二十多年前發現The Word for Today這本季刊，由紐西蘭Rhema傳媒公司發行，每天一篇，篇幅不長，約三百字，引用故事、歷史、時事等深入闡釋聖經，類似現代版的荒漠甘泉，作者是愛爾蘭人Bob Gass （1944-2019）與妻Debby。Gass 十二歲時父親過世，敬虔的寡母靠政府撫恤金養大他和弟妹三人，他從小就認定屬靈偉人是他的英雄，十三歲用學校練習簿寫下講章，開啟第一篇證道。十八歲生日前到了美國，行囊裏僅有兩毛五分錢和兩篇講道稿，經友人協助，分別在加拿大、美國緬因與喬治亞州牧會。

當英國的聯合基督教廣播電台搖搖欲墜之際，Gass 起意寫The Word for Today支持電台繼續運作，他說：「搖滾、雷鬼、饒舌音樂在空中傳揚，在這片帶給世人欽定本聖經、衛斯理大復興誕生之地，竟然要停播基督教音樂？」

他的文章簡潔，取材用字每每令我眼睛一亮，引用的經節常常「恰好」適合我當天需要，或鼓勵或警惕，正是腳前的燈、路上的光，及時雨滋潤，好不安慰快活！既然受益良多，理當與人分享，我後來長期訂閱，分送親友，也曾用作教會英語角的教材。

近幾年有了Word for Today的app，出門在外方便閱讀，不過我還是喜歡紙本，可以在上面畫重點、寫心得。2003年左右送給小姐妹Feifei ，她後來也成為鐵粉，不但勤寫筆記，逐字謄繕，還加上美妙插圖，下面這篇為證。（括號內是我加註的中文）

『How to stay on course    7th July 2021

"I have hidden your word in my heart." Psalm 119:11 NIV

我將你的話藏在心裡

Senator Bill Nelson trained for and flew on a six-day space shuttle mission aboard the Columbia just prior to the Challenger disaster. In his book Mission he explains how difficult it is to maintain a proper orbit （軌道）in space. There’s no resistance （阻力）in space, so an astronaut can literally turn that huge orbiter （軌道飛行器）over by himself. To maintain a proper orbit, the onboard computers constantly make course （航向）and altitude （高度）corrections by firing small rockets which make minute（微）adjustments, while larger jets burn fuel to make major adjustments. These rockets are critical, for if they dont consistently fire at the right time, the space vehicle can veer from （偏離）it’s orbit and go tumbling into outer space or crashing into Earths atmosphere.

There’s an important lesson here for each of us. Left to ourselves, we tend to veer out of our spiritual orbit into lukewarmness （不冷不熱）and indifference（不在意）. Or worse - we end up in sin and rebellion. That’s when the rockets of prayer and Bible study, fired on a continuous and consistent basis, help us to keep our course correct, and prevent our lives from spinning out of spiritual control. Bible study and prayer go together. You should pray before you read the Bible to ask God to help you understand it. And you should pray after you read it to ask God to help you apply （用）what he has told you.

Like a faraway lover, God’s love letter （情書）to you is the Bible, and prayer is the telephone you pick up and talk back to him. That’s why its crucial to maintain your daily prayer and Bible study.』

Feifei畫中手持聖經一飛沖天的太空人，正是我的小孫女！