是知道聖經上到底在講什麼；把聖經「想得通」，就是認同並感受聖經中神的心意；也包括把聖經「行得動」，就是活出神所喜悅的生命。這不是一蹴而就的事情，但也不是遙不可及的事情，只要心存敬畏，倚靠聖靈，願意堅持，同伴同行，每個人都可以「讀得懂、想得通、行得動」。

曾經有一位弟兄講，每年的讀經計劃，在起初《創世記》的時候，看一切都甚好；《出埃及記》之後，就開始信馬由韁；《利未記》的獻祭制度讓人迷惑；最終倒在了《民數記》的曠野上。這實在是很多人讀經計劃的生動寫照。如果你不希望倒在曠野上，而是「讀得懂、想得通、行得動」，請在[https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSckm6Lcro9ukVqNFD0VGf_bSpNfb8p-_n28K40y8Z6ff1fuAw/viewform加入我們的「謙理之行」(中文)，跟幾百位弟兄姐妹一起每天讀經禱告，每週分享回顧。謙理（千里）之行，始於足下，讓我們一起讀出聖經中的「滿漢全席」。

A Journey of Humble Truth (A Journey of a Thousand Miles) Begins with the First Step

One of the ministries for which I am most thankful in our congregation is reading through the Bible with my brothers and sisters every two years, and this year marks our fifth round. God continues to strengthen and build up our congregation through this process. Over the past several years, many brothers and sisters have formed ‘Reading and Prayer Groups’ (RPGs), gathering at different times of the day, from morning to night, to read the Bible, pray, and go through the Bible in two years, mainly online and supplemented by offline meetings. Not only does this help people understand God’s word, but it also establishes a church culture of praying for and caring for each other. Many nonbelievers have even come to understand the Christian faith and accepted Christ through the RPGs.

When it comes to reading the Bible, everyone has different feelings. Some people feel that the Bible is like ‘brown rice,’ which is hard to swallow even though they know it has its benefits; some feel that the Bible is like ‘bitter medicine,’ and they go to the Bible to find cures and treatments when they have problems. However, others feel that the Bible is a ‘full-course meal,’ with comprehensive nutrition, full of colors and flavors, and they can’t wait to read it every day.

To read the Bible like a ‘full-course meal,’ we must not only correctly understand the ‘information’ in the Bible, but we must also focus on the ‘formation’ of our lives through the Bible. This includes ‘reading the Bible well,’ that is, knowing what the Bible is really saying; ‘feeling the Bible well,’ that is, recognizing and feeling God’s heart in the Bible; and ‘acting the Bible well,’ that is, living a life pleasing to God according to the Bible. This is not something that can be accomplished overnight, but it is also not something that is out of reach. With the help of the Holy Spirit, a willingness to persevere, and peers to walk together, everyone can ‘read, feel, and act’ the Bible well.

A brother once told me that in his biannual Bible reading process, he saw everything as ‘very good’ in Genesis; bounced and skipped through Exodus; was baffled by the sacrificial system of Leviticus; and finally, fell behind in the wilderness of Numbers. This is a vivid picture of many people’s Bible reading experiences. If you don’t want to fall behind but to ‘read, feel, and act’ the Bible well, I invite you to scan the QR code and join our ‘Journey of Humble Truth’ (in Chinese), which is a journey with hundreds of brothers and sisters with daily video commentary and weekly review and quizzes to read through the Bible in two years. A Journey of humble truth (a journey of a thousand miles) begins with the first step; let’s read the Bible like a ‘full-course meal’ together.