Spiritual Warfare: A Septuagenarian Christian’s Joys and Sorrows Dealing With Her Family’s Resistance

By Jinbu, South Korea

A Septuagenarian Welcomes the Lord’s Return

I turned 74 this year. I used to be a member of the Three-Self Church in China, but after my husband passed away I came to South Korea to live with my daughter and her husband. I kept trying to find a church here that possessed the work of the Holy Spirit, but I discovered that the pastors and elders always preached on the same old things and I didn’t gain the least bit of spiritual sustenance. I was feeling really discouraged.

Know God’s Sovereignty and Find Meaning in Life

By Kaoshen, Germany

When I was little, my father would often say to me, “My son, our family is not well-off, so if you want anything you have to earn money. When you have money, you have everything!” From then on, my dream was to have a career making big bucks so that my family could live a good life.

I believe that God exists, but I am young and still have so much to do in life. Can I still achieve salvation if I wait until I am less busy to believe in Him?

The Answer from God’s Word:

Man’s life has not the slightest warmth, and is devoid of any human flavor or light—yet he has ever inured himself to it, abiding a lifetime bereft of worth in which he rushes about without achieving anything. In the blink of an eye, the day of death draws near, and man dies a bitter death. In this world, he has never accomplished anything, or gained anything—he only hurriedly arrives, and hurriedly departs. None of those in My eyes have ever brought anything, or taken anything away, and so man feels that the world is unfair. Yet none are willing to hurry away. They merely await the day when My promise from heaven will suddenly come among man, allowing them, at the time when they have gone astray, to once more behold the way of eternal life.

People often say, “Virtue has its reward, evil its retribution,” then why doesn’t God eliminate all the evil people?

The Answer from God’s Word:

Today, regardless of their actions, and provided they do not obstruct God’s management and have nothing to do with the new work of God, such people will not be subjected to the corresponding retribution, for the day of wrath has yet to arrive. There is much that people believe God should already have dealt with, and they think that those evildoers should be subject to retribution as early as possible. But because the work of God’s management has still not come to an end, and the day of wrath has yet to arrive, the unrighteous still continue to perform their unrighteous deeds. … Now is not the time for man’s punishment, but the time for carrying out the work of conquest, unless there are those who impair God’s management, in which case they will be subjected to punishment based on the severity of their actions.

Why is the world so dark and wicked? With mankind being at the height of corruption, should it be destroyed?

The Answer from God’s Word:

Man lost his God-fearing heart after being corrupted by Satan and lost the function that one of God’s creatures should have, becoming an enemy disobedient to God. Man lived under Satan’s domain and followed Satan’s orders; thus, God had no way to work among His creatures, and was all the more unable to win fear from His creatures. Man was created by God, and ought to worship God, but man actually turned his back to God and worshiped Satan. Satan became the idol in man’s heart. Thus God lost His standing in man’s heart, which is to say that He lost the meaning of His creation of man….

How to Find Happiness: A Retired Physician’s Experience Tells You

By Tian Tian, China

At the close of every night, month, and year, careful people will sum up their experience, plan, and set goals for the results in their study and work, so that they can improve in the future. Even more careful people will sum up their experience in their own life, “How did I come pass through at every stage of my life? Does the life I lead now have any significance? Am I truly happy? What should I pursue to find real significance and gain true happiness?” I am a retired physician who previously worked in a hospital, and recently I also summed up my own experience in life. My conclusion: Whether or not a person is happy in life has nothing to do with whether he is successful and famous.

Christian Reflection: Does Pursuing an Exceptional Life Bring True Happiness? (Part 2)

By Xin Ai

With the Coming of the Gospel, She Is Filled With God’s Love

God heard Ai’s prayers and reached out His hand of salvation to her. Sister Liu, a friend Ai hadn’t seen for many years, came to see her, and when she heard about Ai’s situation, she read this passage of God’s word to her, “The Almighty has mercy on these people who have suffered deeply. At the same time, He is fed up with these people who have no consciousness, because He has had to wait too long to get an answer from humanity. He wishes to seek, to seek your heart and your spirit, to bring you water and food, and to awaken you, that you may no longer be thirsty and hungry. When you are weary and when you begin to feel something of the bleak desolation of this world, do not be lost, do not cry. Almighty God, the Watcher, will embrace your arrival at any time. He is watching by your side, waiting for you to turn back. He is waiting for the day you suddenly recover your memory: realizing the fact that you came from God, but at who knows what point losing your direction, at who knows what point falling senseless by the wayside, and again at who knows what point acquiring a ‘father.’ Furthermore, you realize that the Almighty has been there the whole time, standing watch, awaiting your return, for a very, very long time. He has been watching with desperate longing, waiting for a response without an answer. His standing watch is beyond price, and it is for the sake of the human heart and the human spirit. Perhaps this standing watch is indefinite, and perhaps it is at an end. But you should know exactly where your heart and your spirit are right now” (“The Sighing of the Almighty”).

Christian Reflection: Does Pursuing an Exceptional Life Bring True Happiness? (Part 1)

By Xin Ai

“Look, Ai’s uncle left more gifts for them! Her uncle has money and power, and Ai’s family certainly benefits a lot from that!”

“They really do. You can’t help but admire them….”

Villagers stood around Ai’s family doorway, watching a stack of boxes being unloaded and carried into the house, as they discussed what they were seeing.