Testimony of Faith: How to Overcome the Temptations of Satan (Part 1)

By Geng Xin

Editor’s Note: The Bible records, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is incredibly insidious, evil and treacherous. It does not want us to attain God’s salvation and so it frequently enacts its deceitful schemes against us in an attempt to make us shun God and betray God, so it can then devour our souls. When we are attacked by Satan’s temptations, how should we deal with them? I trust that Brother Geng Xin’s experiences will allow you to reap some benefit.

When I was 16, I accepted the gospel of the Lord Jesus. With the Lord’s blessing, when I grew up, I opened a medical clinic. I did well for myself, and I knew that this was by the Lord’s grace. Later, I had the fortune to accept Almighty God’s work of the last days and I welcomed the Lord’s return. I was thrilled and could hardly wait to tell this fantastic news to those brothers and sisters in my old church who were true believers and who looked forward to the Lord’s coming. Thanks be to God! When they heard Almighty God’s words, they recognized them as the voice of God, and one by one they turned to Almighty God and came to attend the wedding feast of the Lamb. Every day, we enjoyed being watered and nourished by God’s words, our spirits were content, and we came to understand many truths we had not understood before.

What’s the Meaning of Life? Find the Answer Through a Comic Book Artist’s Experience

By Shen’ai, Taiwan

One day while watching the news, I saw that a famous Taiwanese comic book artist had died suddenly at just 51 years old. Hearing the news left me with a mix of emotions. He had been a really prominent person in the world of comics and had created a number of excellent works; many people envied and looked up to him. He had both fortune and fame—I had never thought he’d end up dying just like that! I couldn’t help but sigh: When someone dies, no matter how famous they are, how much status they have, what good is it? Then my own 30 years on the path of creating comics occurred to me …

Youthful Dreams

I’ve liked drawing comics since I was a little boy—it was something I really delved into and put in a lot of effort. When I was 25 years old, I had the good fortune to see a comic book artist in person, and saw that there were a lot of fans surrounding him, adulating him. I was really envious and longed for the day I could be just like him, the star of the show. I knew that I needed to keep working hard to get my skills up to the level of a professional, but I thought that if I was willing to pay a price, my day would certainly come. Driven by this thought, I buried myself in it for over ten years. I didn’t hesitate to spend several months’ wages, tens of thousands of yuan, on a set of high-quality graphic novel materials for reference to improve my skills. Money was pretty tight, but I couldn’t have cared less. I would often draw until two or three in the morning so I could hone my skills, and when I got so sleepy that I really couldn’t bear it, I’d just take a short nap, and as soon as I opened my eyes the very first thing on my mind was how I would finish whatever I was working on. I would spend ten or more hours drawing every day, always in the same position, so my neck, shoulders, back, and right hand were frequently sore. My fingers even changed shape and my eyesight started to deteriorate. But for the sake of success, I just gritted my teeth and bore it. I was elated when my comics garnered praise from others and even indulged in daydreams that I was already a successful comic book artist with a nice car and a big house. But in real life, I was just an unremarkable employee in a company and I had no chance of becoming famous. No matter how well I could draw, I’d never be able to earn much. I felt really sad and dejected.

Know God’s Sovereignty and Find Happiness in Life

By Kaoshen, Germany

When I was little, my father would often say to me, “My son, our family is not well-off, so if you want anything you have to earn money. When you have money, you have everything!” From then on, my dream was to have a career making big bucks so that my family could live a good life.

Once I’d grown up and left school, I worked as an apprentice in a restaurant and a warehouseman at a chemical plant. Although working tired me out, seeing the money I was earning gradually grow, I thought it was all worth it no matter how hard the work was.

Later on, a relative helped me get a job at a clothing company, and the boss said to me: “As long as you work hard, you will soon be able to buy a car and a house.” Hearing him say this, my morale for work soared and I poured all my thought into my job. But after some time had gone by, I still hadn’t managed to get even one contract. A manager warned me, saying, “It’s not enough in this society to be willing to work hard. You have to cultivate personal relationships!” Hearing such meaningful words from the manager, I fell into deep thought: I’m an introvert and I’m the worst at forming personal relationships. But if I don’t change the way I interact with people and conform to the trend, I won’t make any money. That way, my family and I won’t ever be able to live happily … I battled with this idea for a while, but then so as to make a lot of money, I began to learn from my co-workers about giving presents and cultivating relationships with managers from various companies. I would often take clients out eating and drinking as well, and go to karaoke bars with them. One time, I’d gone out of town to take a client out for dinner and, because I’d drunk so much alcohol, I ended up vomiting a lot when I got back to my hotel. My stomach really hurt, but my heart hurt even more. I thought about how I’d had to change myself in order to make money and that I kept attending all kinds of social activities, licking other people’s boots and having to play a role, and even having to drink alcohol every day which was causing my body harm. After every social function, I felt physically and mentally exhausted. Ah! I remember a work colleague once saying mockingly, “While we’re young, we sell our lives for money, but when we get old, we use the money to buy life!” Thinking of these words, I felt a little sad. But I felt I had to accept it in order to make money so that my family could live a good life!

Almighty God's Word "The Creator’s Sincere Feelings Toward Mankind" (Selected Passage)

Introduction

Almighty God says, "People often say that it is not an easy thing to know God. I, however, say that knowing God is not a difficult matter at all, for God frequently allows man to witness His deeds. God has never ceased His dialogue with mankind; He has never concealed Himself from man, nor has He hidden Himself. His thoughts, His ideas, His words and His deeds are all revealed to mankind. Therefore, so long as man wishes to know God, he can come to understand and know Him through all sorts of means and methods. The reason why man blindly thinks that God has intentionally avoided him, that God has intentionally hidden Himself from humanity, that God has no intention of allowing man to understand and know Him, is that he does not know who God is, nor does he wish to understand God; even more so, he is not concerned with the Creator’s thoughts, words or deeds…. Truthfully speaking, if one only uses their idle time to focus upon and understand the Creator’s words or deeds, and pay a little attention to the Creator’s thoughts and the voice of His heart, it will not be difficult for them to realize that the Creator’s thoughts, words and deeds are visible and transparent. Likewise, it will take little effort to realize that the Creator is among man at all times, that He is always in conversation with man and the entirety of creation, and that He is performing new deeds every day. His substance and disposition are expressed in His dialogue with man; His thoughts and ideas are revealed completely in His deeds; He accompanies and observes mankind at all times. He speaks quietly to mankind and all of creation with His silent words: I am above the universe, and I am amongst My creation. I am keeping watch; I am waiting; I am at your side…. His hands are warm and strong; His footsteps are light; His voice is soft and graceful; His form passes and turns, embracing all of mankind; His countenance is beautiful and gentle. He has never left, nor has He vanished. From dawn to dusk, He is mankind’s constant companion. His devoted care and special affection for humanity, as well as His true concern and love for man, were displayed bit by bit when He saved the city of Nineveh. In particular, the exchange between Jehovah God and Jonah laid barer the Creator’s pity for the mankind He Himself created. Through these words, you can obtain a deep understanding of God’s sincere feelings for humanity…."

from "The Word Appears in the Flesh"
Recommended:Today’s Devotion: Do You Worship God in Spirit and in Truth?

Almighty God's Word "The Appearance of God Has Brought a New Age" (Excerpt)

Introduction

Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared.