Archives for 11 月 2021
Bible Verse–Isaiah 65:19
And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
Bible Verse–Isaiah 65:18
But be you glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
After My Friend Becomes My Rival …
By Anqi
Morning sunshine quietly came into Anqi’s room through the French window and warmed the whole room. Anqi went to the window and opened it, greeted by a whiff of fresh air. She looked up at the bright sky with a smile, feeling much more at ease. A nice day had begun.
Anqi went early to her beauty shop as usual and there she started doing her business for that day. After cleaning the store, she waited for her customer who had made a reservation the day before. This was when her good friend Meina hurried to her shop and said: “Anqi, the shop of your neighbor Xiaoli is being remodeled. Do you know what kind of shop she will open?” Anqi didn’t care about her words and said: “Xiaoli has run her furniture shop for many years. It’s very normal that she has her shop redecorated. Yesterday I told her we’ll gather together after the decoration.” After hearing this, Meina patted Anqi’s shoulder and said compassionately: “Ah, you’re too naive. You should intend to have dinner with her. She’ll open a beauty shop. She’s already learned professional skills in another place and placed an order with a Skin Care Company. All that is left before her starting business is just to wait to finish the decoration.” After listening to her, Anqi gave her a smile and thought nothing of her words and just took them as a joke. Upon seeing this, Meina dragged Anqi downstairs. When Anqi saw the newly-designed storefront and the facial beds in Xiaoli’s shop, Anqi’s heart grew cold immediately. She felt very upset and thought: “Hasn’t Xiaoli been engaging in the furniture business? She has never mentioned before me that she will open a beauty shop. I maintain a good relationship with her, but I never thought that she would vie with me for business. The popular proverb says two of a trade never agree. If she runs a beauty shop on the ground floor, how will I do my business?”
After Anqi returned to her shop, her heart was a raging sea of emotions. She thought back on her past, how she took Xiaoli as a close friend, offered her facials and body treatments for free at leisure, chatted with her about some skills at beauty treatments, gave her skin-care products, and so on. But now, Xiaoli actually changed career and did facial services. No wonder Xiaoli would often come to Anqi’s shop no matter whether she needed Anqi, and inquire about the condition of the beauty industry, the skills at beauty treatments and the channels for buying stock for the shop. It turned out all Xiaoli did was arranged in advance, and her intention was to try to probe into the beauty industry and pry words out of Anqi. The more Anqi thought of it, the angrier she got. Anqi treated Xiaoli with complete sincerity and took her as her friend. But unexpectedly, Xiaoli should make use of her. This made Anqi very sad. Beside, Anqi thought about how her business was already difficult to deal with but she would have one more competitor under her nose. This caused Anqi to feel even worse in her heart.
Just at that time, the customer’s arrival interrupted Anqi’s thoughts. She adjusted her mood and then gave the customer a beauty treatment absent-mindedly. Several hours’ work that day seemed like a long time to her. After closing for the night, she dragged her exhausted body to her home. She lay in bed tossing and turning and was unable to sleep feeling agitated. The thought of what had happened during the day left her in great turmoil. The more she thought of this, the more she disliked Xiaoli, so much so that her heart was full of hatred toward Xiaoli and she didn’t want to meet Xiaoli again. In the midst of her pain, Anqi came before God and prayed. After praying, she read God’s word where it says: “Cruel mankind! The connivance and intrigue, the snatching and grabbing one from another, the scramble for fame and fortune, the mutual slaughter—when will it ever end? Despite the hundreds of thousands of words God has spoken, no one has come to their senses. People act for the sake of their families, sons and daughters, for their careers, future prospects, position, vainglory, and money, for the sake of food, clothing, and the flesh. But is there anyone whose actions are truly for the sake of God? Even among those who act for the sake of God, there are but few who know God. How many people do not act out of their own interests? How many do not oppress or ostracize others in order to protect their own position?” God’s words directly pointed out Anqi’s thoughts, which allowed her to understand why she hated Xiaoli so much. There was only one beauty shop in the street where Anqi’s shop was located, which helped her have a relatively good business. However, her business would be directly affected if Xiaoli engaged in the same business below her shop. It turned out that Anqi’s hatred for Xiaoli resulted from losses in her interests. Anqi thought about how she treated Xiaoli friendly when Xiaoli’s interests did not clash with hers, how she started to dislike and hate Xiaoli when knowing Xiaoli would run the same kind of shop as hers. Anqi then realized that this was caused by her own selfish nature. The unbelievers fought and struggled with one another for fame and gain, yet as a Christian, Anqi also had the same life view as them—scrambling for fame and wealth. Anqi knew doing things like this couldn’t bring glory to God. During one year of belief in God, Anqi read much of the word of God, understood the fact that man’s fate is administered in God’s hands, saw God’s wondrous deeds in her life, and felt some changes in her disposition. But she had never thought that Xiaoli’s imposing on a bit of her interests could lead to her hatred for Xiaoli. Through the revelation of God’s words, Anqi gained some understanding of her so-doing, and she would like to deal with Xiaoli calmly and stop living in the state of selfishness and self-interest.
The next day, Anqi went to work as before. When she saw Xiaoli’s beauty shop had already opened, she still felt somewhat uncomfortable. However, she remembered God’s words she read the night before, so she kept praying to God and asked Him to protect her heart so that she could free herself from the corrupt satanic disposition. After the prayer, her heart was lighter, and then she began to pour herself into work as she always did. She thought she had let go of it. But what happened next made her heart surge again.
In the afternoon, a new customer came to her shop and said to her: “Excuse me, will you offer a beauty treatment for free. I want to have an experience.” Hearing these words made Anqi surprised. She composed herself and thought: “I have never held promotional activities to give a free beauty treatment. My new customers are generally introduced by my regular ones. Could it be that she is looking for Xiaoli’s shop? No! If all customers go there, then I’ll have no trade.” After thinking of this, Anqi pretended to be calm and said with a smile: “You mistake. I have never offered a beauty treatment for free. There are no other beauty shops on this street. The shop you’re looking for may be on the east street.” Hearing this, the customer went out into the direction Anqi pointed.
After the customer left, Anqi felt very angry. She thought to herself: “Xiaoli, you are really good. In order to attract more customers, you offer beauty treatments for free. This way, all customers will go to your shop, who will come to mine? As you stole my business, I didn’t allow the customer to go to your shop.” In addition to anger, she also got a dull pain in her heart. This was when she realized that what she had just done was not right. She thought: “What’s wrong with me? Yesterday I told myself to stop being selfish and self-interested and live out the likeness of a Christian. But why did I still hate Xiaoli and even did something to retaliate against her when my interests were affected?” Then she quickly came before God and prayed: “O God! I have realized I’m selfish and despicable, but I still involuntarily did something to harm Xiaoli’s interests. God, I want to walk out from my state of jealousy and hatred. May God guide and help me.”
Anqi read God’s words: “Until people have experienced God’s work and gained the truth, it is Satan’s nature that takes charge and dominates them from within. What, specifically, does that nature entail? For example, why are you selfish? … the main reason behind all these things is that Satan’s poison is within you. As for what Satan’s poison is, it can be fully expressed with words. For example, if you ask some evildoers why they committed evil, they will answer, ‘Because it’s every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost.’ This single phrase expresses the very root of the problem. Satan’s logic has become people’s lives. They may do things for this purpose or that, but they are only doing it for themselves. Everyone thinks that since it is every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost, people should live for their own sakes, and do everything in their power to secure a good position for the sake of food and fine clothing. ‘Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost’—this is the life and the philosophy of man, and it also represents human nature. These words of Satan are precisely the poison of Satan, and when people internalize it, it becomes their nature. Satan’s nature is exposed through these words; they represent it completely. This poison becomes people’s lives as well as the foundation of their existence, and corrupted humanity has been consistently dominated by this poison for thousands of years.” “Each and every person seeks to use violent methods to live among their fellow man; they seize their daily bread using violence; they win their positions and obtain their profits using violence, and they use violent and evil ways to do anything they want. Is this humanity not horrifying? (Yes.)”
Reading these words of God, Anqi kept nodding her head. The revelation in God’s words is a true portrayal of people’s real life. Living in a world corrupted by Satan, everyone racks his brains to fight for his own interests, and doesn’t hesitate in lying and cheating to seize his own livelihood. From God’s words, Anqi understood that the reason why she couldn’t stop hating Xiaoli and even envied her for her good business was because of the viewpoints instilled in her by Satan such as “Everyone for himself and the devil take the hindmost,” and “Why get up early if there’s nothing in it for me?” After Xiaoli opened the same kind of shop as hers, Anqi no longer regarded Xiaoli as her good friend but as her competitor in business. Instinctively, Anqi rejected Xiaoli for interests and put interests above all. And for her own self-interests she even went so far as to send Xiaoli’s customer away. Even though Anqi had realized her selfish nature after reading God’s words, because she had been too deeply corrupted by Satan and the self-interested nature had been deeply rooted within her, she involuntarily did the thing that harmed Xiaoli and offended God once her own interests got involved. This made Anqi see that what Satan does is to corrupt people and entrap people, so that people don’t have normal interpersonal relationships, and fight and harm each other for profit. Similarly, Anqi, who did not understand the truth or thoroughly see the means by which Satan corrupts man, also always fought with other people fiercely for her own interests, living helplessly in suffering. It was in that moment that Anqi finally came to a sudden realization: If she didn’t resolve her corrupt satanic dispositions and didn’t correct her erroneous view on life, then she would remain living in agony and being unable to extricate herself from it.
God’s words came into Anqi’s mind: “Regardless of differences in ability, intelligence, and willpower, people are all equal before fate, which does not distinguish between the great and the small, the high and the low, the exalted and the mean. What occupation one pursues, what one does for a living, and how much wealth one amasses in life are not decided by one’s parents, one’s talents, one’s efforts or one’s ambitions, but are predetermined by the Creator.” Anqi thought: “It’s true. All the life of us is ruled by God. What kind of role one plays in the world, what one does for a living, what skills one masters, and whether one is rich or poor in his life—all of these things are predetermined by God. Whether the business in Xiaoli’s shop and in mine is good or bad does not depend on our own efforts, ability, or ambitions. Instead, it is based on God’s preordination. Now what I should do is submit to God’s sovereignty. This is the most sensible decision.” When Anqi’s thoughts went there, she felt light and liberated as if having cast off a heavy burden.
One morning, Meina came to visit Anqi and whispered in Anqi’s ear: “I passed Xiaoli’s shop just now and saw several customers in it. She is a layman, but her methods for business are so brilliant. I never thought she would have such a good business when she first runs a beauty shop. Anqi, you must hold promotional activities to surpass her in business.” Her words agitated Anqi’s calm heart again. Anqi thought: “That is the case. She should have such a good business in such a short time. If things go on like this, all my customers will be attracted by her, then what should I do? No! I must hold promotional activities to attract more customers. I mustn’t lose to her.” Just when she was aching to act, she immediately realized that her situation wasn’t right, and that it was one of Satan’s tricks. So she silently prayed to God: “O God! Meina’s words urged me to fight for fame and gain. Satan uses my friend’s words to lure me to anger again. God, please protect my heart so that I can avoid being deceived by Satan and be able to stand witness for You.”
At that time, Anqi thought of God’s words: “Everything that happens to people happens when God needs them to stand firm in their testimony to Him. Though nothing major is happening to you at the moment and you do not bear great testimony, every detail of your daily life is a matter of testimony to God. If you can win the admiration of your brothers and sisters, your family members, and everyone around you; if, one day, the unbelievers come, and admire all that you do, and see that all that God does is wonderful, then you will have borne testimony.” God’s words made her understand that this matter did not happen by chance. It was authorized by God, and there was God’s good intention in it. Rather than say this was the temptation of Satan, it might be said that this was God’s test of her by means of Satan’s temptation to see whether she really had let go of her own interests and could live out God’s words. Through enlightenment from the words of God, Anqi understood that God wanted to let her bear a witness for Him and live out reality to manifest Him, honor Him, and make Satan fail in complete humiliation. With this in her mind, Anqi smiled and said: “Meina, now there is fierce competition in the beauty industry. Even if Xiaoli hadn’t opened a beauty shop, others would do it. She’s free to turn to any business she likes from her bad furniture business. Besides, how much wealth one possesses is preordained by God. Let it be.” These words stunned Meina. She gave Anqi a thumbs-up, and they looked at each other and smiled. Anqi actually knew she would have not easily put this matter aside without God’s guidance.
The days went by and nothing happened. One day, Anqi met Xiaoli and proactively greeted her. This embarrassed Xiaoli, and she said: “My furniture business was never very good, so I had no choice but to change career. However, it’s so hard to do business now, which made me hardly find a profitable one. Out of options, I decided to open a beauty shop and give it a try.” Anqi said, smiling: “It doesn’t matter. We work on our own businesses. More beauty shops on this street can attract more customers for us.” Xiaoli was quite surprised when she heard Anqi said this, and she had never thought Anqi would be so generous.
Later, Anqi went into her shop. A ray of sunshine came into the shop and warmed her heart. She could not help but sigh with emotion: “O God! Your essence is so beautiful and good. It was Your words that delivered me from my torment and gave me a relaxed and happy life. Thanks be to You.”
Bible Verse–Isaiah 65:17
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Bible Verse–Revelation 20:10
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Bible Verses–Revelation 20:7-9
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
What I Gained After Getting Cancer
By Wu Dan
My family was poor when I was young, and I lived a tough life and was often jeered and sneered at by my relatives and friends. From that point on, I made up my mind: I must make a lot of money and live a rich life in the future, so that others will look at me in a new light.
At the age of fourteen, I dropped out of school and worked in places far away from home to earn money. Several years later, I got married. As I worked overtime and stayed up late for a long time and was regularly exposed to chemicals, my health was badly influenced. So my husband asked me to have a rest at home. But my parents-in-law disliked me because I didn’t make money but stayed idle at home, saying that I was doomed to suffer from poverty all my life. Hearing their harsh words, I thought: “I must work hard to earn money and live a rich life. I’ll see who will still look down on me then.”
Afterward, I went to work in my sister-in-law’s restaurant. In the beginning, I worked as a waitress, food preparation worker, and then cook. The work of the restaurant was tiring and the salary was low, and I needed to get up early and go to bed late every day, so I could hardly endure it. But while thinking that I could open my own restaurant, earn a lot of money, and live a rich life after acquiring all the expertise, I would have the impetus to carry on.
Two years later, I quit my job and wanted to start my own business. But my husband did not support me. In order to make money, I secretly rented two storefronts. After all the equipment was installed, the restaurant opened up. The business at that time was brisk, and I, like a wound clock, kept working day and night. Sometimes I even had no time to have meals, and I often had a sore back because of the tiredness. However, while I thought that wads of money would come rolling in, an invisible power surged in my heart. I could bear it no matter how uncomfortable and tired I felt. My hard work paid off, and I bought a house and a car soon. I also had some savings, and could buy whatever I wanted. My parents-in-law also treated me differently, they would satisfy me no matter what I required. I finally tasted the feeling of having money and being thought highly of by others. This made me feel that my hard work was well worth it.
However, I was dissatisfied with the status quo. In order to earn more money and have more people admire me, I planned to open chain restaurants and create my own brand. So, I not only needed to manage the business of the restaurants but also needed to broaden connections. I was awfully busy. At this time, my mother preached God’s kingdom gospel to me, but I thought: “I’m still so young and it’s the best time for me to earn money now. I don’t have time to believe in God.” So I refused her. After that, my mother came to preach the gospel to me several times, but I refused her on the excuse of being busy with work every time.
One day, I suddenly felt very uncomfortable and my private part bled badly. My head was dizzy and I felt weak all over. So I went to the hospital to have a check up, and the result showed that I got uterine fibroid. The doctor told me that it would be cured after an operation. Hearing the doctor’s words, I breathed a sigh of relief. I only wished to have the operation quickly so that I could go back to earn money. So, I immediately made an appointment with the doctor and planned to have the operation the next day. However, the operation was stopped when it was performed halfway. The doctor said that my condition was not good and that they needed to take the thing out for a biopsy in a large hospital. The doctor asked me to go home and wait for the result.
Half a month later, my husband went to the hospital for the test result. After returning home, he told me that the doctor asked us to go to the provincial hospital to have another check up. He also comforted me, asking me not to worry but to regard it as a trip. Hearing my husband’s words, I didn’t think much, and simply packed our luggage and went to the provincial city. My husband spent a lot of money making an appointment with an expert, and the result came out in the afternoon. The doctor said that I got cervical cancer. Hearing this news, I felt as though the heavens were falling and I seemed to sink into a bottomless abyss. I kept crying in my heart: “Good Heaven! I’m only 35 years old. I don’t want to die now! How come I got such a disease? At this time, desperation, fear, and helplessness all welled up in my heart. My husband comforted me with tears: “Dear, don’t worry! I’ll try to get your illness cured even if we have to surrender our last resources. Take it easy. It’s not as serious as you think.” However, I could not listen to him at all. I was unwilling to accept that my life was so miserable.
When we got to the hospital ward, the nurse on duty said, “There is no bed available until next month. Your treatment cannot be delayed. So you’d better go to other hospitals.” Hearing these words, I was disheartened. I felt very dizzy and fell beside my husband. My husband hurriedly held me and comforted me. I felt extremely painful in my heart, thinking: “I’m unable to be hospitalized even though I have money. What troubled world is this? I couldn’t help crying. Later, a professor told me, “Your illness is very serious and you must be hospitalized right away. You need to receive the chemotherapy two times. If the number of the cancer cells doesn’t decrease after that, you can only resign yourself to the Heaven’s will then.” While hearing this, I sighed with emotion: “How fragile man’s life is! I kept busy with my business, but in the end got cancer because of exhaustion. Can the money I earned buy my life?”
Since there was no bed available, I had to lie on the chair in the corridor to receive chemotherapy treatment. Several days later, because of the after effects of the drugs, I was very weak and felt feeble all over. My abdomen was swollen and painful and I couldn’t eat or defecate. My hair also fell out. Seeing that I was neither like a person nor a ghost, I felt very desperate in my heart. Thinking back to the time when I didn’t have the illness, in order to earn money, I was half dead with fatigue. Now, I had to endure the torment of disease. I really couldn’t bear such a blow, and thought that I’d rather die. At this time, my mother phoned me and kept comforting me, asking me to go to her house and saying that she had something very important to tell me.
After I returned home, my mother witnessed to me God’s kingdom gospel and asked me to read a passage of God’s words, “What is the source of the lifelong suffering from birth, death, illness, and old age that humans endure? What caused people to have these things? Humans did not have them when they were first created, did they? Where, then, did these things come from? They came into being after humans were tempted by Satan and their flesh became degenerate. The pain of human flesh, its afflictions, and its emptiness, as well as the extremely miserable affairs of the human world, only came once Satan had corrupted mankind. After humans were corrupted by Satan, it began to torment them. As a result, they became more and more degenerate. The diseases of humanity grew more and more acute, and their suffering became more and more severe. Increasingly, people sensed the emptiness and tragedy of the human world, as well as their inability to go on living there, and they felt less and less hope for the world. Thus, this suffering was brought down upon humans by Satan.”
After I read God’s words, my mother fellowshiped with me, “In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve. They lived a happy and carefree life in the Garden of Eden and enjoyed all the riches bestowed upon them by God, without the griefs and worries, or the birth, death, illness, and old age. Since we humans were tempted and corrupted by Satan, we have lived in the influence of Satan, losing the care and protection of God. Consequently, various kinds of illnesses come upon us, which causes us to live more and more painfully and helplessly. Only when we come before God and accept God’s salvation can we break free from the affliction of Satan and feel steadfast and peaceful in our heart.” Through my mother’s fellowship, I understood: Our life, age, illness, and death are all caused by the corruption of Satan. Thinking back upon these years, I ran about and worked for money, ignoring my health, so I got cancer. All these things resulted from the affliction of Satan. Afterward, my mother wrote down the prayer to me and taught me to pray, asking me to rely on and look up to God more, entrust my illness into God’s hands, and submit to God’s sovereignty and arrangements. She also gave me a book of God’s words.
Half a month later, I went to the hospital to receive the second chemotherapy treatment. Because of hair loss, I had an allergy and felt painful and itchy all over and I was agitated in my heart. Thinking that if the effect of the chemotherapy was not ideal this time, I would not be able to have the operation but only have to wait for death, I couldn’t help feeling fearful and uneasy. At this time, I thought of the book my mother gave me. Then I immediately opened it and saw a passage of God’s words which says, “From the moment you come crying into this world, you begin to fulfill your duty. For God’s plan and for His ordination, you perform your role and start your life’s journey. Whatever your background, and whatever the journey ahead of you, no one can escape the orchestrations and arrangements of the Heaven, and no one is in control of their own destiny, for only He who rules over all things is capable of such work.” From God’s word, I understood: Our future and destiny, life and death as well as blessings and curses are all controlled in the hands of God. We cannot dictate our own destiny. No matter how much money we have or how high our status is, we are unable to change our fate. Since my life and death are all in God’s hands, it’s of no use no matter how I feared death and felt nervous. It will only make me more and more miserable. Why don’t I commit my life into God’s hands? While I thought of this, my heart calmed down and I came before God and prayed: “O Almighty God! My life is controlled in Your hands. You know that I’m weak. But I’m willing to entrust my illness into Your hands. No matter whether I will live or die, I’m willing to submit to Your sovereignty and arrangements.”
After returning home from the hospital, I didn’t feel that uncomfortable and could eat and sleep, and my mental condition also got better. I felt that God was truly by my side, caring for me and protecting me, which made me have faith in God. Half a month later, I went to the hospital for an examination. The doctor told me, “The effect of the chemotherapy is good, and you can have the operation now.” At that time, I felt very happy, and kept thanking God in my heart, “O God! I thank You for Your wondrous protection, so that I have the chance to have the operation. O God! I’m willing to commit my operation into Your hands. May You rule over and arrange it.” Then, the doctor performed the operation on me. The operation was very successful and I could get up and walk the next day. The doctor told me on the third day, “The wound healed nicely. You can get out of the hospital a few days later.”
Returning home, I recovered quite well. After that, I went to the hospital to receive the chemotherapy several times more. I saw that my wardmates kept vomiting and suffered a lot because of the chemotherapy, but I didn’t suffer too much and felt calm in my heart. Thanks to God’s protection, the cancer cells had been brought under control and my condition also got better. Three months later, I went for another examination and found that the cancer cells disappeared completely. The doctor and the wardmates all said, “Your illness was cured so easily. It’s really a miracle. Have you taken any good medicine?” I said nothing but only smiled. I knew that this was all because of God’s care and protection. If it were not for God’s mercy, I wouldn’t have recovered soon.
Later, my mother brought brothers and sisters to my house to have meetings and fellowship God’s words with me. I began to live church life, feeling especially peaceful and joyful in my heart. One day, I saw that God’s words say, “People spend their lives chasing after money and fame; they clutch at these straws, thinking they are their only means of support, as if by having them they could live on, exempt from death. But only when they are about to die do they realize how distant these things are from them, how weak they are in the face of death, how easily they shatter, how lonely and helpless they are, with nowhere to turn. They realize that life cannot be bought with money or fame, that no matter how wealthy a person may be, no matter how lofty their position, all are equally poor and insignificant in the face of death. They realize that money cannot buy life, that fame cannot erase death, that neither money nor fame can lengthen a person’s life by a single minute, a single second.”
I saw that what God’s words revealed was exactly my true state. Thinking back to these years, in order to live a rich life and win back some dignity for myself in front of my family, I dropped out of school at an early age and worked hard to make money day and night. When I had bought a car and a house, I was not satisfied and still wanted to open more restaurants to earn more money. I kept busy every day like a money-making machine, and never took care of my health. Sometimes, I was tired and wanted to stop to have a rest, but my desire of getting money and fame and gain was too strong, so I was reluctant to waste the chance of making money. I had such manifestations and pursuits all because I was influenced and poisoned by the toxins that Satan had injected into us mankind such as; “Money isn’t everything, but without it, you can do nothing,” and “Money means everything.” This made me regard pursuing money as the most important thing and think that I would be admired by others and would have everything when I had money. However, when I suffered from cancer, I found that money and fame and gain could not be exchanged for my health, even less could they bring comfort to my heart and soul. Although I rejected God’s salvation time and again, God did not abandon me because of my disobedience. Rather, when I was most helpless and desperate I ever was, God arranged for my mother to preach His kingdom gospel to me again and He pulled me back from the verge of death, so that I had the privilege of coming before God and accepting His salvation. Now, I truly tasted God’s love and salvation.
I saw that God’s words say, “If people have a genuine understanding of God’s disposition, and can give heartfelt praise to His holiness and righteousness, then it means they truly know Him and possess the truth; only then do they live in the light. Only once a person’s view of the world and of life changes does one undergo a fundamental transformation. When one has a life goal and comports oneself according to the truth, when one submits absolutely to God and lives by His words, when one feels peaceful and illuminated to the depths of one’s soul, when one’s heart is free of darkness, and when one can live entirely free and unrestrained in God’s presence, only then does one lead a genuine human life, and only then has one become a person who possesses the truth.” God’s words pointed out the correct direction of life to me. In the past, I labored hard for money and suffered the tortures and afflictions of Satan terribly. I understood that only the life of worshiping God is valuable and meaningful, and that I should no longer live by Satan’s laws of survival. In the following days, I read God’s words and lived a church life more actively, and also performed my duty as a created being in the church, testifying God’s love and salvation toward mankind to more people who were still living in darkness and pain. I felt especially peaceful and joyful in my heart. My mental condition got better and better and my faith of following God became greater and greater. Only then did I realize that only by following God can I live out a meaningful life. Thank God! All the glory be to God!
Bible Verses–Psalm 37:9-11
For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yes, you shall diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Bible Verse–Revelation 14:4
These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb.
Bible Verses–Revelation 20:4-6
And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark on their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Why Were the 250 Leaders Swallowed by the Earth
The Old Testament records this story: When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, the 250 leaders disobeyed his leadership and thus perished in a crack in the earth. However, very few people know why their opposing Moses led them to perish.
The Bible records that God used Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and that through Moses God promulgated the Ten Commandments for man to follow. Seeing that Moses was esteemed and trusted by the common people, the 250 leaders of the congregation of Israel at that time were not convinced of him. More than two hundred prestigious people led by the Korah, Dathan and Abiram all attacked Moses and Aaron by saying, “You take too much on you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and Jehovah is among them: why then lift you up yourselves above the congregation of Jehovah?” (Num 16:3).
“Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land that flows with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except you make yourself altogether a prince over us? Moreover you have not brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: will you put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up” (Num 16:13–14). From these words, we can see that, the 250 leaders thought Moses made himself king; they were unwilling to accept the leadership of Moses, and moreover complained to and attacked Moses many times. Jehovah heard their every word and saw their every move. Afterward, His anger came upon them: He made the earth instantly open up and swallow them, all of their families and the men with them, causing these people to descend alive into the netherworld.
But why did the 250 leaders meet God’s destruction due to opposing Moses? This is what God said about it in His words: “Perhaps some of you have read the story of Moses in the Bible. After Moses was anointed by God, the 250 leaders expressed their disobedience to Moses because of his actions and for various other reasons. To whom did they refuse to submit? It was not Moses. They refused to submit to God’s arrangements; they refused to submit to God’s work on this issue. They said the following: ‘You take too much on you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and Jehovah is among them….’ Are these words and lines very serious, from a human point of view? They are not serious! At least, the literal meaning of these words is not serious. In a legal sense, they do not break any laws, because on its very surface, this is not hostile language or vocabulary, much less does it have any blasphemous connotations. These are just common sentences, nothing more. Why is it, then, that these words can trigger such rage from God? It is because they were not spoken to people, but to God. The attitude and disposition expressed by them is precisely what aggravates God’s disposition, and they offend God’s disposition that must not be offended.”
From these words of God, we can see that: Moses was used by God personally; all he did was in accordance with Jehovah God’s commands and was doing God’s will; his work represented part of the Holy Spirit’s work. However, the 250 leaders not only did not obey Moses, they instead openly went up and clamored against him. They believed that, since God was able to speak to Moses, then God should be able to speak to them; since Moses could be used by God, then they could also be used by God. They also said that they only listened to God and not Moses. This is how they resisted the man used by God. They had already offended God’s disposition. So God vented His rage on them and made the earth open up and swallow them. We can also see that the 250 leaders did not know God’s disposition or the Holy Spirit’s work at all. These are the real reasons why God destroyed them in hell.
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