Embarking on the Path of Belief in God (Part 2)

Embarking on the Path of Belief in God

(Part 2)

Only later did I know that my experience through these three months was the trial of service-doers. It was the first work God completed in people of a trial by His words. After undergoing the trial of service-doers, I understood that God is not only a merciful and loving God, but He is a righteous, majestic God who does not tolerate the offenses of mankind. His words contain authority and power, so people cannot help but develop a heart of reverence and fear. I also came to know that mankind is God’s creation, that we should believe in God and worship Him. This is what is right and proper. There need be no reasons, no conditions, and there must not be ambition or extravagant desires. If people believe in God in order to gain something from Him, then this type of belief is exploiting and cheating Him. It is an expression of lacking a conscience and reason and is even more treacherous. Even if people believe in God but gain nothing and later gain His punishment, they should believe in Him. Mankind should believe in and obey God because He is God. I also recognized that I myself am a son of the great red dragon, Satan’s descendant, and one of those who will perish. God is the Lord of all creation, and no matter how He treats me it is deserved. All of it is righteous, and I should obey His designs and arrangements without conditions. I should not try to reason with Him, and even more I should not resist Him. Thinking back to my own ugliness revealed in this trial, I felt truly shameful. I only wanted to gain some high status, great blessings, or even sit side-by-side with God and rule with Him. When I saw that I would not gain the blessings I had hoped for but instead would suffer catastrophe, I thought of betraying God and of leaving Him. These utterly transparent demonstrations made me clearly see that my goal in believing in God was to be blessed. I was trying to conduct transactions with God. I really was shameless, greedily vying for status with God—how was that any different from the archangel? I truly was arrogant, and I had completely lost the reason that a person should have. I truly was a descendant of Satan. If it had not been for such wisdom in God’s work—using the trial of service-doers to conquer me, to break my ambition of gaining blessings—I would still be racing down the false path of seeking blessings. I would not possibly have understood my own corrupt essence, and I particularly would not have obediently accepted the judgment and chastisement of God’s words. In the end, I certainly would have been done in by my own ambitions and desires, and the chance to be saved would have been forever lost to me.

What Is the Meaning of Christmas, and Are You Truly Worshiping the Lord Jesus?

What Is the Meaning of Christmas, and Are You Truly Worshiping the Lord Jesus?

By Siyuan

The Origins of Christmas

Every year, as Christmas approaches, shops on the street arrange a dazzling display of Christmas presents, with Santa Claus and Christmas trees, and so on. Festooned in trees and on buildings there are many-colored lights, and whole cities are decorated with lanterns and colored hangings, and everywhere there is joy and excitement. To Christianity, Christmas is a very special holiday, and several months before Christmas, many churches will begin to busy themselves preparing everything necessary for the Christmas holiday. On Christmas Day, the churches are filled, and brothers and sisters get involved in the celebrations, eating Christmas dinner, putting on performances and worshiping the Lord Jesus, and so on. Everyone’s face is flushed with happiness. However, when we get together in joyous gatherings to celebrate the Lord Jesus’ birth, do we understand the meaning of Christmas? Perhaps brothers and sisters will say, “The Lord Jesus was nailed upon the cross to redeem all mankind, and so as to remember and celebrate the Lord Jesus’ birth, Christians established Christmas. Though the specific day on which the Lord Jesus was born is not recorded in the Bible, Christmas gradually became a universal holiday in the wake of the expansion of Jesus Christ’s gospel.” We may have known this, but do we know God’s love and His will for us that was actually hidden behind the birth of the Lord Jesus? And how should we approach Christmas in a way that is after the Lord’s heart?

The Lord Jesus Was Born Because of God’s Love and Salvation of Mankind

In the beginning, Jehovah worked in the form of the Spirit amongst man, He used Moses to proclaim His laws and commandments, He guided mankind how to live on earth, He let people know what was good and what was evil, how to worship God, and so on. But when the Age of Law was coming to its end, because mankind was being corrupted by Satan ever more deeply, man could not adhere to the laws and there were no longer enough sin offerings they could make that could expiate their sins; people faced the danger of being condemned and sentenced to death by the laws at any time. God couldn’t bear to see mankind, which He’d made with His own hands, be destroyed in such a way. To allow mankind to survive, therefore, God came down from heaven and incarnated as the Lord Jesus Christ, He appeared and performed His works, He expressed the way of “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17), He taught people to be tolerant, patient and to love their enemies, and to forgive people seventy times seven times. He also healed the sick and cast out demons, and performed many signs and wonders and, in the end, He was nailed to the cross, thus redeeming mankind from their sins. So long as we accept the Lord Jesus as our Savior and sincerely pray to the Lord, confessing our sins and repenting, then our sins are forgiven, and we can enjoy peace, joy and all the abundance of grace that comes from the Lord. It can be said that, only because the Lord Jesus was born and God personally incarnated to perform the work of redemption, was mankind able to evade the condemnation and the fetters of the law, and so was no longer subject to being condemned or sentenced to death. Only because the Lord Jesus was born, those who followed Him were able to enjoy real peace and joy. Even more so, only because the Lord Jesus was born, and the Spirit of God materialized in an ordinary body, using the language of mankind to speak His utterances, do we know more clearly from the Lord’s words God’s will and His requirements for man, we can have a newer, higher practice, and our relationship with God can be ever closer. That which lay behind the Lord Jesus’ coming to earth, His expressing the truthand completing the work of the crucifixion, was filled with God’s painstaking efforts to save mankind—it was God’s love and mercy toward us corrupted mankind!

What Is the Meaning of Christmas, and Are You Truly Worshiping the Lord Jesus?

What the Lord Jesus’ Will and Requirements for Us Are

Although, when the Lord Jesus concluded the work of redemption, He resurrected and ascended into heaven, in order to remember His birth, many people organize evening parties at Christmas, they put on performances and celebrate the Lord Jesus’ birth. But have we ever been aware of what the meaning of Christmas is, and what the Lord Jesus’ will and requirements for us are? What exactly should we do to satisfy God and to earn His praise?

The Lord Jesus said: “The hour comes, when you shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. … But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him” (John 4:21, 23). We understand from the Lord Jesus’ words that the Lord hopes for us to worship God in spirit and in truth, and not rigidly adhere to all manner of formalities or get involved in activities. The Pharisees, chief priests and scribes in the temple in olden days focused only on engaging in various religious ceremonies and clinging to rules. Every day, they made offerings to worship God, but they paid little heed to putting God’s words into practice, nor did they follow Jehovah’s commandments, so much so that they even abandoned God’s commandments and adhered only to the traditions of man. In the end, not only did they not earn God’s praise, but they were hated and cursed by the Lord Jesus. If churches now hold big Christmas celebrations, it’s just a momentary flourish of excitement; everyone gathers together in joy and happiness, but we don’t truly worship the Lord, or use this opportunity to understand His will or gain knowledge of Him, and so we won’t receive the Lord Jesus’ approval. In fact, from when the Lord Jesus officially began His work to when He completed His work of redemption, He expressed many truths and laid many requirements on us. The Lord’s will is to hope that we will all focus on putting His words into practice, and keep to His teachings at all times, in all places, no matter what issues or people we may encounter. This is what the Lord requires of us, and it is the most fundamental principle of practice for those of us who believe in God. Just as the Lord Jesus said: “If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed” (John 8:31), “You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:14). It can therefore be seen that, in our normal lives and in our dealings with other people, it is of the utmost importance to focus on practicing in accordance with the Lord’s words, for this is something which those who genuinely believe in God and worship God must achieve most of all.

What Is the Meaning of Christmas, and Are You Truly Worshiping the Lord Jesus?

Are We Truly Worshiping the Lord?

Now, many brothers and sisters come to church at Christmas to celebrate the Lord Jesus’ birth, to pray together, read the Bible together, and to sing the Lord’s praises together. But the rest of the time, we’re busy with our own jobs and careers or with interacting with other people. Very seldom do we quieten ourselves before the Lord and pray-read His words or seek to understand His will. Some brothers and sisters often attend meetings, but they seldom practice and experience the Lord’s words in their lives, they still live in sin, and their sins grow apace. For example, the Lord Jesus requires that we be humble and mild, but as we get along and work together with co-workers and with brothers and sisters in the church, we are dominated by our arrogant dispositions, we see our own views and ideas as perfect and we defend ourselves, and we are incapable of getting along peaceably with others. The Lord Jesus requires that we learn to forgive others and to love others as we love ourselves. But when others infringe upon our interests, we feel aggrieved, so much so that we live within the poisonous dispositions of Satan, and we judge and condemn other people. The Lord Jesus requires that we set ourselves apart from worldly people, but in our pursuit of worldly fame, status and physical pleasures, we follow the evil trends of the world, we live in sin and we grow farther and farther apart from the Lord. These are just a few examples of how we fail to live up to the Lord’s requirements. Although we place a lot of importance on keeping religious ceremonies, and we focus on being thankful for the Lord’s salvation and we praise the Lord on the specific days of various holidays, yet we do not follow the Lord’s way and we often live in sin. Is this how we worship the Lord Jesus? Can the Lord truly praise us for this? Take when parents raise their child to be an adult, for example. If the child is truly sensible and filial, they will take care to know what their parents like and what they don’t like, and whenever they do anything for their parents, they will always know what to do to please them. But if all they do is hold a big banquet on their parents’ birthdays, and just say, “I love you, mom and dad!” and when their parents really need them, they’re too busy with their own lives to fulfill their filial responsibilities, can they be said to be truly filial?

How to Conform to God’s Will and Earn His Praise

What Is the Meaning of Christmas, and Are You Truly Worshiping the Lord Jesus?

If we want to become people who truly worship God and earn His praise, the key is to practice in accordance with God’s words, to exalt God in our hearts, to focus on following the Lord’s way in all things, to put the Lord’s words first, and to use what we actually live out to bear testimony to God and glorify God. Of course, some brothers and sisters gather together at Christmas to sing hymns and praise the Lord, to exchange with each other our experiences and knowledge of practicing the Lord’s words in our lives, to support and help each other resolve issues in our spiritual lives, and to close the distance between ourselves and God, and this also conforms with God’s will. Moreover, when Christmas is approaching, there are now many western countries which organize charitable events for persecuted Christians and homeless people, and which gather together people in search of shelter and persecuted Christian refugees from all over the world so that they can exchange experiences with each other, thus enabling them to feel God’s warmth in the freezing cold of winter. These are also things which God shall remember. In short, the holiday itself is not important and all the various ceremonies are not important. What are most important are the Lord Jesus’ words and the things He requires of us. To be able to have a God-fearing heart and to seek the Lord’s will in all things, to practice the Lord’s words and to satisfy the Lord by meeting His requirements—this is what is most important. Only by practicing in this way do we truly worship the Lord Jesus and earn His praise.

Thanks be to the enlightenment and guidance of God, and may He be with us all!

Christian Marriage: Marital Harmony Is No Longer an Issue

Christian Marriage: Marital Harmony Is No Longer an Issue

By Wang Ran, Singapore

A Beautiful Dream

Christian Marriage: Marital Harmony Is No Longer an Issue

        When she was single, Wang Ran always held on to a beautiful dream—the hope that after getting married, she and her husband would get along harmoniously, show mutual tolerance, be by each other’s sides for life, and grow old together. At that time Wang Ran had a great deal of confidence in herself; she felt that she was a person of good character who got along well with others. But reality did not play out as Wang Ran wished—after getting married, the myriad conflicts that cropped up in her life with her husband slowly ate away at her dream …

Christian perception of Life | Spiritual Awakening of a “White Angel” (Part 1)

Spiritual Awakening of a “White Angel” (Part 1)

Miaoxiao

Introduction

Picture of The Church of Almighty God

I am a retired obstetrics and gynecology attending physician. Most of my life was spent in an overworked void. I racked my brains to pursue status, fame and fortune and was unscrupulous in my efforts to make money, busy rushing around for several decades. I even betrayed my own conscience and personality and lost my humanity and rationality, living without any meaning. Until one day when I read the word of Almighty God and saw the truth that I had been corrupted by Satan I gradually had a spiritual awakening….

Where Does This Voice Come From? (Audio Article)

Where Does This Voice Come From? (Audio Article)

I was born in a religious family, and I have many relatives who are preachers. From the time I was young, I followed my parents in believing in the Lord. After I grew up, I addressed to the Lord in prayer: If I could find a husband who believed in the Lord, I would offer myself up together with him in service to the Lord. After I got married, my husband really did believe in the Lord, and in fact became a full time devoted preacher. In order for my husband to feel at ease in his work for the sake of the Lord, and to be able to fulfill his commitment in the presence of the Lord, I actively undertook the burdens of running a household. Although it was a little bit difficult and tiring, my heart was filled with joy and peace no matter how much suffering I endured because I had the Lord as my support.

Breaking Through Satan’s Tight Encirclement (Part 2) Audio Article

Breaking Through Satan’s Tight Encirclement (Part 2) Audio Article

My wife told the sisters what Brother Guan had said to us when he came to our house, and Sister Zhang asked me how I felt about this whole thing. So I told the sisters about the weakness that I was feeling and about the knowledge that I had just come across. Sister Zhang smiled, saying: “Thanks be to God! This is such a pure understanding, this is God’s guidance!” My wife asked, confused, “Since we haven’t made any missteps, why is Brother Guan saying those things? He is a major leader who has believed in the Lord for many years!” I looked at my wife and said: “Hey, he just wants us to come back to our former church!” Sister Zhang smiled, saying: “Right now all that we are looking at is their outward appearance, but we haven’t looked into the substance of their nature! The Lord Jesus once said: ‘But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in’ (Matthew 23:13). ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like to white washed sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness’ (Matthew 23:27).

When You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus Will Be When God Has Made Anew Heaven and Earth

When You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus Will Be When God Has Made Anew Heaven and Earth

Introduction 

Almighty God says, "The return of Jesus is a great salvation for those who are capable of accepting the truth, but for those who are unable to accept the truth it is a sign of condemnation. You should choose your own path, and should not blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and reject the truth. You should not be an ignorant and arrogant person, but someone who obeys the guidance of the Holy Spirit and longs for and seeks the truth; only in this way will you benefit. I advise you to tread the path of belief in God with care. Do not jump to conclusions; what’s more, do not be casual and carefree in your belief in God. You should know that, at the very least, those who believe in God should be humble and reverential. Those who have heard the truth and yet turn their nose up at it are foolish and ignorant. Those who have heard the truth and yet carelessly jump to conclusions or condemn it are beset by arrogance. No one who believes in Jesus is qualified to curse or condemn others. You should all be someone who is rational and accepts the truth."

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God is my strength, where is my home.

Who Was It That Rescued Her Marriage?

Yang Zi, Hubei

She had just turned twenty, she had a graceful figure and appeared as pretty as a flower, and there were many suitors pursuing her. But she didn’t pay this any mind until one day when her friend invited her to come out and she by chance met Lin. Lin was almost 6 feet tall, he was tall and handsome, with a dignified bearing. He spoke with humor and with wit, and was able to attract her in an instant. And Lin too was quite interested in her. The two of them started seeing each other very soon, and after a few months they got married. Before long they had a child of their own, and this made her feel very blessed. But good things don’t last forever. Just when she was starting to enjoy everything and long for a beautiful future, she discovered that Lin was not engaging in honest work every day. All day long he was idling about, and he would even go out often and get in fights and gamble. When he returned home, he would pick out faults with her no matter if there was something going on or not. He simply did not care for her or their child. She did not understand why Lin was acting this way. Many times with eyes full of tears she would urge Lin to walk the correct path, but not only did Lin not listen, he would even lash out at her, and one time he even went so far as to nearly choke her to death. She had lost all hope in Lin. Before long, Lin got sentenced to prison for breaking the law, and she had to support herself and their one-and-a-half-year-old child on her own. Her life was full of hardships and dashed hopes. It wasn’t until 2003, when Lin completed his prison sentence and was released, that she was finished with this painful marriage.

Eastern Lightning | Breaking Through Satan’s Tight Encirclement (Part 1) Audio Article

Breaking Through Satan’s Tight Encirclement (Part 1) Audio Article

It was bitterly cold this past November in Northeast China, none of the snow that fell to the ground melted away, and many people who walked outside were so cold that they stuffed their hands into their armpits and walked along cautiously, bodies bent over. The other day in the early morning the winds were blowing from the northwest, when I, my brother-in-law and his wife and about a dozen brothers and sisters were sitting in my home on the warm kang (a heatable brick bed). Everyone had a copy of the Bible beside them and in their hands everyone was holding a copy of the book Judgment Begins With the House of God.

Praise and Worship Almighty God | King of Kings | Gospel Music "Gospel Choir 15th Performance

 

Praise and Worship Almighty God | King of Kings | Gospel Music "Gospel Choir 15th Performance"

Introduction

This time, God comes to do work not in a spiritual body but in a very ordinary one. Not only is it the body of God’s second incarnation, but also the body in which God returns. It is very ordinary flesh. In Him, you cannot see anything that is different from others, but you can receive from Him the truths you have never heard before. This insignificant flesh is the embodiment of all the words of truth from God, that which undertakes God’s work in the last days, and an expression of the whole of God’s disposition for man to come to know. Did you not desire greatly to see the God in heaven? Did you not desire greatly to understand the God in heaven? Did you not desire greatly to see the destination of mankind? He will tell you all these secrets that no one can ever tell you, and He will even tell you of the truths that you do not understand. He is your gate into the kingdom, and your guide into the new age. He is your gate into the kingdom, and your guide into the new age.

Eastern Lightning / With Life Hanging by a Thread, the Hand of God Came to the Rescue (Audio Article)

With Life Hanging by a Thread, the Hand of God Came to the Rescue (Audio Article)

Ling Wu, Japan

“If I were not saved by God, I would still be drifting in this world, struggling hard and painfully in sin, every day bleak and hopeless. If I were not saved by God, I’d still be crushed below the devil’s feet, snared in sin and its enjoyments, ignorant of what my life would be. It’s Almighty God who saves me; all God’s words have purified my heart. Through God’s judgment and His chastisement, my corrupted disposition’s changed. All the word and truth God expresses, it has all given me new life. I have seen my God face to face and have tasted God’s true love. Finally I’ve understood God’s loving hand holds mine as we go. Now I have heard the voice of God and been raised before God’s throne. The feast of my Christ I attend, to be perfected and purified by Him. What I’d hoped for is finally realized, I have now been saved by God.” (“If I Were Not Saved by God” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). Whenever I hear this hymn of experience, I am always deeply moved. If it weren’t for God saving me, as described in the hymn, I might still be wandering aimlessly in the world, tiring myself out chasing after money, even to the point that I would long since have lost my life and died abroad in a foreign land …

I’m a child of the eighties, and was born in an ordinary farmer household. My older brother was always unwell and sick since he was little. My father was wounded in an accident when I was 10; he was paralyzed two years after that. Our family’s financial situation was poor to begin with, and we went heavily into debt treating my father. Our friends and relatives were afraid that we would never be able to pay back the debt, and weren’t willing to loan us money. Helpless, I was forced to drop out of school at 16 to work away from home. In deep and quiet night, I would often think: When they were young, children the same age as me would play freely after school, while I would have to be in fields doing farming work; now they have grown up as me, and they are still going to school, acting like spoiled children with their parents, but I have to start working at an early age and suffer all kinds of hardships to support my family. … At that time, I complained to my parents about why they gave birth to me, and asked why it was that I came into this world just to suffer and toil. But there was nothing I could do about it, and I could only accept this reality. At the time, my greatest wish was to work hard, earn money, and allow my parents to live comfortably, and no longer be looked down on by others.

At first I worked in a private aluminum alloy factory. Since I was a child laborer, the boss always took good care of me with my food and housing. After one year, I felt that my wages were too low, and chose to go do the lacquer spraying work in a furniture factory that other people didn’t want to do. At that time, no matter what kind of work I was doing, as long as I didn’t break the law, I would go do it if I could make more money. My only goal was that I wanted to become a person with money, so I wouldn’t have to live the life of a poor person again. After that, my relatives introduced me to a company that offered me the opportunity to leave the country for work. I had never thought that after a few years I would go abroad.

In the Spring of 2012, I had my wish granted when I came to Japan and began my new life. I was involved in the shipbuilding industry, and through an apprenticeship I signed a three-year contract with the company. When I started work, I was exhausted and suffering. Because I didn’t know how to cook, I ate instant noodles for a month, until I couldn’t eat them with the feeling like I was going to throw up and was forced to learn to cook. I have no idea how many days I ate half-cooked rice. In Japan, we were foreigners, so it was hard for the company’s workers to keep from having an unfair treatment toward us. They made us do a lot of dirty, tiring, and dangerous tasks. When I was spraying lacquer, I was rather scared, because if the gas came into contact with fire it would ignite, and if I stopped paying attention for a moment it could endanger my life. But no matter if it was suffering in my life or danger in my work, as long as I thought of making more money to send back to my family, and being able to buy a car and a house after I returned home and elevate myself over others and no longer be poor, I felt that my suffering at the time actually wasn’t too bad. Three years of my life passed in the blink of an eye working there, and the time period on my visa was almost up. The company had a policy of renewing contracts, so in order to make more money, I chose to renew my contract and continue to work in Japan. What pleasantly surprised me was that not long after I renewed my contract, I encountered the gospel of the kingdom of Almighty God.

With Life Hanging by a Thread, the Hand of God Came to the Rescue (Audio Article)

In September of 2015, a friend I had met in Japan told me about God’s work in the last days. When she was telling me about believing in God, I thought this was just a kind of belief, and didn’t think it was interesting. I felt that believing in God wouldn’t be able to change my destiny. Soon after that, I told my friend about my own way of thinking and the hardships I had endured, then asked her, “Can believing in God change my destiny? I’ve suffered so much, I’m just an ill-fated person. If I had money I wouldn’t be suffering, and right now the most real thing for me is to make money. For me, believing in God is something remote.” When my friend heard me speaking like this, she read to me a section of the word of God: “Where you will go every day, what you will do, who or what you will encounter, what you will say, what will happen to you—can any of this be predicted? People cannot foresee all these occurrences, much less control how they develop. In life, these unforeseeable events happen all the time, and they are an everyday occurrence. These daily vicissitudes and the ways they unfold, or the patterns by which they play out, are constant reminders to humanity that nothing happens at random, that these things’ ramifications, and their inevitability, cannot be shifted by human will. Every happening conveys an admonition from the Creator to mankind, and it also sends the message that human beings cannot control their own fates; at the same time every event is a rebuttal to humanity’s wild, futile ambition and desire to take its fate into its own hands. They are like powerful slaps about humanity’s ears one after another, forcing people to reconsider who, in the end, governs and controls their fate. And as their ambitions and desires are repeatedly thwarted and shattered, humans naturally arrive at an unconscious acceptance of what fate has in store, an acceptance of reality, of the will of Heaven and the Creator’s sovereignty. From these daily vicissitudes to the fates of entire human lives, there is nothing that does not reveal the Creator’s plans and His sovereignty; there is nothing that does not send the message that ‘the Creator’s authority cannot be exceeded,’ that does not convey the eternal truth that ‘the Creator’s authority is supreme’” (“God Himself, the Unique III” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh). After hearing this, I felt that these words made a lot of sense, and I couldn’t help but think that being able to renew my contract also seemed like something that had been arranged by God. It also made me think about the home I was born into and my life with my family were things I had no choice about. I had the feeling that somewhere out there is a Sovereign in control.

My friend also had me read this section of the word of God “‘God Himself, the Unique III’ in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh” which talks about six junctures that a person must pass through in life: Birth: The First Juncture; Growing Up: The Second Juncture; Independence: The Third Juncture; Marriage: The Fourth Juncture; Progeny: The Fifth Juncture; Death: The Sixth Juncture. When I had read the word of God, I was amazed. I had never imagined that God had spoken so clearly about man’s destiny, and the facts are indeed as He described. According to ordinary circumstances, a person will experience these six junctures in his life. I thought of how many people there are on earth suffering, and how it wasn’t just me. If destiny were really up to a person’s choice and he were in control of it, then everyone would choose to live in a big, fancy house, and would there be anyone suffering from poverty and hardship? In fact, the family a person is born into is absolutely not up to them to choose, and they can’t choose what kind of parents they have. After they grow up, the kind of husband or wife they have is also not up to them. … The more I pondered them, the more I felt these words were practical, and I then began in my heart to believe what Almighty God had said. Fate is not something that can be changed by oneself. Since then, I began to get more and more interested in believing in God, and I believed that God exists, and believed that a person’s fate is not under his own control. But because I didn’t know much about God, I felt that God was very remote from me. However, in an experience not long after that, I genuinely felt: God is beside me, watching over and protecting me.

It was raining that day, and I got to work as usual, but I had absolutely no idea that there was a disaster sneaking up to strike me. Over 10:00 in the morning, I was at work on the jobsite, when I suddenly heard a “boom.” I didn’t know what it was that had smashed to the ground, and it gave me an icy shudder of terror. When I turned my head to look, I was stunned, and saw a 40 cm diameter and 4 m long iron pipe weighing about half a ton which had fallen from a crane. It smashed to the ground less than half a meter from where I was standing. I was so terrified in that moment that I was totally speechless, and it took a while for me to regain my composure from the shock. In my heart I was yelling nonstop: “Thank You God! Thank You God!” If God hadn’t been there watching over and protecting me, then the iron pipe would have smashed straight down onto me, and my insignificant life would have been over.

After I got off work, when I was talking with the brothers and sisters about what had happened that day, they fellowshiped to me that it had been God’s protection. They also read to me from the word of Almighty God: “Throughout your long lives, basically every individual has encountered many dangerous situations and undergone many temptations. This is because Satan is right there beside you, its eyes fixed on you constantly. It likes it when disaster strikes you, when calamities befall you, when nothing goes right for you, and likes it when you are caught in Satan’s net. As for God, He is protecting you constantly, keeping you from one misfortune after another and from one disaster after another. This is why I say that everything man has—peace and joy, blessings and personal safety—is in fact all under God’s control, and He guides and decides the life and fate of every individual” (“God Himself, the Unique VI” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh). After reading the word of God I understood that people live every day in Satan’s net and that they are cruelly harmed. Without God watching over and guarding them, people would have long since been swallowed up by Satan. All these years, I don’t know how many times I enjoyed God watching over and protecting me, but all along I did not know God or worship Him; I truly had no conscience. Starting from that moment, I understood God’s grace of salvation better. That I was able to live up to the present is all thanks to God’s loving hand guarding me, and I thanked God from my heart. I also decided that in the future I would do all I can to follow God. In the days to come, I frequently attended gatherings with brothers and sisters, and went over into leading a regular church life, and there were slowly changes in my life. I no longer had the anxiety, suffering, and emptiness that I once had. We brothers and sisters were reading the word of God together, and fellowshiping about the word of God, singing hymns in praise of God, free and liberated in our hearts, helping each other and assisting one another in the spiritual life. Not one of them looked down on me, nor was there anyone who had disdain for the poor and fawned over the rich, and I felt I was able to live with dignity. Living among this big, warm, and blessed household of The Church of Almighty God, I felt much happier and fulfilled than in the past.

One day, something happened to a Japanese individual in our company. He was a longtime employee there and already had more than ten years of experience in the company. He was strong whether it was safety awareness or technology. That day, when he was at work, he was driving a lifting truck and was doing some work while lifted 20 meters in the air. In the course of operating it, from lack of attention he caused the truck’s liquified gas to leak onto him. There was another worker at the same time above him doing some welding, and suddenly a spark fell down and landed on his clothing. When the gas that had leaked out came into contact with the spark, it rapidly burst into flame, and a fire broke out. Many people just stared blankly at this old worker who was being engulfed in flames on the spot, but they were totally helpless and unable to do anything. It was already too late to go find someone to save him, and in a few minutes, he was burned to death. When we saw this tragedy occur, many people felt sorry for him, and couldn’t help but think about our own lives: What is it, after all, that people are living for? Because of something like this happening right next to me, I truly realized that if a person has departed from God and doesn’t have God watching over and protecting them, then their life is unprotected at all times. People are so insignificant in the face of calamities and can easily collapse, and no matter how high a person’s expertise is or how much more money a person has they are unable to save themselves.

Afterward, I read a passage of the word of God: “Because of the Creator’s sovereignty and predestination, a lonely soul that started out with nothing to its name gains parents and a family, the chance to become a member of the human race, the chance to experience human life and see the world; and it also gains the chance to experience the Creator’s sovereignty, to know the marvelousness of the creation by the Creator, and most of all, to know and become subject to the Creator’s authority. But most people do not really seize this rare and fleeting opportunity. One exhausts a lifetime’s worth of energy fighting against fate, spends all of one’s time bustling about trying to feed one’s family and shuttling back and forth between wealth and status. The things that people treasure are family, money, and fame; they view these as the most valuable things in life. All people complain about their fates, yet still they push to the back of their minds the questions that it is most imperative to examine and understand: why man is alive, how man should live, what the value and meaning of life is. All of their lives, however many years that may be, they just rush about seeking fame and fortune, until their youth has fled, until they become gray and wrinkled; until they see that fame and fortune cannot stop one’s slide toward senility, that money cannot fill the emptiness of the heart; until they understand that no one is exempt from the law of birth, aging, sickness, and death, that no one can escape what fate has in store. Only when they are forced to confront life’s final juncture do they truly grasp that even if one owns millions in property, even if one is privileged and of high rank, no one can escape death, every person will return to his or her original position: a solitary soul, with nothing to its name” (“God Himself, the Unique III” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh). After I finished reading the words of God, I was deeply stirred: People’s spirits come from God, and are destined by God to come among the world of men. But people still don’t want to believe in and worship God, and they don’t treasure the opportunity to experience the Creator’s authority, but only know to live for money, fame, and kinship. They are all busy rushing about strenuously trying to throw off the arrangement of their fate, but what can people obtain by seeking after these things? Has anyone ever thought which of these things—relatives, fame, or wealth—can save their lives when death is imminent? Look at my old coworker’s death—isn’t that the best demonstration of this fact? Thinking about the things I have sought in the past, isn’t it the same? When I went abroad to work, I would take on any filthy, tiring, or dangerous job, just to earn some more money, make people look highly upon me, and so I wouldn’t suffer the humiliation of poverty. Even though I went through every kind of suffering, I never thought to change this way of living. I just followed the same road all along. In my heart, I didn’t know if there is a God, nor did I know that man’s fate is in God’s hands. I relied on myself to change my destiny, and I strove to escape from God’s orchestration and arrangement destined in my life. Wasn’t it the road to ruin that I was following? If it weren’t for God’s salvation, or God watching over and protecting me, I’m afraid that my meager life would have long ago been snatched away by Satan. Even further, how could my life become fulfilled and meaningful as I am now? In that moment, I finally saw that the meaning of life isn’t to seek wealth or fame, it isn’t to seek to get ahead of others so they look highly upon you, but rather is to come into the presence of God, to worship God and receive His salvation, and to break free from Satan’s harm. The more I think like this, the more moved I am. I see that I am able to believe in God, and this is God treating me with a special grace. I don’t know how to express the feeling of gratitude toward God in my heart, and so I learned the hymn “If I Were Not Saved by God” to show my praise of God and to thank Almighty God for saving me!

Blessings Due to Sickness —Essay on God’s Love

Dujuan, Japan

       I was born into a poor family in a rural village. Since I was a child, I lived a tough life and was looked down upon by others. I sometimes did not even know if I would have my next meal, let alone snacks and toys. Since my family was poor, when I was little, I would wear what my older sister used to wear. Her clothes were usually too big for me. As a result, when I went to school, the other kids would laugh at me and they would not play with me. My childhood was very bitter. From that point on, I would secretly tell myself: Once I grow up, I will be somebody and make lots of money. I won’t let others look down on me again. Since my family had no money, I was forced to drop out before junior high school. I went to the county town to work in a medicine factory. In order to earn more money, I would frequently work until 9 or 10 PM. However, the money I earned was not enough to reach my goals. Afterward, when I heard that my sister was able to earn in five days what I earned in a month selling vegetables, I quit my job at the medicine factory and went to sell vegetables. After a period of time, I found that I could make even more money selling fruits, so I decided to start a business selling fruits. After I married my husband, we started a restaurant business. I thought that now that I had a restaurant, I would be able to earn even more money. Once I could earn a considerable amount of income, naturally, I would win other’s admiration and regard. Other people would start looking up to me and at the same time, I would be able to live a better life. However, after operating the business for a period of time, I discovered that I was actually not making a lot of money. I started getting anxious. When would I be able to lead a life that others would admire?

The Loss and Gain of Gatherings

Guozi, USA

       

My name is Guozi, and I’m a high school student studying abroad in the USA. I was born in a Christian family, and my mother accepted the work of Almighty God in the last days when I was one year old. I remember when I was very young that my mother would always say to me: “God created heavens, earth, and everything that exists. We humans were also created by God, and God loves us more than anything. Whenever something happens to you, remember to pray to Almighty God, and He will watch over and protect you.” So when I was very young I learned that God exists, and when anything happened to me and I prayed to God, I experienced God’s protection for me. But truly having knowledge of God and God’s work was something I gradually gained in the course of attending gatherings and fellowshiping about the truth together with brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God and practicing entering into the word of God …

The Loss and Gain of Gatherings 

Question 3: We believe in the Lord and we spread the gospel as the Lord requires. We frequently give financial aid to deprived areas or to help the disabled, we donate money and items to the church, we do well at our jobs and with our children’s education and we conduct ourselves well. This way, we have glorified the Lord and been approved by Him, and when the Lord returns we will be raptured up into the kingdom of heaven. Why then do we also have to experience God’s work of judgment in the last days?

We believe in the Lord and we spread the gospel as the Lord requires. We frequently give financial aid to deprived areas or to help the disabled, we donate money and items to the church, we do well at our jobs and with our children’s education and we conduct ourselves well. This way, we have glorified the Lord and been approved by Him, and when the Lord returns we will be raptured up into the kingdom of heaven. Why then do we also have to experience God’s work of judgment in the last days?

Bible Verses for Reference:

Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity (Mat 7:21-23).

Question 3: We believe in the Lord and we spread the gospel as the Lord requires.

A Hymn of God's Words "The Significance of God's Two Incarnations"

 

A Hymn of God's Words 

"The Significance of God's Two Incarnations"

Introduction

I

 God began His work of salvation in the Age of Grace, after the end of the Age of Law. The first incarnation redeemed man from sin through the flesh of Jesus Christ. He saved man from the cross, but man's satanic dispositions lingered on. In the last of days, God judges to purify mankind. It's only when this is done will He end His work of salvation and enter into rest.

Almighty God's Word "Beholding the Appearance of God in His Judgment and Chastisement"

Almighty God's Word "Beholding the Appearance of God in His Judgment and Chastisement"

Introduction 
Almighty God says, "No one apart from Him can know all of our thoughts, or have such a grasp of our nature and substance, or judge the rebelliousness and corruption of mankind, or speak to us and work among us like this on behalf of the God of heaven. No one except for Him can possess the authority, wisdom, and dignity of God; the disposition of God and what He has and is are issued forth, in their entirety, from Him. No one apart from Him can show us the way and bring us light. No one apart from Him can reveal the mysteries God has not disclosed from creation until today. No one apart from Him can save us from Satan’s bondage and our corrupt disposition. He represents God, and expresses the heart’s voice of God, the exhortations of God, and the words of judgment of God toward all mankind. He has begun a new age, a new era, and brought a new heaven and earth, new work, and He has brought us hope, and ended the life we led in vagueness, and allowed us to fully behold the path of salvation. He has conquered our whole being, and gained our hearts."

The Recital of Almighty God's Word "The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)" (Selected Two)

Introduction

Almighty God says, "God’s saving of man is not done directly through the means of the Spirit or as the Spirit, for His Spirit can neither be touched nor seen by man, and cannot be approached by man. If He tried to save man directly in the manner of the Spirit, man would be unable to receive His salvation. And if not for God putting on the outward form of a created man, they would be unable to receive this salvation. For man can in no way approach Him, much like how none could go near the cloud of Jehovah. Only by becoming a man of creation, that is, putting His word into the flesh He will become, can He personally work the word into all who follow Him. Only then can man hear for himself His word, see His word, and receive His word, then through this be fully saved. If God did not become flesh, no fleshly man would receive such great salvation, nor would a single man be saved. If the Spirit of God worked directly among man, man would be smitten or completely carried away captive by Satan because man is unable to associate with God. The first incarnation was to redeem man from sin through the flesh of Jesus, that is, He saved man from the cross, but the corrupt satanic disposition still remained within man. The second incarnation is no longer to serve as a sin offering but to fully save those who were redeemed from sin. This is done so that those forgiven can be delivered from their sins and be fully made clean, and attain a change in disposition, thereby breaking free of Satan’s influence of darkness and returning before the throne of God. Only in this way can man be fully sanctified."

Almighty God's Word "The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation"

Almighty God's Word "The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation" 

Introduction

Almighty God says, "This stage is done on the foundation of the work of the Age of Grace. If these two stages of work are unrelated, why is there no crucifixion in this stage? Why do I not bear the sins of man? I do not come through the conception by the Holy Spirit nor will I be crucified to bear the sins of man. Rather, I am here to directly chastise man. If I did not chastise man following the crucifixion, and now I do not come through the conception by the Holy Spirit, then I would not be qualified to chastise man. It is precisely because I am one with Jesus that I come directly to chastise and judge man. This stage of work builds entirely on the previous stage. This is why only such work can bring man to salvation stage by stage. Jesus and I come from the same Spirit."

I don’t think believing in God is that complicated and that one doesn’t need to be too focused or too invested in it. So long as I keep going to church every week, do my devotions and give alms, and in the normal course of events also attend some activities organized by the church, then this is believing in God and I can be saved. I’d like to ask whether this conception I have is correct or not?

I don’t think believing in God is that complicated and that one doesn’t need to be too focused or too invested in it. So long as I keep going to church every week, do my devotions and give alms, and in the normal course of events also attend some activities organized by the church, then this is believing in God and I can be saved. I’d like to ask whether this conception I have is correct or not?

Bible Verses for Reference:

The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force (Mat 11:12).

Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven (Mat 7:21).

The Relationship Between Each of the Three Stages of God’s Work.

The Relationship Between Each of the Three Stages of God’s Work.

The Relationship Between Each of the Three Stages of God’s Work.

Relevant Words of God:

From the work of Jehovah to that of Jesus, and from the work of Jesus to that of this current stage, these three stages cover the entire breadth of God’s management, and are all the work of one Spirit. From when He created the world, God has always been managing mankind. He is the Beginning and the End, He is the First and the Last, and He is the One who begins an age and the One who brings the age to an end. The three stages of work, in different ages and different locations, are surely carried out by one Spirit. All those who separate these three stages oppose God.