Where Is Happiness?

Where Is Happiness?

Wenzhong    South Korea

A Discussion of How to Watch and Wait for Jesus’ Return to Conform With His Will?

A Discussion of How to Watch and Wait for Jesus’ Return to Conform With His Will?

Li Yang

It was a summer afternoon, the blazing sun was beating down. Li Jiayin and several co-workers were sitting in the shadow of an old locust tree. Watching the old tree, she recollected her childhood, in which she used to sit under the tree with her uncle, hearing him tell Bible stories and the testimonies of experiences of the spiritual seniors. A few years ago, her uncle once reminded her to be watchful. Now, disasters are getting worse and worse, and the four blood moons have appeared. From various signs it can be said with some certainty: The day of the Lord has come; the Lord will come to reap and rapture Christians at any minute. But how ever to be watchful and wait for the Lord’s return? How to wait to conform to the Lord’s will? What does it mean to be watchful? Jiayin sensed that she was not clear about these questions, and then commenced a discussion with her co-workers.

About the Trinity We Should Know – Bible Devotions

About the Trinity We Should Know – Bible Devotions

Chen Yan

Although many brothers and sisters in the Lord verbally acknowledge that there is only one God, who is unique, yet whom they pray to is the Trinity, that is, the God of three persons—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In the imagination of man, the Father is the great and powerful Jehovah God in heaven who “wears the golden crown on His head, His clothing is pure white”; the Son is Jesus Christ who could be crucified and serve as a sin offering for man; the Holy Spirit can move man’s heart, grasp all matters, enlighten and guide man. That is a Trinity who has distinct persons of different functions, and that the combination of Gods of three persons is a complete God Himself.

At the Critical Moment, God Demonstrates His Mighty Power – A Christian Testimony

At the Critical Moment, God Demonstrates His Mighty Power – A Christian Testimony

Chengjing

I’m a Christian, who deals in breakfast. I built a cooking range in the backyard. At 5 p.m. on Sept. 24, 2016, I was busy getting ready to fry small fish. I poured about fifteen kilos of cooking oil into the wok of 70cm diameter, turned on the blower and then hastened to prepare other things. After a short while, I suddenly heard a bang from the backyard. Realizing something was wrong with the wok of oil, I rushed to the backyard and saw it on a roaring fire, with flames shooting into the ceiling. Immediately, there was thick black clouds of smoke billowing out from it. Oil buckets and water pipes near it were ignited by splashed flames. The light bulb hanging from the ceiling was on fire as well, and the fire was climbing along the electric wire with a “sputtering” sound. And a great cloud of smoke was flying up the ceiling. …

Daily Bible Devotions: Which Is Greater in Your Heart, God or the Temple?

Daily Bible Devotions: Which Is Greater in Your Heart, God or the Temple?

Lin Lin

The Bible records, “But I say to you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day” (Matthew 12:6-8). When I was a new believer, I read these verses. At that time, I only knew Jesus Christ, with His word, reminded people who lived under the law that Jesus Christ is greater than the temple and also is the Lord of the Sabbath. Therefore, He could heal patients on that day; He didn’t condemn His disciples who plucked and ate the ears of corn when they went through the corn on the Sabbath. Yesterday when I read these verses again, thinking of the fact that the Lord worked on the Sabbath day, I knew clearly, by doing this thing, the Lord reminded people living under the law that He had done a new work outside the temple, and everyone should depart from the temple to accept His new work.

A Christian testimony – An Astonishing Day

A Christian testimony – An Astonishing Day

Xiaohan

In the spring of 2013, I was lucky to have accepted God’s work of the last days. Through having meetings, reading God’s words and sharing experiences of believing in God with my brothers and sisters, I felt the joy of receiving the work of the Holy Spirit, and saw that God’s words are truly necessities and tonics of our lives. Afterward, I read His words more voraciously and performed my duty as a created being to repay His love.

One day, I saw these words of God: “People always tend toward the world, harboring too many hopes, wanting too much for their future, and having too many extravagant demands. They are always thinking about and planning for their flesh and never interested in seeking the way of belief in God. Their hearts have been captured by Satan, they have lost their reverence for God, and they are devoting their heart to Satan. But man was created by God. Thus, man has lost the testimony, meaning he has lost the glory of God. The purpose of conquering mankind is to seize back the glory of man’s reverence for God. It can be put this way: There are many people who do not pursue life; even if there are some, the number can be counted on one’s fingers. People are most concerned about their future and are not paying any attention to life whatsoever”. From God’s words, it can be seen that if we can’t put aside the prospects of flesh, and if there are full of extravagant desires within, our heart will easily be captured by Satan and we will become more and more distant from God. At that time, I thought confidently: Others may stray from God for seeking the prospects of flesh, while I will absolutely not. For I’ve understood God’s thoughtful intention to save man from His words. However, in the face of facts, I had to hang my head and admit that what God’s word discloses is the truth. In my experience, I also saw that God never leaves or forsakes me but loves and saves me.

My family ran a transportation business. As the business was more and more prosperous, I became distant from God involuntarily. I thought: Our business is booming and we become well-off. Today people treat others by appearances. If we change our private car for a deluxe one and drive it to talk business, it will not only make us more distinguished, but also help us drum up more business and make greater profits. As people say, “People struggle to go upward, but water flows downward.” As soon as I shared my opinion with my husband, he agreed, “You are right. It’ll be highly advantageous to us if I drive a luxury car to negotiate business with others. For example, since one of my friends bought a Benz car, it has given him considerable advantages in business. Now more partners are willing to cooperate with him.” Thereupon, we began to rush about to all kinds of vehicle dealer’s shops to see cars, like BMWs, Bens, minivans, cross-country cars, etc. In addition, we also searched the Internet for all sorts of luxury cars and their prices.

As I put my whole heart into purchasing a car during that period of time, I couldn’t calm down when reading God’s words in the meeting. I said to myself, “I might as well stop having meetings. After purchasing a car, I’ll continue having meetings and performing my duty. However, as I carefully planned for having a luxury car, something unexpected happened.

One day in March of 2016, I was cleaning my rented house. In the yard, there was a small house built with wood and glass, which was used for storing some wooden articles for daily use as well as some sundries of the landlord. Since we had moved to the city, I decided to give the yard a spring clean and burn up the junk and garbage before leaving. Then I piled the garbage and lit a fire. After that, I kept on the cleaning in the room. A dozen or so minutes later, I heard some explosions from the yard all of a sudden, and then I ran out hastily. At the sight of the scene in the yard, I was petrified. The flames spread straightly to the small house of the landlord, and its glass had been burned to shatters. Then the fire spread into the small house, so the wood and sundries all caught fire. The fire was so strong that part of the roof was burned away and the tongues of fire kept leaping from the burning house. My legs trembled with fear at the sight of such a scene. I thought: The neighbor on the left raised many chickens and ducks in the yard. If the fire spreads to the neighboring houses, I can’t afford to pay even with all my properties. I wanted to call a fire engine immediately, but I found I had forgotten my cellphone. At the time, my forehead sweated profusely with anxiety. In desperation, I rushed out of the yard and shouted, “Help! Fire! Fire! Help!” Nevertheless, as it was around nine o’clock in the morning, neighbors were not at home. The fire was getting stronger and stronger, and moreover, combustibles were around the burning house. Frightened, I was at a loss what to do. In a panic, I hurried to carry water with a tub to douse the flames. However, when I turned the tap on, the water came out slowly, which made me extremely anxious. There was no enough water and no people helping me put out the fire. Besides, I couldn’t make an emergency call. Seeing the brisk fire, I was utterly desperate. Will I forfeit all my savings? Thinking of the serious consequences, I was terrified and started to cry. Suddenly, I thought of God I believe in: God has authority and power. I cannot rely on others; I can only rely on God.

I cried while praying to God, “O God, please help me! God, no one can help me now. I realize that I’ve turned away from You for the enjoyment of the flesh recently. I’m too disobedient. Oh, God! If the fire continues to burn, I’m willing to obey. God, please have mercy on me and help me.” After the prayer, I saw the water began to flow faster and for a short while, the tub was filled. I knew God heard my prayer. I couldn’t stop thanking Him. Promptly, I threw the tub of water to the roof. After that, I turned on the three taps in the room, filled every tub with water and threw it to the flames one by one. I didn’t know how many tubs of water I poured upon the fire in this way. By then my clothes were wet through, my face and hands were covered with dust, and my arms as well as legs numbed because of’ overexertion. At that time, the neighbor’s chickens and ducks were scared by the fire and explosion, quacking loudly. The fire was still burning; however, I was exhausted. I could only cry to God in tears without ceasing, “Oh, God! I can do nothing and I’m almost exhausted. Please help me. God! Help! …” After a while, the flames, which had been burning high, burned down a lot. I thought: “Man’s end is God’s beginning!” Consequently, I went on pouring water. The fire in the house burned down slowly, and later became white smoke, so did the flames above. I saw God’s almightiness and sovereignty, for I had used up all my strength to throw water, but the flames were not put out; however, after I prayed to God, they became white smoke miraculously. Seeing the scene before my eyes, I wept for joy and kept praising God’s great power and marvelousness in my heart. After the last flame was extinguished, my heart was finally released. At that moment, I was weak and limp, without any strength. When thinking about what happened at that time, I had palpitations. If not for God’s salvation, I didn’t know how to clean up the mess.

Then I recalled my actions and deeds during that period. I ran around for the sake of my own flesh and extravagant desires. Not only did my heart stray from God, but I even wanted to give up having meetings and performing duties, intending to make more money in the world. Though I treated God in that way, He didn’t abandon me. When I reached an impasse, He still listened to my prayer. Thinking of these, I was overwhelmed with regrets. Thank God for His another mercy on me! He used His love to awaken my numb heart. Without His salvation, all would have come to nothing due to the fire, such as buying a luxury car, making a fortune, and making others look up to me. Now I saw clearly that we are so impotent in the face of disaster, and money and materials I pursuit have no significance or value.

God says, “Whether you can gain life before God, and what your ultimate end will be, depends on how you carry out your rebellion against the flesh. God has saved you, and chosen and predestined you, yet if today you are unwilling to satisfy Him, you are unwilling to put the truth into practice, you are unwilling to rebel against your own flesh with a heart that truly loves God, ultimately you will ruin yourself, and will thus endure extreme pain”. “The fate of man is controlled by the hands of God. You are incapable of controlling yourself: Despite always rushing and busying about for himself, man remains incapable of controlling himself. If you could know your own prospects, if you could control your own fate, would you still be a creature?”. From God’s words, I understood that how much money I can earn and what my fate will be are in God’s hand. I should obey His sovereignty and arrangements. However, I was too greedy and my desires were too great. I was possessed for the flesh, living in Satan’s snare and becoming distant from God, with the result that I nearly ruined myself. I will forsake my flesh, keep my feet on the ground, have meetings and perform my duty properly. In this way, I can live securely. This is the most meaningful life.

In the afternoon, when I related the story of the fire accident to my husband, he was astonished. I talked to him with emotion, “If God didn’t save me, we would have been finished. We can’t afford the loss even with all our properties.” He said repeatedly, “Yeah, that’s right!” Right after that, I spoke to him seriously, “As to purchasing a car, I’ll leave it up to you. I’ll keep my mind on gatherings and perform my duty properly in the church to repay God’s love.” Hearing my words, he nodded and said, “All right, I’ll deal with the business myself. Don’t worry about it any longer.” At that moment, I felt so relaxed and happy from the bottom of my heart.

Though the fire accident befell me, I have truly experienced God never leaves or forsakes me but loves and saves me. I even more saw His almightiness and sovereignty. Today in the last days, various disasters occur frequently. If we can’t give up our fleshly hopes to follow God steadily, once we miss the opportunity to be saved by God, we will live in remorse till the end of our days. For God says, “I am mankind’s only salvation. I am mankind’s only hope and even more, I am He on whom the existence of all mankind rests. Without Me, mankind will immediately become stagnant. Without Me, mankind will suffer catastrophe and be trod upon by all manner of ghosts, even though none take heed of Me. I have done work that can be done by no other only in the hope that man repay Me with good deeds. … If you cannot work for good in My presence, then you will not escape suffering the disaster”.

Jesus Christ is God Himself. The Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit, They are One. We can know from the bible verses, the Lord Jesus said, “he that has seen me has seen the Father….” (John 14:9) “I am in the Father, and the Father in me….” (John 14:10) “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).

Why Are There So Many Different Christian Denominations?

Why Are There So Many Different Christian Denominations?

When Jesus Christ came to earth to do His work in person, all those who believed in Him came under His name. The apostles spread the gospel everywhere, and joined all the brothers and sisters who had accepted the salvation of Jesus Christ and come under His name together, uniting them into one in Christ. The believers then only followed Jesus Christ. Just as the scriptures read, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:5-6). Therefore, there didn’t appear different denominations in the age of apostles.