3 Great Masterstrokes for Overcoming Temptations in Spiritual Warfare

3 Great Masterstrokes for Overcoming Temptations in Spiritual Warfare

Jingxing, South Korea

Brothers and sisters,

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

Eastern Lightning | Who Was It That Rescued Her Marriage? (Audio Essay)

Eastern Lightning | Who Was It That Rescued Her Marriage? (Audio Essay)

Yang Zi, China

She had just turned twenty, she had a graceful figure and appeared as pretty as a flower, and there were many suitors pursuing her. But she didn’t pay this any mind until one day when her friend invited her to come out and she by chance met Lin. Lin was almost 6 feet tall, he was tall and handsome, with a dignified bearing. He spoke with humor and with wit, and was able to attract her in an instant. And Lin too was quite interested in her. The two of them started seeing each other very soon, and after a few months they got married. Before long they had a child of their own, and this made her feel very blessed. But good things don’t last forever. Just when she was starting to enjoy everything and long for a beautiful future, she discovered that Lin was not engaging in honest work every day. All day long he was idling about, and he would even go out often and get in fights and gamble. When he returned home, he would pick out faults with her no matter if there was something going on or not. He simply did not care for her or their child. She did not understand why Lin was acting this way. Many times with eyes full of tears she would urge Lin to walk the correct path, but not only did Lin not listen, he would even lash out at her, and one time he even went so far as to nearly choke her to death. She had lost all hope in Lin. Before long, Lin got sentenced to prison for breaking the law, and she had to support herself and their one-and-a-half-year-old child on her own. Her life was full of hardships and dashed hopes. It wasn’t until 2003, when Lin completed his prison sentence and was released, that she was finished with this painful marriage.

After Her Husband’s Betrayal God Saved Her From the Haze of Pain (Audio Essay)

After Her Husband’s Betrayal God Saved Her From the Haze of Pain (Audio Essay)

By Ouyang Mo,China

Dear brothers and sisters, may you share in the Lord’s inner peace. Perhaps many of you have heard the story of the wild goose. A wild goose will have only one partner during its lifetime, and if one of them dies, the other will stay alone for the rest of its life. We all feel moved when we talk about the loyalty a wild goose shows to its partner, and we also hope that our partners will be this loyal to us. However, in the wake of the world becoming more and more distracting and frivolous, instances where husbands betray wives and wives betray husbands are a frequent occurrence. Many people sink into boundless pain because of their spouse’s betrayal, and some never recover, to the point where they may even consider suicide. No one wants to see this kind of outcome. So how can someone get through to the other side of this pain? Perhaps you will know after you’ve listened to our next story.

Eastern Lightning | Christian Marriage | The Aftermath of My Husband’s Affair (Audio Essay)

Eastern Lightning | Christian Marriage | The Aftermath of My Husband’s Affair (Audio Essay)

Lu Lu Anhui Province

In the middle of the night around 12:00 a.m., Lu Lu was staring at the computer screen, not daring to believe that what it displayed was a list of her husband’s expenses from the last few months: a few hundred yuan on women’s clothing at a department store, over a thousand yuan on a bottle of imported alcohol from a high-end liquor store … Seeing this list of numbers, Lu Lu collapsed into the chair and felt a taste of despair for the first time in her life. She never could have imagined that her husband who had been through thick and thin with her would suddenly betray her. Her sister-in-law’s kind warning came to mind: “Lu Lu, aren’t you afraid that my brother will do something disrespectful to you while he’s away?” Her response was, “I couldn’t say what others might do, but your brother isn’t that kind of person.” Her air of confidence at that time surfaced in her memory—faced with the bitter truth in that moment, it really felt like a mockery. The truth, hard as nails, completely obliterated the last line of defense in Lu Lu’s heart, and tears rolled down her cheek one after another, like a string of pearls. She hoped so fervently that this was a delusion and so longed to return to the wonderful times of the past, to the nostalgia of their innocent love. …

Eastern Lightning | Coming Home (Part 2)

Coming Home (Part 2)

By Muyi, South Korea

In this period, there was another brother named Yang who also investigated Almighty God’s work in the last days together with me. I had always had a careless and absent-minded attitude, but Brother Yang was earnest in his studies. Brother Yang said that he had rejected the gospel of Almighty God when people had preached it to him before but that hearing it again today must be an opportunity granted by God! He wanted to investigate it. Brother Yang saw that I was only interested in listening to the pastor’s words and not investigating with an open mind. He found a passage for me, which was Matthew 5:3–6: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. … Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Reading the word of the Lord, I wondered: Why is it that I can’t seek tranquilly in the presence of the Lord? If the Lord were really to return by some chance, and I did not listen to Him or investigate it, would I not be left behind? I should also learn some humility, and I must not blindly come to conclusions based on my own imagination. Just when I had decided to settle my heart to investigate it sincerely, a missionary of the church gave me a call out of the blue and asked me if I were still with the people from The Church of Almighty God. I said that yes, the missionary again reminded me to cease contact with them. The missionary’s words dispelled the thought that I had just been wanting to investigate. I thought, “The pastor and missionary have a much better understanding of the Bible than I do, and none of them acknowledges that the Lord has returned. I had too little understanding of the Bible and had no ability to discriminate for myself, so I had better just listen to what the pastor and missionary were saying.” When I hung up the phone, I said to Brother Cheng: “If Brother Yang wants to investigate, then you two go on speaking. I don’t want to hear it.” Just like that, I had once again stiffly rejected the salvation of God.

The Tranquility of Victory and the Calm of Defeat —Obeying God Is Best

The Tranquility of Victory and the Calm of Defeat —Obeying God Is Best

Ma Na, USA

During a person’s life, facing success and failure is unavoidable. There are many people who are happy when they have success, and who are frustrated and pained when they face failure. There are even many people who stake all their efforts in wanting to reach a point at which all their hopes are fulfilled, but things are often not how people would like them to be. Because of this, many people think that this life is not as they want it to be. Previously, I also always relied on my own ability in the work I did, and all that I got from that was the pain of failure. But afterward, through experiencing some things, my perspective had a bit of a transformation: Tranquility in success, and calmness in failure—obeying the sovereignty and arrangements of God is the best, and one can also be liberated and free in life that way.

Blessings Due to Sickness —Essay on God’s Love

Blessings Due to Sickness —Essay on God’s Love

Dujuan, Japan

I was born into a poor family in a rural village. Since I was a child, I lived a tough life and was looked down upon by others. I sometimes did not even know if I would have my next meal, let alone snacks and toys. Since my family was poor, when I was little, I would wear what my older sister used to wear. Her clothes were usually too big for me. As a result, when I went to school, the other kids would laugh at me and they would not play with me. My childhood was very bitter. From that point on, I would secretly tell myself: Once I grow up, I will be somebody and make lots of money. I won’t let others look down on me again. Since my family had no money, I was forced to drop out before junior high school. I went to the county town to work in a medicine factory. In order to earn more money, I would frequently work until 9 or 10 PM. However, the money I earned was not enough to reach my goals. Afterward, when I heard that my sister was able to earn in five days what I earned in a month selling vegetables, I quit my job at the medicine factory and went to sell vegetables. After a period of time, I found that I could make even more money selling fruits, so I decided to start a business selling fruits. After I married my husband, we started a restaurant business. I thought that now that I had a restaurant, I would be able to earn even more money. Once I could earn a considerable amount of income, naturally, I would win other’s admiration and regard. Other people would start looking up to me and at the same time, I would be able to live a better life. However, after operating the business for a period of time, I discovered that I was actually not making a lot of money. I started getting anxious. When would I be able to lead a life that others would admire?

The Awakening of a Deceived Spirit (Part 2)

The Awakening of a Deceived Spirit (Part 2)

By Yuanzhi, Brazil

One day, while I was browsing through Facebook, I read an article about someone’s experience and testimony titled “I Have Found Salvation in the Last Days on Facebook.” After I opened it, I read that this sister had similar experiences to me. When she first started contacting The Church of Almighty God, she encountered rumors about it that her friends sent to her. She was very disturbed. I wanted to understand what the conclusion was, so I continued reading impatiently. I read that this sister prayed to the Lord and asked the Lord to guide her. After she finished praying, she felt that she could not selectively listen and believe. She had to realistically investigate The Church of Almighty God in order to differentiate whether it was true or false. If she blindly listened to the rumors and refused to investigate the second coming of the Lord, it would not be very rational. She had to find out the truth about the Lord’s return. When I read this, I felt that it was correct. The return of the Lord is an important thing and one must treat it prudently. I cannot simply follow the herd and blindly reject and resist it. I continued reading the article and saw that the circumstances regarding The Church of Almighty God that this sister came to understand were completely different from what her online friends were telling her. Additionally, she personally received as visitors some sisters from The Church of Almighty God. They fellowshiped with her about Almighty God’s words and they also helped and cared for her. The true experiences of this sister told me that I could no longer continue to be deceived by these rumors, nor could I believe gossip and reject investigating the work of Almighty God in the last days. Otherwise, it is possible that I would lose God’s grace of the last days. I must connect with The Church of Almighty God again for further investigation!

I Am Following in the Footsteps of the Lamb

When I was 18 years old my mother got ill, and so she started believing in the Lord Jesus. At the time, I knew the Lord Jesus’ name but didn’t understand anything about faith in the Lord. It was quite a coincidence that I later went to work for a company where most of the employees were Christians. Through interacting with them, I saw how they treated people with love and patience, and I came to believe that Christians were a pretty good bunch of people. During that period, there was a colleague who often told me the story about how the Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross in order to redeem mankind. I gradually developed an interest in faith in the Lord, and started going with my colleagues to their church to worship. The first time I entered the church and heard hymns praising God being sung I was unexpectedly moved to tears by the Lord’s love. I prayed to the Lord like this: “Oh, Lord Jesus! Thank You for picking me out of the vast ocean of humanity to become one of Your daughters. I wish to follow You forever….” During that period, whenever I met some difficulties in my daily life, or was mocked by my friends and relatives because of my faith in the Lord, as long as I came in front of the Lord and prayed, my spirit would find immense release. I felt that the Lord Jesus was my only reliance in life and that I would never leave the Lord’s side. At that time my favorite hymn was: “Rock, rock, Jesus Christ! Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven, only You are the savior. You are the mediator, You are the son of God, You are the lamb. You are the way and the truth, You are the life, You are the light, You are the rock, the fortress, the city of refuge and the shield. We belong to You; we will never be shaken from generation to generation.” And this is how I relied on the Lord’s great power and motivation gained from the guidance of the Lord’s words to get through all the difficulties and troubles of life.

Eastern Lightning | Uncovering the Mystery of “Judgment”

My name is En Hui and I’m 46 years old. I live in Malaysia, and I have been a believer in the Lord for 27 years. In October 2015, I moved to another city to take up a job. My new colleagues were all big fans of Facebook, which they used for chatting, finding new friends, and posting images. Seeing that I didn’t have a Facebook account they set one up for me, and I gradually learned how to go online and use it. Sometimes I would see the postings of some brothers and sisters in the Lord and I’d share them and “like” them. Sometimes I’d post things that praised the Lord or share the Lord’s grace with some of my good friends. Every day I felt that there was fulfillment in my life.

One day in February 2016 when I was browsing one of my good friend’s Facebook page I saw this posting: “We discussed the issue of judgment today in our group. We all said different things but, for the most part, agreed what it means. Someone said: ‘I don’t understand and I don’t dare say any old nonsense because it’s something that God will do in the future and we shouldn’t try and blindly guess.’ Someone else said: ‘Psalm 75:2 says “When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly.” Everything that every single person does is being recorded by God, so when the Lord Jesus returns to judge all humans He will reveal our deeds to all as though playing a movie. So we should always be righteous and never do evil in order to avoid God’s judgment of being cast into hell.’ Someone else said: ‘It says in the Bible: “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Rev 20:11–12). From the text we can see that when the Lord Jesus returns in the last days He will set up a giant desk in the sky and will sit behind it. He will then unroll a scroll on it, and, with all of mankind kneeling on the ground, call out the name of every individual and judge each of them one-by-one according to the deeds they have done. Good people will be taken up to the kingdom of heaven by the Lord, while the wicked will be cast into hell.’”

Enlightenment From a Story of King Solomon—Path of Discerning the True Christ From False Ones

During my free time, I read a story about Solomon from the internet. A king from a neighboring country gave, as a present, two uncommon and rare flower baskets to Solomon. The flowers of one of the flower baskets were real and the flowers of the other basket were fake. However, the flowers of both baskets looked extremely similar. There was almost no way to distinguish the real flowers from the fake flowers just by looking at their appearance. The state official from the neighboring country that delivered the flower baskets had heard of Solomon’s wisdom. So, he asked Solomon to distinguish between the real flowers and the fake flowers. Solomon sent some people to bring the two flower baskets to his garden. Nobody understood what Solomon’s intentions were. Solomon asked everyone to gather at the garden and there they understood why he brought the two baskets into the garden. The real flowers had attracted many bees to them while the fake flowers did not have any.

While this is a very simple story, it contains a lot of spiritual meaning. The flowers that had life in them gave off a fragrance and they secreted nectar. That is why they attracted the bees. The flowers in the other basket were dead. Even though, externally, they looked the same, they did not give off a fragrance nor did they have any honey with which to attract bees.

After Listening With My Heart, I Have Welcomed the Lord’s Return (Audio Essay)

In 1994, I was born in the United States. My parents are both Chinese. My mother was the classic example of a successful career woman. She is able to think for herself and is very competent. I love my mother very much. When I was in Grade 2, my parents brought me back to China to study so that I would be able to learn Chinese. It was also at that time that I started to get acquainted with the Lord Jesus. I remember one day in 2004, after I got home from school, there was a guest at our house. My mother introduced her and told me that she was a pastor from the United States. I was very happy because that was when I found out that my mother had believed in the Lord Jesus for some time. Before, she did not believe. Every Chinese New Year, she would burn incense and worship Buddha. However, after my mother started to believe in the Lord Jesus, I no longer had to smell the whiff of burnt Joss paper and incense. That day, the American pastor told me a story about the Lord Jesus. Soon after, I was brought to the bathroom and before I could react, “plop,” the pastor had dunked my head into the bathtub and after a moment, pulled my head out. All I heard was my mother and the pastor telling me, “Welcome to the embrace of the Lord Jesus. We are all lost sheep.” In this way, I started a new life journey before I knew it. However, because the Lord was with me, my heart was very happy. Afterward, each Sunday, I would go to church to worship and listen to the pastor talk about Bible stories and read from the scriptures. I was very happy all along. My heart was steadfast and I felt that believing in the Lord Jesus was truly a good thing.

Eastern Lightning | I Have Found a True Home

When I was three years old my father passed away. At that time my mother had just given birth to my younger brother, and my grandmother, owing to superstition, said that it was my mother and younger brother that caused my father’s death. For lack of a better option mother had to take my younger brother to her father’s house to live, so from the start of my earliest memories I was living together with my grandpa and grandma. Although my grandpa and grandma treated me well I still felt lonely and really wanted to be together with my mom and little brother. I hoped for the same kind of motherly love that other kids received. Really, what I was asking for wasn’t much, all I wanted was a true family, a mother who loved me dearly, who I could share my true feelings with. But even this small ask turned into an extravagant hope. I was only able to see my mother on the weekends. Whenever I got into trouble at school mom was never there by side either, I was like a small patch of grass by the side of the road, nobody showed any interest in me. Over time I became very self-abased, I held everything back in my heart and didn’t take initiative to interact with others. When I was sixteen there were some people in my village who were going abroad for work, and the idea tempted me. I thought to myself: My family conditions aren’t very good, if I were to go abroad then I could earn my own living, and even give some of my earnings to my family. That way I could help my family live a little better.

Returning to Life From the Brink of Death

In 2007 I suddenly fell ill with chronic renal failure. On being told the news, my Christian mother and sister-in-law, and some Catholic friends all came to visit me to preach the gospel to me. They all told me that I only had to go to God and my illness would be cured. But I didn’t believe in God at all. I thought that illness could only be cured through scientific medical treatment, and that any disease that couldn’t be cured by science was incurable. After all, was there any power on earth greater than the power of science? Faith in God was just a form of psychological crutch, and I was an upstanding state school teacher, a person who was educated and cultured, so there was no way I’d start believing in God. So I turned them down and started looking around for medical treatment. Within a few years I’d been to virtually every large hospital in my home county and throughout the province, but my condition didn’t improve. In fact, it was getting worse, but I stubbornly clung to my own way of looking at the situation and insisted that science could change anything and that curing illness was just a question of finding the right process.

Testimony of a Christian: I Have Wealth More Valuable Than Money

Editor’s Note: If you have someone like this in your life, someone who wants to become wealthy but never succeeds, and who lives in torment, how should you help him escape his misery? What follows is the experience of author Shun Xin, whose predicament was precisely this, but today she can calmly evaluate her monetary gains and losses, and has found a wealth more valuable than riches. How did she emerge from her torment? And what is this wealth more valuable than money? Let’s discover these things through her story.

Struggling in Vain to Become Wealthy

I experienced the shame of poverty and the hardship of life as a child, so I became determined to study hard and become rich in the future, to enjoy wealth and luxury, and to have others admire and look up to me. After more than ten years of bitter study, I was only able to enter a third-class university, but I wasn’t discouraged. I believed that as long as I worked hard, I could still become rich.

Why is it only through experiencing and obeying the work of God incarnate that one can know God?

Why is it only through experiencing and obeying the work of God incarnate that one can know God?

Why is it only through experiencing and obeying the work of God incarnate that one can know God?

Bible Verses for Reference:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (Jhn 1:14).

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me. If you had known me, you should have known my Father also: and from now on you know him, and have seen him” (Jhn 14:6-7).

Best Christian Dance | Second Coming of Jesus | Worship Song "Christ's Kingdom Is Realized Among Men"

Best Christian Dance | Second Coming of Jesus | Worship Song "Christ's Kingdom Is Realized Among Men"

I

Almighty God incarnate appears in the last days in the East, just like a righteous sun arising; mankind has seen the true light appear. The righteous and majestic, loving and merciful God humbly hides among men, issuing truth, speaking and working. Almighty God is face-to-face with us. The God you thirsted for, the God I waited for, today appears to us practically. We sought the truth, we yearned for righteousness; truth and righteousness have come among men. You love God, I love God; mankind is so full of renewed hope. Peoples obey, nations worship the practical God incarnate.

Do You Possess the “Immunity” Needed to Defeat Temptation? (Audio Essay)

Do You Possess the “Immunity” Needed to Defeat Temptation? (Audio Essay)

One day, I came across a story. This story mainly told about a mouse that came out of its hole and found that people had intentionally placed a piece of meat in a mousetrap in order to lure it in. The mouse knew that if it touched that piece of meat, then it would be killed by the trap, so it initially thought to refuse the lure, and that it would absolutely not touch that piece of meat. But when the smell of the meat reached its nose, it just couldn’t overcome the temptation, and against its own will it crept closer and closer to the trap. In the end, it couldn’t resist the enticement, and so when it went to eat the piece of meat, it was killed by the trap.

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

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, soil, 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, I scowled at him and shouted loudly: “How stupid you are! You cannot even learn these few words!” My eldest son was frightened into running 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 my eldest son’s pitiful look, 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.

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

                                                       Xiaoxue, Malaysia

    I have two sons and they are one year apart. In order to raise them to be cultured, well mannered, good people who will be able to establish themselves in society and succeed, when they were two years old, I discussed finding a good kindergarten for them with my husband. After some visits, inquiries and comparison, we selected an English kindergarten because they placed importance on children’s caliber and ability, which matched my view on educating children. Although the tuition fees were a bit high, as long as the children were able to develop better and get a better education, it was worth spending a little more money.