Tears of Joy

A brother who loves the Lord saw a TV ads scroll about the release and introduction of the New Testament Recovery Version in Mizo. He enquired about the meeting and He attended the meeting which exactly began at 1:00 pm and ended exactly at 3:30 pm as per the schedule on 8th September. He was so much impressed by the way the saints coordinated for the entire meeting. As he ate his snacks after the meeting, one of our brothers met and fellowshipped with him which led to our visiting yesterday and today.

Yesterday, we met for the first time at his house and introduced the ministry literature. He and his wife testified that they love the Lord and have so much been blessed by the ministry of Br. Watchman Nee since he first read The Normal Christian Life. He had also received the ministry books at his office in 2011 when a brother introduced and sold the ministry books in Mizo. Out of hunger and thirst he purchased about 70 different versions of the Bible. His wife too loves the ministry books by Watchman Nee so much. She had been seeking for two books The Glorious Church and The Orthodoxy of the Church. One day she went to a Baptist Book House and came across a booklet, Treasure in the Earthen Vessel by Watchman Nee which she read over and over again to the extent of memorizing the entire content of the booklet.

To such a family, we felt best to start a Bible reading meeting which we did today. The family had invited two other brothers to join the Bible study session. We read the Gospel of Matthew 1 with selected footnotes. After reading certain sections, we gave further explanation which they appreciated so much. Verse by verse and note by note, we read and dwelt on crucial points. They all enjoyed the riches of the ministry of the word so much. In this way, all Christians can function and study the word of God in a better way by themselves in groups and in mutuality.

One of them way physically blind. His testimony was amazing. He testified that the day he became physically blind, his inward spiritual eyes were opened. All the Bible verses he memorized in his childhood and youth became clear to him after he was physically blind. He grasped all the points we read from the Bible verses and footnotes. As he testified of his enjoyment of the ministry of the word, he was overwhelmed with joy that he even shed his tears of joy. He could not control his tears as he testified of his thankfulness to the Lord for revealing the deep and hidden truth of the Bible. 

The Bible is interpreted by the Bible. The footnotes in the Recovery Version is a collection of interpretations and revelations of the Bible verses using many other Bible verses. Therefore, this is reckoned as one of the best study aid to understand the word of God better as it unveils the unsearchable riches of Christ.

The understanding and the enjoyment of this truth bring tears of joy to those understood the real significance of the Recover Version. Today, I have witnessed with my own eyes, tears of joy as a result of enjoying the riches of the word of God.

May the Lord open the eyes of all the readers of the Bible to see and understand the word of God as it should be understood. And may the enjoyment of the understood word of God brings tears of joy to the readers of the word.