![]() Only God’s Love Is Real Xiaodong Sichuan Province God said, “The Chinese nation which has been corrupted for thousands of years has continued on until today. All sorts of viruses continue to expand and are spreading everywhere like the plague; just looking at people’s relationships is enough to see how many viruses are in people. It’s extremely difficult for God to develop His work in such a tightly closed and virus-infected area. People’s personalities, habits, the way they do things, everything they express in their lives and their interpersonal relationships are all broken beyond belief …” (“The Path … (6)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). The revelation in God’s words made me see how Satan’s corruption makes all relationships between people abnormal, because all are based on Satan’s philosophy of life, without containing even a shred of truth. Without God’s salvation, my eyes would still be covered and my emotions entrapped, but experiencing the work of God made me understand the essence of what it means to “help one another” and showed me the truth of friendship, love, and familial affection. I saw that only God’s words are the truth, and that only by living by God’s words could we escape the influence of Satan, and that only by comporting oneself according to the truth could one live out a meaningful life. My parents were both Christians, and at the time our faith in Jesus brought us a great deal of grace. Especially in business, God blessed us with much in the way of material comforts. Most of my relatives weren’t as well off as our family, and my parents took good care of them financially and materially. My relatives had a great deal of respect for my parents, and naturally they looked at me with the same eye. That was the kind of advantageous environment I grew up in. I thought my friends and relatives were wonderful, and no matter what our family needed, they would be willing to help. In 1998, my entire family accepted Almighty God’s work, and because of our desire for gaining blessings as well as because it was a difficult field, we stopped our family business. Some of our friends and relatives tried to persuade us otherwise, saying, “It’s such a shame to stop a business you spent so many years building.” There were others who mocked us behind our back, saying we’d earned enough to not need any more. Hearing these things made us sad, but we still decided to stop the business. Even though I had accepted Almighty God’s work, I still understood nothing about the corruption in mankind, so my heart still yearned for this world. I spent my days eating, drinking, and carousing with my close friends and relatives, and because I spent generously, I got more and more friends, and more and more classmate reunions, parties, classmates’ and friends’ birthdays and weddings, and other occasions couldn’t be held without inviting me, because I was too “important.” Beyond that, every Sunday I had to pick up and see off my girlfriend, and we often went out together. At that time, even though I never missed one of my three meetings a week at the church, I still had absolutely no understanding of God’s words, my heart still wandered in the world outside, and my belief in God felt like a yoke of rules. But God used environments to make me understand the truth. He showed me that relationships between people are based on nothing but mutual interest, and that there is no such thing as true feeling or love in them. After the business stopped, my parents repaired our house and had to pay tuition for my sister and me, such that our family’s savings were almost gone after a few years, and because I depended on them for my income, there was a reduction in my own spending. I avoided weddings and gatherings, large or small, whenever I could, so my circle of friends began to shrink, and my status in the eyes of my friends became lower and lower. As the fortunes of my poorer friends and relatives improved, they associated less with us as well. This period was refining for me, because I felt I had no status in the hearts of others. Especially my girlfriend, who became more distant because I didn’t spend money as generously as I had in the past, and finally left me for someone else in 2001. When I learned of it, I couldn’t accept that it was real. I didn’t show it on the outside, but the knowledge was like a knife in my heart. I was loyal to her, my efforts for her were sincere, so why did I get her betrayal in return? That’s how our five-year relationship ended. I didn’t know how to forget her, so all I could do was bury the pain deep in my heart. After that, I hated it when others mentioned the incident. I couldn’t understand how something like this could happen to me. Then one day, I saw this passage of God’s word, “Most people live in the foul place of Satan, and suffer its derision; it teases them this way and that till they are half alive, enduring every vicissitude, every hardship in the human world. After toying with them, Satan puts an end to their destiny. And so people go through their whole lives in a daze of confusion, never once enjoying the good things that God has prepared for them, but instead being damaged by Satan and left in tatters. Today they have become so enervated and listless that they simply have no inclination to take notice of God’s work” (“Work and Entry (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). The revelation in God’s words is a true portrayal of human life. Thinking back on how I spent my days drowning in lovesickness, living in an imaginary world of “romantic love.” I was inextricably trapped, and I had no idea at all that these things were Satan’s tricks to fool people, ruses designed to trap people and make them live without any goals and without inclination to take notice of God’s work. Although I called myself a believer in God, I spent my days worrying and laboring over friendship and love, and if circumstances hadn’t changed for me, I would still believe in those “pledges of eternal love” and “loyal friends,” and I would never have escaped it. Because of the breakup with my girlfriend, I cut off all my relationships with my classmates; without such a noisy environment I could still my heart and devote myself to my faith in God. At meetings, I fellowshiped with my brothers and sisters, and slowly, my wounded heart began to heal. I felt the long-forgotten joy, no longer lost or living in my pain. Because there were no interruptions from the outside world, I was able to still my mind and focus on meetings. I became more and more interested in faith in God, and from then on I began fulfilling my duties. When my relatives learned I believed in God, there was no end to their disturbances. They thought I had no business believing in God at such a young age. My maternal aunt often asked me for favors, my paternal aunt asked me to do business with her, even my foster mother pushed me to get married, saying she would take care of my child after it was born (because she had no son of her own), and my grandmother cried, saying, “I have absolutely no objection to your parents believing in God, because they worked half their lifetimes and gave all they have to pave the way for you, so it’s time to let them rest. You should focus on starting a family and a career.” She then went on to describe how my father grew up in poverty, how he started from nothing, how much he suffered, how hard he worked, and said that I was in such a good environment, and that I had no ideals. Their sudden “concern” for me was very flattering. I was confused, because it seemed like what every one of them was saying was right, they all wanted the best for me, and since they were my closest relatives, of course they wouldn’t hurt me. If I didn’t do something when I was young, what would happen to me when I’m older? I was living in refinement, and even though I knew this was a spiritual battle, I didn’t have the strength to fight anymore. At a meeting, a leader showed me this passage from God’s word, “For thousands of years, the Chinese people have led the life of slaves, and this has so constrained their thoughts, concepts, life, language, behavior, and actions that they have been left without the slightest freedom. Several thousand years of history have turned vital people possessed of a spirit into something akin to corpses bereft of a spirit. Many are those who live under the butcher’s knife of Satan…. Outwardly, they appear to be higher ‘animals’; in fact, they live and reside with filthy demons. Without anyone to tend to them, people live in the hidden trap of Satan, and are so caught up in it that escape has become impossible. They don’t gather with their loved ones in cozy homes, living happy and fulfilling lives, but live in Hades, dealing with demons and associating with devils” (“Work and Entry (5)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Through the revelation in God’s word and fellowship with my brothers and sisters, I realized that while they appear to be my relatives from the outside, and their words are in accord with the needs of my flesh, their thoughts, concepts, life, language, behavior, and actions are constrained because of Satan’s corruption. They are all unbelievers, all of their viewpoints and all they discuss come from Satan, and what they pursue are all the evil desires of the flesh, none of which are in accord with the truth, and because I have none of the truth and no discernment, further contact with them would only make me more degenerate. I would gain nothing from it, they could only bring me to ruination. At that time, I had some understanding of the saying “All unbelievers are the devil,” about which my brothers and sisters often fellowshiped, but I still didn’t fully grasp it. Later, God arranged circumstances that showed me the true essence of family ties. Our family has always been a host family, and one day in 2005, thanks to an evildoer’s report, my parents and several brothers and sisters were arrested by the great red dragon. My birth sister fortunately survived a near-drowning as she fled, only escaping with her life because God protected her. My parents and the brothers and sisters at my family’s house were detained and fined, and all were tortured, all came out with injuries. When I heard the news, I couldn’t control my emotions. I didn’t have the heart to fulfill my duties. I thought, “At a time like this I should go home no matter what. My parents raised me, and now that they’re in trouble, even if I can’t do anything, I should at least be there to check up on them and comfort them.” So, I took the train home and went straight to my paternal aunt’s house (who also believes in God) to see my parents. At that time I saw their wounds had not healed, I felt horrible inside, and tears burst from my eyes. It felt like my parents had been humiliated. That’s when my parents told me: During the escape from the great red dragon, my birth sister dove into the river (this happened in December, after dark). The water was up to her neck, and the river currents were strong, wild plants were found caught on her pant leg, her shoes were stuck in the mud, and she didn’t know how to swim, so it was an utter mystery how she got to the other side. God must have miraculously protected her, or the results would have been too terrible to contemplate (the deep water and strong currents had taken the life of a man in his 40’s several days before). Later, my birth sister hid at the house of an older sister who gave my sister a change of clothes while crying as she dried her wet clothes over the fire, and otherwise took very good care of her. Several days after that she learned that this older sister’s house was no longer safe, so my birth sister went to hide at my maternal aunt’s home. She came out during the day to bring a letter to our church informing our leader of my family’s situation, but when she returned, my maternal aunt’s younger daughter said to her, “Hey cousin, why did you come back? I thought you left. We’ve already folded up the bed.” My sister realized my maternal aunt was afraid of getting involved and didn’t want to let her stay there, so crying, she left their home, and risked arrest to come home because she had nowhere else to go. After my parents were released, when they learned about my sister’s near-drowning and how she was kicked out by my maternal aunt, they were very angry, but my maternal aunt, in a tone convinced she was right, answered with, “That’s right, we are afraid of getting involved. You brought these arrests on yourselves. You had a perfectly good life, but you had to go and screw it up, and now you almost got someone killed!” I never imagined that my closest relatives, the people closest to me in the past, at a time when the great red dragon was arresting my family and their lives were in danger, at a time when comfort is needed most of all, would actually say such inhumane words or do such cruel things. To know that they could made me very sad. None of the people we helped most in the past came to check in on us or comfort us. Those who had the best relationships with us not only didn’t speak to my parents when they met on the street, they moved out of my parents’ path. Some who used to nod and say hello to us now turned their backs to us and gossiped. Only our brothers and sisters came to visit us and fellowship in the evenings. I never believed our family could come to such an abject state. I was again trapped in refinement, with thoughts of betraying God forming in my heart. Later, after receiving a revelation from God, I experienced what my brothers and sisters had fellowshiped about, “Relationships between people are based on nothing but mutual interest, family and friends merely help one another, being relationships built on a foundation of mutual use.” I also thought back to my parents’ talk about what they gained from their experience of being arrested by the great red dragon, for example: When the great red dragon used a leather whip to beat my father, he said he didn’t feel too much pain, and that the belt broke into three pieces as they hit him. My sister said she didn’t feel any fear at all during her experience, and even though it was December, she said she never felt cold coming out of the water. God gave her extra strength and confidence. Arrest by the great red dragon had actually made their faith more steadfast. It had made them stronger. My father said that he hadn’t believed God’s words in the past, and that he was an admirer of the great red dragon, but this incident had shown him the great red dragon was merely a gang of thugs, bandits who would take away anything in our house worth money and would rather arrest law-abiding believers in God than murderers and arsonists. I was ashamed when I understood that we all live under God’s leadership, everything we experience is part of God’s sovereignty and arrangement, no person has the power to help another, familial affection will only drive us away from God, and that the things people can help each other with only accord with the flesh, not with the truth. Thoughts like “not wanting my parents’ flesh to suffer” not only bring no benefit to their life, they bring no benefit to their salvation. Only God knows what man needs, and God loves man the most. I saw a passage of God’s word that said, “From when He created the world, God has done much work involving the vitality of life, has done much work that brings life to man, and has paid a great price so that man might gain life, for God Himself is eternal life, and God Himself is the way by which man is resurrected. God is never absent from the heart of man, and lives among man at all times. He has been the driving force of man’s living, the fundament of man’s existence, and a rich deposit for man’s existence after birth. He causes man to be reborn, and enables him to tenaciously live in his every role. Thanks to His power, and His inextinguishable life force, man has lived for generation after generation, throughout which the power of God’s life has been the mainstay of man’s existence, and for which God has paid a price that no ordinary man has ever paid. God’s life force can prevail over any power; moreover, it exceeds any power. His life is eternal, His power extraordinary, and His life force not easily overwhelmed by any created being or enemy force. The life force of God exists, and shines its brilliant radiance, regardless of time or place. God’s life remains forever unchanged throughout the upheavals of heaven and earth. All things pass away, but God’s life still remains, for God is the source of the existence of all things, and the root of their existence. Man’s life originates from God, the existence of the heaven is because of God, and the existence of the earth stems from the power of God’s life. No object possessed of vitality can transcend the sovereignty of God, and no thing with vigor can break away from the ambit of God’s authority. In this way, regardless of who they are, everyone must submit under the dominion of God, everyone must live under God’s command, and no one can escape from His control” (“Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Through God’s words and reality, I experienced the extraordinariness and greatness of God’s life force, that He lives among man at all times, at all times guides mankind and displays His power, and that every person lives in arrangements masterminded by God. Facing God’s word, I saw how tiny I was and how insignificant emotional ties are. What could I have done against the difficulties my family faced? Wasn’t God the one who protected them, cared for them, and led them through the crisis? Can man’s love of another man be greater than God’s love for man? At the same time, God’s words judged me, “Who among you can truly expend wholly for Me and offer up their all for Me? You are all half-hearted, your thoughts go round and round, thinking of home, the outside world, food and clothing. Despite the fact that you are before Me doing things for Me, in your heart you still think of your wife, children and parents at home—are all these your property? Why don’t you commit them into My hands? Do you not believe in Me enough? Or is it that you’re afraid I will make inappropriate arrangements for you? Why do you always miss your home? And miss other people! Do I occupy a certain position in your heart? And you still talk about letting Me have dominion within you and occupy your whole being—these are all deceptive lies! How many of you are for the church with all your hearts? And who among you think not of yourselves, but are for the kingdom of today? Think very carefully about this” (“The Fifty-ninth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). I saw that what I cared for in my heart was still my family, because I didn’t have true faith in God, I still couldn’t entrust them completely to God’s hands; I saw that I did not live in the truth, and even though I was performing my duties in God’s house, I often worried about my family, and did not let God occupy my heart. I could not respect God above all others and faithfully perform my duties. I had been fooled and afflicted by Satan. If not for these “unfortunate” things happening to me, I never would have seen things clearly. It’s just as this hymn of God’s word says, “When it comes to the state of man’s life, man has yet to find the real life, he still hasn’t seen through to the desolation and miserable conditions of the world; were it not for the advent of disaster, people would still embrace Mother Nature, and would still engross themselves in the flavor of ‘life.’ Is this not the voice of salvation that God speaks forth to man? Why, among mankind, has no one ever truly loved God? Why does man love God only in the midst of chastisement, yet no one loves God under His protection?” (“Mankind Does Not Know God’s Salvation” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). If not for what these circumstances revealed to me, I never would have truly understood the relationships between people, and I would still be controlled by family ties, love, and friendship, inextricably trapped in the pursuit of these things, deceived and made to suffer by them, happy in my ignorance; if not for the “disaster” that befell me, I would still be pursuing evil worldly trends, unable to see my own lowliness; if not for the chastisement and judgment , I never would have received the truth, never would have taken the correct path of life, and it was God’s salvation that allowed me to never taste the flavor of “life” again. When I understood all this, I decided that I would wholeheartedly believe in God and pursue the truth to repay God’s love for me. In 2007, when I returned to my hometown to perform my duties, I learned that a brother who joined the faith with me, because he couldn’t see through the darkness and evil in society, surrendered to the temptations of the world, betrayed God, and left God’s family. His parents and the brothers and sisters repeatedly fellowshiped with him to convince him to stay, but he stubbornly turned his head and refused to look back, choosing instead to return to the world. Before long his entrapment in these worldly trends became deeper. He was a handsome man and had made quite a lot of money, so he started involving himself with many women. Eventually he was murdered, and we heard his organs were sold. His parents never saw his body. I felt sorry for him when I heard the story, but I also saw the tragic result of pursuing worldly trends, and even more so I saw how God used my parents’ urging to stop my return to the world, which made me experience God’s care and protection of me, and made me understand that having money in this world is a downhill path that ends in ruination of the self. God said, “Poor mankind—how could they know that the land upon which they were raised is the land of the devil, that the one who raised them is actually an enemy who hurts them. Yet man does not awaken at all; having sated his hunger and thirst, he prepares to repay the ‘kindness’ of his parents in bringing him up. That is how man is. Today, he still doesn’t know that the ‘king’ who raised him is his enemy. The earth is littered with the bones of the dead, the devil makes manic merry without cease, and carries on devouring the flesh of man in the ‘netherworld,’ sharing a grave with human skeletons and vainly attempting to consume the last remnants of the tattered body of man. Yet man is ever ignorant, and has never treated the devil as his enemy, but instead serves it with all his heart” (“Work and Entry (9)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Through God’s words I saw the truth, that this is how Satan corrupts mankind, I saw that its malicious essence will eventually swallow men, and that without God’s timely salvation, I too would have been swallowed by this evil worldly trend and been buried with it. Upon understanding this, I offered my sincerest thanks and praise to God! It was God’s mercy, grace, and protection that carried me to this day. I have now performed my duties in God’s family for several years, and in God’s family I have experienced God’s love. No matter where I perform my duties, God is always there to take care of me. I get along with my brothers and sisters as if they were family, we don’t use each other, and there is no exchange of benefits. My brothers and sisters are so sincere that even if our corruption shows through to each other at times, through opening our hearts and communicating about our understanding of ourselves, there are no grudges or guardedness. We help each other and offer one another love, everyone is viewed equally, and no one is treated differently because they are poor or rich. I have health problems, so I often get sick, but my brothers and sisters are very considerate and take very good care of me, which made me experience that even without blood ties among my brothers and sisters, they can be even closer than relatives. I get along well with my brothers and sisters, and with God’s guidance, we all pursue the truth and strive to perform our duties. My experiences throughout these years have also helped me gradually come to understand God’s will, as well as to see that the work God has done upon me is the work of salvation and love, the words expressed by God are the truth, but more so that they are the words which save our lives. These truths have become God’s best care and protection for me. If I departed from these words or did not view things from the basis these words provide, I would ruin myself. I was deeply corrupted by Satan and unable to directly grasp the meaning of God’s words, so God arranged many different circumstances, people, matters, and things, designed for my needs, to benefit and perfect me, to help me understand His words. Amid my hardships and trials, I unwittingly came to see that these words expressed by God are all truth, that they are things that mankind needs. Not only do they grant mankind life and allow him to live out the life of a normal man, they also point out the correct path in life, because God is the truth, the way, and the life. As the word of God says, “I do not need man to do anything but accept the reality of My words and the original meaning of My words. Though My words are simple, in substance they are complex, for you are too small, and have grown too numb. When I reveal My mysteries directly and make plain My will in the flesh, you take no notice; you listen to My voice, but do not understand the meaning. I am overcome with sadness. Although I am in the flesh, I am unable to do the work of the ministry of the flesh” (“The Ninth Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh). In God’s word I saw both the urgency and sadness in God’s heart. All the words God expresses are the truth, but mankind is too small in stature and too numb, and so pays no notice of God’s will, which fills God with melancholy. I want to comfort God and cooperate with Him, and even though there is much of the truth I don’t understand, through my continuing pursuit of the truth and fulfilling my duties, God will provide me enlightenment and illumination so that I may understand His words. There is still much corruption in me that must be purified, and I need to experience much more of God’s work as well as God’s judgment and chastisement and the accompanying hardships and refinements, but God’s demands of man are not high. He asks only that I accept the reality of His words. In the past, when I had just started believing in God, I did not love and treasure these words of His, but the circumstances God arranged for me and years of refinement made me see these words of God as riches, but without those circumstances I never would have gained a true understanding of God’s words. I offer my praise and thanks to God! It was God who saved me, and it was the words of life from God that awakened me and rescued me from a life of being deceived under Satan’s influence. In God’s words, I came to know the true meaning of life, etc. I came to know that God has always cared for mankind, and has always watched over and protected mankind, understand that mankind cannot leave the supply, nourishment, watering, and support of God’s words, that only God is the truth, the way, and the life, and know that there is no salvation but through Him. God’s words carried me to today, and I want to make God’s words my motto, my marker on the path forward, and a guide for my conduct. Oh God! You saved me, Your words awakened me, keeping me from going astray. I want to follow You along this path all my life and never leave You, and no matter what trouble or difficulties my decision may bring me, in any situation, I wish to follow in Your footsteps to accompany You and comfort You, and I will follow You to the end of the road, always and forever!
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![]() The “Rural” Mom Meets the “Urban” Daughter-in-Law Liu Jie, Hunan Different Viewpoints, Constant Conflicts I am a typical housewife, a good wife and a loving mother, I take good care of my husband and children, I’m hardworking and thrifty in running my household, and I’ve never recklessly spent my money. But something unimaginable happened to me. My son married a fashionable girl who really loved to have fun and dress up and follow the trends of the world. She pursued and purchased whatever was popular in the world, she threw away money by the handful, and however much she made each month was however much she spent. Since there was such a huge difference in our ways of thinking and living, my daughter-in-law and I often would be at loggerheads, we got into angry arguments, and our problems continued to get more and more intense. One day I saw my daughter-in-law come in carrying a bag, so I hurried over to ask her what she had bought, and how much money she had spent. She lit up and said: “I bought a dress, it wasn’t expensive, just 400-something yuan.” When I heard this, I got extremely angry: How could she be so relaxed, she was acting like she was someone with a lot of money. When I buy a dress, it’s less than 100 yuan, and I wear it for several years. However, the clothes she bought were expensive, and once they became outdated she’d stop wearing them, while her wardrobe got stuffed full of clothes; the more I thought about it the angrier I got, and it started to wear on my face. When my daughter-in-law saw that I wasn’t happy, it wiped the smile off of her face, she turned around and walked into her bedroom, and I heard the sound of the door slamming shut. Advice Unheeded, Distance Widening Later on, whenever I saw her get back from shopping, I would scold her: “Lili, look at our family, we are not very well-off, soon your child will be grown up, and then there will be lots of things we will need to spend money on, so we cannot keep on spending money so recklessly. If we have clothes and shoes that fit, then that’s good enough; we can’t continue throwing away money like this. You need to consider your future.” But my daughter-in-law responded by saying she and my son knew how to live their lives and said that I needn’t worry too much about it. Seeing that she didn’t understand where I was coming from made me feel full of resentment toward her, and we would often get into disagreements over these things. Later on, when she returned from another one of her shopping trips, she avoided me, taking advantage of me not paying attention. She stepped quietly into her room and didn’t come out until after she had hidden her things away. After I found this out I got very upset, but I knew that it would be of no use to speak of it, all I could do was turn a blind eye and put up with it. But as time went on I really couldn’t bear it, and I would often whine to my son. It was difficult for my son, who was wedged in between us, and one day he unexpectedly asked me: “Ma, when Lili goes shopping she doesn’t ask you for money, so why do you mind so much?” Seeing that my son was also on her side I felt especially hurt and saddened inside. I got so angry that I ignored them for several days. But afterward my daughter-in-law carried on as if nothing ever happened, which made me even angrier. With the Word of God Leading the Way, I Found the Root of the Problem One day, when my son told my daughter-in-law that they were going to go to his coworker’s house to eat, she went to her room to put on makeup, and after an hour went by she still hadn’t come downstairs. Seeing her like this, I came up and angrily lectured her: “Every time you put on makeup for so long, it really is a waste of time! I’ve never worn makeup in my entire life, and I’ve managed to get by, and I don’t look any uglier than other people, I just go with my natural look.” When my daughter-in-law heard me say this she started fighting with me, and I got so angry that I wanted to immediately leave the house and live on my own, away from her. I thought to myself: “What I can’t see can’t hurt me.” But I looked at my son and granddaughter and knew that I couldn’t be so heartless, so I was forced to abandon this plan. But the resentment I held in my heart for my daughter-in-law grew deeper and deeper, and we would often get in fights over small things. We were not keeping a peaceful home. Living in this kind of a quarrelsome household made me feel very tired and bitter, so I thought that as a believer in God, I was revealing my corrupt disposition in quarreling with my daughter-in-law like this all day long and that it didn’t conform to the will of God. In my suffering all I could do was prayto God: “Oh God! I know that I shouldn’t argue over trivial matters with my daughter-in-law, but I just can’t help it. Oh God! I’m asking You to enlighten me, please get me to understand how to treat my daughter-in-law in a way that conforms to Your will, I am willing to practice the truth in order to satisfy You.” After praying to God, I opened up the word of God, and read where God says: “What do social trends include? (Style of clothing and makeup.) This is something people often come into contact with. Clothing style, fashion, and trends, this is a small aspect” (“God Himself, the Unique V” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “For man who is not of sound body and mind, who never knows what is truth, who cannot tell the difference between positive and negative things, these kinds of trends one after another make them all willingly accept these trends, the life view, the life philosophies and values that come from Satan. They accept what Satan tells them on how to approach life and the way to live that Satan ‘bestows’ on them. They have not the strength, neither do they have the ability, much less the awareness to resist” (“God Himself, the Unique VI” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Through the revelation of the word of God I finally understood this: The trend of the world is a means for Satan to corrupt man. Satan takes advantage of social trends to control us and dupe us, it teaches us all kinds of erroneous viewpoints such as, “The love for attractiveness is native to humans,” “Clothes make the man, a saddle makes the horse,” and “Seize the day for pleasure, for life is short.” Once these mistaken viewpoints enter into our minds, we believe that: our lives ought to be about pursuing beauty and paying attention to how we dress, and this is natural and normal. How you dress is a symbol that proves your status and worth; if you wear pretty and fashionable things and put makeup on to make yourself pretty, then you will not be outcast by society, then you will be valued by others; if not, you will be disparaged and looked down upon by others. Because of this mistaken viewpoint we unwittingly get swept up and carry on in evil trends. Looking at society today, it doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, everyone keeps up with the latest fashion and chases current trends, everyone wants to wear extravagant clothing and pretty themselves up with makeup, whoever is on the front-line at a given time is who is chased after by everyone, and no one believes that this is a negative thing stemming from Satan; on the contrary, they are under the impression that pursuing these things is reasonable and as it should be. My daughter-in-law doesn’t believe in God, she does not understand the truth, she doesn’t have discernment, so how can she not be affected by living her life under these kinds of circumstances? She has a love of beauty, she loves to dress up, and she loves to waste her money because she is affected, influenced and corrupted by Satan’s evil trends. To be spurred on by these kinds of evil trends makes her especially vain, she is always comparing herself to others, and she believes that the clothes and makeup she wears is her bargaining chip for raising her self-worth. Really, my daughter-in-law is without the freedom to act independently. By coming to understand these things I came to find the root of the problem, and I felt that everything had suddenly become clear. Afterward, I came before God and pray: “Oh God! I am willing to let go of my prejudices toward my daughter-in-law. May You guide me so that I can put myself aside and do and view things in accordance with Your word.” From then on, whenever I saw my daughter-in-law spent money recklessly on shopping and it made me feel bad, I would pray to God and seek God’s protection so that my heart might be at peace in His presence. Slowly but surely, I didn’t have as much hate in my heart for my daughter-in-law, and through the word of God I became aware: We are all a part of the corrupt human race, we all live under the domain of Satan and are duped by Satan, we all live involuntarily on the basis of our corrupt dispositions. My daughter-in-law is also a victim of these evil trends, I should not resent her, and I certainly shouldn’t treat her on the basis of Satan’s corrupt disposition. Satan is the main culprit of all of these things, Satan is more detestable than anything else. I carried on in this way for a period of time, thinking that I had already set aside my prejudices toward my daughter-in-law, but since I did not have true knowledge of my corrupt nature, since my life disposition had not changed, when I came across things that weren’t in line with my desires, my corrupt disposition was once again revealed. The Word of God Led Me to Self-Awareness One month, after my daughter-in-law spent all the money she had to spend, we didn’t even have money to pay our social insurance. After I discovered this, I was filled with so much rage that I really wanted to immediately kick my daughter-in-law out. Just when I wanted to get angry at her, I suddenly realized that I was again living in a wrongful state, so I hurriedly calmed myself down and prayed to God, seeking His protection over me, so that I would be able to not treat my daughter-in-law according to my flesh. When I opened up the book of the word of God, I read where it says: “Don’t be self-righteous; … If you regard others as less than you then you are self-righteous, self-conceited and are of benefit to no one” (Utterances and Testimonies of Christ in the Beginning). The judgment and chastisement of the word of God made me recognize that I had always disliked my daughter-in-law because none of her actions conformed to my expectations, she did not meet the standard of what I thought a daughter-in-law should be. I am a frugal housekeeper, and I demanded that my daughter-in-law be the same, to be a good wife and loving mother. When I saw that she was not only not diligent and thrifty, but that she spent her money recklessly, I despised her and thought that she didn’t understand things and that she just threw away her money. In addition, I also wanted my daughter-in-law to obey me in anything I asked of her and live according to my lifestyle. Whenever my daughter-in-law did not do what I asked I got angry, criticized her and gave her dirty looks. But in this moment I finally saw that I had been completely controlled by the satanic nature of “putting oneself above all else,” always wanting to hide the truth from the masses and having the final say. All that exuded from me was an arrogant and self-righteous corrupt disposition, and it was of benefit to no one. “What’s more, my daughter-in-law and I are from different generations, we are not affected and influenced by society in the same way, but I’m always using my own standards to ask things of her; is this not being arrogant and conceited? Am I not being a controlling person? I thought about how supreme God is, how He even appeared in the flesh to hide with humility and obscurity among us to carry out the work of saving man, how God has never used His position to suppress people, and hasn’t forced people to put His word into practice, how all along He’s only expressed the truth to supply man, and used His love to move man and make man repent. But whenever we rebel against and resist God, even though He uses His word to expose and judge us, at the same time He is patiently guiding us, supporting us and providing for us, and with great patience and tolerance He waits for us to turn back to Him. God is so humble and so good! However, I, who am so deeply corrupted, behave so arrogantly and without reason, I always force my daughter-in-law to listen to me in my position as the mother-in-law, and all that I live out is corrupt disposition.” The more I thought about this, the more ashamed I felt. I saw that I had been so deeply corrupted by Satan, that when I was confronted with things I couldn’t quiet my heart in God’s presence. My naturalness was very strong, and I had too many personal wishes, and many times I had lost witness. I really was not fit to live in the presence of God. Afterward, I also read in the word of God where it says: “It is unacceptable for you not to know yourself. First heal your own sickness, and by means of eating and drinking My words more, contemplating My words, live life and do things according to My words; whether you are at home or in some other place, you should allow God to wield power within you. Cast off the flesh and naturalness. Always let God’s words have dominion within you. There is no need to worry that your life is not changing; you will slowly come to feel that your disposition has changed a great deal” (Utterances and Testimonies of Christ in the Beginning). The word of God pointed out to me the ways of practice, and I became aware that there was a lesson for me to study behind my daughter-in-law and me not being able to live in harmony, that I ought to enter into the relevant truth, that I couldn’t fix my gaze on my daughter-in-law all day long. “I must focus on disposing of my own arrogant and conceited satanic disposition. I cannot keep on asking my daughter-in-law to listen to me according to my traditional viewpoints and natural old disposition, and I cannot stand in my position as a mother-in-law to suppress my daughter-in-law. I must learn how to put aside my status as the elder, let the word of God wield power over my heart, use the truth to resolve my own issues and live out normal humanity.” After I understood God’s will I prayed to God telling Him that I resolved to betray myself and put the word of God into practice. I Put the Truth Into Practice And Started to Get Along With My Daughter-in-Law One day, when my daughter-in-law returned home from work, I was in the middle of my household duties, and I saw that my daughter-in-law was carrying bags in both of her hands and on her back, so without thinking I asked her: “You’re carrying stuff in your hands and on your back, what are you doing?” My daughter-in-law said: “I bought two pairs of leather shoes and a pair of leather sandals.” As soon as I heard that she had bought three pairs of shoes at one time I was just about to speak when suddenly I realized that once again I was demanding that she act according to my own desires, and thereupon I prayed to God in silence. In this moment I thought about how in the word of God it says: “In the dispositions of normal people there is no crookedness or deceitfulness, people have a normal relationship with each other, they do not stand alone, and their lives are neither mediocre nor decadent. So, too, is God exalted among all, His words permeate among man, people live in peace with one another and under the care and protection of God, the earth is filled with harmony, without the interference of Satan, and the glory of God holds the utmost importance among man” (“Interpretation of the Sixteenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). The enlightenment of God’s word made me calm down quite a bit from my originally angry attitude. I thought about the resolution I had told God I would make, and I realized that today God had arranged these circumstances in order to change my corrupt disposition, so that I could live out normal humanity and put the word of God into practice. This involved me bearing witness, I should not keep on constantly fixing my gaze on my daughter-in-law, I needed to first put myself aside and then rely on God to throw off my arrogant disposition and live out the likeness of a real human. My daughter-in-law has her way of living, I should not interfere, I ought to respect her, and let nature take its course in all things. When she saw that I wasn’t going to say anything to her, she smiled and took her shoes into her room. Looking at this scene I silently thanked God. If it weren’t for the enlightenment and guidance of the word of God, then today it would have been unavoidable for my daughter-in-law and me to exchange some quarrelsome words. After this, it didn’t matter if my daughter-in-law bought makeup or clothes, I didn’t ask her about it and I didn’t give it any mind, I just treated her properly according to the word of God, and before I knew it I had let go of the prejudices I had toward my daughter-in-law. After I started putting this into practice, it was not nearly as difficult to get along with my daughter-in-law as it was in the past. The wonderful thing is, my daughter-in-law slowly changed and started helping me do things around the house, and she started washing my son’s and granddaughter’s clothes herself. She also didn’t spend money as recklessly as before, and the mood in our home became more and more harmonious. One day, my son said to me: “Ma, Lili says that you’ve changed, that before whenever you saw her go shopping it would make you unhappy and that you would question her about it, but now you aren’t the same as before.” Hearing my son say this, I felt very happy, and I responded to him: “It is all because of the word of Almighty God that I have changed. Before, I was too arrogant and conceited, I always wanted Lili to do things according to my way of living, I never considered her feelings, and I didn’t stand in her shoes to look at things. If it weren’t for the guidance of the word of God, then I wouldn’t have come to know my own corrupt disposition, and I wouldn’t have been able to change myself, which would have made it unavoidable for Lili and me to fight with each other every day. From now on I will not try to teach her a lesson, Lili is a grownup, she has her own way of living, and me, as a mother-in-law, I need to respect her and give her freedom.” Upon hearing my answer, my son said to me very happily: “Ma, the Almighty God you believe in is truly great!” Through my experience, I truly felt the joy that comes from putting the word of God into practice. God’s words really can change us and save us, enabling us to live happy and blessed lives. Now my family is able to live together in harmony, and for that I thank God from the bottom of my heart for saving me. All glory be to Almighty God! ![]() Who Was It That Rescued Her Marriage? Yang Zi, China She had just turned twenty, she had a graceful figure and appeared as pretty as a flower, and there were many suitors pursuing her. But she didn’t pay this any mind until one day when her friend invited her to come out and she by chance met Lin. Lin was almost 6 feet tall, he was tall and handsome, with a dignified bearing. He spoke with humor and with wit, and was able to attract her in an instant. And Lin too was quite interested in her. The two of them started seeing each other very soon, and after a few months they got married. Before long they had a child of their own, and this made her feel very blessed. But good things don’t last forever. Just when she was starting to enjoy everything and long for a beautiful future, she discovered that Lin was not engaging in honest work every day. All day long he was idling about, and he would even go out often and get in fights and gamble. When he returned home, he would pick out faults with her no matter if there was something going on or not. He simply did not care for her or their child. She did not understand why Lin was acting this way. Many times with eyes full of tears she would urge Lin to walk the correct path, but not only did Lin not listen, he would even lash out at her, and one time he even went so far as to nearly choke her to death. She had lost all hope in Lin. Before long, Lin got sentenced to prison for breaking the law, and she had to support herself and their one-and-a-half-year-old child on her own. Her life was full of hardships and dashed hopes. It wasn’t until 2003, when Lin completed his prison sentence and was released, that she was finished with this painful marriage. After this, she took her son to her parents’ home. Since she didn’t have a job, she and her son had to rely on her relatives to assist them, which made her feel very embarrassed and helpless. When her neighbors saw that she was having difficulty taking care of her child by herself, they made an effort to look for a partner to introduce to her. At first she thought that she just wanted an average man, that as long as he was good to her child then it would be okay, but then she thought to herself: I’m still quite young, although I’ve gotten divorced, I cannot just settle for anyone. To her surprise, her neighbors introduced her to men who were very short, or otherwise they weren’t the least bit handsome, or they didn’t have a dignified bearing, some of them even forsook her for having a child, and none of the men that came by suited her, which made her feel quite disappointed. Later on she met Jun, he was eight years older than her, he was divorced, and he had a daughter. He had a dark complexion and average looks, and he wasn’t very tall. In her heart she didn’t really regard Jun highly, but he was honest and kind-hearted, and he was very kind to her and her son. So, she thought it over, and decided that for the sake of her son she had to compromise and marry him. After they got married, he was just as kind to them as he was before. He took care of them, he was very considerate, and he even did work around the house, cooking food and washing clothes. But she couldn’t get past the pitfall of her vanity, so she still could not completely accept Jun in her heart. She resented him for looking ugly and felt that he was undeserving of her. For this reason, she never wanted to go outside together with her husband. One time when she was out, she saw a dress in the display window of a shop that she really wanted to go try on, but she saw her husband behind her, who was old and dark, she thought if she let him walk beside her then the people working in the shop would certainly point at her and make fun of her behind her back, they would laugh about how she didn’t have a good eye for things. How could her husband be so old? She couldn’t let go of this pride of hers, so she made him wait for her outside in the entryway of the shop. In that moment, she saw a look of disappointment sweep over his eyes, but then he immediately smiled and said: “Go try it on, I’ll wait for you.” When she heard this, she felt somewhat ashamed and uneasy. After this, in order to make her accept him in her heart, Jun took over all household duties, and did them the best he could, but no matter what he did, she wasn’t able to fully accept him. In 2010 she started doing cosmetics business, and when this started, the clothes and makeup she wore became more and more fashionable and trendy, making her look even younger and more beautiful. When she would stand in front of the mirror next to her husband, he appeared even more like a rural peasant in contrast to her, he didn’t have the looks or the personality. The distance between them had increased, and at this time she felt even worse in her heart. In addition, she was interacting with lots of people and saw that these other people’s husbands were good-looking and outstanding, so whenever she would return home and see her husband, she would feel more dissatisfied, and she could not help but find faults with him. Actually, she felt lost, for she knew that her husband had always worked hard to win her favor, and that she shouldn’t treat him like this, but since she always felt a disequilibrium in her heart, she couldn’t control how she felt. As time passed, Jun was unable to put up with this kind of life, the two of them would often get into quarrels, and they were living in suffering. She thought back to one afternoon when Jun came to the office to pick her up. Actually it would have been a good thing if he did not come because none of her coworkers knew what he looked like. But he came that day to pick her up, and then the next day her coworkers circled around her, asking: “Who was that yesterday who picked you up? He looked so rustic….” She immediately felt like she had lost face. She felt upset because she thought that her husband shouldn’t have come to pick her up. At the same time, she also asked herself how she could have found such a disappointing husband that she didn’t want to be seen with, who was ridiculed and looked down upon by other people. She really had a difficult time living like this. In this moment, she came up with a brazen idea: She would look again for someone of the opposite sex that she liked. As for her marriage with Jun, if it really wasn’t going to work then she’d end it. Thereupon, she accompanied her coworkers whenever they invited her to go sing at KTV, but all she wanted to do was find a person of the opposite sex that she admired. At this time, since Jun was often being avoided and ignored by her, he started to feel a suffering in his heart, and he too started feeling more and more indifferent toward her. It got to the point that he too would sometimes not return home when he got off of work. In this way, the marriage between her and Jun entered into a crisis … It was at this time that a classmate introduced to her the salvation of God in the last days. She saw that God’s word is very practical, and that every sentence spoke to a deep place within her heart. Not only did it reveal the truth and substance of humanity being corrupted by Satan, it also pointed out the proper path to follow in one’s life. So she gladly accepted God’s work in the last days. When she got together with brothers and sisters, she saw that they were all very pure and that they loved one another, and whenever they got together they never talked about what they wore or ate or about other pleasures. They never compared themselves with each other to see who was the prettiest or who had the most money, all of them just focused on pursuing the truth, and whenever things befell them they would always pray to God to seek. They reflected on themselves in the word of God to get to know themselves, and they strove to put the word of God into practice and conduct themselves as honest people. This was something that she had never seen before. In addition, she also saw that whenever the brothers and sisters were with their husbands and wives, they were still putting the word of God into practice. In particular, there was a sister who was younger and prettier than her whose husband had even worse looks than Jun, but the sister didn’t avoid her husband at all. The two of them got along very harmoniously. She couldn’t comprehend this. She didn’t understand why the sister wasn’t avoiding her husband. Later on the sister fellowshiped with her, saying: “Every person’s marriage was predestined long ago by God, so no matter what kind of marriage it is, behind the scenes there is always God’s careful arrangement, and in particular, whenever the husband that God arranges for us doesn’t have any looks and doesn’t conform to our expectations, this is actually the best thing possible for us, for within this is the gracious will of God. It is only because we have been deeply corrupted by Satan that we always have extravagant desires, picks and demands, which make us not understand what God’s intention is whenever He makes His arrangements, so then we always look down upon our own husband and feel that our marriages are not what we wished for, which makes us live in suffering. But when we seek God’s will and come to an understanding of the truth and are willing to let go of our individual preferences and desires, then we will see that the arrangement God has made for us is the best and most suitable for us, and really it is protection for us. If we are able to naturally submit to this, then we will no longer turn our backs to our husbands.” At that time, since she had just started believing in God, she still wasn’t aware of the truth, she seemed to understand the sister’s fellowship but did not really understand it. She just greatly admired what the sister lived out in the presence of her husband. One day came when she read in the word of God: “We only wish to talk about the ideas that social trends bring about for people, the way they cause people to conduct themselves in the world, the life goals and outlook that they bring about in people. These are very important; they can control and influence man’s state of mind. … When the wind of a trend blows through, perhaps only a small number of people will become the trendsetters. They start off doing this kind of thing, accepting this kind of idea or this kind of perspective. The majority of people, however, in the midst of their unawareness, will still be continually infected, assimilated and attracted by this kind of trend, until they all unknowingly and involuntarily accept it, and are all submerged in and controlled by it. For man who is not of sound body and mind, who never knows what is truth, who cannot tell the difference between positive and negative things, these kinds of trends one after another make them all willingly accept these trends, the life view, the life philosophies and values that come from Satan. They accept what Satan tells them on how to approach life and the way to live that Satan ‘bestows’ on them. They have not the strength, neither do they have the ability, much less the awareness to resist” (“God Himself, the Unique VI” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Once she finished the word of God, she finally understood. Actually, her suffering in these past years all originated from Satan’s corruption. Satan imbues man with the idea that men looking for women who are “fair-skinned, rich and beautiful” and women looking for men who are “tall, rich and handsome” is the only way to have a blessed and happy marriage. Under the influence of this kind of societal trend, people’s viewpoints on marriage have become distorted. Nowadays when people search for their other half, they simply do not care about the quality of their partner’s humanity, and whether or not they are suitable for themselves, instead they stress their partner’s looks, whether or not they’re tall and handsome or fair-skinned and pretty, or if their family is well off, or whether or not they meet the standards they have demanded for their spouse, and so on. They feel that so long as they are able to find a handsome or pretty spouse with money, then they will have a grand and enjoyable life that certainly will not be lived in vain. She also unwittingly accepted this kind of viewpoint when it came to choosing a spouse. In her mind she had always hoped to find a tall and handsome husband with a dignified bearing to share her life with, and she believed that this alone would make her happy. Think about it, the first husband that she chose carefully—Lin—all of his qualifications conformed to the standards she had when it came to choosing a spouse, he really did satisfy her vanity, but after they got married she realized that Lin’s humanity was not good, that his behavior was stubborn and obstreperous and that he had countless bad habits. Not only did she not have a happy marriage, on the contrary she was neglected by Lin, he made things difficult for her and even beat her. At last, she was even forced to raise her child alone. Whenever she was living together with Lin, there was a lot of suffering in her body and in her soul, and in the end, while she was in pain, she ended this first marriage. Whenever she thinks about that time in her life now, it scares her. But her current husband—Jun—although he is not handsome or tall, although he is quite unsophisticated, still his moral standing is good. He is kind-hearted and plays his part, and he really looks after the family. He takes care of and is really considerate of her and her son. He is always thinking of ways to make her like him and treats her son as his own. But because Jun’s looks were not as good as what she wished for, she always felt a disequilibrium in her heart, and she always felt that Jun did not deserve her. She felt that she lost face and lowered her social status by finding a husband like this, so she always looked at him with unfavorable eyes. All along she wasn’t able to accept him, and it got to the point to where she wanted to fully give up on her marriage with Jun and once again find someone of the opposite sex who was tall and handsome so that she could satisfy her vanity. It was in this moment that she finally came to a sort of realization. Because she had been imbued with Satan’s ideas and her viewpoints on marriage were distorted, she didn’t know what kind of marriage she needed, so she was not able to accept Jun, and fully ignored and neglected Jun, which caused her and Jun to both live in suffering. It was for this reason that their marriage was going down a rocky path. In that moment, she really did come to an understanding through her experience. If people do not believe in God, they will not possess the truth, and so they will not be able to discern Satan’s misconceptions and lies. They will follow the evil trends of society and live on the basis of Satan’s erroneous thoughts and viewpoints, they will be duped and bound by Satan and live in suffering. How truly pitiable this is! After understanding these things, she was willing to turn away from her own mistaken viewpoints and take another look at the marriage she was in. She was also fully aware that she was a Christian herself, so she must live out the likeness of a Christian to bring shame to Satan. Thereupon she stopped thinking about going off to look for someone of the opposite sex who conformed to her desires, and instead she started to care for Jun. Slowly, she started to accept Jun in her heart. Jun could also feel the change she went through, which made him very happy. They gradually grew much closer than before when they had been indifferent to one another. The mood in their home also stopped being so tense. One day her friend came to visit her at home. When Jun saw her coming, he hurried into the kitchen to prepare lunch. As the two of them chatted, her friend said: “Our classmate Pan Lin’s husband is handsome and rich. He’s the vice president of a company and has several properties in Hangzhou….” As she heard her friend say this, she felt a sting in her heart, and she immediately thought about her dream from youth, which brought about a vague feeling of disappointment…. She realized that her situation wasn’t right, so she immediately prayed to God asking Him to protect her heart. After the prayer, she realized: When we look at people, we cannot emphasize their outward appearance, and the most important thing is to see what kind of humanity a person has. Some people, even though they are “fair-skinned, rich and beautiful” or “tall, rich and handsome,” have an extremely inferior quality of humanity, or not even the slightest bit of humanity. Wouldn’t we suffer if we lived together with a person like this? Because the viewpoints I pursued before were incorrect, in the end, I didn’t obtain happiness. On the contrary, I suffered an unspeakable amount. Even today, I still have not awakened, so how could I want to repeat such disastrous actions? The husband that God has prepared for me now is the most suitable, as well as the most beneficial, so why should I bring further trouble upon myself? Thinking of this, her heart was enlightened. She was no longer affected by her friend’s words. She smiled and said to her friend: “Everyone has their own lives. Whatever kind of home and whatever kind of marriage we have is arranged by God. What’s more, people who are rich and have good looks always have more desires, but this is not necessarily happiness. I used to want to find a husband who was tall and handsome and had a dignified bearing, but in the end Lin did not engage in honest work and I lived in lots of pain! Now I have Jun. Although he is some years older than me and his looks are not as good as Lin’s, his moral character is good, he doesn’t have any bad habits, and I know he loves me dearly and is considerate of my needs. Although our life is nothing special, it is quite harmonious, and I feel very happy.” At this time Jun came out, and this time she didn’t avoid him or try to hide him, rather she calmly introduced him to her friend. Her friend told her: “At first glance I could tell that your husband is an honest and hardworking man, and he is very good to you, you truly are blessed!” She nodded her head cheerfully, and in her heart she silently thanked God, because she was fully aware that this was God looking after her and protecting her. If it weren’t for the enlightenment and guidance of God’s words, then she and Jun may have parted ways long ago. Then how would she have this blessed life that she has today? This is all God’s blessing! When Jun saw that she was no longer avoiding him, a happy smile appeared on his face that had never been there before. After this, her relationship with Jun became more harmonious. Every time she would return home, Jun was always waiting for her with a cooked meal, and he was also very supportive when it came to her faith in God. Every time that she saw these things, it really moved her. She truly felt that God had bestowed her with the best things, and that only by submitting to God’s plans and arrangements can a person truly be happy. She had a deeper understanding that she ought to enjoy this marriage that God has bestowed upon her, and in her heart she felt more and more liberated. She thanked God from the bottom of her heart for saving her marriage that was on the brink of falling apart. All glory be to Almighty God! ![]() I Am Following in the Footsteps of the Lamb Shen Ai, Singapore When I was 18 years old my mother got ill, and so she started believing in the Lord Jesus. At the time, I knew the Lord Jesus’ name but didn’t understand anything about faith in the Lord. It was quite a coincidence that I later went to work for a company where most of the employees were Christians. Through interacting with them, I saw how they treated people with love and patience, and I came to believe that Christians were a pretty good bunch of people. During that period, there was a colleague who often told me the story about how the Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross in order to redeem mankind. I gradually developed an interest in faith in the Lord, and started going with my colleagues to their church to worship. The first time I entered the church and heard hymns praising God being sung I was unexpectedly moved to tears by the Lord’s love. I prayed to the Lord like this: “Oh, Lord Jesus! Thank You for picking me out of the vast ocean of humanity to become one of Your daughters. I wish to follow You forever….” During that period, whenever I met some difficulties in my daily life, or was mocked by my friends and relatives because of my faith in the Lord, as long as I came in front of the Lord and prayed, my spirit would find immense release. I felt that the Lord Jesus was my only reliance in life and that I would never leave the Lord’s side. At that time my favorite hymn was: “Rock, rock, Jesus Christ! Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven, only You are the savior. You are the mediator, You are the son of God, You are the lamb. You are the way and the truth, You are the life, You are the light, You are the rock, the fortress, the city of refuge and the shield. We belong to You; we will never be shaken from generation to generation.” And this is how I relied on the Lord’s great power and motivation gained from the guidance of the Lord’s words to get through all the difficulties and troubles of life. But then, for some unknown reason, I started to slowly feel that I wasn’t enjoying the meetings anymore. The pastor’s sermons were always the same old stuff, without any new light in them, and I felt that I wasn’t gaining anything. My spirit began to wither, and became weaker and weaker. Because of this, I often prayed to the Lord like this: “Lord, in my heart there is no desire to go to the church meetings. When I do go I just go through the motions and don’t gain sustenance for my spiritual life. Lord, I feel helpless. I’m wandering around at a loss about what to do. Please lead me out of this.” But no matter how I prayed and begged I could never feel the Lord’s presence. The darkness and pain grew in my heart and my confidence became weaker by the day. Then, in 2014, my husband had an accident while driving under the influence of alcohol. We ended up paying 2 years of medical bills and compensation, which left us with debts of over 100,000 yuan. It was this debt pressure that forced my husband and I to relocate to Singapore to work and make more money. In April 2016 we arrived in Singapore. The stress and difficulties of everyday life here turned out to be far greater than I’d expected. I started working over 10 hours every day, which left me physically exhausted. But even worse were the scoldings I got from my co-workers and boss in the store. This physical and psychological stress was a source of enormous suffering for me, and I cried every day after work. I felt very alone, without anyone to understand my situation or show some concern for me. Living like this was so painful that in my heart I even started to complain about the Lord. It was an environment that I could face no longer, and I just wanted to return to China as soon as possible. But it’s often the case that just when people are at their wit’s end God appears. So just when the suffering was at its worst, and I was feeling the most helpless, one of my co-workers who lived with me, sister Wang, saw that I had a Bible on my bedside table and so told me that she too was a Christian. I was delighted to find out that sister Wang was also a believer in the Lord, and from that day on we often got together to fellowship topics about faith in God. Sister Wang encouraged me to pray to God often in everything and to keep my faith in Him. Because I hadn’t been in Singapore very long, I still wasn’t at all used to the food. So every day after work sister Wang used to cook dinner according to my tastes. I was very moved by this, and I knew that this kind of love came from God, so I was very grateful to God for arranging for someone to be there to support me when I was feeling totally lonely and helpless. Some time after, I was introduced by sister Wang to 2 other sisters. The first time I got together with them I couldn’t hold back the feeling of grievance in my heart, and the tears were soon rolling down my face. The sisters comforted me and talked about God’s intentions with me. One of them said: “You’ve managed to get out of China with no problem so that can only mean that God has permitted it and that He intends something wonderful for you here. We just don’t know what it is yet.” The sister also leaned upon the story of Job from the Bible in her fellowship with me: “Job lost all of his immense wealth and all of his sons and daughters. He even had boils all over his body, but during that time of his greatest trials and suffering he never once complained about God. He just submitted to God’s plan for him and praised God’s name. When Job stood firm and bore witness for God during his trials he saw God’s blessings. From the trials of Job we can see that many of the things that befall us all have God’s intentions behind them. So no matter what kind of situation or environment we encounter we must not complain to God. Instead, we should first submit and seek God’s intentions….” While listening to the sister’s fellowship my heart gradually became tranquil. Yes, Job was able to submit to God even during the tremendous trials and suffering that he underwent. He didn’t complain and was even able to praise God’s name, which was such a wonderful testimony! And my difficulties were trifling compared to Job’s, so if he could still submit to God then I shouldn’t complain again and make God sad. The sister’s fellowship gave me the confidence and courage to once more face my problems, and in my heart I felt considerable release. At the same time, I felt that the sisters’ fellowship was full of brightness: They had used the story of Job to illuminate my current difficulties in life and shown me a practical way forward. This was something that I’d never previously recognized when reading the Bible. The meeting was very fruitful for me, and after it I could feel my spirit growing brighter by the day and work was no longer so troublesome. After that, I often met with the sisters, and every meeting with them was very rewarding. One time when we were together we read this passage of God’s words: “God created these two people and treated them as His companions. As their only family, God looked after their living and also took care of their basic necessities. Here, God appears as a parent of Adam and Eve. … The attitude and way in which God treated Adam and Eve is akin to how human parents show concern for their own children. It’s also like how human parents love, look after, and care for their own sons and daughters—real, visible, and tangible. Instead of putting Himself in a high and mighty position, God personally used skins to make clothing for man. It doesn’t matter whether this fur coat was used to cover their modesty or to shield them from the cold. In short, this clothing used to cover man’s body was personally made by God with His own hands. Rather than creating it simply through the thought or miraculous methods as people imagine, God had legitimately done something man thinks God could not and should not do. This may be a simple thing some might not even think as worthy of mentioning, but it also allows all those who follow God but were previously full of vague ideas about Him to gain an insight into His genuineness and loveliness, and to see His faithful and humble nature” (“God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself I” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). I was very surprised to read these words, as the ideas seemed strange to me. I’d been reading the Bible for so many years, but the significance of God personally clothing Adam and Eve in animal skins had never occurred to me. I certainly never realized that behind God’s performance of this action there was so much of God’s intention. It was like a light had been turned on in my heart, and it was unveiling the mysteries in the Bible for me. What God had said was expressed so well that it warmed my heart and allowed me to see how intimate God’s relationship with mankind was. God was like mankind’s parents, full of care, concern, and affection. God gave us the best things, which proves His immense love for us humans! It felt like my relationship with God had instantly become much closer. After that, I read another passage of God’s words: “Since the creation of the world I have begun to predestine and select this group of people, namely, you today. … Even the things you do and the people you meet every single day are arranged by My hands, not to mention the fact that bringing you into My presence today is actually My arrangement. Do not throw yourself into disorder; you should proceed calmly” (“The Seventy-fourth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). This passage explains that whatever we do or whoever we see every day of our lives is all organized by God. Reading this opened up my mind tremendously. So, the reason I’d gone overseas, and the reason I’d met the sisters and gotten their support, were because God was controlling everything! Since God had led me every step of the way so far then it made sense to believe that God had also prepared the way forward for me. Thinking like this increased my trust in God. I felt that God was at my side watching over me, and I no longer felt hesitant or helpless. I was willing to hand over the management of everything to God, and believed that He would lead me through any and all difficulties. During those days, even though work was still as tiring as ever I felt great joy in my heart. I looked forward immensely to my meetings with the sisters because I could always gain sustenance from them and learn something new, which was completely different from what I’d gotten from going to my previous church. But a few days later when I was watching a gospel movie with sister Wang I suddenly saw the words “Eastern Lightning” come up on the screen. I became a bit agitated because I remembered that in China the pastors had often talked about Eastern Lightning in their sermons. They said things like: “People who believe in Eastern Lightning aren’t calling on the name of the Lord Jesus in their prayers. Instead, they’re praying to Almighty God.” The pastors also warned us not to have any contact with the Eastern Lightning followers so that we wouldn’t be confused and stolen away by them. They said that if we abandoned the name of the Lord and betrayed the Lord Jesus we would be…. Thinking of all this made me alarmed, and I quickly broke off the conversation with sister Wang. For a period of time after that I started to avoid sister Wang at work, but I still often thought about the care that she had shown for me. I thought about the nice times I’d had meetings with them and how their fellowship was fresh and enlightening and totally in accord with the Lord’s words. They were also decent and upstanding in their behavior, and I particularly gained a lot from the passages of God’s words that they gave me to read, which I found to be very practical and which included many truths that I’d never heard before. After reading those words, I felt that my relationship with God was growing closer and that I was coming out of the negativity, weakness, and spiritual darkness that had engulfed me. I had finally gotten some confidence and hope in my life. This was the confirmation of the work of the Holy Spirit! This was also proof that sister Wang and the others had a faith that was right, and was probably actually the one true way! But the one thing I couldn’t get past in my mind was why when they prayed they used the name of Almighty God and not the name of the Lord Jesus. I felt very bemused by this and didn’t know what to do. So I said this prayer to God: “God, You have arranged for me to become acquainted with a few sisters and have let me learn that they belong to Eastern Lightning and use the name of Almighty God in their prayers. Now I don’t know which way to choose or whether or not Eastern Lightning really is Your return. God, if Eastern Lightning really is the work of Your appearance I beg You to enlighten and guide me so that I can follow in Your footsteps.” After praying, my heart felt more grounded and I was able to discuss with sister Wang the doubts that I’d been having. Sister Wang said: “These issues that you’ve raised are exactly the same ones I had when I first started investigating God’s work of the last days. It was only after I read the words of Almighty God that I was able to understand these issues. Why don’t we fellowship about God’s words now?” After hearing sister Wang say this, I agreed to start investigating God’s work of the last days. That evening 2 more sisters came over (Xiaoya and Lianxin) and they both bore witness to God’s work of the last days for me. After listening to their fellowship, I asked them: “We used to use the name of the Lord Jesus in prayer and call on His name to heal sickness and cast out devils. Why has God’s name changed to Almighty God?” Sister Xiaoya replied: “Actually regarding Almighty God’s name, there are several prophecies about it in the Bible, in the Book of Revelation. For example, chapter 1 verse 8 says: ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, said the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.’ Chapter 11 verse 17 says: ‘Saying, We give you thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which are, and were, and are to come; because you have taken to you your great power, and have reigned.’ And chapter 19 verse 6 says: ‘And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunder, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigns.’ From this we can see that during the last days God is using the name Almighty God to begin the work of judgment. This is something that God has planned for long ago.” After listening to the sister’s explanation, it all suddenly became clear to me: The name “the Almighty” is in the Bible! And the Almighty must mean Almighty God! Then sister Lianxin played a hymn video of God’s words: “In each and every age, in each stage of His work, God’s name has carried weight. God’s name hasn’t rung empty. His every name reflects an age. Jehovah, Jesus, and the Messiah all represent the Spirit of God. Yet these names just represent the ages in God’s management, but not His entirety. The names people on earth call God can’t express His entire disposition, can’t express all that He is. They are just God’s names in different ages. And so, when the final age—the age of the last days—arrives, God’s name will change once more. He won’t be called Jehovah nor Jesus, much less the Messiah. He will be called the powerful and almighty God. And with this name He will end the age. God was once known as Jehovah. He was also called the Messiah. And out of love and respect, people used to call Him Jesus the Savior. Today God is not Jehovah nor Jesus, whom people knew in the past. He is the God who’s returned in the last days, the God who will end this age. Replete with His entire disposition, full of authority, honor and glory, He is the God, the God Himself, He is the God Himself who rises up at the ends of the earth. He is the God who rises at the ends of the earth. … The reason God took on this name, on this name and disposition is to make man see that He is a righteous God, that He is a righteous God. He is the sun, the blazing sun. He is the flame, the searing flame. So all of mankind will worship Him, the one true God. And they, they will see His true face: He is not only the Redeemer. He is not only the God of the Israelites. But He is the God of all creations on earth and in the heavens or seas” (“The Significance of God’s Name” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). After watching the video the sisters fellowshiped a lot more with me, such as truths regarding why God changes names and the significance of God’s name for each age. This is when I finally understood: God is called by a different name during each age, and each name has a meaning that is representative of God’s disposition and the work that He needs to do during that age. But each name that is chosen is only representative of part of God’s disposition during that age, not His whole disposition. For example, the name Jehovah represented God’s work during the Age of Law and also represented God’s imprecatory yet merciful disposition. The name the Lord Jesus represented God’s work during the Age of Grace, and the disposition represented was compassionate and merciful. During the last days God has changed His name again, and is using the name Almighty God to do the work of judgment of the last days. The entire age is being brought to an end through God’s disposition of justice, majesty, and wrath. God’s disposition becomes gradually revealed to mankind as His work develops and God doesn’t wish for mankind to restrict Him to any one stage of His work. God especially doesn’t wish for mankind to use any one name to draw up boundaries for what God has and is. God uses different names to differentiate between different ages and do the work necessary for each age so that people can recognize all of God’s disposition and all that He has and is. This is God’s wisdom and omnipotence. When the day finally comes when God’s work is finished there will be no need to call God by any name. God is the Creator of all things, God is God, and God’s authority and greatness cannot be encompassed within any one name. I feel that Almighty God’s words are full of authority and that only God is able to speak in this way and uncover the mystery of His name. And only God is able to say: “I am the God of all creatures throughout heavens and earth and seas.” I now believe that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus and that the words of Almighty God are God’s utterances, are the voice of God. This was the moment when I realized why my spirit never gained the sustenance it needed at those church meetings and why using the name of the Lord Jesus in prayer couldn’t gain the leadership of the Lord: It was because the work done under the name of Jesus has already finished. God is now doing new work and so has a new name, and so anyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus in prayer will not get the work of the Holy Spirit. This was like an epiphany for me. I now understood why sister Wang and the other 2 sisters gave such fresh and lively fellowship, why they understood so much about faith in God, and why they had such strong confidence and strength: It was all because they had accepted God’s new work, gained God’s new words, and were following in the footsteps of the Lamb. By contrast, all those people who don’t accept God’s work of the last days and don’t read the words currently being expressed by God will never follow in the footsteps of the Lamb but will live their lives in darkness without a path to follow. Only God is the sustenance for human life, and if mankind moves away from God’s leadership we will wither and die. I couldn’t help but silently give praise and thanks to God. I thanked Almighty God for leading me in welcoming the return of the Lord, making me become certain about Almighty God’s work of the last days, and allowing me to follow in the footsteps of the Lamb and gain nurturing and sustenance from God’s words. All glory be to Almighty God! Amen! |
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十一月 2018
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