As a restless, unsettled young 20-year-old in 1974, I would go from denomination to denomination each Sunday searching for something to calm the turmoil within me. Whenever an evangelical crusade would come to my city, I would go and receive the Lord again and again. It wasn’t until I went to a Friday night meeting of the church in Spokane in May 1974 that I knew my days of searching had finally come to an end.
Coming into the meeting hall, I felt such a genuine warmness in the welcome I received. The meeting included a pot-luck dinner, and such a feast it was. The believers had prepared so much food. It touched me deeply. It was while I was waiting in line for dinner that a sister asked me if I was saved. I said that I thought I was but I wasn’t sure. No one had ever given me the assurance of my salvation. She took me to Romans 10:13 that says, “For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” After calling on the Lord with her, I knew definitely I was saved. That night in my bedroom I called and called and called. Years of guilt, frustration, and fear were all lifted from my being. I knew I had finally come home.
That meeting closed one chapter in my life-book and opened a new, exciting, and rich chapter filled with experiences of Christ. When I began meeting with the local church, the believers were going over messages on life given by Witness Lee. I was astounded to hear that life is God the Father in Christ Jesus as the Spirit flowing into me! I had been searching for the meaning of my human life. I had asked myself, what am I doing here on this earth? All my questions were answered through the Bible and its exposition in the books of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. The Word became alive! I saw the church in the book of Ephesians. After reading The Practical Expression of the Church, I realized that God’s intention was for all Christians to meet as the church in the city where they live. This made so much sense to me. My spirit witnessed with the truth in that book.
After meeting with the church in Spokane for 14 years, the Lord touched my husband and me to move to Anaheim, California. This was a step of faith because California was a fearful place to people living in Washington state. We both had the reassurance within from the Lord though, that this move was definitely of the Lord. Through these past 11 years we have met with the church in Anaheim. Our children have all been saved and baptized. They have been preserved by the Lord for His purpose. The rich life supply in the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee have saved us all from this crooked and perverse generation on the negative side. On the positive side, we have been brought into the light to see God’s eternal economy. He wants to make man the same as He is in life and nature but not in the Godhead; and to make Himself one with man, thus to be enlarged and expanded in His expression that all His divine attributes may be expressed in our human virtues (The Ten Great “Critical” Ones, p. 14).
My life since touching the Lord’s Recovery has been filled with meaning and purpose. Volunteering at the Living Stream Ministry is the highlight of my week. I feel so privileged to have an opportunity to participate in this ministry. I just have to worship and praise the Lord for His unchanging mercy in my life.
Marilyn Tara