Ask the Lord to help you share His good news with others in the new year.
求主让我们在新的一年里，能与人分享祂的福音。
I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Malachi 3:1
我要差遣我的使者在我前面预备道路。-玛拉基书3章1节
“I have a message for you!” A woman working at the conference I was attending handed me a piece of paper, and I wondered if I should be nervous or excited. But when I read, “You have a nephew!” I knew I could rejoice.
在参加一个研讨会时，一位工作人员递给我一张纸条，说：“有人要我向你传达这个消息！”我感到纳闷，不知这个消息是会令我紧张抑或是兴奋。但当我看到纸条上写着：“您新添了一位侄子！”我晓得可以欢喜快乐了。
Messages can bring good news, bad news, or words that challenge. In the Old Testament, God used His prophets to communicate messages of hope or judgment. But when we look closely, we see that even His words of judgment were intended to lead to repentance, healing, and restoration.
他人带来的消息可能是喜讯、噩耗，或是具有挑战性的话。在旧约圣经中，上帝派遣祂的先知向百姓传达盼望或审判的信息。但我们若仔细研读就能明白，上帝审判的信息原是要引导人悔改、得着医治与复兴。
Both types of messages appear in Malachi 3 when the Lord promised to send a messenger who would prepare the way for Him. John the Baptist announced the coming of the true Messenger, Jesus (see Matthew 3:11)—“the messenger of the covenant” (Malachi 3:1) who will fulfill God’s promises. But He will act “like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap” (v. 2), for He will purify those who believe in His word. The Lord sent His word to cleanse His people because of His loving concern for their well-being.
在玛拉基书3章，当上帝应许将差派一位使者为祂预备道路时，也传达了盼望和审判这两种类型的信息。施洗约翰宣告了真正的使者耶稣的降临（参阅马太福音3章11节） ，这位“立约的使者”（玛拉基书3章1节）将实现上帝的应许。但祂行事却“如炼金之人的火，如漂布之人的碱”（2节），因为祂要洁净那些信祂话语的人。上帝以祂的话语洁净祂的子民，因祂爱他们，顾念他们的福祉。
God’s message is one of love, hope, and freedom. He sent His Son to be a messenger who speaks our language—sometimes with messages of correction, but always those of hope. We can trust His message.
上帝的信息充满了爱、盼望和自由。上帝让祂的儿子成为使者，向我们传递我们能明白的信息，尽管有时这信息是督责纠错，却也总是伴随着盼望。我们可以完全相信祂所传的信息。
Lord Jesus Christ, help me not only to understand Your message but to live it.
主耶稣基督，求祢帮助我，不仅明白祢的信息，更要实践出来。

Malachi 3:1-5 NIV

3 “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says theLord Almighty. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years. 5 “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.

玛拉基书 3:1-5

3 万军之耶和华说：“我要差遣我的使者在我前面预备道路。你们所寻求的主必忽然进入他的殿，立约的使者，就是你们所仰慕的，快要来到。2 “他来的日子，谁能当得起呢？他显现的时候，谁能立得住呢？因为他如炼金之人的火，如漂布之人的碱。 3 他必坐下如炼净银子的，必洁净利未人，熬炼他们像金银一样，他们就凭公义献供物给耶和华。 4 那时犹大和耶路撒冷所献的供物必蒙耶和华悦纳，仿佛古时之日，上古之年。” 5 万军之耶和华说：“我必临近你们，施行审判。我必速速作见证，警戒行邪术的、犯奸淫的、起假誓的、亏负人之工价的、欺压寡妇孤儿的、屈枉寄居的和不敬畏我的。

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, was written by a man whose name means “my messenger.” Malachi, believed to be a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah, ministered to the Jews who had returned from the Babylonian exile. Although the temple had been rebuilt (Ezra 6:14–15), the temple service and sacrifices were defiled for several reasons: lack of reverence for God, offering of blemished sacrifices (Malachi 1:6–9, 12–14), and willful neglect of the tithe (3:8–9). Worse, the priests were defiled by mixed marriages and marital unfaithfulness (2:1–16). Because the priesthood—which served as “the messenger of the Lord”—failed in their priestly function (2:7–9), Malachi speaks of a future “messenger” who would prepare the way for “the messenger of the covenant” (3:1). Four hundred years later, Jesus identified John the Baptist as that messenger (Matthew 11:9–10; 17:12–13).
旧约的最后一卷书是玛拉基书，“玛拉基”这个名字的意思是“我的使者”。一般认为，玛拉基是与以斯拉和尼希米同时代的人，服事那些被掳到巴比伦归回的犹太人。虽然当时圣殿已被重建（以斯拉记6章14-15节），但圣殿的事奉和献祭却被玷污，其中有几个原因：百姓不敬畏上帝；献上有瑕疵的祭物（玛拉基书1章6-9、12-14节）；刻意忽略十分之一的奉献（3章8-9节）。更糟糕的是，祭司与外邦女子通婚或对配偶不忠而成为不洁（2章1-16节）。祭司是“上帝的使者”，但却未能尽祭司的职责（2章7-9节），所以玛拉基讲到，将来有位“使者”会为那位“立约的使者”预备道路（3章1节）。四百年后，耶稣明确指出，施洗约翰就是那位使者（马太福音11章9-10节，17章12-13节）。
编辑：Sarah
校对：Rebecca Wei
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