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"God's Love Spreads All Around the World" | English Christian Devotional Song With Lyrics

Verse 1

Almighty God, holy, righteous,

Your love is like snowflakes drifting.

Pure, white, fresh and fragrant,

it floats and melts on me.

Your voice awakens.

Your words tap on my heart.

We hunger and thirst to enjoy Your words.

The truth brings us peace and light.

#Praise and Worship music #God's Love

Hear God’s Voice, Welcome the Second Coming of Jesus

By Wu Wen

Have you ever heard of the story of the wolf and the rabbits? Once there lived several little rabbits and a big wolf in a forest.

#The Second Coming of Christ #Waiting for Jesus #How to Recognize God’s Voice #How to Welcome the Lord's Return

Bravely Admitting Mistakes, I Gained God’s Blessings

By Xiaofang, Australia

When I first came to Australia, because of the language barrier, I suffered lots of failures in finding a job: Sometimes, I received no reply after my interview; sometimes, I was turned down directly on the phone. … Faced with such a situation, I felt rather worried: If I fail to find a job, how can I live in this strange country? Because of this, I often couldn’t fall asleep and shed tears in secret.

#Christian Testimonies #Christian in the Workplace #To Be Honest

Trials Are Special Blessings of God

By Xuanxuan, Taiwan

After my husband and I met and fell in love, we got married, and then I gave birth to an adorable son and a lovely daughter.

In the last days, Almighty God has expressed the truth to do the work of judgment and chastisement, and all kinds of MVs, movies, and the books of God’s words have been posted on the internet to openly bear witness of Almighty God’s work of the last days. All those who love the truth and long for and await the appearance of the Lord have begun to return to Almighty God, one by one, whereas those who hate the truth and resist God have been revealed by God’s work. Like the Pharisees, today’s religious pastors and elders see that the words expressed by Almighty God are all the truth, yet because more and more believers have returned to Almighty God, to protect their status and livelihoods they fanatically resist and condemn The Church of Almighty God. From this we can see their nature and essence of hating the truth and resisting God. If we are not able to discern or seek the truth, but just blindly listen to the words of men, then we will lose the opportunity of God’s salvation. In fact, in the last days God uses the forces of Satan to do service for perfecting His chosen people, so that we can see through their essence, and then reject and betray them. This is precisely the wisdom of God’s work.” Through the sister’s communication, I came to know: The reason why these pastors and elders of the religious world condemn the work of Almighty God is because they know Almighty God’s words are the truth, and that as long as those who love the truth and thirst for God’s appearance hear these words of Almighty God they will follow Almighty God and reject them. So, for the sake of preserving their own positions and meal-tickets, they do everything possible to block people from coming before God, and they even spread various rumors, making people not dare to study Almighty God’s work of the last days. Being deceived by the rumors, untold numbers of people have lost this once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet the Lord. These religious pastors and elders are too despicable and too evil. If it weren’t for God pitying and saving me, I would also miss the chance to greet the Lord.

Afterward, whenever my husband discovered that I still had gatherings, he would seem to change into another person, with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. Seeing him like this, I was very afraid in my heart, for during the years of our marriage, though sometimes we quarreled, I had never seen that kind of expression in his eyes. I recalled that in the past when I believed in the Lord, he never persecuted me, but now when it came to my believing in Almighty God, he seemed to completely lose his reason. No matter how I explained it to him, he didn’t listen to me, making me feel restrained in gathering with the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God. Later, a sister heard my situation and fellowshiped with me, “From the outside, what you have encountered today appears to be the obstruction from your family, but in reality this is a spiritual battle. God intends to save us, but Satan is unwilling to see that. Therefore, it thinks up every conceivable way to disturb us and use our weak points to attack us, attempting to make us stray from God. At the same time, this is also God’s trial of us. God wants to see whether we can maintain our faith in Him and stand witness for Him in persecution.” The sister also read me a passage of God’s words: “In every step of work that God does within people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements, or from human interference. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God. Take when Job was tried, for example: Behind the scenes, Satan was making a bet with God, and what happened to Job was the deeds of men, and the interference of men. Behind every step that God does in you is Satan’s wager with God—behind it all is a battle. … When God and Satan do battle in the spiritual realm, how should you satisfy God, and how should you stand firm in your testimony to Him? You should know that everything that happens to you is a great trial and the time when God needs you to bear testimony.” Thank God for His enlightenment. Through the sister’s fellowship, I understood: In fact I am experiencing a spiritual battle. The thing that happens to me now is a wager Satan makes with God. From the outside it is my husband obstructing my belief in Almighty God, but actually, it is Satan using my husband to disturb me. Satan wants me to become negative and weak, blame and misunderstand God, and eventually leave my church life, betray God, and return under its domain. After knowing this, I was determined to bear witness for God and not to be used by Satan and become its captive anymore. However, I still felt some weakness in my heart, for every time when I was going to the meetings, my husband would make some sarcastic remarks. Once the meeting time came, I always felt very nervous, afraid that if in future we quarreled every day then life would be difficult for me.

Later, my husband changed his attitude toward me. He suddenly treated me very well and said that we should work on our relationship. Then, every day he would actively accompany me to do exercises in the morning, and invite me to watch TV and chat with him at night. On holidays, he asked me to take our children to my former church, and he also said that he was gonna believe in the Lord with me. Previously, I looked forward to living such a life, but now, faced with my husband’s attentions, I just couldn’t feel happy anyhow, for in my heart I knew it was also a trick of Satan. Satan used various tricks to entice and deceive me, didn’t it want me to give up believing in God and ultimately lose the opportunity of God’s salvation? Satan is too despicable and too evil! Then I thought of some God’s words: “You must not throw away the truth for the sake of a peaceful family life, and you must not lose your life’s dignity and integrity for the sake of momentary enjoyment. You should pursue all that is beautiful and good, and should pursue a path in life that is more meaningful. If you lead such a vulgar life, and do not pursue any objectives, do you not waste your life? What can you gain from such a life? You should forsake all enjoyments of the flesh for the sake of one truth, and should not throw away all truths for the sake of a little enjoyment. People like this have no integrity or dignity; there is no meaning to their existence!” Yeah, I cannot lose the opportunity to gain the truth for the sake of coveting the comforts of the flesh. Now that Almighty God’s work is the true way, I should walk the path without hesitation. At the moment, I thought of Job. He had principles in treating any person, event, and thing, and he treated his wife, sons and daughters, and friends all based on the principles of truth instead of emotions. I should follow Job’s example and be a person who acts with principles. So, I said to my husband, “As your wife, I can accompany you, but when it is time for me to attend meetings I must go.” To my surprise, this time my husband didn’t say a single word, and I felt that his attitude toward my faith was slowly changing.

Not long after that, my husband tried another trick—he asked me to give a call to the pastor’s wife of my former church in Taipei. I did not think it was necessary to do so, yet he insisted, and in the next few days he kept asking me whether I had called her or not. Unable to bear that, finally I called her telephone. At first, when we made small talk my pastor’s wife spoke to me in a gentle tone; however, when I asked what she thought about The Church of Almighty God, her tone suddenly changed, and she said many words that opposed and blasphemed against God. At the moment, my heart leapt into my throat, because my phone’s speaker was turned on and my husband could hear every word she said. I worried that after he finished hearing these words, he would prevent me from believing in Almighty God even more. Very nervous, I silently prayed to God in my heart: “Oh God, in the face of such an environment, I don’t know what to do. I ask You to give me Your wisdom.” At this time, some God’s words occurred to me, “Almighty God, the Head of all things, wields His kingly power from His throne. He rules over the universe and all things and He is guiding us on the whole earth. We shall often be close to Him, and come before Him in quietness; never shall we miss a single moment, and there are things to learn at all times. The environment around us as well as the people, matters and objects, all are permitted by His throne. Do not have a complaining heart, or God will not bestow His grace upon you.” God’s words made me understand: Almighty God is the one true God who created heaven and earth and all things and rules over all things. All matters and things are in His hands. The environment I encounter today is authorized by God, and within this is His good will. Now what the pastor’s wife says is resisting God and blaspheming Him, I should stand up and bear witness to God so as to shame Satan. So, I asked her, “Is there any factual basis for your words?” She hesitated a bit and said, “No. I just heard this from others.” Hearing her words, I said to her, “Without any factual basis, you’d better not speak randomly. If it is so, say it is so. If it isn’t so, say it isn’t so. We, as a Christian, must have a heart of reverence for God; otherwise, we will resist God easily.” When I finished my words, the atmosphere became embarrassed, and then we closed our talk hastily. After hanging up the phone, I had an unspeakable joy within. Meanwhile, I also saw that God’s wisdom is exercised based on Satan’s scheme. Through this call, I gained some discernment about the essence of the pastors and elders. These shepherds did not have a shred of reverence for God nor a heart of seeking the truth, and toward God’s new work, they took a convicting, resisting, and blasphemous attitude. From this I saw their truth-hating and God-hating nature. I said to my husband, “Thank you for asking me to make this call. If not, I wouldn’t be able to discern these false shepherds.” My husband found it quite unbelievable, saying, “How could your pastor’s wife be like this? Without knowing the truth, she actually shot her mouth off. As a shepherd, she is too irresponsible.”

#Christian Testimonies #Spiritual Warfare #God’s salvation

Christian Question and Answer: Why Did God Incarnate to Work in the Age of Grace?

By Xiang Wang

Many brothers and sisters in the Lord all feel confused: In the Age of Law, Jehovah God did His work and led the Israelites in Spirit, so why must God become flesh to work and save man in the Age of Grace? Couldn’t He do that work in a spiritual body?

But the work of God in the flesh is different. God incarnate can practically interact with men, live among them, take part in their lives, and support, provide for, and teach them at any time. He can use the language of men to clearly tell mankind His demands, His will, His disposition, and all that He has and is. In this way, without having to cast about and search, men can clearly understand God’s will and know God’s work, so that they have a clear goal and direction and the accurate path of practice for believing in God. For example, we can understand from the Lord Jesus’ words what kind of people can enter into the kingdom of heaven, and that we should forgive others seventy times seven times, love our neighbor as ourselves, and be tolerant and patient to others, etc. From the utterances and work of the incarnate God, we can practically feel God’s love and compassion for mankind. God in the flesh has sympathy for mankind’s weakness and gives sinners chances to repent. As long as man sincerely repents and confesses before God, he can gain God’s pardon and forgiveness without having to give offerings. In this way, man no longer needs to be worried about being put to death according to the law when he sins and has no offering, and can break free from the bondage and shackles of the law. The work of God in the flesh can also reveal which believers have real faith and which believers are hypocritical, and let man know what type of person God likes and what type of person disgusts Him. For instance: The Pharisees were the leaders in the synagogues, and they read the Bible well, strictly followed the regulations of the law, purposely engaged in long prayers, and wrote scriptures on tassels of their garments. The Jewish people all thought they were the people who piously served God and thus imitated and followed them. However, the Lord Jesus revealed the essence and truth of the Pharisees’ hypocrisy, and repeatedly condemned and cursed them, saying “woe to you,” which has given believers in God discernment. All of this is brought by God incarnate, and the work of the Spirit simply cannot achieve this effect.

#Devotionals #Bible Study Topics #God's Incarnation #Mystery of the Incarnation

What Is an Overcomer? How to Be an Overcomer

By Ganxin

At the mention of overcomers, we will think of the prophecies in the Book of Revelation, “And I looked, and, see, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1), “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14).

Actually, our faith and will to suffer hardships are admirable, but is the viewpoint “As long as we keep the Lord’s name, give up everything, expend ourselves, and work hard for the Lord, we will become overcomers in the end,” really right, according to our understanding? To answer this question, we should look at what God’s words say. It is prophesied in the Book of Revelation, “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God” (Revelation 14:4-5), “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14). God’s words say, “Those who God refers to as overcomers are those who are still able to stand witness, maintain their confidence, and their devotion to God when under the influence of Satan and under siege by Satan, that is, when within the forces of darkness. If you are still able to maintain a heart of purity and your genuine love for God no matter what, you stand witness in front of God, and this is what God refers to as being an overcomer.” “Those who are made complete before the disaster are obedient to God. They live reliant on Christ, witness Christ, and exalt Him. They are the victorious male children and the good soldiers of Christ.” From these prophecies and God’s words, we can know that the true overcomers are those who speak no lies and harbor no treachery in their hearts, and whose corrupt dispositions are cleansed. Moreover, they are the ones who closely follow the footsteps of the Lamb, who understand the truth and know God. No matter what Christ says or in what ways He works, they follow and obey Him, exalt God and bear witness to God in all things, and their loyalty to God is absolute and undivided. Faced with the terrible circumstances of Satan’s ruthless persecution, pursuit and capture of people, they are able to continue to put the truth into practice, perform their duty as a creature of God, and obey God unto death, bearing a beautiful and resounding testimony to God. Only by attaining to these criteria can someone be an overcomer in the true sense of the word; it does not just refer to those who toil, give things up and expend themselves for the Lord, and who do not retreat during persecution and tribulations.

From God’s words we can know that, the true overcomers are those who have gone through God’s judgment and chastisement, as well as all manner of trials and refinement, and who have some knowledge of God. They also have some knowledge of their own corrupt nature, they have attained true obedience, and no matter what trials or tribulations befall them, they are able to obey God and accept the judgment and chastisement of God’s words and, ultimately, their satanic corrupt dispositions are changed and purified. When Satan’s temptations come to them, they can stand witness for God, overcome Satan’s leaguer and break free of its influence. They then no longer live by their corrupt dispositions, their actions and comportment are all founded on God’s words and they live out the reality of God’s words. Only such people are the true overcomers. When experiencing God’s work, they gradually gain some knowledge of their satanic corrupt nature, such as arrogance and conceitedness, selfishness and baseness, and lying and cheating, and they see the truth of how they have been corrupted to the core by Satan and that they may resist and betray God at any moment. They see that they are living entirely in the image of Satan and that they don’t deserve to live before God. Simultaneously, they also appreciate that God’s disposition does not tolerate any offense, and thus they develop a heart that reveres God and they become able to obey God and live by His words. What’s more, because they understand the truth and know God, they come to have discernment about negative things, and are able to see through Satan’s schemes and stand witness for God when encountering all manner of temptations from Satan. They become the ones who truly love, obey and revere God, their satanic corrupt dispositions are thoroughly purified and changed, and they are completely gained by God—only these people are the ones who reach the criteria of being overcomers. Just like Job, as recorded in the Bible: No matter how cruel the methods Satan adopted to torment Job, be it making him lose a mountain of sheep and cattle as well as his great fortune, having his body covered with sores, using his friends to harass him, or attacking his integrity through his wife, Job didn’t submit to Satan or speak even a word of complaint against God, but instead he said, “Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21), and “shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). Faced with these trials, Job could stand witness for God, and follow God’s way of fearing God and shunning evil, and so he was an overcomer who emerged from tribulation and trials. Peter is another example: He followed the Lord Jesus all his life, took Jesus as his example, pursued the supreme love of God and was crucified upside down for God, obedient to God unto death, thus bearing a resounding and beautiful witness. He was also a true overcomer who came through tribulation, a first fruit made complete by God, and one who entered the kingdom of God and gained eternal life.

#Devotionals #Daily Bible Reading #How to Become Overcomers #Mysteries of the Bible #An Overcomer

Relying on God, I Saw Through Satan’s Schemes

By Wang Jing, China

My daughter had no child for ten years after she got married. The people around me all looked at me with a peculiar gaze.

#Christian Testimonies #Spiritual Warfare #God’s salvation

Christian Testimony: The True Meaning of God’s Judgment

God’s words say: “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, expose the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds.

I remember that in the first meeting, the two sisters shared their experiences about how they returned to God. I really benefited greatly from them, especially from the experience of Sister Kemu. Others also regarded her experience as great and practical and Brother Xiaoyong said that her testimony of experience was very good and encouraged her to write it down to testify to God. Seeing everyone praise her, I thought: “Alas! Why don’t I have such experiences?” Because of this I felt very upset. After we had several meetings together, I found Sister Kemu could understand God’s words very well. In every meeting, with the encouragement and guidance of Brother Xiaoyong and Sister Liu, Sister Kemu could share the light she gained from God’s words. What’s more, she pursued the truth with perseverance and resolve. No matter how busy and tiring her work was, she could always keep a normal relationship with God and insist on reading God’s words and watching movies and videos. Seeing these, I thought: Although she is better than me now, as long as I make efforts to pursue the truth I also can catch up with her. In order to gain the approval and admiration of the brothers and sisters who looked after us new believers, I began to pursue the truth tooth and nail. At home, I seized every available opportunity to read God’s words and even sometimes when I was at work, I would wear my headphone to listen to the fellowship from the above and hymns. In the meeting, I became more active than usual. I scrambled to read God’s words and every time after reading God’s words I hurriedly communicated about my own understanding without pondering it. For I thought: I should say my understanding first, otherwise if what I think is said by others, I will be regarded as imitating others when I say it again. Besides, every time I was about to go to the meeting, I would review what we had communicated in the last meeting and read God’s words again to prepare to answer what the brothers and sisters who looked after us new believers would ask. However, they didn’t ask.

Once, I was being confused why Brother Xiaoyong didn’t ask what we had communicated in the last meeting when Sister Liu asked me to pray for others. At that time I was very muddled and didn’t know what to pray so what I prayed was very empty, dull and dry. And I just finished it with several sentences hastily. After prayer I felt very low-spirited. In the meeting, when I saw Brother Xiaoyong looking at Sister Kemu when she communicated, then feeling extremely frustrated, I hurriedly lowered my head and read the words of God, however, I couldn’t get any light and couldn’t memorize what they had said either, my mind being a complete blank. After the meeting, I went back to the dormitory, feeling weak throughout the body. Then I thought of the previous meetings, in which I always felt pleasure and had a lot to say. But now I was afraid of having meetings and didn’t know what to say. Especially when I thought of the look in their eyes when they looked at Sister Kemu, I thought now everyone didn’t like me anymore and I felt more and more uncomfortable, being passive in whatever I did. Those days, I was always absent-minded and always made mistakes during the work. I felt very distressed for this and my heart felt so heavy as if there was a big stone inside. So I came before God and prayed: “O God, recently I haven’t gotten any light when I communicated about Your words and my work didn’t go smoothly either. I don’t know why I meet with these things. O God, may You enlighten me and let me find new light and get some understanding when communicating about Your words in meetings.” At this time, Brother Xiaoyong sent a message to me to ask about my recent situation. Being afraid that he would look down upon me if I was open about my expression of corruption, I just replied to him with a sentence perfunctorily. Then I continued to read God’s words and learn hymns as usual. Also, I copied the words of praising God, summed them up together and memorized them. I thought: Last time I didn’t pray for others well, and I must do well next time.

In the evening, Sister Liu sent a video The Heart’s Deliverance to me. After watching the movie I cried, thinking that the protagonist was exactly the same as me. Especially when I saw God’s words: “As soon as it involves position, face, or reputation, everyone’s heart leaps in anticipation, and you always want to stand out, to be famous, to be glorified. You are unwilling to yield, always wanting to contend, although contending is embarrassing. However, you are not content not to contend. When you see someone stand out, you are jealous, feel hatred, complain, and feel it is unfair. ‘Why can’t I stand out? Why is it never me? Why is it always he who gets to stand out and it’s never my turn?’ There is some resentment. You try to repress the resentment, but you can’t, so you pray. After praying, you feel better for a little while, but later when you encounter the matter again you cannot overcome it. Is this not a case of immature stature? Is not a person’s falling into these conditions a trap? This is the bondage of a satanically corrupted nature.” Seeing the sister’s experience and God’s words, I realized that I cared too much about my face and status. Under the domination of the competitive nature, I always wanted to compete with others and get admiration and praise whatever I did. In order to be highly thought of by brothers and sisters, I racked my brain all day to memorize God’s words and listen to the fellowship. Even in the meeting I scrambled to communicate first. Weren’t these all for showing off myself? When I saw the sister’s strengths I didn’t learn from her humbly but pondered all the time how to show off myself. When my desire couldn’t be satisfied, I became negative and started to complain about everything. When faced with the fact I saw I was so corrupted by Satan that I was truly inhuman, arrogant and fragile. Thank God for letting me have a little knowledge of my corrupt dispositions. Meanwhile, from the sister’s experience, I found the path of practice—I should dissect and expose my corrupt dispositions and have a heart-to-heart fellowship with my brothers and sisters honestly. Then I came before God and prayed to God, resolving to practice the truth. Later I wrote my experience down and sent it to the messaging group and in the meeting I also opened up my heart to the brothers and sisters, saying all my own real thoughts and expression of corruptions. When I did like this, they didn’t look down on me, but instead, they shared their own experiences with me.

Thank God for His guidance. Through the little experience during this period, I understood the inner meaning of God’s work of judgment. Just as God’s words say: “What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his own rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that are incomprehensible to him. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the substance of this work is actually the work of opening up the truth, the way, and the life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God.” In the last days God does the work of judgment and chastisement through setting up practical situations to prune and deal with us so that our corruption can be revealed. In these people, events and objects, God also uses His words to lead us to understand the truth and His will so that our corrupt dispositions can be cleansed. Recalling my recent experience, when I lived by the opinions “A wild goose leaves behind a voice; a man leaves behind a reputation” and “A tree lives with its bark; a man lives with his face” and pursued face and status, then God turned His face away from me and also used the people, matters and things around me to deal with me and aroused brothers and sisters to communicate the truth with me. In this way, I could know my corrupt dispositions and the substance of face and status and also know how to pursue is in line with God’s intentions. These were all the results of God’s work of judgment in the last days. During the judgment of God’s words, I have understood God’s righteous and holy substance and at the same time I felt the earnest intention of God’s salvation which is comprised in God’s judgment and chastisement. Thank God, all the glory be to Almighty God!

#Bible Study Topics #God's Judgement #how to pray

3 Aspects of Knowledge of God to Be God-fearing Person

I have believed in the Lord for many years. In the past, I often prayed and read the Bible, put in effort to work for the Lord, and suffered and paid the price.

#Spiritual Life #Spiritual Growth #Fear God and Shun Evil

4 Keys Help You Have Effective Prayers

Ever since we started believing in the Lord, we knew that praying to God and communing with God is indispensable to our spiritual life.

In our real life, we always encounter all kinds of difficulties. At this time, how should we pray to God? God says, “The lowest standard that God requires of people is that they be able to open their hearts to Him. If man gives his true heart to God and says what is really within his heart to God, then God is willing to work in man; God does not want the twisted heart of man, but his pure and honest heart. If man does not truly speak his heart to God, then God does not touch man’s heart, or work within him. Thus, the most crucial thing about praying is to speak the words of your true heart to God, telling God of your flaws or rebellious disposition and completely opening yourself up to God. Only then will God be interested in your prayers; if not, then God will hide His face from you.” God’s word points out a way of practice to us. When we face practical difficulties, we must pray before God with an attitude of godliness, and opening up our heart to Him: Speak the words of our heart with honesty; do not speak empty or fakery words or lie to deceive Him. But if we shut our hearts to God, and just say some high- and nice-sounding words to deceive God, then God cannot see our honest hearts, and so He will not approve of such prayers. For example, some people pray to God, “Oh God! I am willing to dedicate my whole self to You. I am willing to devote all that I have to You!”, but afterward they do nothing for God. Some people say, “Oh God! I’d like to expend for You and to offer my heart to You. I’d like to serve You and be loyal to You,” but after saying that, they still rebel against God as they did before, is this not deceiving God? Some people pray to God, saying: “Oh, God! I am willing to forsake everything to follow You,” but having prayed, they give nothing up. Some people say to God, “Oh, God, I will love You my whole life long,” but actually, they never love God in their life—what they love are themselves, their flesh, their children, and their money. Look at these prayers. They are all empty words deceptive to God. This is sufficient to prove that we are too impious before God, and that we do not have a God-revering heart at all. God doesn’t listen to our prayers like this, so they are fruitless. If we do not repent but continue praying in this way, we will be detested by God.

When expending for God in fulfilling our duty, many brothers and sisters believe that as long as we confess our sins and repent more in our prayer before the Lord, spread the gospel for the Lord more, do more work and preach more sermons, then we will conform with God’s will and be praised by God. But in fact, it is not. Such practice is wrong. Because in fulfilling our duty, there are still lots of problems and situations to be really resolved. God’s word says, “When fulfilling your duty or working on something, you should always think: How should I fulfill this duty? What is God’s intention? Through matters, you draw close to God, and through drawing close to God, you seek the principles and truths to do things, you seek God’s will from within and do not leave God in all that you do. This is a person who truly believes in God. … Human ideas usually look good and right to people and they look like they do not violate truth that much. People feel that doing it this way is putting truth into practice, they feel that doing it this way is submitting to God. Actually, people are not really seeking God and praying to God about this. They are not striving to do it well to satisfy God’s will, nor striving to do it well according to His requirements. They do not have this true situation, and they don’t have such desire. This is the greatest error people make in their practice, because you believe in God, but God is not in your heart. How is this not a sin? How is this not deceiving yourself? What effect will believing this way have? Where is the practical significance in believing in God?” From God’s word we can understand that the fulfillment of the duty is a path by which our life may grow. Duty is entrusted to us by God, and we should develop a true burden for it. When we fulfill our duty, it is not the case that as long as we accomplish things that God has entrusted to us, then we are satisfying God. If we do not seek to solve the difficulties and problems in our duty, can we satisfy God? Therefore, we should ask and pray more before God, find a way to practice in His word, and fulfill our duty according to His requirements. We also should at all times reflect on whether we have our own thoughts adulterated in the fulfillment of our duty or whether we are doing something that betrays the truth and principles, and after we find them we should turn around timely. If we can seriously treat everything God entrusts to us like this, then our life will grow in the course of fulfilling our duty, and our corrupt disposition will gradually be cleansed and changed. In fact, not only should we focus on practicing God’s word in fulfilling our duty, but we should live by God’s word in our work and daily life. Only when we always practice in this way, can we understand the truth and enter into its reality, change our life disposition, and become a person that is commended by God.

God’s word says, “You should seek and submit in your prayers; for example, if a matter came upon you that you didn’t know how to handle, then you say: ‘Oh God! This matter has come upon me, and I don’t know how to handle it. I am willing to satisfy You in this matter, I am willing to seek You, I desire for Your will to come to pass, I desire to do according to Your intentions, and not according to my own. You know that the intentions of man are in violation of Your will; they resist You and do not conform with truth. I only desire to do according to Your intentions. I ask You to enlighten me and guide me in this matter, so that I won’t offend You….’ This kind of tone of voice in prayer is appropriate. If you merely say: ‘Oh God, I ask You to help me and guide me; prepare a suitable environment and suitable people for me, so that I can do well in my work,’ when this kind of prayer is over, you still don’t know what God’s will is, because you are trying to make God do things according to your intentions.” God’s word gives us a way to practice praying to God. When we pray, we should stand in the right position and be reasonable; we should not make demands of God, or coerce God into doing this and that. No matter what kind of difficulties we meet, or whether we understand God’s will, we must pray with reverence for God, standing in the position of a creature and keeping a heart of obedience to God. Take the Lord’s prayer as an example. Before the crucifixion, the Lord Jesus prostrated Himself on the ground and prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane: “And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as you will” (Mat 26:39). From this we can see that even when the incarnate God prayed to the heavenly Father, He still maintained an obedient heart, completely acted according to the will of God the Father, and had no choice of His own. But in real life, our prayers are not reasonable. We often demand God do this or that to achieve our own aims without the slightest reverence for God. We force our own desires upon God and ask Him to do things in accordance with our ideas. And we demand things from God with the intention of conducting transactions with God. For example, in the face of difficulties, many people do not care about God’s will, but only pester Him with incessant prayers that include assistance for solving their problems; when some people encounter sickness, they do not seek to understand God’s will, but only ask God to give them a quick cure, and take away the torment of their sickness; moreover, there are also some people who always ask God to bless their families, their relatives, their everything, and so forth. All of these prayers are unreasonable, without submission, and do not conform with God’s will.

#Devotionals #Spiritual Life #Prayer #True Prayer

3 Tips Tell You How to Follow God

By Li Xing

All devout Christians yearn for the return of the Lord and entering the wonderful kingdom of heaven prepared by Him.

#Spiritual Growth #Spiritual Life #Follow God

I Find the Way to Victory in Spiritual Warfare

By Zhuiqiu, United States

When coming before God, we will often undergo the temptation and disturbance of Satan. Faced with Satan’s temptation and disturbance, I was once distressed and weak, but after experiencing it, I gained a lot. …

Unexpectedly, several months later, my son said to me seriously: “Lately, I went to the church and heard the priest proclaimed lots of negative information about The Church of Almighty God. He said we can’t contact people who believe in Eastern Lightning, so stop your faith.” Seeing my son had been deceived by the priest, I was afraid that he would follow the priest to resist God and so I said solemnly: “Do you believe in the priest or in God?” My son blinked for a second and said: “Of course I believe in God. But all that the priest says comes from God. The priests all graduated from seminaries and they are very familiar with the Bible. They surely know much.” I asked my son again: “Do the priests have truth? Do their words match the Bible? Do you know what the Pharisees are? Have you forgotten how the Pharisees nailed the Lord Jesus to the cross? Those Pharisees all knew the Bible and compassed land and sea spreading the laws of Jehovah God, but they defined God within their conceptions and imaginations, within the literal words of the Bible. When the Lord Jesus began to work and preach sermons and brought the gospel of kingdom, they didn’t care how profound the Lord Jesus’ preaching was or how many miracles He performed. As long as His name was not Messiah, they would resist and condemn. They didn’t have any reverence for God. In order to protect their status and livelihood, they even colluded with the Roman government to crucify the Lord Jesus. After the Lord Jesus’ resurrection, not only did they not accept, but they persecuted the disciples of the Lord Jesus. They believed in and served God in name but resisted God in substance. That’s why the Lord Jesus rebuked and condemned them, saying that they were blind guides. Son, what we believe in is God, not man. The Jewish people followed the Pharisees to resist and condemn the Lord Jesus, committing a monstrous sin and suffering the curse of God. If we don’t investigate but blindly hear the priest’s words, are we not the same as the Jewish people following the Pharisees to resist the Lord Jesus? By contrast, when Peter heard the Lord Jesus’ words, he followed Him and recognized that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah prophesied to come. If we only listen to the priest rather than contact and investigate The Church of Almighty God, how can we recognize whether Almighty God’s words are the voice of God and whether Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus? Only by contacting and investigating can we know the truth.” Hearing what I said, my son had no idea how to refute it, but he still held some refusal in his heart, and said: “Don’t believe by mistake, for many people have said that this church is not good.” I said: “People who followed the Lord Jesus at that time were few while those who followed the Pharisees to judge and condemn the Lord Jesus were many, right? If we measure according to this, don’t we condemn and reject the Lord Jesus? Now through investigation, I have confirmed that Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus. You should also take a serious investigation.” My son found he couldn’t persuade me, so he went back to his room with helplessness.

#Gospel Testimonies #Spiritual Warfare #Rely on god's words

Review of Caught the Last Train: A Stream in the Desert

By Mingyue, Greece

Today, I want to introduce the movie Caught the Last Train which is another successful production produced by 1991 VIDEO STUDIO.

Chen Peng desires to resolve the problem of the desolation of the church. Yet he has been holding on to his religious conception for many years, thinking: “The Lord will come in the Spirit. And He will not come in the flesh.” Hence, he can’t accept the truth that the Lord has come in the flesh and done His new work. And even he changes his countenance, blames Wang Zhong and wants to leave. But he is reluctant to sit down after others’ persuasion. At this time, Chen Peng is sitting opposite to three sisters of The Church of Almighty God in a lofty manner as if he will fight with an enemy. However, everyone can understand his attitude. Wang Zhong advises him with a smile. The three sisters overlook his attitude, and fellowship about God’s word patiently. They read God’s latest utterances passage after passage, some of which reveal the desolation of the church and some of which tell us the meaning of God’s every stage of work. They fellowship about many contents reasonably. Chen Peng is shocked by this, because what they read cannot be spoken by man. At the moment, he is perplexed. He stands up and walks to a big tree in the yard, thinking it over and seeking silently. Ice and snow in the sun looks a little harsh and his heart comes to melt like ice in the sun. From his seeking and praying, we can see his sincerity and true heart of belief in God. He says he wishes to accept and obey if Almighty God truly is the return of the Lord. This scene made me remember Nathanael also prayed under a fig tree because of the desolation of the church at the end of the Age of Law. When Philip told him the Lord Jesus had come, he said dismissively: “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Jesus answered and said to him: “Before that Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you” (John 1:48). At that time, Nathanael recognized the Lord Jesus is the Son of God and decided to follow Him. So is Chen Peng the same as Nathanael? Whether Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned or not, whether Chen Peng can follow God’s footprints or not, whether he can resolve the problem of the desolation of the church or not are still mysteries. Let’s continue seeing the movie.

#Hot Spot Tracking #Film Reviews #Cause of Church’s Desolation

The Almighty Saves My Newborn Dying Baby From Leukemia

By Chao Ling

“Ring, ring, ring …”

“Hello! Mom, what’s wrong?”

In the first lunar month of 2017, under God’s marvelous arrangement, Chao Ling was lucky to hear God’s gospel in the last days. When she, in tears, told her son’s disease and her pain in the heart to the aunt who had spread the gospel to her, the aunt comforted her: “Child, don’t worry. Our mankind’s fates are all in God’s hands. Thus only by coming before God can we obtain support and help in our heart. God knows your suffering, He is just by your side, and He also hopes you can come before Him soon, follow and believe in Him to end such painful and helpless days.” The aunt pointed to a passage of God’s words as she spoke, reading it to Chao Ling: “You live like such, with no hope; he exists like such, with no aim. There is only the Holy One in the legend who will come to save those who moan in suffering and long desperately for His arrival. This belief cannot be realized so far in the people who are unconscious. However, the people still yearn for it so. The Almighty has mercy on these people who suffer deeply. At the same time, He is fed up with these people who have no consciousness, because He has to wait too long for the answer from humans. He desires to seek, seek your heart and your spirit. He wants to bring you food and water and to awaken you, so you are no longer thirsty, no longer hungry. When you are weary and when you begin to feel the desolation of this world, do not be perplexed, do not cry. Almighty God, the Watcher, will embrace your arrival any time” (“The Sighing of the Almighty”). God’s words just as a warm feeling rushed into Chao Ling’s heart, which made her pain and sadness buried in her heart for long time burst out in a short time. She burst into tears and sobbed. She thought she was the person who had nowhere to go in the world. She exhausted possible effort because of her son’s illness, but it would not help. She thought if she lost the sole son, she wouldn’t have the courage to survive. Yet, God observed her grief, called for and waited for her by her side, had her come before God and gave her support and comfort. She never thought it was God that lighted the lamp in her heart and illuminated her road ahead when she felt most painful and despaired. Although her child was indeed sick, she felt some peaceful and stable and didn’t feel helpless as before. She was willing to accept God as her Savior and to have Him arrange fates of her and her son.

Before long, Chao Ling and her brothers and sisters lived the church life. Through reading God’s words, she even more knew the authority of God dominating everything. God says: “These things came after man was tempted by Satan and their flesh became degenerate, such as the pain of the flesh, the troubles and emptiness of the flesh and the extreme wretchedness of the world. Satan began to torment man after it had corrupted them. Man then became more and more degenerate, the illnesses of man were deepened, and their suffering became more and more severe. Man felt more and more the emptiness, the tragedy and the inability to go on living of the world, and they felt less and less hope for the world. So this suffering was brought on man by Satan, and it only came after man had been corrupted by Satan and became degenerate” (“The Meaning of God’s Experiencing the Pain of the World”). “Regardless of how ‘powerful’ Satan is, regardless of how audacious and ambitious it is, regardless of how great is its ability to inflict damage, regardless of how wide-ranging are the techniques with which it corrupts and lures man, regardless of how clever are the tricks and schemes with which it intimidates man, regardless of how changeable is the form in which it exists, it has never been able to create a single living thing, has never been able to set down laws or rules for the existence of all things, and has never been able to rule and control any object, whether animate or inanimate. Throughout the vast expanse of the universe, there is not a single person or object that was born from it, or exists because of it; there is not a single person or object that is ruled by it, or controlled by it. On the contrary, it not only has to live under the dominion of God, but, moreover, must obey all of God’s orders and commands. Without God’s permission, it is difficult for Satan to touch even a drop of water or grain of sand upon the land; without God’s permission, Satan is not even free to move the ants about upon the land—let alone mankind, who was created by God” (“God Himself, the Unique I”). From God’s words, she understood: Man’s pain is from Satan. It is Satan that brought pain for man. However, everyone’s life including Satan and evil spirits is in God’s hands. Hence even though they are malicious, cruel and evil, Satan and devils can’t surpass God’s authority and power. They are just a doll in God’s hands so they don’t dare to snatch her son’s life without God’s permission. It is because God is the Master of man’s fate.

#Christian Testimonies #God’s Protection #Healing Testimonies

I Have a Brand New Knowledge of the Final Judgment – A Christian’s Diary

April 12 Sunny

Today, in the gathering, our pastor read several verses about the judgment of the last days, “And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

Before eight o’clock this morning, my cousin came to my house with his wife. Upon seeing them, I impatiently asked my cousin about what the judgment of the last days was. Looking at me with a smile, he said that he once had the same confusion as me. It was not until he read the words of a book that his confusion was resolved. Then he took out the book and read two passages of words to me, “Perhaps there are those who believe in such supernatural imaginings as that, when the last days have arrived, God will erect a big table in the heavens, upon which a white tablecloth will be spread, and then, sitting upon a great throne with all men kneeling on the ground, He will reveal the sins of each man and thereby determine whether they are to ascend to heaven or be sent down to the lake of fire and brimstone. No matter what the imaginings of man, the substance of God’s work cannot be altered. The imaginings of man are nothing but the constructs of man’s thoughts and come from the brain of man, summed up and pieced together from what man has seen and heard. Therefore I say, however brilliant the images conceived, they are still no more than a drawing and are not able to substitute for the plan of God’s work. After all, man has been corrupted by Satan, so how can he then fathom the thoughts of God? Man conceives the work of judgment by God to be particularly fantastic. He believes that since it is God Himself doing the work of judgment, then it must be of the most tremendous scale and incomprehensible to mortals, and it must resound through the heavens and shake the earth; otherwise how could it be the work of judgment by God? He believes that, as this is the work of judgment, then God must be particularly imposing and majestic as He works, and those being judged must be howling with tears and on their knees begging for mercy. Such a scene must be a grand spectacular and be deeply rousing…. Everyone imagines God’s work of judgment to be preternaturally wonderful” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth”). “Because the one who is judged is man, man who is of the flesh and has been corrupted, and it is not the spirit of Satan that is judged directly, the work of judgment is not carried out in the spiritual world, but among man” (“Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become Flesh”).

He nodded and continued, “Do you remember the opening of books to judge the dead and the opening of the book of life prophesied in the Book of Revelation? Actually, the opening of books to judge the dead is God’s judgment of all unbelievers and all those who deny and resist Him. This judgment is their condemnation, their punishment, their destruction. And opening the book of life refers to the judgment that begins at the house of God, that is, Christ of the last days, expressing the truth to judge and cleanse all those brought before His throne. These chosen people of God who accept God’s judgment work and are brought before Him are all objects of God’s judgment, cleansing, and salvation. The judgment that begins at the house of God is to perfect this group of people before the disaster. Only this group of people are the wise virgins, people whose names are recorded in the book of life, the 144,000 overcomers prophesied by the Book of Revelation, the people who will ultimately enter the kingdom of heaven to inherit eternal life. This fulfills what was prophesied in Revelation: ‘And I looked, and, see, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God’ (Revelation 14:1-5). God’s judgment work in the last days completely fulfills the vision of the great white throne judgment prophesied in the Book of Revelation. The great white throne symbolizes God’s holiness as well as His authority. Then how can we get to know God’s authority? As we all know, God created the heavens and earth and all things with His word. He uses His word to guide, cleanse, and save mankind, to accomplish everything. God’s word has authority and power. What God says shall come to pass, what He orders shall stand. God is as good as His word, and His word shall be accomplished, and that which is accomplished lasts forever. The work of God in the last days is to express the truth to carry out judgment.”

After reading the words, she said, “Brother, in the past, we all thought that the Lord’s judgment of the last days was to condemn and punish people; actually, it is not the condemnation, nor the punishment, but the purification and salvation of us humans. Although in our belief in the Lord, we have our sins forgiven and have the qualification to come before God to pray to Him, communicate with Him, and enjoy His abundant grace, the sinful nature and the satanic disposition still remain within us; we can’t help but rebel and resist God and frequently live in the state of committing sins and confessing sins, unable to get rid of the bonds and control of sinful nature. Since our nature is full of arrogance, conceit, selfishness, despicableness, crookedness, and cunningness, we often reveal corrupt disposition. For example, we often make deals with God and our belief in God is not to obey or revere Him, but to gain blessings; in order to protect our interests, we often tell lies and deceive others; when we encounter unfavorable environments, we often misunderstand Him and even complain about Him. These satanic dispositions are deeply rooted in us and without God’s work of judgment, we can’t resolve them or become people who obey and are compatible with Him. Therefore, we need God to do a stage of purification and salvation work to allow us to cast off our sinful nature. Through undergoing God’s judgment, we’ll gradually see the substance of our nature and the true state of our corruption, having some real knowledge of ourselves and God. In the course of experiencing God’s work, as we gain entry into the reality through acting according to the truth, our satanic dispositions will all change to varying degrees so that we’ll increasingly have conscience and sense and live out a human likeness. This is the ‘judgment before the great white throne’ prophesied in Revelation. It is just as the Scriptures say, ‘But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world’ (1 Corinthians 11:32). ‘Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects: therefore despise not you the chastening of the Almighty: For he makes sore, and binds up: he wounds, and his hands make whole’ (Job 5:17-18). From these verses, we know that God first uses stern words to expose the truth of our corruption, allowing us to understand our own substance of nature; and then He points out the way of practice to cleanse and transform our corrupt disposition. This is God’s judgment work of the last days. God’s judgment work resolves our nature of sinning and resisting Him from the root up, and concludes our millennia-long life of sinning and confessing. So we can completely free ourselves from Satan’s dark influence, cast off corrupt disposition, receive God’s salvation, and finally enter into His kingdom.”

#Bible Study Topics #Second Coming of Jesus #Mysteries of the Second Coming of Jesus #What Will Jesus Do When He Returns

New Understanding of the Parable of the Lost Sheep

By Xiaoqing

“How think you? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, does he not leave the ninety and nine, and goes into the mountains, and seeks that which is gone astray?

Wen Fang passed the book to Liu Qing happily, and then she read, “Let’s take another look at the last sentence in this passage: ‘Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.’ Was this the Lord Jesus’ own words, or the words of His Father in heaven? On the surface, it looks like it’s the Lord Jesus who is speaking, but His will represents the will of God Himself, which is why He said: ‘Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.’ People at that time only acknowledged the Father in heaven as God, and this person that they saw in front of their eyes was merely sent by Him, and He could not represent the Father in heaven. That’s why the Lord Jesus had to say that as well, so that they could really feel God’s will for mankind, and feel the authenticity and the accuracy of what He said. Even though this was a simple thing to say, it was very caring and it revealed the Lord Jesus’ humility and hiddenness. No matter whether God became flesh or He worked in the spiritual realm, He knew the human heart best, and best understood what people needed, knew what people worried about, and what confused them, so He added this one line. This line highlighted a problem hidden in mankind: People were skeptical of what the Son of man said, which is to say, when the Lord Jesus was speaking He had to add: ‘Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.’ Only on this premise could His words bear fruit, to make people believe their accuracy and improve their credibility. This shows that when God became a regular Son of man, God and mankind had a very awkward relationship, and that the Son of man’s situation was very embarrassing. It also shows how insignificant the Lord Jesus’ status among humans was at that time. When He said this, it was actually to tell people: You can rest assured—this doesn’t represent what’s in My own heart, but it is the will of the God who is in your hearts. For mankind, wasn’t this an ironic thing? Even though God working in the flesh had many advantages that He did not have in His person, He had to withstand their doubts and rejection as well as their numbness and dullness. It could be said that the process of the work of the Son of man was the process of experiencing mankind’s rejection, and the process of experiencing mankind competing against Him. More than that, it was the process of working to continuously win mankind’s trust and conquer mankind through what He has and is, through His own essence. It was not so much that God incarnate was waging an on-the-ground war against Satan; it was more that God became an ordinary man and began a struggle with those who follow Him, and in this struggle the Son of man completed His work with His humility, with what He has and is, with His love and wisdom. He obtained the people He wanted, won the identity and status He deserved, and returned to His throne” (God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself III).

#Knowing Jesus #Jesus Christ’s Ministry #God’s Love #The Parable of the Lost Sheep #Parables of Jesus

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