How She Chose a Right Life Partner

By She Qi, China

Marriage is a major thing in everyone’s life, so how can we choose a right life partner in a way that will ensure happiness? What are your criteria for selecting a spouse? These days, more and more women want to marry someone tall, rich and handsome, and more and more men want to marry a beautiful woman. People think that as long as they have money and are able to enjoy a lavish material life, they’ll be happy. But is that kind of perspective on marriage accurate? What really is true happiness? Here Qiao Yin and Qi Zheng, a couple worthy of our admiration, break down what happiness really is.

Why Was Thomas’ Faith Not Approved by the Lord Jesus?

By Hongyu

It is recorded in the Bible, “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the middle, and said, Peace be to you. Then said he to Thomas, Reach here your finger, and behold my hands; and reach here your hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to him, My LORD and my God. Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:26–29).

Each time I saw these verses I would think: Why did the Lord Jesus not commend Thomas’ faith? Was it merely because he didn’t believe the Lord Jesus’ resurrection? If so, then didn’t Thomas have any doubts toward God before that? Or was it because the Lord Jesus hadn’t seen through his doubts before? I felt very puzzled about these questions.

Disclose the Mystery of God’s Names—Jehovah and Jesus

By Weichen

One day, Xunguang came to visit her co-worker Wang Li. After they chatted for a while, Xunguang raised a question, “In the age of the Old Testament, God’s name was Jehovah; in the age of the New Testament, God’s name was Jesus. And according to the prophecy in Revelation, ‘I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will write on him my new name’ (Revelation 3:12), in the last days, when the Lord comes again He will have a new name. Why does God take different names in different ages?”

Thinking for a short while, Wang Li answered with a smile: “I’ll share a bit of my personal knowledge and understanding on this question.”

Experience of My Child Being Twice Critically Ill and Finally Out of Danger

By Li Ai, Italy

In early 2003, my baby that I had carried for over nine months suddenly died in the womb. This terrible event caused our entire family a lot of pain. I really wanted to have another child, but I was afraid I would lose it again, and so I developed postpartum depression.

In 2006, seeing me living in such pain, my mom and elder sister testified to me of God’s kingdom gospel. Unexpectedly, my illness got better without me being aware of it and, a year later, despite not having had a child in years, by chance I bore a son. The birth of my son brought our family so much happiness …

I Experienced God’s Wondrous Sovereignty Through an Outdoor Shooting

By Liu Qing, Spain

In January 2018, the Planning Department of our company assigned us an urgent task—taking an aerial video of a transition from forests on the mountains to the sea. And we planned to finish it in 7 days. Then my colleagues and I began to search such a scene on Google Maps. The minute we found one, we went to that place—Bilbao, a coastal city in northern Spain.

But we never thought that as soon as we arrived there, we were caught in local rainy season. And it rained for five days together. On the sixth day, directly the rain stopped, we went to the location. However, upon arriving there, we saw that a large area of sea water near the shore was muddy for days of rain, which made the scene unattractive. Then, we tried to use our drone to shoot and found that the signal there was weak. Before it flew over the forest, the signal was gone. We tried several times, but we all failed in the end. What was worse, at that time, the sky was overcast and it began to drizzle, so we had to stop shooting.

Required Reading for Christians: Trials—Another Kind of Blessing From God

As Christians, none of us are strangers to trials. The Bible says, “And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, Jehovah is my God” (Zechariah 13:9). It also says in the Bible, “My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2). From this, we can see that God wants to give refinement and trials to His chosen people and, through this, to perfect our faith and our love for God, to resolve our corrupt dispositions or the taints in our belief, to remedy our wrong views and to enable us to be purified. We can therefore encounter all kinds of environments that are at odds with our own notions. Examples of these environments may include sometimes encountering the refinement of illness, and sometimes our families may encounter misfortune, such as the suffering of a relative or our homes being burgled; sometimes we may encounter difficulties in our jobs or things in our lives that are not as we would wish; another example is what we decide to do when the interests of our flesh clash with the interests of the church. All these examples are, without a doubt, trials to us. So what approach should we take to the trials God sets for us? And when trials befall us, what is God’s will?

God’s Protection: A Son’s Miraculous Recovery After Being “Sentenced to Death”

By Xiaotu, China

It was early morning, just after a rain, and thin mist shrouded the village at the foot of the mountain. The village was only sometimes visible through the fog, like a fairyland on earth. In a warm, ordinary-looking farmhouse, Molian brought a muddy hoe to the gate, and urged her daughter-in-law inside the house, “Xiaoqing, hurry up, if we plant just after the spring rain, the seedlings are sure to grow up strong!”

“Coming!”

Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law walked across the brown soil into the fields …

A creaking bicycle raced toward them and suddenly stopped in front of them. “Are you relatives of Zhihui?” anxiously gasped a flat-headed young man as he brushed sweat from his forehead. Molian nodded lightly, but before she could answer, he said frantically, “Hurry! Your son was hurt, and he’s lying in the hospital!” Molian immediately felt nervous: Lying in the hospital? Was the injury serious? Before they could think further, Molian and her daughter-in-law quickly found a taxi and rushed to the town hospital.

Confidence in God Helped Me Stand Testimony When My Family Opposed My Belief

By Xiufen, Singapore

The editor’s word: On the path of believing in God, we often encounter different kinds of situations and barriers. Sometimes due to small faith, we’ll be timid and hang back, and don’t know how to cope with the difficulties ahead. When the author of this article faced her family opposing her belief in God, it was God’s word that guided her to see through Satan’s schemes and follow God unswervingly. The following article will tell you her true experience.

In July 2017, by chance I got to know that the Lord had returned to flesh, and that His name is Almighty God. He has expressed many words and carried out the work of judgment beginning from the house of God. On hearing the news, I was amazed as well as joyful. Through a period of investigation and reading Almighty God’s word, I felt God’s word is exactly the truth and carries authority and power. His word not only reveals my corrupt nature and judges my unrighteousness but also makes me see the truth of my corruption by Satan and know God’s righteous disposition. At the same time, God’s word shows me how to get rid of sins and attain salvation. I was sure that Almighty God is indeed the returned Lord Jesus and then joined The Church of Almighty God formally.

What Is Faith and How to Have True Confidence in God

 By Shen Mingxin

What is faith? Many brothers and sisters in the Lord think that as long as they acknowledge God’s name, persist in reading the Bible, meeting and praying, and furthermore are able to sacrifice everything and labor, they are believers who have faith in God. But, this understanding is one-sided. In fact, true faith means that when our mind and body endure great suffering during refinement or adversity, we still don’t misunderstand or complain about God, but instead can obey God and persevere in believing in and following God.

From Biblical records we see: When Job was tempted by Satan, his livestock was robbed from him by bandits, his servants were killed, calamity befell his children, he got sore boils all over his body, and his wife laughed at him and asked him to forsake the name of God. Facing these sudden misfortunes, he endured pain in both his body and spirit. However, he didn’t complain about Jehovah God’s taking away from him, but said, “Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21). He bore a strong and resounding testimony for God, which shamed and defeated Satan. Seeing Job’s faith in Him, God blessed Job doubly, bestowing upon him more cattle, sheep, and beautiful children. And finally Job died, full of days. Job is the model of faith and he is worthy of emulation by each of us believers in the Lord.

From the testimony of Job, we can see that when God blessed him, he believed that everything man has is due to God’s blessings, so he thanked God and worshiped God; when God’s trials befell him, though he didn’t understand and felt pain inside, he still obeyed God and didn’t have any complaints. Only this is true faith in God, and is also the sincere heart of man toward God. Just as God’s words say, “What does faith refer to? Faith is the genuine belief and the sincere heart that humans should possess when they cannot see or touch something, when God’s work is not in line with human notions, when it is beyond human reach. This is the faith that I speak of. People are in need of faith during times of hardship and refinement, and along with faith comes refinement. These are inextricable.”

Then, how can we develop true faith in God? This needs us to practically experience and appreciate God’s work in our daily life. When we are able to see God’s mastery, orchestrations and arrangements for our life and God’s authority and deeds, and have a genuine understanding of God through them, then no matter how God’s work doesn’t conform to our conceptions, we will still be able to maintain our faith in God. Just like Job: He only heard of God but he had never seen God. However, he could know God’s sovereignty and see God’s righteousness among all things. For example: Man’s fortune and misfortune, how much money one would possess, and how many children one would have in life—he knew all these were under God’s sovereignty, despite man’s own plans and calculations. He saw who were evil and punished by God, who were kindhearted and received God’s grace and blessings, and so on. Because of these understandings of God, he developed true faith in God. So when Satan’s temptations came upon him, although he was miserable, he knew all the things he enjoyed had come from God and had not been earned through his own hard work, and that if God wanted to take them back, he shouldn’t complain about or misunderstand God but should obey God. Thus, he made no demands of God, and accepted and obeyed God’s orchestrations and arrangements, giving a resounding testimony to God before Satan and being accepted by God. Another example is Moses. He stayed in the wilderness for forty years. There was nobody there, and his only companions were sheep during the day and stars at night. At last, he survived the forty difficult years by relying on God. Through his experiences, he truly appreciated that everything is orchestrated by the hand of God, and that there is nothing God cannot do. Such understanding of God helped him develop true faith in God. Thus, when God asked him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he prostrated before God and accepted His commission without hesitation. He didn’t worry about how to defeat the Egyptian army singled-handed but simply obeyed, because he believed that all things are in God’s hands and are orchestrated by God. In the end, by relying on his true faith in God, he succeeded in leading the Israelites out of Egypt.

Therefore, if we want to develop true faith in God as Job and Moses did, we must practically experience God’s work in our daily life. Especially when some hardships and distressing situations befall us, we should first intentionally obey, and then look to God, pray to God and seek God’s will. When we, through this, achieve true obedience to God, we will surely see His wondrous deeds and develop true faith in Him. At this point, I am reminded of a new sister’s experience. Not long after she accepted God’s new work, an illness befell her. Later, it got worse and worse, and she was even in danger of getting bell’s palsy. At that time she was very weak and in great pain. However, through praying and reading God’s words, she came to understand that Satan was using the illness to disturb her. That illness was Satan’s temptation and was also God’s test. After understanding God’s intention, she prayed to God, saying that she was willing to give herself to God and was determined to stand witness. After that, amazingly she recovered very quickly. Thus, she not only didn’t leave God because of that illness, but she actually strengthened her resolution of following God even more after seeing God’s marvelous deeds. There’s also a brother. When he first started believing in God, he was very passionate. However, later he was hunted by the CCP because of his faith in God, so he had to leave home and lead the life of vagabonds, of the homeless. That was extremely hard, so he became weak. Afterward, only through reading God’s words did he realize his own impurities in believing in God, and that his faith in God was in order to receive God’s blessings and grace. So, he turned his incorrect views on faith in God around. After that, because he, in harsh environments, relied on God at every moment to fulfill his duty spreading the gospel, so many times he managed to escape from under the CCP’s nose. From this, he personally experienced God’s marvelous protection and also saw God’s almightiness and wisdom. Hence, he had more and more faith in God.

These practical experiences allow us to see that in our real environment, as long as we carefully experience God’s guidance, support, help, or chastening and discipline, we will understand that what God does in us is all His love and salvation for us. Then we will have true understanding of Him, appreciate His almightiness and wisdom, and even more know that His righteous disposition is inviolable by man. When that time comes, we will have a heart of reverence for God and subsequently we will develop true faith in God.

Q&A About God’s Work of Judgment in the Last Days-Question 9

Question 9: We accept God’s work of the last days, but how do we experience God’s judgment and chastisement so that we can receive the truth and life, get rid of our sinful nature, and achieve salvation to enter the kingdom of heaven?

Answer: How to experience God’s judgment and chastisement to receive the truth and life, and get rid of our sinful nature to achieve salvation and enter the kingdom of heaven. This question you have raised is very important, because this relates to the major issues of man’s ending and destination. To seek this aspect of the truth, we should first read a few passages of Almighty God’s word:

“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).

The Tabernacle of God Is With Men

By Chen Bo, China

Editors' Note: Many brothers and sisters long for the day when they can be raised up into heaven and can meet the Lord, and this is the greatest dream of everyone who believes in the Lord. But it is prophesied in Revelation: “ The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them…. ” This passage of scripture says that the kingdom of God will come on earth, so will we go up to heaven in the future, or will we be reunited with the Lord on earth? We trust you would all like to know the answer to this question. Today, we recommend a sister's experiences for you to read, and we believe that, when you have finished reading it, you will all reap the harvest.

The greatest longing we believers have is to be able to enter the kingdom of heaven and to enjoy the eternal bliss bestowed on man by the Lord. Each time I heard a pastor preach that the place the Lord will prepare for us in the future is in heaven, and there will be fields of gold and walls of jade, gems will glisten everywhere, and we can eat the fruit of the tree of life and drink the water of the river of life, that there will be no more pain, no more tears and no more sorrow, and all will be free and liberated, I would feel a surge of such emotion and such joy. This is a place I longed for so much, and my life on earth of toil and sorrow did indeed make me feel so weary. I would then rush all around and expend myself enthusiastically for the Lord; I would spread the gospel and establish churches,and I never stopped no matter how painful or difficult it got. Especially now that we're in the last days and the Lord would soon return and take us all back to the heavenly home, I worked and expended myself even more actively.

One day, I went to my sister's house to check on our mom. Before leaving, my sister gave me a book, urging me to be sure to read it carefully. I thought to myself: This book that my sister gave me is certainly a spiritual work. It just so happens that my spirit feels quite parched right now, it does not feel like the Lord is with me, and I do not feel illuminated from reading the Bible. When I get back, I ought to read this book carefully . Perhaps it will give me something. After returning home, I opened the book and started reading, and before I knew it I was sucked in by the words in the book. The more I read it the more I enjoyed it, the more I read it the more I felt there was light in these words, that they were enlightened by the Holy Spirit, that there was no way that these words could be spoken by a normal person.Since reading this book,I've come to understand some truths that I did not understand before from reading the Bible, and in my mind I feel clarity and joy. I'm willing to pray to get close to the Lord, and my faith has grown. My spiritual condition has gotten better and better. I thought: Only the work of the Holy Spirit can provide man with faith and strength, and provide for and nourish man's spirit. The words in this book certainly come from the Holy Spirit. As a result, the first thing I do every morning when I wake up is read this book.Only the work of the Holy Spirit can provide man with faith and strength, and provide for and nourish man's spirit. The words in this book certainly come from the Holy Spirit. As a result, the first thing I do every morning when I wake up is read this book.Only the work of the Holy Spirit can provide man with faith and strength, and provide for and nourish man's spirit. The words in this book certainly come from the Holy Spirit. As a result, the first thing I do every morning when I wake up is read this book.

One day, I opened the book and read the following passage: “ God entering into rest means that He will no longer carry out His work of humanity's salvation. Humanity entering into rest means that all of humanity will live within God's light and under His blessings ; there will be none of Satan's corruption, nor will any unrighteous things occur. Humanity will live normally upon earth, and they will live under God's care ” (“God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) . I stopped there. My heart jumped, and I thought to myself: In the future man is going to live upon the earth? Didn't the Lord Jesuspromise that in the future we would live in heaven? How are these words talking about being on the earth? How could this be possible? Am I misreading this? So I carefully re-read the passage, and the words really were saying that in the future man was going to live upon the earth. Then what does that actually mean? This wouldn't do. I had to understand what this actually meant. So I continued reading: “God has God's destination, and man has man's destination. While resting, God will continue to guide all of humanity in their lives upon earth. While in God's light, man will worship the one true God in heaven. … When humanity enters into rest, it means that man has become a true creation; humanity will worship God from upon the earth and have normal human lives. People will no longer be disobedient to God or resist God; they will return to the original life of Adam and Eve” (“God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). The more I read the more I felt confused: Man will worship God from upon the earth? How is this going to happen? In the Bible doesn't it say this will happen in heaven? How could it be upon the earth? I rushed over to my Bible, opening it to John 14:2–3, and read where the Lord Jesus says: “ In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am , there you may be also.” The Lord Jesus clearly says that His resurrection and ascent into heaven was to prepare a place for us, so our destination should be in heaven. This is the Lord's promise! I thought to myself: What this book is saying is different from what the Lord says, so I cannot keep reading it. After closing the book I was in a very confused state of mind, I didn't know what was right, so I persistently prayed to the Lord: “Oh Lord, please guide me and lead me. What should I do? Should I read this book or not? Oh Lord, please enlighten me, guide me….” After praying I thought about how after reading this book I felt closer in my relationship to the Lord, more enthusiastic about my faith in the Lord, and that my spirit was being provided for.If I put down this book and stopped reading it then I would go back to my previous condition where my spirit felt parched. Since this book did so much for me, since I could be sure that it came from the Holy Spirit, that it couldn 't be mistaken as it came from the Holy Spirit, even though these words did not conform to my conceptions I shouldn't renounce them for this reason and not read them. As I thought about this, I decided I better keep reading before making up my mind.I decided I better keep reading before making up my mind.I decided I better keep reading before making up my mind.t renounce them for this reason and not read them. As I thought about this, I decided I better keep reading before making up my mind.I decided I better keep reading before making up my mind.I decided I better keep reading before making up my mind.t renounce them for this reason and not read them. As I thought about this, I decided I better keep reading before making up my mind.I decided I better keep reading before making up my mind.I decided I better keep reading before making up my mind.

Thereupon I picked up the book again and continued reading: “ Man's place of rest is on earth, and God's place of rest is in heaven. While man rests, he will worship God and also live upon earth, and while God rests, He will lead the remaining portion of humanity; He will lead them from heaven, not from earth” (“God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). I kept pondering this over in my mind: This passage now says that God's place of rest is in heaven, and that while man rests he will worship God upon the earth. Could it be that man's place of rest really is upon the earth like these words are saying? That's impossible! The Lord Jesus has already said that we will be wherever the Lord is, and the Lord Jesus was resurrected and ascended up to heaven, so we will also surely ascend to heaven! I thought back on years past, how I had gone down so many roads for the Lord, how I had endured so much suffering. Was it not so that I would ascend up to heaven and no longer endure the suffering on earth? If it's really like what this book is saying, that in the future man will still be living upon the earth,then won't my hopes come to nothing? I lay paralyzed upon my kang bed. I felt weak from head to toe. The more I thought about this the more I couldn't quiet down. So, in order to figure this out, I rushed over to my sister's house.

When I arrived at my sister's house, I met a middle-aged woman, and through my sister introducing us I learned that this was Sister Li. Before long, I talked with them about my thoughts after reading this book. After listening, Sister Li fellowshiped with me, saying: “Sister, all of us who believe in the Lord think that the Lord Jesus has promised to prepare a place for man, and that wherever He is He will ask for us to come there. The Lord has ascended to heaven, so in the future when the Lord returns He certainly will welcome us in heaven to live together with Him. But have any of us thought about whether this kind of imagining and reasoning is tenable? If it was how we imagine it that the Lord would come and bring us to live in heaven, then wouldn't the words in the Lord's Prayer 'Your kingdom come, Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven ' (Mat 6:10) and the prophecy in the Revelation ' Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God ' (Rev 21:3) come to naught? How could these things come about as predicted? If the final destination that God gives us was in heaven, then when God originally created man, what was the significance of Him having us live upon the earth?” I was not convinced in the least, and retorted: “Even though these sacred texts say these things, the Lord Himself said: 'I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am,there you may be also' (Jhn 14:2–3). After the Lord Jesus was resurrected, He ascended to heaven, and here the Lord is saying that He will go prepare a place for us. He says that where He is, we may also be. So this proves that God promised us that we will ascend to heaven to obtain eternal life, not that we will obtain eternal life upon the earth. This is something that no one can deny!” Sister Li continued to speak patiently: “Sister, it is true that the Lord is preparing a place for those who believe in Him, but is this place actually upon the earth or in heaven? The Lord does not say so in these words, so what are we basing it on when we say that the place He is preparing for us is in heaven? Is this actually the Lord's promise or is it our own conception and imagination? For those of us who believe in God,all things should be based on the word of the Lord,we should not mix our own conceptions and imaginations with the word of the Lord and then say that this is the meaning of the Lord. Is this not relying on our own ideas to explain the word of the Lord? Is this not distorting the word of the Lord? So, we cannot rely on the imaginations in our heads and our own thoughts and preferences to explain the word of the Lord. If so, we will make a mistake. In Genesis 2:7–8 it says: 'And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And Jehovah God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.' It's clear that in the beginning God created man on the earth,and before God created man He first created all things in order to prepare a good environment for man to exist in.So we can see that it is the will of God to have us live upon the earth. In addition, in the Lord's Prayer, the Lord has us pray to God that His kingdom come to earth. It is prophesied in the Book of Revelation, 'The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ ' (Rev 11:15) and ' The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them' (Rev 21:3). From these lines of Scripture and prophecy we can see that the place that God is preparing for us is on the earth, and that our final destination in the future is on the earth not in heaven….” Sister Li's fellowship went completely against my conceptions. I simply did not listen to what she said. I stood up and said to her angrily: “Stop talking! Over the years I have run, expended and suffered for the Lord so that I can ascend to heaven! All along I have been looking forward to the Lord bringing me back to the heavenly home, so that I would no longer suffer on earth. You say that our final destination is on earth. I cannot accept this.” After saying this I turned around to leave. My younger sister rushed over to try to talk to me: “Sis, how can you be so stubborn? Is this standpoint you hold on to correct? The Lord says 'go to prepare a place for you ,' you do not know the true meaning of these words, and you are maintaining your own thoughts. Isn't that being foolish? This is not the kind of attitude people who seek the truth should have! The Lord Jesus that we look forward to has already returned, Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus! That book that I gave you to read is the personal utterances and words of God! The Lord, who every day we have expected to come to take us, has now returned. We must listen carefully. We absolutely must not mess up this extremely rare opportunity!”  

I was amazed to hear my sister say these words. I simply could not dare believe what I just heard: The Lord has returned? Is this true? Then my sister said: “Weren't you the one that said before that the words in this book come from the Holy Spirit? When you read it, you felt you had been provided with a lot, you had the work of the Holy Spirit, and your relationship with the Lord grew closer. Now think about it: Apart from the word of the Lord, who else speaks in a way that achieves this kind of effect? Now the Lord has returned to carry out work and express new words, and we are able to enjoy the sweetness of the words of God. If we don't seek and examine, if we just blindly hold on to our own conceptions and imaginations, and hold on to the literal meaning of the Bible without letting go, then eventually we will ruin ourselves.In their time,Pharisees who were proficient in the Bible blindly held on to words in the Bible, they didn't try at all to question whether or not their own understanding of the Bible was correct, or whether or not it conformed to God's will . Rather they thought that man not called the Messiah was not the Savior that was going to come, they simply did not examine whether or not the way of the Lord Jesus could supply the life of man, or if it could show man a path to practice. They just stubbornly held on to their conceptions and imaginations and blindly refused the salvation of the Lord Jesus, ultimately committing the heinous crime of nailing the Lord to the cross. We cannot follow in the footsteps of the Pharisees and go down their path of resisting God!” After listening to my sister's words I thought to myself:What my sister is saying is reasonable.The Lord's word is the only solution when a man's spirit is parched. I thought back to how, since I started reading the words in this book, the condition of my spirit really got better and better, how it had given mefaith in God, and how it had made me feel that God is with me. I even felt like I understood some truths. Could it be that the words in this book really were the utterances of the returned Lord? The Lord returning is a big deal. I had best not blindly refuse and judge, I must make an effort to examine and seek, I cannot be like those Pharisees who did not seek the truth, who held on to their conceptions in resistance to God! In this moment I felt both pleasantly surprised and scared. I was pleasantly surprised because I believed in the Lord and looked forward to Him returning to accept me into the kingdom of heaven,where I could live a life free of worries, no longer needing to experience hard times upon the earth, and today I heard the news of the Lord returning. This truly is an enormous and joyous occasion.I was scared because if Almighty God is the returned Lord then my dream of waiting for the Lord to accept me into the kingdom of heaven would be shattered…. In my heart I felt all kinds of mixed emotions, I didn't know how to feel. I felt helpless. All I could do was turn to the Lord in prayer: “Oh Lord! Every day I have looked forward to You coming to bring me into Your heavenly home, but they are saying that the place You have prepared for my final destination is here upon the earth. I really am incapable of confronting this fact. I really do not want to experience these kinds of hard times upon the earth. Oh Lord!I feel such a suffering in my heart now, please help me , and guide me on the path ahead.” After praying I thought about theIn my heart I felt all kinds of mixed emotions, I didn't know how to feel. I felt helpless.All I could do was turn to the Lord in prayer: “Oh Lord! Every day I have looked forward to You coming to bring me into Your heavenly home, but they are saying that the place You have prepared for my final destination is here upon the earth. I really am incapable of confronting this fact. I really do not want to experience these kinds of hard times upon the earth. Oh Lord!I feel such a suffering in my heart now, please help me, and guide me on the path ahead.” After praying I thought about theIn my heart I felt all kinds of mixed emotions, I didn't know how to feel. I felt helpless. All I could do was turn to the Lord in prayer: “Oh Lord! Every day I have looked forward to You coming to bring me into Your heavenly home, but they are saying that the place You have prepared for my final destination is here upon the earth.I really am incapable of confronting this fact. I really do not want to experience these kinds of hard times upon the earth. Oh Lord!I feel such a suffering in my heart now, please help me, and guide me on the path ahead. ” After praying I thought about thebut they are saying that the place You have prepared for my final destination is here upon the earth. I really am incapable of confronting this fact. I really do not want to experience these kinds of hard times upon the earth . Oh Lord!I feel such a suffering in my heart now, please help me, and guide me on the path ahead.” After praying I thought about thebut they are saying that the place You have prepared for my final destination is here upon the earth. I really am incapable of confronting this fact. I really do not want to experience these kinds of hard times upon the earth. Oh Lord!I feel such a suffering in my heart now, please help me, and guide me on the path ahead.” After praying I thought about theLord Jesus' words where He says: “ Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven ” (Mat 5:3). It's true! The Lord likes and only allows those who are poor in spirit and who seek the truth to enter the kingdom of heaven. I should be someone who is poor in spirit. Only by carefully listening to their fellowship will I conform to the will of the Lord.

At this moment, Sister Li said: “The Lord said: ' Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God' (Mat 5:8). We ought to listen to the word of the Lord, and act as people who are pure of heart as we welcome the return of the Lord. Although the work that God carries out today does not conform to our conceptions and imaginations, still everything that God does is good, it is all for man, and among it all is the will of God, where the truth can be sought. If we don't understand it thoroughly then we must first set aside ourselves and make an effort to seek the truth, so that we can receive the enlightenment of God and understand God's will. Sister, open up your heart and speak about the things you still don't understand, and we can seek together through fellowshiping.” I felt like what Sister Li had said made sense, I ought to calm down and seek, so, I said: “Sister, there's one thing I don't understand.Why is it that our final destination is not in heaven but rather here on earth?” Sister Li found John 3:13 “And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven” and Isaiah 66:1 “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool,” and gave me these two passages to read. Then she fellowshiped on the meaning of these two passages. Through the sister's fellowship I felt my mind was all of a sudden clear. I also knew these passages from Scripture, so why was it that I never pondered over them before? The Lord clearly says that except for the Son of man who came down from heaven no man can ascend up to heaven, for heaven is God's throne and earth is God's footstool, so how could man deserve to ascend up to heaven? God created man on earth, and had him live on earth. From the day that God created man, man has inhabited the earth generation after generation, gradually increasing in number. All work that God has carried out to save man has also been on earth. This was something that God predestined long ago. It is something that no man can change.It seems that God's kingdom is actually upon the earth, and that mankind's final destination is on the earth and not in heaven! This whole time I had been living within my own conceptions and imagination, I delimited that God would return to bring me to heaven to live, but this really does not conform to the will of the Lord, this does not conform to the facts! However, I was still not willing to live this kind of life on earth where I was afflicted by Satan. So shortly after, I explained the thoughts I was having to Sister Li.this does not conform to the facts! However, I was still not willing to live this kind of life on earth where I was afflicted by Satan. So shortly after, I explained the thoughts I was having to Sister Li.this does not conform to the facts! However, I was still not willing to live this kind of life on earth where I was afflicted by Satan.So shortly after, I explained the thoughts I was having to Sister Li.

After listening to me, Sister Li opened up the book of The Word Appears in the Flesh, and read to me a passage from the word of Almighty God: “The life in rest is one without war, without filth, without persisting unrighteousness. This is to say that it lacks Satan's harassment (here 'Satan' refers to hostile forces), Satan's corruption, as well as the invasion of any force opposed to God . Everything follows its own kind and worships the Lord of creation. Heaven and earth are entirely tranquil. This is humanity's restful life. … After God and man enter into rest, Satan will no longer exist, and like Satan, those wicked people will also no longer exist. Before God and man enter into rest, those wicked individuals who once persecuted God upon earth and the enemies who were disobedient to Him upon earth will have already been destroyed; they will have been destroyed by the great disasters of the last days . After those wicked individuals have been completely destroyed,earth will never again know Satan's harassment. Humanity will obtain complete salvation, and it will only be then thatGod's work ends completely. These are the prerequisites for God and man to enter into rest ” (“God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Through reading the words of Almighty God I came to understand that, although in the future our lives are still on earth, once God finishes His final stage of work in saving mankind Satan will be destroyed, and our lives upon the earth will never again be harassed by Satan, nor will we worry or toil, or shed tears, or let out sighs. It will be just like the time when Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden. We will be free to worship God, living a beautiful and blessed life where God is with man. This is mankind's final destination, and this is the final thing that God will accomplish in His work in the last days. It truly is great! At that very moment I released a sigh: “Who could speak with such a clear way about mankind's final destination? Who could arrange mankind's end? Only God could do this!” Within the word of Almighty God I recognized God's voice, and saw that the work of Almighty God is God appearing to carry out work! I had finally gotten rid of the conceptions in my mind, and happily accepted Almighty God's work in the last days , returning before God's throne. All the glory be to Almighty God!

I Am Following in the Footsteps of the Lamb

Shen Ai, Singapore

When I was 18 years old my mother got ill, and so she started believing in the Lord Jesus. At the time, I knew the Lord Jesus’ name but didn’t understand anything about faith in the Lord. It was quite a coincidence that I later went to work for a company where most of the employees were Christians. Through interacting with them, I saw how they treated people with love and patience, and I came to believe that Christians were a pretty good bunch of people. During that period, there was a colleague who often told me the story about how the Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross in order to redeem mankind. I gradually developed an interest in faith in the Lord, and started going with my colleagues to their church to worship. The first time I entered the church and heard hymns praising God being sung I was unexpectedly moved to tears by the Lord’s love. I prayed to the Lord like this: “Oh, Lord Jesus! Thank You for picking me out of the vast ocean of humanity to become one of Your daughters.

What Is True Faith?

By Li Xin

What is faith? Under comfortable environments, with our works going well and family lives being peaceful, many of us will have the faith to follow the Lord, actively reading the Bible and attending meetings; however, once something unpleasant happens, we will become weak immediately. For example, when we are facing living difficulties because of losing our jobs, when our families lose peace due to something against our wishes happening, or when we are always refused a new job in spite of our praying, we begin losing our faith in God. Then, in consideration of all these things, what is real faith exactly?

Regenerated in God’s Word

Wang Gang    Shandong Province

I was a peasant. As my family was poor, I kept working everywhere to make money, just wanting to live a better life through my own labor. However, in real life I saw that the lawful rights and interests of a rural worker like me couldn’t be guaranteed at all. My wages were often withheld for no reason. Deceived and exploited by others again and again, I couldn’t get the payment I deserved for a year’s hard work. I felt that the world was too dark! People lived by the law of the jungle like animals and contended with and fought against each other. There was simply no place for me to live. When I was extremely distressed and depressed in my heart and lost confidence in life, a friend preached Almighty God’s end-time salvation to me. From then on, I often had meetings with the brothers and sisters, and we prayed, sang, and fellowshipped about the truth together. We learned from each other and made up for each other’s deficiencies, and I felt especially happy and released. In the Church of Almighty God, I saw that there was no deception or distinction of position among the brothers and sisters. We were all simple and open and lived in harmony. In order to cast off the corrupt disposition and live out the likeness of a man and thus be saved, all of us were striving to pursue the truth, which let me taste the happiness of life and understand the value and meaning of life. Therefore, I always felt that I should preach the gospel so that more people who lived in darkness could come before God to be saved by God and see the light again. So, I joined in preaching the gospel to testify God. However, I never expected that I would be arrested by the CCP government for preaching the gospel and suffer the extremely cruel tortures and imprisonment.

Christian Life | A Different Experience of Job Seeking (Audio Essay)

Liang Xin

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 …

God’s Best Protection for Mankind

Kuiqian Rizhao City, Shandong Province

My station in life, or status, was something I could never let go of, and when God created an environment that exposed me, I was only negative, complaining, and despairing. Only through refinement after refinement did I come to understand God’s good intentions, and that His testing of me was not to torment me. Rather, it was to cleanse me and make me perfect, to allow me to understand that believing in God for the sake of a station can only ruin me, thus allowing me to let go of improper views of pursuit, and to have a proper goal to pursue.

After some time of serving as a leader in the church, I was promoted to be a district leader’s partner. Before long, I was promoted again and entrusted with being a district leader. This linear “rise” made me work even harder to perform my duty, looking forward to the day that even more would be entrusted to me. This hope became the impetus for my pursuits. However, just as I was dreaming of my step-by-step “ascent,” I was replaced! At the time I was crushed—I felt that I had lost my station and my path of faith in God had come to its end. I was in pain to the point that I considered leaving the church. I even thought about dying. Later, through enlightenment from God’s words, I gradually came out of that negativity. His words were: “When the mountains move, could they make a detour for the sake of your station? When the waters flow, could they cease before your station? Could the heavens and the earth be reversed by your station?” (“The Twenty-second Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh). At the time, although I realized that my desire for status was too strong and that faith in God should not be a pursuit of status, I didn’t have any real understanding of myself, and I thought to myself: I won’t pursue status anymore; no matter what duties are arranged for me, I’ll obey and that’s it. Later, the church arranged for me to preach the gospel and to look after new believers. I accepted all of this. So, I believed that I had let go of my desire for status.