Let Go of Yourself and Be Open to Different Voices

Lin Lan

There is an owl named Dada in a forest. After delivering five cute babies, Dada decides to find a bigger hole for her babies to grow healthy and happy. At last, she singles out a large tree deep in the forest.

Dada’s friend Benben suggests to her that she should not make her new home there, for a male fox lives under the tree. In the forest, it is very dangerous to be a fox’s neighbor. However, Dada brushes it aside. She believes the activities of the fox can only be under the tree though he is scary. Since she and her cubs live at the top of the tree, there will be no danger. So, Dada does not take Benben’s advice.

Then, Benben says, “If you must move to the tree, you’d better choose the hole on the right as your new home, because it is farther from the fox’s house and more concealed. Living there will be safer for your babies.” But Dada denies Benben’s suggestion again. She thinks the hole on the left is sunny and spacious, so why should she reject the good and choose the worse? In the end, Dada moves into the hole on the left alongside her babies.

One stormy night, Dada does not return after foraging for food long outside. The young who wait anxiously poke their heads out and look around in search of their mother, none of them noticing the slobbering fox under the tree. Suddenly, there is a wind. The small cubs are blown out of the hole and fall right before the fox, only to see the cruel glitter in his eyes …

It is conceivable that when Dada returns to find that her babies have become the fox’s supper, she must be terribly regretful about her original arrogance and self-righteousness, which contributes to the tragedy followed by her rejection of Benben’s suggestion.
The Bible says: “This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event to all: yes, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead” (Ecclesiastes 9:3). “Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who deals in proud wrath” (Proverbs 21:24).

In real life, there are many times when we, like Dada, are dominated by our arrogant nature and so brush aside or reject other people’s viewpoints that are at odds with ours. We never consider whether their advice is reasonable, or whether what we insist on is right. If what they put forward is correct, but we cannot let go of our arrogance and vanity and accept it humbly, then in the end we will be the ones who suffer loss.

God says, “For whoever exalts himself shall be abased; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted” (Luke 14:11). “What is vital now for you all to do is to learn how to obey that which is right and how to obey that which comes from the truth and that which conforms to the truth; in this way, you are walking and practicing toward being obedient to God. … Through obeying, seeking, praying more, retreating to your spirit and coming before God then, unbeknownst to you, a change will happen in your inner condition.”

God accepts those who can humble themselves and listen to right suggestions. The more one is willing to make himself humble, the more delight God will take in him, and the more people will love and respect him. But the view of corrupt mankind is: To be praised and thought highly of is a glory, but to submit to others is a shame. So, having been corroded by this view, our nature has become exceedingly arrogant and self-conceited. We are self-important, conceited, and overweening, and we don’t like others to have the upper hand. As a matter of fact, listening to right advice with a humble heart isn’t a manifestation of incompetence and ignorance; it is a precondition for making progress.

One’s ability is limited however high it is. Just as the Chinese saying goes, “Many hands make light work,” we can achieve great progress only when we are able to listen to proper suggestions and learn from others’ strong points to offset our own weaknesses.

Recommended:
Bible Prophecies: Sheep Have Been Separated From Goats
Watch! Only by Listening to God’s Word Will We Not Be Abandoned
Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit – Matthew 5:3

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Where Is Our Refuge From the Widespread Terror Attacks?

Xiao Yang

Following the Manchester Arena bombing on May 22 which killed 22 people, another terror attack took place at London Bridge and Borough Market at around 10 P.M. Saturday. A white van veered on and off the bridge sidewalk, running over pedestrians, and then three men jumped out of the vehicle and stabbed patrons indiscriminately at the bars and restaurants of Borough Market. 8 people were killed and 48 others injured at the scene.

Reading the news, I suddenly felt that the epidemic of terrorist attacks nowadays is actually another order of catastrophe. Since December there have been four terrorist attacks against the Christian minority in Egypt. And recently, a suicide bombing was carried out at Manchester Arena in England. Before the families of the victims of the Manchester attack were able to deal with their shock and grief, the tragedy was unfolded at London Bridge. The world is really tumultuous and fraught with peril. During these years, wars, terrorist attacks, earthquakes, plagues, floods, droughts, hail and other disasters have struck frequently and endangered our lives. It says in the Bible: “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows” (Mark 13:8). The prophecy has been fulfilled. In recent years, as disasters are all around and terrorist incidents keep happening, where is our refuge? Are these natural and man-made disasters giving us the sign that the Lord Jesus has already come?

Yesterday when I was looking up some information on a website, I typed the keyword “refuge” into the search bar and hit Enter, and saw some words among the search results:

“You should know that it is the last days now. The devil Satan, like a roaring lion, walks about, searching for people to devour. All manner of plagues are now breaking out and there are many different kinds of evil spirits. Only I am the true God; only I am your refuge. You can only now hide in My secret place, only within Me, and the disasters will not befall you and no calamity will come near to your tent.”

“I am amongst you, I support you and I am your refuge.”

Having read these words, I was surprised, thinking: Men are unable to say this. Only God is our refuge. These words must come from the Holy Spirit! Then I thought of the scriptures: “O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction” (Jeremiah 16:19). “The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence” (2 Samuel 22:3). The prophets and saints in ages past as well as we Christians today who follow the Lord, have all realized that only God is our refuge. It is true that now is the last days when various disasters are plaguing the world. Every time when calamity or danger comes upon us, it is also the time when we need God’s rescue. The arrival of the disaster will make us hurriedly come before God, because we know that only by depending on God can we receive God’s care and protection. In this light, the repeated disasters are exactly one of God’s methods of saving us. However, we are simply too numb and insentient to realize this salvation. In many cases, we feel afraid and anxious amidst the calamities and earnestly pray to God, asking for His help, care and protection. Yet once the calamities have passed and we live in peace and comfort again, we will put God to the back of our mind and all day think of how to eat and enjoy ourselves in a better way and how to lead a happy and joyful life. We like to stray from God and live freely, doing whatever we want. We believe that we are already worshiping God by going to church on Sundays with our family. But could this really allow us to be protected by God in the disaster? The prophecies about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus have basically all come true, which shows that the Lord is very likely to have come. Our utmost priority is to seek where the Lord has appeared to do His work. Only if we keep up with God’s footsteps and meet the Lord’s second coming can we enter the refuge truly and be cared for and protected by God.

If you have other understanding and new light, you’re welcome to have a real-time chat with us via the online chat window at the bottom of the website or send an email to info@findshepherd.com. We’re all ears to your experience and knowledge of belief in the Lord. Looking forward to exchanging our sharing and welcoming the Lord’s second coming together.

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Have You Found the Secret of Teaching? II

Have You Found the Secret of Teaching? II

Afterward, a student who came from other place transferred to our school. He was so mischievous that other teachers were not willing to take him. Finally, the principal put him in my class. However, in class, he left classroom whenever he wanted to; after class, he often made troubles and fought with low-grade students. As a result, some students, teachers and even some parents of other students came to me to make complaints about him. When I tried to talk with him about these things, he was not convinced at all. At that time, I was at the end of my patience. Again, I intended to punish him, but I remembered the hymn of God’s words “The Practical God Saves Men in Obscurity” I used to croon. I realized that: God is the Creator and He is so supreme. Although we have disobeyed and opposed Him for many times, He still uses His word to remind, exhort, support and provide us, waiting for us to turn to Him. I am just a small creature, why can’t I treat students with love and patience? Thereupon, I forsook myself and went on helping him with love. However, not a little did he restrain himself, instead, he was even more in opposition to me, which made me lose my patience completely. I thought: Before you came, my class was a good one. It is your coming that makes a terrible mess of this class. You have ruined our reputation. I, the head-teacher of the class, will have no face to meet anyone if I let your insolence go! Hence, I planned to punish him by copying homework for a whole day without going home for meals. When I was about to exercise the authority of a teacher, a passage of God’s words came to my mind, “Now when some matter comes upon people, regardless of what the actual situation is, they think that they can do this and that, but God is not in their hearts, and they do it according to their own intentions. Regardless of whether the course of action is suitable or not, or whether it is in accordance with truth or not, they only stiffen their necks and act according to their personal intentions. It usually seems that God is in their hearts, but when they do things, God is not in their hearts. … Actually, people are not really seeking God and praying to God about this. They are not striving to do it well to satisfy God’s will, nor striving to do it well according to His requirements. They do not have this true situation, and they don’t have such desire. This is the greatest error people make in their practice, because you believe in God, but God is not in your heart. How is this not a sin? How is this not deceiving yourself? What effect will believing this way have? Where is the practical significance in believing in God?” The judgment and chastisement of God’s words promptly enlightened me. I used to declare before God that I would like to practice the truth. However, when I found the student was difficult to manage, I didn’t bring the problem before God to pray for it or to seek God’s will, nor did I find the way of practice in His word. Instead, I acted according to my personal intentions. My faith in God was in words only, and I would gain nothing in the end. Immediately, I prayed to God, “O God! A naughty boy transferred to my class. May You keep my heart to obey this environment. Please keep me from doing things by satanic disposition in the position of teacher any longer. As for that boy, whether he will change or not and to what extent can his view will change, they are all in Your hands. I’m willing to rely on You and commit him to You.”

After my prayer, I saw God’s word, “Normal humanity includes these aspects: insight, sense, conscience, and character. If you can achieve normality in each of these respects, your humanity is up to standard.” After reading these words, I began to examine my past behavior. Before, I treated my students as different categories. I always praised those outstanding students, rewarded and encouraged them. Yet those slow students always got physical punishment, which made them more depressed and caused them to be fed up with study in the end. All these were the evil I had done. Wasn’t I even possessed of a normal humanity at the very least? After realizing these, when I encountered that boy, I didn’t think he opposed me on purpose, but though God would perfect me to live out normal humanity through him. I would like to forsake myself and treat him fairly.

Later on, I often came to chat with him. At first, he was reluctant to contact with me. I persuaded him many times, but he still kept silent. My patience wore thin. When I was about to give up talking with him and leave him alone, a passage of words in “Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life” crossed my mind: “Everyone wants to practice love, coordination with others, forgiveness, patience, tolerance, but they fail; Each of us would like to care about others, love and help them, it is harder to practice. It is because people are deeply corrupted by Satan, isn’t it? It is because people are deeply corrupted by Satan, are full of satanic poisons and much hatred exists in man’s flesh.” According to this passage of fellowship, I was just aware that I was deeply corrupted by Satan. I could be tolerant and patient with students temporarily, but not perseveringly. I found I didn’t possess a normal humanity. How could I, in this way, establish a normal relationship with students? So I made a resolution inwardly: Whatever his attitude toward me is, I shall treat him with love. After that, I prayed to God and relied on Him for many times; under the guidance of Him, I came to talk with him again. Gradually he was willing to talk with me what was in his heart and his attitude toward me also changed.

Afterward, I often invited those naughty children of my class over on weekends. I helped them make up lessons, cooked for them and talked with them, through which I came to know why they were naughty: On the one hand, their parents were not by their side for a long time; on the other hand, their relatives didn’t care about them; in addition, teachers and their classmates often discriminated against them at school. As a result, their spirits were downtrodden. In order to comfort themselves, they made troubles by design, hoping to draw the attention of their parents and teachers. Knowing their inner voice, I thanked God in my heart unceasingly. If I had not had heart-to-heart talks with them and still employed my previous education method, I would have made them more and more oppressed and wouldn’t have been able to educate them well. From then on, through my care and guidance over and over again, the naughtiest boy seldom cursed or fought with others. What’s more, he was willing to join in the activities of our class and could finish his homework actively. Once, he had a private conservation with me of his own accord after a class meeting, which moved me most. He said he wanted to take revenge on one of his classmates and he had hidden a dagger in the woods. Inspired by the class meeting, he determined to give up that revenge. Besides, he gave the dagger to me for safekeeping, hoping that I could forgive him. Seeing his changes, I had greater confidence to rely on God to educate these children.

One day, I saw God’s words: “Today I have come to do the work of your salvation, which is to say that the work I do is a continuation of the work of salvation. Every person has the chance to be made perfect: Provided that you are willing, provided that you pursue, in the end you will be able to achieve the effects, and not one of you will be forsaken. If you are of poor caliber, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your poor caliber; if you are of high caliber, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your high caliber; if you are ignorant and illiterate, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your illiteracy; if you are literate, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your level of literacy; if you are elderly, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your age; … I want everyone to catch up, want everyone to have the work and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, and be able to obey to the very end, because this is the duty that each of you should perform. When you have all performed your duty, you will all have been made perfect, you will also have resounding testimony.” The work God does varies from individual to individual and His requirements of us are in accordance with our caliber and stature, instead of imposing uniformity in all cases. God is really righteous! Later on, I began to practice His words. I arranged activities for my students according to their specialties as well as hobbies to stimulate their learning interest and increase their sense of collective honor and cohesion. Some were fond of literature and art, they would be arranged to publicity team of literature and art, and this team members would be in charge of all the related activities of our class; Some were interested in PE, they would be arranged to PE team; Some were good at painting, I arranged they into painting team, and so on. I allowed them to make the best of their advantages. When I didn’t force my personal ideas on them, their learning interest gradually improved and they had some changes in ideology and morality. The student, who once climbed on a moving train, was in charge of sports activities. He not only could give full play to his expertise, but bring forward some suggestions on who was good at long-distance running and who was good at high jump and so on. According to his arrangement, we trained the students in accordance with their advantages, our class won the prizes in every item in PE at last. What’s more, when he found his classmates quarrel and fight with others or make troubles, he would persuade them and mediate these matters in no time. No matter what good ideas he had in all aspects of work, he would communicate with me actively. Through discussion, we would work out some measures. Who would have thought that he became my capable assistant. Once, I was ill and didn’t take the class. To my surprise, he called some of his classmates to see me.

Before the graduation examination, I didn’t encourage my students to cheat. But I felt a little bit worried: This is a crucial exam and it directly related to my students’ entering a higher school as well as my reputation in our school. I thought: If they fail in this exam, how will others think of me? After that, I saw God’s words, “In truth, there are many matters in which man, if he devotes just the slightest effort, can put the truth into practice and thereby satisfy God. The heart of man is constantly possessed by demons and so he cannot act for the sake of God. Rather, he constantly journeys to and fro for the flesh, and profits nothing in the end. It is for these reasons that man has constant troubles and afflictions. Are these not the torments of Satan? Is this not corruption of the flesh? You should not fool God by only paying lip service. Rather, you must take tangible action. Do not fool yourself; what is the meaning in that? What can you gain by living for the sake of your flesh and toiling for fame and fortune?” Through the judgment and chastisement of God’s word, I realized that I was pursuing fame and position. Then, I prayed to God for many times and asked Him to protect my heart; I committed this exam into His hands and didn’t want to be restrained by fame and position. Before the exam, I encouraged my students: “Don’t be restrained by scores. Just try your best. You shouldn’t cheat in exams any more. Never lose heart if you fail. And I will help you with your lessons after that.” I never expected that our class still ranked high in the exam. After the graduation ceremony, my students would leave our school. I would never forget the affectionate care between these students and me.

Now, there is a qualitative change in my teaching. I deeply felt that when I taught by Satan’s philosophies of life in the past, I was tired and my students were fed up with me. When I relied on God and practiced the truth, I saw God’s blessings. Not only did my students can help each other truly, but we built a true relationship. I felt the peace and comfort that I have never had before. Afterward, some parents asked to send their children to my class so that they can be at ease. I know this is the result achieved by the work of God. And it makes me gain more confidence to rely on God to educate children.

I have truly tasted the sweetness of practicing God’s words and felt the preciousness of God’s words through my experience. God says, “Only if one knows God and has the truth does he live in the light; and only when his view of the world and his view of life change does he change fundamentally. When he has a life goal and comports himself according to the truth; when he absolutely submits to God and lives by God’s word; when he feels assured and brightened deep in his soul; when his heart is free of darkness; and when he lives completely freely and unrestrained in God’s presence—only then does he live a true human life and become a person possessing truth. Besides, all the truths you have are from God’s word and from God Himself. The Ruler of the entire universe and all things—God Most High—approves of you, as a real man living the true human life. What could be more meaningful than God’s approval? Such is a person who has the truth.” Only the truth can bring us the right path of life and only by coming before God and comporting ourselves according to His words can we live out a real life. Living under the domain of Satan and living by the life view and the life philosophies come from Satan will make us eviler and be less and less humane. I thank God for leading me to walk onto the right path of human life from the bottom of my heart. All the glory be to God!

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Have You Found the Secret of Teaching? I

Have You Found the Secret of Teaching? I

Li Min

When I was a child, I had high regard for teachers. After graduation from senior high school, I got my wish and became a teacher in a private primary school, and then I made a firm resolution: Children are the flowers of our motherland. I must educate them carefully to make them pillars of the state when they grow up, lest I should bring disgrace on the sacred title of “the engineer of the human soul.”

When working as a teacher, at the beginning, I gave the excellent students more encouragement and also helped the poor students with their lessons patiently. It surprised me that my class ranked last in the exam. I felt very dismayed and thought: In the last six months, I taught assiduously and conscientiously, but why did my class do so badly in the exam? As I could find out no way, a close colleague had a heart-to-heart talk with me: “You should treat these students harshly. Spare the rod and spoil the child. So, if they can’t get good scores, you should punish them and give them some pressure. Gradually their scores will be improved.” I was astonished at these words. And I thought: The responsibility of a teacher is to teach and nurture people. In order to improve the students’ exam results, a teacher puts pressure on them and punishes them, then does he have professional ethics? But considering that I have just entered into this profession and the competition was so fierce, if the exam results of my class always stayed in the last place, I can’t teach at this school. For the sake of my career prospects, I tried to accept my colleague’s “experience” after turning this matter over and over in my mind.

At first, I didn’t have the heart to mete out physical punishment to them. Over time, my conscience became dull. Thus, I often asked disobedient students to remain standing in the playground; When they got up to mischief, I pulled their ears or spanked them; If they didn’t hand in homework, I would ask them to copy the homework for many times and stand on the platform; Sometimes I called their parents to teach them. As a result, those students behaved themselves in my class and everyone feared me and treated me with great respect. After six months, their exam results rose from the last to third from last. It seemed that my colleague’s method was effective.

Afterward, their exam scores rose rapidly and ranked among the best always. Meanwhile, I was assessed as an advanced teacher for many times. Ten years later, I was promoted to teach in a public school. Soon I was transferred from a rural school to an urban one. I saw my colleagues there also educated students by meting out corporal punishment to them. Civilized teaching didn’t exist at all. In addition, for improving exam scores, those teachers arranged the seats painstakingly by matching outstanding students with slow students before exams. Furthermore, they put pressure on the outstanding students by requiring them to “help” slow students. Teachers told those outstanding students, “if the slow students do poorly in exams and affect the total scores of the class, you will lose your opportunity of being assessed as excellence.” Additionally, teachers also instilled into their students the idea that “Fullness for the bold, famine for the timid.” Besides, they told them to seize every chance to copy other’s and those who could get high scores by copying were proved to be really capable. Even those students who didn’t normally hand in their homework could get over eighty scores in the exam in the end. In this way, not only would the students and their parents be happy, but teachers would also be happier. The headmaster knew it in his gut and everyone had a tacit understanding. Only by seeing this did I know that the teaching method was the same in rural places and urban areas. It was indeed true that “All crows under the sun are black,” and “Exams are the most effective method for teachers and scores are the lifeblood to students.” In order that I could stay at the school, I promptly followed their teaching method.

Before long, some students of our school were sent back to school by policemen because they climbed onto the moving train, including a student in my class. Contrary to my expectations, after coming back, this boy bickered with other students and then they fought with each other. Moreover, he took a knife and intended to revenge them. If it were not caught timely, the consequence would be unpredictable; When holding sport competitions, the school, advocating the slogan, “Friendship comes first and competition second,” intended to enhance the friendship among students. To my surprise, the students of my class voluntarily organized together, shouting the slogan wantonly, “Defeat the other class firmly!” That raised a strife between two classes. In addition, a girl envied another girl’s good grades. They usually attacked, abused and fought with each other so that their parents fell out with each other too, which left a shadow on their young mind. … I was lost in thought after seeing all these matters: Are these “fruits of education” come out through my “careful” education over these years? “Teaching and nurturing people,” how sacred duty it is! “A teacher is an engineer of the human soul.” What a glorious title it is! But what did I bring to these children? How could I educate them well? I felt confused.

When I was at a loss, my relative preached God’s kingdom gospel to me. Through reading God’s words and living the church life, my heart came to be attracted by His words. One day, I saw God’s words: “There is an enormous secret in your heart. You never know it there because you have been living in a world without light shining. Your heart and your spirit have been taken away by the evil one. Your eyes are covered by darkness; you cannot see the sun in the sky, nor the twinkling star in the night. Your ears are clogged with deceptive words and you hear not the thunderous voice of Jehovah, nor the sound of the rushing waters from the throne. You have lost everything that should have belonged to you and everything that the Almighty bestowed upon you. You have entered an endless sea of bitterness, with no strength of a rescue, no hope of survival, left only to struggle and to bustle about. … From that moment, you are doomed to be afflicted by the evil one, kept far away from the blessings of the Almighty, out of reach of the provisions of the Almighty, and you embark on a road of no return. A million calls can hardly rouse your heart and your spirit. You sleep deeply in the hands of the evil one, who has lured you into the boundless realm, with no direction, with no road signs. Henceforth, you have lost your original purity, innocence, and started to hide from the care of the Almighty.” God’s words lit up my heart like a lamp, through which I saw I have been corrupted by Satan and lost my direction. I thought: When I started to be a teacher, in conformity with the sacred duty of a teacher, I did my part with a sense of responsibility and had a clear conscience. However, facing the fierce competition, in order to remain as a teacher in the school, I went against my conscience at any cost, carrying out corporal punishment. In consequence, those students were scared of me just like mice met a cat. During examinations, I encouraged them to cheat, instilled them the thoughts “Fullness for the bold, famine for the timid,” and “The fittest will survive.” Consequently, they were wrecked both physically and mentally. However, if I had not been awakened by God’s words, I would have still educated them in an immoral way, which would hurt these naive and innocent children. Realizing this, I prayed to God, “O God, I will no longer follow Satan. Please guide and lead me, so that I can live under Your protection and care.”

One day, I read these words of God, “In your seeking, you have too many individual notions, hopes, and futures. The current work is in order to deal with your desire for status and your extravagant desires. The hopes, the desire for status, and the notions are all classic representations of satanic disposition. The reason that these things exist in people’s hearts is entirely because Satan’s poison is always corroding people’s thoughts, and people are always unable to shake off these temptations from Satan. They are living in the midst of sin yet do not believe it to be sin. … For many years, the thoughts that people have relied upon for their survival have been corroding their hearts to the point that they have become treacherous, cowardly, and despicable. Not only do they lack willpower and resolve, but they have also become greedy, arrogant, and willful. They are utterly lacking any resolve that transcends the self, and even more, they don’t have a bit of courage to shake off the strictures of these dark influences.” From these words, I came to realize: Over these years, for the purpose of saving face and preserving my standing, I kept working hard and acting unscrupulously, hoping to gain a foothold in the education world and other’s admiration. I have been actually driven by the thoughts of Satan, “People want to move up as water has to flow down,” and “Stand out from others and pursue to stand high among people.” When I pursue fame, gain and status, I have been taken captive by Satan and become a servant of them, betraying my conscience to teach and living in pain. This is exactly the contemptible means by which Satan corrupted man. I made my resolution to get rid of these wrong view points and no longer willing to be used by Satan.

Afterward, I voluntarily made apologies to my students in class: “Dear students, I only knew to treat you rudely in the past. I am sorry. Now, I hope you can supervise me. If you find I do something wrong in the future, please tell me and I will change.” After saying this, I felt a sense of release. Then they all looked at me in amazement, and whispered: “What’s wrong with our teacher today? Even her tone has changed. Does she really mean that? …” After a while, the monitor incredibly stood up and asked me, “Miss Li, won’t you punish us any longer?” I nodded with a smile. Then they made some proposals, “Miss Li, I think you are a little partial, please pay more attention to us.” “Miss Li, if something happens in school, please solve it in school and don’t tell our parents.” Hearing the low students were willing to speak, I felt very gratified. It seemed that the relationship between us was closer suddenly. It was all due to God’s guidance. Thank God! Thereafter, when seeing me, they greeted me actively and they became attentive in class; after class, my appearance wouldn’t put a sudden stop to their laughter; some slow students actively found me for making up missed lessons and asked me questions. Moreover, some helped me fetch water when I was watering flowers in the schoolyard. … Their small changes made me feel pleased for practicing the truth.

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Tonight, the Dormitory Light Comes On

Tonight, the Dormitory Light Comes On

Chenxi

It was freezing cold in winter. The whole city was like a big icehouse. In the evening, Chenxi was on the way to the self-study classroom. Pulling up her collar higher, she rapidly put her hands into her pockets. She thought, how cold it was!

Two years ago, like many students who left their homes, she left her parents and came to the city to study. She imagined having a wonderful campus life and everyone striving toward their own ideals. But the reality broke her wonderful yearning.

In her dormitory lived six girls with very different characters, three of whom were the “only daughter.” They all had different living habits. As time went by, many conflicts appeared. Formerly, Chenxi always indulged her roommates, not quibbling over many little things in life. She thought believers in God shouldn’t act the same as unbelievers. She, therefore, always forbore with their unreasonable requests. However, these days, as soon as it grew dark, her roommates would turn the light off to see movies. Their reason was that turning off the light could create an atmosphere of cinema. This thing troubled her a lot. She wanted to read books and review lessons in the dormitory, for she would get exams after some time and she didn’t want to go to the self-study classroom on her own at night. Though she had tried many times to consult with them on whether they could turn on the light, their attitude was nevertheless rather inflexible. Every time they broke up in discord.

She had to brace herself to walk toward the self-study classroom. The more she thought about it, the more she felt angry: Is it reasonable not to study? You can see movies, but why insist on turning off the light? You are indeed selfish. Considering she was for studying, she even more felt what she did was correct while her roommates were at fault. Looking at the empty campus, she thought: Other students must be in their dormitories. If my roommates had not insisted on switching the light off to see movies, I wouldn’t have gone out suffering this. … At that time, she suddenly realized: It’s wrong to think in this way. Am not I falling into the influence of Satan? She hastened to pray to God silently in her heart, “O God! My stature is too small. When things happen to me, I always fixate my eyes on others, thinking they are not good. I’m often angry with my roommates at such trifles. Please keep me from living under Satan’s control. …” After the prayer, she remembered God’s words, “People do not require much of themselves, but they require much of others. They must be patient and forbearing of them, cherish them, provide for them, smile at them, be accommodating to them, and yield to them. … and they cannot …do anything that they would not like. Man’s reason is so lacking!” “Your reputation has been destroyed, your bearing is degrading, your way of speaking is lowly, your life is despicable, and even all of your humanity is lowly. You are narrow-minded toward people and you haggle over every little thing.” She examined herself while walking on the road. She recognized that the reason why she felt angry and aggrieved was not on account of others’ problems actually, but was that her nature was too selfish. For fear that her roommates hindered her from studying, she held some views against them, thinking they were selfish. In truth, it resulted from her selfish nature. Consequently, once her roommates’ deeds involved her interests, she would begin to fuss over things and quarrel with them, living by the poison of Satan “Everyone for himself and the devil take the hindmost.” She also realized that today, that she suffered coldness was the consequence of being unwilling to relinquish herself. God’s words revealed that we mankind are unqualified to require much of others. God said that it is an expression of lacking a reason to require too much of others and ask them to go with our own ideas. She came to realize that as a Christian, she should practice according to God’s words in all things but not be angry with classmates in this way, or she would lose testimony before Satan. Thinking of those, she prayed silently to God, “O God! Today I realize that my nature is too selfish. When my roommates’ deeds are disagreeable to me, I am unwilling to obey, and even have quarrels with them, having no likeness of a Christian. God, I’m willing to practice the truth and obey the environment You arranged. May You lead me to put it into practice. …” After praying, she immediately had strength, no longer feeling that their turning off the light was wrong, but instead feeling that she should adjust to them and should not ram her opinions down their throat. It was the manifestation of arrogance and selfishness.

When understanding these, she wanted to go back to the dormitory, instead of going to the self-study classroom alone. Regardless of whether she could read books and whether the deadlock among them could be resolved, she was willing to face it. Because the intention of God was to let her learn to put herself aside. This lesson was arranged by God, was which she needed to enter. And also, she needed to transform herself.

Chenxi went toward the dormitory. Her heart was still somewhat uneasy, for she didn’t know what waited for her next: maybe an unlighted light, their dissatisfaction or anything else …

She pushed open the door nervously. A warm air blew into her face. “You are back, Chenxi. Have you eaten dinner? Turn on the light and eat your dinner.” A roommate said to her. In an instant, she blushed, asking, “Won’t I interfere with your seeing movies?” “Oh, it’s okay. In the future, we’ll see movies with the light on. Eat your dinner while it is still warm. …” She looked around at her roommates. Hesitating for a moment, she put on the light. She felt the light tonight was especially bright. She couldn’t help smiling, pleased, beyond all concealment. She was so surprised how their attitude could be changed so greatly. She sighed with emotion that she just practiced a little truth but received such a big surprise. She felt that God is too amiable and lovely!

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God Creates the Miracle of Life

God Creates the Miracle of Life

Li Qi

I had gone through an unhappy marriage and I started a new family in 2007. After marriage, due to my physical unfitness, I had habitual abortion. In 2011, I was over the child-bearing age, but luckily, I was pregnant once again. To give birth to the baby smoothly, I strictly followed the doctor’s advice to have tonics and take rest; I had examinations and injections of tocolytic agents regularly in the hospital, in fear of an unexpected miscarriage. However, more than six months later, amniotic fluid breaking, I delivered a premature baby with the weight of 1.8kg. The doctor diagnosed my son’s illness as a congenital biliary atresia, which might take his life at all times. Hearing that news, I felt as if the sky had fallen and I couldn’t help but drop tears unceasingly, thinking: It is not easy for me to bear this child. How come he has a congenital disease? No! I must try my best to cure him. Nowadays, science is so developed. Besides, it has been publicized in the newspaper and on TV that any disease can be cured. I’m assured that science will cure my son’s disease.

After my son was born, the doctor placed him in the incubator, injecting him with the imported nutraceutical on time every day, monitoring his heart around the clock and specially assigning persons to take care of him. However, having stayed in the incubator for twenty-three days, he only gained 200g. I was burning with anxiety. Seeing that my child felt too unwell to fall asleep, he breathed a shallow breath, cried with his face getting purple, and his navel swelled up, I was heartbroken, with tears wetting my face every day. I thought: So many days have passed and we have used almost all leading medicines and remedies; how can they be ineffective? The modern medical science is so advanced now, but why can it not alleviate my son’s pain? Is the medical skill not up to the mark or the equipment not advanced in this hospital? Perhaps those are better in a large-scale hospital.

So, after discussion, my husband and I decided to transfer our son to a provincial hospital. Regardless of my rather frail body, I was discharged from the hospital quickly and on the very day, we left for the provincial capital. In the provincial hospital, my child was sent to the incubator again, and took blood test every day. After several twists and turns, the results of inspection were the same as before, and the doctor gave the same medical treatments. After nine days, my son’s illness didn’t take a favorable turn, but was aggravated owing to being drawn too much blood for tests. His cries became weaker and weaker, his navel got more and more swollen, his weight decreased, and he sucked the breast with difficulties. Observing this situation, the doctor was afraid that my child would die in the hospital, so he said to us, “You’d better go home. I’m incapable of curing your child. There’s no use in continuing healing him.” Hearing the specialist’s words, my husband and I were agonized. I thought: Will my kid’s life end that way? Isn’t it said that all the disease can be cured by modern science? Why can’t it cure my son? I still didn’t give up, then I cried and pleaded with the doctor, “Please seek other ways to save my child. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I’m willing to do no matter how much it costs.” But he shook his head resignedly. My husband also advised me, “Since the specialist can’t cure our son’s disease, now we can only wait for his good fortune.” We had no alternative but to take our child back home.

On the second day after we returned home, my aunt (my father’s sister) came to visit my child and me. She testified about God’s gospel to me. And then she picked up a book and read a passage of God’s words to me, “From the moment you come crying into this world, you begin to perform your duty. You assume your role in the plan of God and in the ordination of God. You begin the journey of life. Whatever your background and whatever the journey ahead of you, none can escape the orchestration and arrangement that Heaven has in store, and none are in control of their destiny, for only He who rules over all things is capable of such work.” After reading these words, my aunt fellowshiped, “God is the Creator and the source of life for all things. He presides over everything of man. So everyone’s fate is in control of His hand and cannot be governed or decided by anyone. Your son’s disease cannot be cured in this hospital, nor in that hospital. You can hand the child to God, pray to Him, depend on and look up to Him more often. Whether he is well or not, let God control and decide. We just submit to His sovereignty and arrangement. …” Hearing her words, I gasped and thought: I have never heard about such words. They are reasonable. I thought back to the past. After I had a pregnancy, I started having injections, taking medicine and having health care for the safe birth of my child. Beyond my expectation, I had a premature delivery and my child had a congenital disease. We transferred him from a general hospital to a large-scale one, but both of them couldn’t cure him of disease. It cost a lot of money, but his disease turned no better. It seemed that science cannot take charge of man’s fate, much less change one’s fate. Is my child indeed in charge of God? My son’s disease, congenital disease couldn’t be cured even in the largest hospital in the provincial capital. Is God able to? My aunt seemed to read my thought and said to me, “God’s authority and power cannot be fathomed by man. If you experience practically, you can see God’s wondrous deeds.” Hearing what she said, I wanted to have a try. Maybe, if I believed in God, there would be a little hope for my son’s disease. Thereupon, I began to follow my aunt to believe in God. Whenever I had time, I would read God’s words. The brothers and sisters often had gatherings at my home and fellowshiped with me. And I often committed my son’s disease into God’s hands and allowed Him to control and arrange.

One evening, my son felt unwell again and cried very bitterly with sweat all over, his navel swelling badly. Seeing his agony, I began to worry again: He is so small and thin and doesn’t want feeding. If this continues, how can he bear? I’d better let my husband take him to the hospital again. Perhaps there’ll be a gleam of hope. I told my thought to my husband. He took a look at our child and said dejectedly, “Our son has a congenital disease. The best expert has refused to treat him. Even if we go to the hospital, what problems can be solved?” Then I thought what he said was reasonable. Even the expert in the provincial hospital couldn’t cure him. Science can’t save my child. What should I do? One day, I saw two passages of God’s words, “From when man first had social sciences, the mind of man was occupied by science and knowledge. Then science and knowledge became tools for the ruling of mankind, and there was no longer sufficient room for man to worship God, and no more favorable conditions for the worship of God. The position of God sunk ever lower in the heart of man.” “Mankind merely uses scientific knowledge that the naked eye can see and the brain can comprehend to anesthetize his heart. … Regardless of whether you are able to recognize the deed of God, and irrespective of whether you believe in the existence of God, there is no doubt that your fate lies within the ordination of God, and there is no doubt that God will always hold sovereignty over all things. His existence and authority are not predicated upon whether or not they can be recognized and comprehended by man. Only He knows man’s past, present and future, and only He can determine the fate of mankind.” At this time, I understood: Originally, I had been esteeming science and relying on it, and I had thought science was all-purpose, could solve people’s various difficulties and cure people’s all kinds of diseases. Before the birth of my child, I tried to prevent a miscarriage with scientific methods for my child to be born smoothly. However, unexpectedly, my son was delivered prematurely with a congenital disease. During the treatment, I, again, put all of my hope on science, believing that, in modern times, science was well-developed, and with advanced apparatus and equipment, imported medicine as well as the treatment of the specialists, my son would recover from his disease. As a consequence, we spent lots of energy and money, but all hardly helped. It turned out that science is not all-purpose, and it cannot rule over man’s fate, much less change man’s foreordination. I was deceived by science, believing it in the depth of my heart, but not admitting God’s sovereignty, not believing man’s fate is in the hand of God. Hence, as soon as I had difficulties, I would think of science and intended to alter my child’s fate by it. It could be seen that what I believed and depended on in my heart was science, and I wasn’t a true believer in God! From then on, I am determined to rely on and look unto God genuinely, and allow God to reign over, dominate and arrange my son’s fate. No matter whether my son would die or survive, I would obey Him and have no complaints.

Four months later, the symptom of my son showed little improvement, his face yellow and thin, and his breath feeble. I planned in my heart again: My son is always suffering so much and has not improved a bit. Should I find a better hospital? Thinking of these, I was anxious and uneasy. In pain, I came before God and cried to Him, “Oh, God! My son hasn’t had a better turn for so long a time. I don’t know whether I shall go to the hospital. Oh, God! I would like to depend on You! May You lead me to understand Your will.” After prayer, I saw two passages of God’s words, “Almighty God is an all-powerful physician! … Faith is like a single log bridge….” “People’s faith is required for when something cannot be seen by the naked eye, and your faith is required for when you cannot let go of your own notions. When you are not clear on God’s work, what is required is your faith and that you take a firm stance and stand witness. … If you have lost hope in God, how will you be able to experience Him? Therefore, only when you have faith and you do not harbor doubts toward God, only when you have true faith in Him no matter what He does will He enlighten and illuminate you in your experiences, and only then will you be able to see His actions. … 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.” Having read these words, I recalled: Before I believed in God, I only believed science. Consequently, seeking medical advice had no result. Today, I have believed in God, but I have suspicion in my heart. I still want to depend on science. Neither do I believe in God’s sovereignty, nor do I believe that man’s life is in God’s hand. Feeling uncertain about God, I will not see His actions. Only by genuinely believing in God can I see His wondrous deeds. Therefore, every day I, by prayer, put my son’s disease in God’s hands and left it at the mercy of Him.

When I truly committed my son to God’s hands, after a short period of time, he had unconsciously a little ruddy complexion, and didn’t cry bitterly as before. Seeing he was on the mend, my husband took him to the hospital to check. After the checkup, the doctor made certain that my son had gotten over the disease and said, “It’s really a miracle!” At that moment, I dared not believe my son’s disease was gone miraculously and he could grow up like other normal children. I was so excited that tears swarmed to my eyes. I said to my husband gladly, “Thank God! Thank God! God is indeed marvelous!” Watching our son, my husband nodded happily and gaily.

Through this matter, I have personally experienced and seen: God, using His extraordinary authority and power, created the miracle of life. These years, whenever I see my son grow up healthily and happily, I will think of God’s salvation and can’t help sighing from the bottom of my heart: Science simply can’t change man’s fate. Only God is the source of man’s life. The life and death of each person are determined by God.

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