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How Christ has become my LifeI am a 43-year-old mother of two children, ages seven and ten. My husband, James, has been a dentist in Texarkana for the past eleven years. We meet with a small group as the local church in Texarkana, a shining lampstand for His testimony to all the Lord's seekers here as part of His universal Body, His Bride. The following is just one brief account of how our merciful Lord led one little seeker to know Him richly through the ministry of our brothers Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. Having grown up in a denomination, I still knew very little about the Lord and zero about the Bible. By the Lord's mercy, I did have a heart for Him at an early age and a definite strong experience of Him at about 15 years old with some others in a choir camp. At that point, I was ready to give my whole life to Him in every way. Sadly, there was not one mature Christian there who could shepherd me, so I just fell back into the world with no reality of Christ. But God is faithful through whom we were called! The Seed of life within me did not give up on me! Years later, after graduating with a degree in education from NLU in my hometown of Monroe, Louisiana, I accepted a teaching position in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1979. Little did I know, I was not only beginning my career, but embarking on a journey with the Lord which would eventually change my entire life! As a single adult desiring all the world has to offer, I became disillusioned with my life and all my pursuits. The Lord was definitely drying up the pleasures of my human life so He could become my life. However, at the time I didn't know that. Not realizing the Lord was right inside my spirit, I would look up toward the heavens in my apartment and cry out loudly, “Lord Jesus, help me!” Not really knowing how to pray, I took the suggestion of a lady on a Christian program who exhorted the listeners to pray, “Lord show me my purpose from my mother's womb!” So I did, and He did! Shortly after that prayer, I met a teacher who read Witness Lee and Watchman Nee's ministry with whom I loved to talk about Jesus! In my seeking to know the Lord in a real way, I went with her to a meeting of the church in Shreveport. While turning to the Lord and praying there, the veils were taken away, I touched the Lord in my spirit, and my eyes were opened to see a great mystery, “Christ and the church.” (Colossians 2:2, 1:24,27) Through my fellowship there and through the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, all the vital practices of the Christian life began to be developed in me to help me to know and experience the Lord in a daily way as my life, not a religion. I learned to pray and to read and enjoy the Bible daily. I realized that Christ is a living Person dwelling in my human spirit, not a faraway God, untouchable and unreachable. I was encouraged to experience Him through calling upon His dear name saying, “Lord Jesus” while I was at home, in the car, and in every place. I was with others who did the same. That was so new to me and such an enjoyable supply! I learned to take the verses of the Bible as my prayer for my daily nourishment. My confusion about the Trinity (to which One of the Three do I pray and what in the world is that dove?) was greatly helped when I saw that the Father, Son, and Spirit were not three separate Persons, but one unique Person who went through a marvelous process to live inside of me. My God became a man; that man is now the Spirit to live in me (1 Corinthians 15:45). He is not vaguely living “in my heart” as I once thought, but specifically located in my spirit. Finally, I knew where He was and how I could experience Him in a normal daily way! Because of this marvelous ministry, Christ to me today is so fresh, so rich, and so enjoyable. The joy of my Christian life which formerly I couldn't maintain for much more than a day, has remained and increased to overflowing for the past 18 years. Vicki Ridley | Back to List |
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