Back From the Brink

By Zhao Guangming, China

At the beginning of the 1980s, I was in my 30s and was working for an architectural design company. I considered myself to be young and fit, treated people with loyalty and respect, and did my work responsibly. My architect skills were also top-notch, and I was sure that I was going places in the company and that once my career really took off I would be living like a prince. This was my goal and so I stayed with the company and worked hard for many years. But despite my impeccable caliber, in both character and professional skills, my efforts never seemed to be recognized by the company, which is something I never understood. The top salary grade in our company was grade 6, but my salary never got above grade 3. I watched a number of colleagues, who had neither my skills nor my time served in the company, get pay raises, but it never happened to me. I was puzzled and resentful about why they got raises and I didn’t. Finally, one of the colleagues who I got along with quite well gave me a tip: “In this company, the most important thing is to butter up the manager by giving him gifts at Chinese New Year and other festivals.” On hearing this, I finally understood the real reason why I had been overlooked by the company, and the injustice of it made me furious. But although I hated those ass kissers in the company, and had even less time for the colleagues who did little work but still got ahead by using underhand methods, I needed to firm up my standing and so I had to adapt to these unwritten rules. So the next time Chinese New Year came along I “expressed my heartfelt good wishes” to the manager and was immediately promoted to team leader.

The Storm Caused at Home by the May 28 Zhaoyuan Case （part 3）

When I came to know the actual situation of the spiritual war and the evil essence of the CCP, another question arose in my mind: Isn’t God omnipotent? Why does God allow the CCP government to persecute us? The word of Almighty God unraveled the confusion in my mind, where it says: “I once said that My wisdom is exercised based on Satan’s schemes. Why did I say that? Is that not the truth behind what I am saying and doing right now?” (“The Inside Truth of the Conquering Work (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “God intends to use a portion of evil spirits’ work to perfect a portion of man, so that these people can completely see through demons’ deeds, and allow everyone to truly understand their ancestors. Only then can humans completely break free, not only forsaking the posterity of the demons, but even more so their ancestors. This is the original intent of God completely defeating the great red dragon, to make it so that all of man knows the great red dragon’s true form, completely tearing off its mask, and seeing its true form. This is what God wants to achieve, and it is His final goal on earth for which He has done so much work; He aims to accomplish this in all of man. This is known as the maneuver of all things for God’s purpose” (“Interpretation of the Forty-first Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

The Storm Caused at Home by the May 28 Zhaoyuan Case （part 2）

Picture of The Church of Almighty God

At noon on the following day, my husband came back home, and threw down the newspaper in his hand in front of me. He said, “Take a good look! It says in the newspaper that they can be arrested as long as one is discovered to believe in Almighty God. Prison is not a place you want to spend any time at all. Not only are people beaten, but dozens of them are crammed together in a single cell. If someone goes to the bathroom in the middle of the night, they have nowhere to sleep when they get back. If you’re arrested, I’ll have no money to bail you out. If you’re arrested and sentenced for several years, you’ll be submissive!” Listening to my husband’s merciless talk, I was deeply pained in my heart. Even more than that, I hated the demonic CCP. If not for them creating confusion through rumors, their compulsion, and their persecution, my husband would support me in my faith in God. He wouldn’t be compelling me like he was at the time.

The Storm Caused at Home by the May 28 Zhaoyuan Case （part 1）

Enhui, China

Picture of The Church of Almighty God

I’m an ordinary country woman, and I would often be weighed down by the strenuous burdens of the household. Because of this, my temperament became quite violent, and my husband and I were always at each other’s throats day in and day out. Our lives simply couldn’t go on like that. Whenever I was suffering, I would yell, “Heavens! Please save me!” In 2013, the work of Almighty God in the last days chanced upon me. Through reading the word of God and attending gatherings with brothers and sisters, I became certain that Almighty God had been the God whom I had cried out to in my suffering, and then gladly accepted Almighty God’s work in the last days.

I See the Path to Knowing God

By Xiaocao, Shanxi Province

One day, I saw the following passage of God’s words in the piece “How Peter Came to Know Jesus”: “Over the time he followed Jesus, Peter observed and took to heart everything about His life: His actions, words, movements, and expressions. … From his time in contact with Jesus, Peter also realized that His character was different from that of an ordinary man. He always acted steadily and never with haste, never exaggerated nor underplayed a subject, and conducted His life in a way that was both normal and admirable. In conversation, Jesus was elegant and graceful, open and cheerful yet serene, and never lost His dignity in the execution of His work. Peter saw that Jesus was sometimes taciturn, yet other times talked incessantly. He was sometimes so happy that He became agile and lively like a dove, and yet sometimes so sad that He did not talk at all, as if He were a weather-beaten mother. At times He was filled with anger, like a brave soldier charging off to kill enemies, and sometimes even like a roaring lion. Sometimes He laughed; other times He prayed and wept. No matter how Jesus acted, Peter grew to have boundless love and respect for Him. Jesus’ laughter filled him up with happiness, His sorrow plunged him into grief, His anger frightened him, while His mercy, forgiveness, and strictness made him come to truly love Jesus, developing a true reverence and longing for Him. Of course, Peter only gradually came to realize all of this once he had lived alongside Jesus for a few years” (The Word Appears in the Flesh). After reading this passage I thought: No wonder Peter could have knowledge of God! Turns out it was because he lived alongside the Lord Jesus day and night, he personally witnessed the Lord Jesus’ every word and every move, and from that he discovered much of God’s adorableness, and so he achieved knowledge of God. Now is also the era of when God becomes flesh to personally descend upon the world of man to work. If I could also have the fortune of being able to come into contact with God and spend time together like Peter had, then wouldn’t I also know God better? Oh! It’s a shame that now I can only read God’s word but cannot see the face of Christ. Then how would I be able to gain true knowledge of God?

I Have Come to Know How to Distinguish Between the True Christ and False Christs

Picture of The Church of Almighty God

Chuanyang, United States

In 2010, the winter in the United States made me feel very cold. In addition to the bitter cold from the combination of wind and snow, what was even more serious was that my heart had been invaded and attacked by a “cold wave.” For those of us in the interior decorating business, winter is the hardest time of the year, because once winter starts there is very little work. We even face losing our jobs. This year was my first year in the United States, I was fresh off the boat, and I felt that everything was unfamiliar to me.

Saved in a Different Way

Saved in a Different Way

By Huang Lin, China

I used to be an ordinary believer in the Pentecostal Church, and ever since I started believing in the Lord I never once missed a meeting. In particular, it was now the time of the last days and the prophecies in the Bible about the Lord’s return had basically been fulfilled. The Lord would soon return, and so I attended meetings even more enthusiastically, eagerly looking forward to His return, lest I miss my chance to meet with the Lord.