Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
— Exodus 19:5

The Lord told Moses that the people’s responsibility was simply to keep their focus upon Him. This is why He said that if they would obey His voice and keep His covenant, they would become His treasure on the earth (Exo. 19:5). (more…)

“You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.”
— Exodus 19:4

We shouldn’t be concerned about how hard we try to serve the Lord. When Watchman Nee passed away, there were perhaps sixty thousand meeting in the churches in China raised up through his ministry. Today, however, after thirty-six years, there are at least six million meeting in China who do not focus upon any particular practice or method but simply stand according to the truth revealed in the word. (more…)

“You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.”
— Exodus 19:4

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together with Him and seated us together with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.
— Ephesians 2:4-6

God did not require the children of Israel to overcome the handicaps and obstacles which seemed to block their exodus from Egypt. He simply put them on His back and flew! Likewise, we today are in the heavenlies with Christ not due to our own efforts but because God raised us up (Eph. 2:6). (more…)

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
— Joshua 24:15b

Many cry out in frustration, feeling they cannot live a victorious Christian life of serving the Lord. Yet surely the Lord is with everyone who has believed in Him. In fact, He is the One who initiates our desire to consecrate ourselves to Him and serve Him. If we want to serve as Joshua served, we must cooperate with the Lord to learn the lessons Joshua learned.
(more…)

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
— Joshua 24:15b

God created human beings to express His Son, Jesus Christ, on the earth. Their true potential can only be realized if they become born again as Christians. Once they become Christians, the highest quality of life can only be experienced if they love Jesus. And among those who truly love and even give themselves to Jesus, the highest attainment will be with those who decide to stand for what God is doing on earth according to His heart. Before we talk about serving the Lord, we must have this basic understanding.
(more…)

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
— Joshua 24:15b

By the end of his life, Joshua ruled Israel for God. At that point, he was a picture of Christ as Head over His church. His preparation for ruling Israel was in three stages: commitment, learning, and manifestation. These stages show us what it means to follow the Lord and serve Him. (more…)

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
— Joshua 24:15b

I have seen this declaration hanging on the wall in many homes. Many young people make this declaration even before they have a family. Those who have been married awhile have a little more realization and may declare, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord…somewhat.” The older we become, the more difficult it is to make Joshua’s declaration because we know what is involved. (more…)

“Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,
Where do you pasture your flock,
Where do you make it lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who veils herself
Beside the flocks of your companions?”

“If you yourself do not know,
Most beautiful among women,
Go forth in the footsteps of the flock
And pasture your young goats
By the shepherds’ tents.”
— Song of Songs 1:7-8

If we truly love the Lord, we will treasure the experiences of those who have loved Christ before us. We may love the Lord and yet say, “What relevance do Madame Guyon and John Wesley have for us today? They are out of date as far as the Lord’s move is concerned.” If this is our feeling, we may end up missing the footsteps of the flock. (more…)

“Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,
Where do you pasture your flock,
Where do you make it lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who veils herself
Beside the flocks of your companions?”

“If you yourself do not know,
Most beautiful among women,
Go forth in the footsteps of the flock
And pasture your young goats
By the shepherds’ tents.”
— Song of Songs 1:7-8

I worship the Lord very much when I come to this section. Before we touch the Lord, we can say amen to just about anything in the church life. But as we touch the Lord and begin to pursue Him, we begin to feel burdened about some particular matter in the church life, and then we wander astray. (more…)

“Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,
Where do you pasture your flock,
Where do you make it lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who veils herself
Beside the flocks of your companions?”

“If you yourself do not know,
Most beautiful among women,
Go forth in the footsteps of the flock
And pasture your young goats
By the shepherds’ tents.”
— Song of Songs 1:7-8

Those who begin to follow the Lord should personally pursue the growth of life on one hand, and they should know the footsteps of the flock on the other.
(more…)

“Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,
Where do you pasture your flock,
Where do you make it lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who veils herself
Beside the flocks of your companions?”

“If you yourself do not know,
Most beautiful among women,
Go forth in the footsteps of the flock
And pasture your young goats
By the shepherds’ tents.”
— Song of Songs 1:7-8

“Shepherds” is plural in number. If it were singular, it could refer to the Lord, but this is not the case in this verse. The shepherds in verse 8 actually refer to the frustrating “my mother’s sons” in verse 6. (more…)

“Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,
Where do you pasture your flock,
Where do you make it lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who veils herself
Beside the flocks of your companions?”

“If you yourself do not know,
Most beautiful among women,
Go forth in the footsteps of the flock
And pasture your young goats
By the shepherds’ tents.”
— Song of Songs 1:7-8

When we begin following the Lord, somehow we mix other things in with our loving the Lord, and we easily go astray. Even our pursuing can become mixed up with some kind of work. (more…)

“Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,
Where do you pasture your flock,
Where do you make it lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who veils herself
Beside the flocks of your companions?”

“If you yourself do not know,
Most beautiful among women,
Go forth in the footsteps of the flock
And pasture your young goats
By the shepherds’ tents.”
— Song of Songs 1:7-8

It is wrong to think that today we are the end-all of the Lord’s recovery and that what the saints did before is of little importance. We may be laboring at a different stage in the Lord’s work, but the principles of life have not changed. (more…)

And I have made Your name known to them and will yet make it known, that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them.
— John 17:26

Here we see how the Lord concludes His prayer. We need to see that all the previous items must be practiced in love. This is because the church life is a life in love. (more…)

And I have made Your name known to them and will yet make it known, that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them.
— John 17:26

We may have brothers in the church life who are very good. The first brother does not love the world, the second brother is filled in spirit, the third brother is sanctified in the word, and the fourth brother declares the name of Jesus. When they are together, everything is wonderful and there is a rich supply. But when the fifth brother says, “Let’s go watch a movie,” he brings everyone into something else. What should the other brothers do? (more…)

Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given to Me, that they may be one even as We are.
— John 17:11b

The hardest thing for a Christian to do is to simply keep the Lord’s name. Why? This is because it is so easy to attach ourselves to a pastor, to a leading brother, etc. to whom we look for help. Yet all the brothers, no matter how gifted they may be, are only persons following Christ. The Lord is the only One we should constantly look to. (more…)

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
— John 17:17

What does it mean to say the word changes your being? It sanctifies you. It causes your taste to change. You even have a different fragrance. Your likes and dislikes change. What you were previously occupied with no longer seems to matter, because the word has caused you to adhere to something quite different. (more…)

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
— John 17:17

How do you and the Bible become one entity? It is by not letting the word be objective to you. Instead, it is subjective to you. You know how to pray-read the word: “Paul, Amen! Paul, Amen! An apostle, Amen! Of Christ Jesus, Amen! (more…)

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
— John 17:17

We have to be sanctified in the truth, and only the word of God is truth. Some of you young people, being very sharp, know this. But if I were to ask you how often you read or how much time you spend reading the Bible, what would your answer be? (more…)

But when He, the Spirit of reality, comes, He will guide you into all the reality; for He will not speak from Himself, but what He hears He will speak; and He will declare to you the things that are coming.
— John 16:13

When I was young, different ones in the church life sometimes would offend me. According to the teaching in the Bible, I felt as long as a certain brother was in the meeting, I should not take the Lord’s table until I was able to forgive that person. (more…)

But when He, the Spirit of reality, comes, He will guide you into all the reality; for He will not speak from Himself, but what He hears He will speak; and He will declare to you the things that are coming.
— John 16:13

If we only avoid the world, this is still passive. We also need something very positive. We must possess the Spirit of reality, which will guide us into all reality (more…)

I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world even as I am not of the world.
— John 17:14

When someone from my family got married, we requested that only a few people come. There was no fanfare. We had a simple gathering of those close to the family. (more…)

I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world even as I am not of the world.
— John 17:14

When High School seniors are about to graduate, they want to go to the prom. The graduation ceremony itself is worldly, but the prom is even more so. (more…)

I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world even as I am not of the world.
— John 17:14

Just as the Son of God was not of this world, so also we are not of this world . The world has nothing to do with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (more…)

And the glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.
— John 17:22-23

The Son prayed in life to the Father that the Father’s life and nature would bring the believers into the reality of oneness in the same way that the Father and the Son experienced such a oneness. (more…)

Boaz said, “Give me the cloak that is on you and hold it.” So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Then she went into the city.
—Ruth 3:15

Some brothers can only handle one meeting. Afterwards they feel so full that they must go to Starbucks for a break. The Lord must use many situations to enlarge us until our capacity to contain the Lord’s blessing grows. (more…)