Finally Seeing Who Are the Pharisees Today on My Path of Welcoming the Lord

By Hanmei, Myanmar

 

The Wonderful Surprise of the Lord’s Return 

In June 2017, I got to know Sister Liu and Brother Duan, both in Germany on Facebook, and through my communication with them I saw that they were genuine and modest people. They had a very pure understanding of the scripture and the content they shared in fellowship really contained light and was very beneficial for me. After joining them for a few gatherings, I understood a number of truths I never had before. My heart was really brightened; I loved meeting with them. During one gathering, Brother Duan referenced this passage of scripture: “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27). In his fellowship, he said that God would once again appear and work in the flesh in the last days, and that He had already come to the East, to China. He said that this prophecy had already been fulfilled. Hearing this, I felt a bit shocked, thinking, “The Lord Jesus has already returned?” In this state, I thought of what I had heard the pastors and elders say, that only the people of Eastern Lightning bore witness that the Lord Jesus has already returned in the flesh. They told us we couldn’t believe in this, because only the Lord Jesus is Christ. I then felt really unsettled and no longer took heed of Brother Duan’s fellowship, thinking, “The pastors and elders are all people who serve God. They understand a lot about the Bible and they should have clarity on something as important as the Lord’s coming. I’ll ask them and then see!”

I Am Unfit to See Christ

By Huanbao, Liaoning Province

Since I first began believing in Almighty God, end-time Christ, I really admired those brothers and sisters who were following along at Christ’s side, who could personally receive Christ’s shepherding and hear His utterances with their own ears. I felt that it would be wonderful if I were able to hear Christ speak myself one day, and it would be even more glorious if I could see Him with my own eyes. But lately, through listening to Christ’s fellowship, I have come to feel deeply in my heart that I am not fit to see Christ.

God’s Words Have Awakened Me

By Miao Xiao, Shandong Province

In the past, I used to always think that God’s words “a puppet and traitor who flees from the great white throne” were referring to those who accept God’s work in the last days but who then retreat; to me, they were all people who weren’t willing to endure the pain of being judged and chastised. Therefore, whenever I saw brothers and sisters retreat for whatever reason, my heart would be filled with contempt toward them, thinking: “There goes another puppet and traitor fleeing from the great white throne who shall receive God’s punishment!” Each time this happened, I felt I was behaving properly in accepting God’s judgment and was not far from receiving God’s salvation.

Jealousy—the Chronic Illness of the Heart

By He Jiejing, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

I performed my duty with Sister Zhang and, through the course of our acquaintance, I found that not only did she have a pure understanding of God’s word and that she fellowshiped about the truth very clearly, but that she was also good at singing and dancing. She was better than me at everything. The brother and sister of our host family liked her very much and would seek her out to fellowship with her. Because of this, my heart was quite unsettled and I felt like I was being given the cold shoulder—even to the point of thinking that as long as she was there, there was no place for me. In my heart, I began to feel fed up with her and I didn’t want to work with her in fulfilling our duties anymore. I hoped that she would leave so that the brothers and sisters would like me and think highly of me.

Do You Know How Important God’s Law and His 10 Commandments Are to Mankind?

By Cheng Xin

I trust that every one of us who believes in the Lord will be familiar with the Ten Commandments and the Law. But are we aware of how important the Ten Commandments and the Law are to mankind, and what profound significance they have for us? Today, let’s investigate and fellowship this topic together.

Reflection for Today: Does a Church Appearing Fervent Mean That It Has the Work of the Holy Spirit?

Hello brothers and sisters of Spiritual Q&A,

Several months ago, I witnessed the pastors in our church vying with each other for the sake of fame and gain and jockeying for position, so much so that they even verbally attacked and disparaged each other during sermons. Their sermons were not enjoyable to listen to, and our spirits went unnourished. Furthermore, there was widespread cooling of the faith of brothers and sisters; they pursued wealth, they coveted physical pleasures and they followed worldly trends, giving all their attention to eating, drinking and having fun. Most of the time, some brothers and sisters simply did not attend gatherings, but instead only came when a disaster occurred in their lives or when there was some important holiday … Faced with this situation in our church, I left to look for a church that had the work of the Holy Spirit. I searched in many places, however, and discovered that most churches were just the same, and I began to lose hope. I recently found a church, however, which often put on shows and held events, and it even had pastors come from overseas to give sermons. The atmosphere in this church was very warm and enthusiastic, and many people attended each gathering. Looking at this church that was so ardent and at the brothers and sisters who attended gatherings so enthusiastically, I thought this must be a church that had the work of the Holy Spirit. It wasn’t long, however, before I discovered that, although the church appeared ardent, the sermons preached by the pastors were unable to provide benefits for the lives of brothers and sisters and were unable to satisfy our spirits. The singing and dancing that went on only had the effect of changing the atmosphere in the church—while it was going on, we all felt very energetic, but as soon as we sat down to listen to a pastor give a sermon, we would begin to doze off. Moreover, brothers and sisters were always trying to outdo each other with donations and prayers. Whoever donated a lot was considered to be someone who loved the Lord, and whoever prayed for a long time and said nice words in their prayers was considered to be a spiritual person…. In this kind of church, the brothers and sisters not only had no honesty or humility but, on the contrary, their vanity just got stronger and stronger and they became more and more hypocritical. They focused on expressing themselves and showing off in front of others and were exceedingly self-righteous and arrogant. Whenever they encountered an issue, they just dealt with it however they wanted, and they didn’t listen to anyone else—they were just not keeping to the Lord’s teachings at all. Faced with this kind of situation in the church, I couldn’t help but wonder: Could such a church that appears to be so fervent from the outside have the work of the Holy Spirit? This question has always perplexed me, so I’d like to ask if you could answer it for me.

Wenxi

Do You Know the Real Meaning of Easter?

By Hanxiao

What Is Easter? The Origins of Easter

Easter, or Resurrection Sunday as it is also called, is a holiday which celebrates the Lord Jesus’ resurrection that occurred three days after He was crucified upon the cross. Its exact time falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox every year. In order to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus and to remember the salvation and hope Jesus brought to mankind, each year from March to April, Christians all over the world hold celebrations on the day of Easter. So while us Christians are commemorating the resurrection of Jesus, do we know why He returned from the dead and appeared to man despite having already finished His work of redemption? And what is the meaning behind His resurrection and His appearance to man?