God’s Blessings: I May Not Be Rich, but I’m Very Fortunate

By Bong, Philippines

I Want to Become Wealthy

“Principal, please give my child a chance and let him take the examination!” My mother’s eyes implored the principal as she spoke in a slightly trembling voice.

47. The True Face of a So-called Good Person

By Kemu, Henan Province

In my own mind, I’ve always thought of myself as possessing good humanity. I’ve thought this because my neighbors often complimented me in front of my parents for being sensible and showing concern for our family, saying I was the apple of my parents’ eyes. After getting married, my in-laws praised me in front of the neighbors for being kind and filial to them. In my work unit, my leader praised me for being honest and competent. And since accepting God’s work of the last days, I’ve been obedient with whatever the church asks me to do. I never contradict the leader even if I’m rebuked for not doing a good job, and I often help brothers and sisters who are in need. As such, I believe myself to be a reasonable, compassionate, and kindhearted person with humanity. I’ve never thought of myself in terms of the words in which God reveals that man lacks humanity or has poor humanity. When having fellowship on God’s words with brothers and sisters, even though I know I need to be aware of my own nature, and that only by really knowing myself and clearly seeing the truth, the ugly face of my corruption by Satan can I truly develop hatred for myself. Only then can I pursue the truth, put God’s words into practice and experience them, and then gradually achieve a change in disposition and be saved by God. But I still maintain my own views. I feel it’s true that I’ve been corrupted by Satan, but even if I’m not someone with the best humanity, I’m also not the worst; my humanity is still a bit better than others’ by comparison. In other words, regardless of what God’s word says or what brothers and sisters say, I am not willing to disassociate myself from the idea of being a person of good humanity.

How to Have a Personal Christian Devotion?

By Li Cheng

I Believed That Spiritual Devotion Consisted of Persistently Reading the Bible, Saying Prayers and Singing Hymns

I remember the first time I went to church and listened to the pastor give a sermon and, afterward, I came to have some knowledge of the Lord Jesus’ salvation and I expressed my desire to believe in the Lord on the spot. As I was leaving, the pastor reminded me that, “To live as a Christian, one must practice spiritual devotion.” I asked the pastor, “What is spiritual devotion? How do we practice it?” The pastor then told me, “Spiritual devotion is reading the Bible, saying prayers and singing hymns of praise every day. When we pray, we must pray for our families, pray for the weak brothers and sisters in our church, and pray for the servants of God. We must persist with reading the Bible and singing hymns every day as well, and we must keep doing it without interruption. As long as you practice spiritual devotion diligently every day, then your spirituality will continue to develop and you will draw closer and closer to the Lord, and then God will be gladdened.”

Daily Bible Study: Is All Scripture Given by Inspiration of God?

Dear brothers and sisters, may you find peace in the Lord! Thanks be to the grace of God that we have been brought together today, and the question we will be fellowshiping is: Is all Scripture given by inspiration of God?

Is All Scripture Given by Inspiration of God?

When we talk about this issue, there are perhaps some brothers and sisters who will say, “Do you really need to ask this question? In 2 Timothy 3:16, it tells us clearly that ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God.’ It is therefore clear that the Bible contains only the words of God, so what more could one wish to know?” Brothers and sisters, we conclude that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and that the Bible contains only the words of God only on the basis of this one statement from Paul, but is there a foundation in God’s words for this view? Did the Lord Jesus ever say such a thing? Did the Holy Spirit ever say such a thing? If there is no foundation in God’s words for this view, what will the consequences be if we continue to cling to it? The Lord Jesus said, “He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathers not with Me scatters abroad” (Matthew 12:30). As believers in God, we should always speak and act on the basis of God’s words and the facts of His works. If our views are at odds with God’s words and the facts of His works to the point where they run contrary to them, then in God’s eyes we become people who are opposed to Him, and we will certainly not earn His praise. Understanding the question, “Is all Scripture given by inspiration of God?” is therefore crucial to each and every one of us.

45. What Is Truly Accepting Truth?

By Xiaohe, Henan Province

In the past, every time I read the words revealed by God about how people do not accept truth, I didn’t believe those words applied to me. I enjoyed reading the word of God and communicating God’s word, and I was able to accept and acknowledge everything God has said as truth—regardless of how much it pricked my heart or didn’t conform with my notions. Moreover, regardless of how many imperfections my brothers and sisters would point out, I could acknowledge it and accept it. I didn’t seek to justify myself, so I thought that I was a person who surely accepted truth. In my opinion, only people who were especially arrogant and conceited, and who had notions about the word of God and wouldn’t acknowledge that God’s word is truth were the ones who wouldn’t accept truth. It wasn’t until one day when I was listening to a sermon that I understood what it meant to truly accept truth.

41. I Learned to Coordinate With Others

By Liu Heng, Jiangxi Province

In a recent vote, I was elected to be a church leader. In order to repay God’s love, I made a resolution before God: No matter what I encounter, I will not abandon my responsibilities and betray God. I will coordinate with my brothers and sisters to perform my duty well and will be someone who pursues the truth.

39. It Is So Important to Obey the Work of the Holy Spirit

By Xiaowei, Shanghai City

Some time ago, even though I always received some inspiration and benefit when a sister who performed duties with me shared the enlightenment she had attained while reading the word of God, I also always had the lingering sense that she was showing off. I would think to myself, “If I respond to her right now, won’t I be pandering to her? In that sense, will I not then seem lesser than her?” As a result, I refused to bring up my own views in fellowship or comment on any of the thoughts that she shared. One time, my sister, having received some insights from reading a particular passage of God’s words, felt that there was something wrong with our states and asked me if I would be willing to fellowship with her on that passage of God’s words. As soon as she asked, all these thoughts and feelings of resentment floated to the surface: “You just want to testify about yourself, to have an audience to preach to. Why should I fellowship with you?” I even went so far as to skip out on a meeting so I wouldn’t have to hear her. After a while, I felt a heavy weight in my heart, I knew something was wrong with my state, but I couldn’t think of a good way to resolve my inner conflict. All I could do was to fully invest myself in my duties, read the word of God, and sing the hymns to distract myself from these negative feelings. However, whenever I had to face the current situation, the same corrupt disposition would rise in my heart—things were getting worse, not better—and I hadn’t a clue how to break free from it.