The Return of a Prodigal Son

                          The Return of a Prodigal Son

                                                Ruth, United States

I was born in a small town in southern China, and starting from my paternal great-grandmother’s generation, our family has believed in the Lord. Stories from the Bible, hymns of worship and ecclesiastical music in the church accompanied me as I passed through the happy days of my childhood. As I started getting older, pressure grew in my studies, and in my heart I started to slowly grow distant from the Lord.

A Christian’s Diary: The Misunderstanding Between My Mother and Me Has Finally Been Resolved

Su Ping

January 8, 2018 Monday Cloudy

Recently, my mother’s health has not been good. It is not very convenient for her to leave the house. Our church leader was afraid that this would interfere with her attending meetings. As a result, he asked me to have meetings with my mother at home. Even though I did not say anything when I heard him say this, inside, I was not very happy. In a flash, the unhappy incidences between my mother and me that occurred in the past appeared in my mind like scenes from a movie.

English Gospel Song 2018 "How to Know the Appearance and Work of Christ of the Last Days"

English Gospel Song 2018 "How to Know the Appearance and Work of Christ of the Last Days"

Introduction

English Gospel Song 2018 "How to Know the Appearance and Work of Christ of the Last Days"

God’s incarnation shall embody God’s substance and expression.

And when He’s made flesh He’ll bring forth the work He’s been given

to express what He is, bring truth to all men,

give them life and show them the way.

Great Masterstrokes for Overcoming Temptations in Spiritual Warfare

3 Great Masterstrokes for Overcoming Temptations in Spiritual Warfare

                               Jingxing, South Korea

Brothers and sisters,

I wish you peace in the Lord! Not infrequently, all sorts of spiritual warfare will occur throughout our time of faith in and following God. There are temptations regarding money, status and name, and temptations between men and women, as well as slander by unbelievers, obstruction and suppression from loved ones, as well as being hunted down and persecuted by a satanic regime. Sometimes completely unexpected calamities befall us. The Bible says: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). God’s words say: “On earth, all manner of evil spirits are endlessly on the prowl for a place to rest, are ceaselessly searching for the corpses of men to eat up” (“The Tenth Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh). There isn’t a single moment that Satan is not by our side, racking its brains to use any person, event, or thing to tempt, test, and persecute us, trying to get us to sink into evil, into disaster and to distance ourselves from God, to betray Him so that in the end we may be swallowed whole by it. If we lack the truth, we also lack discernment; if we cannot clearly see spiritual warfare, if we cannot remain firm in God’s words, we will be likely to go after fleshly benefits and preferences, falling into Satan’s web and losing our testimony. As Christians, learning how to recognize Satan’s trickery is critical. So what can we do to enable ourselves to see through Satan’s trickery in the midst of spiritual warfare and stand witness for God? I’d like to share some fellowship with you on three paths of practice for triumphing over Satan’s temptations.

The Fruits of Obeying God

                      The Fruits of Obeying God

                                               Xie Cheng

A few days ago, my leader Sister Cheng told me that the church had a new work that required some manpower, and asked me whether I’d be willing to do it. Hearing my leader say this, I was beside myself with joy, and I thought: “For three months now, I’ve been reflecting on how I was replaced because my striving for fame and gain in my duties interrupted and disturbed the church’s work. Now, at last, I can perform my duty again! If my brothers and sisters knew this, they’d definitely pay special regard to me, and would think that I’ve made progress by experiencing this failure.” I agreed to do it there and then. After my leader had gone, every day I looked forward to receiving notice of my new duty, but the days went by and no notice arrived. What did arrive was a stack of paper documents, and my leader asked me to type them up. Holding this stack of paper documents, my heart was full of questions: “What’s the meaning of this? Wasn’t it agreed that I’d be doing a new duty? How then can I be asked to type up all these paper documents? What am I, a typist? What on earth’s going on? If I’m not going to be doing the new duty, then surely my leader has to tell me why!” My mind was in a whirl, and I was unwilling to accept the reality of the situation. Faced with this pile of documents, I thought: “Typing isn’t a real duty. Anyone can do this work. Aren’t I a little overqualified to stay at home just typing up all these documents? If I’m not able to do any important duty, my brothers and sisters will surely say that, after being replaced, I still don’t have any true knowledge of myself and have not truly reflected on myself. What’s more, if I’m staying at home typing all day, then no matter how much I do or how well I do it, no one will know about it and I won’t have a chance to shine. I’ll forever be just a nobody, without any possibility of being promoted or put to some important use.” I was filled with misgivings, but I couldn’t refuse; all I could do was accept the duty.

3 Methods on How to Pray So That God Will Listen

3 Methods on How to Pray So That God Will Listen

                                           Cheng Shi

Brothers and sisters:

Peace to you in the Lord! Praying is an important way for us Christians to establish a normal relationship with God. This is especially the case during the morning and at night. That is why learning how to pray is extremely important. However, many brothers and sisters feel perplexed: Every single day, we pray both in the morning and at night; we also pray before we eat and after we finish eating as well as when we have gatherings; furthermore, each time we pray, we say a lot to the Lord and pray for a long time. However, we always feel as if God is not there; it feels as if we are just talking to ourselves when we pray, and our spirit does not feel peace or joy. Why does God not listen to our prayers? How should we pray so that we can receive God’s praise?