Embroiled in a Spiritual Battle, I Relied on God and Overcame the Temptations of Satan (Part 1)

By Hu Yang, France

In late May 2018, I was fortunate enough to hear the last days gospel of Almighty God. By reading Almighty God’s words and listening to fellowships given by the brothers and sisters, I became aware of the factual truth of mankind’s corruption by Satan, God’s six-thousand-year management plan to save mankind and the aim of God’s three stages of work. I also came to understand how one can enter into the heavenly kingdom and the future destination and end for mankind, as well as other truths. After a period of seeking and investigating, I became absolutely certain that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned, after which I actively attended our church gatherings. As I read more and more of God’s words, I came to some understanding of the painstaking efforts God goes to to save mankind, and I wanted to spread the gospel to my husband so that he too could soon receive God’s salvation of the last days. Unexpectedly, on the afternoon on which I had arranged with my church sisters to preach the gospel to my husband, something happened which I could never have foreseen …

Spiritual Battle: By Discernment of Sayings on the Internet, I Was Able to Receive the Returned Lord (Part 2)

By William, United States

Why Does the CCP Spread Rumors Condemning The Church of Almighty God?

Later, I saw Xiaoyi in the film say, “Why is it that the CCP maintains our church is an outfit of man? Why hasn’t it said a word about the incarnate God? Why hasn’t it said a thing about the book The Word Appears in the Flesh? Why is that? What the CCP fears most is the truth expressed by Almighty God, because the CCP knows all Almighty God followers accepted Almighty God after they carefully read the book, The Word Appears in the Flesh. So the CCP distracts people’s attention by saying that The Church of Almighty God was really created by man. It intentionally hides the appearance of Almighty God, Christ of the last days, so that people will pay attention to this person. The government does this to stop people from believing in and following God. This is in fact its real purpose. The CCP distorts the facts and claims the church where God appears to work is an outfit of man. This is the CCP’s excuse for persecuting and suppressing God’s church. The CCP is so cunning and so vicious!”

Spiritual Battle: By Discernment of Sayings on the Internet, I Was Able to Receive the Returned Lord (Part 1)

By William, United States

In today’s era of highly developed information networks, many people have their own preferred websites they trust for information, and they use the information from these websites as standards for judging right and wrong and evaluating the correctness of things, but they rarely attempt to discern whether the news they find on these websites and information platforms is true and objective. Once, I had a website that I trusted, and even in the hugely important matter of receiving the returned Lord, I blindly believed various reports and news on the website, which nearly caused me to miss the opportunity to receive the Lord’s return. Thanks be to the Lord for guiding me again and again at the crucial moments, so that I could receive the Lord’s return!

5. Faith in God Should Not Only Be for Seeking Peace and Blessings

Relevant Words of God:

Man’s belief in God is not solely for salvation of the soul and welfare of the flesh, nor is it to enrich his life through love of God, and so on. As it stands, if you love God for the sake of welfare of the flesh or momentary pleasure, then even if, in the end, your love for God reaches its peak and you ask for nothing, this love you seek is still an impure love and not pleasing to God. Those who use love for God to enrich their dull lives and fill a void in their heart are those who seek to live in ease, not those who truly seek to love God. This kind of love is against one’s will, a pursuit of emotional pleasure, and God does not need this kind of love. What kind, then, is a love such as yours? For what do you love God? How much true love do you have for God now? The love of most among you is as previously mentioned. This kind of love can only maintain the status quo; it cannot attain eternal constancy, nor take root in man. This kind of love is that of a flower which bears no fruit after it has bloomed then withered. In other words, after you have loved God once in such a way and there is no one to lead you on the path ahead, then you will fall. If you can only love God in the times of loving God and you make no changes to your life disposition afterward, then you will continue to be shrouded by the influence of darkness, unable to escape, and still unable to break free from being bound and fooled by Satan. No such man can be fully gained by God; in the end, their spirit, soul, and body will still belong to Satan. This is unquestionable. All those who cannot be fully gained by God will return to their original place, that is, back to Satan, and they will go down to the lake that burns with fire and brimstone to accept the next step of punishment from God. Those gained by God are those who rebel against Satan and escape from its domain. Such men will be officially numbered among the people of the kingdom. This is how the people of the kingdom come to be.

from “What Viewpoint Believers Ought to Hold” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

4. The Saintly Decency Believers of God Should Possess

Relevant Words of God:

What is included within normal humanity? Insight, sense, conscience, and character. If you can achieve normality in each of these respects, your humanity is up to standard. You should have the likeness of a normal human being and behave like a believer in God. You don’t have to achieve great heights or engage in diplomacy. You just have to be a normal human being, with a normal person’s sense, be able to see through things, and at least look like a normal human being. That will be enough. … In accordance with the caliber of you people, you should at least be able to speak with wisdom and tact and explain things clearly. It is then that you meet the requirements. At the very least, insight and sense should be attained. At present the main thing is to cast off the corrupt satanic disposition. You must cast off the ugliness you express. If you have not cast these off, how can you touch upon supreme sense and insight? A lot of people see that the age has changed, so they don’t exercise any humility or patience, and they might as well not have any love or saintly decency either. These people are too absurd! Do they have an ounce of normal humanity? Do they have any testimony to speak of? They don’t have any insight and sense whatsoever. Of course, some aspects of people’s practice that are deviant and erroneous need to be corrected. Like people’s rigid spiritual life of the past or their appearance of numbness and imbecility—all of these things have to change. Change doesn’t mean letting you be dissolute or indulge in the flesh, saying whatever you want. Speaking carelessly cannot do. Behaving like a normal human being is to speak with coherence. Yes means yes, no means no. Be true to the facts and speak appropriately. Don’t cheat, don’t lie.

from “Improving Caliber Is for Receiving God’s Salvation” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

3. In Believing in God, You Should Establish a Normal Relationship With God

Relevant Words of God:

In believing in God, you must at least resolve the issue of having a normal relationship with God. Without a normal relationship with God, then the significance in believing in God is lost. Establishing a normal relationship with God is entirely attained through quieting your heart in God’s presence. A normal relationship with God means being able to not doubt or deny any of God’s work and submit to it, and furthermore it means having the right intentions in the presence of God, not thinking of yourself, always having the interests of God’s family as the most important thing no matter what you are doing, accepting God’s observation, and submitting to God’s arrangements. You are able to quiet your heart in God’s presence whenever you do anything; even if you do not understand God’s will, you must still fulfill your duties and responsibilities to the best of your ability. It is not too late to wait for God’s will to be revealed to you and then put this into practice. When your relationship with God has become normal, then you will also have a normal relationship with people. Everything is established on the foundation of God’s words. Through eating and drinking the words of God, practice in accordance with God’s requirements, put your viewpoints right, and do not do things that resist God or disturb the church. Do not do things that do not benefit the lives of the brothers and sisters, do not say things that do not contribute to other people, do not do shameful things. Be just and honorable when doing all things and make them presentable before God. Even though the flesh is weak sometimes, you are able to attach the highest importance to benefiting God’s family, not covet your own benefits, and carry out righteousness. If you can practice in this way, your relationship with God will be normal.

from “How Is Your Relationship With God?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

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.