Why does God have to judge and chastise people?

Relevant Words of God:

Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering, and did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to take on the sins of man as the sin offering, but also required God to do greater work to completely rid man of his disposition, which has been corrupted by Satan. And so, after man was forgiven his sins, God has returned to flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment, and this work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and shall gain the truth, the way, and the life.

from Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh

How can one establish a normal relationship with God?

Relevant Words of God:

People believe in God, love God, and satisfy God by touching the Spirit of God with their heart, thereby obtaining His satisfaction; when engaging with God’s words with their heart, they are therefore moved by the Spirit of God. If you wish to achieve a proper spiritual life and establish a proper relationship with God, you must first give your heart to Him, and quiet your heart before Him. Only after you have poured your whole heart into God can you gradually develop a proper spiritual life. If people do not give their heart to God in their belief in Him, if their heart is not in Him and they do not treat His burden as their own, then everything they do is cheating God, and it is all the behavior of religious people—this cannot receive God’s praise.

from “Establishing a Proper Relationship With God Is Very Important” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

First, you must pour your heart into the words of God. You must not pursue God’s words in the past, and must not study them nor compare them with the words of today. Instead, you must completely pour your heart into the present words of God. If there are people who still wish to read the words of God, spiritual books, or other accounts of preaching from the past, who do not follow the words of the Holy Spirit today, then they are the most foolish of people; God detests such people. If you are willing to accept the light of the Holy Spirit today, then completely pour your heart into the utterances of God today. This is the first thing you must achieve.

from “Know the Newest Work of God and Follow the Footsteps of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Only by coming to know God and satisfy Him on the foundation of eating and drinking His words can one gradually establish a proper relationship with Him. Eating and drinking His words and putting them into practice is the best cooperation with God, and it is the practice that best bears witness as one of His people. … To achieve a proper spiritual life, first eat and drink God’s words and put them into practice; and on this foundation establish a proper relationship between man and God.

from “Those Whose Disposition Has Changed Are Those Who Have Entered Into the Reality of God’s Words” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Establishing a normal relationship with God is entirely attained through quieting your heart in God’s presence. A normal relationship with God means being able to not doubt or deny any of God’s work and submit to it, and furthermore it means having the right intentions in the presence of God, not thinking of yourself, always having the interests of God’s family as the most important thing no matter what you are doing, accepting God’s observation, and submitting to God’s arrangements. You are able to quiet your heart in God’s presence whenever you do anything; even if you do not understand God’s will, you must still fulfill your duties and responsibilities to the best of your ability. It is not too late to wait for God’s will to be revealed to you and then put this into practice. When your relationship with God has become normal, then you will also have a normal relationship with people. Everything is established on the foundation of God’s words. Through eating and drinking the words of God, practice in accordance with God’s requirements, put your viewpoints right, and do not do things that resist God or disturb the church. Do not do things that do not benefit the lives of the brothers and sisters, do not say things that do not contribute to other people, do not do shameful things. Be just and honorable when doing all things and make them presentable before God. Even though the flesh is weak sometimes, you are able to attach the highest importance to benefiting God’s family, not covet your own benefits, and carry out righteousness. If you can practice in this way, your relationship with God will be normal.

Whenever you do anything, you must examine whether your motivations are right. If you are able to act according to the requirements of God, then your relationship with God is normal. This is the minimum criterion. If, when you examine your motivations, there emerge those that are incorrect, and if you are able to turn your back on them and act according to the words of God, then you will become someone who is right before God, which will show that your relationship with God is normal, and that all that you do is for the sake of God, and not for yourself. Whenever you do or say anything, you must put your heart right, be righteous, and not be led by your emotions, or act according to your own will. These are the principles by which believers in God conduct themselves. … people are able to have God in their hearts, not seek personal benefits, not think about their personal future (referring to thinking of the flesh), but rather they bear the burden of entering life, do their best to pursue truth, and submit to God’s work. This way, the objectives you seek are correct, and your relationship with God is normal.

from “How Is Your Relationship With God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

If you want to have a proper relationship with God, your heart must turn to God, and on this foundation, you will also have a proper relationship with other people. If you don’t have a proper relationship with God, no matter what you do to maintain your relationships with other people, no matter how hard you work or how much energy you exert, it will still belong to a human philosophy of life. You are maintaining your position among people through a human perspective and a human philosophy so that they will praise you. You do not establish proper relationships with people according to the word of God. If you don’t focus on your relationships with people but maintain a proper relationship with God, if you are willing to give your heart to God and learn to obey Him, very naturally, your relationships with all people will become proper.

from “Establishing a Proper Relationship With God Is Very Important” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The Man’s Fellowship:

When establishing a proper relationship with God, where should we start? The most important thing is to speak from the heart when praying to God. Do you understand? For example, you say, “O God, I see that many of my brothers and sisters dedicate their entire selves to You, but my stature is too small. I’m thinking about my livelihood, my future and whether my flesh can endure hardships in the future. I can’t give everything up. I am in debt to You. May You save me, enlighten me, and enable me to sacrifice for You even sooner. I want to give my all to You.” What do you think of this prayer? (It’s very true.) When you pray, you say, “How can they have so much stature? We come from the same types of families. They can expend themselves for God full time, why can’t I? I severely lack the truth. I’m always concerned with my flesh. I don’t have enough faith. O God, I wish for You to enlighten me, enable me to truly believe in You and sacrifice for You earlier. Your greatest wish is for us to understand the truth, enter the reality of the truth and eventually become ones who have the truth and humanity. This way, we will be able to bear witness to You, offer our entire selves to carry out Your will and let You gain glory. God, may You be gracious to me and lead me. You know I’m ignorant, small of stature and lack faith.” This is speaking from the heart. If you communicate with God like this every day, from the heart, He’ll know you’re sincere and not trying to fool Him or sweet-talk and deceive Him. Then the Holy Spirit will do His work. This is what it means to establish a proper relationship with God. We are creations, and He is the Creator. What should creations possess when they stand in front of their Creator? True obedience, acceptance, faith and worship. They must give their hearts to God completely. They must seek to let Him lead, dominate and plan. Praying and seeking like this is correct. This is what it means to establish a proper relationship with God.

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (Series 134)

And how do you establish a normal relationship with God? Several principles are involved. The first is that you must believe in the almightiness and wisdom of God, you must believe that all of God’s words will be fulfilled. This is the foundation. It will not do if you do not believe in God’s words, for it shows a lack of genuine faith; failure to believe in God’s almightiness shows a lack of genuine faith. Second, you must give your heart to God and allow God to take over in all things. Third, you must accept God’s observation, and this is critical. If you do not accept God’s observation of your prayers and fellowship, your actions and your words, could you have true fellowship with God? Could you tell Him that which is in your heart? You must accept God’s observation. When you speak, you only pray for yourself; when you speak, what you say is mixed with falsehood, carries ill intentions, and is filled with embellishments and lies. If you do not accept God’s observation, can you realize that? Once you accept God’s observation, when you say the wrong things, after you speak words devoid of meaning, after you speak promises, you think, “Oh, am I not deceiving God? Why does this feel like lying to God?” See? This is how God’s observation works. It is critical to accept God’s observation. Fourth, you must learn to seek the truth in all things. Do not rely on the philosophy of Satan, and do things based on whether you benefit. You must seek the truth, making sense of the truth, then you must practice the truth. Regardless of personal gains, you must practice the truth and tell the truth, as well as be an honest person. It is a blessing to be taken advantage of; you shall be further blessed by God when you are being taken advantage of. Abraham was taken advantage of many times, and he always made compromises when dealing with people. Even his servants complained, “Why are you so weak? Let us fight them!” “We are not fighting with them. Everything is in God’s hands, and it is alright to be taken advantage of.” As a result, God blessed Abraham even more. Is that not the case? If because of practicing the truth, you have suffered in terms of your personal gains, and you do not blame God, then God shall bless you. Fifth, you must learn to obey the truth in all things, this is also critical. Regardless of the identity of the person who says things in accord with the truth, regardless of whether the person who says such things has a good relationship with us or not, and regardless of how we treat him, so long as what he says is in accord with the truth, we should obey him and accept what he says. What does this show? It shows that man has a heart that fears God. If a person can obey a three-year-old child who says in accord with the truth, is this person arrogant in any way? Is this someone who is arrogant? He has changed, his disposition has transformed. … Sixth, be loyal to God in fulfilling your duties. Never forget your duties as the created. You shall never be able to meet God’s expectations if you do not fulfill your duties. If man does not fulfill his duties, he is garbage, and he belongs with Satan. If he can fulfill his duties before God, then he shall be one of God’s people, for this is the mark. If he has fulfilled his duties well, then he is a qualified creature; if he has failed in fulfilling his duties, then he is not a qualified creature, and he will not receive the approval of God. Therefore, if man can be loyal to God in fulfilling his duties, if he then associates with God, can God not bless him? Can God not be with him? Seventh, be on God’s side in all things, be compatible with God, be one with God. Say, “If my parents should say anything that resists God, then I shall stand by God and argue with my parents, rejecting them, not accepting them, even though they are my parents. If what they say is not in accord with the truth, then they rebel against God and resist God, and I shall stand by God, not my parents.” Is this not witnessing? Can this shame Satan? (Yes, it can.) … If man can adhere to these seven principles, tell me, will man gain God? Will he receive God’s approval? (Yes, he will.) Then is his relationship with God completely normal? (Yes, it is.) These seven principles are very critical, almost too critical.

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (Series 135)

With the Grace of God I Found a True Home

By Xiaolin, United States

I Hate Dad—He Ruined Our Family

Crash … Bang …

“Dammit, say that one more time and I’ll make you sorry! …”

The clamor of fighting broke through the peaceful silence of the night, startling my sister and I awake. We realized our parents were fighting again. Since our mom found out that our dad was seeing another woman, she smiled less, and at any mention of him her eyes filled with discontent and sorrow. From then on they never stopped fighting—I couldn’t even remember how many times they had argued. When my sister and I ran into their room crying, we just saw dad reaching out to hit mom. Crying, I dragged at dad’s arm as hard as I could, but he was too strong and I couldn’t hold him back. That night, he broke two of her ribs. She couldn’t withstand such a life of suffering any longer, so after she healed she left home and got a job in another area.

I Found the True Light (Audio Essay)

I was born in a Catholic family. Since I was little, I attended Mass at church with my grandparents. Due to the influence of my environment and my belief in God, I learned to chant many different scriptures and practice various rituals.

God’s Blessings: I May Not Be Rich, but I’m Very Fortunate

By Bong, Philippines

I Want to Become Wealthy

“Principal, please give my child a chance and let him take the examination!” My mother’s eyes implored the principal as she spoke in a slightly trembling voice.

Keeping a straight face, the principal said, “No, the school has rules. A child can only take the examination when the exam fee has been paid!”

My mother looked ashamed and pleaded with the principal, saying, “Principal, I know this is very hard for you at the school too, but I have many children and we just about manage to get by. We really can’t afford the exam fee. How about I write the school an IOU, you let my son take the examination, and I’ll figure out a way to pay you back as soon as I can….”

The principal looked at my mother and thought for a moment. Looking as though he didn’t have much choice, he said, “OK, fine!”

The Years I Put Myself Out on Behalf of My Daughter

I was born in a small village in China, and grew up there living an ordinary, simple life. Because my family was poor, I had to go to work in a big city after finishing junior high school at the age of 16. At the age of 17, I met my ex-husband, who is 12 years older than me. At the time, the concern and care he showed for me was like the sheltering protection I got from my father and the fraternal love that my older brother showed me. I felt that I was very lucky to have met him, and I was very happy. One day, his mother came over especially to see me. I thought that she would be glad to see me, and so I was surprised when, on seeing that I was pretty and much younger than her son, she immediately suspected that I had some ulterior motive for dating him. Right in front of me, she said to her son: “Aren’t you afraid that she’s up to no good?” I felt very sad and upset to hear her say that, and was at a loss. My ex-husband replied in an angry tone of voice: “Mom, if you think you can split us up you can shove off!” I was stunned to hear him say this sort of stuff. He’d always seemed to be a gentle guy, and now he was getting furious at his mother in order to protect our relationship. I was very touched by this, and thought that it meant that his love for me was real and that I’d found true love. Later on, I married him and gave birth to a daughter, even though our parents were opposed to the idea. But, to my complete surprise, within a few short years he changed into a totally different person. He started drinking, whoring, and gambling, and in no time at all had blown through all of our savings and landed himself in debt as well. At my wit’s end, I gave our daughter to my mother-in-law to look after and went out to work to make money to pay off the debt. But no matter how hard I worked, no matter how much money I made, he would take it and gamble it away. We ended up arguing every day and finally I couldn’t take it anymore and moved out. I originally wanted to take our daughter with me and move away from that place where I’d known so much heartache, but my ex-husband didn’t allow it. He said that he’d only hand over our daughter if I gave him 200,000 RMB.

Walking Down the Bright Path of Life

                                       

                          

I used to be someone who would chase after the trends of the world, I wanted to abandon myself to a life of pleasure, and I just cared about the pleasures of the flesh. I would often go with my friends to KTV all night long, I would go for joyrides in the middle of the night, would go fishing out on the ocean, and travel all around in search of fine foods. I’d see others around me, and they too were all striving to eat well, wear nice things, and enjoy good things. I felt that these were the things that a man must work for in his life, that this is why a man must work hard to earn money, that this is the goal in life that everyone should have. Only with these things would life not be in vain. In order to obtain these things, I didn’t care what distance I had to travel, so I crossed the ocean to come to America, and after struggling for several years, I opened my own business. I had my own car and my own house. I was living the blessed life that I had dreamed about. Every day I would eat, drink and pursue pleasures until I was full and my heart was content. I thought that it was only by living in this way that life had any meaning, and that is until I received the work of Almighty God in the last days. Only after experiencing the judgment and chastisement of God did I become aware of what a truly significant life is, and then I set out walking down the bright path of life.