But God: My Testimony- Part 2 (Chinese/English)

PSALM 40:1-5 – I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

诗篇 40：1-5 – 我耐心等候耶和华;他向我靠拢，听见我的呼喊。他也把我从可怕的坑里，从泥泞的泥土里带出来，把我的脚放在一块石头上，安定了我的去向。他又在我口中放了一首新歌，甚至赞美我们的神，许多人看见了，就害怕，信靠耶和华。信靠耶和华，不尊重骄傲的人，也不听从谎言的人，是有福的。耶和华我的神啊，你所行的奇妙的作为，以及你的思想，都是你所行的，在你看来，是不可数的，如果我要宣告和谈论它们，它们就多得数不清了。

But God… a story of amazing grace!

只有神……一个奇异恩典的故事！

My wilderness years were between 1986-2001. Yes, I did go to church on occasion, not the best one to be honest.I picked up my Bible on occasion and I prayed, but not with same love and fervor I once had.

我的旷野岁月是从1986年到2001年。没错，我偶尔会去教堂，老实说不是最好的一个……我偶尔会拿起我的圣经，我也会祈祷，但没有了我曾经有的那种爱和热情。

Something was happening, and the Holy Spirit was speaking.  At this time, I was back home with mum after living away for a long time.  I had put all my effort into trying to do it my way.  I had a computer and through that I came into contact with a Christian who challenged me to repent and to come back to God.  My answer was that although God would forgive, HE would never trust me and would never forget MY sin.

在这个时候，圣灵在借着正在发生的事情说话。在外面住了很长时间以后，我回到了妈妈家。我全力以赴地尝试用我的方式来生活。我有一台电脑，通过这台电脑，我接触到了一个基督徒，他劝勉我悔改并回归神。我的回答是，尽管神会原谅我，但他永远不会信任我，也永远不会忘记我的罪。

I remember one day being in my bedroom, when I broke down in tears.  The Lord restored me!  He is truly the God of the second chance, and I was a prodigal who had come home.

我记得有一天在我的卧室里，哭泣崩溃。此刻主恢复了我！他真的是给我第二次机会的神，我是一个回家的浪子。

I found a church and settled there, but my computer turned out to be my enemy.  I was led away by my own lusts and the devil, and made friends with a so-called female “pastor” in the USA.  Being very foolish, I moved there in 2004 and got married, losing not only my testimony, but also my mother, the respect of my family and nearly my life.  The three years spent in America were a sobering experience.  I blame no one but myself, but again God was gracious and merciful, giving me the mercy and grace that I didn’t deserve.

我找到了一个教堂并在那里安顿下来，但我的电脑却成了我的敌人。我被自己的欲望和魔鬼引诱，和一个所谓的美国女“牧师”成了朋友。非常愚蠢。我2004年搬到了美国并结婚，不仅失去了我的见证，还失去了我的母亲、家人的尊重，几乎丧命。在美国度过的三年是一次清醒的经历。我不怪任何人，但神再次显示了他的仁慈，赐给我我不配得的怜悯和恩典。

Thankfully, I was able to spend three months at my brothers in Canada, taking lots of time to restore my relationship with him and most importantly the Lord.  I then returned to the UK and went back to my old church, and they looked aghast when I turned up, and I heard lots of “Well, I told you so.”

幸运的是，我能在加拿大的兄弟家待三个月，花了很多时间恢复与兄弟的关系，还有最重要的是与主的关系。然后我回到英国，回到了我原来的教堂，当我出现时，他们惊讶地看着我，我听到很多“我就说吧”。

Over the next four years, the Lord restored me.  I thought that was it for me, but God had another surprise for me.  I thought I would not be moving again. Relationships took a back burner, as I remember, and after I had the latest let down, I said to the Lord, “No relationships, and no internet relationships ever again Lord.”

在接下来的四年里，主恢复了我。我以为这就是我的结局，但神为我准备了另一个惊喜。我以为我不会再搬家了。关系这件事已经退居二线，我记得，经历了最后的失望后，我对主说：“主啊，再也不要恋爱，也不要网恋了。”

The summer of 2011 was a time of great fellowship between me and the Lord.  I spent hours in prayer, fellowship was sweet, and I also had a website, which was getting hits from all over the world, including Nanjing China.  Wow China, that’s great, but I gave it little thought.

2011年的夏天是我和主之间的美好团契时间。我花了很多时间祷告，团契很甜美，我还有一个网站，吸引了来自世界各地的点击，包括中国南京。哇中国……这很棒，但我没怎么在意。

I had an old email, so I decided to move to Gmail, and told these few people on Hotmail that I was moving, never expecting to receive a reply.  I did, from a lady who was in China.  She didn’t know if I was a sister or a brother, or a strange person.  I thought she was the person that viewed the site, and thought, “Hey that’s cool.  She wants to be friends. Wow a Chinese friend!!”

我有一个旧电子邮件，所以我决定转到Gmail，并告诉Hotmail上的这几个人我要搬家，从未期待会收到回复。但我确实收到了，来自中国的一位女士的回复。她不知道我是姐妹还是兄弟，还是一个陌生人。我以为她到处是浏览网站的人，并想：“嘿，这很酷。她想交朋友。哇，一个中国朋友！！”

Over the summer of 11, something happened.  I didn’t hear from my friend for a few weeks, but then she wanted to skype.  “Okay, I thought, we can see what the other looks like, and that will put her off for good.”

在11年的夏天，事情发生了。几周我都没从她那里听到消息，但后来她来消息了，并说想要使用Skype。我想……我们可以看看对方长什么样，这会让她彻底失望。

We soon found ourselves chatting every day.  Something was happening. No come on Lord! Are you joking with me? We all know the end of the story.

我们很快发现我们每天都在聊天。一些事情正在发生……不，拜托主啊！你在跟我开玩笑吗？我们都知道故事的结局。

As autumn came around things moved quickly.  Our friendship had deepened, and on October 1st, God spoke to Helen clearly about me being her husband.  On the following Tuesday, He spoke to me about her being my wife.  I remember it clearly; it was early morning and He spoke clearly and decisively.

当秋天来临时，事情迅速发展。我们的友谊加深了，10月1日，神清晰地对海伦说我是她的丈夫。接下来的星期二，他对我说她是我的妻子。我记得很清楚；那是清晨，神清晰而果断地对我说话。

But I had just moved into my caravan, and I was settled.  What did my family think?  My niece went bonkers, and my brother refused to talk to me for two weeks.  Everything was becoming obvious, and as we both prayed and sought the Lord, He made it even clearer.  Obstacles were removed and I bought the ticket to China on 29 feb 2012.  I went in June, lost my luggage (fortunately I had tag and track, and they found it) and was the last one off the plane.  Helen must have thought I wasn’t coming, but we met and things changed forever.

但我刚刚安定下来，刚刚搬进我的房车里。我的家人怎么想？我的侄女发疯了，我的兄弟两周不跟我说话。一切都明白不过了，当我们两个祷告并寻求主时，他让一切更加清晰。障碍被清除了。我在2012年2月29日买了去中国的票。我在六月去了，丢了行李（幸好我有标签和追踪，他们找到了）并成为飞机上最后一个下机的人。海伦一定以为我不会来，但我们见面了，事情永远地改变了。

We became engaged in China, and I returned after a month to the UK.  My static had to be sold, along with my furniture, which the Lord graciously blessed.

我们在中国订了婚，一个月后我返回英国。我的房车和家具必须被卖掉，主仁慈地赐福了。

Now I live in China.  My life here is not easy, the language is still a mystery to me, but I am thankful to my two wonderful girls, my dear wife and our special daughter.

现在我住在中国。我的生活在这里并不容易，语言对我仍是一个谜，但我感谢我的两个美丽的女生，我亲爱的妻子和我们特别的女儿。

But God is my story.  I was dead totally dead, not just sick.  I had no hope.  Spiritually we aren’t sick. We are dead, in rebellion against God and His ways, lost to His wonderful grace and truth, and under His wrath.

但神是我的故事的主角。我完全死了……不仅仅只是病了。我没有希望。在精神上我们不是病了……而是死了，与神及其他的道相抗争，丢失了他的奇妙恩典和真理，处于他的愤怒之下。

I could do nothing to help myself.  You see we are all like that.  We are dead spiritually, and it takes God to step in and to spiritually activate us.  Someone has said it’s all about grace, amazing grace to be exact:

我无法自助。你看我们都是这样。我们在精神上是死的，需要神介入，使我们精神再次活跃。有人说这完全是关于恩典……确切地说是奇异的恩典：

G – God’s
神的

R – Riches
富饶

A – At
在

C – Christ’s
基督的

E – Expense
代价

I have been saved by God’s grace, and it’s all about His amazing grace.  God has intervened in my life.  BUT GOD- because of this I have been redeemed.  I have nothing to offer to God except my sins, but what He offered to me was His love, mercy and grace, all of which was totally underserved.

我已经被神的恩典拯救，这完全是因为他的惊人恩典。神已经介入了我的生活。只是因为神……因此我已经被赎回。我除了我的罪之外，没有什么可以献给神的，但他给我的却是他的爱、怜悯和恩典，所有这些都是我完全不配得的。

I hope what I have shared is used by God to open someone’s eyes to the Saviour, whom I love and treasure, to His finished work on the cross.  It is because of this that I can sing the words:

我希望我所分享的能被神用来开启某些人的眼睛，看到我所爱和珍惜的救主，看到他在十字架上所完成的工作。正是因为这个，我可以唱出这些词：

1 Amazing grace (how sweet the sound)
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
was blind, but now I see.

奇异恩典，何等甘甜，
我罪已得赦免；
前我失丧，今被寻回，
瞎眼今得看见。

2 ‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed!

如此恩典，使我敬畏，
使我心得安慰；
初信之时，即蒙恩惠，\
真是何等宝贵！

3 Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come:
’tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.

许多危险，试炼网罗，
我已安然经过；
靠主恩典，安全不怕，
更引导我归家。

4 The Lord has promised good to me,
his word my hope secures;
he will my shield and portion be
as long as life endures.

主已应许 美好计划，
立根主话 盼望保固。
我的山寨 我的产业，
日子如何 力量如何。

5 Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
and mortal life shall cease:
I shall possess, within the veil,
a life of joy and peace.

身心可朽 生命可绝，
圣殿巍然不毁。
寄身其间 平安喜乐，
人生圆满丰沛。

6 The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
the sun forbear to shine;
but God, who called me here below,
will be forever mine.

大地即将 如雪消融，
太阳终会陨没。
唯有上帝 与我永在，
声声唤我依托。

Ancient & Modern (2013) https://hymnary.org/text/amazing_grace_how_sweet_the_sound

God bless you,

神祝福你，

Keith