Finally Seeing Who Are the Pharisees Today on My Path of Welcoming the Lord

By Hanmei, Myanmar

The Wonderful Surprise of the Lord’s Return

In June 2017, I got to know Sister Liu and Brother Duan, both in Germany on Facebook, and through my communication with them I saw that they were genuine and modest people. They had a very pure understanding of the scripture and the content they shared in fellowship really contained light and was very beneficial for me. After joining them for a few gatherings, I understood a number of truths I never had before. My heart was really brightened; I loved meeting with them. During one gathering, Brother Duan referenced this passage of scripture: “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). In his fellowship, he said that God would once again appear and work in the flesh in the last days, and that He had already come to the East, to China. He said that this prophecy had already been fulfilled. Hearing this, I felt a bit shocked, thinking, “The Lord Jesus has already returned?” In this state, I thought of what I had heard the pastors and elders say, that only the people of Eastern Lightning bore witness that the Lord Jesus has already returned in the flesh. They told us we couldn’t believe in this, because only the Lord Jesus is Christ. I then felt really unsettled and no longer took heed of Brother Duan’s fellowship, thinking, “The pastors and elders are all people who serve God. They understand a lot about the Bible and they should have clarity on something as important as the Lord’s coming. I’ll ask them and then see!”

She Prayed to God and Then Witnessed a Miracle When Her Son’s Life Hung By a Thread

By Wang Hui

In the Spring of 2015, Wang Min left her home to run some errands one day and came back to find her son Linlin sitting on his bed looking very pale. He was holding his stomach with both hands and he kept vomiting. Wang Min hurried over and asked, “Linlin, what’s wrong?” Linlin replied in a low voice, “Mom, my stomach really hurts.” Wang Min rubbed his stomach and said, “Did you catch a cold in the night, or have you eaten something bad?” As she said this, she looked in a drawer and found some stomach medicine and gave it to Linlin. She thought to herself: My 25-year-old son isn’t that delicate, so he’ll be better soon with a bit of medicine. Unexpectedly, however, the pain in Linlin’s stomach did not improve, but instead got worse and worse. He was in such pain that his whole head was covered in sweat, and he kept crying out, “Mom, it hurts so bad!” Wang Min hurriedly called for the village doctor.

Only by Putting Aside Fame and Fortune Can We Live a Truly Meaningful Life

By  Zihan  United  States

Sitting before my father’s sickbed and watching him with tubes all over his body, I felt heartbroken: Yesterday he could still walk, but now he just lies in the bed awaiting death. At the moment, everyscene during the time I spent with my father came into my mind with great clarity.

In my childhood, my father seldom had meals with us, much less did he play with me. To give us a better life, rise above others and bring honor to our ancestors, my father had always been bustling around day and night, participating in various social events and negotiating business. Due to his hard work, we bought an apartment over 100 square meters in the city, and a car worth more than 300,000 yuan, and also had our own store. However, my father was not content with this. He desired to make more money and become a wealthy man admired by others. So he worked even harder. Later, because of great stress and irregular diet, coupled with frequent drinking with his clients, he got hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia as well as severe diabetes. My mother and I had extorted him not to exert himself to the utmost for money, yet he just ignored our words, and continued to rush around making investments as before.

The Aftermath of My Husband’s Affair

Lu Lu Anhui Province

In the middle of the night around 12:00 a.m., Lu Lu was staring at the computer screen, not daring to believe that what it displayed was a list of her husband’s expenses from the last few months: a few hundred yuan on women’s clothing at a department store, over a thousand yuan on a bottle of imported alcohol from a high-end liquor store … Seeing this list of numbers, Lu Lu collapsed into the chair and felt a taste of despair for the first time in her life. She never could have imagined that her husband who had been through thick and thin with her would suddenly betray her. Her sister-in-law’s kind warning came to mind: “Lu Lu, aren’t you afraid that my brother will do something disrespectful to you while he’s away?” Her response was, “I couldn’t say what others might do, but your brother isn’t that kind of person.” Her air of confidence at that time surfaced in her memory—faced with the bitter truth in that moment, it really felt like a mockery. The truth, hard as nails, completely obliterated the last line of defense in Lu Lu’s heart, and tears rolled down her cheek one after another, like a string of pearls. She hoped so fervently that this was a delusion and so longed to return to the wonderful times of the past, to the nostalgia of their innocent love. …

God’s Blessings: I May Not Be Rich, but I’m Very Fortunate

                                               

                                               By Bong, Philippines

                                         I Want to Become Wealthy

“Principal, please give my child a chance and let him take the examination!” My mother’s eyes implored the principal as she spoke in a slightly trembling voice.

Keeping a straight face, the principal said, “No, the school has rules. A child can only take the examination when the exam fee has been paid!”

My mother looked ashamed and pleaded with the principal, saying, “Principal, I know this is very hard for you at the school too, but I have many children and we just about manage to get by. We really can’t afford the exam fee. How about I write the school an IOU, you let my son take the examination, and I’ll figure out a way to pay you back as soon as I can….”

The principal looked at my mother and thought for a moment. Looking as though he didn’t have much choice, he said, “OK, fine!”

…………

Testimony of a Christian: How She Overcame the Temptation to Have an Affair (Part 2)

Xiyue

Over the next few days, although Jingru had not fallen into Satan’s temptation and she knew that she could never be with Wang Wei, her meeting with Wang Wei that evening and his sincere confession replayed in her mind over and over like a scene in a movie …

When Wang Wei called her again, Jingru’s heart was a bit shaken, and she said to herself: “The two of us cannot get together, but we can still be ordinary friends. So long as I keep my feet so that I don’t do anything that goes too far, then it’ll be fine.” She then answered the call from Wang Wei and chatted with him. As time went on, Jingru often thought about whether or not Wang Wei would call, to the point where her heart began to look forward to it. Every time he called, Jingru would comfort herself before answering the phone very naturally…. As things progressed, the calls between Wang Wei and Jingru became more frequent. But after every call, Jingru would feel uneasy and pained, and she realized that her actions were not conforming to God’s will, and that her feelings of pain and unease were precisely God reminding her and reproaching her. She then immediately went before God and prayed: “O God! I know I shouldn’t keep in touch with Wang Wei, but I can’t control my own heart. I can’t help but indulge myself and slide down toward sin. O God! I don’t want my actions in this matter to displease You. O God! Please save me!”

Afterward, Jingru saw several passages of words, and she found the way to free herself from pain. God’s words say: “All of you live in a place of sin and licentiousness; you are all licentious and sinful people. Today you not only can see God, but more importantly, you have received chastisement and judgment, received such deepest salvation, that is, received God’s greatest love. … As you do not know how to lead a life or how to live, and you live in this licentious and sinful place and are licentious and filthy devils, He does not have the heart to let you become even more depraved; neither has He the heart to see you living in the filthy place like this, being trampled by Satan at will, or the heart to let you fall into Hades. He only wants to gain this group of you and thoroughly save you” (“The Inside Truth of the Conquering Work (4)”). It says in Sermons and Fellowship: “By now, you understand how all people who are trapped by lust finally end up, right? What is the final outcome for most of these people? Do they meet with curses? Are there any good outcomes? They do not attain peace all life long! This is the confusion and trouble to which lust leads; it is unbearable suffering! Of all those people who seek a marriage partner recklessly or abnormally, are there any who have a happy outcome? There are no good final results, and they ultimately meet with curses. That is not a thing to be toyed with” (“What Kind of Person Will Be Perfected by God” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (VII)).

Testimony of a Christian: How She Overcame the Temptation to Have an Affair (Part 1)

Xiyue

One evening, Jingru was tidying her place.

“Ring, ring.” The phone began to ring. She answered it and a strange yet familiar voice sounded in her ear: “Hello! It’s Wang Wei. You’re home!”

“Wang Wei?” Jingru was somewhat astonished: Why was he calling her now after so many years?

“Yes … I’m home. What’s up?” asked Jingru in surprise.

“Long time no see. I’d like to take you for a ride. I’m on my way to your place and will arrive soon. Wait outside your door for me!” said Wang Wei.

After she’d hung up, Jingru’s heart began to race, and her thoughts immediately returned to those days at school …

Why Do Christians Still Sin After Being Saved?

                                              

By Xiaomo, China

The mention of “Jesus’ Redemption” always fills us with gratitude to the Lord. Two thousand years ago, to redeem us from the hands of Satan, the Lord Jesus was crucified and sacrificed for the sins of humanity, thereby forgiving all our sins. When we sin, as long as we repent and confess our sins to the Lord, our sins are forgiven, and we enjoy peace and joy. But recently, some brothers and sisters have been confused: Although our sins are forgiven by the Lord, we have never been able to escape the bondage of sin, we often lie and deceive, we are stuck in the cycle of sinning and confessing, and we cannot keep the Lord’s teachings. The Bible clearly tells us, “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26). We know clearly that we can sin involuntarily despite knowing our actions go against God’s will, and that if we merely repent without changing, the sacrifice for our sins is useless. Like this, can we truly be directly raptured into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord comes? But there are also some brothers and sisters who believe that although we often sin, the Lord has forgiven our sins and does not see us as sinners, and when the Lord returns, we will be raptured into the kingdom of heaven! So, will we be raptured into the kingdom of heaven? Let’s explore the issue together.

What Is Repentance?

By Liu Shuo

At a meeting of co-workers, Wang Wei, Ma Tao and Hu Zhi sat engaged in Bible study.

Wang Wei smiled and spoke to the group, saying, “Co-workers, let’s begin by reading a couple of verses of scripture. The Lord Jesus says, ‘Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’ (Matthew 4:17). ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent you, and believe the gospel’ (Mark 1:15). We can see from the Lord’s words that, if we want to enter God’s kingdom, then we must confess our sins to God and repent. We’ve believed in the Lord for years, however, and although we often confess our sins to Him, we are still capable of committing sin and we live within a vicious cycle of confessing and sinning. It seems as though we still don’t understand what true repentance is, and so we are not yet free of sin. Therefore, being clear on what true repentance is is extremely important to our ability to enter into the heavenly kingdom. Today, let’s delve into this issue together.”

Hu Zhi then spoke contemptuously, saying, “I believe that so long as we wholeheartedly come before the Lord Jesus, pray to Him and acknowledge our sins, crying our hearts out, then that is true repentance. As long as we frequently confess and repent in this way, then we will be able to obtain the Lord’s forgiveness, and when He returns, we can then be raised up into heaven.”

Wang Wei frowned slightly and retorted, “But we’ve prayed and confessed in this way for so many years, giving a reckoning of our sins before the Lord and weeping bitter tears. But the moment we encounter something real, we still involuntarily commit sin and, moreover, we commit the exact same sins over and over. I really worry that we who often live in sin will be abandoned and weeded out by the Lord when He returns.”

Know God’s Sovereignty and Find Happiness in Life

By Kaoshen, Germany

When I was little, my father would often say to me, “My son, our family is not well-off, so if you want anything you have to earn money. When you have money, you have everything!” From then on, my dream was to have a career making big bucks so that my family could live a good life.

Once I’d grown up and left school, I worked as an apprentice in a restaurant and a warehouseman at a chemical plant. Although working tired me out, seeing the money I was earning gradually grow, I thought it was all worth it no matter how hard the work was.

Lay Aside Incorrect View of Life: One’s Fate Is in One’s Own Hands

By Menghan

From my childhood, I had had a romance with the open and blue sky, admiring the eagle soaring freely and easily in the sky, and dreaming that I were a bird soaring cloud-high and flying freely in the blue sky with eagles.

God Is by My Side

By Guozi, USA

I was born into a Christian family, and when I was one year old, my mom accepted the new work of the Lord Jesus returned—Almighty God—but my grandma was strongly opposed. I remember when I was little, her most frequent words to me were: “If you don’t feel well or you can’t do your homework, just pray to the Lord Jesus. He’ll give you intelligence and wisdom; He’ll look after your safety.” My mom, though, would often tell me: “God created this world and He created mankind. He’s always by our sides. Remember to pray to Almighty God when you encounter an issue and He will care for and protect you.” These two different voices frequently rang in my ears. I once asked my mom uncertainly: “Grandma wants me to pray to the Lord Jesus and you want me to pray to Almighty God. Who should I listen to?” She said: “Actually, the Lord Jesus and Almighty God are the same God. It’s just that the names God took on and the work He’s done are different because the ages are different. The Lord Jesus did the work of the Age of Grace, and Almighty God does the work of the Age of Kingdom. He changes the way He works in every age, and He also changes His name. But no matter how His name and His work change, His essence doesn’t change. Just like today you’re wearing red to go to school and tomorrow you’ll wear blue to go to the restaurant—even though you’re wearing different clothing, going to different places, and doing different things, you’re still you. But when God’s new era arrives we have to keep up with His new work. That’s why we should pray to Almighty God now.” Even though I heard my mom’s explanation, I was still very perplexed in my heart and still had a somewhat doubtful attitude toward Almighty God’s new work.

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 …

Ever since she was small, Qinyi loved to listen to the song, The Butterfly Lovers, and she loved even more to watch the TV opera, also called The Butterfly Lovers, within which the “Only when the mountains fall and heaven and earth are one will I be parted from you” love story of the protagonists always left her feeling profoundly moved. She hoped to also have a love which would last until the heavens and the earth grew old, and which would last for all her life.

Everyone Has Their Own Beauty

By Yang Yue

Everyone hopes to be excellent and attractive, and be looked up to and praised by others wherever they go. I was not an exception. However, things backfired on me. My various qualifications didn’t satisfy me. I felt I was worthless, and was a fifth wheel in this world. That was why I was often painful …

Catholic Beliefs: I Have Welcomed the Lord’s Return

By Amy, USA

“Meeting with the Lord is the greatest hope of all believers. By the grace of the Lord, I have welcomed the Lord’s return and I am full of gratitude to Him….” It’s nighttime, and the clear moonlight spills into the room through the window. Under the soft light of her lamp, Amy is quickly typing out her experience of welcoming the Lord’s return. Thinking of God’s love and salvation for her, Amy stands up and softly walks to the window and gazes out at the full moon, reminiscing on the past …

Coming Home (Part 2)

By Muyi, South Korea

In this period, there was another brother named Yang who also investigated Almighty God’s work in the last days together with me. I had always had a careless and absent-minded attitude, but Brother Yang was earnest in his studies. Brother Yang said that he had rejected the gospel of Almighty God when people had preached it to him before but that hearing it again today must be an opportunity granted by God! He wanted to investigate it. Brother Yang saw that I was only interested in listening to the pastor’s words and not investigating with an open mind. He found a passage for me, which was Matthew 5:3–6: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. … Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Reading the word of the Lord, I wondered: Why is it that I can’t seek tranquilly in the presence of the Lord? If the Lord were really to return by some chance, and I did not listen to Him or investigate it, would I not be left behind? I should also learn some humility, and I must not blindly come to conclusions based on my own imagination. Just when I had decided to settle my heart to investigate it sincerely, a missionary of the church gave me a call out of the blue and asked me if I were still with the people from The Church of Almighty God. I said that yes, the missionary again reminded me to cease contact with them. The missionary’s words dispelled the thought that I had just been wanting to investigate. I thought, “The pastor and missionary have a much better understanding of the Bible than I do, and none of them acknowledges that the Lord has returned. I had too little understanding of the Bible and had no ability to discriminate for myself, so I had better just listen to what the pastor and missionary were saying.” When I hung up the phone, I said to Brother Cheng: “If Brother Yang wants to investigate, then you two go on speaking. I don’t want to hear it.” Just like that, I had once again stiffly rejected the salvation of God.

To Be an Honest Person Is Truly Great! (Audio Essay)

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.

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

Xiaomo

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!

Spiritual Awakening of a “White Angel” (Part 2)

Miaoxiao

Recognizing Mankind That Has Been Corrupted by Satan

From then on, every day before the dawn, I got up to read God’s words, pray and sing hymns and enjoyed the kind of peace and joy that I had never experienced before. One day, I saw that it said in God’s words:

The Secret Tip to Resolving Hatred (Audio Essay)

Xiao Wu

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.