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. I was afraid that the evil police would discover these things and I was more afraid that my brothers and sisters would call my pager, therefore I continually and urgently prayed to God in my heart: “God, what am I supposed to do? I ask You to provide a way out for me and not let these things fall into the hands of the evil police.” Following this, I took the things from my bag and quietly moved them into my waist and said that my stomach was not feeling good and I had to use the restroom. The evil police swore at me saying: “You are full of shit!” Upon my repeated requests, they had a female police officer watch me as I went to the bathroom. When I removed my belt, the pager fell out and I easily picked it up and threw it into the sewer pipe. Because I was afraid at the time that the female officer would discover the bag in my waist, I didn’t throw it in the pipe, but rather placed it in the garbage can; I thought that I would use the bathroom again at night and then throw it in the toilet. As it turned out, I never went back to that bathroom. It turned out that the evil police found the bag I had thrown away in the garbage can.

The Hymn of Life Experience O God, You Know I'm Missing You

Impression after watching:

Practice and experience God's words, feel released and free in spirit.

I

My heart's deeply attached to You.

But I feel unworthy of Your love.

Too humble to be in the presence of You,

how worried and uneasy I am!

I can only make up my mind;

offer my whole being to You.

I will suffer for You,

suffer all hardships,

till the last breath of my life.

God! You know that I am waiting,

waiting for You to come back.

God, please don't forget about me.

I can't live without You!

Eastern Lightning | Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “Many Are Called, but Few Are Chosen”

Eastern Lightning | Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “Many Are Called, but Few Are Chosen”

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Let’s start our meeting. Let’s first read a passage of God’s word, “Many Are Called, but Few Are Chosen.”

　　“I have sought many on earth to be My followers. Among them are those who serve as priests, those who lead, those who form the sons, those who constitute the people, and those who do service. I draw these distinctions in accordance with the loyalty man has to Me. When all men are differentiated according to kind, that is, when the nature of each kind of man has been made clear, then I shall number each man among their rightful kind and put each kind into their fitting place so that I may realize My aim of salvation for mankind. In turn, I call groups of those I wish to save to return to My house, then I ask them all to accept My work in the last days. At the same time, I differentiate man according to kind, then reward or punish each on the basis of their deeds. Such are the steps that comprise My work.

Eastern Lightning | Reflections on Being Replaced

Eastern Lightning | Reflections on Being Replaced

Yi Ran    Laiwu City, Shandong Province

Some time ago, owing to my not understanding the principle behind the church’s revision of personnel, when the church replaced a leader, a conception arose within me. From what I could see, the sister that was replaced was very good at both receiving and fellowshiping the truth, and could be open about her own expressions of corruption. So I could never get how someone who sought the truth so much could be replaced. Could it be that she talked about her own expressions of corruption too much, and so her leader mistakenly took her to be someone not in pursuit of the truth, and replaced her? If this is what really happened, then hasn’t a training opportunity for someone who was seeking the truth been ruined?

Eastern Lightning | The Hymn of God's Word "I Will Not Rest Until I Gain God"

I Will Not Rest Until I Gain God

 

Out of my own willingness I follow God. I don't care whether He wants me or not. I seek to love Him, steadfastly follow Him. I will gain Him, offering my life to Him.

 

I

May the will of God be accomplished. May my heart be fully offered up to God. No matter what God does or what He plans for me, I'll keep on following, seeking to gain Him. Out of my own willingness I follow God. I don't care whether He wants me or not. I seek to love Him, steadfastly follow Him. I will gain Him, offering my life to Him.

 

Eastern Lightning| The Twenty-third Utterance

As My voice sounds out, as My eyes shoot forth fire, I am watching over the whole earth, I am observing the entire universe. All humanity are praying to Me, turning their gaze up to Me, beseeching Me to cease My anger, and swearing to rebel against Me no more. But this is no longer the past; it is now. Who can turn back My will? Surely not the invocation within men’s hearts, nor the words in their mouths? Who has been able to survive until the present, if not because of Me? Who survives except by the words in My mouth? Who does not lie under My watchful eye? As I carry out My new work on the whole earth, who has ever been able to escape from it? Could it be that the mountains are able to evade it by means of their height? Could it be that the waters, by their multitudinous vastness, are able to fend it off? In My plan, I have never lightly let any thing go, and so there has never been any person, or any thing, that has eluded the grasp of My hands. Today, My holy name is extolled throughout humanity, and again, words of protest rise up against Me throughout humanity, and legends about My being on earth are rife throughout humanity. I do not tolerate men making their judgments about Me, nor do I tolerate their dividing up My body, still less do I tolerate their vituperations against Me. Because he has never truly known Me, man has always resisted and deceived Me, failing to cherish My Spirit or to treasure My words. For his every deed and action, and for the attitude he bears toward Me, I give man the “reward” that is his due. And so, men all act with an eye to their “reward,” and not a single one has ever done any work involving self-sacrifice. Human beings are unwilling to render selfless dedication, but rather delight in rewards that can be got for nothing. Though Peter consecrated himself before Me, it was not for the sake of tomorrow’s reward, but for the sake of the knowledge of today. Humanity has never entered into a genuine connection with Me, but time and time again has dealt with Me in a superficial manner, thinking thereby effortlessly to win My approval. I have looked deep into man’s heart, so I have unearthed in its innermost recesses “a mine of many riches,” something of which even man himself is not yet aware but that I have discovered anew. And so, only when they have seen the “material evidence,” only then do human beings cease their sanctimonious self-abasement and, with palms outstretched, admit to their own unclean state. Among men, there is much more that is new and fresh waiting for Me to “extract” for the enjoyment of all humanity. Far from stopping My work on account of man’s incapacitation, I carry on mending and maintaining him in accordance with My original plan. Man is like a fruit tree: Without trimming and pruning, the tree will fail to bear fruit and, in the end, all one sees are withered branches and fallen leaves, with no fruit dropping onto the ground.