Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;
O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
— Psalm 130:1-3

The realization of who we are should not bring us under condemnation. The Lord’s light should cause us to trust in the Lord’s forgiveness (Psalm 130:4). We should not overly dwell on our sinfulness, but on the Lord’s salvation. (more…)

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;
O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
— Psalm 130:1-3

For the church to be built up, we don’t need to be so “right.” Instead, we need to be more “wrong.” Whenever we think that we are right, we are filled with opinions and self-justification. (more…)

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;
O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
— Psalm 130:1-3

How can we be built up with others in the church life? First we have to go through affliction from the Lord’s governmental hand. As He plows over our person we need to spend much time with Him in prayer. (more…)

If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
— Psalm 130:3

If the Lord were to write down a list of our sins, how long would it be? It would fill up volumes. If we were to read even one page, we couldn’t handle it. We would say, “I am so evil! I am so sinful! I am so far from the Lord! I am so rebellious, and so unwilling to submit! Oh Lord, this is who I am!” (more…)

If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
— Psalm 130:3

As for ourselves, we are hopelessly sinful and capable of any evil. After we have such a realization about ourselves, we are enlarged. We no longer have the attitude, “I have grown in life. I have attained something. Now I am able to help the church.” (more…)

If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
— Psalm 130:3

Before we love the Lord we may not think we are so evil. We may even feel quite good about ourselves. But after we love the Lord for many years, we realize that were it not for the Lord’s mercy we would be capable of any sin. There is not even one sin that we are not capable of committing. (more…)

If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
— Psalm 130:3

When we experience the Lord’s plowing work (Ps. 129:1-3), and as we become more prayerful in His presence  (Ps. 130:1-2), we have a much greater realization of who we really are. This can only come from the Lord’s cultivating work. (more…)

If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
— Psalm 130:3

This verse is extremely precious. The psalmist now has a realization of who he is. After experiencing the Lord’s plowing, and after touching the Lord in prayer, the psalmist knows himself. He realizes that he is filled with iniquity. (more…)

The plowers plowed upon my back;
They made their furrows long.
— Psalm 129:3

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;
O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
— Psalm 130:1-2

The beginning of Psalm 130 follows from the previous psalm. Whenever we experience the Lord’s plowing work through our environment, we become a person of prayer. (more…)

And they continued steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.
— Acts 2:42

The following points admonish us to be vigilant to safeguard the genuine one accord, rather than to force something on others according to our concept: (more…)

And they continued steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.
— Acts 2:42

But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up against Paul with one accord and brought him to the judgment seat.
— Acts 18:12

The genuine one accord comes from the exaltation of Christ, through the filling of the Spirit, according to the apostles’ teaching, and is lived out in the local church life. Otherwise, a so-called one accord may present a danger. (more…)

In order to have one accord, you must remain simple. If you are always considering whether or not you are in one accord, then you could never be in one accord. You have made it too complicated. (more…)

And they continued steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.
— Acts 2:42

If I daily go to a brother’s house to have supper and we also break bread and pray together, surely our life is involved with one another. It is our daily life together that produces the one accord. However, when we are distant from the saints, it is difficult to have one accord. (more…)

And they continued steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.
— Acts 2:42

We should forget our notion of what it means to break bread, because there was nothing legal or formal in the first century. Most likely certain saints came together to have dinner, and then they broke bread to remember the Lord (more…)

We are a blessed people if we know who the apostles are. They are those who are able to raise up the churches and supply them with the riches of Christ. In this past century the Lord gave Brother Lee to us in such a capacity. (more…)

These all continued steadfastly with one accord in prayer….
— Acts 1:14

Without the saints praying together until they touched God’s heart, the stage for the pouring out of the Spirit would not have been set. The principle of steadfast prayer, as seen in the example of the apostles and saints spending ten days together to pray, is a principle we cannot neglect if we also want to have the one accord. (more…)

And all those who believed were together and had all things common.
— Acts 2:44

The impressive thing about the first local church is the fact that the brothers and sisters were in one accord. Even though the Jews who were saved on the day of Pentecost were from different countries and backgrounds, the Spirit was able to subdue every difference and even grant them the desire to have all things in common.

Adapted from Oneness and the One Accord, page 30.

Tomorrow: “Steadfast Prayer”

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, even as the Spirit gave to them to speak forth.
— Acts 2:4

“And it shall be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream things in dreams.”
— Acts 2:17

These verses also show us that not only were the believers filled with the Holy Spirit, but they also spoke in different tongues. It had been predicted that their sons and daughters would prophesy, that their young men would see visions, and that their old men would dream things in dreams. Here we see variety both in the use of different tongues and in having different talents. (more…)

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, even as the Spirit gave to them to speak forth.
— Acts 2:4

“And it shall be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream things in dreams.”
— Acts 2:17

Acts 2:4 and 17 tell us how the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit. From the very beginning the Lord’s desire was to fill the believers with the Holy Spirit. If we are dry, dead, without spirit, and not anointed, something is wrong. (more…)

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you have crucified.”
— Acts 2:36

Peter’s declaration is final, saying there is now One who is Lord of all. In Christ’s ascension there is One over all problems. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is reigning over everything. (more…)

After the Lord resurrected, what He had previously prayed  for became a reality in the church in Jerusalem. However, it did not happen automatically, but the saints exercised particular practices that brought out such a living testimony. Their practices were crucial in producing the one accord. (more…)

God’s desire to have Israel as a peculiar treasure, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation inspired Joshua to give himself to the Lord and to serve only Him.

When God first called Moses, He selected Aaron to work with Moses (Exo. 4:14–15; 7:1), but who selected Joshua? The Bible does not tell us. Joshua, along with a man named Hur, seems to have been selected by Moses along the way. His name had been Hoshea (Num. 13:8), which means deliverer, but Moses changed it to Joshua (Num. 13:16), which means Jehovah is salvation. Moses may have said, “Young man, you are not the deliverer; salvation is of Jehovah!”

From the first time he appears in the record, Joshua is marked by his commitment to God.

Adapted from Joshua: A Life of Service, pages 10-11.

Monday: “Practices are Crucial”

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. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
— Exodus 19:5-6

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired for a possession, so that you may tell out the virtues of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
— First Peter 2:9

God raised up Israel to be a holy nation upon the earth. Since only God is holy, to be a holy nation is to be a testimony of God. He has raised us up to be His testimony as well. How good it is if people come to our gatherings and see that God is among us! (more…)

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. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
— Exodus 19:5-6

In Exodus 19:6, the Lord also told Moses that Israel would become to Him a holy nation.  Earthly nations care for their testimonies. Does God need a testimony? Some think that God needs nothing, except perhaps to get people saved. God, however, also needs a testimony. (more…)

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. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
— Exodus 19:5-6

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired for a possession, so that you may tell out the virtues of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
— First Peter 2:9

The Lord’s treasured people also become to Him a kingdom of priests (Exo. 19:6). In the Old Testament, God gained a group of priests who functioned together as a priesthood. (more…)

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

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired for a possession, so that you may tell out the virtues of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
— First Peter 2:9

From the moment we believe in Jesus, we begin to stand out to God; and the more we give ourselves to Him, the more our living and service will express the beauty of this treasure. (more…)