December 12

"The last drops of my sacrifice are falling; my time to go has come. I have fought in the good fight; I have kept the faith" (2 Tim.4:6-7)

As soldiers show their scars and talk of battles when they come at last to spend their old age in the country at home, so shall we in the dear land to which we are hastening, speak of the goodness and faithfulness of God who brought us through all the trials of the way. I would not like to stand in the white-robed host and hear it said, "These are they that came out of great tribulation¹, all except one."

Would you like to be there and see yourself pointed² at as the one saint who never knew a sorrow? Oh, no! for you would be an alien in the midst of the sacred brotherhood³. We will be content to share the battle, for we shall soon wear the crown and wave the palm. ━C. H. Spurgeon

"Where were you wounded?" asked the surgeon of a soldier at Lookout⁴ Mountain. "Almost at the top," he answered. He forgot even his gaping⁵ wound━he only remembered that he had won the heights. So let us go forth⁶ to higher endeavors for Christ and never rest till we can shout from the very top, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."

"Finish thy work, then rest,

Till then rest never;

The rest for thee by God,

Is rest forever. "

"God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas but for scars."

Of an old hero the minstrel sang━

“With his Yemen sword for aid;

Ornament⁷ it carried none,

But the notches⁸ on the blade.”

What nobler decoration of honor can any godly man seek after than his scars of service, his losses for the crown, his reproaches for Christ's sake, his being worn out in his Master's service! ━Selected

十二月十二日

「我离世的时候到了。那美好的仗我已经打过了,当跑的路我已经跑尽了,所信的道我已经守住了。」

（提后四:6-7）

军人到了年老退休在家的时候，最喜欢谈讲战场上的经历，也最喜欢把他们的伤痕指给人看；我们也是这样，当我们到了天家的时候，一定耶最喜欢述说神的良善、神的信实、神怎养带领我们经过路上一切的试炼。我们喜不喜欢站在穿白衣的中间，听见说：「这些人━除了一个━都是从大患难中出来的」呢？

你喜不喜欢在那里有人这样指着你说呢？一定不罢！今天我们能有分于患难，已经可以叫我们知足了；因为不久我们就要头戴冠冕、手拿棕树枝了。━司布眞

有一个军人，攀登洛考得山受了伤，医生问他说：“你是在什么地方受伤的”？他答道：“我记不清楚了，大概在山顶附近。”他只记得他攀登了山顶，连如何受伤也记不在心上。愿我们也以同样的精神为基督作更崇高的努力，直等到我们抵达山顶，可以高声喊说：“我已完成了我们的奋斗，跑完了我的路，保持了我的信心。”

到任务完毕之后再休息,

决不中途停竭;

神所赐给你的,

才是永恒的休息。

神不会到你身上找奖章、学位、文凭；祂却会去找伤痕。

古代吟唱诗人歌颂一位英雄说:

「他所佩的宝刀,一无装饰,

除了刀锋的那条凹槽。」

一个属神的人所能寻求的最光荣的勋章，乃是因事奉而受到的伤痕，因冠冕而受到的损失，因基督而受到的耻辱，因工作而受到的耗损。━选

1 tribulation   

n.苦难，灾难

参考例句：

• Even in our awful tribulation we were quite optimistic.即使在极端痛苦时，我们仍十分乐观。
• I hate the tribulation,I commiserate the sorrow brought by tribulation.我厌恶别人深重的苦难，怜悯苦难带来的悲哀。

2 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

3 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

4 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

5 gaping   

adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大

参考例句：

• Ahead of them was a gaping abyss. 他们前面是一个巨大的深渊。
• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 ornament   

v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物

参考例句：

• The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。
• She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。

8 notches   

n.（边缘或表面上的）V型痕迹( notch的名词复数 )；刻痕；水平；等级

参考例句：

• The Indians cut notches on a stick to keep count of numbers. 印第安人在棒上刻V形凹痕用来计数。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They cut notches in the handle of their pistol for each man they shot. 他们每杀一个人就在枪托上刻下一个V形记号。 来自辞典例句