ministry quote of the week

THE LIMITATION OF THE BODY

If you are simply a believer, you can act as you please, but if you are a member of the Body, then you must allow yourself to be limited by the other members. Here we find the necessity of the cross. The cross leads to the Body, and the cross operates in the sphere of the Body. If I am quick and another is slow, I must not insist on keeping my own pace; I must allow myself to be limited by the slow member. If I am a prophet, then I must give way to the evangelist when it comes to the matter of preaching to the unsaved. I should not feel the need to preach just because I have the gift of prophecy. "To each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ" (Eph. 4:7). It is essential for the development of the Body that we each recognize our measure and not go beyond it. This is a basic requirement for the growth of the Body.

The Body of Christ is not only a protection to the members but a limitation to all the members. Every Christian is but one member in the Body of Christ and must accept the limitation of the Body. We should not allow ourselves to go our own way; rather, we should learn to be blended with other brothers and sisters. Individual dispositions and peculiarities have no place in the church. Every member should honor the talents of others and be faithful to his own. Moreover, every member should know his own capacity and not consider himself more highly than he should. If everyone does this, there will be no jealousy, ambition, or craving to do what others can do. In 2 Corinthians 10:14 Paul said, "For we are not extending ourselves beyond our bounds, as if we did not reach you." Yet many people have not seen their own capacity. As a result they overstep their boundaries. Those who over- step their boundaries are trampling others under their feet; they are kicking others, pressing upon others, and usurping the portion of other members. If members behave this way in the church, some will begin to monopolize while others will withdraw, and the result will be a loss to the church. We should not behave in this way. We should turn back and take our place in the Body and be limited by the Body. If we do this, the Body will be spared from damage.

The Busy Trap

Excellent article in the WSJ this week.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/the-busy-trap/?src=me&ref=general

Ministry Excerpt

LIVING UNDER THE LEADING BY THE SPIRIT

The Lord's leading is not for outward business or activity; it is absolutely for our living. We must live this way. If you pick up this kind of understanding, it will revolutionize your entire life. I don't mean that we shouldn't have any arrangement for our schooling, or any kind of plan for our job, or any kind of plan for our business. But the basic principle is this: all the time we should live under the leading by the Spirit. Our arrangements and our plans must be under the leading by the Spirit because we are persons who are altogether living under the leading by the Spirit. Our goal is not to be famous, and our goal is not to be wealthy. Our goal is just to live Christ for the church as God's eternal purpose. Because we need to live on this earth, we need to have a kind of living. We must have some kind of arrangement and plan for our education, for our children, for our job, and for our business. But we should not have this in a worldly way. We must have our plan and our arrangement and all the parts of our daily life under the leading by the Spirit.

LIVING BY FAITH

The New Testament teaches us that whether we have a job or a business, or whether we receive the highest education or not, we live by faith. It doesn't mean that since you have the best education, you would have a successful business and you would have the best future. Your future eventually is under the hand of the Lord.

I do encourage the young people to get the highest education. But just because you have the highest education does not mean that you will be a successful and prosperous person. A lot of things can happen. Who could have told us that in 1973 there would be an oil embargo which would affect the entire world economy? Who can be sure that he will always be healthy? Our future is altogether in the hands of our Father. We should not forget that we are really different from the unbelievers. We have a heavenly Father who takes care of us. I can testify that for over fifty-six years my heavenly Father has been taking care of me. Whatever I planned eventually became a failure, but still He was taking care of me.

A BASIC DECISION

As the Lord's children, we just have to love Him and to be one with Him. We have to live the Lord Jesus. Also we have to set our heart on the Lord's interest. We have to tell the Lord, “Lord on this entire earth I have no other interest. My unique interest and desire is You. I love You because You love me. I want to live You. I want to live under Your instant and momentary leading.” This is basic. Dear saints, if you don't make such a basic decision you can never have the Lord's leading. You must have such a basic decision. You must tell the Lord, “Lord, thank You, You have chosen me, You have predestinated me, You have called me, You have saved me, You have regenerated me, You have brought me to this day, and You have preserved me. Thank You, Lord, by Your mercy and grace I love You. Besides You I have no interests, no desire. I just want to live You, living under Your momentary leading.” Dear saints, this is more than basic! If you have not made such a basic decision, you don't need to talk about the leading. You are not in the position to have the Lord's leading. You must make such a decision.

DOING YOUR DUTY

After making such a decision then you must simply follow the Lord to do your duty. As a teenager you need to follow the Lord to study under the care of your parents. Spontaneously, the Lord will arrange a school for you, and the parents will do something for you. You just live under the leading of the Lord. Stage after stage the Lord will lead you to get your education. Gradually, in the same way the Lord will lead you to have a marriage. The Lord will lead you to get a job. The Lord will lead you to pick up some experiences in a trade or in a business. All of this is under the Lord's leading.

In your daily living, all these leadings should not be accidents; they should be part of your daily living. Yet, you are not trusting in what you have learned or in what you can do for your living. You put all your trust in the Lord Jesus. Our trust is in our Father's hand. You don't need to be bothered and sidetracked by your living. Today the matter of making a living is a big distraction that carries the Lord's children away from His leading. We must stick ourselves to the Lord's leading. We must take care of the Lord's leading first. Our trust is not in what we do for a living. Our trust is in the hand of our heavenly Father. Then the matter of leading would not be a bothering or a distraction to us. Then you would never choose a job which would give you better pay and yet take so much time away from your seeking after the Lord. You wouldn't care firstly for the better pay. You would care firstly for seeking after the Lord. You would live under the Lord's leading every day.

In such a living you do your duty, yet you do not trust in your duty for your living. That is your duty, but that is not your trust. Your trust is in your heavenly Father. This is the right way. Schooling, job, business, or marriage would not be a distraction to you. You just seek after the Lord and live under His leading. And you just do your duty. Your living, your safety, your future are altogether in His hand. This is the right way. If you live this way, you don't need to seek a certain leading at a certain time for a certain activity. Because you live under His momentary leading, you are clear how you should go all the time.

(Witness Lee, Perfecting Training, Chapter 52)

New Yorker

Ministry Excerpt - Psalms 87

PSALM 87—GOD’S HEART IS SET ON ZION

Now we come to the end of Book III, Psalms 85 to 89. In Psalm 85 the saints ask God for restoration, and in Psalm 86 for salvation; but in Psalm 87 we see that God’s heart is set on Zion, His city, with Christ within it. Zion here refers not only to the house, but to the house with the city. God does not care for restoration as we do; God does not desire salvation as we do. His desire, His heart, is set upon Zion with Christ within it. It is indeed significant that preceding Psalm 87 are Psalms 85 and 86. In Psalm 85 the Psalmist says, “Turn us, O God” (v. 4). According to the original language, this verse should read, “Restore us, O God.” Psalm 85 is a prayer for restoration. In Psalm 86 the Psalmist says, “O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee” (v. 2). Psalm 86 is a prayer for salvation. These are the desires of the saints, but God’s desire is not for these things. His desire is for Zion with His Christ.

"These are the desires of the saints, but God’s desire is not for these things. 

His desire is for Zion with His Christ"

Today we are the same as the Psalmists: we are continually desiring restoration and salvation. God would say to us: “Do not be like that. I am for Zion; I am for the church. If you allow me to have my church, no problem will exist regarding your restoration. If you allow me to have my church, nothing can withhold any kind of deliverance, any kind of salvation.” The church is the real restoration, the real salvation, the real deliverance.

"The gates are the places of coming in and going out:

 this is the communication, the fellowship, among God’s people"

In Psalm 87 we see how Zion is central in God’s heart. Let us look at this Psalm more closely. The first three verses are easy to understand, but the following three verses are more difficult. There are seven verses in this Psalm with two Selahs, one at the end of the first three verses, and the other at the end of the next three verses. “His foundation is in the holy mountains. The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah” (vv. 1-3). Christ is the unique foundation laid by God. No other foundation can any man lay. This Christ, this foundation of God, is in the holy mountains, the local churches. It is there that we have no other foundation but Christ. This is clear. “The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.” In the eyes of God the church is more lovable than anything else. The gates are the places of coming in and going out: this is the communication, the fellowship, among God’s people. 

"He loves the gates of Zion more than all other places."

The most lovely aspect of the local church is the fellowship. It is so good, so pleasant, for the brothers to be always coming and going in fellowship. How blessed to have brothers from one church visiting another, coming and going in sweet harmony and fellowship! This is lovable in the eyes of God. He loves the gates of Zion more than all other places. “Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.” How glorious is the local church!

- Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms, by Witness Lee

Spaghetti Sauce

Malcolm Gladwell writes those books you pick up and don't put down until you've read the whole thing. He's a fantastic writer and storyteller. He understands and communicates the paradigms of sociology in a way that really holds your attention (see, The Tipping Point, Blink, etc). I actually met Gladwell a couple of years ago. By that I mean, he signed my copy of The Tipping Point after speaking at a leadership conference. Anyway, here is Gladwell explaining spaghetti sauce.

map your moves

http://moritz.stefaner.eu/projects/map%20your%20moves/

Easy Listening (pt.2)

Easy Listening

Snippets

Selected excerpts from The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol.60, msg. 26. 


When we sin against God, His feeling is hurt. Yet our feeling is not that strong. When others sin against us, our feelings are hurt, and it is hard for us to let it go. Yet God is love, and love does not seek for its own gain. Although God is hurt, His forgiving grace is unlimited. Peter's question shows that he was seeking for his own gain. He suffered because he was hurt. The price he had to pay for forgiving others was himself, that is, the suffering of being hurt. This is the reason he asked the Lord, "How often shall others sin against me and I forgive them? Up to seven times?" Peter said this to show that he was quite magnanimous. Two or three times would have been enough to him, but he made it seven times. There was, however, something wrong with his basic premise. He thought God's grace is limited. The fact is that God's grace has no bounds; it is unlimited. It follows that the forgiveness which God's children practice should also be unlimited.


It was not a question of seven times, but of seventy times seven. God's love, grace, and forgiveness are unlimited. Humanly speaking, thirty-five times of forgiveness would stretch a person to his limit. Seventy times seven is something beyond the reach of human power. It is too heavy a burden. This shows us that the power to forgive is something beyond man. 



Actually, even if the debtor had sold all that he had, he still would not have been able to repay his debt. A sinner is judged in this world as well as in the eternal age to come. This is what it means to have all of one's possessions sold. In verse 26 the slave pleaded with the master on his knees, saying, "Be patient with me and I will repay you all." It is hard for man to know what grace is and what the gospel is. Man thinks that he may not be able to make it today, but that he will make it some day. He may not be able to fulfill the requirements today, but he will fulfill them some day. He thinks that his motive is good and that he does not have any intention of procrastinating on his repayment. Yet he does not know anything about grace. He pleads with the Lord, not for mercy but for time. He pleads for the Lord's patience but has no thought of His forgiveness.


His shortcoming is that he did not know enough of his sin and indebtedness. He said that he would repay, but the very thought of a repayment is wrong. He forgot that he owed ten thousand talents. He did not see the seriousness of his own sin. This is the reason he was not able to forgive those who owed him. He did not realize his pitiful situation. Therefore, he spoke of repayment. He would not be able to repay within his lifetime. In fact, he would not be able to repay in ten lifetimes. When a man is saved, his feeling for sin is not too acute. He is not clear why he is sinful, and he does not know the depths of his depravity.


What God does in man far exceeds man's requests and prayer. The slave only asked for patience, but the Lord was moved with compassion and forgave him all his debts. The Lord acts according to what He has. He answers our prayer according to what He has. The gospel is God granting salvation to man according to His own pleasure; it is God bestowing His abundant mercy and forgiveness upon the sinner. God acts according to His abounding measure, not according to the sinner's need. 


Peter's word exposed one problem—he did not realize that he had been forgiven. He did not have the feeling of being forgiven. This is the reason he could not forgive. If we are filled with the feeling of being forgiven, we will not say such things as "seven times." Peter's mind was on the number seven. This is the reason the Lord purposely spoke of ten thousand talents and one hundred denarii in verses 24 and 28. The difference between these two is a million times. The Lord seemed to be saying, "God's forgiveness cannot be measured by numbers. If you want numbers, you owe the Lord a million times more than what others owe you." A man who is good at accounting is one who is poor at reckoning grace. A man will not forgive because he does not have a sense of being forgiven; he does not have a feeling that he has been graced.

• "And every priest stands daily, ministering and offering often the same sacrifices, which can never remove sins." - Heb 10:22
• "Having made purification of sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." - Heb. 1:3
• "He has been manifested for the putting away of sin..." - Heb. 9:26
• "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" - Heb. 9:22
• "Precious blood" - 1 Pet. 1:19

Our Forerunner

Hebrews 6:18-20 says that the believers “have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us, which we have as an anchor of the soul, both secure and firm, and entering into that which is within the veil, where the Forerunner, Jesus, is entered for us, become forever a High Priest according to the order of Melchisedec.” The Lord Jesus has entered the heavens as the Holy of Holies within the veil, and with Him is the heavenly haven for our refuge, which we can now enter in our spirit (Heb. 10:19). The anchor signifies that we are on a stormy sea and that without the anchor of hope we may shipwreck (1 Tim. 1:19). The entering is the entering into the heavens, the Holy of Holies within the veil today, where the Lord Jesus entered. Our hope, as a secure and firm anchor, has entered there, and we also may now enter in spirit.

The Lord as the Forerunner took the lead to pass through the stormy sea and enter the heavenly haven to be the High Priest for us according to the order of Melchisedec, the order of the priesthood that is in both humanity and divinity. As the Forerunner He has cut the way into glory.

In order to enter into the Holy of Holies within the veil as our Forerunner, the Lord Jesus fled everything. He fled His mother and His brothers (Matt. 12:46-50), and He fled Judaism, so that He entered “into that which is within the veil,” that is, into the presence of God, where He is now the Forerunner and High Priest to minister to us that we may be brought into glory. He is the Forerunner in glory; He is also the Captain leading us into the very place where He is as the Forerunner.

(Witness Lee, Conclusion of the New Testament, The (Msgs. 021-033), Chapter 9)

The Need of Being Built

Have we been built?

This is the question that was posed by Witness Lee to a gathering of Christians several years ago. Do we realize the significance of building? Such a matter deserves  our attention even more today. This excerpt from The Testimony and Ground of the Church touches a fundamental but often overlooked aspect of our Christian life: the need for our being built together. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have. I can't post the entire chapter, but you can find the book here. More after the jump...

The Best Way to Study

Even a young student has to learn how to experience Christ in the study of his lesson books. He may pray, “Lord, here is the lesson book, and tomorrow will be the final. Lord, prove that You are one spirit with me. Lord, read this book with me.” If he does this, I assure you he will experience Christ as his understanding and as his wisdom to take in all the secrets of his lesson book. He will even experience Christ as his good memory. 


Then the next day when he takes the exam he does not need to be so pressed and so trembling. He just needs to pray, “Lord, I am one with You, and even one spirit with You. Not only in speaking, Lord, but even today in the classroom, taking the exam, I am one with You. Lord, make it so real. Make it so real to the angels. Make it so real to the entire universe that I am one with You.” I assure you that he will experience Christ as his wisdom and quite often as his answer. This is the way. 

According to my observation, not many Christians experience Christ and enjoy Him today in this way. Even among us I am very concerned. Message after message has been given, but when we come to the practical things in our daily life, we are persons without Christ. In dealing with our wives, we are persons without Christ. In handling things, we are persons without Christ. In studying lesson books we are persons without Christ. We only practice being one spirit with the Lord at our ordained time for prayer. Even in most of the meetings, we do not practice this enough. I could not come to a meeting to speak to the saints without praying, “Lord, You have to vindicate that I am one spirit with You. I do not like to go there, Lord, to speak by myself. You have to go with me. You have to be my thought there. You have to be my feeling there in my speaking. You have to be the words, even the terms and the expressions of my speaking. Lord, even You have to be the speaking.” Without such a prayer, I just would have no boldness to come to speak. Even though I have obtained a lot of knowledge of the Bible, I do not trust in that. Of course, we need Bible knowledge. But we have to speak not just with the words or verses from the Bible. In our speaking we must be one spirit with the Lord. 

Witness Lee, The Home Meetings: The Unique Way for the Increase and Building Up of the Church. p.40. 

Theorize

Why read books when you can just read the review? Here's a review for The Social Animal, by David Brooks's. Sounds interesting but really not worth my time. And I'm pretty sure its not worth yours, either.

Tax Practice Preferences

1. Financial Services - Asset Management

2. Financial Services - Real Estate

3. Consumer Markets and Industrial Products

4. Financial Services - Insurance

Thank you.

js

Pray Reading

What the church needs today is not more knowledge and teachings, but nourishment, and the way the Lord nourishes His Body is by His Word. The Lord is eagerly waiting for a way to nourish us and become our enjoyment. Pray-reading gives Him that way. By this kind of prayer all the riches of Christ will be brought into us and even wrought into us. No teaching, doctrine, or knowledge can work Christ into us to such an extent; it is only by this way of prayer. Therefore, we all must learn to pray in this way. Eventually, we will be brought out of ourselves, saturated with Christ, and permeated with the Spirit.




- Witness Lee, A Time with Lord

ToRead pt.2

1. Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue?

“Good decision making is not a trait of the person, in the sense that it’s always there,” Baumeister says. “It’s a state that fluctuates.” His studies show that people with the best self-control are the ones who structure their lives so as to conserve willpower. They don’t schedule endless back-to-back meetings. They avoid temptations like all-you-can-eat buffets, and they establish habits that eliminate the mental effort of making choices. Instead of deciding every morning whether or not to force themselves to exercise, they set up regular appointments to work out with a friend. Instead of counting on willpower to remain robust all day, they conserve it so that it’s available for emergencies and important decisions.

“Even the wisest people won’t make good choices when they’re not rested and their glucose is low,” Baumeister points out. That’s why the truly wise don’t restructure the company at 4 p.m. They don’t make major commitments during the cocktail hour. And if a decision must be made late in the day, they know not to do it on an empty stomach. “The best decision makers,” Baumeister says, “are the ones who know when not to trust themselves.”

ToRead

1. What if the Secret to Success Is Failure?
2. Alexander Garvin Looks at Public Spaces in New York - NYTimes.com

Watchman Nee on Constitution

Here is a quote from Watchman Nee that I bookmarked a few months ago. The more the truth is constituted into us, the more we attract others to pursue the truth! As this occurs, the Body of Christ will grow. 

This excerpt is precious to me. Enjoy...

The work of God's overcomer is to stand upon Christ's death so that others can gain life. The words of the Bible must first be realized by us before we can preach them. The light of the truth must first become life to us before it will become light to others. God makes His overcomers first see a truth and confirm such truth before He gains some others to obey this truth. Truth must first be constituted in us and become a part of our being. We ourselves must first have the experience of faith, prayer, and consecration before we can tell others what faith, prayer, and consecration are. Otherwise, we will only have the terms without the content. God wants us to go through death first after which He will give others life. We first must pass through the sufferings and the pain before others can have the life. The reason the church cannot gain the victory by crossing over to the good land is that there is a shortage of priests who will stand in the bottom of the Jordan. Those who stand in the bottom of the Jordan will create a seeking heart in others. If a truth is deeply constituted in us, it will attract others to pursue the truth. Today, many of God's truths need to be constituted in man. When we allow a truth to be constituted in us, we are allowing the Body of Christ to grow one more inch. The overcomers are those who receive life from above to supply the Body. 

Ministry Quote

Brother Witness Lee: In the last century many spiritual giants were raised up. But today it seems as if there are no such giants. I believe the reason for this is that God wants to bring in the ministry of the church and the service of the church. In China and even in the whole world, there seem to be no great evangelists being raised up. Not only are there no new ones being raised up, but the old ones are passing away. Some should not have passed away according to their age or their ministry, but they did pass away. This is probably because spiritual giants are a hindrance to producing the church ministry. Some so-called spiritual giants are not as prevailing as they used to be. Even among the co-workers now, there is always the sense of loneliness. Although the term coordination is not there, there is a cry for the reality of coordination.

Today the saints' heart toward service is very different. The situation today is like the spring blossoms after the early rain. Among the churches many people are seeking after the Lord. In the hospitals and on the campuses, many young ones are rising up. In Shanghai we see clear signs everywhere that the brothers and sisters have a desire to serve the Lord. On the one hand, we do not see spiritual giants being raised up. On the other hand, we see all the brothers and sisters in all the localities rising up. Even the little members are rising up to serve the Lord. This is the Lord's own work.

- Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Vol. 57: The Resumption of Watchman Nee's Ministry. 

A Basic Decision

As the Lord's children, we just have to love Him and to be one with Him. We have to live the Lord Jesus. Also, we have to set our heart on the Lord's interest. We have to tell the Lord, "Lord, on this entire earth I have no other interest. My unique interest and desire is You. I love You because You love me. i want to live You. I want to live under Your instant and momentary leading."

This is basic. Dear saints, if you don't make such a decision you can never have the Lord's leading. You must tell the Lord, "Lord, thank You, You have chosen me, You have predestinated me, You have called, You have saved me, You have regenerated me, You have brought me to this day, and You have preserved me. Thank You, Lord, by your mercy and grace I love you. Besides You I have no other interests, or desire. I just want to live You, living under Your momentary leading."

Dear saints, this is more than basic! If you have not made such a basic decision, you don't need to talk about the leading. You are not in a position to have the Lord's leading. you must make such a decision.

- Witness Lee, Perfecting Training, pp.544-545

A Leading by the Lord

"...I am going to fellowship with you concerning one point which is contrary to your natural tendency. The leading in Romans 8:14 is not a leading of the Lord. Rather, it is a leading by the Lord. A leading of the Lord is one thing, and a leading by the Lord is another thing. When we had our Life-study of Genesis, I stressed strongly that from the first time Abraham was called out, the Lord didn’t give him any leading. The Lord only told him that he had to leave. The Lord didn’t tell him how he should go on. In other words the Lord didn’t give him any road maps. Abraham’s leading was the Lord Himself, a Person. This Person was with him all the time doing the leading. Abraham was led by the Lord. Abraham didn’t receive a leading of the Lord. There is a big difference."

- Witness Lee, Perfecting Training, p.526

Beards

Another Reason I Don’t Own A Gun

Here's another poem by Billy Collins. We introduced Collins with a post back in 2008. This is just something I stumbled across at Barnes and Noble today. Can you relate? All for now...

The neighbors’ dog will not stop barking.

He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark

that he barks every time they leave the house.

They must switch him on on their way out.

The neighbors’ dog will not stop barking.

I close all the windows in the house

and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast

but I can still hear him muffled under the music,

barking, barking, barking,

and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,

his head raised confidently as if Beethoven

had included a part for barking dog.

When the record finally ends he is still barking,

sitting there in the oboe section barking,

his eyes fixed on the conductor who is

entreating him with his baton

while the other musicians listen in respectful

silence to the famous barking dog solo,

that endless coda that first established

Beethoven as an innovative genius.