Service of This Kind Is Truly Contemptible

Service of This Kind Is Truly Contemptible

By Ding Ning, Shandong Province

A few days ago, the church leader arranged a change in my duty. I felt a little puzzled: I worked hard here at my duty, so why suddenly change me onto another duty? But then I thought: “Seeing as the church has made this arrangement, I should submit to it.” When it came time to hand over my old duty, I thought, “I need to take this final opportunity to call a meeting with my brothers and sisters, fellowship about the truth, and leave them with a good impression.” Therefore, I met with several deacons, and at the close of our time together, I said, “I have been given a different duty to perform. I hope you will do the church work properly together with the new leader with one heart and one mind.” As soon as the sisters heard me say this, their smiles fell from their faces. Some of them grasped my hands, some of them embraced me, and weeping they said, “You cannot leave us! You cannot abandon us.” The host family sister was especially unwilling to let me go. She said, “It is so good that you are here with us. You are someone who can endure hardship, and you are good at fellowshiping about the truth. No matter when we needed you, you were always there to patiently help us. What will we do when you’re gone?” Seeing their reluctance to part from me, my heart was full of joy and satisfaction, and I comforted them with these words: “Depend more on God. When I can, I will come back and visit you.”

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

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

Almighty God says, "In the Age of Grace, Jesus did much of that work, such as healing sickness, casting out demons, laying His hands upon man to pray for man, and blessing man. However, to continue to do so would serve no purpose in the present day. The Holy Spirit worked in that way at the time, for it was the Age of Grace, and man was shown enough grace for enjoyment. Man did not have to pay any price and could receive grace as long as he had faith. All were treated very graciously. Now, the age has changed, and the work of God has progressed further; through His chastisement and judgment, the rebelliousness of man and the unclean things within man will be cast away. As it was the stage of redemption, God had to do such work, showing man enough grace for man to enjoy, so that He could redeem man from sin, and through grace forgive man their sins. This stage is done to reveal the iniquities within man through chastisement, judgment, the smiting of words, as well as the discipline and revelation of words, so that they may afterward be saved. This is work more in-depth than redemption. In the Age of Grace, man enjoyed enough grace and has already experienced this grace, and so it is no longer to be enjoyed by man. Such work is now out-of-date and is no longer to be done. Now, man is saved through judgment by the word. After man is judged, chastised and refined, his disposition is thereby changed. Is this not because of the words I have spoken? Each stage of work is done in line with the progress of all mankind and with the age. All work has its significance; it is done for the final salvation, for mankind to have a good destination in the future, and for man to be divided according to their kind in the end."

Destruction in the Blink of an Eye

—Qingping Township in Sichuan Province disappeared twice because of its defiance of Almighty God’s gospel of the last days

Jing Wei, Sichuan Province

During the great earthquake that occurred on May 12, 2008, a town vanished entirely: That was Qingping Township in the Mianzhu municipal area in Sichuan Province. Because of the government’s information blackout, this is not something that many people know about.

Qingping Township was located north-west of the hard-hit area of Hanwang Town in the Mianzhu municipal area. Before the earthquake struck, situated deep in the mountains, it was a place of clean air, clear waters and blue skies, and the mountains abounded with kiwi fruit and gingko fruit. God bestowed this abundance on the people and provided them with all they needed to live; yet the people living there did not know God, and even more they were unaware that they should be grateful to God—they had only a lust for riches. Owing to this town being situated deep in the mountains, the scenery was incredibly beautiful and the air was fresh and pleasant. In summer, there was no need to use air conditioning; it was a natural oxygen bar, and even more so it was a place for leisure and relaxation. The mountain people set up rural home stays one by one and put great effort into developing the tourism industry there. It also became a place of recreation and entertainment for all levels of government officials. Many officials desired to take up government posts in Qingping Township, and many provincial-level leaders were frequent visitors to the town. As everyone knows, wherever government officials go, they fuel the economic growth of the area’s hotels, karaoke bars, health spas, foot massage spas and hair salons. So although Qingping Township was deep in the mountains, it was by no means a backward place, and it was nevertheless a place of feasting and revelry, flashing neon lights and nightly music and singing; Communist Party officials turned this Heaven-sent place of beauty into a modern-day Sodom.

How Should I Face It, After Testing Positive for Hepatitis B? (Audio Essay)

How Should I Face It, After Testing Positive for Hepatitis B? (Audio Essay)

I was struck by an illness that came out of nowhere, and in the blink of an eye I had become mired in pain and despair, and I lost all hope for life. Nevertheless, through God’s wonderful salvation, I came to understand that God’s will was behind my illness, and I saw God’s wondrous deeds. Remembering the events of that time, they are as vivid to me now as they were then.

A few months ago, my boss told us that Xiao Wang, one of my colleagues, had contracted a serious liver condition and had been hospitalized for treatment. The boss went on to say that the illness Xiao Wang had contracted could be transmitted to other people through physical contact, food, drink and bodily fluids. As we were often in contact with Xiao Wang, it was highly probable that we would have been infected, so we were told to go to the hospital immediately for testing. Hearing this news, the office was suddenly all abuzz; everyone was worried that they were infected, and so we all hurried to hospital. After a series of tests, I waited uneasily for the results. After a while, the doctor came and handed me the test results, and said: “You are a carrier of the Hepatitis B virus, and it has not been contracted recently, but has probably been there for a while.” I simply couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and I asked the doctor to repeat herself. The doctor said regretfully, “You heard right. This is real. You must seek urgent treatment. If you delay, then your condition will worsen, and if it becomes liver cancer then you’ll be in real trouble. What’s more, as this virus cannot be wholly eradicated from the body, you will carry this virus for the rest of your life. You should get your mind right and be prepared!” This terrible, sudden news left me all at sea, and my whole body seemed to shrivel up like an eggplant affected by the frost, and my legs felt as heavy as lead. Scared out of my mind, I took the test results and left the hospital, not knowing how to get home.

Best Christian Movie | "Stay Out of My Business" | The Spiritual Awakening of Christians

Best Christian Movie | "Stay Out of My Business" | The Spiritual Awakening of Christians

Li Qingxin is a preacher in a house church in China who has been faithful to the Lord for many years. Always she enthusiastically does the Lord's work of spreading the gospel, vigilantly awaiting the Lord's coming to bring her up to the heavenly kingdom. In recent years, Li Qingxin has seen that assorted sects and churches have become ever more desolate. Eastern Lightning, however, has become ever more vibrant, despite frenzied condemnation and persecution by the Chinese Communist government and religious circles. More and more good sheep and leading sheep of various denominations and sects have accepted Eastern Lightning. This causes Li Qingxin to do some introspection. In particular, she has seen that pastors and elders of religious circles don't hesitate to fabricate assorted rumors and nonsense to condemn and blacken the name of The Church of Almighty God.

I Was Not Following Peter’s Path

I Was Not Following Peter’s Path

By Wuxin, Shanxi Province

Something we have always discussed in previous gatherings is the paths walked by Peter and Paul. It is said that Peter focused on pursuing the truth, knowing himself and God, and his pursuit was approved by God, while Paul only focused on his work, sought reputation and status, he set foot upon the path of the antichrists of the Pharisees, and he was someone God despised. I have always been afraid of walking Paul’s path, which is why I normally often read God’s words, as well as sermons on entering into life, that concern Peter’s experiences, in order to see how he pursued the truth and experienced God’s work. Then I consciously imitate Peter in my practice and entering. After practicing like this for a while, I felt I had become more obedient than before, my desire for reputation and status had dimmed, and that I had gotten to know myself a little. I believed that even though I was not completely on Peter’s path, it could be said that I had come pretty close to following it, and at least it meant I was not heading down Paul’s path.

Best Christian Music Video | So Happy to Live in the Love of God | "Christ's Kingdom Is a Warm Home"

Best Christian Music Video | So Happy to Live in the Love of God | "Christ's Kingdom Is a Warm Home"

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Christ’s kingdom is my warm home, it belongs to all of God’s people. Christ walks and speaks in the church and lives together with God’s people. The judgment and chastisement of God’s words is here, as is work of the Holy Spirit. God’s words water, supply and guide us, and our lives grow. This is the kingdom ruled by Christ, it is a fair and just world.