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Editor’s Note: Dear brothers and sisters, may you share in the Lord’s inner peace. Every single person hopes for a happy, fulfilling marriage, but real life is never as one would wish. Frequent disagreements occur between husbands and wives due to differences in personal views, preferences, and habits, leading to arguments or even becoming enemies, becoming estranged. This causes both of them to live in pain. How married couples can interact harmoniously with each other has become an important issue for many people. The story we have to share with you today is about how Wang Ran and her husband achieved this. I hope it’s helpful for everyone.

…

Where man ends, God begins. Just when Wang Ran was in pain and feeling lost, God’s gospel of the last days came upon her and her husband. By reading God’s words, they both determined that God is the Ruler who created the heavens, the earth, and all things. They accepted God’s salvation and came before Him. After that, in her interactions with brothers and sisters, Wang Ran saw that when they had a conflict with someone else in their lives, they would all recognize where their own fault lay, what kind of corrupt satanic disposition they were living within, and would read God’s words to resolve their corrupt disposition, thus defusing any interpersonal conflicts. This was incredible to her, and she felt that there was such a huge difference between believers and nonbelievers! She thought that before, whether she had a conflict with her husband, colleagues, or friends, she would complain about that person and malign them, saying the problem was theirs. She always looked for the cause in the other person, but never recognized her own fault. When that came to mind doubt cropped up in Wang Ran’s heart: “Could it be that my husband and I couldn’t get along because I wasn’t able to reflect on myself and was always focusing on him, looking for his problems?”

In a gathering, Wang Ran spoke up about her inability to get along with her husband, and a sister found a passage of God’s words and a passage of fellowship that dealt with her confusion. Wang Ran read these words from God: “Before he was corrupted by Satan, man naturally followed God and obeyed His words. He was naturally of sound sense and conscience, and of normal humanity. After being corrupted by Satan, his original sense, conscience, and humanity grew dull and were impaired by Satan. Thus, he has lost his obedience and love toward God. Man’s sense has become aberrant, his disposition has become the same as that of an animal” (“To Have an Unchanged Disposition Is to Be in Enmity to God”). The passage of fellowship said: “People’s dispositions are all fairly arrogant. People don’t listen to anyone, they see faults in others and cannot see their strong points. On top of that, everyone has a certain personality, certain characteristics, and they’re disparaging of anyone they see faults in and don’t want to look at them or deal with them. They judge them, then both people look down on each other. These are serious issues for most people and this causes people’s interpersonal relationships to fall into stalemates, into tension. … And there are some people who always talk down to others, who like to control people and have others listen to them, but never listen to others. That kind of person isn’t easy to get along with either” (“How to Build Church Life and the Meaning of Building Church Life” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (I)).

…

After that, when her husband didn’t clean or tidy up well enough, Wang Ran considered that everyone has different standards for cleanliness. She couldn’t demand that he go according to her own standards, nor could she brood over how clean things were or reprove her husband. Instead, she prayed to God so she could forsake her own arrogant disposition, and if the house was dirty she would do a bit more. When her husband made food she no longer nitpicked—she’d just eat whatever he made and wouldn’t turn her nose up at it because it wasn’t good enough. Since everyone’s tastes and cooking styles are different, her husband didn’t absolutely have to make food based on her preferences. On the occasions that the two of them got into conflict and her husband blamed her, she rushed to pray to God and reflect on what she had done wrong. After that she was able to put herself aside and take the initiative to apologize to him, and no longer argue with him. As for how to raise their child and buying clothing for her, as long as her husband was correct Wang Ran would accept his opinions and wouldn’t insist on her own way of doing things. Once she put God’s requirements into practice, she discovered that her husband had also undergone a change. Once after he had sounded off, he suddenly apologized to Wang Ran, saying: “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have blown up at you like that. I’m so arrogant and I just cared about blowing off some steam. I didn’t take your feelings into account—I wasn’t remotely tolerant toward you….” Seeing her husband’s transformation, Wang Ran felt both surprised and comforted. She thought of the fact that she was no longer as arrogant or self-important as she had been in the past and that her husband had changed as well, even offering up apologies to her—these things had never occurred between them before. These things had certainly been achieved by God’s words! Just then, Wang Ran’s resolve to put the truth into practice became even greater. In the future, when interacting with her husband she would do things according to God’s requirements and forsake her own arrogant disposition. That way, their conflicts would become less and less, and even though there would still be times they’d crop up in their lives, after that they’d be able to read God’s words together, pray to God, each reflect on what they had done wrong, what corrupt disposition had given rise to that, and share in fellowship with open hearts. Then, they would practice according to God’s requirements. Once Wang Ren and her husband practiced in accordance with God’s words, their interactions became smoother and smoother—this was entirely God’s words changing them, and it was God’s work taking effect in them. Wang Ran couldn’t help but offer up her thanks and praise to God!

Wang Ran read another passage from God’s words: “People have a normal relationship with each other, they do not stand alone, and their lives are neither mediocre nor decadent. So, too, is God exalted among all, His words permeate among man, people live in peace with one another and under the care and protection of God, the earth is filled with harmony, without the interference of Satan, and the glory of God holds the utmost importance among man. Such people are like angels: pure, vibrant, never complaining about God, and devoting all their efforts solely to God’s glory on earth” (“Chapter 16” of Interpretations of the Mysteries of God’s Words to the Entire Universe). Wang Ran was very moved by these words; she realized that only if she reflected on and recognized her own corrupt disposition from within God’s words, was able to forsake the flesh in a practical way, practice according to God’s words, and live out proper humanity would she be able to get along harmoniously with others and maintain proper interpersonal relationships. Without coming before God or the watering and guidance of God’s words, no matter what we do to make peace, we’ll never be able to resolve a couple’s inability to get along with each other. God’s words are the only panacea to cure marital conflict! Thanks be to God!

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Christian Testimonies | The Secret Tip to Resolving Hatred by Grace L

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Christian Testimonies | The Secret Tip to Resolving Hatred

I was self-employed. Mainly I sold all kinds of textiles, and I also made clothes for my customers part-time. After a few years, my business became more and more popular, and people around me were all very envious. Later, a neighboring household opened the same kind of shop as mine and became my competitor. Naturally, the business in my shop was affected. The popular proverb says two of a trade never agree, but my peer was not just anyone, but my most trusted pupil, Xiaochen.

Not only did Xiaochen open the same store next to my house, she even waited outside of her shop to intentionally steal my business. Whenever she saw somebody pass by the shop, she approached them and greeted them enthusiastically, guiding them into the shop, and she even purposefully said awful things about me. Seeing Xiaochen do everything she could to steal my business, I regretted taking her as my pupil and started hating her from my heart. When I saw her, I was unwilling to approach or talk to her, and sometimes I would even say some bad things about her in front of customers, or I would intentionally give customers a discount to bring back repeat customers, so that I could reduce her clients. But because we were neighbors, we could not avoid running into each other. As time passed, I became more and more pained and repressed in my heart, and my hate for her became deeper and deeper. It reached the point that whenever I looked at her, my heart became awfully choked, and my whole mind was occupied with thoughts of how to deal with her. Even when I dreamed, I dreamed I was fighting her. I was living so painfully at that time!

In 2002, I heard my schoolmate say that believing in Jesus could bring peace and happiness, that it could broaden our hearts so that we no longer harbored hatred, so I believed in the Lord Jesus. I saw that the Lord Jesus said: “But I say to you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which spitefully use you. And to him that smites you on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that takes away your cloak forbid not to take your coat also” (Luk 6:27-29). From the Lord’s words I saw that the Lord has an unlimited and boundless love for us. He has unlimited tolerance, patience, and forgiveness for us. Didn’t the Lord already practice out these things that He required us to do? The Lord’s love deeply encouraged me, so I wanted to follow the Lord’s teachings, and I tried to tolerate Xiaochen, and not to quarrel with her. But in real life, I still hated her uncontrollably, and I could not practice the Lord’s word at all. When I thought that the Bible said that hating somebody is like killing them, I felt even more pain. I thought: I want to forgive Xiaochen, but why is it that I simply could not do it? I believe in the Lord and I know His demands, but why can’t I put the Lord’s word into practice? I lived in pain, and I could not extricate myself.

…

Soon, in 2003, I had the fortune to accept God’s work in the last days. In a gathering, a sister read a part of God’s word directed toward my difficulty: “Man was only saved and forgiven his sins for his faith, but the sinful nature of man was not taken away and still remained within him. … This requires man to understand the path of growth in life, the way of life, and the way to change his disposition. It also needs man to act in accordance with this path so that the disposition of man can gradually be changed and he can live under the shining of the light, and that he can do all things in accord with the will of God, cast away the corrupt satanic disposition, and break free from Satan’s influence of darkness, thereby emerging fully from sin. Only then will man receive complete salvation” (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). She also fellowshiped to me: “During the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus did a step of redemptive work. The sin of us humans was only forgiven, so that we were no longer sentenced by the laws. However, our sinful nature still remained, and it had not been resolved. It is like you living in hatred to Xiaochen, you can only control your external behavior to not insult her, but you have not resolved the source of hatred in your heart. We humans have been corrupted by Satan for thousands of years, and we have been completely taken over by all kinds of satanic poisons. Satanic philosophies and laws such as “Heaven destroys those who are not for themselves,” and “A man dies for money; a bird dies for food” have become our life and our nature. We uncontrollably rely on these things to live, so we have all become selfish, self-interested, and only interested in profit. We fight and argue over our own interests and become jealous and hateful, causing us to uncontrollably commit sins and oppose God. Although in our heart we want to practice the Lord’s word, because we are bound and limited by satanic nature, we cannot put them into practice and we live in unbearable pain. In the last days Almighty God comes to resolve the root problem of us corrupt humans committing sins, to completely rescue us from Satan’s domain. For this purpose, God speaks words to perform the work of judging and purifying man, so that, through the judgment and chastisement of God’s word, we recognize our own satanic nature, come to understand that God’s righteous disposition is beyond reproach, gradually come to revere God, no longer live by Satan’s poison, seek the truth in all things, live on God’s word, and replace our own corrupt disposition with practicing the truth. In this way, we can live out a normal humanity, we can know how to act and how to conduct ourselves in contact with others. When we have left the bondage of Satan’s authority and are no longer controlled by our corrupt disposition, then we are living in release and freedom. Sister, if you often read the word of the Almighty God, experience God’s judgment and chastisement, often pray to God, ask God to protect your heart, then you will surely be able to let go of the hatred in your heart, break away from Satan’s corrupt disposition, and live relaxed and free. So, you must have confidence in God….”

…

Having had this experience, I was more willing to live my life in accordance to God’s word, and I was no longer willing to be fooled or corrupted by Satan. One morning, Xiaochen’s shop hadn’t opened yet, and I heard somebody yelling outside, “Miss Tailor! Open the door quickly!” I opened it up and had a look, and it turned out to be Xiaochen’s customer coming to pick up clothes from her shop. The customer saw that I opened the door, asking me if Xiaochen was at home. At this moment, I remembered something that happened before: One day, I was cleaning upstairs, and a customer came to look for me downstairs. Even though he knew I was at home, Xiaochen’s husband didn’t tell the customer. Thinking of this, I felt angry, and I didn’t want to tell the customer about the fact that Xiaochen’s at home. Then I remembered God’s word said: “You ought to know that God likes an honest man. … To be honest is to refrain from impurity in your actions and words, and to deceive neither God nor man” (“Three Admonitions” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “When you rebel against the flesh, there will inevitably be a battle within you. Satan will try and make you follow it, will try and make you follow the conceptions of the flesh and uphold the interests of the flesh—but God’s words will enlighten and illuminate you within, and at this time it is up to you whether you follow God or follow Satan” (“Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). The enlightenment of God’s word allowed me to see that what I had just thought was still living by Satan’s poison. I wanted to treat Xiaochen as an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Isn’t this still living within Satan’s corrupt disposition? God asks us to be an honest person and not lie or deceive people, but Satan allows me to act in accordance to the corrupt disposition of the flesh. Should I follow Satan and satisfy the flesh, or should I rebel against Satan, practice the truth, and satisfy God? At this moment, I felt God observing my every word, every act, and each and every movement. No, I must rebel against the flesh and practice the truth to satisfy God. Thinking of this, I told the customer calmly, “If you’re looking for Miss Xiaochen, she’s at home, just wait for a bit and she’ll come out.” When I practiced this, I felt very secure in my heart.

Later, when repeat customers came to my house to make clothes but I was too busy and couldn’t manage it, I would introduce them to Xiaochen’s shop. When she found out later, she was also very touched. Finally, one day, when she saw me, she deliberated for a long time, and then called excitedly out, “Master!” This “Master” made me feel extremely warm inside. Ever since she opened her shop next to my house, she had never called me Master once. I knew at that moment that the reason we could resolve our hatred was because of the effect achieved by God’s word. Otherwise, the hatred between us could only get deeper and deeper. Thank God! All glory and praise be to Almighty God!

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Christian Reflections | Which Is the More Terrifying—Spiritual Blindness or Physical Blindness? by Grace L

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Christian Reflections | Which Is the More Terrifying—Spiritual Blindness or Physical Blindness?

The Lord Jesus said, “For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind” (John 9:39). “If you were blind, you should have no sin: but now you say, We see; therefore your sin remains” (John 9:41).

Whenever I used to read these two verses during my spiritual devotions, I would always feel confused, and would think: “The Lord Jesus said, ‘that they which see not might see,’ and He said that blind people are without sin, whereas those who can see are actually blind and that they are blind sinners. What do these words spoken by the Lord Jesus really mean? And what warning do they serve to we who believe in the Lord?” I pondered these questions for a long time, but I still couldn’t gain any clarity.

A random opportunity presented itself when I came across Brother Lin who worked and preached abroad all the year round and, through fellowshiping with him, the confusion I felt in my heart was at last dispelled.

Brother Lin gave fellowship, saying, “If we wish to understand the true meaning of these words spoken by the Lord Jesus, then we must start with the Lord Jesus’ healing of the blind man. It is recorded in the Gospel of John chapter 9 that, one day, the Lord Jesus was leading His disciples out from the temple when they came across a man who had been blind since birth. So as to manifest the action of God upon this blind man, the Lord Jesus healed his eyes and enabled him to recover his sight. Afterward, the blind man was taken to the Pharisees and he gave a truthful account to them about how the Lord Jesus had healed his eyes. The Pharisees, however, did not believe that the Lord Jesus could have healed the blind man, for they believed the Lord Jesus to be a sinner for not keeping the Sabbath, and that sinners could not possibly perform miracles. The Pharisees then summoned the blind man’s mother and father who verified that he had been blind since birth and that he had now been healed by the Lord Jesus. The Pharisees, however, still stubbornly clung to their own ideas and denied that the Lord Jesus was of God. And so, they asked the blind man once again, and he said to them, ‘Why herein is a marvelous thing, that you know not from where He is, and yet He has opened my eyes. Now we know that God hears not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and does His will, him He hears. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, He could do nothing’ (John 9:30–33). Even though the Pharisees had heard what the blind man said, they not only had no desire to seek the truth of the matter, but they also cast the blind man out of the temple. Once the Lord Jesus heard what had happened, He met the blind man again and asked him, ‘Do you believe on the Son of God?’ (John 9:35). And the blind man said, ‘Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him?’ (John 9:36). The Lord Jesus said to him, ‘You have both seen Him, and it is He that talks with you’ (John 9:37). Once the blind man had heard the Lord Jesus say this, he became convinced that the Lord Jesus was of God and that He was Christ, and he knelt to worship Him. This was the context for the Lord Jesus to say, ‘For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind’ (John 9:39), and He said to the Pharisees who stood nearby, ‘If you were blind, you should have no sin: but now you say, We see; therefore your sin remains’ (John 9:41).

“From the attitudes of the blind man and the Pharisees toward the Lord Jesus, we can see that when the Lord Jesus said, ‘that they which see not might see,’ He was referring to people like the blind man. Although their physical eyes are blind, yet their spirits are pure and honest, and they yearn for the light, and love the truth. They do not cling to their own notions and imaginings, they are able to seek with an open heart, and therefore they obtain the enlightenment and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Their spiritual eyes are opened by God, they recognize God’s voice from His words and work, and they keep pace with God’s footsteps. When the Lord Jesus said, ‘that they which see might be made blind’ and ‘but now you say, We see; therefore your sin remains,’ He was referring to people like the Pharisees. Though their eyes may not have been blind, yet their nature was arrogant and conceited, they clung to their own ideas, and they had not the slightest bit of a God-fearing heart. When the Lord Jesus came to perform new work, they clung stubbornly to their own notions and imaginings, and had no desire whatsoever to seek the truth or investigate the true way. Their spiritual eyes were therefore blind, and these are exactly the kind of people whom God detests, rejects and condemns.”

When I heard Brother Lin say this, everything suddenly became clear to me. So when the Lord Jesus said, “that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind,” He did not mean the physical kind of eyes, which we can see, but rather He was referring to whether or not our spiritual eyes have been opened, and whether or not we are able to recognize God’s voice and accept God’s new work. By healing the blind man’s eyes, the Lord Jesus was not only manifesting the action of God, but He was also exposing the difference between two types of people—those who sincerely seek the truth and those who are arrogant and conceited. Truly, the Lord is so wise and so omnipotent!

Then, Brother Lin continued, saying, “Yes, God is so wondrous, and His work reveals all the different types of people. Those who sincerely believe in God and who seek the truth with an open, God-fearing heart and who do not cling to their own notions and imaginings to arbitrarily judge the Lord Jesus’ words and work, only this kind of people is able to keep pace with God’s footsteps. For example, at first, the blind man only acknowledged that the Lord Jesus was a prophet and that He was of God. It was only afterward, through the words which the Lord Jesus spoke, that the blind man recognized that He was Christ. Then there was Peter. When Peter’s younger brother Andrew said he had seen the Messiah and that he wanted to take Peter to see the Lord Jesus, Peter longed to see Him and so they went together. Afterward, Peter began to follow the Lord Jesus, and from the Lord Jesus’ words and work, he recognized that Jesus was indeed Christ. Then there was the Samaritan woman and Nathanael. At first, they had no idea who the Lord Jesus was, but after conversing with Him, they also came to recognize that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah, and that He was Christ. We can see from these facts that when God appears and performs His work, all those who are able to relinquish their notions and imaginings and seek the truth with an open heart are the ones who have both heart and spirit. Through investigating God’s words and work, they are able to recognize the voice of God, welcome the manifestation of God and receive His salvation.

“On the other hand, those who refuse to seek or accept God’s new work, though they may be able to see with their physical eyes, their spiritual eyes are blind, and ultimately they will only be detested, rejected and eliminated by God for judging and pushing Him away. Take the Pharisees, for example, who had an arrogant nature. When the Lord Jesus appeared and performed His work, the Pharisees believed themselves to be well-versed in the Bible, that they had given things up for God and taken pains for Him, and that they were thus the ones who knew God best and who were after God’s heart. When they heard the Lord Jesus’ sermons with their own ears and saw the Lord Jesus perform many miracles with their own eyes, and they saw that the Lord Jesus possessed both power and authority, and that He was of God, they still did not seek or investigate His way. Instead, they continued to cling stubbornly to the letter of the Scripture, and they believed that however sublime or practical the Lord Jesus’ sermons might be, He could not possibly be Christ if He was not called ‘Messiah.’ They therefore rejected and condemned the Lord Jesus, so much so that they did everything they could to find fault with Him, they made up lies about Him, laid false charges against Him and blasphemed against Him. Finally, they colluded with the Roman authorities to crucify the Lord Jesus upon the cross. The actions and behavior of the Pharisees precisely fulfilled the Lord Jesus’ words when He said, ‘That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand’ (Mark 4:12).

“The Pharisees brought themselves to ruin by their own notions, imaginings, and their arrogant and conceited nature. Moreover, they not only resisted and condemned the Lord Jesus themselves, but they frantically obstructed the Jewish faithful from accepting the Lord Jesus’ work, and so many who were timid, fearful and weak-willed were deceived and coerced into not daring to investigate the true way. Instead, they went along with the Pharisees in their resistance to God and they crucified the Lord Jesus upon the cross, thus committing a heinous sin and provoking God’s disposition into wrath. In the end, they were punished by God, and the nation of Israel was subjugated for almost two thousand years. Just as the Lord Jesus said, ‘Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch’ (Matthew 15:14). Compared to the blind, although the Pharisees and those among the Jewish faithful who resisted the Lord Jesus could see with their eyes, yet their spiritual eyes were blind. They did not know the Lord Jesus incarnate, and this was much more pitiful, tragic and terrifying than being blind!

“By comparing a blind man who yearned to seek the truth and who was able to understand God’s voice with the Pharisees who thought themselves experts on the Bible and yet were arrogant and conceited and clung to their own ideas, it becomes easy for us to understand why the Lord Jesus said that those who think themselves able to see are yet blind and are sinners. We can see from this that all those who believe their own behavior to be in keeping with God’s will but who do not seek the truth, who believe themselves to be the ones who have the best understanding of the Bible and who know God the best but who do not seek God’s work, are the adherents of ignorance and arrogance. People like this stubbornly cling to their own notions and imaginings. If they do not reflect on themselves, seek the truth with an open heart, and take heed to the work of the Holy Spirit and the utterances of God, then they will forever be spiritually blind, they will never obtain the enlightenment and guidance of God or keep pace with God’s footsteps, and they will live eternally under the influence of Satan, bound and controlled by sin.”

As I listened to Brother Lin’s fellowship, I felt joy welling up in my heart. Finally, I understood the true meaning behind these words spoken by the Lord Jesus. Actually, the blindness to which the Lord Jesus refers is not physical blindness, but is rather a numbness and dullness of the spirit, it is arrogance and conceitedness, and He is referring to people who are unable to know God or accept His salvation through His words and work. The different behaviors displayed by the blind man and the Pharisees as recorded in the Bible led them to different ends, and in this the righteousness of God is revealed. Then, I thought of the prophecy made by the Lord Jesus that He would return in the last days, and I realized that the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees is also a warning to us!

Once I had told Brother Lin about these thoughts I had, he said with much emotion, “Yes, as we all know, we are now in the last days and the prophecies concerning the Lord’s return have basically all now been fulfilled. Many brothers and sisters who sincerely believe in the Lord feel a premonition that the Lord Jesus has returned already, but they don’t know where He may have appeared to perform His work. The Lord Jesus prophesied: ‘I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come’ (John 16:12–13). ‘He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day’ (John 12:48). ‘And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth’ (John 17:19).

“From the Lord’s words, we can see that when He returns in the last days, He has yet more words to say, He will perform the work of judging and purifying man, and He will save us from the bonds of sin. If we believe, as the Pharisees did, that we are well-versed in the Bible, if we cling to our own notions and imaginings and we delimit the Lord by saying that when He returns He should work in this way or He should work in that way, and we do not seek or investigate God’s utterances in the last days and we do not accept God’s work of judgment in the last days, then we will miss our chance to welcome the Lord, and we will lose God’s salvation in the last days. If we behave like the Jewish faithful did and, when we hear someone preaching the news of the Lord’s return, we want to seek and investigate it but allow ourselves to be governed by other people, and we blindly follow what other people say, if we do not seek God’s will and we cannot obtain the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, then in the end we also will be eliminated by God’s work in the last days. Therefore, only by seeking with a pure heart—as the disciples of the Lord Jesus and others who followed Him did—and by carefully listening to the voice of God within His words and work will we be able to welcome the Lord’s return, keep pace with the footsteps of the Lamb and receive God’s salvation of the last days.”

After listening to Brother Lin’s fellowship, I nodded and said, “Thank the Lord. After a fellowship like this, my heart is now so much more filled with light! It appears that, when it comes to welcoming the Lord’s return in the last days, we absolutely must not be arrogant and conceited as the Pharisees were, clinging to our own notions and imaginings and refusing to investigate or accept God’s work. Instead, we should seek the truth with an open heart and take heed to listen to God’s voice within His words and work. When God sees that we are harboring a positive attitude toward His work in the last days, He will surely lead us to recognize His words and work and guide us to keep pace with His footsteps!”

“Thank the Lord!”

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Christian Testimonies | Christian Life: I May Not Be Rich, but I’m Very Fortunate by Grace L

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Christian Testimonies | Christian Life: I May Not Be Rich, but I’m Very Fortunate

…

I Hear God Calling

One day in June, 2016, Pastor Jess and his wife came to see us. They said that the Lord Jesus had already returned, and that He was performing a new stage of work. They said that Jesus had performed the work of redemption in the Age of Grace and that, although our sins had been absolved by the Lord, because we had been corrupted so deeply by Satan, our sinful and satanic nature remained rooted within us. Under the domination of our sinful nature, they said, we were often able to commit sins and resist God, and we were bound and constrained by sin. In light of our needs as corrupt mankind, in the last days God had once again become flesh to perform a stage of work of judging and cleansing man with words, and this stage of work was being performed upon the foundation of the work of redemption. God had come to save us completely from the bonds of sin, and this was entirely the fulfillment of the biblical prophecy “Judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17).

Hearing Pastor Jess’ fellowship, my heart felt very moved. I thought of how, despite having believed in the Lord for many years, I had never cast off the bonds of sin, but was still following social trends and pursuing a life of material luxuries…. Every once in a while, I would feel indebted to the Lord, but I just couldn’t control myself—I really did have sin rooted within me! The more I listened, the more I felt that Pastor Jess’ fellowship came from God, and so I decided to listen to him in earnest. Pastor Jess later testified to me of the work of the returned Lord Jesus—Almighty God—and he gave us fellowship on aspects of the truth such as the three stages of God’s work to save mankind, the mystery of the incarnation, how God performs His work of judgment in the last days to cleanse and change man and how God determines mankind’s end destination. I became certain that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus, and my wife and I gladly accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days.

Just after I’d accepted God’s work of the last days, I enthusiastically attended gatherings, I would read God’s words whenever I had time, I felt very close to God and the condition of my spirit got better and better. But after a while, seeing that my family needed money for so many things, I thought I must start making money urgently. It wouldn’t do to not have any money, so I started to work hard once again. Sometimes, work clashed with my church gatherings and I would choose to earn money instead, and so I attended gatherings only irregularly. My wife and my brothers and sisters in the church gave me fellowship many times, saying that the work of the last days was God’s final stage of work to save mankind. We had to focus on pursuing the truth, they said, physical pleasures were empty, that it was enough to have food and clothing, and that it was fine to work just normal hours. They enjoined me not to pursue wealth and material pleasures so much that I wouldn’t even have time to attend gatherings, for then I would be likely to lose my chance to gain the truth. But my heart was already occupied by money and I simply paid no attention to what my brothers and sisters said; I kept on working hard to earn money.

…

After reading this passage, the sister gave fellowship, saying, “God’s words speak clearly about the root cause of why we are subject to the bonds of money, and they tell us the serious consequences that await us if we pursue money. After mankind was seduced and corrupted by Satan, Satan used all manner of philosophies and axioms such as ‘Money is first,’ ‘Money isn’t everything, but without it, you can do nothing,’ ‘A man dies for money; a bird dies for food’ and ‘Money makes the world go round’ to deceive and corrupt us. After accepting these philosophies and axioms, we see money as being more important than anything else, believing that we can only get a firm foothold in society if we have money, and then we will be able to enjoy a wealthy life. We therefore struggle and strive and work incredibly hard to earn money, and we become more and more greedy. When we have money, we want more money, and without being aware of it we sink down into becoming the slaves of money. We spend all our time making money, we squander our bodily health, and we don’t pursue the true way even when we know perfectly well that it is the true way. We then no longer feel like worshiping God or seeking to live out a meaningful life. From this, we can see that Satan uses these evil life axioms to corrupt and harm us, to totally ensnare us in its net, and thereby to make us deny the existence of God, deny the sovereignty of God, shun God and betray God, and become firmly under its control and bound by it so that we lose God’s salvation—this is Satan’s ultimate purpose for corrupting mankind. And yet we are without the truth and we cannot see through Satan’s deceitful schemes, but are just led by the nose. As this goes on, we become further and further away from God, and when God’s work comes to an end it will be too late for regret. We must cherish the chance we have today to be saved by God! Although Satan harms and corrupts us in such ways, God is always there, silently saving us. When we become ensnared in money’s web and cannot get out, God awakens our numb hearts through dealing with us and disciplining us, making us able to quiet our hearts and seek to understand His will. From the outside, your car breaking down looks like a bad thing, but within it is hidden God’s love and salvation for you!”

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Who Commands the Rejuvenation of All Things? by Chloe Chen

Spring returns to the land, the snows thaw, and all things are rejuvenated. Plants sprout … the animals come out to forage … people shed their winter clothes, relaxing and playing by the river, enjoying the warm sunshine …"Watch christian musical documentary now.

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God Himself, the Unique IX God Is the Source of Life for All Things (III) by x ming

God's work | "God Himself, the Unique IX God Is the Source of Life for All Things (III)" (Part Three)

Introduction

Almighty God says, "When God created all things, He used all sorts of methods and ways to balance them, to balance the living conditions for the mountains and lakes, to balance the living conditions for the plants and all kinds of animals, birds, insects—His goal was to allow all kinds of living beings to live and multiply within the laws that He had established. All beings cannot go outside of these laws and they cannot be broken. Only within this type of basic environment can humans safely survive and multiply, generation after generation."

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God’s Words Guide Me to Learn How to Educate My Children (Part 2) by Grace L

en.godfootsteps.org/testimonies/gods-words-guide-me.html

Christian Testimonies | God’s Words Guide Me to Learn How to Educate My Children (Part 2)

One day after dinner, I taught my eldest son how to read Chinese—just the simple words, “Heaven, earth, people, and, soil, daddy, mommy….” I taught him quite a few times, but he still couldn’t write them. He would write the first word and then forget the next one. The anger inside me rose up, I scowled at him and shouted loudly: “How stupid you are! You cannot even learn these few words!” My eldest son was frightened into running to stand in the corner. I scolded him, “Come over here and keep writing!” My eldest son did not come over, so I grabbed hold of him and pulled him onto the chair. Seeing my eldest son’s pitiful look, I felt a stabbing pain in my heart. I cried and returned to my room and prayed to God: “God! As soon as my child displeased me, I could not control my anger. I don’t want to treat my children like this. God, may You help me.” After praying, I slowly calmed down.

Later, I taught him as usual, but he still did not learn. I remembered praying to God and I did not get angry again. At the same time, I also started to reflect on myself. Why could I not control my temper when my child did not please me? Whilst reflecting on this, I thought of a passage of God’s words: “Once a man has status, he will often find it difficult to control his mood, and so he will enjoy seizing upon instances to express his dissatisfaction and vent his emotions; he will often flare up into rage for no apparent reason, so as to reveal his ability and let others know that his status and identity are different from those of ordinary people. Of course, corrupt people without any status will also frequently lose control. Their anger is frequently caused by damage to their individual benefits. In order to protect their own status and dignity, corrupt mankind will frequently vent their emotions and reveal their arrogant nature” (“God Himself, the Unique II” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “Some exercise restraint in their anger, while others are more rash and flare up with rage whenever they wish without the least bit of restraint. In short, man’s anger derives from his corrupt disposition. No matter what its purpose, it is of the flesh and of nature; it has nothing to do with justice or injustice because nothing in man’s nature and substance corresponds to the truth” (“God Himself, the Unique II” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Through what God’s words revealed, I saw that I was too deeply corrupted by Satan and too arrogant and domineering, always suppressing and forcing my children in my identity and status as their mother and as soon as they did not meet my demands and standards, I could not stop myself from getting angry and chiding them. I actually had no reason at all. Was the reason why I got so angry with my son not because his results from taking the school entrance test were the worst of all the children? This made me feel a loss of face in front of others. “Treating my child so strictly and disregarding his feelings today is not all for his own good or to make him quickly improve his academic performance, but to gratify my own vanity and desire for status. I’m too selfish and despicable! It is because of my arrogant, selfish corrupt disposition that I cannot obey God and always want to break free from God’s mastery and arrangements and want to arrange everything for my children based on my own ability and finally bring myself and my children so much pain.” When I thought of this, I hated myself and no longer wished to live by Satan’s corrupt disposition and be fooled by Satan. So I prayed to God and asked God to keep my heart, to guide me through His words, and to arrange even more environments to change and cleanse me. Subsequently, I no longer demanded too much of my son. Instead, I patiently taught him and did my best to be a mother. Slowly, I no longer worried because my children did not learn, and felt especially relaxed and happy. When I looked at my two children again, I realized that they were really cute and lively, and I realized then how unfair it was for my children when I always made them live my way and grow into the standard image in my mind.

…

Thanks be to Almighty God for changing mine and my children’s lives with His words! In the past I was ignorant and foolish and disciplined my children based on my own arrogant nature. I didn’t know to bring my children before God and as a result the more I disciplined them, the more rebellious they became. Now I understand that only God’s words can change us and make us live out the likeness of a real man. From now on, I will learn to exalt God’s word and bring the children to believe in and follow God. All glory belongs to Almighty God!

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Christian Movie | "Stay Out of My Business" | The Spiritual Awakening of Christians by Tom Lee

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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. They even coordinate with the Chinese Communist government to arrest preachers of Eastern Lightning. She feels that the deeds and actions of the pastor and elder deviate from the way of the Lord, and she realizes that what the Chinese Communist Party and religious circles wildly resist and condemn may be the true way, and could be the manifestation and work of the Lord. Thereon she and some co-workers decide to seek out and investigate Eastern Lightning, but they encounter all means of obstruction and trouble from the pastor and elder. Through reading the words of Almighty God and listening to testimony by preachers of The Church of Almighty God, Li Qingxin and the others gain the ability to discern the rumors and fallacies of the pastor and elder. This allows them to understand the contemptible intent and vicious tricks in their obstructing followers from investigating the true way, and they see clearly the true colors of the pastor and elder as hypocrites. Li Qingxin and the others say in full voice to the religious pastor and elder, "Stay out of our business!" They are finally able to thoroughly cast off the entrapment and bondage of the pastor and elder, and return before the throne of God.

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Christian Testimony: How to Maintain Friendships in the Face of Making a Profit by Grace L

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Christian Testimony: How to Maintain Friendships in the Face of Making a Profit

Monday, September 3, 2018 Clear sky

As of today, I’ve been working in the beauty parlor for a month. When I first started, the boss arranged for a girl named Xiao Jie to show me the ropes. She had a very upbeat personality, and she would tell me everything, whether it was things going on at home or problems she’d encountered at work, and we got to know each other pretty quickly. With Xiao Jie’s help, and through studying and training hard and learning from the strengths of my colleagues, my skills improved rapidly, and many customers began to ask for me personally. To express my thanks to Xiao Jie, I bought some make-up products and clothes just for her. We are becoming closer and closer, we confide in each other whenever we have an issue, and we’ve become friends that can say anything to each other. I’m so happy to have made such a good friend.

…

After listening to God’s words and the sister’s fellowship, I suddenly saw the light. It turned out that Xiao Jie and I had developed prejudices about each other and had begun to ignore each other for the sake of fighting over customers, and it had all been caused by our selfish, greedy, profit-driven natures, and because we lived by Satan’s life axioms. I thought about how true this all was and that, when I first started work at the beauty parlor, I had often needed Xiao Jie to help me because I wasn’t very skilled. At that time, there was no conflict of interest between us, and we had gotten along together pretty well. When I became more skilled, however, I received more customers than Xiao Jie did, and she had become envious and jealous, she had started to pull away from me and had stolen my customers in complete disregard for our friendship. I hadn’t been willing to take it lying down either, because my profits were taking a hit, and it had gotten to the point where I had demanded that she own up to what she’d done in front of everyone and had put her on the spot. Xiao Jie had stolen my customers because she did not believe in God and did not understand the truth, and because she lived by her corrupt disposition. I, on the other hand, as a Christian, did not seek God’s will when I encountered this issue, but instead had gotten all hot-blooded and had fought with Xiao Jie both openly and in my mind for the sake of my own personal interests. How was that being a Christian? I then saw how deeply corrupted by Satan I was, and how deeply rooted my selfish, despicable, profit-driven satanic nature was. If it hadn’t been for God dissecting my inner satanic disposition today by means of that sister’s fellowship, I don’t know what else my satanic nature would have caused me to do. Thanks be to God’s guidance! I really gained a lot from today’s gathering; I came to know the root cause of why work colleagues can’t get along well together, and I found the path to resolve this problem. I now make a resolution to God: I will no longer live by my selfish and despicable satanic nature, but instead will learn how to let go of my own interests and glorify God with real action.

Friday, November 16, 2018 Clear sky

I went into work early today and, after I’d finished cleaning, I saw that Xiao Jie had arrived. I purposefully said hello to her, and she stopped for a moment, then immediately smiled and said hello back. I felt really happy. A while later, a customer came into the shop and I was just about to go up and greet them when, unexpectedly, Xiao Jie jumped ahead of me and stole the customer. Watching this unfold, the warmth of friendship in my heart was instantly extinguished by a pail of cold water. I felt like an animal caught in a trap—I felt furious, angry, resentful and bewildered; I didn’t know how to feel. I really regretted having been so slow and letting Xiao Jie beat me to the punch, and I felt sorry for having bothered to go out of my way to say hello to her this morning…. Just then, God’s words came into my mind: “What is included within normal humanity? Insight, sense, conscience, and character. If you can achieve normality in each of these respects, your humanity is up to standard. You should have the likeness of a normal human being and behave like a believer in God. You don’t have to achieve great heights or engage in diplomacy. You just have to be a normal human being, with a normal person’s sense, be able to see through things, and at least look like a normal human being. That will be enough” (“Improving Caliber Is for Receiving God’s Salvation”).

God’s words soothed my agitated heart. God requires us to live out normal humanity and to be people with reason, conscience and integrity, for only then can we be called believers. I thought about the customer who had come into the shop today to buy a service and about how Xiao Jie and I had both wanted to serve her in order to make a little extra money. But there were no rules as to who should make this money—it was first come first served. If I resented Xiao Jie because she got there first and cheated me out of the money, would that not mean that I was still living by my selfish and despicable satanic nature and thinking only of my own profits? I had quibbled with Xiao Jie over insignificant things, and had even regretted going out of my way to say hello to her. Didn’t this show that I was without the slightest bit of reason or integrity? Thinking these thoughts, I felt a little ashamed.

…

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Only He Who Experiences the Work of God Truly Believes in God by x ming

What Is Faith In God | God's Word Only He Who Experiences the Work of God Truly Believes in God "

Introduction

Almighty God says, "When Jesus came into the world of man, He brought the Age of Grace and ended the Age of Law. During the last days, God once more became flesh, and when He became flesh this time, He ended the Age of Grace and brought the Age of Kingdom. All those who accept the second incarnation of God will be led into the Age of Kingdom, and be able to personally accept the guidance of God. Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering, and did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to take on the sins of man as the sin offering, but also required God to do greater work to completely rid man of his disposition, which has been corrupted by Satan. And so, after man was forgiven his sins, God has returned to flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment, and this work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and shall gain the truth, the way, and the life."

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Christian Testimonies | Through Prayer, God Helped Me Pass My Exams by Grace L

en.godfootsteps.org/testimonies/prayer-to-God-rid-of-nerv...

Christian Testimonies | Through Prayer, God Helped Me Pass My Exams

My senior high school entrance exams in 2012 were the first turning point in my life. My whole family expected me to do well, and I was so confident that I would pass my exams and get into senior high school. Never in a million years did I think that I would fail my exams. But I did, and I felt very low, and I could neither eat nor sleep. I just shut myself in my room and I didn’t want to see anyone. For the longest time, I languished in the shadow of my failed exams. Seeing me in such pain every day, my mom read to me a passage of God’s words: “I am well acquainted with the thoughts of man’s mind and the wishes of man’s heart: Who has never looked for a way out for themselves? Who has never thought of their own prospects? Yet even though man is possessed of a rich and prismatic intellect, who was able to predict that, following the ages, the present would turn out as it has? Is this really the fruit of your own subjective efforts? Is this the payment for your tireless industry? Is this the beautiful tableau envisaged by your mind? If I did not guide all mankind, who would be able to separate themselves from My arrangements and find another way out? Is it the thoughts and wishes of man that have brought him to today? Many people go their whole lives without having their wishes fulfilled. Is this really because of a fault in their thinking? Many people’s lives are filled with unexpected happiness and satisfaction. Is this really because they expect too little? Who of the whole of mankind is not cared for in the eyes of the Almighty? Who does not live in the midst of the Almighty’s predestination? Whose birth and death come from their own choices? Does man control his own fate?” (“Chapter 11” of God’s Words to the Entire Universe). From God’s words, I came to realize that our fate is ruled and arranged in the hands of God. The frustrations, the failures and the setbacks we experience throughout our lives cannot be predicted—it is all in God’s hands. Take my exams, for example. I’d believed I would pass with flying colors and get into my ideal senior high school, but I had unexpectedly failed. From the outside, it looked like an unfortunate event, but God is the Sovereign of all things, and therefore God’s good will must have been behind it. Under the guidance of God’s words, I gradually came to submit, and I left my pain behind. To my surprise, just when I became willing to submit to God’s sovereignty and arrangements and entrust my future and my fate over to God, I was unexpectedly accepted into health school. When this news arrived, my whole family was overjoyed, and I came to appreciate that God was by my side, that He was a help at need, and I thanked God from the bottom of my heart.

…

Before the exam, I felt so anxious that I could hardly breathe for the pressure. I felt incredibly distressed and so I sought my mom out to fellowship with her about it. My mom said to me, “Xiaohuan, I can understand that you’re worried and anxious about your future and your prospects. But all our worrying is totally unnecessary because everything is ruled in God’s hands. If we can truly come to understand this truth, that God administers the fate of mankind, then we won’t feel so much pain. Let’s read a passage of God’s words, OK?” She then read to me: “Since the creation of the world I have begun to predestine and select this group of people, namely, you today. Your temperament, caliber, appearance, stature, family in which you were born, your job and your marriage, the entirety of you, even the color of your hair and your skin, and the time of your birth were all arranged by My hands. Even the things you do and the people you meet every single day are arranged by My hands, not to mention the fact that bringing you into My presence today is actually My arrangement. Do not throw yourself into disorder; you should proceed calmly” (“Chapter 74” of Utterances of Christ in the Beginning). My mom then gave fellowship: “God is the Lord of creation and we are created beings. The fate of every single person, including our birth, our appearance, our caliber, what job we will have in the future, and so on, is all ruled by God, and God predestined and arranged all this for us long ago. We now believe in God and we know God’s sovereignty from within His words, and so we should learn how to entrust our all to God and look to Him, and submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements. All we have to do is study hard and entrust the outcome of the nurse’s exam into God’s hands. We must learn how to let nature take its course, as then we won’t feel under so much pressure and we won’t feel so anxious when faced with an exam.” After listening to God’s words and my mom’s fellowship, I thought to myself: “That’s so right. My worry is unnecessary. My fate is in God’s hands, and God predestined long ago whether or not I will be able to pass this exam and what job I will have in the future. I’m just a created being, and I should submit to the orchestrations and arrangements of the Lord of creation.” My mom then fellowshiped with me a lot after that, and I finally came to understand that my future prospects were not going to be decided by the outcome of this exam, but rather they stemmed from the arrangements the Lord of creation had made for my life. I thought about my schoolmates who had also had this kind of experience. Though some had a higher level of education, the jobs they found after graduation weren’t that great. Some, however, weren’t very educated and their school records left a lot to be desired, and yet they had some special skill and so they found good jobs and were living happy lives. Having understood these things, my heart felt at ease, and I said a prayer to God: “O God! I will soon be facing the exam to qualify as a nurse, and I don’t know whether I will pass it or not. Please protect my heart so that, even if I fail, I don’t blame You. I wish to submit to Your sovereignty.”

…

But as the exam grew nearer day by day, I still felt rather anxious, and so I prayed to God and confided to Him all my difficulties and all the things I had to say in my heart. Afterward, I read these words of God: “Be quiet within Me, for I am your God, your only Redeemer. You must quiet your hearts at all times, live within Me; I am your rock, your backer. Have no other mind, but wholeheartedly lean on Me and I will certainly appear to you—I am your God!” (“Chapter 26” of Utterances of Christ in the Beginning). “It’s very simple now: Look upon Me with your heart and your spirit will immediately become strong, you will have a path to practice and I will guide your every step. My word shall be revealed to you at all times and in all places. No matter where or when, or how adverse the environment is, I will show you clearly and My heart shall be revealed to you if you look to Me with your heart; this way you will run down the road ahead and never lose your way” (“Chapter 13” of Utterances of Christ in the Beginning). “Yes indeed!” I thought. “There is nothing God cannot do, and everything is administered in God’s hands. With God as my backup, what is there to fear?” I thought of how I usually only said I believed in God and in His sovereignty, and yet I had no practical experience of God’s words. Because of this, whenever I encountered a real difficulty, I would feel anxious and worried, and I saw that my faith in God was so very small! Seeing as I was a believer in God, I should learn how to rely on God and look to God in all things—this was crucial, and it was the greatest wisdom. After I’d come to understand these things, I said prayers of obedience to God every day, and my heart grew calmer and calmer.

…

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Christian Love: How to Get Over a Breakup by Grace L

en.godfootsteps.org/testimonies/how-to-get-over-a-breakup...

Christian Love: How to Get Over a Breakup

Early one morning at the start of summer, a faint fragrance permeated the air and sunlight poured into every corner. Qinyi, wearing a flower-patterned chiffon dress, sat feeling happy at the subway station, waiting for the next train to come. Turning her head, Qinyi happened to see on a video screen a girl breaking up with a boy because he had been two-timing her, then the girl turning away and leaving with tears running down her cheeks. Qinyi stared fixedly at the screen. Just then, she suddenly thought of how she had been before, when she had harbored a longing for a beautiful love where she and her boyfriend would walk through life together, but in the end, she had received only scars and wounds

…

Bang, bang, bang, the noise of the subway train pulled Qinyi back from her reverie. In her heart, she contemplated God’s love and salvation and, smiling, she stepped into the train carriage. When the train began to move, Qinyi held the handrail and opened up her cell phone, put in her earphones, and began to hum along softly to the music: “Only the Creator has pity on this mankind. Only the Creator shows this mankind tenderness and affection. Only the Creator holds a true, unbreakable affection for this mankind. Likewise, only the Creator can bestow mercy on this mankind and cherish all of His creation. His heart leaps and aches at every one of man’s actions: He is angered, distressed and grieved over man’s evil and corruption; He is pleased, joyful, forgiving and jubilant for man’s repentance and belief; every single one of His thoughts and ideas exist for and revolve around mankind; what He is and has is expressed entirely for mankind’s sake; the entirety of His emotions are intertwined with mankind’s existence. For mankind’s sake, He travels and rushes about; He silently gives forth every bit of His life; He dedicates every minute and second of His life” (“Only the Creator Takes Pity on This Mankind” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs).

The words “has pity on,” “tenderness and affection” and “unbreakable affection,” deeply moved Qinyi’s heart. She thought about when she had been in the most pain, and God had brought her back into His family and used His words to soothe the wounds in her heart, and it had been God’s words that had made her see clearly that Satan corrupts, controls and deceives people by using evil trends and mistaken ideas about love. Only God’s words had enabled her to see through Satan’s cunning schemes, and she would no longer pursue a vague and illusory love, but instead would shun the harm Satan causes. Qinyi now understood that, only by coming before God and accepting His salvation, pursuing the truth and walking the path of fearing God and shunning evil, can one follow the right path in life. She came to deeply appreciate that, within this world, the love that is the most good, the most true and the most selfless, is God’s love for mankind. Only God silently loves man, gives them the breath of life, waters them and supplies them with the truth, and enables them to see through Satan’s cunning schemes and shun the harm of Satan. Qinyi had no way to ever repay such a love as this! She offered up her thanks and praise to God from the bottom of her heart, and she made a resolution: to pursue the truth, to follow God all her life and to follow the right path in life!

2019 Christian Testimonies--Show You the Path of Salvation--Get Motivated by Their Stories

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Christian Testimonies | In Praying for an Interview, I Gain More Than Just a Job by Grace L

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Christian Testimonies | In Praying for an Interview, I Gain More Than Just a Job

I’d long heard that Japan was a really good country to go to. After I arrived in Japan in April 2015 and saw that things were pretty good there and that the people were also very polite and amiable, I wished I could find a job and settle down in Japan even more.

But then I heard someone I knew who already worked in Japan say that it was very hard for foreigners to find work there, and that it becomes much easier if one can get qualified as a real estate broker. Therefore, after graduating from my language college, I unhesitatingly chose to major in an economics degree which prioritized employment and professional qualifications, and I took qualifying to be a real estate broker as my specialized objective. After a period of hard study, I finally passed the exam.

So as to improve my chances of employment, besides obtaining my real estate license, I took exams to obtain many other licenses, and my resume became much more fleshed out. Looking at my resume, I thought to myself, “Never mind real estate companies, when other kinds of businesses see all the certificates I have, they’ll employ me for sure.” It felt wonderful to think this.

Filled with confidence, I sent my resume off to a few companies in application for jobs, but to my surprise, all I received was one rejection letter after another. I was stunned, and I thought: “But I have so many certificates, I can speak Chinese, and I can help translate for foreign business. Don’t real estate companies need people who are qualified to be real estate brokers? How come they won’t even give me a chance to interview?” I felt so dispirited and I felt as though I’d already worked so hard to earn all these certificates. If I couldn’t find a job with all these qualifications, then what other channel could possibly be open to me? I felt as though someone had poured a pail of cold water over me, and all the enthusiasm I’d previously felt had cooled significantly. I gradually lost all confidence that I would be able to find a job.

Without me realizing it, the best time to get a job had slipped by unnoticed, and many companies were no longer employing, while companies that needed foreigners were even fewer. I refused to let my hard work go to waste, however, and so I went and asked my teachers in private whether or not there were any companies employing foreigners, but I ended up feeling very disappointed. I very soon saw that, besides myself and another foreign student, everyone else in our class had found jobs. I began to fret even more, and I couldn’t help but worry about my future: “Will I be able to find a job at all if this carries on? Will I be able to stay in Japan?”

I spent the next two weeks sending out my resume, but nothing happened. I felt so dejected and troubled by this state of affairs, and I thought to myself: “What will I do if I can’t find a job at all?” The more I thought about it, the more concerned I became. Just then, I thought of God, and I hurriedly went before God to pray, asking God to calm my anxious heart and lead me through this predicament. The next day, I went to meet one of my church sisters and I told her all about my search for a job. After listening to me, she read me a passage of God’s words: “Some people choose a good major in college and end up finding a satisfactory job after graduation, making a triumphant first stride in the journey of their lives. Some people learn and master many different skills and yet never find a job that suits them or find their position, much less have a career; at the outset of their life journey they find themselves thwarted at every turn, beset by troubles, their prospects dismal and their lives uncertain. … There will always be some distance between one’s dreams and the realities that one must confront; things are never as one would like them to be, and faced with such realities people can never achieve satisfaction or contentment. Some people will even go to any length imaginable, will put forth great efforts and make great sacrifices for the sake of their livelihoods and future, in attempt to change their own fate. But in the end, even if they can realize their dreams and desires by means of their own hard work, they can never change their fates, and no matter how doggedly they try they can never exceed what destiny has allotted them. Regardless of differences in ability, IQ, and willpower, people are all equal before fate, which makes no distinction between the great and the small, the high and the low, the exalted and the mean. What occupation one pursues, what one does for a living, and how much wealth one amasses in life are not decided by one’s parents, one’s talents, one’s efforts or one’s ambitions, but are predetermined by the Creator” (“God Himself, the Unique III”).

The sister then gave fellowship, and said, “As human beings, our fates and futures are governed and arranged by God, and what kind of jobs we have and when we are able to find a job in life was all predestined long ago by God; it is simply not determined by how hard we work or by any other factor that exists in the outside world. Take a look at the people around us, for example. Some study hard and obtain all manner of graduation certificates, and they even go study abroad, and yet after graduation they remain unemployed living at home, and they don’t find a suitable job. Some people, on the other hand, achieve pretty average grades in their studies and are not highly educated, but because they possess some special skill they go on to find a good job, and some even start their own businesses and become their own bosses. We can therefore see that God rules over and arranges our fates and futures, and they are not up to us at all. We don’t recognize God’s sovereignty, however, and so even though we may believe in God, we still don’t pray or rely on God sincerely, and we don’t entrust God with the matter of finding a job nor do we submit to His sovereignty and arrangements. Instead, we believe that we have many qualifications and certificates, and that we can speak Chinese and translate foreign languages, and so we think that our own minds and calibers will be enough for us to find a good job—are we not rebelling against God by doing this? When, in our search for a job, we hit a brick wall or encounter a setback, we don’t seek God’s will, but instead we become negative and disappointed, we live in a state of distress, and the longer we follow this path, the more lost we become. Actually, it is also God who permits this kind of situation to befall us, and His good intentions are even more present therein. God uses these setbacks and failures to urge us to reflect on and know ourselves, to experience and recognize God’s sovereignty in such situations, to learn to rely on God in all things, and to submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements. Therefore, as we search for a job, we have to pray and rely on God more often, seek God’s guidance, and trust that everything God arranges for us is always what is most right for us, and that all we have to do is undergo it calmly.”

After listening to the sister’s fellowship, I understood that the kind of job we end up getting is predestined by God. I, however, had not recognized God’s sovereignty, but instead had always believed that, because I could speak both Chinese and a little Japanese, and because I had so many qualifications and certificates, finding a job would therefore be easy. But in the end, I had tried for so long and yet had not even been given the chance to interview. When I hit a brick wall and suffered a setback, I began to live in a state of dejection, and this pain had been caused solely by the fact that I did not recognize the sovereignty of God. Once I’d understood these things, my heart felt much more liberated.

…

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Christian Testimonies | The Truth Showed Her the Way to Get Along With Others (Part 3) by Grace L

en.godfootsteps.org/testimonies/get-along-with-others-3.html

Christian Testimonies | The Truth Showed Her the Way to Get Along With Others (Part 3)

…

Thinking of how they were making such slow progress in their work, Jiandan felt very irritable. She couldn’t stop from thinking about Song Yang; Song Yang was somewhat deficient in her professional work, but she normally paid attention to reading God’s words and to establishing a normal relationship with God. Whenever they encountered any problems that they couldn’t get to grips with, Song Yang was able to be quiet before God and seek the truth, take a comparatively comprehensive and rigorous view on problems, and she would come up with rather pertinent suggestions. Especially when Jiandan and the other two had differing ideas, Song Yang would always seek and try to figure it out in a calm, relaxed way, and would come up with quite a suitable or compromising suggestion. Ultimately, everyone would agree and their work would carry on without a hitch. Thinking of this, Jiandan suddenly understood that Song Yang wasn’t the good-for-nothing she had thought she was, and that Song Yang’s strength was precisely what she lacked and was what she should learn. For a moment, self-reproach, indebtedness and remorse flooded Jiandan’s heart, and all of a sudden God’s words came to mind, so she found them and began to read: “God lifts the needy from the dust and the humble must be made high. I will use My wisdom in all its forms to govern the universal church, to govern all nations and all peoples, so that they are all within Me, and so that all of you in the church might submit to Me. Those who did not obey before must now be obedient before Me, must submit to each other, forbear with each other, have interconnected lives, and love one another, all drawing on others’ strong points to offset their own weaknesses, serving in coordination. In this way will the church be built, and Satan will have no opportunity to exploit. Only then will My management plan not have failed. … The functions are not the same. There is one body. Each does his duty, each in his place and doing his very best—for each spark there is one flash of light—and seeking maturity in life. Thus will I be satisfied” (“The Twenty-first Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “The Holy Spirit not only works in certain men who are used by God, but even more in the church. He could be working in anyone. He may work in you for the present, and when you have experienced it, He may work in someone else next. Make haste to follow; the more closely you follow the present light, the more your life can mature and grow. No matter what manner of man he may be, so long as the Holy Spirit works in him, make sure to follow. Take in his experiences through your own, and you will receive even higher things. In so doing you will progress more quickly. This is the path of perfection for man and a way through which life grows. The path to being made perfect is reached through your obedience to the work of the Holy Spirit. You do not know through what kind of person God will work to perfect you, nor through what person, occurrence, or thing He will enable you to enter into possession and to gain some insight. If you are able to walk onto this right track, it shows that there is great hope for you to be perfected by God. If you are unable to do so, it shows that your future is bleak and devoid of light” (“Those Who Obey God With a True Heart Shall Surely Be Gained by God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

After reading God’s words, Jiandan felt much moved. Only now did she realize that she had no knowledge of the work of the Holy Spirit. She had only seen Song Yang’s shortcomings and none of her strengths, and she had paid no attention to looking out for and obeying the enlightenment and illumination Song Yang received from the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, she had mistakenly believed that as long as she and the other two sisters in the group reached a consensus, then there was no need to consider or accept Song Yang’s opinions. But actually, even though the three of them could reach a consensus on a solution, if it was not from the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit they would not achieve good results anyway. Only by submitting to those among the brothers and sisters who were possessed of the work of the Holy Spirit could they act in conformity with God’s will, and God would bless them and guide them as they performed their duty. The more Jiandan thought about it, the more she felt how arrogant and conceited she was. Only through careful contemplation of these words of God did she come to understand that when brothers and sisters perform their duty together, each person has their own strengths. God arranges people together so that every individual brings into play their own strengths, becomes of one mind and makes up for what each other lacks; only then can they perform their duty better and better.

…

Thank God for His leading! All the glory be to Almighty God!

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

2018 English Christian Movie "I Am a Good Person!" | What Is a Truly Good Person? (Full Movie) by Grace L

en.godfootsteps.org/videos/a-good-person-movie.html

2018 English Christian Movie "I Am a Good Person!" | What Is a Truly Good Person? (Full Movie)

Yang Huixin, a Christian, has loved being a good person since she was little. She doesn't like to offend others. She believes herself to be a good person because she is kind and agreeable with others. But only after she accepts God's gospel of the last days and undergoes the judgment and chastisement of God's words does she have an awakening, and realize that she's not a true good person. Rather, she lives based on satanic philosophies, and is a very selfish, cunning "nice guy." She resolves in her heart to seek the truth and become a good person who is honest and upright…. What experiences did Yang Huixin go through that allowed her to undergo such a transformation?

Recommend: More Free Christian Movies Online

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

The Word of God in the Last Days | "God Himself, the Unique VI God's Holiness III" Part Three by Chloe Chen

www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/god-himself-the-unique-vi...

Almighty God says, "As God has none of the corruption of mankind and has nothing even remotely like the corrupt disposition of mankind or the essence of Satan, from this point of view we can say that God is holy. God reveals no corruption, and the revelation of His own essence in His work is all the confirmation we need that God Himself is holy. Do you see this now? That is to say, to know God’s holy essence, for the time being let us look at these two aspects: 1) There is no corrupt disposition in God; 2) the essence of God’s work on man allows man to see God’s own essence and this essence is both entirely positive and entirely real. For what are the things that every manner of God’s work brings to man? They are all positive things, they are all love, all truth and all reality."

Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared.

Christian Reflections | As a Christian, Regularly Attending Gatherings Cannot Be Neglected! by Grace L

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Christian Reflections | As a Christian, Regularly Attending Gatherings Cannot Be Neglected!

Hello brothers and sisters of Spiritual Q&A,

I get very tired from working during the day, and I do not sleep very well at night. As a result, I am not willing to make it to gatherings on time. I do not like to be restricted. I feel that if I have spiritual needs, as long as I look for my brothers and sisters to chat during those times, it should be fine. I wonder what the cause of this issue is. How should I resolve this?

An Jing

Hello Sister An Jing,

You said that you are not willing to attend gatherings on time and that when you feel you have spiritual needs, that is the only time you will actively look for your brothers and sisters to chat. We can think like this because we do not understand what truly believing in God and the importance of gatherings are. Thank the Lord. I will talk a little bit about my understanding about this aspect. I hope it will be useful to you.

What It Means to Truly Believe in God

We all know that the reason why God originally created man was so that man would honor and worship God on earth. The Lord Jesus said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Mat 22:37-38). As believers in the Lord, we should all prioritize faith and worshiping God and have normal relationships with God. Gatherings, prayer, communicating the truth, singing hymns and praising God are ways to establish a normal relationship with God. As Christians, these are things that we must do at the very least. God’s words say: “‘Belief in God’ means believing that there is a God; this is the simplest concept of faith in God. What’s more, believing that there is a God is not the same as truly believing in God; rather, it is a kind of simple faith with strong religious overtones. True faith in God means experiencing the words and work of God based on a belief that God holds sovereignty over all things. So you shall be freed of your corrupt disposition, shall fulfill the desire of God, and shall come to know God. Only through such a journey can you be said to believe in God” (“Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh”). “There are some people whose belief has never been acknowledged in God’s heart. In other words, God does not recognize that these people are His followers, because God does not praise their belief. … They regard believing in God as some kind of amateur hobby, treating God merely as spiritual sustenance…. How does God look upon these people? He views them as non-believers” (“How to Know God’s Disposition and the Result of His Work” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From here we can see, if our faith in God merely consists of verbal acknowledgement and believing within our hearts, yet we do not pursue the truth, do not experience and practice God’s words but regard faith as spiritual sustenance or a hobby, this is not truly believing in God. God does not praise this sort of faith. True believers in God should frequently come before God, pray to God often, read God’s words often, attend gatherings often and understand more of the truth from God. At the same time, they must bring God’s words into real life. They believe that what happens every day is presided and arranged by God. This is especially the case when they encounter something that is not in accordance with their notions and when they reveal their own corruption and are unable to let go of it. They are able to come before God and reflect upon themselves in accordance with God’s words. They are able to seek in the environment arranged by God the lessons they should learn and the truths they should enter and put into practice. Afterward, they actually put them into practice in accordance with God’s demands, cast off satanic corrupt disposition, live out a normal humanity and in the end, achieve a true understanding of God, obedience to God and love for God. Only this way of experiencing God’s work and words constitutes truly believing in God. We can only obtain God’s approval if we believe in God in this manner. If we do this, in the end, we will be brought into God’s kingdom. Contrarily, if our faith does not involve a normal relationship with God, regular participation in gatherings, prayer, communicating the truth and putting God’s words into practice; if it is just a spare-time faith, if we believe in God a few years yet our corrupt disposition has not changed whatsoever and if we do not have a true understanding of God, God does not acknowledge this sort of faith. There is no difference between this and the faith of unbelievers. If our faith is like this, even though we believe until the very end, we will not be able to obtain God’s approval and salvation.

…

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

2019 Full Christian Movie "The People of the Heavenly Kingdom" | An Inspirational True Story by Grace L

en.godfootsteps.org/videos/people-of-the-heavenly-kingdom...

2019 Full Christian Movie "The People of the Heavenly Kingdom" | An Inspirational True Story

The Lord Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). The Lord Jesus told us that only honest people can enter the kingdom of heaven; only honest people can be people of the kingdom. This movie tells the story of the Christian Cheng Nuo's experience of God's work and the course of her pursuit to become an honest person in life.

Cheng Nuo used to be a doctor. Even after believing in God, when she encounters things that impinge on her own interest and face in her day-to-day life, she still can't help but lie and deceive. In the face of trials and tribulations she even develops misunderstandings and gripes about God, but through seeking the truth time after time and undergoing the judgment and chastisement of God's words, she gains an understanding of the root of her dishonesty and her selfish, slippery satanic nature. She begins to focus on pursuing the truth to resolve her tendency to lie and the dishonesty in her heart. Later when she is arrested by the Chinese Communist Party government while performing her duty and suffers devastating torture, she is ready to die before telling a lie and refuses to deny God. She bears a beautiful, resounding witness for God. Cheng Nuo is able to gradually become an honest person, and truly love and obey God. So what really is her story?

Recommend: More Free Christian Movie | "Knocking at the Door" | How to Welcome the Return of the Lord

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Christian Testimonies | How Can One Find Happiness? A Retired Physician’s Experience Tells You by Grace L

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Christian Testimonies | How Can One Find Happiness? A Retired Physician’s Experience Tells You

At the close of every night, month, and year, careful people will sum up their experience, plan, and set goals for the results in their study and work, so that they can improve in the future. Even more careful people will sum up their experience in their own life, “How did I come pass through at every stage of my life? Does the life I lead now have any significance? Am I truly happy? What should I pursue to find real significance and gain true happiness?” I am a retired physician who previously worked in a hospital, and recently I also summed up my own experience in life. My conclusion: Whether or not a person is happy in life has nothing to do with whether he is successful and famous.

My Adoration for the Respect Earned by Fame and Success

One spring, years ago, I went out for a picnic with Doctor Wang from my hospital. Along the way, the local villagers recognized him at a glance. They affectionately shouted “Dr. Wang” as we passed. During our picnic, they were more enthusiastic, and when they saw we lacked certain tools, they voluntarily gave us use of their own. In those days, material conditions were not ideal, and milk was in very short supply, but when people from the milk factory learned that Dr. Wang had come, they rushed out to bring us milk. When I saw the enthusiasm with which the villagers welcomed Dr. Wang, I couldn’t help but be amazed: These villagers really liked Dr. Wang! Wherever he went, he was respected, to the point that people came to help him on the news that he was there for a picnic. But what about me? I was just a clinician, languishing in obscurity, who could do nothing but ride on Dr. Wang’s coattails. It made me sigh. But then, in my disappointment, I looked at Dr. Wang’s silver hair and thought: Am I not still young? If I study medicine and work hard, one day, sooner or later, I would be just as successful and famous as Dr. Wang, and gain the same level of respect and support from others! This is true happiness!

…

One day, I received a call from the director of another hospital. He said, “Now you are retired, so we’re planning a banquet for you to celebrate, and we’d also like to discuss future cooperation with you. We’d like you to register your attending physician license at our hospital to attract your former patients, you could also work for us, or you could become a shareholder. It’s up to you.” Hearing his words, I understood clearly that even though the hospital director only said the hospital wanted to use my license, I would still have to go there when problems with treatment occurred. I couldn’t help but think that I had been fighting for fame and fortune for most of my life, thinking that I would be truly happy once others looked up to and admired me, but what had I gained from it? Only pain and sadness! Now, I have finally escaped this pain, and I don’t need to tire myself out day and night. After believing in God, I tasted happiness and release that I had never experienced before, spiritually I enjoyed the feeling of genuine happiness, and I was resolved to hold firmly to this happiness. Following God was the most meaningful path, and I could no longer allow myself to follow Satan. I thought of God’s words that say, “Every day that you live through now is crucial and very important to your destination and your fate, so you must cherish all that you possess and every minute that passes. You must make the most of your time to give yourselves the greatest gains, so that you will not have lived this life in vain” (“To Whom Are You Loyal?”). That I have been fortunate enough to accept God’s work is God’s exaltation and grace for me, especially considering the fact that God’s work is nearing its close, but I understand too little of the truth and need to strive with all my strength to pursue, so I must cherish every minute and second, pursue the truth in the limited time I have, and gain God’s approval! Now that I understood God’s will, I more clearly knew how I should answer the hospital director. So, I refused him, “I have high blood pressure, so there’s no need to go through the trouble of a banquet. I appreciate the thought. And with regard to future cooperation, my health isn’t as good as it was, and I’d like to rest, so I don’t think there’s anything we can discuss.” In the moment I hung up the phone, I felt an incomparable release in my heart. After that, other hospitals reached out to me regarding cooperation through doctors and my relatives, but I rejected them. Today, my life every day is reading God’s word and doing my duties, and I feel very secure and satisfied. Thanks be to God!

When I think back on my journey, I deeply realize that being truly happy and living a meaningful life is not decided by whether you have success, fame, status, or wealth. It is decided by whether we believe in and worship God, whether we follow God’s will, and whether we can gain God’s approval. If we don’t come before God and read God’s word, if we don’t accept the truth, we can only be bound and constrained by absurd satanic notions, and living this way is nothing but torment. Even if we have money, life is empty. When we can worship the Creator and enjoy the guidance and watering of God’s word, our hearts will be bright, secure, calm, and joyous, and this is true happiness!

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Christian Testimonies | What Allows Me to Regain a Happy Life? by Grace L

en.godfootsteps.org/testimonies/regain-a-happy-life.html

Christian Testimonies | What Allows Me to Regain a Happy Life?

This is an age when people care very much about physical attractiveness and a good looking body. With a beautiful face and a slim figure, I turned heads no matter what kind of clothes I wore. People around me often praised me and envied that I had both a great figure and a great face, and my husband was also very kind to me. Because of this, I was especially confident. No matter where I went, I walked with my head held high and my back straight. I displayed myself to receive praise from others. In my heart I believed: As long as a woman has a graceful figure and a pretty face, she could rewrite her own life.

…

Later, I had the fortune to accept Almighty God’s work of the last days. In a gathering, I fellowshiped about my process of losing weight to the sisters, and one of them read me a passage of Almighty God’s words: “Your temperament, caliber, appearance, stature, family in which you were born, your job and your marriage, the entirety of you, even the color of your hair and your skin, and the time of your birth were all arranged by My hands. Even the things you do and the people you meet every single day are arranged by My hands, not to mention the fact that bringing you into My presence today is actually My arrangement. Do not throw yourself into disorder; you should proceed calmly” (The Word Appears in the Flesh). The sister fellowshiped, “Everything is predestined by God, including the kind of marriage and family we have, what appearance and skin color we have, when we are fat, and when we are thin. It is not something that anyone or anything could change. What God gives us is all the best, it is all meaningful, but we are not able to obey God’s sovereignty and predestination, and we always feel that everything God bestows is not to our will. We always want to pursue perfectness and oppose God’s sovereignty and change all that God has given us. That is why we have self-harmed and brought ourselves so much pain. Look at such and such in my working unit. In pursuit of beauty, she messed up her nerves when undergoing a lip line surgery and now she has a crooked mouth. Some other people, in order to lose weight, went to have liposuction and died on the spot. The reason these people have encountered such disasters is because they do not understand God’s authority and sovereignty. This is the bitter consequence of their vain attempt to change their fate by themselves.”

…

Reviewing the process of my losing weight, it was truly full of difficulties and danger. I almost ended up losing my life. If it wasn’t for God’s care and protection and His salvation, I would still be trapped in this evil current, stubbornly seeking after a perfect figure and being afflicted and trampled by Satan…. It was God’s words that allowed me to understand that all of this was caused by Satan, which used my vanity to confuse, seduce, and cheat me, so that I sank low and was trapped in its snare and unable to escape. Thanks to God’s words that awakened me, I was no longer bothered by my figure, nor did I care how others judged me. Instead, I only pursued the truth, lived by God’s word, and submitted to God’s sovereignty and arrangements, so as to live out the true likeness of man that God demands and receive God’s approval. I felt that living like this was very happy and fulfilling. After a period of time, as my husband saw that my illness was getting better, that my mental outlook was improving, that my attitude toward life became positive and optimistic, and that all the brothers and sisters in the church were good honest people, he didn’t cold-shoulder me for my weight anymore and was nicer to me. I thank God from the bottom of my heart that His words have brought an upturn in my life. Now, my life is full of happiness. I am extremely released and free when living church life and performing my duties with my brothers and sisters. I realize that only by giving myself into God’s hand and submitting to God’s sovereignty and arrangement can I gain the greatest happiness and live the most beautiful life!

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Christian Testimonies | The Truth Showed Her the Way to Get Along With Others (Part 2) by Grace L

en.godfootsteps.org/testimonies/get-along-with-others-2.html

Christian Testimonies | The Truth Showed Her the Way to Get Along With Others (Part 2)

…

With this question in her mind, Jiandan prayed and sought guidance from God, and she read a passage in a work arrangement: “There is no main role and deputy in coordinating to serve. Everyone stands on equal footing, and the principle is to achieve a consensus through fellowshiping about the truth. This requires people to obey one another. That is, everyone should obey the one whose words are right and conform with the truth. The principle is to obey the truth. The truth is the authority. Whoever can fellowship about the truth and see things accurately should be obeyed. Regardless of what is being done or what duty is being fulfilled, obeying the truth is always the principle. People must not obey status and power, and even more, they must not be restrained by knowledge or fame and prestige” (“The Meaning and Explanation of the Ten Principles of the Church Life Established by God’s Family” in Selected Annals of the Work Arrangements of The Church of Almighty God). She also read this passage in a sermon: “What does ‘a sense of justice’ mean? It means to adhere to the truth and to uphold God’s work. If you truly understand the truth, if you know how to act in conformity with the truth and in conformity with God’s words, then you should persevere. This is a question of loyalty to God, a question of devotion to God; if you dare not persevere with God’s words and with the truth, then you do not have a sense of justice. What does ‘arrogant and conceited’ refer to? It refers to the satanic disposition expressed by people shunning God, defying God, judging God and rebelling against God. People turn a deaf ear to God’s words, God’s work and God’s requirements, and they have high opinions of themselves, adhering always to their own opinions and conceptions and always thinking that they understand everything—this is arrogance and conceit, haughtiness and self-rightness. And there are some people who do not have a shred of sense, who don’t obey anyone and who have already reached a stage where they won’t listen to reason, and even more so they are devils and Satans. These expressions of corruption, these manifestations, are of arrogance and conceit, and they are completely incompatible with and utterly unrelated to a sense of justice and adhering to principles” (“Questions and Answers” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (III)).

After reading these fellowships, Jiandan began to understand. Brothers and sisters should take obedience to the truth as their principle when dealing with one another, and should not submit to status and power or obey any particular person. But whenever Jiandan had fellowshiped about the issues with their duty to her sisters, although she had dared to speak up, she had not fellowshiped clearly about the related truths. Instead, she had always capitalized on the facts that she had been doing this duty for a long time and that she was a veteran at it; she had acted superior due to her seniority, she had had the last word with every decision and had not paid any attention to listening to her sisters’ ideas. Imperceptibly, she had regarded her own ideas as the standards by which all should be measured, and had made her sisters follow her and obey her as a matter of course. Her sisters didn’t understand the relevant truths and principles and their duty was not heading in the right direction, so how could they not feel constrained?

Moreover, having a sense of justice was not as simple as merely discovering a problem and then daring to speak up about it. If she didn’t seek the truth with the problems she encountered, and if she first expressed her own ideas, opinions and experiences when she came across an issue and made everyone else submit to her, then she was holding fast to her own ideas and imaginings and this was a manifestation of arrogance and conceit. Everything she did ran contrary to the truth, and so she had caused her brothers and sisters to feel constrained and bound, without benefiting them one bit. Only by setting the motives for her actions aright, which should be to practice the truth and satisfy God, to learn to seek the truth and fellowship about the truth in order to exalt God and bear witness for God, then by doing this she would obtain the guidance and protection of the Holy Spirit in her actions and she would see God’s blessings.

…

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Why Does Eastern Lightning Surge Forward With Unstoppable Progress by Tom Lee

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Why Does Eastern Lightning Surge Forward With Unstoppable Progress

2017-06-23

The Lord Jesus said, “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27). Since Eastern Lightning— Almighty God, Christ of the last days—appeared in China to perform His work, His kingdom gospel has spread across the whole of mainland China in just more than ten years. Now, it has spread to many western countries and regions, and it has shaken the various denominations to their core and sent ripples throughout the entire world. However, the most perplexing question for the leaders of the religious world is: Why is it that, although the pastors and elders in the religious world have done their utmost to resist, defame and condemn Eastern Lightning, stifle their churches and even gone so far as to collude with the CCP government to arrest and persecute the Christians in The Church of Almighty God, those believers from various denominations who have good humanity and who truly believe in the Lord accept and follow Almighty God one after another? Why is it that, though faced with the frantic resistance and persecution by the two arms of Satan’s forces—the CCP government and the religious world—not only has Eastern Lightning not been broken or worn down, but on the contrary it has continued to flourish and go from strength to strength, like shoots growing after rain, and has surged inexorably and irresistibly onward?

Eastern Lightning Surge Forward With Unstoppable Progress

In fact, it’s not hard to find the reason why. It would be as well to first take a look at the work of the Lord Jesus before looking into this question, and we will naturally come to find the answer. When the Lord Jesus appeared and performed His work, He was subjected to the frantic resistance and condemnation of the Jewish chief priests, scribes and Pharisees, to the point where they even colluded with the Roman authorities to nail Jesus to the cross, thus hoping in vain to ban the Lord Jesus’ work. Why then did the gospel of the Lord Jesus spread throughout the Jewish world and reach even the ears of the Gentiles? The Roman authorities savagely persecuted and massacred Christians for three hundred years, so how come the number of Christians not only did not diminish, but on the contrary grew and developed through this persecution, spreading to all corners of the Roman empire and throughout the entire world? It was because the Lord Jesus was God incarnated in the flesh, He was the appearance of God, and the Lord Jesus’ works and words were the works and words of God, therefore no one could stop or destroy the expansion of the Lord Jesus’ gospel. The Bible says, “For if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nothing: But if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it; lest haply you be found even to fight against God” (Acts 5:38-39). That is to say, anything that comes from God will thrive and anything that comes from man will surely decay. Almighty God’s words say, “We trust that no country or power can stand in the way of what God wishes to achieve” (“God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Similarly, if Eastern Lightning wasn’t the appearance and work of the one and only true God, would it have been able to break through the layer upon layer of obstructions, resistance and persecution thrown up by the religious world and the atheistic CCP government, like a bastion of iron walls, and spread rapidly throughout China and even throughout the rest of the world? If it was not guided by the work of the Holy Spirit, would it have the authority and power to make all nations flow to this mountain and all religions become one? If it wasn’t the appearance and work of God, would it have been able to express the truth and execute judgment to conquer so many true believers of the various denominations, those good sheep and leading sheep, and make them follow with resolute hearts? The facts are enough to prove that Christ of the last days, the Almighty God that Eastern Lightning bears testimony to, is the Lord Jesus returned, and is indeed the God who has appeared and works in the last days. Therefore, Eastern Lightning is able to surge forward with unstoppable progress while facing the frantic persecution and cruel suppression of the CCP government and the religious world!

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

How Does Jesus Return? I’ve Finally Found the Answer by Tom Lee

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How Does Jesus Return? I’ve Finally Found the Answer

By Anick, France

Sep 13, 2019

After Much Thought, I Decided to Continue Seeking and Investigating

Though I had abandoned my investigation of Almighty God’s work in the last days, I couldn’t get the idea that the Lord had returned out of my head. Mireille and I often conversed on the subject of the Lord’s return. We both had high hopes that we would be able to welcome the Lord’s return within our lifetime. Given that we are already in the last days, that calamities occur with great frequency throughout the world and the prophecies of the Lord’s return have mostly been fulfilled, it stood to reason that the Lord must have returned. Yet despite all that, we still hadn’t witnessed God coming with the clouds. At the present time, only The Church of Almighty God had testified to the Lord Jesus’ return. We had, however, abandoned our investigation because they testified that when the Lord returned, He did not come with the clouds. Were we right to do so? I felt deeply conflicted and so I prayed to God with Mireille, asking that God guide us to make the right choice. Later, it occurred to me that God is the Master of all things, He can do whatever it is that He wants, so how could I delimit God’s work within my own thoughts and notions? What’s more, the Lord Jesus has said, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). The Lord tells us, if we hear that God has returned, we should go and welcome Him. We saw news online saying that God had returned, and yet we didn’t pay heed to or investigate these claims, so how would we know if God had returned? As such, Mireille and I decided to continue watching The Church of Almighty God’s movies and investigating Almighty God’s work in the last days.

The Church of Almighty God’s website

Later on, I saw many videos depicting the persecution of The Church of Almighty God Christians by the CCP. I saw how despite being subjected to unimaginably cruel torture, by using prayer, reliance upon God and the faith and power they derived from Almighty God’s word they gained the courage to say that they would rather die than deny or betray God. This was extremely inspirational to me. I saw how the Christians of The Church of Almighty God really had immense faith in God. This was not the kind of faith that paid lip-service, but, rather, was expressed through taking action. I was deeply moved—it seemed to me that if God had not invested them with strength, they never would have been able to withstand the cruel torture of the CCP. I watched even more videos of life experiences and testimonies of The Church of Almighty God Christians. The words of God read in these videos exposed the deepest elements of our hearts and souls, as if Almighty God could see directly into the hearts of men. By reflecting on and understanding themselves through Almighty God’s word, the Christians of The Church of Almighty God achieved some transformation and purification of their corrupt dispositions. This further impressed upon me the feeling that Almighty God’s word has authority and power and really can change people. I was deeply and profoundly shocked to realize this! I thought to myself, if not God, who else could effect change in corrupted men? The more I read, the more I felt that Almighty God’s words could not be uttered by any mere man—they seemed to be the words of God. I felt that Almighty God might very well be the returned Lord Jesus! To understand more of Almighty God’s work, I continued watching The Church of Almighty God’s movies.

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

The Mystery of the Resurrection of the Dead by Grace L

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Know God | The Mystery of the Resurrection of the Dead

Brothers and sisters, may you have peace in the Lord! Thank the Lord for His preparations that have allowed us to fellowship the truths of the Scriptures here, and may the Lord guide us. Today, I want to fellowship with everybody about the topic “resurrection of the dead.”

As people who believe in the Lord all know, the resurrection of the dead refers to something that will happen when Jesus returns. This is also something that we as Christians are looking forward to seeing. Now, just how can “the dead” be resurrected? Many people will think of chapter 37, verses 5–6 in the Book of Ezekiel: “Thus said the Lord Jehovah to these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live: And I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am Jehovah.” In the Gospel of John, chapter 6, verse 39, Jesus said: “And this is the Father’s will which has sent Me, that of all which He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” In chapter 15, verses 52–53 in the Book of 1 Corinthians, it reads: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” Furthermore, if people go by the literal meaning of these verses, they will believe that, in the last days, when the Lord comes, He will perform many great and miraculous things. With His almightiness, He will resurrect the bodies of the saints that have been sleeping for generations in the Lord. He will raise them up from their graves, from underneath the earth or from underneath the sea. At that time, the millions of skeletons that have already rotted beneath the ground or that have long been lost under the sea will instantly be given new life, they will become immortal and enter into glory. How spectacular this scene will be! These are also our perspectives and imaginings about the resurrection of the dead. Just how will this prophecy be fulfilled? Is it really going to be as supernatural as we imagine? Will the Lord accomplish the resurrection of the dead in accordance with our imaginations?

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Now, just what does resurrection of the dead refer to? What do “dead person” and “living person” refer to? For thousands of years, not a single person has been able to clearly answer this question. Only God is able to unveil these mysteries. Now, the Lord has already returned in the form of the incarnate Almighty God. He has expressed millions of words and has uncovered all the mysteries that are within the Bible. Let’s all take a look together at the words of Almighty God. Almighty God says: “God created man, after which man was corrupted by Satan, and this corruption has made people into ‘dead bodies’—and thus, after you have changed, you will be different from these dead bodies. It is the words of God that give life to people’s spirits and cause them to be reborn, and when people’s spirits are reborn they will have come alive. Mention of the ‘dead’ refers to corpses that have no spirit, to people in whom their spirit has died. When people’s spirits are given life, they come alive. The saints that were spoken of before refer to people who have come alive, those who were under Satan’s influence but defeated Satan. … Originally the man made by God was alive, but because of Satan’s corruption man lives amid death, and lives under the influence of Satan, and so these people have become the dead who are without a spirit, they have become enemies who oppose God, they have become the tools of Satan, and they have become the captives of Satan. … The dead are those who have no spirit, those who are numb in the extreme, and who oppose God. Moreover, they are those who do not know God. These people have not the slightest intention of obeying God, they only rebel against Him and oppose Him, and have not the slightest loyalty. The living are those whose spirits have been reborn, who know to obey God, and who are loyal to God. They are possessed of the truth, and of testimony, and only these people are pleasing to God in His house. God saves those who can come alive, who can see God’s salvation, who can be loyal to God, and willing to seek God. He saves those who believe in God’s incarnation, and believe in His appearance” (“Have You Come Alive?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Almighty God’s words explain to us what “dead person” and “living person” mean. In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve. They were living human beings with spirits, they possessed conscience and reason and they were able to manifest God and honor God. Afterward, they were seduced by Satan into eating fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As a result, they were filled with the poison of Satan. They were no longer devoted to God nor did they obey God. They had lost any semblance to the people God had created in the beginning. Even though their flesh still lived, in God’s eyes they had already become dead people with no spirits. Presently, we are being corrupted more and more by Satan. We are full of Satan’s corrupt dispositions such as arrogance, selfishness, treachery, maliciousness and greed. It has gotten to the point where, when we encounter something that is not in accordance with our own ideas, we complain to God, judge God, resist God and betray God. In God’s eyes, we are also dead people with no spirits. From this, we can see that “dead person” refers to those who are living under Satan’s influence, those who have corrupt natures that resist God and those who are enemies of God. Alternatively, “living person” refers to those who have cast off satanic corrupt disposition, those who have restored their conscience and reason, those who have knowledge of God, those who obey God and those who love God. These people have a place for God within their hearts. In all matters they are able to seek the truth, grasp God’s will, practice in accordance with God’s words and the truth and no longer act by Satan’s life rules. They are people who have triumphed over Satan’s influence and have returned to God. These are living people with spirits and they are truly those who have been resurrected from the dead.

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Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Christian Testimonies | To Be an Honest Person Is Truly Great! by Grace L

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Christian Testimonies | To Be an Honest Person Is Truly Great!

One day in 2004 a friend said to me: “Every day you get up early and are busy all day cutting cloth, you exhaust yourself, yet you still don’t make money. Today’s society relies on the tongue to make money, like the popular saying goes: ‘It is better to have a slick tongue than to have strong arms and legs.’ You know that I’m now engaging in the direct sales business selling makeup products, not only does it make me beautiful, I also don’t need to exert too much effort each day, I just need to speak a few words with my customers and sell my products in order to make a lot of money. Why don’t you change jobs and come sell makeup products with me?” I looked my friend over, she really was prettier than before, and then I thought about how I had been a dressmaker for over 10 years, how I hadn’t really made any money at it, and how I wasn’t getting any younger. If it really was like what my friend was saying, if by switching to a job where I sold makeup products I could make easy money, and could even become younger and prettier and win the high praises of others, then that would be much better! As I thought about this, I told her right then and there that I was willing to become a part of the company. Later, after my inspection, I ordered over 3,000 yuan worth of products, and I started my job in the cosmetics industry as a beauty consultant for this company.

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In 2012 a friend of mine got me into believing in Almighty God, and since then I have often read the word of God, prayed to God and fellowshiped together with brothers and sisters. During fellowships, brothers and sisters all openly speak from the heart, discussing what they know and have experienced from the word of God, and I really enjoy listening to them. One day, I read God’s word saying: “You ought to know that God likes an honest man. God has the substance of faithfulness, and so His word can always be trusted. Furthermore, His actions are faultless and unquestionable. This is why God likes those who are absolutely honest with Him” (“Three Admonitions” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Through God’s words I discovered that God is faithful and that He likes honest people. God also asks all of us to be honest people, to not tell lies, to not cheat others. I thought about all the dishonest words I’d used every day to cheat customers as I conducted my business and tried to make a profit, one that I gained by cheating the trust of my customers. I had used dishonest methods to make money. These were all expressions of dishonesty. If I kept going in this way, how could God like me? Now I believe in God I must be like my brothers and sisters and practice being an honest person and speak the truth. This is how I will be able to make God happy and obtain His approval.

But in real life, when facing profits, practicing being an honest person really wasn’t as easy as I imagined it would be. One day a customer came to me with a list of 7,000 yuan worth of makeup products that she wanted. I looked at the list and saw that we didn’t have all of the products that she wanted in our store, so I wondered what I should do. Should I tell her the truth, or … I felt an intense battle raging in my heart: I am now a believer in God, to tell a lie is to not fit with God’s will, I cannot go on cheating people like I did before; but if I tell the truth to this customer then it goes without saying that I won’t be able to make a sale with her this time, and perhaps she won’t come back next time, in which case I would no longer have an opportunity to make money from her. Alas, to tell a lie is to not fit with God’s will, but to not tell a lie is the same as letting go of over two thousand yuan that was about to fall into my hands, which, if my coworkers found out, they would surely laugh at me for, so I might as well do it this time, and then next time I won’t do it. So then I went over to the customer and said: “I am a skincare specialist, if you take my advice and use the products I recommend then I guarantee that your skin will get better.” I relied on my silver tongue, speaking with the customer for over an hour until she was finally willing to buy the products that I recommended. So I gathered together a random collection of 7,000 yuan worth of high grade products to give to her. After she left I looked down at the money in my hands but I didn’t feel the least bit happy. I felt very ashamed because I had not practiced being an honest person as God requires. After several days the customer gave me a call out of the blue asking to return the products. She said that she didn’t feel comfortable using the products that I had put together for her. I tried everything I could do to persuade her, but her mind could not be changed. After this incident, one customer after another wanted to return their products. As this series of unfortunate events fell upon me I started to mull things over: In order to profit myself I have always used dishonest words to cheat my customers into buying products. This doesn’t conform to the will of God, but I did it to hold on to my qualifications as a seller. In spite of being fully aware of the truth I deliberately went against it and continued using methods of deceit to conduct my business. God is pure and holy, how could He allow me to say one thing and do another? These events that have befallen me recently, for all of it, I only had myself to blame, I was reaping what I sowed. This was the dealing and discipline of God, and it was God saving me. But I didn’t understand, with profits in front of me, why I wanted to act according to the word of God but was unable to. All I could do was pray and seek before God.

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Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Christian Reflections | The Story of Genesis: What Was God’s Will Behind Adam Naming the Animals? by Grace L

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Christian Reflections | The Story of Genesis: What Was God’s Will Behind Adam Naming the Animals?

The Bible says: “And out of the ground Jehovah God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them: and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field” (Genesis 2:19–20). Whenever I read these verses, I always thought: Adam named all the livestock animals, all the birds and all the beasts of the field. He must have known all these living things; otherwise how would he have come up with so many names? Or else Jehovah must have told Adam all the animals’ names beforehand, and only then did he know by which name each should be called. I pondered this issue for a long time, but I still couldn’t figure it out.

Only when I read a passage of God’s words did I understand the will of God that was hidden behind His asking Adam to name all the animals. God’s words say, “This phrase tells mankind a fact: God gave man intelligence when He created him. That is to say, man’s intelligence came from God. This is a certainty. But why? After God created Adam, did Adam go to school? Did he know how to read? After God made various living creatures, did Adam recognize all these animals? Did God tell him what their names were? Of course, God also did not teach him how to come up with the names of these creatures. That’s the truth! Then how did he know how to give these living creatures their names and what kind of names to give them? This is related to the question of what God added to Adam when He created him. The facts prove that when God created man He had added His intelligence to him. … God created man, breathed life into him, and also gave him some of His intelligence, His abilities, and what He has and is. After God gave man all of these things, man was able to do some things independently and think on his own. If what man comes up with and does is good in the eyes of God, then God accepts it and does not interfere. If what man does is right, then God will just let it be that way for good. So what does the phrase ‘whatever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof’ indicate? It suggests that God did not make any amendments to the names of the various living creatures. Whatever name Adam called it, God would say ‘Yes’ and register the name as is. Did God express any opinions? No, that’s for sure. So what do you see here? God gave man intelligence and man used his God-given intelligence to do things. If what man does is positive in the eyes of God, then it is affirmed, acknowledged, and accepted by God without any evaluation or criticism. This is something no person or evil spirit, or Satan, can do. Do you see a revelation of God’s disposition here? Would a human being, a corrupted human being, or Satan accept others to represent them in doing things right under their nose? Of course not! Would they fight for position with that other person or other force that is different to them? Of course they would! At that moment, if it were a corrupted person or Satan who was with Adam, they would have certainly rejected what Adam was doing. To prove that they have the ability to think independently and have their own unique insights, they would have absolutely denied everything Adam did: ‘You want to call it this? Well, I’m not going to call it this, I’m going to call it that; you called it Tom but I’m going to call it Harry. I have to show off my brilliance.’ What kind of nature is this? Is it not wildly arrogant? But does God have such a disposition? Did God have any unusual objections to this thing Adam did? The answer is unequivocally no! Of the disposition God reveals, there is not the slightest ounce of argumentativeness, arrogance, or self-rightness. That is abundantly clear here. This is just a very small thing, but if you don’t understand God’s essence, if your heart doesn’t try to figure out how God acts and what God’s attitude is, then you won’t know God’s disposition or see the expression and revelation of God’s disposition. Is that not so? Do you agree with what I just explained to you? In response to Adam’s actions, God did not loudly proclaim, ‘You did well. You did right. I concur.’ In His heart, however, God approved, appreciated, and applauded what Adam did. This was the first thing since creation that man had done for God at His instruction. It was something man did in God’s stead and on God’s behalf. In God’s eyes, this arose out of the intelligence He bestowed upon man. God saw it as a good thing, a positive thing. What Adam did at that time was the first manifestation of God’s intelligence on man. It was a fine manifestation from God’s point of view. What I want to tell you here is that God’s aim in adding a portion of what He has and is and His intelligence to man was so mankind could be the living creature that manifests Him. For such a living creature to do things on His behalf was precisely what God had been longing to see” (“God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself I”).

After reading these words of God, I suddenly saw the light. It turns out that Adam did not name all the animals because he had known them all right from the start, and it was not done by God telling Adam what they should all be called beforehand. Instead, God gave Adam intelligence when He created him, and it was by relying on this intelligence which God had endowed him with that Adam was able to give all the animals different and interesting names. From this we can see that, when God first created man, He not only gave him the breath of life, but He also imparted some of His own intelligence and what He has and is to man, thus enabling man to be able to think and act independently, and to be able to live normal lives. At the same time, we can see that God’s wisdom and deeds were manifested through man doing positive things. After Adam had named all the animals, God did not change any of them, but instead approved everything Adam did. This allows me to see God’s essence of goodness and that there is not one shred of arrogance or conceit within God’s disposition. As long as Adam obeyed God and did some positive deeds in accordance with the requirements of God, then God would approve them, and God did not interfere with, negate or pass judgment on anything Adam did.

God’s disposition and what He has and is are absolutely absent in us corrupt humankind. Take when we are discussing an issue with other people, for example. We are very prone to negating other people’s opinions in order to affirm that we ourselves have a unique insight, and it is for this reason that we show ourselves off as clever and affirm that we are superior to other people. Sometimes, we know perfectly well that the opinions and suggestions of others are appropriate, but in order to maintain our position and image in the hearts of others, we find all kinds of reasons to repudiate the views of others. We absolutely have to get other people to go along with our own ideas, and that is why we always show off our talents. These, and other behaviors like them, are all controlled by our inner satanic nature of arrogance and self-importance. After we were corrupted by Satan, the satanic logic and axiom of “I am my own lord throughout heaven and earth” became deeply rooted within our hearts, our arrogant and self-important corrupt disposition became our life and we fell under the control of this corrupt nature. In no situation are we willing to fall behind others, our hearts listen to no one, and we always want to be top dog, scheme against others and vie with others for fame and fortune. We are simply unable to get along peaceably with others and, when we work hard for a time and still don’t come out on top, we then live in a state of suffering that we cannot escape from. From this, we can see that, by living by our satanic dispositions, we human beings reveal only corruption and no normal humanity at all. God’s essence, on the other hand, is humble and hidden, beautiful and good, without a hint of the corrupt dispositions of arrogance, self-importance and self-righteousness that we corrupt human beings possess. God created all things, He administers all things and He is all-powerful, and yet He never shows off His power and authority. When Adam performed deeds using the intelligence God gave to him, God gave His approval, and we can see from God doing this that He is both humble and loveable.

Moreover, from God’s praise and acceptance of the deeds which Adam did in accordance with the intelligence God gave to him, I came to understand God’s will and His requirements for us. God gave us His intelligence and imparted some of what He has and is into us in the hope that we would heed His words, do His will, act according to His requirements and satisfy His will, and become manifestations of His glory. In this way, our actions become most meaningful and most worthy, and they are most deserving of God’s praise and blessing. This is because God’s will when He created us was that we become able to glorify Him and manifest Him in our lives and bear witness for Him—this is the only meaning to our being created.

In God’s words, I finally came to understand God’s will that was hidden behind His allowing Adam to name all the animals. Although on the outside, this may seem like a minor matter, God’s disposition and what He has and is are revealed therein, and it encapsulates God’s intentions and hopes for mankind. I give thanks to God’s guidance for allowing me to unravel this mystery in my heart.

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Christian Testimonies | A Different Experience of Job Seeking by Grace L

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Christian Testimonies | A Different Experience of Job Seeking

In today’s society, there are all different kinds of major enterprises and there seems to be a myriad of employment opportunities, but year after year, college graduates are a dime a dozen. The market of qualified employment candidates is so overcrowded you can’t gain a foothold, so the difficulty of finding employment after graduation has become a very practical problem. For every young person on the cusp of entering society after school, the most headache-inducing issue that they have to face is finding work, particularly at a good company. Everyone puts on their best face and racks their brains trying to squeeze their way in—the competition and pressure are intense. I, approaching graduation, had no choice but to face the plight of finding a job just like everybody else. The only thing different about me is that I’m a Christian and I believe that everything is prepared by God. However

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After reading God’s words I suddenly felt my heart brighten. I thought: It’s true! Aren’t I an arbitrary person who is blind and foolish, trying to rely on myself? Even though I had left the issue of work in God’s hands for Him to decide, when the matter wasn’t settled I lost confidence in God and still didn’t wait for God to arrange circumstances for me or have an attitude of seeking and obedience. Instead, I fretted over my own future and fate. Faced with the facts, I finally saw that my understanding of God’s almightiness and rule was just a slogan, was just doctrine, but my actual faith in God was truly paltry and could not stand the test of time at all, nor could it hold firm when God arranged the proper circumstances. I thought of David writing the song in praise of Jehovah God; it was because he had seen so many of God’s deeds and had a true understanding of God’s almightiness and rule. So no matter what sort of hardships he encountered, he was able to genuinely lean on God, believing that God was faithful and would certainly guide him. Pondering all of this, my heart suddenly brightened: So, God actually carefully arranged all of this for me in order to perfect my faith and obedience for Him. What I need to do at this time is to exalt God as great in my heart, to set aside my own worries and concerns, and to experience God’s work and words within this environment, waiting for His will to become evident. I then came in front of God and prayed: “Oh God! Although I said with my mouth that I was putting the issue of work in Your hands, yet as I saw the hope of finding work growing fainter and fainter, I just wanted to do it on my own and I no longer believed in Your almightiness and rule. Oh God, my faith in You truly is so small! Now I understand Your will, and I will no longer rely on myself when doing things. I will no longer live within my worries and concerns, allowing Satan to toy with me. I only want to hand everything over to You and wait for Your time. I believe that everything You prepare for me will be the best.”

I Will Never Fathom God’s Deeds

Around midday three days, later my phone rang. It was an acquaintance from the Office of Academic Affairs, who said to me anxiously: “You better hurry up and get yourself out there. The leader from that company you’ve just been waiting for has come recruit and they’ll probably be away tonight. Hurry up and get out there.” This wonderful, unexpected surprise was very exciting for me and I simply didn’t dare believe that the company I had been waiting and hoping for, was suddenly coming three days after my prayer. Just then a passage from God’s words surfaced in my mind: “Any and all things, living or dead, will shift, change, renew, and disappear according to God’s thoughts. This is how God rules over all things” (“God Is the Source of Man’s Life”). I felt amazed at how marvelous God is while quickly putting on a suit, grabbing my resume, and rushing to the recruitment center. The whole way there my mind was full of thoughts on what they would ask me and how I should answer. The more I thought the more nervous I got, so I quickly prayed to God, asking Him to calm me down. When I got there I saw a group of students outside who had gathered there some time ago. It seemed I was the last to receive the news. I went to the end of the line and watched one classmate after another go talk to the company leader, and they were all tactfully dismissed. They said they weren’t looking for female candidates, or they didn’t want anyone trying to test into graduate school—there were many reasons given for the rejection. My turn finally came. I very cautiously handed my resume to the leader—it was the very first resume I had handed over since the recruitment drive had begun, and it was the first one I had even printed. He looked it over and asked me if I had brought a copy of an employment agreement. I had. Unexpectedly, he didn’t ask me anything at all, but just said casually: “Sign it.” I didn’t dare believe my ears; it was just like being in a dream. When I finished signing it I felt like I was in a trance. Was I grateful, was I happy, was I excited? It was difficult to describe with words; all I could do was give my thanks and praise to God nonstop. I praised God and I praised Him more. Not only for getting a stable job, but even more because by going through that process, I had seen God’s wondrous ways and that all things and all events are under God’s rule and arrangements. Human thoughts and ideas are even more within His hands. God arranged the work for me, so no matter how high or how rigorous people thought recruitment conditions were, they could not change God’s rule or what He has determined. God’s words sprung to mind: “Without God’s work, no matter how good man’s doing, it will count for nothing, for the thoughts of God shall always be higher than the thoughts of man, and the wisdom of God is unfathomable to man” (“Only He Who Experiences the Work of God Truly Believes in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). This experience provided me with profound personal experience of these words from God.

This job-seeking experience allowed me to genuinely see that God’s marvelousness and unfathomableness completely exceeds my imagination. Although those days of waiting felt long and arduous, after undergoing them they became a precious treasure in my life. My faith in God was too small, so He wanted to perfect my faith through the process of waiting to have me learn to give my true heart to God, to obey His rule and arrangements in all things. Thinking of it now, I sincerely feel that no matter how long that wait was, it would have been worth it because God reveals His deeds in His own time, letting me see that His actions are everywhere, that He is the most trustworthy, most practical One who is worth a lifelong faith and dependence! All glory be to God!

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

The Truth Showed Her the Way to Get Along With Others (Part 1) by Grace L

en.godfootsteps.org/testimonies/get-along-with-others-1.html

Christian Testimonies | The Truth Showed Her the Way to Get Along With Others (Part 1)

Jiandan sat on her chair, staring at the number of articles on the worksheet in complete amazement and muttering to herself: “Why is there such a backlog of unchecked articles? Could Sister Liu Yan be in a bad state? But even if she is, she mustn’t let that interfere with her work.”

Jiandan was a conscientious, responsible person. When she saw a problem like this come up in work, she started to worry. She had initially wanted to call Sister Liu Yan over to ask her what exactly was going on. But thinking that if she started asking Liu Yan about her work when she herself had only just come back from performing another task somewhere else, she worried what Liu Yan would think of her. The two of them had always gotten along well together, so it would be terrible if this matter caused upset between them!

…

One day, Jiandan read these words of God: “Some say, ‘I am a nice man, and moderation is my goal and the principle by which I do everything in my life.’ On the surface, it seems they have good humanity, that they have sound reason in all areas. Most times they do not speak up and do not express their point of view. What is this kind of person like? A person’s never speaking or expressing any point of view does not represent that he has reason. On the contrary, people say that you, this type of person, are quite good at pretending, that you conceal your intentions, and that you are quite shrewd.” “There must be a standard for ‘good humanity.’ It is not taking the path of moderation. Not sticking to principles, not displeasing anyone, flattering everyone, being smooth, slick and worldly-wise, and making everyone feel good—these are not the standard. So what is the standard? The standard is that they have a sincere heart toward God, man, and events, they can bear responsibilities, and this is evident for all to see, and for all to feel. Moreover, God searches their hearts and knows them, each and every one. Some people always hold themselves up as examples of good humanity, saying they’ve never done anything bad, never stolen others’ things, and never coveted other people’s things, so much so that, when there is a dispute over interests, they’ll let others benefit at their own expense, preferring for themselves to suffer loss, and when they see wicked people doing evil deeds they don’t expose them and they have no principles whatsoever, and everyone else thinks they’re good people. Yet, when they perform their duty in God’s house, they are wily and slippery, always scheming for themselves, without one thing in which they’re capable of thinking of the interests of God’s house, without one thing in which they treat as urgent the things God treats as urgent or thinks as God thinks, and in nothing can they set aside their own interests so as to perform their duty. They have never abandoned their own interests. This is not good humanity” (“You Can Obtain Truth After Turning Your True Heart Over to God” in Records of Christ’s Talk).

God’s words upset Jiandan a lot. The hearts of those who truly have humanity are turned toward God, and they hold to justice and protect the interests of the church. But in her dealings with other people, Jiandan always pursued the principle of “don’t fight or quarrel with others, but be tolerant and patient in all things,” she acted like a yes-man in everything and maintained her fleshly relationships with other people, not even considering whether or not it was in keeping with God’s will. Especially in her dealings with Liu Yan, she always acted on satanic laws for living such as “Lack of forbearance in small matters ruins great plans,” “Peace is paramount,” “Think before you speak and then talk with reservation,” and “Keeping silent on the faults of good friends makes for a long and good friendship,” so as to maintain the good image of herself in Liu Yan’s heart. When she saw Liu Yan’s problems, she didn’t point them out and didn’t stick to the principles of the truth, and when she saw the church’s interests being harmed, she simply turned a blind eye to it. And so Jiandan realized that, although she believed in God, she was not of one heart with God; she would rather displease God than displease other people, and her nature was too selfish and deceitful.

Having been exposed by God’s words in this way, Jiandan suddenly realized that she didn’t understand what principles she should hold to in her dealings with other brothers and sisters. During one meeting, Jiandan sought the answer to this problem from her brothers and sisters.

…

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

Christian Inspirational Videos | "A Rebirth" | God's Judgement in the Last Days Led Me Onto the Right Path of Life by Grace L

en.godfootsteps.org/videos/a-rebirth.html

Christian Inspirational Videos | "A Rebirth" | God's Judgement in the Last Days Led Me Onto the Right Path of Life

Her name is Zheng Lu, and since childhood, she had been especially vain. Because of the social influence and the education of traditional Chinese culture, she studied tirelessly, hoping to get into university and realize her dream of outperforming her peers and becoming successful, but an unexpected accident shattered her dream. Just when she felt negative, weak, and unable to find direction in life, Almighty God's salvation in the last days found her. After starting to believe in God, she pursued passionately, enthusiastically performed her duties, won the approval of her brothers and sisters, and two years later was elected as a church leader. But unconsciously, her desire for success again began to grow in her, and the arrogance, conceit and desire for fame and prestige of her satanic nature exposed themselves constantly in her duties, greatly disrupting church work. Through repeatedly experiencing the judgment, chastisement, pruning, and dealing in

God's word, she reflects deeply, and finally sees clearly that she has been deeply corrupted and poisoned by satanic toxins such as "To be a man is to get ahead," "As a tree lives for its bark, a man lives for his face," and "A man leaves his name behind wherever he stays, just as a goose utters its cry wherever it flies," which led her to become particularly arrogant and conceited in nature and to worship status and power, and caused her to focus exclusively on pursuing fame and prestige over her years of belief in God instead of pursuing the truth. Unbeknownst to herself, she had walked the path of the antichrist. At the same time, as she gains deep penetration into the essence and dangers of pursuing fame and status, she comes to loathe fame, status, and her own satanic nature, change her mistaken outlook on life and values, and gradually begins to walk the radiant and correct path for life, that of pursuing truth.

Recommend: More Free Christian Movie | "Knocking at the Door" | How to Welcome the Return of the Lord

Image Source: The Church of Almighty God

What Is God’s Will Behind the Parable of the Master and Servant by Grace L

en.godfootsteps.org/testimonies/God-s-will-behind-the-par...

What Is God’s Will Behind the Parable of the Master and Servant

Ever since we were baptized and we returned to the Lord, we have often heard our pastors and elders say, “The apostle Paul said, ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but to all them also that love his appearing’ (2 Timothy 4:7–8). As long as we forsake everything, work, suffer and expend ourselves for the Lord, and endure to the end, then when He returns, we will be crowned with glory, be raised up, and enter the kingdom of heaven.”

In the past few years, we have pursued what our pastors and elders told us to, and believed that by laboring, working, suffering, and expending ourselves for the Lord, we will gain crowns of glory and blessings from the Lord. As we accumulate ever greater merits through work, we think that we are qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven, and so every one of us vigorously expends ourselves for the Lord, to the point that we feel any degree of suffering is worth it. But have we ever reflected on whether thinking of things in this manner is in accord with the Lord’s will, and whether it has a basis in the Lord’s word? Does the Lord Jesus praise pursuit in this manner?

In the Bible, the Lord gives the parable of the master and the servant: “But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say to him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say to him, Make ready with which I may sup, and gird yourself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward you shall eat and drink? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise you, when you shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luke 17:7–10). The Lord Jesus told us this parable to say that the servant serves the master, and whatever he does for the master is what he is supposed to do and it is his duty. The servant is unqualified to ask for anything in return from the master, and should not capitalize on the doing of his duty to seek more rewards from his master. The Lord Jesus used this metaphor to enable us to know the identity and status of the Creator, as well as the position we should take and the sense of reason we should have as created beings before the Creator. We are created beings, the breath of life was given to us by God, and all the things we enjoy every day come from God. Therefore, it is an incontrovertible law of heaven that we believe in God, worship God, and work and expend ourselves for God. We should not make any demands of God, nor should we ask to be rewarded. Instead, we should recognize our identity and status as the servant in the parable and do our duty. Yet we always think that, because we sacrifice and expend ourselves for the Lord, the Lord should reward us and bring us into the kingdom of heaven. Isn’t this asking the Lord for a crown and making deals with God? What problem do such expressions demonstrate?

God’s words say, “In people’s life experiences, they often think to themselves, I’ve given up my family and career for God, and what has He given me? I must add it up, and confirm it—have I received any blessings recently? I’ve given a lot during this time, I’ve run and run, and have suffered much—has God given me any promises in return? Has He remembered my good deeds? What will my end be? Can I receive God’s blessings? … Every person constantly, and often makes such calculations within their heart, and they make demands of God which bear their motivations, and ambitions, and deals. Which is to say, in his heart man is constantly putting God to test, constantly devising plans about God, and constantly arguing the case for his end with God, and trying to extract a statement from God, seeing whether or not God can give him what he wants. At the same time as pursuing God, man doesn’t treat God like God. He has always tried to make deals with God, ceaselessly making demands of Him, and even pressing Him at every step, trying to take a mile after being given an inch. At the same time as trying to make deals with God, man also argues with Him, and there are even people who, when trials befall them or they find themselves in certain situations, often become weak, passive and slack in their work, and full of complaints about God. From when he first began to believe in God, man has considered God to be a cornucopia, a Swiss Army knife, and he has considered himself to be God’s greatest creditor, as if trying to get blessings and promises from God were his inherent right and obligation, while God’s responsibility were to protect and care for man and provide for him. Such is the basic understanding of ‘belief in God’ of all those who believe in God, and their deepest understanding of the concept of belief in God” (“God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II”). “God is forever supreme and ever honorable, while man is forever base, forever worthless. This is because God is forever making sacrifices and devoting Himself to mankind; man, however, forever takes and strives only for himself. God is forever taking pains for mankind’s survival, yet man never contributes anything for the sake of the light or for righteousness. Even if man makes an effort for a time, it is so weak that it cannot withstand a single blow, for the effort of man is always for his own sake and not for others. Man is always selfish, while God is forever selfless” (“It Is Very Important to Understand God’s Disposition”).

…

Therefore, no matter how long we believe in God and follow God, regardless of age, regardless of how much we work and expend ourselves for the Lord, regardless of how much we suffer or sacrifice, we should be clear on the fact that God is eternally our Lord, we are His eternal servants, we are created beings, and we should keep to our proper place and not make unreasonable demands of God. If we can emulate Peter and seek to love and satisfy God all our lives, take our proper place as created beings and expend ourselves wholeheartedly for God, and seek no gain and speak of no conditions or rewards from God, then we will receive God’s blessings and praise, and we will become people who delight God.

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