I attended a funeral for a dear friend recently. He believed in Jesus and the family treated it as a celebration of his life. It was nice.
Funerals are a time for personal reflection, and I have been taking the opportunity to do that. When I stand before Jesus, what is he going to say to me?
A while back, I had some revelations about my walk, and I wrote about them in some earlier posts. God knew what I needed and I am so thankful he equipped me to follow him more closely.
Recently, the name "Watchman Nee" was echoing in my head. I had heard it mentioned somewhere, but I can't recall where. I looked it up and learned he was a man who lived in China during the first half of the Twentieth Century. He had learned about God by studying the Bible and reading what others had written, but he was not formally trained. God raised him up.
People who knew Watchman Nee had lots of good things to say about him, but he also had many critics, particularly among those in established church denominations. If you read some of the things he wrote, it is easy to understand why. He saw the various denominations as fruits of division.
Right now, I sense a call to spend time studying Watchman Nee, in order to learn how he lived, and also to continue studying Torben Sondergaard, who started the Last Reformation movement. These are the disciples Jesus wants me to emulate, at least for now.
UPDATE 8/16/16: Having looked into some things about Watchman Nee, I've concluded that his pattern is not one I think we should follow because I don't think he kept his eyes on the ball. In particular, his co-worker, Witness Nee, wrote a piece about "casting out demons" in 1992, and it is blatant error. You can read it here. I will stick with following Jesus. I do identify with Nee's views about the denominations, but he never spoke in tongues and he seemed to live a defeated life. Yes, Jesus calls us to empty ourselves of the world, but he also wants us to be victorious.
I was suspicious when I heard Nee's name in my head, and now I'm pretty sure I know who I was hearing. As a matter of fact, when I was hearing Nee's name, I was using the chipper. Interesting. I am not judging Nee, but I don't think Jesus wants me to follow his pattern, and Jesus will be my Teacher. I will do what He did, not what Nee did. (Oh, that rhymes!)
By the way, the chipper has been sold, for the same price I paid! I was ready to give it away, and a few minutes later someone came to my door wanting to buy it. God is so amazing!
I need to keep my eyes on the ball. I need to get out more and look for persons of peace, so I can heal the sick and share the Gospel. I have much work to do. Consequently, I will probably not be posting as much on this blog as I have in the past. It has been useful, but only for a season. The Bible does not record that Jesus ever wrote anything, and he did not tell his disciples to write books. He told them to go out, heal the sick, cast out demons, preach the Gospel and make disciples. He did those things in person, and so did his guys. That is what I must do.
The Internet is a very useful tool, but it is also a tool for the other side. The Holy Spirit can do anything, and the less we are of this world, the more He will do. Jesus, the first disciples, and Watchman Nee all emptied themselves so they could have more of God. That is what I must do. How I do that, I do not know. Yet.
I doubt I will be able to stay away from writing because I enjoy it and it is a way for me to express what I am hearing, but what I truly want to do is be with disciples of Jesus who are obsessed with conforming themselves to Him. Those are the people I need to be around, and it must be in person. The Internet allows us to instantly communicate with anyone who is anywhere around the world, but it only allows for superficial contact. We need to actually be together, to break bread, hug, weep, rejoice and love each other in ways we can only do when we are together in person. That is how God designed us, and He will honor those relationships. Perhaps it is time for a persecution that drives the followers of Jesus from the Internet, similar to what happened soon after Pentecost. We get stuck in our comfort zones and God usually has to do something drastic to get us to change our ways. I pray He will be merciful when he does it.
So, after saying all that, I still might post some testimonies in the future, if they are worthy, but I am going to use this post to remind myself that I need to crucify my flesh, and this blog is flesh. At times, I think it can even be a "pheasant." It needs a funeral. Please pray for me. Pray I will do God's will and stay with Him until the end. Thank you.
May the peace and grace of God be with you all.
All glory to God!
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UPDATE, August 6, 2022...
Changed the color of the former updates to make them not so harsh on the eyes.