2019 Inspirational Devotion: What Is Entering Into Rest?

By Zhongcheng

The Origin of Rest

It is recorded in the Bible, “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made” (Genesis 2:2–3). In the beginning, God used six days to create the heavens, the earth, and all things within, and on the seventh day, when the work of creation was complete, He rested. God created the ancestors of mankind, Adam and Eve, placed them in the Garden of Eden, and told them to keep His rules. Adam and Eve listened to God, obeyed Him, and lived under God’s care and protection. They suffered no illness or pain, and had no troubles or anxieties. They lived carefree lives in the garden, and enjoyed their rest with God.

The Last Days Are Here: Are You Prepared to Meet God?

By Zhou Jing

One day I saw a lively discussion online; people were saying that four blood moons appearing at night in the Western hemisphere is a warning of the end times, and that major earthquakes are becoming more frequent across the entire globe. I thought to myself, “The four blood moons have already happened, celestial phenomena have appeared, disasters are occurring frequently all over the world, terrorist incidents are increasing, wars are constantly breaking out…. All the signs show that the prophecies of the Lord’s return have basically been fulfilled, so why haven’t I seen Him coming down on a cloud to meet us? Is it that the Lord hasn’t returned yet or that He has returned, but I haven’t seen Him? How can I welcome His return?” This confusion wound itself around my heart leaving me baffled. Trying to get some clarity on this issue, I started praying and praying to the Lord, asking for Him to enlighten and guide me so that I’ll be able to welcome His return and not be cast out by Him.

Have You Gained the Way to Eternal Life?

By Zhong Cheng

As Believers in the Lord, Do We Have the Way to Eternal Life?

The Lord Jesus said, “But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). Many brothers and sisters in the Lord read the Lord’s word and believe that the Lord Jesus has the way to everlasting life, and He gave us the way long ago. In our years of believing in the Lord, we have continued to confess our sins and repent according to His teachings, we have suffered and paid a price to spread the Lord’s gospel, we have shepherded His churches, we have borne crosses to follow Him, we have been patient and tolerant with others, and we have not rejected His name when disasters or persecution befall us. We are able to keep the Lord’s path, so we already have the way to eternal life, and when the Lord comes, He will lift us up into the kingdom of heaven, where we will gain everlasting life. But, is this viewpoint correct? Does it accord with the truth?

2. In Searching for the True Way, You Must Be Possessed of Reason

Relevant Words of God:

God and man cannot be spoken of as equals. His substance and His work are most unfathomable and incomprehensible to man. If God does not personally do His work and speak His words in the world of man, then man would never be able to understand the will of God, and so, even those who have devoted their entire life to God would be incapable of gaining His approval. Without God’s work, no matter how good man’s doing, it will count for nothing, for the thoughts of God shall always be higher than the thoughts of man, and the wisdom of God is unfathomable to man. And so I say that those who “clearly see” God and His work are ineffectual, they are all arrogant and ignorant. Man should not define the work of God; moreover, man cannot define the work of God. In the eyes of God, man is smaller than an ant, so how can man fathom God’s work? Those who are constantly saying, “God does not work in this or that way” or “God is like this or that”—are they not all arrogant? We should all know that people, who are of the flesh, have all been corrupted by Satan. It is their nature to oppose God, and they are not on a parity with God, much less can they offer counsel for the work of God. How God guides man is the work of God Himself. Man should submit, and should not hold such and such a view, for man is but dust. Since we try to seek God, we should not superimpose our conceptions on the work of God for God’s consideration, least of all should we employ our corrupt disposition to deliberately try to oppose the work of God. Would that not make us antichrists? How could such people say that they believe in God? Since we believe that there is a God, and since we wish to satisfy Him and to see Him, we should seek the way of truth, and should look for a way to be compatible with God. We should not stand in stiff-necked opposition to God; what good could come of such actions?

1. You Must Know the Source of People’s Opposition to the New Work of God in Their Belief in God

Relevant Words of God:

The reason that man opposes God stems, on the one hand, from the corrupt disposition of man, and on the other hand, from ignorance of God and lack of understanding of the principles of God’s work and His will toward man. These two aspects merge into a history of man’s resistance to God. Novices in the faith oppose God because such opposition lies within their nature, while the opposition against God of those with many years in the faith results from their ignorance of God, in addition to their corrupt disposition.

from “All Who Do Not Know God Are Those Who Oppose God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

7. The Difference Between External Good Deeds and Changes in Disposition

Relevant Words of God:

A transformation in disposition mainly refers to a transformation in people’s nature. The things of a person’s nature cannot be seen from outside behaviors; they are directly related to the worth and significance of their existence. Which is to say, they directly involve a person’s outlooks on life and their values, the things deep within their soul, and their essence. Someone who is unable to accept the truth will have no transformation in these aspects. Only by experiencing God’s work, fully entering into the truth, changing their values and their outlooks on existence and life, aligning their views with God’s, and becoming capable of completely submitting and being devoted to God, can their dispositions be said to have changed. You may appear to put forth some effort, you may be resilient in the face of hardships, you may be able to carry out work arrangements from the above, or you may be able to go wherever you are told to go, but these are only small changes in your behavior and are not enough to constitute a transformation in your disposition. You may be able to run down many paths, suffer many hardships and endure great humiliation; you may feel very close to God, and the Holy Spirit may do some work on you. However, when God asks you to do something that doesn’t conform to your notions, you still may not submit, but look for excuses, and rebel against and resist God, even to the point that you criticize God and protest against Him. This is a serious problem! This shows that you still have a nature of opposition against God and that you have not undergone any transformation whatsoever.

from “What You Should Know About Transforming Your Disposition” in Records of Christ’s Talks

Why Do Christians Get Sick? How Should We Experience Sickness?

By Du Shuai

The phrase “scramble around to find a doctor when you’re sick” directly reflects people’s feelings of anxiety, helplessness and panic when they get sick. As Christians, although we know that everything is created by God, that God gave us our very breath and that God rules and arranges the life and death of man, we can still feel at a loss as to what to do when confronted by sickness. I was therefore confused about this matter: When sickness befalls us, how should we experience it in order to be able to face it calmly and to have true faith in God? I often prayed and sought with God about this, and I sought and fellowshiped with my brothers and sisters until, after some time, I understood: When we get sick, only by understanding what God’s intention is behind our getting sick and by mastering four principles of practice can we resolve our feelings of unease, panic and helplessness, and generate true faith in God. I shall here share my small, simple bit of understanding with my brothers and sisters in the hope that it will be of some help to you all.