God’s Attitude Toward Sinners

God’s Attitude Toward Sinners

Wang Yan

The last days are here, the prophecies in the Bible have basically all been fulfilled, and brothers and sisters all look forward to the Lord coming to receive us into the kingdom of heaven. But many brothers and sisters in the Lord are asking: Although we go to church every week to give worship, and we often read the Bible and we expend ourselves and work for the Lord, we are always committing sins in the daytime and then confessing in the evening, living in this vicious spiral, and we can never free ourselves from the bonds of sin. If things carry on this way, will the Lord really forgive us, and receive us into the kingdom of heaven? How exactly does the Lord treat sinners?

Listen! Who Is This Who Speaks?

Listen! Who Is This Who Speaks?

Feb 25, 2018

Zhou Li, China

As a church preacher, the greatest affliction is no more than spiritual dryness and having nothing to preach. I felt helpless seeing fewer and fewer brothers and sisters coming to meetings and I came before the Lord many times to pray earnestly and ask the Lord to strengthen brothers and sisters’ faith. But the desolation of the church had not improved at all and even I lived in weakness and negativity …

Almighty God’s Work Has Caused Us to Walk the Same Path as Husband and Wife

Almighty God’s Work Has Caused Us to Walk the Same Path as 

Husband and Wife

Jan 11, 2018

Liu Xue, Henan Province

In 1991, since we were enduring the hardships of family conflict, my husband and I believed in the Lord Jesus together. From then on, we no longer quarreled. We read the Bible and attended gatherings together very zealously. Not long afterward, my husband left the Three-Self Church and switched over to the Stream of Recovery. In regards to the matter of my husband switching denominations, I did not mind. I believed that as long as we believed in one God, it did not matter which denomination we belonged to.

Breaking Free From Shackles and Returning to the Presence of God

Breaking Free From Shackles and Returning to the Presence of God

Feb 26, 2018

By Yongyuan, USA

In November of 1982, our whole family emigrated to the USA. Because our family had been faithful to the Lord since the generation of my grandfather, we quickly found a Chinese church in Chinatown, New York where we could attend mass after we arrived in the United States. We never missed a single mass since we started attending, and my mother and elder sister were especially good about reading the scriptures whenever they had time to seek the Lord’s blessing. At that time, the priest would often say: “When the Lord comes, He will judge people publicly and divide people into categories: Those who truly repent and confess, and who are of good faith in Him, will be able to go to heaven; those who commit sins but not grave ones will suffer the torment of purgatory but are still able to be saved and ascend to heaven; those who do not believe in the Lord or commit sins that are too grave will suffer the punishment of hell.” These words left an impression on my heart as if they had been branded there. They caused me to believe in the Lord with enthusiasm, and even if I was busy with work, I never stopped going to mass.

Who Is the Obstacle on the Road to the Heavenly Kingdom (Part 1)

Who Is the Obstacle on the Road to the Heavenly Kingdom 

 (Part 1)

February 26, 2018

By Meng’ai, Malaysia

The year my husband died, I was deep in despair, and on top of that I had the added burden of raising my children. Hardship had suddenly befallen my life, but I had the love of the Lord with me all along, and with the help of my brothers and sisters I got through this difficult time. To recompense the love of the Lord, I continued to make donations and serve the church, and have been doing so for over thirty years. In this time, I have experienced the thriving of the church and seen the glorious occasion of the spread of the gospel of the Lord Jesus. I’ve also witnessed desolation and helplessness in the church. I thought back to when the Holy Spirit first began to do the great work in the church, when we experienced enjoyment and gained much from listening to the pastor’s preaching. There was mutual love among the brothers and sisters just as if we were all one family, and everyone was united in spreading the gospel and bearing witness to the Lord. Later, without knowing what had happened, there was no longer any light in what the pastor preached. It was like everything was just the same old story repeated again and again, and the believers simply could not get anything to nourish them. Their faith and love gradually waned, and there were fewer and fewer people coming to gatherings. Those of us who participated in service were also just going through the motions. We all acted according to the wishes of the people in the ministry and not at all in the service of God, but rather we just exerted ourselves in front of other people and tried to win their admiration. I knew that this kind of service was not in line with God’s will, and so it was very painful for me. I also felt helpless, with no idea how to walk the path ahead of me. I hoped all the more for the Lord to return as soon as possible, so that all these problems would be solved.

Western Scholars Gather in Seoul for The Church of Almighty God’s Premiering Photo Exhibit

Western Scholars Gather in Seoul for The Church of Almighty 

God’s Premiering Photo Exhibit

Dec 21, 2018

October 24, 2018, The Church of Almighty God held its first photo exhibition in Seoul, South Korea with the theme of “The birth and development of The Church of Almighty God,” drawing eleven experts and scholars from seven countries including the USA, Canada, England, France, and Italy to attend and explore the exhibit. Massimo Introvigne, who is an Italian sociologist and the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), France’s Bernadette Rigal-Cellard, professor of North American Studies at the University of Bordeaux Montaigne, Canadian sociologist and author Susan Jean Palmer, and others raised questions on Almighty God’s work of the last days, and several Christians who accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days in its early period provided detailed answers to each one of them. They also shared their feelings and understandings from undergoing Almighty God’s work and words with the guests.

Christian Marriage: The Secret to Marital Harmony

Christian Marriage: The Secret to Marital Harmony

December 18, 2018

By Wang Ran, Singapore

A Beautiful Dream

When she was single, Wang Ran always held on to a beautiful dream—the hope that after getting married, she and her husband would get along harmoniously, show mutual tolerance, be by each other’s sides for life, and grow old together. At that time Wang Ran had a great deal of confidence in herself; she felt that she was a person of good character who got along well with others. But reality did not play out as Wang Ran wished—after getting married, the myriad conflicts that cropped up in her life with her husband slowly ate away at her dream …

I Have Come Home (Part 2)

I Have Come Home (Part 2)

December 16, 2018

By Chu Keen Pong, Malaysia

The next day, March 12, I felt a kind of indistinct hope and ineffable excitement. This was because I had mostly discussed the “Son of man” with Susan the night before, and had talked about the “incarnation” as well. Even though I could draw a connection between the ‘Son of man’ and the ‘incarnation,’ and could know in theory that the Lord Jesus is none other than the incarnate Christ, I still wanted to know the answers to questions such as what the incarnation truly is, what Christ is, on what basis one could say with certainty that God has become incarnate, and so on. But since Susan and I both had work during the day and were only free in the evening, I just hoped that time would move a bit more quickly.

I Have Finally Seen the Way of Being a True Person （2）

I Have Finally Seen the Way of Being a True Person （2）

October 29, 2017

Xiao li    Henan Province

Even though I am willing to pursue being an honest person, as I have been too deeply corrupted by Satan, putting it into practice is still quite difficult; especially the moment it has to do with my reputation or status, I just lie and cheat in spite of myself. I remember when I was preaching the gospel and I saw that my brothers and sisters really threw themselves into their evangelism, and were winning many people for God, but my results were never very good. I felt ashamed, and I was worried that other people would look down on me because of that. During those few days I had just borne witness to a new member about God’s work in the last days, and she brought two more friends to her house so that I could chat with them as well. But because some other things came up that day, I never made it. In the evening a sister asked me how many people I had converted, and without thinking I told her: “Three people.” After she left, I started to reproach myself: I clearly just converted one person, so why did I say three? Wasn’t it just for my own vanity, my own face? Before, when I didn’t focus on being an honest person, I told many lies without being conscious of them, but when I started focusing on it I discovered that I lied quite a lot and that these lies just fell out of my mouth. It seemed that I was killing myself with these lies. I was subject to a lot of refinement on this, and I was concerned that I was so difficult to deal with. I questioned myself: Will it kill you to tell the truth? Why don’t you just remember things? I was disheartened because I had never been able to truly enter into the truth of being an honest person. I felt that I was an utter failure as a human being and I even believed that God didn’t want to see me, this deceitful person, anymore. It was so difficult for me to tell the truth, and I had so many corrupt dispositions, how could I possibly change? It turned out that my essence was as the devil’s and I could not be saved by God. Sooner or later He’ll get rid of me. When my thoughts went there, I lost all confidence in myself and began to give up.

I Have Finally Seen the Way of Being a True Person （1）

I Have Finally Seen the Way of Being a True Person  （1）

October 29, 2017

Xiao li Henan Province

Since I was small, my desire for reputation was always very strong, and when I interacted with people I paid particular attention to my own image, my status in other people’s eyes, and their assessment of me. So I always allowed other people to have any convenience, any benefits, and I just buried difficulties or grievances in my heart. I didn’t express those things to anyone, and when other people experienced difficulties I would always think of ways to help them. So in my parents’ eyes, I was a good girl; I was a real delight. In my neighbors’ and friends’ eyes, I was warm and generous. After getting married, I also got along very well with my husband’s family. When my sister-in-law and brother-in-law found partners and got married, I was running around like crazy. I contributed both money and effort, and I shared the burden with my parents-in-law. Before long I had become the good daughter-in-law and the good big sister. In reality, at that time I was exhausted every day and I was worn out to my very core because I was always tiptoeing around to maintain my relationships with other people and taking care of everyone else’s feelings; I would monitor their expressions and then speak accordingly. I was afraid of hurting someone else and leaving them with a bad impression, and damaging my own reputation. After gaining these “good names,” in my heart I felt proud, and that the price I had paid was worth it. I felt that I was very successful as a human being. I frequently thought to myself: If someday I encounter any difficulties, my friends, family, and neighbors will definitely extend a helping hand to me and help me out of my troubles. But just as I was basking in my “accomplishments” as a human being, a disaster came out of nowhere—it completely destroyed my fantasy and changed my views.

My Daughter at Death’s Door: I Witness a Miracle by Praying to God

My Daughter at Death’s Door: I Witness a Miracle by Praying to God

December 5, 2018

By Wang Yue, China

God’s Words Comfort Me After My Daughter Is Involved in a Sudden Car Accident

It was gone 11 a.m. on the morning of October 8, 2011 and I was just preparing lunch at home, when suddenly the phone rang. As soon as I answered it, the person calling said anxiously, “Your Lanlan has been in a car accident and they’re trying to save her at the county hospital. You’d best get here as soon as you can!” Hearing this, I felt a loud buzzing in my head, and before I’d said anything, the other person hung up. After I’d put the phone down, I just stood there for a while, thinking: “My daughter went out on her bicycle this morning to run some errands. How could she have been in a car accident? It’s just a prank call, isn’t it? But their tone didn’t sound like they were trying to trick me….” I didn’t have time to think any more, so I stopped what I was doing and left the house. I hurriedly waved down a cab and rushed to the county hospital. I was so worried as I sat in the cab that I clenched my fists tightly together, and I just kept looking out the window. I felt totally confused and upset and I couldn’t stop thinking: “How badly hurt is my daughter? Where has she been hurt? Is her life in danger? She’s only 17. She must be really scared being in the hospital on her own….” The more I thought about it, the more panicky I got, and I couldn’t calm down. I wanted to be there instantly by my daughter’s side to see what exactly the situation was. In my helplessness, I thought of God, and then quickly I called on God in my heart: “O God! I hear that my daughter has been in a car accident. My heart is in turmoil and I’m really worried, and I don’t know how my daughter is right now or how bad her injuries are. O God! I ask that You protect my heart so that I may keep calm before You. However serious my daughter’s injuries are, give me the courage to face it all.” After praying, I thought of these words of God: “Because I am your Father, I am your strong tower, I am your shelter, I am your backup, and moreover I am your Almighty One, and I am your everything!” (“Chapter 109” of Utterances of Christ in the Beginning). Yes, God is almighty, and He holds sovereignty over everything and administers all things. God is our strong backup and He is our greatest support. I should entrust my daughter to God and rely on God as I experience this situation. As I thought this, my panicked heart gradually began to calm down.

Coming Home (Part 2)

Coming Home (Part 2)

December 3, 2018

By Muyi, South Korea

In this period, there was another brother named Yang who also investigated Almighty God’s work in the last days together with me. I had always had a careless and absent-minded attitude, but Brother Yang was earnest in his studies. Brother Yang said that he had rejected the gospelof Almighty God when people had preached it to him before but that hearing it again today must be an opportunity granted by God! He wanted to investigate it. Brother Yang saw that I was only interested in listening to the pastor’s words and not investigating with an open mind. He found a passage for me, which was Matthew 5:3–6: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. … Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Reading the word of the Lord, I wondered: Why is it that I can’t seek tranquilly in the presence of the Lord? If the Lord were really to return by some chance, and I did not listen to Him or investigate it, would I not be left behind? I should also learn some humility, and I must not blindly come to conclusions based on my own imagination. Just when I had decided to settle my heart to investigate it sincerely, a missionary of the church gave me a call out of the blue and asked me if I were still with the people from The Church of Almighty God. I said that yes, the missionary again reminded me to cease contact with them. The missionary’s words dispelled the thought that I had just been wanting to investigate. I thought, “The pastor and missionary have a much better understanding of the Bible than I do, and none of them acknowledges that the Lord has returned. I had too little understanding of the Bible and had no ability to discriminate for myself, so I had better just listen to what the pastor and missionary were saying.” When I hung up the phone, I said to Brother Cheng: “If Brother Yang wants to investigate, then you two go on speaking. I don’t want to hear it.” Just like that, I had once again stiffly rejected the salvation of God.

Coming Home (Part 1)

Coming Home (Part 1)

December 3, 2018

By Muyi, South Korea

“God’s love overflowing is freely given to man, God’s love is around him. Man, innocent and pure, without a care to tie him down, lives in bliss in the eyes of God. … If you are a person of conscience and with humanity, you will feel warm, being cared for and loved, you will feel blessed with happiness” (“How Important God’s Love for Man Is” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). Every time I start to sing this hymn of the word of God, it’s hard to keep down the emotions stirring inside me. That is because I was once far astray from God and went against Him. I was like a lost sheep, unable to find the road home, and it was God’s steadfast love that led me to return home. In what follows, I wish to share my experience of returning to God’s house with both those brothers and sisters who are part of the Lord as well as those friends who have not yet turned to God.

The Tabernacle of God Is With Men

The Tabernacle of God Is With Men

February 25, 2018

Editors’ Note: Many brothers and sisters long for the day when they can be raised up into heaven and can meet the Lord, and this is the greatest dream of everyone who believes in the Lord. But it is prophesied in Revelation: “The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them….” This passage of scripture says that the kingdom of God will come on earth, so will we go up to heaven in the future, or will we be reunited with the Lord on earth? We trust you would all like to know the answer to this question. Today, we recommend a sister’s experiences for you to read, and we believe that, when you have finished reading it, you will all reap the harvest.

After Listening with My Heart, I Have Welcomed the Lord’s Return

August 18, 2017

Max, United States

In 1994, I was born in the United States. My parents are both Chinese. My mother was the classic example of a successful career woman. She is able to think for herself and is very competent. I love my mother very much. When I was in Grade 2, my parents brought me back to China to study so that I would be able to learn Chinese. It was also at that time that I started to get acquainted with the Lord Jesus. I remember one day in 2004, after I got home from school, there was a guest at our house. My mother introduced her and told me that she was a pastor from the United States. I was very happy because that was when I found out that my mother had believed in the Lord Jesus for some time. Before, she did not believe. Every Chinese New Year, she would burn incense and worship Buddha. However, after my mother started to believe in the Lord Jesus, I no longer had to smell the whiff of burnt Joss paper and incense. That day, the American pastor told me a story about the Lord Jesus. Soon after, I was brought to the bathroom and before I could react, “plop,” the pastor had dunked my head into the bathtub and after a moment, pulled my head out. All I heard was my mother and the pastor telling me, “Welcome to the embrace of the Lord Jesus. We are all lost sheep.” In this way, I started a new life journey before I knew it. However, because the Lord was with me, my heart was very happy. Afterward, each Sunday, I would go to church to worship and listen to the pastor talk about Bible stories and read from the scriptures. I was very happy all along. My heart was steadfast and I felt that believing in the Lord Jesus was truly a good thing.

Back From the Brink

Back From the Brink

February 27, 2018

By Zhao Guangming, China

At the beginning of the 1980s, I was in my 30s and was working for an architectural design company. I considered myself to be young and fit, treated people with loyalty and respect, and did my work responsibly. My architect skills were also top-notch, and I was sure that I was going places in the company and that once my career really took off I would be living like a prince. This was my goal and so I stayed with the company and worked hard for many years. But despite my impeccable caliber, in both character and professional skills, my efforts never seemed to be recognized by the company, which is something I never understood. The top salary grade in our company was grade 6, but my salary never got above grade 3. I watched a number of colleagues, who had neither my skills nor my time served in the company, get pay raises, but it never happened to me. I was puzzled and resentful about why they got raises and I didn’t. Finally, one of the colleagues who I got along with quite well gave me a tip: “In this company, the most important thing is to butter up the manager by giving him gifts at Chinese New Year and other festivals.” On hearing this, I finally understood the real reason why I had been overlooked by the company, and the injustice of it made me furious. But although I hated those ass kissers in the company, and had even less time for the colleagues who did little work but still got ahead by using underhand methods, I needed to firm up my standing and so I had to adapt to these unwritten rules. So the next time Chinese New Year came along I “expressed my heartfelt good wishes” to the manager and was immediately promoted to team leader.

A Battle

February 26, 2018

By Zhang Hui, China

My name is Zhang Hui, and in 1993 my entire family came to believe in the Lord Jesus. I was an enthusiastic seeker, so I quickly became a preacher. I would often travel around to different churches to work and preach. After a few years, I quit my job and began to serve the Lord full time. However, for some unknown reason, my brothers’ and sisters’ faith and love gradually cooled, and jealousy and strife grew between co-workers. I also felt that my spirit was withering, and I had nothing left to preach on. In 2005, my wife got cancer, and she died soon after that. This was a huge blow for me and I became even weaker. One day, I went to stay at my cousin’s house and met two sisters there, who preached Almighty God’s gospel of the kingdom. Over several days of fellowship and debate, I came to truly believe that the Lord Jesushad returned, that He is Almighty God in the flesh. Through reading Almighty God’s words, my thirsty heart was watered and supplied, and I savored the sweetness of the Holy Spirit’s work, understanding many truths and mysteries I had never understood before. However, just as I was immersed in the joy of reunion with the Lord, the temptations and attacks of Satan were creeping ever-closer to me …

The Secret Tip to Resolving Hatred (Audio Essay)

The Secret Tip to Resolving Hatred (Audio Essay)

December 28, 2017

Xiao Wu

I was self-employed. Mainly I sold all kinds of textiles, and I also made clothes for my customers part-time. After a few years, my business became more and more popular, and people around me were all very envious. Later, a neighboring household opened the same kind of shop as mine and became my competitor. Naturally, the business in my shop was affected. The popular proverb says two of a trade never agree, but my peer was not just anyone, but my most trusted pupil, Xiaochen.

Christian Life | A Different Experience of Job Seeking (Audio Essay)

Christian Life | A Different Experience of Job Seeking (Audio Essay)

November 2, 2018

Liang Xin

In today’s society, there are all different kinds of major enterprises and there seems to be a myriad of employment opportunities, but year after year, college graduates are a dime a dozen. The market of qualified employment candidates is so overcrowded you can’t gain a foothold, so the difficulty of finding employment after graduation has become a very practical problem. For every young person on the cusp of entering society after school, the most headache-inducing issue that they have to face is finding work, particularly at a good company. Everyone puts on their best face and racks their brains trying to squeeze their way in—the competition and pressure are intense. I, approaching graduation, had no choice but to face the plight of finding a job just like everybody else. The only thing different about me is that I’m a Christian and I believe that everything is prepared by God. However …

The Church of Almighty God | The Fruits of Obeying God

The Fruits of Obeying God

Xie Cheng

A few days ago, my leader Sister Cheng told me that the church had a new work that required some manpower, and asked me whether I’d be willing to do it. Hearing my leader say this, I was beside myself with joy, and I thought: “For three months now, I’ve been reflecting on how I was replaced because my striving for fame and gain in my duties interrupted and disturbed the church’s work. Now, at last, I can perform my duty again! If my brothers and sisters knew this, they’d definitely pay special regard to me, and would think that I’ve made progress by experiencing this failure.” I agreed to do it there and then. After my leader had gone, every day I looked forward to receiving notice of my new duty, but the days went by and no notice arrived. What did arrive was a stack of paper documents, and my leader asked me to type them up. Holding this stack of paper documents, my heart was full of questions: “What’s the meaning of this? Wasn’t it agreed that I’d be doing a new duty? How then can I be asked to type up all these paper documents? What am I, a typist? What on earth’s going on? If I’m not going to be doing the new duty, then surely my leader has to tell me why!” My mind was in a whirl, and I was unwilling to accept the reality of the situation. Faced with this pile of documents, I thought: “Typing isn’t a real duty. Anyone can do this work. Aren’t I a little overqualified to stay at home just typing up all these documents? If I’m not able to do any important duty, my brothers and sisters will surely say that, after being replaced, I still don’t have any true knowledge of myself and have not truly reflected on myself. What’s more, if I’m staying at home typing all day, then no matter how much I do or how well I do it, no one will know about it and I won’t have a chance to shine. I’ll forever be just a nobody, without any possibility of being promoted or put to some important use.” I was filled with misgivings, but I couldn’t refuse; all I could do was accept the duty.