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.