God’s love – The Hymn “Pure and Unblemished Love” Has Brought Me to Almighty God

God’s love – The Hymn “Pure and Unblemished Love” Has Brought Me to Almighty God

I was a preacher in a house church. In 1999, because of the church’s desolation, I had nothing to preach and was dry in spirit, much less could I supply brothers and sisters. On a co-worker meeting, almost everyone put forward the problem of how to resolve the church’s desolation. At that time, Sister Wang, who was a preacher, said with a serious expression, “We are in the same situation: Believers are generally weak in spirit. The basic reason is that we have nothing to supply brothers and sisters.” Hearing this, we all felt reproached, and I couldn’t help saying, “I’m so indebted to the Lord.” Then, I turned to Sister Wang and asked her, “Do you know any place holding meetings for co-worker training recently? If we go out and listen more, maybe we can receive some supply and can water brothers and sisters.” Pondering for a while, Sister Wang said, “You remind me that last night, the church leader in a certain County called to tell me they would hold a meeting for training young co-workers, and it would last about one month. Who wants to take part in it?” On hearing the news, I was overjoyed and replied at once, “Me! Maybe it can solve my puzzles and the problems in church.” Because the other co-workers were tied up with their family affairs, they recommended me to attend it as a representative. Seeing the expectation in their eyes, I felt a sense of responsibility. I thought, “Since they have no time for the meeting, I’ll go.” Therefore, I said to them, “All right, I’ll go myself.”

The next day, I took a train to the destination to take part in the co-worker training meeting. On the train, I was full of expectation, hoping the training could help me find out the cause of the church’s desolation. But when I arrived at the meeting place and saw that in such a spacious place there were only 38 brothers and sisters present at the meeting, I could not help but feel a little bleak. During the meeting, the preacher gave us a sermon about “Tenet,” the content of which included God’s creation, the origin of man’s sin, Jesus’ redemption, the return of Jesus Christ, etc. When it came to Jesus’ redemption, Sister Li, who was in charge of teaching hymns in that local church, picked up a piece of chalk and wrote on the blackboard the lyrics of a hymn “Pure and Unblemished Love,” which our hymn book didn’t include:

Refrain: “Love” means a pure and unblemished affection, to love with the heart, and to feel with the heart, and to care with the heart; in “love” there is no condition, no barrier, and no distance; in “love” there is no suspicion, and in “love” there is no cheat, no dealing, and no cunning; in “love” there is no choice and in “love” there is not any mixture.

1. If you have such love, you will not cheat, will not complain, will not betray, will not disobey, will not demand, and will not seek to receive anything or care how much you receive. If you have love, you will be willing to consecrate.

2. If you have such love, you will be willing to suffer and cooperate with God, will give up your all for God, will give up your family and future for God, will give up your youth for God, and will give up your marriage for God. Otherwise, your love is not love but cheat and betrayal!

(from “Pure and Unblemished Love” in The Hymns of God’s Word in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs)

After writing it down, Sister Li gave some explanation about the content of this hymn, “What does love mean? It means that God loves us so much that He bestowed His only begotten son to us. God’s love is unblemished. Then, what should we do to repay the Lord’s love? That is to care for the Lord’s will with the heart and honesty. Brothers and sisters, are the lyrics good?” The brothers and sisters answered in chorus with gladness, “Good!” Sister Li went on, “Brothers and sisters, this is a hymn from the Eastern Lightning. Its lyrics are pretty good and touching and can stir up our love for the Lord. However, it is heard that the message they preach has gone beyond the Bible. We should believe in the Lord according to the Bible. Only the Bible is the foundation of our faith. Yet the good points in their church, we should absorb.” With the words, she continued teaching us that hymn, and the brothers and sisters all sang along with her and took some notes. When hearing the hymn, I found the lyrics were really amazing, and I thought, “How can ‘love’ be defined so well? It is for man to love with the heart, feel with the heart, and care with the heart. It is higher and more practical than what is said in the Bible: ‘Charity suffers long.’ Now we only have some superficial good behavior, but in fact, brothers and sisters still live in sin, often having jealousy and strife. As the hymn says, ‘in “love” there is no condition, no barrier, and no distance; in “love” there is no suspicion, and in “love” there is no cheat, no dealing, and no cunning; in “love” there is no choice and in “love” there is not any mixture.’ The love God says is for us to love with the heart, rather than have some good behavior externally.” At that moment, I had some enjoyment in spirit, and thought, “A hymn of the Eastern Lightning alone can even touch our heart and awaken our spirit. What do they preach every day? I really want to hear the message they preach….”

A month later, the commonplace training finally ended. I went back to our church and had a meeting with the co-workers. A sister asked me, “Sister Hemiao, tell us quickly what you heard when you attended the meeting. We are very thirsty in spirit.” I said with a reluctant smile, “Thank the Lord! The content of this training was Tenet, which was the same as before. I put forward the problem in our church, but that leader didn’t solve it. He just asked us to wait patiently and rely on the great power of the Lord.” After hearing this, the brothers and sisters all wore a worried face and sighed in sadness. Looking at their listless manner, I thought of the hymn and said excitedly, “But I have a big unexpected harvest. I’ve learned a hymn, which is very good.” On hearing that, they cheered up again and asked urgently, “Which hymn? Teach us quickly.” And then I sang with emotion, “‘Love’ means a pure and unblemished affection, to love with the heart, and to feel with the heart, and to care with the heart; in ‘love’ there is no condition, no barrier, and no distance; in ‘love’ there is no suspicion, and in ‘love’ there is no cheat, no dealing, and no cunning; in ‘love’ there is no choice and in ‘love’ there is not any mixture. …” (from “Pure and Unblemished Love” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs) Once I finished singing, Sister Zhang said enthusiastically, “Ah, the hymn is really very good. It feels fresh.” Sister Zheng said with a smile, “Love is interpreted so specifically in the lyrics. It can’t be written by someone ordinary. It shows us the way. If we can really love with the heart, there will be no barrier or intrigue among us.” Sister He continued, “This hymn truly moves me. In this moment, there is no more sorrow and worry in my heart. Quickly, please teach us.” I was very excited at seeing the brothers and sisters vigorous in spirit again. It seemed we had come back to the time when the church was flourishing and to the joyful atmosphere in which the Lord was with us. I taught them the hymn twice carefully, and the brothers and sisters learnt it soon. After that, Sister He asked, “The hymn is truly good. Why is it not in our hymn book?” I said smilingly, “This hymn is from the Eastern Lightning.” They were all astounded and said, “How can this be the hymn of the Eastern Lightning?” One sister suddenly changed her face, and asked me seriously, “Hemiao, did you listen to the message of the Eastern Lightning?” On hearing that, I replied solemnly, “What’s wrong with the Eastern Lightning? Now we are dry in spirit and have no message to preach. Yet one hymn of theirs stirs up our faith. It must be of benefit to reviving our church if we can listen to the message of the Eastern Lightning. Sisters, we should not reject it and be on guard blindly.” Before I finished my words, Sister Wang’s face suddenly clouded over and she questioned me with an angry face, “So you heard the message of the Eastern Lightning.” I responded sternly, “I’d like to listen, but I only learnt one hymn. You all sang with enthusiasm and felt that you had the way just now, didn’t you? The One we believe in is the true God. Since we have the truth, what shall we fear?” At that time, Sister Zhang urged, “Quick, stop arguing. Let’s copy the lyrics down quickly.” After hearing what she said, everyone stopped arguing and copied the lyrics while singing.

In the autumn of 2000, I heard that Sister Tian, who had believed in the Lord for many years and pursued actively, was converted to the Eastern Lightning. I thought, “What on earth does the Eastern Lightning preach? It can even have attracted Sister Tian, who had believed in the Lord for more than 30 years and had a solid foundation in believing in God. O Lord, what exactly is this denomination? When can I listen to their message?” Thereafter, every time I passed by the housing estate where Sister Tian lived, I would get off my bike and walk while pushing it slowly. For I didn’t know her specific apartment address, and I hoped I would meet and ask her what the Eastern Lightning preached, and whether there was something attractive which made her so resolute. However, I never met her.

Finally, in 2002, I met brothers and sisters who preached the gospel of the last days. They fellowshipped with me about the causes of the churches’ desolation, “On the one hand, pastors and elders carry out their own ideas without walking in the Lord’s ways, only focus on preaching theological knowledge and Bible doctrines, and walk the Pharisees’ path stubbornly. As a result, they are detested and rejected by God and lose the working of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, God has done a new work, and He is Almighty God, the returned Lord Jesus. Almighty God, built on the Lord Jesus’ redemptive work, does a work of judging and purifying man with His word, and thereby thoroughly takes people out of the condition of committing and confessing sins and then brings purified people into His kingdom. Only those who accept God’s new work and keep pace with God’s footprints can receive the work of the Holy Spirit and get the supply and watering of living water. However, those who fail to follow God’s new work and who reject and resist God’s new work lose the work of the Holy Spirit, living in the hungry and thirsty situation and becoming more and more desolate and dry. Almighty God says, ‘God will accomplish this fact: All the people of the entire universe will come to meet God and worship the God on earth. God’s work in all other places will cease and people will be forced to search for the true way. It will be as with Joseph. Everyone went to him to get things to eat and bowed down to him, because he had food to eat. To avoid famine people will be forced to search for the true way. The entire religious world will suffer a severe famine. Only today’s God is the fountain of living water and has an ever-flowing spring for people to enjoy. All people will turn to Him.’ (from ‘The Millennial Kingdom Has Arrived’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh) ‘All of God’s work in the entire universe has focused on this group of people. He has devoted all His efforts to you and sacrificed all for you; He has reclaimed and given to you all the work of the Spirit throughout the universe. That is why I say, you are the fortunate.’ (from ‘Is the Work of God So Simple as Man Imagines?’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh)” One sister said, “God has reclaimed the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the universe and worked on those who have accepted His work of the last days, making these people receive the watering of living water and be satisfied in their spirit. The religious world, not keeping up with God’s work, is dry in spirit and has no message to preach. Only those who accept the judgment of the last days from the returned Lord Jesus, Almighty God, are the ones to be saved and brought into the kingdom in the end. If one rejects the judgment, chastisement, purification, and salvation of Almighty God’s words, he will be cast away and eliminated forever without further association with God’s kingdom. This has long been predestined by God, which no one can change.” Hearing the brothers’ and sisters’ fellowship, I was clear as if the fog were dispelled and the blue sky showed, and the question that had puzzled me for years was solved.

After several days of fellowship with the brothers and sisters from the Church of Almighty God, I knew the truth concerning the three stages of God’s work, God’s incarnation, the differences between God’s work and man’s work, how Satan corrupts man, how God saves man and so on. I realized that the Eastern Lightning was the returned Lord Jesus I had long thirsted for, and that the hymn “Pure and Unblemished Love,” which touched and attracted my heart, was exactly the truth expressed by Almighty God. When I sang the hymn with the brothers and sisters, I was quite moved in my heart, and I offered a thanksgiving prayer to God in my heart silently, “Thank Almighty God! Thank You for bringing me to You by this hymn. You are my Lord, my God! I’m willing to follow You all my life!”

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Have Your Spiritual Eyes Opened?

Wenli

Everyone has a pair of eyes, and every animal has a pair of eyes, which are given by God at the beginning of creation. That is absolutely fair. People have the same eyes with the same functions. But eyes have a variety of uses and can catch different things. With the eyes, some look for the light, and some give in to vanity, some look for the road to riches, thinking of nothing but money, some demonstrate themselves to others, some express the friendship and love, some see the merits of others to make up for their own shortcomings, some focus on the demerits of others with haughty eyes, but achieve nothing, some observe every word and deed of others carefully, and some try to see themselves whether the heart is in the right place; By the eyes, doctors treat patients, scientists create inventions, the kind people look at the road in order not to walk on the wrong way, and the thieves target others’ money and look for a chance to reap without sowing like parasites. By the eyes, some become knowledgeable and versatile, some are totally illiterate, some read those works of famous people, the heresies and fallacies of Satan, while some read the words of God in order to understand the truth and obtain life. Why do people have different lives? Everybody owns a pair of eyes; why do the eyes play different roles? And why do people have rather different fates?

It’s said that eyes are the windows to the soul. The eyes and soul are connected closely and the inner world of a person can be seen from his eyes. Through one’s eyes, we can know what he clings to and what he pursues, which represents his nature and substance and determines his fate and destination. It makes me think of my own life….

My eyes were clear and transparent in my childhood. As I grew older and time passed, they turned dim and cloud over, losing the brightness of times past. And my inner world also became complicated and changeable. Someone preached the gospel of the Lord Jesus to me, but my heart was hardened, for the temptations of the dazzling world attracted my attention. I was obsessed with money, mansion, cars and beauty and coveted the world with all my heart. Afterward, I read the words of the Lord Jesus, “And if your right eye offend you, pluck it out, and cast it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:29). The words of the Lord opened my deceived eyes. I saw clearly that I was seduced and deceived by the dazzling world so that I lived in the sin of gorging myself on the enjoyment of the flesh, neither realized that man should believe in and worship God in his life nor know the existence of the truth and light. Then I prayed to God to repent my sins and accepted His redemption willingly.

Gradually, I realized that man committed sins and enjoyed the pleasure of sin, not only because man’s naked eyes were deceived but the eyes of heart were blinded by the evil tendencies of this world, which made people stray away from God and betray Him. It was the same with the circumstance that Adam and Eve succumbing to snake’s temptation ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan said, “… in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Our ancestors betrayed the words of God and listened to Satan to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Although man’s eyes were opened and he had a sense of shame, he lost the eternal life from then on.

One day, someone testified the work of Almighty God in the last days, saying that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus’ return, who has expressed all the truth of saving man and unfolded the work of judgment and chastisement. The words of Almighty God judge and reveal the reality of man’s corruption and substance of man’s nature. I saw that the word of Almighty God is full of authority and power and fully convinced me so that I couldn’t put it down. The more I read it, the more I was enlightened.

Soon, the upper-level co-worker in my former church came to my home. He used the biblical knowledge to bind me, saying, “Don’t easily listen to others, lest you be deceived! I have greater knowledge of the Bible and my eyes are bright! I will not be tricked easily! ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever’ (Hebrew 13:8). We can gain eternal life by believing in the name of the Lord Jesus, which is recorded clearly in the Bible.” At that moment, I just prayed to God in my heart continually, and I recalled the words of God, “God’s wisdom, God’s wondrousness, God’s righteousness, and God’s majesty shall never change. His substance and what He has and is shall never change. His work, however, is always progressing forward, always going deeper, for God is always new and never old” (“The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words lit up the eyes of my heart. Jehovah, Jesus and Almighty God are God’s names respectively in the Age of Law, the Age of Grace and the Age of Kingdom and they are all the same God and the same Spirit. God takes different names in different ages based on the differences in His work. However, whether God appears to the mankind as a spiritual body or by becoming flesh, the authority and the power of His words, the righteous disposition of God, His holy essence and what God has and is shall never change. After God created the world using the words, He issued laws to lead man’s life on earth in the Age of Law so that man could see Jehovah God’s wrath and imprecation. In the Age of Grace, from the Lord Jesus’ words that condemned and cursed the Pharisees, it can be seen that God’s name changed, yet His righteous and majestic disposition didn’t change even though the incarnate Lord Jesus was filled with mercy and lovingkindness. In the last days, Almighty God judges and purifies man with words, and His righteous disposition is much more unoffendable. So Almighty God is the Almighty who is, who was and who is to come. God’s words made me have discernment and no longer fall into the temptation and deception of the former co-worker.

In the whole religious community, who is not expecting the return of the Lord Jesus with great anxiety? Why are many people shut out from the gate of the kingdom and unable to see anything? Why are they even unaware of them being eliminated? Why do people not open their spiritual eyes to have a look when the Savior returns? Almighty God says, “I admonish you this: Many of My words have already opened to those who believe in Me. Those who admire the beauty in the kingdom but are shut out from the gate of the kingdom, have already been eliminated” (“Words Toward the Old and the Young” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). I was overwhelmed with emotion. It turned out that the words of Almighty God are bestowed to those wise virgins who are watching and waiting and can recognize the voice of God. Those foolish virgins who only dream of being raptured into the kingdom of heaven rather than focus on seeking the voice of God, will be forsaken and eliminated by God’s work, mourning and grinding their teeth amidst the disaster that has scarcely been seen through the ages!

I read God’s words day after day. Once the spiritual eyes are opened, I can see everything. Aged and dim naked eyes can’t affect the experience of the heart. I see that God reveals the mysteries of the heaven, the world and the spiritual realm and all of these are the manifestations of the omnipotence and wisdom of the Creator. Today I have seen the countenance of the Creator, and that is the faithful depiction of the face of the Son of man recorded in Revelation. Ah, I have seen Him, and I am to see Him again!

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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 lifein accordance with God’s requirements, can we have the true happiness. The LordJesus 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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There Is A Love That Is Called Pain

There Is A Love That Is Called Pain

There is a love that is called pain.

Perhaps you are competent, but you are always serving others, while someone else who is very cowardly has been taken care of. You may have experienced many hardships and are no stranger to tribulations, but the one you are most familiar with lives their entire lives in peace. You probably have spent over half your life suffering from illness, while some others lead a happy and comfortable life. … In short, there are many things you may find unfortunate and hard to accept.

However, we should not think ourselves unfortunate, or feel greatly wronged and complain how fate is unfair to us. Look at the people around us: In experiencing pain, some choose to escape and cease the effort to move forward, whereas some others choose to brave it and keep groping for progress. In the end, those who choose to escape, despite suffering little, live their lives in mediocrity. Those who choose to confront pain suffer a lot and shed many tears, but after going through painful struggles, they gain some understanding of human life, become mature in their thinking, and conduct themselves and handle things in an experienced and steady manner. On top of that, they can submit to the orchestration of fate, and feel steadfast, released and liberated in their hearts.

When I didn’t believe in God, I saw a lot of the above cases. After I believed in God, I read many of God’s words, and realized a fact: Every one of us is a part of God’s management plan, and we came into this world as a result of God’s arrangements. In our life journeys, there are many things painstakingly arranged by God for us. Some of them are very disappointing and we feel pain about them, but they are truly beneficial to us. Take myself for example. I was born vain. No matter what I did or said, I preferred to be praised and complimented by others. Any words that damaged my reputation would make me feel upset. Later, I married a man who was very lazy and ill-tempered. He often threw our family into turmoil. I felt my reputation was ruined, and I couldn’t keep my head high in front of others or speak with confidence. I had lived in pain and depression, and at some point I even lost the courage to live on. Afterward, I saw God’s words: “Corruption within human nature must be resolved through trials, however. In whichever aspects you do not pass, it is in these aspects that you must be refined—this is God’s arrangement. God creates an environment for you, forcing you to be refined there to know your own corruption. Ultimately you reach a point where you would rather die and give up your schemes and desires, and submit to God’s sovereignty and arrangement. So if people do not have several years of refinement, if they don’t have a certain amount of suffering, they will not be able to avoid the bondage of corruption of the flesh in their thought and in their hearts. In whichever aspects you are still subject to Satan’s bondage, in whichever aspects you still have your own desires, your own demands—it is in these aspects that you should suffer. Only in suffering can lessons be learned, which means being able to gain truth, and understand God’s intention” (“How to Satisfy God in the Midst of Trials”). Looking at God’s words, I felt very warm inside. I came to understand why God arranged things for me in this way and what His purpose was. God knows man best. He knew that I always worried about gaining and losing reputation, living in pain and depression without being able to be released. So, He arranged such a husband for me according to my corrupt disposition and my need. However, I was unwilling to accept it, and misunderstood God’s will, thinking God mistreated me so that I lived a miserable life. But on mature reflection, if I, as a person who treasured reputation more than life, had actually had my own way in everything, I would have become more arrogant with my internal desires continually growing, and more lacking in how a human being should be. I would even have been led astray by reputation and status. If that was really the case, not only would my whole life have been thoroughly ruined by vanity, but I would have brought much suffering to my family. At this point, I understood God’s will and His kind intentions. I saw that all He does is salvation and greatest protection for me. This is a love that cannot be expressed with words.

God says: “God can perfect man in both positive and negative aspects. It depends on whether you are able to experience, and on whether you pursue being perfected by God. If you truly seek being perfected by God, then the negative cannot make you suffer loss, but can bring you things that are more real …” (“Only Those Who Focus on Practice Can Be Perfected”). God’s words are very true. Whatever God does, be it good or bad in our eyes, contains God’s good intention, and it is to change us. When we have experienced some pain, we will truly recognize that pain is a unique gift and the truest love God bestows upon us.

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Church Life – The Losses And Gains In The Meetings

Church Life – The Losses And Gains In The Meetings

Guozi    United States

My name is Guozi, and I’m a high school student studying in the United States. I come from a Christian family. When I was one year old, my mother accepted Almighty God’s work in the last days. I remember that when I was very young, my mother often told me, “God created this world, and He created mankind. God loves us the most. Remember to pray to Almighty God when things happen to you, and He will care for and protect you.” Therefore, I was aware of the existence of God from my early childhood, and I also experienced the protection of God when I prayed for things that befell me. But my true knowledge of God and God’s work was gradually gained only after I entered into God’s words in the meetings with my sisters from the Church of Almighty God.

In December, 2015, my mother advised me to attend gatherings with brothers and sisters. She said, “God’s work in the last days will soon reach its end. If you don’t attend meetings and fellowship about God’s words with brothers and sisters, you can hardly understand the truth, much less be perfected by God.” At that time, thinking my mother was just speaking casually, I consented perfunctorily. But I never expected that she really contacted the church, and I was arranged to have meetings online with some sisters. When one sister set the time for the gatherings with me, I felt a strong disinclination. I thought attending meetings every week would take up my spare time and hinder me from going out eating, drinking, and having fun with my friends. I was unwilling to attend meetings from the bottom of my heart, and merely preferred to continue my past life—not to resist the work of Almighty God, to be able to pray to God when encountering things, and to occasionally experience God’s protection. I thought it was enough that I had God in my heart. But feeling ashamed to refuse, I had to consent to it grudgingly. When the time for the meeting arrived, I always felt like making excuses to avoid it. What I feared most was the coming of the gathering on Sunday. Even though I attended the meeting, I still couldn’t quiet my heart. During my prayer, I only said some praises to God or asked God to allow me to get through the exam, and so on. When we began to fellowship about God’s words, I trembled for my turn, for I received no illumination within and had no idea of what to communicate. I only read some sentences in God’s words that I thought crucial, and explained the literal meaning of them, just as when I worked on a Chinese reading comprehension. I didn’t have a right attitude toward God’s words and treated the meetings carelessly, so I didn’t gain anything. The more I did so, the more boring I felt the meetings; and I thought it better to go out and play with my classmates than to attend the meeting. Especially when finding my mobile phone received many messages, I was more unable to resist the desire to go out to play with my classmates or friends. Thereupon I told my mother that I’d like to read God’s words by myself rather than attend meetings. But she said, “If you don’t attend meetings, you simply won’t read God’s words on your own initiative, nor will you understand them. For God’s words are all the reality of the truth, which are different from the books you read at school, and you can only clearly understand them by fellowshiping at the gatherings.” I never realized that having meetings was so important. It would not only urge me to read God’s words, but also enable me to understand the truth better. So I could say nothing more. Yet I was so excessively fond of play that I couldn’t be bothered to forsake the flesh to practice the truth, in spite of having understood a bit of truth. Therefore, later at every gathering, I just went through the motions when communicating about God’s words, and after that, I would start to use my phone, browsing gossip, watching the latest updated TV series, or chatting with my friends sometimes. So, I gained nothing from each meeting.

Once, my mother asked me, “How do you feel about your recent gatherings? Can you understand what your sisters fellowshiped? Do not play with your phone or be absent-minded at the gatherings. Although you have meetings online and your sisters can’t see what you are doing, God is watching your every action all the time. If you never concentrate your attention, God knows it and will discipline you.” Then she read me a passage of God’s words: “Because in order to walk in God’s way, we cannot let go of anything to do with ourselves, or anything that happens around us, even the little things. No matter whether we think we should pay attention to it or not, as long as any matter is facing us we should not let it go. All of it should be viewed as God’s test for us. How’s this kind of attitude? If you have this kind of attitude, then it confirms one fact: Your heart fears God, and your heart is willing to shun evil. If you have this desire to satisfy God, then what you put into practice isn’t far from the standard of fearing God and shunning evil” (“How to Know God’s Disposition and the Result of His Work” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh). She said to me, “Probably in your opinion, having a look at your phone at the gatherings is just a small matter, and is nothing serious. But it concerns your attitude toward the gathering and God. God is right by man’s side, watching his every action and looking upon his thoughts. Have you ever considered why you constantly feel like playing with your phone at the gatherings? As a matter of fact, in it lies Satan’s trick. God’s intention is to, through the meetings, make you understand more truths so that you can mature in your life soon, and eventually receive God’s salvation. On the contrary, Satan’s attempt is to distance you from God and God’s way. It seduces you through these things you like and prevents you from quieting your heart before God, so that you will have gained nothing ultimately and your life will have been ruined when God’s work ends.” As I listened to my mother, I thought to myself: So there is the truth to be sought even in such a small matter, which concerns man’s attitude toward God. I felt ashamed within, thinking my mother had read my thoughts. Before, I had always thought that I gathered with my sisters online and no one could see me, so I began to play with my phone secretly to satisfy my desire. Not till then did I know God was watching over all of this. Then I developed feelings of guilt and some unease: In the last few meetings, I played with my phone and God saw it all. Will God really discipline me? With my heart full of regret, I immediately prayed and apologized to God, and determined that I would no longer play with my phone during the meetings, and instead, I would ponder God’s words attentively and listen to the other sisters’ fellowship carefully. Thereupon at the following gatherings, I turned off my mobile phone and put it far from me, and then focused my mind on my sisters’ fellowship. Despite the fact that sometimes I still stared blankly or let my mind wander as I listened, I felt I had gained something after every gathering.

However, my desire for play never decreased. After some time, once at a gathering, my hands fairly itched to play with my phone again. I thought to myself: I’ll just give a glance at my phone, only one glance. Then I took my phone and began to play with it. Yet it turned out that, once started, it was difficult to stop. Soon I returned to my former condition. Sometimes I even put aside my computer used for meetings, and picked up my phone to watch the TV plays without scruple. I committed mistakes knowingly and willfully, and such attitude prevented me from receiving the work of the Holy Spirit. Although I was attending the meeting, when it was my turn to communicate, I had no idea of what to say, and I was also unaware of what my sisters had fellowshiped throughout the meeting. Gradually my disinclination to have meetings arose involuntarily. But I was ashamed to tell it to my mother again, and I could only attend the meetings perfunctorily. Later, in a meeting, while I was playing with my phone, I found that I could get the first look at a new TV play only if I downloaded a piece of software. I hesitated a moment, yet still decided to download it. However, as soon as I finished downloading and launched it, my phone screen went black; and when I clicked on it again, it showed me to enter the password. How should I know what the password was? Only after I had searched on the Internet for the reason why my phone’s screen was black, did I realize that I was fooled and that my mobile phone was under the control of others and couldn’t be used anymore. At that moment, I was overcome with regret. Meanwhile, I thought of God’s discipline, and it occurred to me: God observes the depths of man’s heart, and my every action is under God’s eye. I did things that I knew were wrong, so this might be God’s discipline coming upon me. It seems that I really should no longer play with my phone at the gatherings.

When I told my mother this matter, she read such a passage of God’s word to me: “What’s a big matter? What’s a small matter? All matters that involve walking in God’s way aren’t divided into big or small ones. Can you accept that? (We can accept it.) In terms of everyday matters, there are some which people view as very big and significant, and others that are viewed as minor trifles. People often view these big matters as being the very important ones, and they consider them to be sent by God. However, over the course of these big matters playing out, owing to the immature stature of man, and owing to man’s poor caliber, man is often not up to God’s intentions, cannot obtain any revelations, and cannot acquire any actual knowledge that is of value. So far as the small matters are concerned, these are simply overlooked by man, left to slip away little by little. Thus, they have lost many opportunities to be examined before God, to be tested by Him. Should you always overlook these matters and circumstances that God arranges for you, what will this mean? It means that every day, even every moment, you’re always renouncing God’s perfection of you, and God’s leadership. Whenever God arranges a circumstance for you, He is watching in secret, looking upon your heart, looking upon your thoughts and considerations, looking at how you think, looking at how you will act. If you are a careless person—a person who has never been serious about God’s way, God’s word, or the truth—then you won’t be mindful, you won’t pay attention to that which God wants to complete, and that which God demands of you when He arranges circumstances for you. You also won’t know how these everyday matters relate to the truth or God’s intentions. After you face repeated circumstances and repeated trials like this, with God not seeing any achievements to your name, how will God proceed? … there’s only one attitude that God has toward these people. What attitude is this? God spurns this kind of person from the bottom of His heart” (“How to Know God’s Disposition and the Result of His Work” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh). Looking at God’s words, I thought: This time I truly experienced God’s work and discipline, and saw that God is really by my side watching my every action. I used to think that my corrupt behaviors and thoughts could deceive my sisters, but they could never escape God’s observation. During the gatherings, I knowingly played with my phone and watched TV plays rather than pursuing the truth properly. My behavior is detested by God. Now not only is my phone controlled by others, but I haven’t gained the slightest truth. Meanwhile, time is wasted and my growth in spiritual life is delayed. I also recognized: I have constantly been trying to restrain myself from playing with my phone at the gatherings through my own efforts, yet as it turns out, I’m incapable of overcoming Satan’s temptation. It shows that, if man only relies on himself rather than on God, he can hardly practice the truth and attain fearing God and shunning evil. I am still too immature in my stature now, and thus in the future, all that I need to do is pray to God and rely on God, and only in this way can I quiet my heart in the meetings, and truly attain fearing God and shunning evil.

In the following several months, I used my classmate’s mobile phone. Considering it was not mine, I didn’t dare to download software to the phone as I pleased. At every gathering, I could not but quietly sit there listening to my sisters’ fellowship. At times, I was still disturbed by the desire to play with the phone. Especially when I heard my friends sending me message after message, my curiosity would be aroused and moved me to read them. However, it occurred to me that God was watching my every action, and that when I was having the meeting, if I was not devout or fearful before God, I would be detestable to God. At the thought I immediately drew back my hand every time I stretched it out to the mobile phone. And I prayed to God in my heart, “O God! Help me quiet my heart and free me from Satan’s disturbance.” I tried to calm my heart down while praying to God so that I could carefully listen to my sisters’ fellowship and sharing. In this way, after the gathering, I found I had received a lot of enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit in the words of God, which allowed me to know much about God and His work. Thinking back to the past, I was always unwilling to have meetings, and often avoided attending meetings under the pretext of being too busy with my study and having no time. Whereas now I felt I ought to forsake the flesh and find time to attend meetings. As there was usually not much pressure or homework in my studies, I frequently spent my spare time playing with my phone and watching TV plays. Actually the spare time might well be devoted to having meetings, which would be beneficial to my understanding of the truth. Thus, I requested to attend meetings twice a week. As my attendance doubled, I understood more and more truth, and obtained much more knowledge of God’s words than ever before. With the mobile phone close at hand, I could not help taking a peep at it sometimes, but I would immediately realize that I should forsake the flesh, and then I threw it onto the bed and went on with the meeting. For I was well aware that God was watching my every action in secret, and that I should no longer follow the flesh but instead should revere God in my heart.

Several months were gone, and I felt I had gained a lot. Not only had I grown much in my spiritual life, I also learned to experience God’s work in my life. The most impressive experience to me was: In a math exam, I copied the answers from one of my classmates in order to get a good record, and then the school suspected me of lacking academic integrity, which was so serious a problem as to influence my college entrance. I was at a loss what to do. At that time, a sister, regarding my situation, shared God’s words and communicated God’s will with me at the gathering. She told me that God likes honest people and that only honest people can receive the salvation. Then when I practiced being an honest person on the basis of God’s words, I witnessed God’s deed. I not only got the opportunity to retake the exam, but also obtained a certificate of merit for my “straight A” grades. I have had such experience far more than once. Now I feel increasingly fond of attending gatherings, fellowshiping about God’s words with my sisters, and sharing my experiences of practicing God’s words. Sometimes, while reading God’s words, when I measure my own experiences against God’s words due to the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, I am moved very much in my spirit and can genuinely sigh from deep within: It’s really good to believe in God! Gradually, through these experiences, I, a person who was afraid of having meetings at first, has changed into one who is fond of having meetings, which is all the result achieved by the guidance of God’s words. Thinking back, though I had less time to go out eating, drinking, and having fun with my classmates because of attending meetings, yet I have received God’s supply of spiritual life, which allows me to understand: One will receive God’s blessing by being an honest person and will feel peace and joy by practicing the truth. If one follows his fleshly desires, like playing with the mobile phone during the meetings, it will invite Satan’s affliction and God will not be pleased with him. Through the fellowship about the truth in the meetings, I have realized that God approves of a person who fears God and shuns evil, and that fearing God and shunning evil is the likeness of a real man one should live out. Thanks to the guidance of God, I have gained too much. Thanks be to Almighty God!

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