The Local Church

The Local Churches - Always Leading Me to Christ

I first met the Lord when I was in junior high school. One night, I found a gospel tract with the title, “If you need to be saved, do these things.” By that time in my life, I realized that I was far from sinless. So, after carefully reading the tract, I prayed the prayer at the end with a sincere heart. As I thanked the Lord for dying for me and asked Him to come into my heart - to my surprise - He actually did. The sense within me was wonderful and new, peaceful and tranquil, yet energized and buoyant. As I walked out of my room, I knew that it was a landmark in my life. I would not forget the time: October 14, 1988, 10 PM.

I thought, however, that the experience of meeting the Lord would probably be my last - until one of my friends had a strong turn back to the Lord a year and a half later. He had grown up attending meetings of the local church and invited me to one of the youth group meetings after the Lord revived him. When I went to that meeting, to my surprise, I met the Lord again and was brought back into the enjoyment of His presence through the singing, fellowship, and testimonies.

It has been almost nine years since my first meeting with the local church. There are many things that I wish I could write. If I were to do so, a common theme would be clearly visible - that in a warm, family atmosphere, I have been continually ushered back to the sweet presence of the Lord. My enjoyment of the Lord's presence just keeps getting better. I am so grateful to the Lord for leading me to be with those in the local churches.

Turning Monologue Into Dialogue

When I met the Lord the first time that I prayed I didn't have a very deep realization of the precious person of the Lord Jesus. Also, I had very little realization that the Bible is the Word of this wonderful Person that reveals not only who He is, but also what is on His heart. I thank the Lord for bringing me to the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. This ministry has helped me to realize and see so much of the Lord and has also given me a practical way to come to know Him in a personal, affectionate, and intimate way.

The best way that I know of to get to know a person is to spend time with and talk to that person. This is why I practice to spend time with the Lord to pray, sing, read the Bible, and tell Him what is going on with me. Since the Lord speaks through His Word, if I do not understand the verse at all, then the Lord has no way to respond to me or speak something to me, and my time with Him becomes limited to being a monologue rather than a dialogue.

Day by day and year by year, the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee has opened up the Bible to me, allowing my time with the Lord to be quality time. I am seeing and discovering more and more of the Lord as I spend time with Him each day.

Darren Buesen | Back to List

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