Tasting the Love of God in the Midst of Adversity

Chen Lu Tonglu County, Zhejiang Province

Tasting the Love of God in the Midst of Adversity

I was born in the 1980s in a village—we had been a family of farmers for generations. I threw myself into my studies so that I could test into college and escape the village life of poverty and backwardness. When I started high school, I encountered The History of Western Art, and when I saw so many beautiful paintings such as “Genesis,” “The Garden of Eden,” and “The Last Supper,” only then did I realize that there was a God in the universe who had created all things. I could not help but have a heart full of yearning for God. After graduating from college, I found a good job very easily, and then I found a great partner. I had finally realized my own hopes as well as those of my forebears. I had escaped the lineage of my ancestors of keeping their face to the ground and their back to the sky, and in 2008, the birth of a child added much more joy to my life. Looking at everything I had in my life, I believed that I should have a happy, comfortable life. However, while I was enjoying that enviable, beautiful life, I could never shake that vague feeling of emptiness deep in my heart. This made me feel very confused and helpless.

The Word of God in the Last Days | "You Ought to Consider Your Deeds" | God's Words of Counsel to Us

The Word of God in the Last Days | "You Ought to Consider Your Deeds" | God's Words of Counsel to Us

Introduction 

The Word of God in the Last Days | "You Ought to Consider Your Deeds" | God's Words of Counsel to Us 

Almighty God says, "In your daily lives, you live in an atmosphere and environment without truth or good sense. You lack the capital for existence and do not have the foundation to know Me or the truth. Your faith is merely built upon a vague confidence or upon religious rituals and knowledge based wholly on doctrine. Every day I watch your movements and examine your intentions and evil fruits. I have never found one who truly placed his heart and spirit upon My altar, which has never been moved. Therefore, I do not wish to pour out in vain all the words I wish to express upon such mankind. In My heart, I am planning only to complete My unfinished work and to bring salvation to the mankind that I have yet to save. Nevertheless, I wish for all who follow Me to receive My salvation and the truth My word bestows upon man. I hope that one day when you close your eyes, you will see a realm where fragrance fills the air and streams of living waters flow, not a bleak, cold world where darkness clouds the skies and howls never cease."

The Youth With No Regrets

Xiaowen Chongqing City

“Love is a pure emotion, pure without a blemish. Use your heart, use your heart to love and feel and care. Love doesn’t set conditions or barriers or distance. … In love there’s no suspicion,no cunning, no deceit. Use your heart, use your heart to love and feel and care. In love there is no distance and nothing that’s not pure” (“Pure Love Without Blemish” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). This hymn of God’s word once helped me get through the pain of a long and drawn-out life in prison that lasted 7 years and 4 months. Even though the CCP government deprived me of the most beautiful years of my youth, I have obtained the most precious and real truth from Almighty God and therefore have no complaints or regrets.

The Riches of Life

Wang Jun Shandong Province

The Riches of Life

Over the years since accepting the work of Almighty God in the last days, my wife and I have undergone this together under the oppression of the great red dragon. During this time, although I have had weaknesses, pain, and tears, I feel that I have gained a great deal from experiencing this oppression. These bitter experiences have not only made me clearly see the reactionary, evil nature and the ugly countenance of the great red dragon, but I have also recognized my own corrupt essence. It has also allowed me to experience God’s almightiness and wisdom. I have truly experienced and recognized the actual significance of God utilizing the great red dragon as a foil, from which my confidence in following God has become firmer and firmer.

Pledging My Life to Devotion

Zhou Xuan Shandong Province

On April 3, 2003, I went with a sister to visit a new believer. This new believer had still not been set in the truth and ended up reporting us. As a result, four evil plain-clothes police came and aggressively forced the two of us into their vehicle and took us to the police station. On the road, my heart was extremely nervous, because on my person was a pager, a partial list of names of members of our church, and a notepad.

Judgment Is Light

Zhao Xia Shandong Province

Judgment Is Light

My name is Zhao Xia. I was born to an ordinary family. Due to the influence of dictums like “A man leaves his name behind wherever he stays, just as a goose utters its cry wherever it flies,” and “As a tree lives for its bark, a man lives for his face,” reputation and face became particularly important to me. Everything I did was to earn other people’s praise, compliments, and admiration.

Truly Knowing Yourself Only by Understanding the Truth

Wenwen Changchun City, Jilin Province

Truly Knowing Yourself Only by Understanding the Truth

In my opinion, I always thought that as long as outward practices appeared suitable in which people could not see any corruption, then it was considered change. Therefore, I paid special attention to the outward practices in everything I did. I only cared about whether my practices were right or not, and as long as my outward behaviors and practices were reasonable, I was fine. When faced with being pruned, I only cared if there was something wrong with my practice.