Wednesday, January 16, 2019

The Word of God Guides Me Through the Snares

By Tian’na, Hong Kong

As I go through the passage of God’s words, “Do You Know? God Has Done a Great Thing Among Men,” I cannot help but recall my experience two years ago of breaking free from the binds of rumors and returning before God.

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Breaking Through Satan’s Tight Encirclement

Zhao Gang, China

It was bitterly cold this past November in Northeast China, none of the snow that fell to the ground melted away, and many people who walked outside were so cold that they stuffed their hands into their armpits and walked along cautiously, bodies bent over. The other day in the early morning the winds were blowing from the northwest, when I, my brother-in-law and his wife and about a dozen brothers and sisters were sitting in my home on the warm kang (a heatable brick bed). Everyone had a copy of the Bible beside them and in their hands everyone was holding a copy of the book Judgment Begins With the House of God. Two sisters from The Church of Almighty God were fellowshiping on the truth concerning God’s three stages of work. The two sisters were drawing pictures of the three stages of work as they fellowshiped: “God’s work for the salvation of mankind can be divided into three stages, from the Age of Law to the Age of Grace and then to the Age of Kingdom. Each stage of work is newer and more improved and also more profound than the previous stage. The work done in the last days is the final stage of work, in which God expresses words to judge and cleanse man….” We nodded our heads as we listened, and our minds felt especially clear: Who would’ve thought that God’s management plan for the salvation of mankind would have so many mysteries! Besides God Himself, who else could speak of the mysteries of these three stages of God’s work so clearly? This truly is the work of God! We fellowshiped into the evening of the following day, and our whole group expressed a willingness to seek out and look into Almighty God’s work of the last days.

Walking Down the Bright Path of Life

Xieli, America

I used to be someone who would chase after the trends of the world, I wanted to abandon myself to a life of pleasure, and I just cared about the pleasures of the flesh. I would often go with my friends to KTV all night long, I would go for joyrides in the middle of the night, would go fishing out on the ocean, and travel all around in search of fine foods. I’d see others around me, and they too were all striving to eat well, wear nice things, and enjoy good things. I felt that these were the things that a man must work for in his life, that this is why a man must work hard to earn money, that this is the goal in life that everyone should have. Only with these things would life not be in vain. In order to obtain these things, I didn’t care what distance I had to travel, so I crossed the ocean to come to America, and after struggling for several years, I opened my own business. I had my own car and my own house. I was living the blessed life that I had dreamed about. Every day I would eat, drink and pursue pleasures until I was full and my heart was content. I thought that it was only by living in this way that life had any meaning, and that is until I received the work of Almighty God in the last days. Only after experiencing the judgment and chastisement of God did I become aware of what a truly significant life is, and then I set out walking down the bright path of life.

Monday, January 14, 2019

Resolving Persistent Concerns

Max, USA

I was born in the USA in 1994 and my mom and dad were both Chinese. My mother was a typical successful career woman and was very independent and capable. I loved my mom very much. When I started second grade, my parents brought me back to China so I could learn Chinese, and I also began to learn about the Lord Jesus at that time. I remember it was one day in 2004, I got out of class and went home to discover that we had a guest. My mom introduced her as a pastor who had come from America. I was really happy, because I knew that my mom had already believed in the Lord Jesus for a while. On that same day, this American pastor told me some stories about the Lord Jesus. Shortly after, I was led to the bathroom, and without even waiting for my response, the pastor dunked my head into the bath with a splash. In an instant I was again pulled out of the water by the pastor. I just heard my mom and the pastor saying to me at the same time: “Welcome to the embrace of the Lord Jesus. We are all the lost sheep.” Just like that, I became a believer in the Lord in a way that was unfathomable. After that, I went to the church every week to attend services, to hear the pastor tell stories from the Bible, and to read the scripture. I was always happy, and was very steadfast in my heart, feeling that the Lord Jesus was truly good.

Where Does This Voice Come From?

Shiyin, China

I was born in a Christian family, and I have many relatives who are preachers. From the time I was young, I followed my parents in believing in the Lord. After I grew up, I addressed to the Lord in prayer: If I could find a husband who believed in the Lord, I would offer myself up together with him in service to the Lord. After I got married, my husband really did believe in the Lord, and in fact became a full time devoted preacher. In order for my husband to feel at ease in his work for the sake of the Lord, and to be able to fulfill his commitment in the presence of the Lord, I actively undertook the burdens of running a household. Although it was a little bit difficult and tiring, my heart was filled with joy and peace no matter how much suffering I endured because I had the Lord as my support.

Sunday, January 13, 2019

A Different Kind of Love

Chengxin, Brazil

By a chance opportunity in 2011, I came to Brazil from China. When I had just arrived, my eyes were overflowing with fresh and new experiences, curiosity, and I had a beautiful feeling about the future. But after a short time, this fresh and new feeling was quickly replaced by the loneliness and pain of finding myself in a far-off foreign land. Every day I went back home all alone, ate by myself, looking at the walls around me every day without anyone even to talk to, and I felt especially lonely in my heart, often crying all alone. When I felt the most pain and helpless, the Lord Jesus brought me into a gathering by means of a friend. Through reading the word of the Lord, singing hymns, and praying in gatherings, my lonely heart received the consolation of the Lord. I learned from the Bible that heavens, earth, and all things were created by God, and man too is God’s creation. The Lord Jesus was crucified for the redemption of mankind, and it was the Lord Jesus who redeemed us from sin, and He is the only Redeemer of mankind. In the face of the Lord’s salvation, which is greater than all else, I felt deeply moved and resolved to follow the Lord for the rest of my life. Because of this I was baptized on Thanksgiving to become a Christian not just in name but in reality. Because I liked singing hymns, especially those in praise of God, after I was baptized I took the initiative to join the choir and work as part of it. Through God’s guidance and blessings, I lived in peace and happiness. Every time I went to a gathering or praised God in worship, I felt suffused with energy.

I Am Following the Footsteps of the Lamb

By 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. I wish to follow You forever….” During that period, whenever I met some difficulties in my daily life, or was mocked by my friends and relatives because of my faith in the Lord, as long as I came in front of the Lord and prayed, my spirit would find immense release. I felt that the Lord Jesus was my only reliance in life and that I would never leave the Lord’s side. At that time my favorite hymn was: “Rock, rock, Jesus Christ! Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven, only You are the Savior. You are the Mediator, You are the Son of God, You are the Lamb. You are the way and the truth, You are the life, You are the light, You are the rock, the fortress, the city of refuge and the shield. We belong to You; we will never be shaken from generation to generation.” And this is how I relied on the Lord’s great power and motivation gained from the guidance of the Lord’s words to get through all the difficulties and troubles of life.