The Testimony of a Christian | Fleeing From the “Tiger’s Den” (Part 1) Audio Article

Xiaoyou

　My name is Xiaoyou and this year, I am 26 years old. Originally, I was a Catholic. When I was little, I went with my mother to church for Mass, chanting scriptures, confessing and receiving communion. My mother was very zealous in her faith. She would often donate food and clothing as well as money to the church. The church leaders and nuns particularly liked my mother. When they saw her, they would greet her with smiles and show great concern for her. They would also frequently call my mother on the phone to ask her to participate in all kinds of church activities and to help out with various tasks. I would also proactively participate in the classes that the nuns taught. My church friends and I would chant scriptures together. At that time, I felt the joy and the peace that comes along with being with God. I was very happy every day. However, as time passed on, the faith of my church friends became colder and colder. My spirit also became weak and I was unable to adhere to the teachings of God. I would frequently commit sins and confess. After I got married, I went with my husband to other parts of the country for work.

　In a flash, it was Christmas season in 2013 and I had the good fortune to encounter one of the sisters of The Church of Almighty God. She told me that the Lord Jesus has already returned and He is performing a new stage of His work. When I heard this, I felt surprised and I emotionally said, “Is that so? The Lord has returned! When did the Lord return? Where is the Lord right now? Sister, tell me right away.” This sister gave me fellowship, saying, “Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. Almighty God has expressed millions of words and He is doing the judgment work of the last days. He has opened up all the truths of cleansing and saving the human race including the three stages of work that God has performed to save mankind, the mystery of the incarnation, the mystery of the Bible, the meaning of God’s name and mankind’s end and destination, etc. This fulfills the Lord Jesus’ words as follows: ‘I have yet many things to say to you: but you cannot bear them now. But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you all truth. For he shall not speak of himself; but what things soever he shall hear, he shall speak; and the things that are to come, he shall shew you’ (Jhn 16:12-13).” I earnestly listened to what this sister was saying and I thought, “I never expected that I would be able to welcome the return of the Lord. This is fantastic.” Afterward, the sister witnessed to me the three stages of God’s work and the meaning of God’s name. Afraid that I would not understand, the sister gave me analogies and examples. She communicated these things in detail so that I could understand and it would be clear to me. Through her communications, I understood a lot of the truth that I had not understood before. I also learned that God returned in order to perform the work of cleansing and perfecting man with judgment and chastisement. I felt that it was very possible that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. At that time, I told the sister that I was willing to investigate the work of God in the last days. Afterward, I attended gatherings with my brothers and sisters, reading God’s word, singing hymns, dancing and praising God. During my reading of God’s words, when I encountered areas that I did not quite understand, my brothers and sisters were very patient in explaining these things to me. Their communications had the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment and illumination. Attending gatherings with them allowed me to enjoy once more the pleasure of the Holy Spirit’s work. I felt particularly happy. In this big family of The Church of Almighty God, there were no distinctions between high and low and poor and wealthy. Everybody opened up and spoke from their hearts. I felt that this was a genuinely happy life! After more than a month of investigation, I read many of Almighty God’s words and I can completely confirm that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. I felt that I was very fortunate. At the same time, I also wanted to tell this good news to my mother and my friends at church.

God’s Words Guide Me to Learn How to Educate My Children (II)

Xiaoxue, Malaysia

　One day after dinner, I taught my eldest son how to read Chinese—just the simple words, “Heaven, earth, people, and, earth, daddy, mommy….” I taught him quite a few times, but he still couldn’t write them. He would write the first word and then forget the next one. The anger inside me rose up, and I grabbed the ruler on the table and hit him several times. I shouted loudly: “How stupid you are! You cannot even learn these few words!” My eldest son was hit until he cried, “waah, waah” and broke free and ran to stand in the corner. I scolded him, “Come over here and keep writing!” My eldest son did not come over, so I grabbed hold of him and pulled him onto the chair. Seeing that my eldest son’s hand had been beaten red and swollen by me, I felt a stabbing pain in my heart. I cried and returned to my room and prayed to God: “God! As soon as my child displeased me, I could not control my anger. I don’t want to treat my children like this. God, may You help me.” After praying, I slowly calmed down.

　Later, I taught him as usual, but he still did not learn. I remembered praying to God and I did not get angry again. At the same time, I also started to reflect on myself. Why could I not control my temper when my child did not please me? Whilst reflecting on this, I thought of a passage of God’s words: “Once a man has status, he will often find it difficult to control his mood, and so he will enjoy seizing upon instances to express his dissatisfaction and vent his emotions; he will often flare up into rage for no apparent reason, so as to reveal his ability and let others know that his status and identity are different from those of ordinary people. Of course, corrupt people without any status will also frequently lose control. Their anger is frequently caused by damage to their individual benefits. In order to protect their own status and dignity, corrupt mankind will frequently vent their emotions and reveal their arrogant nature” (“God Himself, the Unique II” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “Some exercise restraint in their anger, while others are more rash and flare up with rage whenever they wish without the least bit of restraint. In short, man’s anger derives from his corrupt disposition. No matter what its purpose, it is of the flesh and of nature; it has nothing to do with justice or injustice because nothing in man’s nature and substance corresponds to the truth” (“God Himself, the Unique II” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Through what God’s words revealed, I saw that I was too deeply corrupted by Satan and too arrogant and domineering, always suppressing and forcing my children in my identity and status as their mother and as soon as they did not meet my demands and standards, I could not stop myself from getting angry and chiding and physically punishing them. I actually had no reason at all. Was the reason why I got so angry with my son not because his results from taking the school entrance test were the worst of all the children? This made me feel a loss of face in front of others. “Treating my child so strictly and disregarding his feelings today is not all for his own good or to make him quickly improve his academic performance, but to gratify my own vanity and desire for status. I’m too selfish and despicable! It is because of my arrogant, selfish corrupt disposition that I cannot obey God and always want to break free from God’s mastery and arrangements and want to arrange everything for my children based on my own ability and finally bring myself and my children so much pain.” When I thought of this, I hated myself and no longer wished to live by Satan’s corrupt disposition and be fooled by Satan. So I prayed to God and asked God to keep my heart, to guide me through His words, and to arrange even more environments to change and cleanse me. Subsequently, I no longer demanded too much of my son. Instead, I patiently taught him and did my best to be a mother. Slowly, I no longer worried because my children did not learn, and felt especially relaxed and happy. When I looked at my two children again, I realized that they were really cute and lively, and I realized then how unfair it was for my children when I always made them live my way and grow into the standard image in my mind.

The Transformation of an Only Child

—Only Almighty God Can Save the Degenerate Youth of Today

Bian Hua,    Yunnan Province

　I started following Almighty God when I was 19 years old: As soon as I left school I joined The Church of Almighty God. I had had very little to do with society, and didn’t really know much about what was going on in it. But I did know that I totally represented one of the special characteristics of Chinese society in that I was a selfish only child.

　As a result of my parents having to be subject to the Chinese government’s policy of population control, I was in the first batch of “achievements.” After I was born, everybody in my family started treating me with the care and protection deserving of a rare and precious treasure. My mother told me that in my first year I often had a fever and so my father would hold me in his arms and walk around the bedroom all night to stop me from crying. As my parents both had jobs, and so didn’t have the time to look after me, I was sent to kindergarten before the age of 2. My grandma was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to adjust, and so would often stand outside the kindergarten to see if I was crying or not, which made her often late for work. Once when the weather was very cold my mother stayed up all night knitting a warm sweater for me to wear the next day. In school my grades were always good, and having me as a high achiever was gratifying to my parents’ and grandparents’ vanity of longing to see their children succeed, giving them more reason to treat me like a precious pearl. During my school years, the first thing my father would do when he got home from work was to massage my hands to prevent them from getting tired from doing homework. In the summer when I got home after school, my mother would always get a bowl of peeled, frozen, sugary tomatoes from the fridge for me to eat. I remember one time when my parents found a teacher to teach me the pipa, a kind of Chinese lute. But after practicing some finger movements for a couple of days I got tired of it and told my parents that I wasn’t going to learn it, so my parents reluctantly conformed with my wishes. Every weekend I would go to my grandma’s house and she would always put some money in my pocket. If I told her I didn’t want it, she’d say: “Free lunch, why not? Take it. I’ll give you money as long as you come every week.” She always used to stuff my mouth with tasty treats too, and I’d eat so much that I’d get stomach ache. Thinking back on this now, I can see that Chinese parents don’t have truths and that’s why they don’t know how to educate their kids. So what did I turn into from being smothered with all this affection? I turned into a selfish, temperamental, fragile kid who had no willpower or purpose in life. I was like an invalid who sits in bed every day holding out their hand to take whatever is given and opening their mouth when it’s time to be fed, but never caring a jot for anyone else. I was totally unforgiving toward my parents, and I never accepted anyone else’s opinions. If my parents said something critical about me I’d retort with 10 times as much. My father even gave me the nickname “twisted donut” because I’d become so twisted and troublesome. I particularly hated doing anything that resembled hard work, so if my folks weren’t home when I was off school then I wouldn’t eat, because I was too lazy to heat up the food that they had cooked for me. Later, they would give me some money to go out and buy something to eat, but I couldn’t be bothered going for a little walk so I went hungry instead. So my parents told me a story about an idiotic child. The child’s mother cooked a flatbread for him and hung it round his neck because she had to go out for a long time. But when she got home she discovered that her son had died of hunger because he’d only eaten the bread in front of his face and hadn’t known to eat the rest of it hanging around his neck. My mother said I was an even bigger idiot than that boy. Apart from studying, I had no other purpose in life. By the time I got to high school I was even more resentful: School was a bit far from home so I had to cycle an hour every morning and there was a lot more pressure to pass exams. One morning when it was raining heavily, I fell off my bike on the way to school. I ended up lying in a big puddle with my lunch scattered all over the ground. I wanted to cry, and really thought that high school was a living hell. I felt it was all too hard, too tiring, and I really wanted to drop out of school. At a later date, my mother read in the newspaper about a first-year student at Qinghua University who had hung himself in the college dormitory. This student had become tired and depressed with having to do all the other tasks in addition to studying—doing his own laundry, getting meals in the cafeteria, tidying up his room—that students have to do. Apparently, he was particularly upset by having to peel his hard-boiled eggs at breakfast (at home his parents used to peel them for him), and, feeling that he was under too much pressure, took his own life. People started calling this kind of student “high grades but low basic abilities,” and my mother was scared that I’d become one of these useless creatures, so she started nagging me about becoming more independent. But I was already 16 or 17 years old and my character was pretty much fully formed, and so my parents’ exhortations had no effect on me—whatever they said just went in one ear and out the other. At school, a popular saying among my schoolmates at that time was: “Walk your own way and let others say what they want!” But my schoolmates were all just like me: China’s spoiled only children who lacked learning and talent and had no direction in life.

The Testimony of a Christian | The Best Education (Part 1)

Thoughts after reading:    🙏📖💖

When counting God's love, I feel even warmer!

It's thanks to God's love that I could come before God fortunately

Liu Ying

　I am 50 years old this year and from a young age I lived in a very remote and backward poor mountain village. There were eight people in my family, my maternal grandparents at the top and four brothers and sisters at the bottom, with only one person, my father, earning a wage in the production team. My family was so poor that we did not even have enough polenta and corn bread to eat. I was extremely jealous when I saw others eating steamed buns and thought: When will I be able to eat steamed buns? When will I ever not be hungry? My grandmother often encouraged me saying: “If you want to live a good life, to eat well and be dressed well, you must study hard! You can only excel if you have knowledge and culture and later you will be able to go and live in the city and will not need to lead such a life with your face to the ground and your back to the sky.” My grandmother’s words were deeply engraved in my heart. I was determined to study hard and change my destiny by relying on knowledge.

I Have Found True Happiness (Audio Article)

　I was born into an ordinary farming family. Even though my family was not wealthy, my father and mother loved each other and treated me very well. Our family life was quite abundant and blessed. After I grew up, I told myself: I must find a husband that will treat me well and I must establish a blissful and happy family. This is what is most important. I do not seek riches, I only need to have a loving relationship with my husband and a peaceful family life.

　I met my husband through a mutual acquaintance. I disliked him because he was quite short, but my father and mother looked favorably upon him. They said that he had a good heart and he would treat me well. I saw that my husband treated people very sincerely and he seemed like someone who would treat his family well. I thought, “It’s fine that he is a little short. As long as he treats me well, it is fine.” As a result, I agreed to the wedding and in 1989, we got married. After we got married, my husband treated me very tenderly and he took care of me very well. I also cared for him intently and thought about him in all matters. After our two daughters were born, in order to allow my husband to be at ease at work, I stayed at home and took care of the family. Afterward, the two children went outside the village for schooling. I rented a place in order to accompany them while they studied. As long as I could handle a certain matter, I would not trouble my husband about it. Even though sometimes, it was difficult and I was a bit tired, our relationship as husband and wife was filled with mutual love, care and consideration and we lived a peaceful life. I felt that my life was very blessed.

What are the differences between dispositional change and good behavior?

Relevant Words of God:
A transformation in disposition mainly refers to a transformation in your nature. Nature is not something you can see from outside behaviors; nature directly involves the worth and significance of people’s existence. It directly involves the values of human life, the things deep within the soul, and the essence of people. If people couldn’t accept the truth, then they would have no transformations in these aspects. Only if people have experienced God’s work and have fully entered into the truth, changed their values and outlooks on existence and life, viewed things the same way as God, and become capable of completely submitting and devoting themselves to God can their dispositions be said to have changed. You may appear to put forth some effort, you might be resilient in the face of hardships, you might be able to carry out the work arrangements from the above, or you might be able to go wherever you are told to go, but these are only small changes in your actions, and they are not enough to be a transformation in your disposition. You might be able to run down many paths, and you might be able to suffer many hardships and endure great humiliation; you might feel very close to God, and the Holy Spirit is working in you, but when God requests you to do something that doesn’t conform to your notions, you still don’t submit, you look for excuses, and you rebel against and resist God, even to the point that you blame God and protest against Him. This is a serious problem! This proves that you still have a nature to resist God and that you have not transformed in the slightest degree.

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

The Mystery of the “Resurrection of a Dead Man”

Harvest after reading:    🌈🐑🐐🐑🐑🐐🐑

The Lord Jesus Has Already Come. God’s Sheep Hear the Voice of God.

Wherever There Are the Footsteps of God, There Are the Deeds of God.

Li Cheng 

　Brothers and sisters, peace be upon to you! Thank the Lord for His preparations that have allowed us to communicate the truths of the Scripture here. May the Lord guide us. Today, I want to talk to everybody about the topic “resurrection of a dead man.”

　As people who believe in the Lord all know, the “resurrection of a dead man” refers to the time when Jesus returns. This is also a situation we as Christians are looking forward to seeing. Now, just how can a “dead man” be resurrected? Many people would think of chapter 37, verses 5-6 in the Book of Ezekiel: “Thus said the Lord Jehovah to these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live: And I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am Jehovah.” In the Gospel of John chapter 6, verse 39, Jesus said: “And this is the Father’s will which has sent me, that of all which he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” In chapter 15, verses 52-53 in the Book of 1 Corinthians, they read: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” Furthermore, if people read the literal meaning of the Bible, they will believe: In the last days, when the Lord is about to descend, there will be many great and miraculous things that will occur. With His almightiness, He will resurrect the bodies of the saints that have been sleeping for generations. He will raise them up from their graves, from underneath the earth or underneath the sea. The thousands of skeletons that have already rotted beneath the ground or under the sea will instantly be given new life. The rot will magically disappear and they will enter into the glory. How spectacular this scene would be! … These are also our perspectives and imaginings about the “resurrection of a dead man.” Just how will this prophecy be fulfilled? Is it really going to be as miraculous as we imagine it is going to be? Will the Lord accomplish this matter in accordance with our imaginations?

The Testimony of a Christian｜Throwing off Satan’s Yoke Is Liberating

Momo    Hefei City, Anhui Province

　Before I believed in God, no matter what I was doing, I never wanted to fall behind. I was willing to accept any hardship as long as it meant I could rise above everyone else. After I accepted God, my attitude remained the same, because I firmly believed in the saying, “No pain, no gain,” and saw my attitude as proof of my motivation. When God revealed the truth to me, I finally realized I had been living under Satan’s yoke, living under its domain.

　Not too long ago, the church made plans to send the sister I partnered with out to serve in a leadership position. Upon hearing the news, my heart sank. We both used to serve in leadership roles until we were reappointed as editors. Now my sister would be returning to a leadership position and serve God with unlimited growth potential, but I’d still be stuck at a desk, performing my duty in obscurity. What future would there be in that? On second thought, I was reminded of the old saying, “There are a million different paths to success.” As long as I fulfilled my duty properly, I could also be successful. I just needed to redouble my efforts at pursuing the truth. If I focused on editing sermons so they better communicated the truth, maybe one day the leaders would see that I understood the truth. Then they’d promote me and my future would be equally as bright. After this realization, the gray clouds began to retreat in favor of a renewed determination. I threw myself into my work, and I ate and drank God’s word when I was not busy, not daring to slacken for even a moment.

The Testimony of a Christian｜How Can My Young, Brash, and Arrogant Self Get Along With My Grandmother?

An Qi

(Source: Megapixl)

　My name is An Qi. Before the age of six, I was living at my grandmother’s house. At the time, my grandmother was the person with whom I felt closest to. Each day when I went to the kindergarten, my grandmother decided which clothes I would wear and how I would comb my hair. I felt that my grandmother did these things the best. Gradually, I grew up and I started to disapprove of some of the things that my grandmother did. My grandmother also started to disapprove of me as well. Each time I went to her house, she would scold me. If she wasn’t nagging me on one thing, she would be nagging me about something else. I felt very upset.

　In 2016, it became very popular to wear a necklace around one’s collarbone. I had also bought one of these necklaces. One day, after school, I went happily to my grandmother’s home. When I got there, she squinted at me and disapprovingly said, “Look at what kind of gadget you have around your neck. It’s like a dog collar. Do you feel comfortable with it so tight around your neck?” Originally, I was feeling quite happy but after hearing her say this, I was no longer happy at all. I disgruntledly replied, “You’re so old. What do you understand? This is called fashion. Even if I explained it, you would not understand!” For this reason, I was still moody in the evening.

The Testimony of a Christian | Experiencing God’s Painstaking Care for Man’s Salvation in Disaster

Understanding:

From the article, I understand having true experience can let us be better certain that God's word is exactly the truth and its authority! Thank God!

Muling, Beijing

August 16, 2012

　On July 21, 2012, Beijing saw the heaviest fall of rain in sixty years. In that torrential downpour I saw God’s deeds and saw how He saves man.

　On that afternoon my three sisters and I had met up. Outside the rain was continuing to pour down. At 4:30 p.m. my husband, who was not a believer, came back telling us that there was so much water at the roundabout that people couldn’t ride through. Even so, at 5:00 p.m. he went off in a great hurry to his night shift. At the time I didn’t feel anything odd, and went to make dinner as usual. At 7:00 p.m. our tenant suddenly knocked on the door calling out to me, and when I went out to have a look, what I saw gave me the shock of my life: The rainwater had already filled the courtyard and was entering the east and west wings of the house, while the water on the ground continued to rise. My son and I tried to block the flow of water, but to no avail. In desperation, I knelt down in the water, calling out to God, “Oh God, I beg You to open a way out for me.” Right at this moment my husband’s company called and asked whether he was at home, and as I took the call water was already coming into the main part of the house. I realized now how serious things were, and started to worry about my husband having no idea what had happened to him. I knelt again in the water to call upon God in my anxiety, “Oh God! It’s only in facing this flash flood that I feel for myself Your anger, and realize my own rebelliousness and betrayal. You would have us turn our hearts toward You, and live easily relying upon You, yet I still hold onto family, my husband and child and don’t let go. Oh God! It’s only now I understand that between human beings no one can bring anything to anyone, and no one can save anyone; I only count upon You. My husband has been more than 4 hours on the way to work, but has yet to arrive at the company, and I don’t know what might have happened on the way. I willingly entrust him into Your hands, and whatever happens, I willingly obey Your orchestration and arrangement!” I continued to pray like this over and over, and around 9:00 p.m. my husband suddenly stood before me completely soaked. I thanked God unceasingly in my heart for saving him. At this time the water in the room was already up to the base of my thigh and I took my husband saying, “Pray together with me, our life is God’s to give.” My husband nodded agreement, and we knelt down in the water together in prayer. As we were praying, I suddenly heard our tenant shouting, “The water’s subsiding! It’s subsiding!” In my heart I was thrilled; outside the rain was coming down, so how could the water be subsiding? This was God’s almightiness! How very lovely, how very trustworthy is God; He loves man so very much. We are so insignificant and rebellious, God pities us so, and heeds our cries and saves us from calamity. I really do not know what words could express my gratitude to and adoration of God.

The Testimony of a Christian | God’s Love Is Most Real

Wenzhong, Beijing

🌈🐑🐐🐑 August 11, 2012 🌈🐑🐐🐑

　On the night of July 21, 2012, we had a huge flood here, which seldom happens. I would like to tell everyone who thirsts for God what I actually experienced and saw then.

　On the day my husband and I took care of the fodder yard for my sister. In the night heavy rain kept on pouring down, and we went to sleep very early. At 3:45 a.m. my brother-in-law called saying: “They’re going to open the reservoir! Everything is going to be flooded! We have to get up fast!” On hearing this I was shocked, and all I knew to cry out to God in my heart was the words, “Oh God! Oh God!” I only knew I had to protect the electric scooter, and the MP5 player and TF card used for listening to hymns and sermons. In great anxiety I went to the store room to push the electric scooter out, and I drove off wanting to go home to check on my books of the words of God and also as I was worried about my mother-in-law and my children. I drove up to the highway, but because I couldn’t see in the heavy rain I hit a piece of asphalt that had been washed down in the torrent, and the scooter and I rolled into the waters. In my heart I was praying, “Oh God, it is Your righteousness, if I am washed away today. Spare me, and I will do my duty in earnest from now on!” At this point one of my shoes had been washed away, so I decided to take highway. But when I went ahead and looked, I was stunned; it turned out that the side of the road was fenced off, and I couldn’t get through. I stumbled into the waters again and my other shoe was washed away. The waters had risen now up to my thighs, and I had no choice but to go back for the third time, all the time praying in my heart. At this moment a family of three emerged from one of the other pig farms, and I gave thanks to God from my heart. I joined them and was preparing to take the highway again, when my husband turned up. He used a drill shank to open up a hole in the wire mesh and I was first to leap through barefoot and got up onto the highway. To the south was a bend in the river flowing north, and to the north the main road was streaming with water running south, so we were caught in the middle with our only choice being to take the highway.

The Testimony of a Christian | In the Middle of a Disaster I Saw God’s Protection

Zhang Min, Beijing

August 6, 2012

　On July 21, 2012, it started to rain heavily in the morning. By the afternoon when I was supposed to go to a meeting, I saw the rain was so heavy that I didn’t want to go. But it was just once a week, if I didn’t go I’d have no way to do my church work. Whatever there was going on outside, I still had to fellowship with them. When I thought of that, I hurried myself to the meeting. After four o’clock that afternoon, the brother of the meeting place ran back home, saying: “You’re still holding meeting, get yourselves home, there’s a whole lot of water coming down out there.” I went out and looked and there was a lot of water coming down, the river was swollen and running very high. I’d never seen so much water, I had no way to get home. (My place was half a li outside this village.) I was very anxious. There was nothing I could do, I had to go back to the meeting place, because the place was high up, and safer. After a while I heard a clamor of voices outside. I went out to look, and it was the adults and children of my village coming their way with ropes and poles. I rushed to ask how my house was doing, and someone told me it hadn’t been washed away, but the waters were high outside of the wall of the yard. I thought to myself: All things are in God’s hands. Even if the house is washed away, there is the good purpose of God in it.

　At dawn the next day, I went back home with the other villagers. Walking into the village we all stared, dumbfounded. The rainwaters had left a swath of chaos across the whole village, we simply couldn’t believe our eyes. But the thing that surprised me most was this. There were only eighteen houses in our village, only four houses were in the lowest part, and mine was the most dangerous one. If the waters in the gullies flowed down they would all collect behind my house, and could wash the house away at any time. I’d never have imagined that the flood waters would go right by the house, and I was even more stunned when I walked into the yard. The sand and mud coming down from the yard of the house above went from a ditch outside the yard wall to the house in front of mine, so my house was safe and sound. Although there was a little dam-wall piled up behind my house, the rocks there were very small, but they hadn’t been washed away by the flood. In contrast, the houses that people would usually have thought were solid and safe had their courtyard walls washed away, or got smothered with sand, and some were full of water. Out of eighteen households only five didn’t meet with disaster, the others were all misshapen from the damage. When I saw this scene, my heart raced. I didn’t know how to express my emotions. But after my excitement, I started to loathe the way I always wounded God’s heart before, rebelling against and resisting God so much. I was really unworthy of this kindness, this protection, that God gave me.

The Testimony of a Christian | God Protected Our Family Through a Disaster

Wang Lan, Beijing

August 6, 2012

　　On July 21, 2012, the biggest flood in sixty years ripped through our village. The disaster fell from heaven, the floodwater mixed mud and stones and ravaged the whole village. Most of the houses were destroyed by the water and the mudslides.

　　After five o’clock that afternoon, the rain was coming down very heavily. There were floodwaters and big stones coming down from above our house, and the floodwaters were huge in front and behind our house. They washed away my daughter’s chicken run with thousands of chickens, they washed away the pig pens, and the pigs too. The water was about to rush over our home. We had a 94 year old and a ten-month-old baby. We were frantic. As I was carrying the 94 year old and the baby up into the higher building, water was starting to come into the lower one. The rain kept coming down. The water rose up toward the higher building as we watched. I was beside myself. I quickly called the village cadre, he said I should run up the mountain, and that they were also having a hard enough time getting themselves out, it was every man for himself. In my panic, I thought of God’s words, “The disaster is brought down by Me and of course orchestrated by Me” (“You Ought to Do Enough Good Deeds to Prepare for Your Destination” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Believing in God means relying on God, you can’t rely on people, so I stood in the doorway crying and called out a loud plea to God: “Oh God, save us! Oh God, save us!” The whole family got down on our knees and prayed: “Oh God, if we die in this disaster it is by Your righteousness, because we are too rebellious. If we escape this disaster it is by Your grace. We will begin again, and will be considerate of Your will, do our duties and spread the gospel.” It got dark and we didn’t dare go out. The whole family sat together sharing with each other God’s grasp of the fate of all humanity, how if God has a person die, there’s nowhere a person can go to hide, they will not pass out of God’s hands, and we were not afraid of death.

The Church of Almighty God | Amidst Disasters I Saw God’s Righteous Disposition

Li Jing, Beijing

August 7, 2012

　On that day, it started raining in the morning. I went to a meeting at a brother’s house, while the rain kept getting heavier and heavier. By afternoon it was pouring down as though straight from the heavens. By the time we finished our meeting, the rain had entered my brother’s courtyard, but because I was worried about my family, I struggled on home. Halfway there, some people fleeing the danger said to me, “Are you not running away, are you still going home?” When I got home, my child asked, “Did the flood not wash you away?” Only then did I know that I didn’t have God in my heart. Not long after, the husband of my neighboring sister climbed up onto the roof, and saw that houses not far from our own had been washed away. The current was getting stronger, and the sister’s husband insisted that they lead their child up to the mountain, but she wouldn’t go. We few sisters discussed it amongst ourselves, that the sister’s husband arguing like this contained God’s will; only then did we follow him to a railroad house on the mountain top to spend the night. There, we heard from those who had fled the disaster how turbulent the floodwaters were, and how people had gone in all directions; some had climbed the rooftops, some were washed away, some were stopped by trees …

The Testimony of a Christian | The Fire That Shocked the Nation in Ji County, Tianjin City

Chen Yao, Tianjin

　The Laide building was one of Ji County’s biggest shopping centers. June 30, 2012 was a Saturday, and Laide was holding a promotion, so there were huge numbers of customers. Some time after 3:00 that afternoon, the building suddenly caught fire. The boss, afraid that in the chaos customers would take things or not pay, closed and shuttered the main entrance on level one, and drove customers to the second and third floors. What hadn’t been anticipated was that the fire grew fiercer and fiercer, eventually becoming completely uncontrollable. The electricity across the whole building went out. From the first floor to the fourth, the lifts were out of order, and the closed entrance on the first floor couldn’t be opened. Black smoke rolled through the whole building, sparks flew up into the air. Huge flames leapt from every window, the smoke covered the county, the air was choking for people several hundred meters away. At the time many of the people trapped above the third floor chose to flee by jumping from the building, and some died where they fell, a horrible sight.

God’s Disposition Is Righteousness and, Even More, Love

Fang Xin, Beijing

August 15, 2012

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　Ever since 2007, when I accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days, although I have appeared on the surface to be very busy fulfilling my duties, I have not given my heart to God, and have often felt bound to the point of suffocation by trifling family issues. Every time I think about the fact that my daughter is already thirty years old, yet still hasn’t found a suitable partner, I complain to God; my son only cares about having a good time, and despite not earning any money, he spends profligately, so I complain; and my own old spouse goes to work, but his foreman doesn’t pay him—and I complain about this as well…. I complain left and right, and often misunderstand God. It seems as though God has been overly unfair to me. As a result, I have been living in darkness and suffering. However, I have not known that I should seek God, and have been profoundly ignorant of how dangerous my state is. I have merely struggled helplessly amidst my suffering. Nevertheless, God knows my state inside out. He uses unique methods to call out to me and save me, causing me to awaken from dream and escape Satan’s harm and affliction.

The Testimony of a Christian | Without God’s Salvation, I Would Not Be Here Today

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Zhang Jin, Beijing

August 16, 2012

　　I am an elder sister with two faulty legs. Even when the weather is nice out, I have some trouble walking, but when the floodwaters were about to swallow me up, God allowed me to miraculously escape danger.

　　It was July 21, 2012. That day a torrential rain fell, and I just happened to be out fulfilling my duty. After 4:00 p.m., the rain still hadn’t stopped. When our meeting was finished, I braved the rain and took a bus home. During the ride, it rained harder and harder, and when the bus got to the stop just before mine, the driver told all of us passengers, “This bus can’t go any further; the road has collapsed up ahead.” There was nothing that could be done, so I had no choice but to get off the bus and walk the rest of the way. Not daring to leave God, I was continuously praying in my heart. Due to the force of the deluge, the water had completely swallowed up the road. I tried to proceed by holding onto the cement pillars lining the road, making my way forward one step at a time. Just then, I heard someone shouting behind me, “Stop moving forward! Quick; turn around and come back! You can’t get through; that water is deep and the current is too fast. If it washes you away, I won’t be able to save you!” By then, however, I could neither go forward nor retreat, because the water was already up to my chest. I did not dare to go any further, so all I could do was pray to God and implore Him to open up a way out for me: “God! You have permitted this environment to befall me, and whether I live or die is in Your hands now. If the water level were to fall just half a foot, I could continue walking forward. God, do as You will; I am willing to entrust my life to You!” After making this prayer, I felt very calm and composed. I recalled one of God’s utterances: “The heavens and earth and all things are established and made complete by the words of My mouth and with Me anything can be accomplished” (Utterances and Testimonies of Christ in the Beginning). God’s words gave me faith and courage. Since the heavens and earth and all things are in God’s hands, I knew that no matter how ruthless that deluge was, it could not escape God’s orchestration. No one could be relied on anymore; my son, my daughter … no one could take care of each other. I believed that as long as I relied on God, there was no difficulty I could not surpass. Right at that moment, a miracle happened. The current got slower and slower until it was no longer as fierce as it had been a moment earlier, and the cement columns lining the road were gradually revealed. Sure enough, the water level receded half a foot from chest level on me. And just like that, I walked out of there, step by step, under God’s guidance. Had it not been for God’s benevolence and protection, I do not know where the flood would have taken me. From the depths of my heart, I expressed my gratitude and praise, thanking Almighty God for giving me a second chance at life.

　Later, I heard my son’s description of the rains: That day, after coming home from fulfilling his duty, he went to the toilet first. No sooner had he come out of the toilet and returned to his room than he heard a loud crash outside. When he went outside to have a look, he saw that the entire toilet building had completely collapsed under the water. Were it not for God’s protection, he would have died. It was exactly as God said in one of His utterances: “any and all things, living or dead, will shift, change, renew, and disappear according to God’s thoughts” (“God Is the Source of Man’s Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). The extreme excitement I felt in my heart truly cannot be expressed in words.

　Through these two incidents, my faith has become even more steadfast. That day, God had allowed me to survive calamity exactly to allow me to give testimony for Him. I cannot ignore my conscience. When I look back on how selfish, mean, and self-righteous I normally used to be while fulfilling my duty, I realize I did not at all feel God’s sense of urgency or share God’s thoughts. From now on, I wish to repent and change. I will use my own personal experiences to bring more people before God, and play my part in the work of spreading the gospel.

From Wonderful Salvation

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The Testimony of a Christian | Amidst Disaster, I Saw God’s Hand

🌀⛈🌤🌈 Ying Xin, Beijing 🌀⛈🌤🌈

August 15, 2012

　On July 22, 2012, the day after Beijing’s flood of July 21, I hurried over to visit a sister who had just accepted God’s work of the last days two months previously. No sooner had I entered her village when the scene I saw before me stunned me speechless! I saw that the roads had collapsed, revealing their foundations beneath the asphalt. Everywhere were stone fragments that had tumbled down from the mountain, the larger of them weighing a few tons. Mud had piled up to thirty centimeters deep, and the rainwater running off the mountain slopes had already formed into a small river…. The entire village was in a total mess, completely beyond recognition.

The Testimony of a Christian | A Battle of Life and Death

Chang Moyang    Zhengzhou City, Henan Province

　“When you forsake the flesh, inevitably there will be a battle inside. Satan wants you to follow the notions of the flesh, to protect the interests of the flesh. However, God’s word still enlightens and illuminates you within, moves you from within and works from the inside. At this point, it is up to you whether you follow God, or Satan. Every time truth is practiced and every time people practice loving God, there is an enormous battle. When you practice the truth, deep inside there is a battle of life and death. Victory will only be determined after fierce fighting. How many tears of sadness have been shed” (“Every Time You Forsake the Flesh There Is a Battle of Life and Death” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). Every time I used to hear God’s words in this song, I would ponder the following: Is practicing the truth really that difficult? When people don’t understand the truth, they cannot practice it. Once they have understood it, wouldn’t acting according to God’s will be enough? Could it really be as serious as “deep inside there is a battle of life and death”? It wasn’t until later, through my actual experience, that I had a taste that practicing the truth truly is not easy. What God said is entirely in line with the truth; it is not even a little exaggerated.

Almighty God Has Given Me a Second Chance at Life

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Two ordinary brothers and sisters, Beijing

August 15, 2012

　July 21, 2012 was a most unforgettable day for me, as well as the most important day of my life.

　That day, a heavy rain was falling in Fangshan District in Beijing—the heaviest we had seen there in sixty-one years. A little after 4:00 p.m., I walked out onto the street to have a look and saw that water was everywhere. Our family car was already afloat, and the only reason it had not been carried away by the current yet was that something in front of it was blocking it from moving. The sight made me quite anxious, so I quickly called my husband, who is also a believer, but could not get through no matter how many times I tried. Then, rather than seek God’s will, I instead hurried home to call out for him.