To give the Lord the first place in our life practically means to repent and do the first works. Rev. 2:5 warns us that if we don’t repent and do the first works, the Lord will remove the lampstand. These works issue from our first love for the Lord – they are a work issuing from a heart filled with zeal for the Lord’s love, and this is precious in the Lord’s eyes. We love the Lord so much that we just do the first works – and they come out of our zeal, our love for Him! In that day, when we will stand before God at His judgement seat, He will appreciate how much of what we have done out of love for Him. Only those things we do motivated by our love for the Lord are considered gold, silver, and precious stones. If we don’t do these works, the Lord will take the lampstand! Whatever we do in the church life, we need to love the Lord and do the first works – and we will be a corporate expression of the Triune God everywhere on the earth as the golden lampstands! [continue reading online – 12 ways we can give the Lord the preeminence in our life]
What does it mean to give the Lord the preeminence, the first place, in everything?
man cannot be justified out of works of law but out of faith in Christ, in the organic union!
It is so easy to have a low appreciation and view of the truth of the gospel in its basic principle of the justification by faith. We are fallen in our concept, our way of thinking, even in this respect. We need to have an uplifted view of justification by faith – to be justified by faith in Christ, we need to believe into the Lord Jesus out of an appreciation of His preciousness! The speaking of the gospel brings us into a sweet appreciation of the Lord, and we believe into Him! When we call on His name, we are regenerated and we are organically one with Him! In this organic union, God MUST reckon Christ as our righteousness! [continue reading online + comment with your enjoyment of today’s morning revival]
the church life today is the kingdom of the Son of God’s love, a delightful place
The church life has a practical and tangible aspect to it like the meetings, the services, the arrangements, the blending, conferences, etc. But the church life also has an invisible aspect – the reality of the church life is the kingdom of God, a realm where we are ruled in love with life. Here we are under the heavenly ruling and restriction – and at the same time we have real freedom in love, with life, and under light. Praise the Lord, we can exercise our spirit and allow the divine life to rule in us in love under light – and we become part of the enlargement of the kingdom of God on earth, the church life! [read more online]
eating the tree of life and being organically one with Christ as branches abiding in the vine
Even if our life would be perfect, God would not have wanted it – God wants to mingle His divine life with our human life, He wants to be joined and mingled with man to be man’s life and everything! The life we live today as Christians is a mingled life by continually minding our mingled spirit (Rom. 8:6). [continue reading online]
being recovered to eating Christ as the tree of life: we are Christians who eat the Lord!
In the church life the primary matter should not be anything else but eating Christ as the tree of life. Enjoying Christ as our life supply, eating Jesus in the Word daily, and taking God in as life – this should be the primary matter in the church life. The church life should be filled and enriched with much eating of Christ, much assimilating of the element of God into our being! [continue reading + add your own portion online]
the tree of life is the way to fulfill God’s purpose and it is so rich and sufficient!
Nothing is more central and crucial to God and also to man than than the tree of life (Gen. 3:22; Rev. 2:14). God’s purpose can be fulfilled only by man taking in the tree of life and allowing this life to live in him! God putting man in front of the tree of life after creating him shows that the way God wants His purpose to be fulfilled is by coming into man in the form of food to supply man and be everything to man! [continue reading online + add your own portion of enjoyment]
God in Christ is the tree of life, small enough for us to eat, take in, and live because of Him!
O, Lord, we can testify because we have surely tasted – Yes, God is Good for Food! Lord Jesus, You are the tree of life – so ready and available for us to enjoy and take in. Save us from eating anything else besides You as life [continue reading online]
