"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
Showing posts with label a table in the wilderness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label a table in the wilderness. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
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
Monday, December 17, 2007
Serve One Another in Humility
"Yea, all of you, gird yourself with humility, to serve one another." - 1 Peter 5:5
The Body builds up itself in love. It is not that there are special apostolic workers who can stand apart from the Body as though it were a 'thing', and build it up from the outside. There is a danger, to which we are all prone, of thinking of the Church of Christ as something outside of ourselves to which we are ministering. This is not possible. If we are to contribute to the life of the Body, we must humbly take our place of submission within it, receiving from, as well as contributing to, its mutual ministry of life.
Do we find it easier to humble ourselves towards God than towards our fellow believers? Remember, without a continual exercise of humility, it is quite impossible to serve one another. For better or worse we are members of that Body, from which we cannot resign. Offend men and we offend God. Accept help from our brethren, and it is only that we may help others. Serve, and we ourselves are ministered to. We are God's fellow-workers, God's building.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: 1 Peter 5
The Body builds up itself in love. It is not that there are special apostolic workers who can stand apart from the Body as though it were a 'thing', and build it up from the outside. There is a danger, to which we are all prone, of thinking of the Church of Christ as something outside of ourselves to which we are ministering. This is not possible. If we are to contribute to the life of the Body, we must humbly take our place of submission within it, receiving from, as well as contributing to, its mutual ministry of life.
Do we find it easier to humble ourselves towards God than towards our fellow believers? Remember, without a continual exercise of humility, it is quite impossible to serve one another. For better or worse we are members of that Body, from which we cannot resign. Offend men and we offend God. Accept help from our brethren, and it is only that we may help others. Serve, and we ourselves are ministered to. We are God's fellow-workers, God's building.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: 1 Peter 5
Monday, December 03, 2007
Gathered Much or Gathered Little?
"There is that scattereth, and increaseth yet more." - Proverbs 11:24
God's principle of government in material things is the principle of the manna, that "he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack" (Exodus 16:18 amd 2 Corinthians 8:14). This means that if he that has gathered little is to have no lack, anyone who has gathered much must be willing to have nothing over. Some of us have proved in experience the preciousness of this. When we bear the burden for those who gather little, God sees to it that we gather much; but if instead we think merely of our own needs, the very utmost we can hope for is to gather little and have no lack.
It is a priveledge to be able to help our brethren in the Lord, even to the extent of the greater part of our income. Those who have only learned to take, seldom receive; but those who have learned to give are always receiving and have always more to give. The more you spend on others, the more your income will increase; the more you try to save, the more you will be troubled by "rust" and "thieves".
A Table In the Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Proverbs 11; Exodus 16; 2 Corinthians 8
God's principle of government in material things is the principle of the manna, that "he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack" (Exodus 16:18 amd 2 Corinthians 8:14). This means that if he that has gathered little is to have no lack, anyone who has gathered much must be willing to have nothing over. Some of us have proved in experience the preciousness of this. When we bear the burden for those who gather little, God sees to it that we gather much; but if instead we think merely of our own needs, the very utmost we can hope for is to gather little and have no lack.
It is a priveledge to be able to help our brethren in the Lord, even to the extent of the greater part of our income. Those who have only learned to take, seldom receive; but those who have learned to give are always receiving and have always more to give. The more you spend on others, the more your income will increase; the more you try to save, the more you will be troubled by "rust" and "thieves".
A Table In the Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Proverbs 11; Exodus 16; 2 Corinthians 8
Monday, November 12, 2007
Judging and Setting at Nought
"Thou, why dost thou judge thy brother? Or thou again, why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgement seat of God." - Romans 14:10
Two things are here forbidden to us: 'judging' and 'setting at nought', an outward act and an inner attitude. I may not yet have gone so far as openly to express a judgement on my brother. Very good, but am I summing him up to myself unfavourably? Do I secretly pity him because he does not see as I see? Do I despise him in my heart as weak or eccentric? If so I am in rare peril, for my next step is to assume I am therefore better than he. If I despise him, then it is quite certain I think over much of myself. Let me beware of classing myself as spiritually strong, for that is only to betray to God my own carnality. Of course He would have me discern clearly between right and wrong, but I must never make others the victims of my discernment. The judgment seat is Christ's, and is still future. Who of us dare usurp its function now?
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Romans 14
Two things are here forbidden to us: 'judging' and 'setting at nought', an outward act and an inner attitude. I may not yet have gone so far as openly to express a judgement on my brother. Very good, but am I summing him up to myself unfavourably? Do I secretly pity him because he does not see as I see? Do I despise him in my heart as weak or eccentric? If so I am in rare peril, for my next step is to assume I am therefore better than he. If I despise him, then it is quite certain I think over much of myself. Let me beware of classing myself as spiritually strong, for that is only to betray to God my own carnality. Of course He would have me discern clearly between right and wrong, but I must never make others the victims of my discernment. The judgment seat is Christ's, and is still future. Who of us dare usurp its function now?
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Romans 14
Monday, October 15, 2007
The Power of Jesus' Name
"By what power, or in what name, have ye done this?" - Acts 4:7
Our eyes must be opened to see the mighty change wrought by the ascension. The name of Jesus certainly establishes the identity of the One in the throne with the Carpenter of Nazareth, but it goes further than that. It represents the power and dominion before which every knee in heaven and earth and beneath the earth must bow. Even the Jewish leaders recognized that there could be this kind of significance in a mere name, when they asked this question of the disciples concerning the lame man's healing.
Today the name tells us that God has committed all authority to His Son, so that in the very name itself there is power. But further, not only is it His, but it is "given among men". He has placed that authority in our hands for us to use. In three passages in His last discourse the Lord Jesus repeats the words "ask in My name". What confidence He must place in us to say, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do!"
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Acts 4
Our eyes must be opened to see the mighty change wrought by the ascension. The name of Jesus certainly establishes the identity of the One in the throne with the Carpenter of Nazareth, but it goes further than that. It represents the power and dominion before which every knee in heaven and earth and beneath the earth must bow. Even the Jewish leaders recognized that there could be this kind of significance in a mere name, when they asked this question of the disciples concerning the lame man's healing.
Today the name tells us that God has committed all authority to His Son, so that in the very name itself there is power. But further, not only is it His, but it is "given among men". He has placed that authority in our hands for us to use. In three passages in His last discourse the Lord Jesus repeats the words "ask in My name". What confidence He must place in us to say, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do!"
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Acts 4
Monday, October 08, 2007
One Talent Member
"Now hath God set the members each one of them in the body, even as it pleased Him." - 1 Corinthians 12:18
Tell me, which is the better member, the foot or the hand? There is, when you come to think of it, no way of comparing them. Their function in the human body is quite different, and each is equally needed there. And yet many minimize God's calling. Because they cannot be the special member they admire, they decline to take their place at all. This is exactly the situation described in Jesus' parable of the men with the talents in Matthew chapter 25. There was a servant with five talents, and another with two, but the whole emphasis of the parable is on the one-talent man. The danger is of the one-talent brother burying his talent. 'Since I cannot occupy a place of prominence,' he asks himself, 'does it matter therefore whether I occupy any place at all?' It most certainly does! For the parable teaches that if two can grow into four, one can grow into two. It is by functioning that we discover life. The Church's life is hampered and impoverished by the holding back of the one-talent members.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12
Tell me, which is the better member, the foot or the hand? There is, when you come to think of it, no way of comparing them. Their function in the human body is quite different, and each is equally needed there. And yet many minimize God's calling. Because they cannot be the special member they admire, they decline to take their place at all. This is exactly the situation described in Jesus' parable of the men with the talents in Matthew chapter 25. There was a servant with five talents, and another with two, but the whole emphasis of the parable is on the one-talent man. The danger is of the one-talent brother burying his talent. 'Since I cannot occupy a place of prominence,' he asks himself, 'does it matter therefore whether I occupy any place at all?' It most certainly does! For the parable teaches that if two can grow into four, one can grow into two. It is by functioning that we discover life. The Church's life is hampered and impoverished by the holding back of the one-talent members.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12
Monday, September 03, 2007
The Passover Meal
"Thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand: and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's passover." - Exodus 12:11
The shed blood was for God. It was sprinkled on the outside of the house where it would not even be seen by the first-born son within, he who by its virtue was being delivered. No, the blood was for God to see, and He promised that when He saw it He would pass over the house. God's need is met in the blood, but our need is provided for in the festival meal. Within the house we need to feed on the flesh of that Lamb whose blood protects us. It is by so feeding that we are strengthened for the pilgrim journey ahead. The passover meal was not for those who would settle down in Egypt, even protected there by sacrificial blood. It was for them whose manifest purpose was to move out and on with God. And so it is with us. Our needs we find met in Christ as we partake of Him. But remember, we do so always in readiness for onward movement in the will of God.
A Table In the Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Exodus 12
The shed blood was for God. It was sprinkled on the outside of the house where it would not even be seen by the first-born son within, he who by its virtue was being delivered. No, the blood was for God to see, and He promised that when He saw it He would pass over the house. God's need is met in the blood, but our need is provided for in the festival meal. Within the house we need to feed on the flesh of that Lamb whose blood protects us. It is by so feeding that we are strengthened for the pilgrim journey ahead. The passover meal was not for those who would settle down in Egypt, even protected there by sacrificial blood. It was for them whose manifest purpose was to move out and on with God. And so it is with us. Our needs we find met in Christ as we partake of Him. But remember, we do so always in readiness for onward movement in the will of God.
A Table In the Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Exodus 12
Monday, August 13, 2007
Enlargement Through Pressure
"Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace." - Daniel 3:17
How does the Church reach her goal? Only by traveling the pathway from pressure to enlargement, from poverty to enrichment. You ask: What do we mean by enlargement through pressure? When three are shut into a furnace and the three become four, that is enlargement through pressure. Some find a furnace rather close quarters for three, so they seek a way of escape; others accept the limitation, and in accepting it, make room for a Fourth. Not to let difficulties shut us out from God, but to let them shut us in to Him, that is enlargement through pressure. Some, through pressure, reach God's end; others come to an end in the pressure. Some die in straitness; others, through straitness, find fullness of life. Some murmur when trials befall, finding in them only restraint, limitation and death; others praise God for the trials, and in doing so discover the pathway to enlargement, liberation and abundance of life.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Daniel 3
How does the Church reach her goal? Only by traveling the pathway from pressure to enlargement, from poverty to enrichment. You ask: What do we mean by enlargement through pressure? When three are shut into a furnace and the three become four, that is enlargement through pressure. Some find a furnace rather close quarters for three, so they seek a way of escape; others accept the limitation, and in accepting it, make room for a Fourth. Not to let difficulties shut us out from God, but to let them shut us in to Him, that is enlargement through pressure. Some, through pressure, reach God's end; others come to an end in the pressure. Some die in straitness; others, through straitness, find fullness of life. Some murmur when trials befall, finding in them only restraint, limitation and death; others praise God for the trials, and in doing so discover the pathway to enlargement, liberation and abundance of life.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Daniel 3
Monday, August 06, 2007
When I am Weak
"When I am weak, then I am strong." - 2 Corinthians 12:10
This paradox lies at the heart of true Christian experience. I came to see this in the course of a personal trial of my own, in which, like Paul with his thorn in the flesh, I had received the answer 'No' to my prayer for relief. The thought came to me then of a river-boat that could not pass a deep narrows because of a boulder in the stream, jutting five feet or so up from the river bed. In my trial I had been asking the Lord to remove the boulder. Now within me the question arose: Would it be better to have the five-foot boulder out of the way, or to let Him raise the level of the water by five feet? To Paul's appeal the answer had been 'My grace is sufficient.' Of course it would be better to have the water-level raised! My problem was gone. For Christianity is not a matter of removing boulders, but of having deeper water!
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 12
This paradox lies at the heart of true Christian experience. I came to see this in the course of a personal trial of my own, in which, like Paul with his thorn in the flesh, I had received the answer 'No' to my prayer for relief. The thought came to me then of a river-boat that could not pass a deep narrows because of a boulder in the stream, jutting five feet or so up from the river bed. In my trial I had been asking the Lord to remove the boulder. Now within me the question arose: Would it be better to have the five-foot boulder out of the way, or to let Him raise the level of the water by five feet? To Paul's appeal the answer had been 'My grace is sufficient.' Of course it would be better to have the water-level raised! My problem was gone. For Christianity is not a matter of removing boulders, but of having deeper water!
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 12
Monday, July 23, 2007
First Fruits
"These were purchased from among men, to be the first fruits unto God and unto the Lamb." - Revelation 14:4
My home province of Fukien is famous for its oranges. I would say (though doubtless I am prejudiced) that there are none like them anywhere in this world. As you look out on the hills at the beginning of the orange season, all the groves are green. But if you observe more carefully you will see, scattered here and there on the trees, golden oranges already showing up. It is a beautiful sight to see the flecks of gold dotted among the dark green trees. Later the whole crop will ripen and the groves will turn to gold, but now it is these firstfruits that are gathered. They are carefully hand-picked, and it is they that fetch the top market-prices, often as much as three times the price of the harvest.
All Christians will reach ripeness somehow, we are assured. But the Lamb seeks firstfruits for His hour of supreme demand.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Revelation 14
My home province of Fukien is famous for its oranges. I would say (though doubtless I am prejudiced) that there are none like them anywhere in this world. As you look out on the hills at the beginning of the orange season, all the groves are green. But if you observe more carefully you will see, scattered here and there on the trees, golden oranges already showing up. It is a beautiful sight to see the flecks of gold dotted among the dark green trees. Later the whole crop will ripen and the groves will turn to gold, but now it is these firstfruits that are gathered. They are carefully hand-picked, and it is they that fetch the top market-prices, often as much as three times the price of the harvest.
All Christians will reach ripeness somehow, we are assured. But the Lamb seeks firstfruits for His hour of supreme demand.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Revelation 14
Monday, July 16, 2007
The Hand of God
"With what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again." - Luke 6:38
I knew a dear brother who was intensely critical. His favorite observation was: 'It was the hand of God.' Was someone sick? 'It is the hand of God on him,' he would say. Sometimes maybe he was right. But one day another brother, of whom he disapproved, lost his son, and, believe it or not, received a letter from this man saying, 'It is the hand of God on you!' I saw the letter and felt highly indignant that he should thus judge another. What was my horror, then, when within two weeks his own son was taken ill and died.
Then it was that temptation came to me. I took up my pen and wrote, 'My dear brother, I grieve with you in your bereavement, but if that man lost his child because the hand of God was on him in judgement, then what about yourself? Are you willing to admit that God's hand is on you?' It seemed about time this was said! I finished the letter - and then God rebuked me. Was not I doing the very thing I had disapproved of? His mercy had restrained me just in time. I tore up the letter. If I too would not reap, I must not sow!
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Luke 6
I knew a dear brother who was intensely critical. His favorite observation was: 'It was the hand of God.' Was someone sick? 'It is the hand of God on him,' he would say. Sometimes maybe he was right. But one day another brother, of whom he disapproved, lost his son, and, believe it or not, received a letter from this man saying, 'It is the hand of God on you!' I saw the letter and felt highly indignant that he should thus judge another. What was my horror, then, when within two weeks his own son was taken ill and died.
Then it was that temptation came to me. I took up my pen and wrote, 'My dear brother, I grieve with you in your bereavement, but if that man lost his child because the hand of God was on him in judgement, then what about yourself? Are you willing to admit that God's hand is on you?' It seemed about time this was said! I finished the letter - and then God rebuked me. Was not I doing the very thing I had disapproved of? His mercy had restrained me just in time. I tore up the letter. If I too would not reap, I must not sow!
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Luke 6
Monday, July 02, 2007
Altering God's mind
"Go not up, for the Lord is not among you; that ye be not smitten down before your enemies." - Numbers 14:42
There is always the serious possibility that God will change His mind. This fact should keep us in humble fear before Him. For if there is something in us which resists His will, God may be compelled to modify His orders to us, as He did to Israel. It is true they acknowledged they had sinned, but they were wrong in thinking they could then proceed as though nothing had altered. It had. In such a situation it is folly to hold blindly on to something the Lord gave us twenty years ago - or even last year. We must live in today, and hold on to God. It is the present relationship that is vital. Why, even Moses found his course redirected when he failed God. But bowing to God's present will he was blessed, whereas the Israelites who tried to ignore it met only disaster. Has something in me altered God's mind? Let me then be open to His adjustment. One day He will restore.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Numbers 14
There is always the serious possibility that God will change His mind. This fact should keep us in humble fear before Him. For if there is something in us which resists His will, God may be compelled to modify His orders to us, as He did to Israel. It is true they acknowledged they had sinned, but they were wrong in thinking they could then proceed as though nothing had altered. It had. In such a situation it is folly to hold blindly on to something the Lord gave us twenty years ago - or even last year. We must live in today, and hold on to God. It is the present relationship that is vital. Why, even Moses found his course redirected when he failed God. But bowing to God's present will he was blessed, whereas the Israelites who tried to ignore it met only disaster. Has something in me altered God's mind? Let me then be open to His adjustment. One day He will restore.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Numbers 14
Monday, June 11, 2007
A Cheerful Giver
"God loveth a cheerful giver." - 2 Corinthians 9:7
The servant of the Lord should learn to give as well as to receive. Yet how hard it often is to do so! I remember once I was setting out on a journey up river to take part in some important meetings. I had to trust the Lord for my fare, and I had only eighteen dollars in hand. The river boat would take me only so far, and I might need anything up to $300 to hire a boat for the rest of the way. Yet before I left, God told me to give away to a friend six of my sorely needed dollars. I started off, found quite unforeseen cheap travel provided from half way, enjoyed a most blessed week, and was amply provided for for my return journey. What a joy to discover when I got back that my gift of six dollars had been desperately needed!
All too often, I fear, we are bad givers. If I am only a receiver and not also a giver, I am unworthy of the God who sent me. The divine principle is not 'Save and you shall grow rich.' It is 'Give and it shall be given unto you.'
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 9
The servant of the Lord should learn to give as well as to receive. Yet how hard it often is to do so! I remember once I was setting out on a journey up river to take part in some important meetings. I had to trust the Lord for my fare, and I had only eighteen dollars in hand. The river boat would take me only so far, and I might need anything up to $300 to hire a boat for the rest of the way. Yet before I left, God told me to give away to a friend six of my sorely needed dollars. I started off, found quite unforeseen cheap travel provided from half way, enjoyed a most blessed week, and was amply provided for for my return journey. What a joy to discover when I got back that my gift of six dollars had been desperately needed!
All too often, I fear, we are bad givers. If I am only a receiver and not also a giver, I am unworthy of the God who sent me. The divine principle is not 'Save and you shall grow rich.' It is 'Give and it shall be given unto you.'
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 9
Monday, May 21, 2007
Meet the Enemy in Secret
"The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine." - 1 Samuel 17:37
David was anointed king at Bethlehem, but immediately he returned to his ordinary sphere of life to prove the Lord there. He went back to his flock, not to some special royal training-school. It was 'with the sheep' that Saul's messengers found him; and when his turn came to confront Goliath, the weapons he used against him were those tested there. Of Saul's helmet and sword and mail he said, 'I have not proved them,' and he put them off him again. Instead he chose his shepherd's sling and the stones from the brook, 'that all this assembly may know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear.'
There is no virtue in office alone. Mere status carries with it no spiritual power. You need to meet the enemy in secret before you can meet him in public. You need to be in tune with the Spirit of God at home before you can reign abroad. But this is a training-school open to every one of us.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: 1 Samuel 17
David was anointed king at Bethlehem, but immediately he returned to his ordinary sphere of life to prove the Lord there. He went back to his flock, not to some special royal training-school. It was 'with the sheep' that Saul's messengers found him; and when his turn came to confront Goliath, the weapons he used against him were those tested there. Of Saul's helmet and sword and mail he said, 'I have not proved them,' and he put them off him again. Instead he chose his shepherd's sling and the stones from the brook, 'that all this assembly may know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear.'
There is no virtue in office alone. Mere status carries with it no spiritual power. You need to meet the enemy in secret before you can meet him in public. You need to be in tune with the Spirit of God at home before you can reign abroad. But this is a training-school open to every one of us.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: 1 Samuel 17
Monday, May 07, 2007
Right or Wrong
"Whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him twain." - Matthew 5:41
A brother in South China had a rice field in the middle of the hill. In time of drought he used a water-wheel, worked by a treadmill, to lift water from the irrigation stream into his field. His neighbour had two fields below his, and one night his neighbour made a breach in the dividing bank and drained off all his water. When the brother repaired the breach and pumped in more water, his neighbour did the same thing again, and this happened three or four times. So he consulted his brethren. 'I have tried to be patient and not to retaliate,' he said, 'but is it right?' After they had prayed together about it, one of them observed, 'If we only try to do the right thing, surely we are very poor Christians. We have to do something more than what is right.' The brother was much impressed. Next morning he pumped water for the two fields below, and in the afternoon pumped water for his own field. After that the water stayed in his field. His neighbour was so amazed at his action that he began to inquire the reason, until in due course he too found Christ.
'Right or wrong' is the principle of the Gentiles and tax gatherers (verse 46). Not that, but conformity to Him, must govern my life.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Matthew 5
A brother in South China had a rice field in the middle of the hill. In time of drought he used a water-wheel, worked by a treadmill, to lift water from the irrigation stream into his field. His neighbour had two fields below his, and one night his neighbour made a breach in the dividing bank and drained off all his water. When the brother repaired the breach and pumped in more water, his neighbour did the same thing again, and this happened three or four times. So he consulted his brethren. 'I have tried to be patient and not to retaliate,' he said, 'but is it right?' After they had prayed together about it, one of them observed, 'If we only try to do the right thing, surely we are very poor Christians. We have to do something more than what is right.' The brother was much impressed. Next morning he pumped water for the two fields below, and in the afternoon pumped water for his own field. After that the water stayed in his field. His neighbour was so amazed at his action that he began to inquire the reason, until in due course he too found Christ.
'Right or wrong' is the principle of the Gentiles and tax gatherers (verse 46). Not that, but conformity to Him, must govern my life.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Matthew 5
Monday, April 23, 2007
Broken by God
"Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." - Habakkuk 3:18
When the Galilean boy brought his bread to Jesus, what did Jesus do with it? He broke it. God will always break what is offered to Him. He breaks what He takes, then blesses and uses it to meet men's needs.
A Table In The Wilderness (by Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Habakkuk 3; Matthew 4:13-21
When the Galilean boy brought his bread to Jesus, what did Jesus do with it? He broke it. God will always break what is offered to Him. He breaks what He takes, then blesses and uses it to meet men's needs.
Is not this true to your experience and mine? You give yourself to the Lord, and at once everything goes so badly wrong that you are tempted to find fault with His ways. To persist in such an attitude is to be broken, yes indeed, but to what purpose? You have gone too far for the world to use you, but you have not gone far enough for God. This is the tragedy of many a Christian. Do we want Him to use us? Then day by day let us go on giving to Him, not finding fault with His methods, but accepting His handling of us with praise and expectation.
A Table In The Wilderness (by Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Habakkuk 3; Matthew 4:13-21
Monday, March 26, 2007
Behold the Lamb of God
"He looked upon Jesus as He walked, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God!" - John 1:36
When John first announced Christ as the Lamb of God, he added: "which taketh away the sin of the world" (verse 29), thus emphasizing His redeeming work. The second time he did so, however, he simply said: "Behold the Lamb of God!"
Here the accent was not so much on the work as on the Person. Real appreciation means that people are precious to us for their own sakes. We come to love them more for what they are than for what they have done. So it should be with our appreciation of Christ. We thank the Lord for His gifts, but we praise Him for His worth. Christ on the Cross calls forth from us our amazed thanskgiving; Christ on the throne our praise. We behold what He has done and we are profoundly grateful; we behold who He is and we adore.
A Table In The Wilderness (by Watchman Nee)
Read the Scriptures: John 1:29-37
When John first announced Christ as the Lamb of God, he added: "which taketh away the sin of the world" (verse 29), thus emphasizing His redeeming work. The second time he did so, however, he simply said: "Behold the Lamb of God!"
Here the accent was not so much on the work as on the Person. Real appreciation means that people are precious to us for their own sakes. We come to love them more for what they are than for what they have done. So it should be with our appreciation of Christ. We thank the Lord for His gifts, but we praise Him for His worth. Christ on the Cross calls forth from us our amazed thanskgiving; Christ on the throne our praise. We behold what He has done and we are profoundly grateful; we behold who He is and we adore.
A Table In The Wilderness (by Watchman Nee)
Read the Scriptures: John 1:29-37
Monday, March 12, 2007
Grace and Truth
"Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." - John 1:17
This statement is the key to all that follows in John's Gospel. Right through it you find the same double emphasis, upon truth on the one hand and upon grace on the other. Truth will always make demands, and grace will always be there to meet them.
In the incident recorded in Chapter 8 of the woman taken in adultery, truth shines forth. The Lord did not say to her "It is all right; you have not sinned." He did not suggest to the Jews that what she had done was nothing serious, and that He was not deeply concerned about it. No, His words were: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." The truth was there: she had indeed sinned, and according to the law she should be stoned; but so also was the grace, for when all had departed He turned to her with "Neither do I condemn thee".
Throughout the Gospel of John you will find truth is always matched by grace in this way.
A Table In The Wilderness (by Watchman Nee)
Read the Scriptures: John 1:14-18; John 8:1-11
This statement is the key to all that follows in John's Gospel. Right through it you find the same double emphasis, upon truth on the one hand and upon grace on the other. Truth will always make demands, and grace will always be there to meet them.
In the incident recorded in Chapter 8 of the woman taken in adultery, truth shines forth. The Lord did not say to her "It is all right; you have not sinned." He did not suggest to the Jews that what she had done was nothing serious, and that He was not deeply concerned about it. No, His words were: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." The truth was there: she had indeed sinned, and according to the law she should be stoned; but so also was the grace, for when all had departed He turned to her with "Neither do I condemn thee".
Throughout the Gospel of John you will find truth is always matched by grace in this way.
A Table In The Wilderness (by Watchman Nee)
Read the Scriptures: John 1:14-18; John 8:1-11
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