Put Aside Vanity, and We’ll Be Released and Free in Fellowshiping in Gatherings

By Arong, Hong Kong

In the past, I often actively fellowshiped about my experience and knowledge of God’s words at meetings. But my emotions often swung because of my brothers’ and sisters’ different reactions. Whenever I saw them attentively listening to my fellowshiping and frequently nodding their approval, I would feel elated, whereas when I saw they didn’t respond to my fellowshiping, my heart would sink. However, I didn’t notice these revelations until one meeting.

A Sister’s Words Causing Me to Sink Into Passivity

At a meeting, both a sister and I were just about to fellowship. Just then, the sister beside me touched me on my hand and said to me, “Let’s speak less and listen more. They fellowshiped wonderfully. We can receive the light more.” At that time, I didn’t mind her words and thought that it was right to receive more new light from others’ fellowship. However, after I got back home, her words kept echoing in my mind. I thought the reason why she said so was certainly because my fellowship was deficient and thus she didn’t like to listen to me. Thinking of that, I immediately became very depressed in my spirit.

During the following meetings, whenever I wanted to start my fellowship, I would remember her words, and then I would wimp out with the thought that “I don’t know whether there is light in my understanding. If not, how will my sisters see me?” Especially when I saw my sisters were responsive to the fellowship of a sister, who has not believed in God for as long as I have, my spirit became more depressed. I thought, “My fellowshiping never won such approval. It must be that I didn’t fellowship as wonderfully as she. Forget it, I had best not speak, otherwise they will see that. It’s better to go home and equip myself with the truth. I should only fellowship when I have received much illumination at home.”

Afterward, as long as I was free I would read God’s words. Yet for some unknown reason, I simply could not quiet myself and I even felt increasingly muddle-headed when I read. Every time when I was on my way to attend meetings, I would tell myself in my heart, “This time I must start communicating, no matter what. Otherwise, how will my sisters see me?” But after I arrived at the meeting place, I would get very nervous. My whole mind would be occupied with thoughts of what I was supposed to say when it was my turn to fellowship. When I thought about that, I couldn’t receive any enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. So even if I read God’s words I didn’t understand anything. Once, a sister suddenly said to me, “Arong, we haven’t heard you fellowship of late. Please fellowship what you know. Let’s learn from each other.” Hearing that, I felt so embarrassed that my face was burning and my mind was blank. As a result, I was unable to say anything. So, I hurriedly found an excuse and left.

On my way home, I felt very upset and ill at ease. I thought, “Recently, my state has become increasingly worse. And I couldn’t receive the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit during the meetings. This time, I was even unable to communicate the truth. If this continues, what will my sisters think of me?” The more I thought of that, the more afraid I became, to the point that I was afraid to attend the following meetings.

So, after arriving home, I hurriedly came before God and prayed to Him, “O God! I don’t know what’s happening to me. When I read Your word, I was unable to absorb any of it. And I was unable to communicate any truths in today’s meeting. Now, I’m even afraid of attending meetings. O God! Please inspire and guide me, to have me understand Your will, and to know where I went wrong. May You help me. Amen!”

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.

The Key Points of the Samaritan Woman Recognizing the Lord Jesus Was the Messiah

By Zhang Yiping

Presumably many of us believers are familiar with the story of the Samaritan woman recorded in the Bible. When she drew water, she met the Lord Jesus, who asked her for a drink. From her exchange with the Lord Jesus, she recognized that He was the Messiah foretold in the prophecies.

She was just an ordinary woman and didn’t have much Bible knowledge, but she was able to do so. This is really amazing. All of us know that, within those three and a half years that the Lord Jesus worked on earth, many people once contacted Him for a short time, and moreover, there were many who heard Him speak. However, there were too few who were able to recognize that He was the Messiah. Then, how did the Samaritan woman do it? Was it because of the Lord Jesus’ special grace? Or was there any secret behind it? Let’s read her story to look for answers to these questions together.

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.

A Christian at Work: A Good Leader’s Management Method

By Rufu, Malaysia

When mentioning a “superior,” I think that quite a few people will think of the words “strict” and “demanding.” I also used to think that a superior should be strict with their subordinates, and their word should be law—I thought that was the only way to properly manage staff. But when faced with reality, I saw that was definitely not a good approach!

Staff Alienated by My Strict Management Style

Six months after I entered the world of work, I was promoted to be the general manager of the company’s Human Resources Department. I wanted to improve my team’s performance in order to prove my own management capability, so I demanded that my subordinates work very efficiently and quickly, otherwise I’d give them a talking to, no matter what the reason was. The daily reports they turned in also had to be entirely error-free; if one wasn’t up to my standards, not only would I chide them, but would have them go back and change it until I was happy with it.

One time, one of the employees didn’t do well on a report. I told her how it should be changed, but she still didn’t do it right. Finally, I threw out the entire notebook, saying: “Just forget about it, I’ll have someone else do it. I don’t have the patience to wait around for you.” She was trembling with fear from my behavior, but I didn’t care,  thinking that she was just lazy and wasn’t willing to expend any mental energy. There was another time when another employee asked me a question, and it sounded too simple to me, so I became really angry and scolded her: “How many times have I told you? When you have a question, think about it and figure it out yourself. Why are you asking me something so simple?” She hung her head and walked off, just saying “Oh.” Soon after that I heard that she had been in the restroom crying. I had a bit of a pang of conscience and a sense that my management style was too harsh, but then I thought: If I’m not strict with them how will they get their work done well? So, I didn’t take it to heart.

After a period of time, my strict management approach became very well-known around the company, and whenever new staff were hired they’d ask the manager not to be placed in my department. But since my department functioned efficiently, he kept assigning people to work under me. Everyone who joined the department was full of anxiety and trepidation at work, afraid of being rebuked by me if they made a mistake. They’d chat with each other in really quiet voices and if they saw me coming, they’d immediately go back to their own desk. Seeing that things were like that, I felt somewhat helpless. My staff gradually didn’t want to get anywhere near me and they wouldn’t speak to me unless it was necessary for their work. I started to feel lonely, and I knew that it was my management style that was making them afraid, but I thought that in order to manage the team well, I didn’t have a choice.

The Word of God “Three Admonitions”: How to Be a Loyal Servant of God

AlmightyGod says, “As a believer in God, you should be loyal to none other than Him in all things and be able to conform with His will in all things. Nevertheless, although everyone understands this doctrine, these truths that are most apparent and basic, as far as man is concerned, cannot fully be seen in him, thanks to his sundry afflictions, such as ignorance, absurdity, and corruption. Therefore, before deciding upon your end, I ought first to tell you a few things, which are of the utmost importance to you. … In your lives I see much that you do that is irrelevant to the truth, and so I am expressly asking you to become servants of the truth and not be enslaved by wickedness and ugliness. Do not trample on the truth or defile any corner of the house of God. This is My admonition to you.“

Coming Back to God, She Got Rid of the Life of Working Desperately Hard for Money

By Lianxin

After a tempest blew over, the air was so pure. Lianxin was sitting by the window of the light spacious bedroom reading God’s word, with a happy smile on her lips. She knew it was due to God’s love and salvation for her that she, who once struggled to make money and fell ill from constant overwork, could rid herself of the life of working desperately hard for money and thus live healthily and in the light.