"Arise, get thee to Zarephath;... behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee." - 1 Kings 17:9
Because of our proneness to look at the bucket and forget the fountain, God has frequently to change His means of supply to keep our eyes fixed on the source. So the heavens that before sent us welcome showers become a brass, the streams that refreshed us are allowed to dry up, and the ravens that brought our daily food visit us no longer. But then God surprises us by meeting our needs through a poor widow woman, and so we prove the marvelous resources of God.
We are the representatives of God in this world, and we are here to prove His faithfulness. Our attitudes, our words, and our actions must all declare that He alone is our source of supply, or He will be robbed of the glory that is His due. He who sees in secret will take note of our needs, and He will meet them, not in stinted measure, but "according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
The Joyful Heart (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: 1 Kings 17
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
The Fruit of the Spirit is Self-Control
"But the fruit of the Spirit is… self-control." - Galatians 5:22
The end of this list, and thus the summit of a Christian's spiritual walk, is self-control. What commonly is spoken of as the Holy Spirit's government of us does not mean that He directly controls any part of us. That misunderstanding has lured Christians into passivity, or worse, deception, the end of which road is despair. But if we know that the Spirit is to lead man to the place of self-control, we are on the way to progress in spiritual life.
As believers, it is through our renewed will that the Holy Spirit rules. God's object in creation was to have man with a perfectly free volition, and his purpose in redemption is no different. The Christian is not obliged to obey God mechanically; instead his is the priviledge of fulfilling God's desires willingly and actively. We are perfectly free to choose or reject the various charges in the New Testament concerning life and godliness. They would mean nothing if God were to annihilate the operation of our own wills. The choice is ours: flesh or Spirit? And the fruit of the Spirit is self-control.
The Joyful Heart (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Galatians 5
The end of this list, and thus the summit of a Christian's spiritual walk, is self-control. What commonly is spoken of as the Holy Spirit's government of us does not mean that He directly controls any part of us. That misunderstanding has lured Christians into passivity, or worse, deception, the end of which road is despair. But if we know that the Spirit is to lead man to the place of self-control, we are on the way to progress in spiritual life.
As believers, it is through our renewed will that the Holy Spirit rules. God's object in creation was to have man with a perfectly free volition, and his purpose in redemption is no different. The Christian is not obliged to obey God mechanically; instead his is the priviledge of fulfilling God's desires willingly and actively. We are perfectly free to choose or reject the various charges in the New Testament concerning life and godliness. They would mean nothing if God were to annihilate the operation of our own wills. The choice is ours: flesh or Spirit? And the fruit of the Spirit is self-control.
The Joyful Heart (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Galatians 5
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Hidden Unbelief and Fear
"Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children." - Genesis 20;17
It is striking evidence of the spiritual life of this man of God that he could pray for children to be granted to others while his prayers for his own wife were still unanswered. He interceded for Abimelech, and God heard.
It is difficult to understand Abraham's reversion to that half-lie about Sarah being his sister, especially in view of the deep fellowship with God which had just preceded it. But this time he discloses that the arrangement made between them dated right back to Mesopotamia. Some hidden root of unbelief and fear had lingered through all these years, and now at length had come to light. At the start of his wanderings Abraham seems to have feared Sarah might be separated from him. Yet surely by now he should have known God would take full responsibility to see this does not happen.
At last, here in Gerar, the lurking fear was dragged out into the light of day, and slain, leaving Abraham free to pray for others. He did not pray for Sarah. Now he had no need to. Immediately after this Isaac was born.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Genesis 20
It is striking evidence of the spiritual life of this man of God that he could pray for children to be granted to others while his prayers for his own wife were still unanswered. He interceded for Abimelech, and God heard.
It is difficult to understand Abraham's reversion to that half-lie about Sarah being his sister, especially in view of the deep fellowship with God which had just preceded it. But this time he discloses that the arrangement made between them dated right back to Mesopotamia. Some hidden root of unbelief and fear had lingered through all these years, and now at length had come to light. At the start of his wanderings Abraham seems to have feared Sarah might be separated from him. Yet surely by now he should have known God would take full responsibility to see this does not happen.
At last, here in Gerar, the lurking fear was dragged out into the light of day, and slain, leaving Abraham free to pray for others. He did not pray for Sarah. Now he had no need to. Immediately after this Isaac was born.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Genesis 20
Monday, December 31, 2007
Fruitful Discipline
"Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth,and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." - Hebrews 12:6
It seems clear that spiritual vision by itself is not enough to transform a life. Consider Jacob's ladder. Because of his crooked behaviour, Jacob had lost home and possessions. Yet in spite of this God favoured him at Bethel with a vision so marvellous that he was moved to exclaim, "How dreadful is this place!" The promises that accompanied it were full and unconditional. Yet contrast with them the words of his response to God: "If... if... if... then I will...." Even with God he wanted to do a business deal. He was the same unchanged Jacob.
Soon, however, he was to become involved with Laban, who was just such another as himself. By this and other means, God took Jacob through years of the most fruitful discipline. The spoilt son of the house became a harshly treated labourer. But His ways are always right, and it was a new Jacob who found his way back to Bethel in the end.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Hebrews 12; Genesis 28
It seems clear that spiritual vision by itself is not enough to transform a life. Consider Jacob's ladder. Because of his crooked behaviour, Jacob had lost home and possessions. Yet in spite of this God favoured him at Bethel with a vision so marvellous that he was moved to exclaim, "How dreadful is this place!" The promises that accompanied it were full and unconditional. Yet contrast with them the words of his response to God: "If... if... if... then I will...." Even with God he wanted to do a business deal. He was the same unchanged Jacob.
Soon, however, he was to become involved with Laban, who was just such another as himself. By this and other means, God took Jacob through years of the most fruitful discipline. The spoilt son of the house became a harshly treated labourer. But His ways are always right, and it was a new Jacob who found his way back to Bethel in the end.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Hebrews 12; Genesis 28
Monday, December 24, 2007
Secret History with God
"He shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon." - Hosea 14:5
Here united in the child of God are two contrasting characters. Above ground, as it were, is the simple unsophisticated life of trust and faith represented by the lily of God's planting. That is what men see. Yet buried deep down out of sight, giving to this frail plant a wholly unsuspected strength, are the massive roots of the cedar. Here surely is the paradox of a life in which the Cross is known. Outwardly it is fragile as the lily blooming on the earth, but secretly there is a hundred times more below ground.
This is the test. How much of my life is seen? When men look on the surface, have they seen the whole, or is there something more? Have I in the unseen a secret history with God? Men take account only of the lily blooming in its weakness. God is concerned with the roots, that they shall be cedar-like in strength.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Hosea 14
Here united in the child of God are two contrasting characters. Above ground, as it were, is the simple unsophisticated life of trust and faith represented by the lily of God's planting. That is what men see. Yet buried deep down out of sight, giving to this frail plant a wholly unsuspected strength, are the massive roots of the cedar. Here surely is the paradox of a life in which the Cross is known. Outwardly it is fragile as the lily blooming on the earth, but secretly there is a hundred times more below ground.
This is the test. How much of my life is seen? When men look on the surface, have they seen the whole, or is there something more? Have I in the unseen a secret history with God? Men take account only of the lily blooming in its weakness. God is concerned with the roots, that they shall be cedar-like in strength.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Hosea 14
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