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.

3 Key Points for Reading the Bible to Gain the Guidance of the Holy Spirit

By Xiao Xiao, France

Reading the Bible is a daily must for Christians, and it’s also indispensable on the path to gaining the truth and growing in our spiritual lives. The Lord Jesus said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Clearly, frequently reading God’s words in the Bible and holding them firmly in our hearts is something that every Christian ought to do. However, every one of us has had the following experience in our Scripture reading: Sometimes we’re able to gain the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment and illumination; our spirit is moved, we can understand God’s will and requirements and have the faith to put God’s words into practice in our daily lives. After a period of time, we grow in our spiritual lives. But then at times, we feel dry and lack enjoyment in our Bible reading and can’t feel the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment or illumination. We don’t have a sense of God’s will and requirements, and even less do we know how to practice God’s words in our day-to-day lives, and after some time, we experience no spiritual growth. Sometimes we might even get sleepy while reading the Bible and become less and less willing to read the Scripture, attend gatherings, and pray. This can be very confusing. We’re reading the Bible just like always, so why are there two totally different outcomes? How can we obtain the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment and illumination so that we are able to achieve good results in our Scripture reading? Actually, as long as we grasp three key points, we can resolve this issue. Next, I would like to address my simple personal understanding of them.

3 Principles on How to Get Along With Others

By Jiang Nan, South Korea

The Lord Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one to another” (John 13:34–35). “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). The Lord Jesus requires of us that we get along well with others and that we love one another. But because we each have a different family background, different life habits, different personalities, ages and life experiences, it thus becomes unavoidable that prejudices and misunderstandings will arise in our dealings with our brothers and sisters, so much so that conflict and friction can occur between us. We then become unable to follow the Lord’s requirement that we get along well with others, and both parties are harmed. This can cause us all a lot of distress: Why can’t we keep the Lord’s teachings? What exactly are we supposed to do to get along well with others? Below, I will fellowship on three principles with you all; if we can all put these principles into practice, then getting along well with others will be easy to achieve.

Does God Have a Specific Gender? I Discover a New Interpretation (Part 2)

By Bao’en, Brazil

The Mystery of “the Father and the Son” Is Finally Revealed

Although I had come to understand this truth, I still wasn’t entirely clear on why God had incarnated as a woman in the last days, and so I asked, “Brother, it is recorded in Matthew chapter 3 verse 17 that, when the Lord Jesus was baptized, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ Also, when the Lord Jesus prayed, He called God in heaven His Father. The gender of ‘Father’ and ‘Son’ is male, and so this proves that God is male. So how can the Lord Jesus return as a female? I don’t understand this issue, so I wondered if you could fellowship with me about this?”

Does God Have a Specific Gender? I Discover a New Interpretation (Part 1)

By Bao’en, Brazil

Editor’s Note: When it comes to the question, “Does God have a specific gender?” I believe that many Christians will say, “It is clearly recorded in the Bible that when the Lord Jesus was being baptized, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ (Matthew 3:17). Also, when the Lord Jesus prayed, He called God in heaven His Father, and surely these words ‘Father’ and ‘Son’ prove that God is male.” Therefore, when we hear someone testifying that the Lord Jesus has returned and that He has incarnated into female form, many brothers and sisters cannot get their heads around it. They believe that the Lord Jesus was clearly male, so how could the second coming of the Lord be as a female? Brother Bao’en of Brazil used to cling to this view too, and it was only when he heard a sermon that he was able to come to a new interpretation on this matter …

Main Paths for Reading the Bible to Gain the Guidance of the Holy Spirit

By Xiao Xiao, France

Reading the Bible is a daily must for Christians, and it’s also indispensable on the path to gaining the truth and growing in our spiritual lives. The Lord Jesus said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Clearly, frequently reading God’s words and holding them firmly in our hearts is something that every Christian ought to do, but how should we read the Bible so that we can gain the Holy Spirit’s guidance and achieve good results? This is an extremely important question for us. Probably every one of us has had the following experience in our Scripture reading. Sometimes we’re able to gain God’s enlightenment and guidance, and understand God’s will and requirements; our spirit is moved, and we have the faith and resolve to put God’s words into practice in our daily lives. We love attending gatherings, praying, and reading the Scripture more and more, and for that period of time we also grow in our spiritual lives. But then at times, we lack enjoyment in our Bible reading and can’t feel the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment or illumination. We only understand the literal meanings of the Bible passages and don’t have a sense of God’s will and requirements; we don’t know how we should uphold God’s words in our day-to-day lives and we experience no spiritual growth. Sometimes we might even get sleepy while reading the Bible and become less and less willing to read the Scripture, attending gatherings, and pray. This can be very confusing. We’re reading the Bible just like always, so why are there two totally different outcomes? How can we read the Bible to achieve good results? In order to gain light from our Bible reading, by grasping three principles we can easily grow closer to God and attain God’s enlightenment and guidance.

Question 4: You testify that, in outward appearance, God’s incarnation looks just like an ordinary person, just like the Lord Jesus Himself, He not only possesses normal humanity, but also has divinity. This much is certain. What is the difference between the normal humanity of God’s incarnation and that of corrupt man?

Answer: This is a very key issue. An issue that is of chief importance in our understanding of God’s incarnation! When God is incarnated in the flesh to become Christ, man could plainly see the normal humanity in Christ. Christ expresses the truth and does His work in His normal humanity. Even when He performs signs and wonders, He does so in normal humanity, there is nothing supernatural about Him. This allows us to see the very normal nature of Christ’s humanity, because of this, it is difficult for many to believe that Christ is God incarnate. Thus, during the Age of Grace, those who followed the Lord Jesus called Him Christ, the Son of God, but almost no one obeyed and worshiped the Lord Jesus as God Himself. Why was this? I believe this was mainly because Christ’s humanity is very normal, there is absolutely nothing supernatural. In the eyes of men, Christ is just an ordinary person. So no matter how the Holy Spirit testified, man still had difficulty thinking of the Lord Jesus as God. The other issue was that the men of that age experienced far too little of the Lord Jesus’ word, so it was very difficult for them to understand the truth and know the divine substance of Christ. Christ has normal humanity, but very few has a thorough understanding of Christ’s normal humanity. Christ is without sin, His normal humanity is holy. He is without impurities and corruption, arrogance, rebellious disposition, and certainly lacks baseness and selfishness. This is vastly different from man’s humanity, the two are simply incomparable. Let’s read two passages of Almighty God’s word to get a clearer picture.

Question 3: We’ve believed in the Lord for so many years, and we’ve maintained His name. We often read the Bible, pray and confess our sins to the Lord; we are humble, patient, loving toward others. We often do charity, donate, and sacrifice everything else to work for the Lord and spread the gospel to witness Him. Are we not practicing the Lord's words and following His way? How can you say we never had any reality of faith in the Lord or are an unbeliever? In the Bible, Paul said, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness …” (2Ti 4:7-8). Therefore, I think that our faith in the Lord will obtain His praise. When the Lord arrives, He will definitely rapture us into the kingdom of heaven.

Answer: Many believers think that as long as they keep the Lord’s name, read the Bible, pray and gather often, are able to sacrifice everything for the Lord and labor for the Lord, then they are true believers. They think that as long as they believe in the Lord this way, they’ll be lifted into the kingdom of heaven when He comes again. Is believing in God as easy as people think? If people believe in God like this, can they really obtain God’s approval? The Pharisees that were denounced and condemned by the Lord Jesus, isn’t that the way they believed in God too? They often prayed and worked hard and even traveled to the ends of the earth to spread the gospel. Then why has their faith failed to gain the Lord's approval and incurred His condemnation and curses instead? People that have read the Bible before understand that although the Pharisees read the Bible well, prayed often, spread God's work, suffered greatly, loved others, and appeared to be devout, true believers on the outside, in reality, God had no place in their hearts; they did not magnify God. In their faith, they did not focus on seeking the truth in God's words or understanding His will, much less practicing His words and following His commandments. They only focused on disseminating knowledge about the Bible and theological theory; they only focused on performing religious ceremonies, following the rules to glorify themselves, establishing themselves to be worshiped by others. They believed in God like that for many years and had no knowledge of God. They definitely did not become obedient and reverent toward God. Therefore, when the Lord Jesus did His work, they did not search for the truth. They only measured the Lord Jesus based on their own conceptions and imaginings. Regardless of how profound the Lord Jesus' preaching was or how much authority and power His work had, they did not search for or study them. They still fanatically resisted and condemned the Lord Jesus, then crucified Him on the cross. They were cursed and punished. Can the faith of the Pharisees be called true faith in God? Did God accept the faith of the Pharisees? Not only did the Lord Jesus not approve them, but He condemned and cursed them, saying, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Mat 23:13-36). The Pharisees only trusted their own conceptions and imaginings; they only believed in the vague God in heaven. They did not believe in the Lord Jesus incarnate who expressed the truth. They were all bored with the truth and hated the truth. They believed in God, but resisted God as well.

Question (2): We have long heard that the Church of Almighty God has already testified to the return of the Lord Jesus. And He is Almighty God! He expresses truths and performs His judgment work of the last days, but the majority of people in religious circles all believe that the Lord will return by descending with the clouds. This is because the Lord Jesus clearly said: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Mat 24:30). The Book of Revelation also prophesied: “Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him” (Rev 1:7). I also maintain the belief that the Lord will return by descending with the clouds to directly take us up into the kingdom of heaven. We refuse to accept the Lord Jesus who does not descend with the clouds. You say that the Lord's return is returning to the flesh and descending in secret. But nobody knows about this. However, the Lord openly descending with the clouds is absolute! That's why we are waiting for the Lord to descend with the clouds and appear openly to take us directly up into the kingdom of heaven. Is our understanding correct or not?

Answer: When it comes to waiting for the Lord to descend with the clouds, we must not rely on man’s notions and imaginations! The Pharisees committed a huge mistake in waiting for the arrival of the Messiah. They precisely used man’s notions and imaginations to measure the Lord Jesus who had already arrived. In the end, they nailed the Lord Jesus to the cross. Is this not a fact? Is waiting for the Lord’s arrival as simple as we think? If the Lord returns and works among mankind like the way the Lord Jesus in the flesh had done, and we don’t recognize Him, then would we also judge and condemn Him as the Pharisees had done and crucify Him once again? Is this a possibility? The Lord Jesus prophesied that He shall return and said many words about it, but you only hold on to the prophecy that the Lord will descend with the clouds and don’t seek or investigate other more important prophecies spoken by the Lord. This makes it easy to walk down the wrong path and be abandoned by the Lord! There is actually not just the “descend with the clouds” prophecy in the Bible. There are also many prophecies like that the Lord will come as a thief and descend secretly. For instance, Revelation 16:15, “Behold, I come as a thief.” Matthew 25:6, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him.” And Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” All these prophecies refer to God becoming flesh as the Son of man and descending in secret. “As a thief” means coming quietly, secretly. People won’t know He is God even if they see or hear Him, just as it was back when the Lord Jesus appeared and performed His work. From the outside, the Lord Jesus was just an ordinary Son of man and nobody knew He is God, which is why the Lord Jesus used “as a thief” as an analogy for the Son of man’s appearance and work. This is too befitting! Those who do not love the truth, no matter how God in the flesh speaks or works, or how many truths He expresses, they do not accept. Instead, they treat God in the flesh as a normal person and condemn and abandon Him. That is why the Lord Jesus prophesied that when He returns: “For as the lightning, that lightens out of the one part under heaven, shines to the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation” (Luk 17:24-25). Based on the Lord’s prophecy, His return shall be “the coming of the Son of man.” “Son of man” refers to God in the flesh, not the spiritual body of the resurrected Lord Jesus descending with the clouds to openly appear before all people. Why is that the case? Let’s think about it. If it were the spiritual body of the resurrected Lord Jesus descending publicly with the clouds, it would be incredibly powerful and shock the world. Everyone would drop to the ground and no one would dare resist. In that case, would the returned Lord Jesus still endure a lot of suffering and be rejected by this generation? Definitely not！That is why the Lord Jesus prophesied that His return shall be “the coming of the Son of man” and “as a thief.” In actuality, it is referring to God incarnated as the Son of man arriving in secret.

Question 3: You say only those who obey the will of God receive the way of everlasting life. After we started believing in the Lord, we suffered and paid a price to spread the Lord’s gospel. We’ve shepherded the Lord’s flock, taken up the cross and followed the Lord, practiced humbleness, patience, and tolerance. Are you saying we haven’t been following God’s will? We know if we continue, we will become holy, and be raptured to the kingdom of heaven. Is this way of understanding and practice wrong?

Answer: You have the notion that if you labor, sacrifice, or do good deeds, you are obeying God’s will. But are these imagined notions of yours after God’s heart? Do they have a basis in God’s word? Let’s see what the Lord Jesus said: The Lord Jesus said: “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity” (Mat 7: 21-23). From the Lord Jesus’ words we can see that those who prophesy, cast out devils, and do many wonderful works in His name are the ones who suffer and do works for the Lord. They serve God, devote all their time to Him, and have many good behaviors. But, why does the Lord Jesus call them those who work iniquity? How should we understand this? By your notions, any who suffer and do work for the Lord and spend and sacrifice for Him are obeying God’s will. The chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees in Judaism also appeared to be very pious. They traveled far and wide to preach the gospel. So why did the Lord Jesus condemn and curse them? That’s something worth reflecting on, isn’t it? We can’t determine obedience to God’s will using the notions of man. True obedience to God’s will refers to people who can obey God’s work and words, practice God’s words, follow God’s commandments, and fulfill their duties according to God’s will and requirements. You say any who suffer and do work for the Lord are obeying God’s will. Then let’s evaluate them using the Lord Jesus’ requirements. What was the Lord Jesus’ most important requirement for man? “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mat 22:37-39). But are we doing this? Obeying God’s will means loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind. No matter how much work we do, or how much we suffer, there must be no personal ambition or impurity, we must be devoted purely to obeying and satisfying God, to carrying out God’s will. We must be happy to sacrifice everything for God, without demand for recompense. In the face of trials and tribulation from God, we must not complain or betray Him, and put ourselves at the mercy of God’s arrangements. Like Abraham, Job, and Peter, when God’s trials come, we must accept with utter obedience and without complaint or question, and bear good and resounding testimony for God. This is obedience to God’s will. Given those demands, it should be obvious whether or not we are people who truly obey the heavenly Father’s will.

10 Whoever Doubts God’s Word Will Be Eliminated

Heyi  Zhuanghe City, Liaoning Province

In words and in doctrine, we all acknowledge that God is faithful and whatever he says will be fulfilled, but many times we do not truly believe God’s word from the bottom of our heart and even often deny it in our practical experience. For example, God says: “Nothing is too difficult for me.” However, when we encounter some difficulties or when we achieve no results in the gospel work, we no longer believe this word but think that the practical difficulties are there and that even if we rely on God, we will not be able to resolve the problems or achieve the results. God says: “God perfects people according to their different functions.” But some of the brothers and sisters who preach the gospel, handle general affairs, or do hosting cannot believe this word. They always consider that only the leaders and those who water the churches are the ones to be perfected by God, while they are the serving ones, not the ones to be perfected by God. God says: “I do not care whether you have done laborious service and made great contribution, whether you have much seniority…; as long as you do not act according to my requirements, you can never receive my approval.” But some brothers and sisters cannot believe this word. And they always consider that as they have followed God for so many years, they have done hard work if not good work and God will not be so heartless as to eliminate them in the end. God says: “God’s will is to save man to the utmost.” However, some brothers and sisters do not believe this word but think that they are through and God will never forgive them, because they have brought great losses to God’s family in performing their duties or have once committed a grievous transgression. God says: “All God’s words are directed at everyone who acknowledges God and at everyone who follows God.” But we say that some of God’s words are directed at us and some not, for in us there are not those kinds of states God speaks about. Again, some people see that God always says such words as “My day has been laid before your eyes,” “my day will not be delayed,” and “my day is truly not very distant,” but so far God’s day still has not come; so they think that God’s words are without accuracy.

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?

2 Why We Should Pay Attention to Knowing Ourselves

Gan’en  Luoyang City, Henan Province

In the course of our believing in God, many of us brothers and sisters pay attention only to working and performing duties, and very few of us pay attention to knowing ourselves. Many times when we fellowship in a meeting about the topic concerning knowing ourselves, some brothers and sisters have questions and resistance in their heart: Since we believe in God, we just believe in God. If I am assigned to do hosting, I will do hosting; if I am assigned to preach the gospel, I will preach the gospel. I will do whatever I am assigned to do and practice in whatever way I am required to practice. I submit to the arrangements of God’s family and also perform my duty. Isn’t it good enough if I do not make mistakes in performing my duty? Why always fellowship about knowing ourselves? What is knowing myself to do with my believing in God? Can I do well in believing in God if I know myself? Even some leaders also think: The work arrangements have stated the principles of all aspects of the work very clearly. Isn’t it good enough if we do not work against the work arrangements but carry out the work according to the requirements in them without changing them? Why must we know ourselves?

18 It Is So Important to Pray Genuinely

Zhuiqiu    Jiuquan City, Gansu Province

Doctrinally most believers in God know that prayer is very important and we should all pray genuinely. But in our real life, we do not pay attention to praying genuinely. Most of the time, we pray to God perfunctorily and deceitfully. For example, many times we rest content with praying several times a day without caring whether we have achieved results, and sometimes we even do not know what we have said in our prayer. Sometimes we do not feel like praying, but when we see that other brothers and sisters are praying, we also kneel down and say something carelessly. When we encounter difficulties, most often we weep them out to God in prayer, asking God to help us get things done in any way. When we are in a good state and achieve good results in our work, we pray to God to keep us always in such a state and let us always achieve good results. When we are dealt with and feel aggrieved, we air our grievances before God: “O God, you are almighty and you know the truth of the matter best. I am really not as the leader said….” None of such prayers is genuine prayer.

Christian Life: 4 Tips to Teach You How to Interact With Others in Accordance With the Lord’s Intentions

By Wang Zihan, Shanxi Province

Interpersonal relationship is a topic that causes headaches for many people. This is also a topic that is encountered often throughout one’s life as a Christian. The requires Lord Jesus us to get along harmoniously with each other and to love others as we love ourselves. Many devout Christians are also willing to put the Lord’s teachings into practice. However, in reality, when we interact with others, we frequently encounter conflicts, and misunderstandings, so much so that our relationships become rigid and break down. This leads to pain for everyone. Now, what is the reason that we are unable to exist harmoniously with each other? How should we Christians interact with others in our lives in accordance with the Lord’s intentions? This has also been a problem that I have had difficulty with in the past. Thank the Lord for His guidance! Afterward, I was able to find the answer in a book that resolved my difficulties. Here, I will share a bit about my experience and understanding!