Going to Heaven or Hell Sometimes Hinges on the Decision Made in a Moment!

Going to Heaven or Hell Sometimes Hinges on the Decision Made in a Moment!

Zhao Yang

Once there was a warrior who asked an old man about the difference between heaven and hell. The old man glanced at him, and instead of answering directly, he said very seriously, “You’re a warrior, but no one will hire you, because you’re ugly and stupid.”

The warrior felt insulted and flew into a rage. He drew his sword and cut at the old man. However, the old man stood quite still and said calmly, “The gate of hell is opened now.”

Hearing this, the warrior suddenly came to his senses. He immediately tossed his sword to the ground and apologized to the old man humbly.

The old man smiled and said, “The gate of heaven is opened.”

It is just a fable. Of course, we know whether we will go to heaven or hell is decided by God, not any man. Yet this fable can still give us some enlightenment: Many times we are like the warrior; when hearing something that jars on the ear or encountering something unpleasant, we will burst into anger and “draw our swords,” exposing our natural self or nature immoderately. Or we will remain indifferent and go our own ways in spite of others’ well-intentioned reminders and warnings. In the end, we will bring lots of pain and even tragedy upon ourselves. However, if we can treat them with composure, reflect on ourselves, and then choose the right path, we will probably achieve different results.

Think back to the two evil cities recorded in the Bible—Sodom and Nineveh: At that time, people of the two cities had no place for God in their heart. They acted dissolutely, indulged in eating, drinking, and merry-making, and became licentious by nature. Their evil and corruption had already reached a degree detestable to both man and God. All of them were those God wanted to destroy. But because of their different attitudes toward God’s warnings, they had different fates and outcomes. The people of Sodom openly competed with God, and even went to Lot’s house to arrest and harm God’s messengers. Their obstinate opposition to God aggravated His disposition and ultimately led them to be forever destroyed by the fire coming down from heaven. In contrast, when hearing the news spread by Jonah that God would destroy them in 40 days, the Ninevites, from the king to the common man, immediately wore sackcloth and ashes, confessed and repented their sins before God, and abandoned their various wicked things in their hands which defied God. Their change of mind and reverence for God won them His mercy and tolerance. Eventually God decided not to destroy them, and thus all the people of Nineveh were spared from the catastrophe because of their sincere confession and repentance before Him. From the different outcomes of Sodom and Nineveh, we can see that when facing God’s warnings and His work, whether we can obtain God’s mercy and salvation depends on whether we have a heart of fearing God and have a true repentance for our sins.

The other day, I saw a passage of words from a spiritual book: “God used His attitude to tell people the following: It is not that God does not tolerate people, or He does not want to show mercy to them; it is that they rarely truly repent toward God, and it is rare that people truly turn away from their evil ways and abandon the violence in their hands. … man’s evil conduct incurs God’s wrath, whereas God’s mercy and tolerance are bestowed upon those who listen to God and truly repent before Him, upon those who can turn away from their evil ways and abandon the violence in their hands. God’s attitude was very clearly revealed in His treatment of the Ninevites: God’s mercy and tolerance are not at all difficult to obtain; He requires one’s true repentance. As long as people turn away from their evil ways and abandon the violence in their hands, God will change His heart and change His attitude toward them.”

For several thousand years, God has paid an immeasurable price for saving us—the mankind corrupted by Satan. He has always hoped that we can soon confess and repent before Him, pay attention to practicing and experiencing His words, and pursue to know Him, fear Him, and obey Him, so as to live under His care and mercy. Especially today in the last days, God will completely purify and save mankind when He comes again, and meanwhile, Satan and all the wicked people will be destroyed by Him. So at this moment, whether we will be able to be cleansed and enter the kingdom of heaven or end up being cursed by God and going to hell hinges on how we choose our path.

Revelation clearly records that God will return in the last days to completely purify man so as to make a group of overcomers and bring them into His kingdom. The Lord Jesus said: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). During God’s work of judging and purifying man, whether or not we will be able to return to God and gain His salvation of the last days depends on what path we choose and how we treat God’s work. We are all people that have been corrupted deeply by Satan, and if we long for the truth and can seek the truth, we will have the opportunity to be brought to His throne by the returned Lord Jesus and be saved into the kingdom of heaven. But if we stubbornly and foolishly cling to our conceptions and imaginations, we’ll never receive the enlightenment and guidance of the Lord, and eventually we’ll be abandoned and eliminated by God’s new and fast work, and lose the precious opportunity of receiving God’s purification and salvation and being brought into the kingdom of heaven.

Revelation 14:4 says, “These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes.” Now is the critical time for the brothers and sisters in every denomination and sect who truly believe in the Lord to welcome the second coming of the Lord Jesus and keep pace with the work of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, some people are hindered by such conceptions and illusions as “The Jesus who does not descend upon a white cloud is not the returned Lord Jesus,” “God will first appear to the religious leaders when He returns in the last days,” “It is impossible that God will do any other work outside of the Bible,” and so on. They avoid and even refuse it without carefully seeking or investigating when others preach to them the news that the Lord has returned and done His work. Contrarily, there are lots of brothers and sisters who are paying close attention to the news of the Lord’s return on many denominations’ websites and social platforms for life communication. They hold a heart of longing for and seeking the truth and do not hesitate to move forward for fear of being deceived. They are constantly focusing on such issues as where there is the work of the Holy Spirit, which church is preaching and testifying the truth regarding the second coming of the Lord Jesus, which words can reveal the visions of God’s six-thousand-year management plan of saving mankind, which words can fellowship clearly about the truth of how God will work in the last days to purify man and rapture the believers into the kingdom of heaven, who can reveal the mysteries of the little scroll prophesied in Revelation, and so on. These are the key issues that people should seek and investigate when seeking for God’s appearance and work in the last days, which have caused more concern and discussion among most of the Internet friends in the Lord. Even though some are unable to thoroughly understand these issues, they pray and seek the Lord, and seek communication with those who often fellowship and testify the truth concerning the Lord’s second coming, not missing any opportunity of searching for God’s voice, so that they will follow His footprints and be taken before His throne to be saved.

Therefore, when God bestows the truth, way, and life upon us freely, shall we follow His footprints and pursue to be saved, or shall we stubbornly cling to our notions and imaginations and thus miss His salvation? Going to heaven or going to hell depends on our choice!

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Why We Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees

Why We Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees

Liu Zhi

“… Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6).

In what context did the Lord Jesus speak the words? The Scriptures provide the following account, “The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, When it is evening, you say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O you hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky; but can you not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed. And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said to them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said to them, O you of little faith, why reason you among yourselves, because you have brought no bread? Do you not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? How is it that you do not understand that I spoke it not to you concerning bread, that you should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:1-12).

In this record of the Bible, we can clearly see that the Lord Jesus taught His disciples to beware of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. The Pharisees and the Sadducees, as we all know, were the high-level people in the church at that time, but why did the Lord Jesus teach His disciples to beware of them? Let’s come back to the age of the Lord Jesus’ work and take a look at what they had done.
When working in the world of man, the Lord Jesus, with the intention of letting man better know Him and accept His redemption, made the blind see, the lame walk, the demon-possessed healed, even the dead raised, and so on. He performed many miracles. At that time, the Jewish people enjoyed a lot of grace and blessings from Him and saw a great many of His wondrous deeds, so they followed Him and listened to His preaching. While those Pharisees and Sadducees, seeing many people follow the Lord Jesus, wished to still keep their positions and jobs. Therefore, they continuously fabricated lots of rumors against the Lord Jesus and slandered and condemned Him. However, the foolish Jewish people, after hearing the rumors, had no discernment and couldn’t maintain a firm stance. They followed the Pharisees and the Sadducees to deny and judge Him. In consequence, there were overwhelming claims of condemnation of the Lord Jesus in the whole Judaism. Under that background, the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6).

The disciples of the Lord Jesus, from His work and word, recognized that He was the Messiah who had been predicted to come; they believed that His ability to heal the sick and cast out demons was from God’s authority; they saw through various fallacies and rumors of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and followed the Lord Jesus steadfastly. While the Jewish people, because of being deceived by the rumors of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, followed them to nail the Lord Jesus to the cross, becoming those who resisted and condemned God. In the end, the entire nation suffered the destruction.

The Bible has already prophesied, “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and whoever loves and makes a lie” (Revelation 22:12-15). From these verses, we can learn that many things like making up lies will still happen when the Lord Jesus returns in the last days. Then how should we beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees in order not to follow in the footsteps of the Jewish people? This is the truth that every brother and sister who has sincerely been expecting the Lord’s return should understand.

Tomorrow, in the daily reading column, we will continue to share how to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees and be a wise Christian.

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The Path to Entering Into the Kingdom of Heaven

 The Path to Entering Into the Kingdom of Heaven

Han Xu

The Lord Jesus once said, “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23). Why did the Lord say that “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven”? Why will He say that those who in His name have prophesied, cast out devils, and done wonderful works are ones who work iniquity, and tell them to depart from Him? Aren’t prophesying, casting out devils, and doing wonderful works in the Lord’s name doing the will of the Father in heaven? How to explain this?

As believers in God, we all hope to receive God’s promise, to enter into the kingdom of heaven and live with God in the future to enjoy the blessings there. But what should we do to receive the promise God bestowed upon man? The Lord Jesus clearly told us only those who do the will of the Father in heaven can enter into the kingdom of heaven. So what kind of people are the ones who do the will of the Father in heaven? Precisely speaking, they are the ones who can obey the work of the Holy Spirit, obey God’s words, do things in accordance with God’s requirements, seek God’s will and act according to God’s guidance in everything, have God’s words as their standard in whatever they do, and obey and satisfy God. So, whether one can enter into the kingdom of heaven depends on whether he can obey God’s words and act according to His requirements. In the Age of Law, Jehovah God set forth laws and led the people to live on earth, so that they knew how to worship God to receive His blessings, and they also understood that as long as they listened to His words, obeyed His leading, and kept the laws and commandments, they would be ones who did the will of the Father in heaven and could receive the care, protection, and blessings from Jehovah God; if they did not comply with the laws and commandments, they would not be ones who did the will of the Father in heaven, and they would lose God’s care and protection, and would be condemned by the law, be stoned to death or be burnt to death by the fire from heaven. When the Age of Grace arrived, the Lord Jesus did the work of redeeming mankind, and He made new requirements of people, telling them to confess their sins and repent, practice forbearance and patience, love their enemies, etc., giving them the ways of practice in the new age. In that age, those who could accept the work of the Lord Jesus, obey His words, and practice according to His requirements were ones who did the will of the Father in heaven. They could be forgiven of their sins and enjoy God’s rich grace and blessing. On the contrary, those who still held onto the law and refused to accept and obey the Lord Jesus’ work and words were not ones who did the will of the Father in heaven. They were eliminated by the work of the Holy Spirit and fell into darkness. For example, generation after generation of the Pharisees served God in the temple or traveled land and sea to preach the law, and they had abandoned many things, but when the Lord Jesus became flesh and did the new work, they held onto the law and refused to accept His new work, and even resisted it and persecuted the Lord Jesus. In the end, they nailed the Lord Jesus to the cross and were cursed by God. This is thought-provoking. Weren’t they familiar with the Scriptures? Weren’t they the ones who served God in the temple? How could they do such a wicked thing that resisted God? Although they were well versed in the law and had served God in the temple for years, they were not ones who followed the laws and commandments and did the will of the Father in heaven. They sewed the Scripture to the hem of their garments and prayed standing on the corners of the streets, trying to win the adoration of the Jews and keep their positions and jobs with their godly appearance. Therefore, during the Lord Jesus’ work on earth, when they saw His words and work had authority and power and many people followed Him, for fear of losing their positions and jobs, they hated His coming and the truths expressed by Him, and slandered, framed, and condemned Him contrary to the law and commandments. They defamed the Lord Jesus by claiming that He cast out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils (see Matthew 9:32-34), falsely accused Him of speaking blasphemies (see Luke 5:20-21), condemned Him for healing on the Sabbath days in violation of the law, and plotted how to kill Him (see Matthew 12:9-14). Now it is not hard for us to understand why the Lord Jesus rebuked and cursed them, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Matthew 23:13). These Pharisees were all cursed by God, and they could never enter into the kingdom of heaven. So, in God’s eyes, whether one can enter into the kingdom of heaven does not depend on the amount of work he has done outwardly but on whether he can obey God’s new words and work and do the will of the Father in heaven.

God said, “Those who cannot closely follow the footsteps of God are incapable of attaining such a life. They will have lowered themselves into darkness, where they will weep and gnash their teeth; they are people who believe in God but do not follow Him, who believe in God but do not obey all of His work. Since man believes in God, he must closely follow the footsteps of God, step-by-step; he should ‘follow the Lamb wherever He goes.’ Only these are the people who seek the true way, only they are the ones who know the work of the Holy Spirit. People who slavishly follow letters and doctrines are those who have been eliminated by the work of the Holy Spirit. In each period of time, God will begin new work, and in each period, there will be a new beginning among man. If man only abides by the truths that ‘Jehovah is God’ and ‘Jesus is Christ,’ which are truths that only apply to a single age, then man will never keep up with the work of the Holy Spirit, and will forever be incapable of gaining the work of the Holy Spirit. Regardless of how God works, man follows without the slightest doubt, and he follows closely. In this way, how could man be eliminated by the Holy Spirit? Regardless of what God does, as long as man is certain that it is the work of the Holy Spirit, and cooperates in the work of the Holy Spirit without any misgivings, and tries to meet the requirements of God, then how could he be punished? … Man believes that the Israelites were wrong to ‘only believe in Jehovah and not believe in Jesus,’ yet the majority of people act out a role in which they ‘only believe in Jehovah and reject Jesus’ and ‘long for the return of the Messiah, but oppose the Messiah who is called Jesus.’ No wonder, then, that people still live under the domain of Satan after accepting one stage of the work of the Holy Spirit, and still do not receive God’s blessings. Is this not the result of man’s rebelliousness? … Only those who follow the footsteps of the Lamb to the very end can gain the final blessing, whereas those clever people, who are unable to follow to the very end yet believe they have gained all, are incapable of witnessing the appearance of God. They all believe they are the smartest person on earth, and they cut short the continued development of God’s work for no reason at all, and seem to believe with absolute certainty that God will take them up to heaven, they who ‘have the utmost loyalty to God, follow God, and abide by the words of God.’ Even though they have the ‘utmost loyalty’ toward the words spoken by God, their words and actions still feel so disgusting because they oppose the work of the Holy Spirit, and commit trickery and evil. Those who do not follow to the very end, who do not keep up with the work of the Holy Spirit, and who only cleave to the old work have not only failed to achieve loyalty to God, but on the contrary, have become those who oppose God, have become those who are rejected by the new age, and who will be punished. Are there any more pitiable than them?” (“God’s Work and Man’s Practice”).

From God’s words we see that if one wants to receive God’s promise, he must closely follow the footsteps of God. God’s work is always new and never old, each stage of which is higher and deeper than the last, and done on the foundation of it. If one can follow the Lamb closely wherever He goes, accept and obey God’s new work simply and honestly, and act according to God’s new requirements without cleaving to the old work once done by God, then he is someone who does the will of the Father in heaven, and he can receive the work of the Holy Spirit and the blessings and perfection of God. So, are the pastors and leaders in the religious world today ones who do the will of the Father in heaven? In the last days, God has become flesh again and carried out the work of judging and purifying man on earth, and He has ended the old age and opened up a new age. But the pastors and leaders in the religious world don’t at all seek or investigate the work of God in the new age. In order to attain their ambitious aim of holding on to power, controlling the believers, and establishing their own kingdom in the religious world, they, flying in the face of the words of the Lord Jesus, wildly judge, attack, and blaspheme Almighty God, and try desperately to stop the believers from seeking and investigating the true way. The Lord Jesus once taught us to be the wise virgins, who go out to meet the Bridegroom when hearing someone crying, “Behold, the bridegroom comes.” But when the pastors and leaders in the religious world hear the news of the return of the Lord Jesus, in order to keep their own positions and jobs, they not only do not seek or investigate the true way themselves, but also try by every possible means to seal off the churches and stop and disturb the believers from seeking and investigating it. The Lord Jesus taught us to love our neighbors as ourselves, but they incite the believers to beat and curse the brothers and sisters who bear witness to Almighty God’s work of the last days, and they even report them to the police. They also deceive and bind the believers with the literal meaning of some Bible verses, saying that the Lord will appear as a spiritual body on a white cloud when He comes, and it is impossible that He will become flesh to do the work of judgment and chastisement, that God’s word is only in the Bible, and nowhere else, and departure from the Bible is heresy, and so on. They have plunged the believers deeply into the mire of the religious world using such fallacies contrary to the truth, so that they cannot receive the supply and watering of God’s words in the new age, falling into darkness and losing the work of the Holy Spirit and the chance of salvation. Worse still, many believers are deceived by the rumors spread by them and even follow them to condemn and resist the work of Almighty God, becoming their lackeys and accomplices…. Through hindering and disturbing the work of God, they have deprived so many believers of the opportunities to be saved! These facts show that they are not at all ones who do the will of the Father in heaven. So how can they enter into the kingdom of God? Aren’t they the kind of people spoken of by the Lord Jesus in the words “I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity”?

Therefore, if we want to enter into the kingdom of heaven, we must do the will of the Father in heaven. Today Almighty God, the returned Lord Jesus, has carried out the work of judgment of the last days by expressing the truths. Only if we closely follow the footsteps of the Lamb and accept Almighty God’s work of the last days, obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit, pursue and practice according to the present requirements of God, accept His chastisement and judgment to be free from sin and be cleansed and saved, will we be doing the will of God. Only by doing so can we enter into the kingdom of God. If we cleave to God’s past work and refuse to accept the work of Almighty God, we will not be ones who do the will of the Father in heaven. Even if we believe in God to the very end, we will be destroyed, for all those who fail to keep up with the new work of God are opponents of God and are evildoers. Just as the Lord Jesus said, “He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathers not with me scatters” (Luke 11:23). Almighty God said, “The return of Jesus is a great salvation for those who are capable of accepting the truth, but for those who are unable to accept the truth it is a sign of condemnation. You should choose your own path, and should not blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and reject the truth. You should not be an ignorant and arrogant person, but someone who obeys the guidance of the Holy Spirit and longs for and seeks the truth; only in this way will you benefit” (“When You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus Will Be When God Has Made Anew Heaven and Earth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Almighty God earnestly exhorts us to obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit and long for and seek the truth. In the face of God’s work, we should not condemn it blindly, should not reject the work of the Holy Spirit for fear of being deceived, and should not blaspheme the Holy Spirit, because the Lord Jesus said, “Why I say to you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven to men. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come” (Matthew 12:31-32). In treating the work of Almighty God in the last days, only if we seek sincerely with a heart of reverence and obedience for God, can we receive the leading and guidance of God and be brought before His throne to receive His judgment and purification. Only through being judged by God’s words can we see our ugly self corrupted by Satan, and pursue the truth to have our old corrupt disposition transformed. In the end, when we can live by the words of God and have become ones who do the will of God, we will have been saved and will enter into God’s kingdom and inherit His promise.

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How Much of God’s Creating All Things Do We Really Know?

How Much of God’s Creating All Things Do We Really Know?

Gao Han

From the Bible, I learned that when God created the world, He created the heavens and earth and all things during the previous five days, and created humanity and various living things on the sixth day. After knowing this fact, I thought that I had known God’s creation and believed He is the only true God. Not until I read God’s words did I come to understand how God created, manages and rules all things. Especially when I saw God says, “God created all things and used His own methods to set the laws of growth for all things, as well as their growth trajectory and patterns, and also set the ways all things exist on this earth, so that they may live continuously and depend on each other. With such methods and laws, all things are able to successfully and peacefully exist and grow on this land. Only by having such an environment is man able to have a stable home and living environment, and under God’s guidance, continue to develop and move forward, develop and move forward” (God Himself, the Unique VIII). I realized that, every day, we enjoy the air, sunshine, as well as rain and dew created by God, eat all kinds of grains provided by Him, and witness the changes and transformations of the natural world with our own eyes, but we have hardly any knowledge of His will behind His creation.

God says, “Ever since God created them, based on the laws that He determined, all things have been operating and have been continuing to develop regularly. Under His gaze, under His rule, all things have been developing regularly alongside the survival of humans. Not a single thing is able to change these laws, and not a single thing can destroy these laws. It is because of God’s rule that all beings can multiply, and because of His rule and management that all beings can survive …” (“God Himself, the Unique IX”). From God’s words, I understand that God determined the laws for all things at the same time He created all things. Afterward, He still manages and rules them. Then I continued reading God’s words, and I got some knowledge of God’s will of determining these laws: In the past, we only knew that God created mountains, plains, deserts, hills, rivers and lakes. The vastness of plains often wins our great admiration, yet we have never known that the plains are the best living environment God prepared for us mankind, in which it is convenient for us to walk and work. Mountains are natural defenses God prepared carefully for our living environment. They can block the sudden fierce winds and gigantic waves and keep our homes from being attacked and destroyed. They also take on the mission of raising a variety of animals and plants, and, simultaneously, supply ideal habitats for various birds. You may be attached to the mountains inasmuch as they are shot through with great vitality, but detest deserts on account of their blistering heat and being barren. But in truth, deserts are specially prepared and arranged by God for regulating the temperature. Because of their existence, there is suitable temperature and climate for us to live. The rivers and lakes are sources of water God offered for our survival. With water to drink, we will have the guarantee of survival. … When the world began, God drew boundaries and set the laws for plains, mountains, deserts, and hills. If we break and change this laws by our own will, we will only bring disaster on ourselves. Take the construction of the Three Gorges Project in China for example. It has converted a great deal of plains into reservoirs and has triggered several earthquakes, mountain landslides, and other geological calamities. God’s determining these laws for all things is for us humanity to live a life of happiness and in good health for generation after generation. Thus, only by abiding by these laws can we live in peace and happiness. Just as God’s words, “This is how God manages all beings. It is to provide for mankind the best environment for survival. The living beings within all beings each have life-sustaining food within their own environments for survival. With that food, they are fixed within their native environment for survival; they are fixed in that environment. In that kind of environment, they are still surviving, multiplying, and continuing on according to the laws God has established for them. Because of these types of laws, because of God’s predestination, all beings interact harmoniously with mankind, and mankind and all beings are interdependent” (“God Himself, the Unique IX”).

From God’s words, I also understood that God not only gave mountains, plains, rivers, and lakes their scope, but also arranged different living environments for various birds and beasts, and other animals and all plants. The fish can’t live without water, while different kinds of birds are doomed to fly in the sky; Livestock such as cattle and sheep are reared by man, but wild beasts always live in the forest; Lions and tigers never swim in the water, whereas the fish in the sea never creep in the desert; We can live with dogs and cats, but no one keep elephants or snakes at home as pets. … When God created all things, He set the laws of their existence according to their function and attribute. So all things survive and multiply according to the laws. It is because of these laws that sorts of animals, plants, and human beings can live safely; It is because of these laws and God’s ordination that all things and humans are interdependent, which constitutes a beautiful and harmonious spectacle. It can be said that whatever God does, we humans are always the ultimate beneficiaries. Of late years, locusts’ attacking crops has occurred frequently, and tens of thousands of toads once appeared on the street, which brought great harm to our lives. This is all because these creatures’ homelands are destroyed. That is to say, once the laws God established for all things are damaged, we humans will be harmed in the end. … At that moment, I realized the reason why God saw that it was good after creating all things. Everything He bestows on us mankind is indeed the best. At that time, I truly experienced that the way in which God treats us humans is akin to how parents treat their own children. His heart and love need us to feel and experience with our hearts.

God says, “If you limit your understanding of God to just words, if you limit it to your own little experiences, God’s grace that you count, or your little testimonies to God, then I say that your God absolutely is not the true God. He absolutely is not the true God Himself, and it can also be said that the God you believe in is not God. This is because the God that I am speaking of is the One that rules over everything, that walks among everything, that manages everything. He is the One that holds the fate of all of mankind—the One that holds the fate of everything. The work and actions of the God that I am talking about are not just limited to a small portion of people. That is, it’s not limited to just the people who currently follow Him. His actions are demonstrated among all things, in the survival of all things, and in the laws of change of all things” (“God Himself, the Unique IX”). After reading these words, I realized that our previous understanding of God is only confined within the words of the Bible and limited range of vision. Now, when we have seen more and more His deeds, and felt more of His great, immeasurable authority and power, we won’t delimit Him within narrow bounds any more. Because innumerable facts prove that He is not just the God of all believers in the Lord, but also the God of all humankind, and, moreover, the God of all things and all living beings; He did not merely create all things, but has been supplying and managing them in particular methods, which makes us and other things restrain one another, and depend on one another, and furthermore allows man and all things to follow the laws set by Him and live under His blessings continuously. His wisdom is wonderful and unfathomable. His deeds are deeply mysterious. We should come out of the Bible and the stage of our ideas, so that we can truly know Him. By the time when we these understanding, we will feel that He is the One who supplies us with everything, and the only thing we have. And we will grow to have infinite gratitude and adoration for Him.

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God’s First Commandment for Mankind is Full of Concern
On the First Day, the Day and Night of Mankind Are Born and Stand Fast Thanks to the Authority of God

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How to Shake off Worries and Find a Happy Life

How to Shake off Worries and Find a Happy Life

Hanxiao

There is no denying that we all want to live a happy life, having a warm and harmonious family, an ideal job, a good prospect, sensible children and so on. However, in the process of seeking happiness, we are besieged by all sorts of worries. Some people worry about whether their jobs will be threatened in face of fierce social competition. Some worry about their success in competition with their colleagues. Some rack their brains trying to make big money to remain invincible in the business. Some seek every means to attend training classes given by famous teachers to improve themselves constantly, so that they will become the strong of life or social elites. And some worry about when they can pay off their car loan or housing loan and therefore rush and busy about for it. More people can hardly breathe due to hard work or heavy business, and pressures of life have greyed their hair. Others worry about their marriage and family in face of the temptations from the evil trends of the world. Still others worry about how to educate their children and make them stand out among others in the increasingly fierce social competition. … With so many worries in our life, isn’t the happy life we yearn for far from the reality?

Then, What Causes the Worries in Our life?

There are mainly two reasons.

First, our criteria of a happy life are fame and gain. We think we will live happily as long as we succeed in our studies, careers, and marriage, our children become useful, and we become the best of the best and are admired by others. We all live by the rules for survival such as the “wealth and status,” “family prestige,” “rising above others,” “money talks,” “money isn’t everything but without money you can’t do anything.” So we fix our life goals firmly on those which can bring us fame and gain, and fear that something would go wrong in the course of our pursuit and thus we might brush past happiness.

Second, we live in our own worlds and always want to live the life we desire through our own exertion. In fact, we are insignificant in this universe, but we always consider ourselves powerful. We think that our fates can be controlled by our own hands. Only by seizing the right moment and grasping our fate can we succeed, and only by keeping ourselves progressing can we achieve a happy life step by step. For these reasons, we often worry: Should I have done it better? Have I missed any chance?

Can These Things We Pursue Bring Us a Happy life?

In reality, if we think back and observe carefully, we can easily find this fact: Many people try their best to live happily, but when some of them do get fame and gain and position, they find themselves living in a treacherous world where people intrigue against and outwit each other. They are no happy at all. Some people have reaped fame and gain after struggling most of their life, but they do not feel happy within their hearts. For they have seen that there is no justice, no righteousness, and no light in the world—everyone lives for fame and gain and for pursuing fleshly enjoyments, and nobody can find a shred of the value and meaning of life. Some people have successful careers and happy marriages, but in real life, they rack their brains to get money, fame, gain, and position, and are exhausted from the sinister interpersonal relationship. Some people become millionaires, but they die young or commit suicide, for the material wealth cannot fill the emptiness of their hearts. So money cannot bring us happiness, either. Even many elderly people who used to eat bland food say, “Now we are wealthy and don’t need to worry about food and clothing, but we always have a sense of emptiness within. Well, we’re just muddling along.’” Maybe you don’t understand why they say so. Since they had gone through many hardships and now live a wealthy life, they should feel happy. But how come …

Actually, King Solomon’ words in the Bible have given us the answer. He said, “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit” (Ecclesiastes 1:14). This shows that a wealthy life, and fame and gain cannot bring us happiness; they can only make us feel increasing emptiness.

How Can We Shake off Worries and Live a Happy Life?

As a matter of fact, the true happiness comes from God, and only God is the source of our happiness. Only by obeying God’s sovereignty and walking the way of human life in accordance with God’s requirements, can we have the true happiness. The Lord Jesus has said to us, “Therefore I say to you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they? … Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:25-26, 31-33).

We were created by God; and in the beginning, in order to make us mankind live better on earth, God created the beautiful Garden of Eden for our ancestors, Adam and Eve, and unconditionally bestowed upon them everything they needed to exist. They were carefree and blissfully living in Eden. Abraham, recorded in the Bible, heard God’s command and went to the place God promised to him. He didn’t worry about his future life, rising up and leaving his hometown. Because he had the true faith in God and true worship of God, he could obey all the orchestrations and arrangements of God. He took no thought of his own future and fate, nor did he have unreasonable requirements or extravagant desires for God. He lived in God’s blessings all his life because of his worship for God. In addition, Job, a character in the Bible that is familiar to us, spent all his life in seeking to know God among His creation of all things and worship Him, so he was blessed by God and became wealthy. When he was stripped of all, he neither complained or misunderstood God, nor worried about his future life, because he knew that everything was in God’s hands. When he absolutely obeyed and offered praise to God, not only did he gain double blessings from God, but also his life was prolonged and he died full of days at last. The Lord Jesus’ words make us understand that in our real life, if we are able to practice the Lord’s words, follow His way, and pursue the truth to gain life and attain fearing God and shunning evil, we will receive God’s blessings and salvation and be qualified to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Only when we love the Lord with all our heart, all our mind, and all our soul, only when we have an obedient attitude to our future life, and only when we receive everything God has arranged and prepared for us and seek to know God through it, can we live in happiness.

Finally, let me share a passage in “God Himself, the Unique III”: “For one sees that when one does not comprehend fate, when one does not understand God’s sovereignty, when one gropes forward willfully, staggering and tottering, through the fog, the journey is too difficult, too heartbreaking. … When one has no God, when one cannot see Him, when one cannot clearly recognize God’s sovereignty, every day is meaningless, worthless, miserable. Wherever one is, whatever one’s job is, one’s means of living and the pursuit of one’s goals bring one nothing but endless heartbreak and irrelievable suffering, such that one cannot bear to look back. Only when one accepts the Creator’s sovereignty, submits to His orchestrations and arrangements, and seeks true human life, will one gradually break free from all heartbreak and suffering, shake off all the emptiness of life.”

Dear friends, I hope this article could help you reflect on life, shake off your worries, and have a happy life.

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A Symphony of My Fate
My Painful Experience of Struggling Against Fate

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