God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. 

唯有上帝才能赐给我们真正的满足和平安。

We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1

我们既因信称义，就藉着我们的主耶稣基督得与上帝相和。-罗马书5章1节

“Do you still hope for peace?” a journalist asked Bob Dylan in 1984.“There is not going to be any peace,” Dylan replied. His response drew criticism, yet there’s no denying that peace remains ever elusive.

在1984年，记者问提倡和平的歌手巴布．狄伦说：“你仍然盼望和平吗？”他回答说：“绝不会有和平。”他的回应虽招来批评，但不可否认，至今世上仍无和平。

About 600 years before Christ, most prophets were predicting peace. God’s prophet wasn’t one of them. Jeremiah reminded the people that God had said, “Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people” (Jeremiah 7:23). Yet they repeatedly ignored the Lord and His commands. Their false prophets said, “Peace, peace” (8:11), but Jeremiah predicted disaster. Jerusalem fell in 586 .

约在主前600年，许多先知都预言平安，唯有耶利米这位上帝的先知提醒百姓，因上帝曾说：“你们当听从我的话，我就作你们的上帝，你们也作我的子民”（耶利米书7章23节）。然而百姓却一再漠视上帝和祂的命令，假先知说：“平安了！平安了！”（8章11节）但耶利米预言灾祸将至，而耶路撒冷果然在主前586年被攻破沦陷。

Peace is rare. But amid Jeremiah’s book of dire prophecies we discover a God who loves relentlessly. “I have loved you with an everlasting love,” the Lord told His rebellious people. “I will build you up again” (31:3–4).

世上少有和平。但我们在耶利米书可怕的预言中，看见持续爱我们的上帝，祂对悖逆的百姓说：“我以永远的爱爱你，……我要再建立你。”（31章3-4节）

God is a God of love and peace. Conflict comes because of our rebellion against Him. Sin destroys the world’s peace and robs each of us of inner peace. Jesus came to this planet to reconcile us to God and give us that inner peace. “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” wrote the apostle Paul (Romans 5:1). His words are among the most hope-filled ever written.

上帝满有慈爱与和平。但因为我们对祂的悖逆，使罪毁坏了世界的和平，夺取了我们内心的平安。耶稣降世使我们与上帝和好，让我们的内心得到平安。使徒保罗写道：“我们既因信称义，就藉着我们的主耶稣基督得与上帝相和”（罗马书5章1节）。在圣经许多充满盼望的信息中，这节经文更是带给我们极大的盼望。

Whether we live in a combat zone or dwell in a serene neighborhood with nary a whisper of war, Christ invites us into His peace.

不论我们是生活在武装冲突区，或是居住在毫无一丝硝烟的和平社区，基督都邀请我们与祂和好，得到祂的平安。

Lord, thank you for bringing in us a peace that there is no war or conflit can ever reach for my life, please help us to rest in you.

主，感谢你赐给我们平安，这样的平安在我的一生中都不受战争或者争端的影响，帮助我在你里面得安息。

Jeremiah 8:8-15    NIV

8 “‘How can you say, “We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord,” when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? 9 The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have? 10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain;prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. 11 They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. “Peace, peace,” they say, when there is no peace. 12 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when they are punished, says the Lord. 13 “‘I will take away their harvest, declares the Lord.There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither.What I have given them will be taken from them.’” 14 Why are we sitting here? Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there! For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against him. 15 We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there is only terror.

耶利米书 8:8-15

8 ‘你们怎么说“我们有智慧，耶和华的律法在我们这里”？看哪，文士的假笔舞弄虚假。 9 智慧人惭愧，惊惶，被擒拿，他们弃掉耶和华的话，心里还有什么智慧呢？10 所以我必将他们的妻子给别人，将他们的田地给别人为业。因为他们从最小的到至大的都一味地贪婪，从先知到祭司都行事虚谎。 11 他们轻轻忽忽地医治我百姓的损伤，说“平安了！平安了！”，其实没有平安。 12 他们行可憎的事知道惭愧吗？不然！他们毫不惭愧，也不知羞耻。因此，他们必在仆倒的人中仆倒，我向他们讨罪的时候，他们必致跌倒。’”这是耶和华说的。13 耶和华说：“我必使他们全然灭绝。葡萄树上必没有葡萄，无花果树上必没有果子，叶子也必枯干。我所赐给他们的，必离开他们过去。” 14 “我们为何静坐不动呢？我们当聚集，进入坚固城，在那里静默不言。因为耶和华我们的神使我们静默不言，又将苦胆水给我们喝，都因我们得罪了耶和华。 15 我们指望平安，却得不着好处；指望痊愈的时候，不料受了惊惶！

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

Jeremiah delivers a devastating message of coming punishment to the people of Judah. God’s judgment of sin includes loss of spouse and property (Jeremiah 8:10), failed crops (v. 13), and overwhelming terror (v. 15). Why such a devastating punishment? They have mishandled the law of the Lord (v. 8). Jeremiah continues by saying that they have no wisdom since they have rejected the word of the Lord (v. 9). Scripture is not something to be treated lightly. In the Bible God reveals Himself and His plan for humanity’s redemption. It’s a story to be treated with the utmost respect.

耶利米传达了一个令人震惊的信息，那就是惩罚将临到犹大百姓。上帝对罪的惩罚包括了丧失配偶和财产（耶利米书8章10节），庄稼欠收（13节），以及饱受惊惶（15节）。为什么犹大百姓会遭受这些毁灭性的惩罚呢？耶利米说，这是因为他们扭曲耶和华的律法（8节），耶利米也说他们没有智慧，因为他们拒绝上帝的话语（9节）。的确，圣经的话语我们绝不能等闲视之，因为上帝藉着圣经显明祂自己，以及祂拯救人类的计划， 我们当以虔诚敬畏的心领受圣经的真理。

整理：于姊妹