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

Glory to Dust

"Thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart." - Deuteronomy 8:2

Let us understand that God has no need for our defeats and failures - only we do. For while we experience smooth sailing, being often victorious and full of joy, we may regard ourselves as being fairly good and having possession of something that other people do not have. Though we may not dare to boast openly of anything, nevertheless, when we make some progress in spiritual life or have some success in spiritual work we cannot help but conceive the thought that now we are truly holy and powerful and excelling quite well. In such a state as this, it is easy to become careless and to lose the attitude of depending on God.

Accordingly, the Lord permits us to fall from glory to dust. We learn we are no different from the world's greatest and worst sinners. With the result that we dare not be self-reliant anymore but will in all things cast ourselves upon God with fear and trembling.

The Lord My Portion (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)

Read the Scriptures: Deuteronomy 8