TheChurch InMaramag

Lord, I need Your grace every minute.
Without Your grace I simply cannot bear anything.

Many times we simply cannot stand our situation, and we cannot face what is happening to us. However, there is a place called the throne of grace. Come forward with boldness to the throne of grace that you may receive mercy and find grace for timely help.

Grace is not only something given by God, but it is God Himself doing things for us. Grace is not merely something objective that is given to us by God. Grace is God Himself coming to us and doing things for us. Are you weak? God will come to be your strength, and that coming of God is grace. Are you unable to face your situation? That need not be a problem, because God will come to stand with you and face that situation for and in you. This is grace…God’s presence was Noah’s strength and power. Noah not only enjoyed something given to him by God objectively, but he enjoyed God Himself. In the midst of a crooked, perverted, and adulterous generation, a generation whose temptations no one could withstand, Noah found grace in the sight of Jehovah.

Consider the situation in modern society. I do not even dare to look at a newspaper. It contains too many temptations…I do not dare to look into the show windows…The talk you hear on the radio, at work, and at school is evil, corrupt, and devilish…This age is truly crooked, perverted, and adulterous; it is full of fornication and immorality. People talk about immorality without one bit of shame. Who can stand in such a generation? Not one of us is able to stand. We all have a fallen nature within us, the same evil nature that all men have. We need grace. We must come to the throne of grace boldly and say, “Lord, I am here. I need Your grace. I am not coming to ask You to give me good things. I am coming to find grace to meet my need. Lord, I cannot go to work or to school without Your presence. Lord, I cannot go to a department store without Your presence. Lord, I need You to stand with me. Come to be my strength. Lord, uphold me and sustain me.” (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 372-375)

Dear saints, we know that the Church Life is not an organization, but the living of the Body.
In the Lord’s recovery, “the church life” means our daily living together in the reality of the Body of Christ. It’s the practical expression of Eph. 4:16 that all the joints supplying and being knit together. This includes the meetings: Lord’s Day table meeting, prayer meeting, home meeting, gospel meeting. But it’s more than meetings. It’s living in the mingled spirit, calling on the Lord, opening to one another, and being perfected for the building up. To remain in it is to remain in this organic, living Body, not just attend a location.

So no matter what means passing through tests that would push us out and no matter what happens it covers every reason people leave: being offended by a saint, feeling weak or dry, having problems with serving ones, family pressure, job changes, or doctrinal confusion. In the recovery we learn that the enemy’s main attack is to get us out of the Body. Once you’re out of the church life, you lose the supply of the joints, the covering of the Body, and the normal growth in life. The word in the recovery is: the ground of oneness is priceless. Even if there are imperfections, to leave is to leave the stream of life. So we choose to remain, deal with our heart before the Lord, forgive, and go on.

Now, what are the practical ways to remain in the Church Life? How do we remain? First, by turning to our spirit and contacting the Lord daily, 1 Cor. 6:17. Second, by being in the meetings and in the blending, even when we feel low. Third, by not picking up offenses but picking up the cross. Witness Lee often said, “Don’t leave the ark.” Noah’s family stayed inside during the flood. The church life is the ark today. If we remain, the Lord as grace will carry us through every storm, mature us, and bring us into the consummation of the New Jerusalem. Remaining is a decision of our will, but it’s sustained by grace.

Lord's Day Table Meeting
TheChurch InMaramag
Daily Enjoyment - Nourishment