How to Know God’s Righteous Disposition Though His Words? | Eastern Lightning

How to Know God’s Righteous Disposition Though His Words?

Through God’s fellowship on “it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come,” this article allows us to have a true understanding of this saying, and to see the righteousness, majesty, and intolerance of offense in God’s disposition, so that we can take a grave warning from the Pharisees’ being cursed by God owing to their blasphemy against God, and reflect on ourselves what manner of attitude we should have to the Lord’s return.

By Xinzhi

Whenever I read these words that the Lord Jesus said to curse the Pharisees, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites” (Matthew 23:13), and “All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven to men. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come” (Matthew 12:31-32), though I knew that it is because the Pharisees’ actions and deeds drew the ire of God and made God hate them to the extreme that God pronounced such curses upon them, I was still confused: Since God detested the Pharisees so much, why isn’t it recorded in the Bible how He punished them? And how is the saying of God “it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come” fulfilled? This made me feel confused all the time.

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What's the Lord's Will Behind the Parable of the Lost Sheep? | Eastern Lightning

What’s the Lord’s Will Behind the Parable of the Lost Sheep?

By Xiaoran

    In the past, I particularly liked reading the parable of the lost sheep told by the Lord Jesus. He said: “How think you? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, does he not leave the ninety and nine, and goes into the mountains, and seeks that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, truly I say to you, he rejoices more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish” (Matthew 18:12-14). Every time I read this passage, I was especially moved within and I thought that the Lord Jesus’ love for mankind was so great. God wouldn’t forsake any of His sheep as long as it was His. But I didn’t understand the Lord Jesus’ words: “Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish,” nor could I comprehend God’s will behind His words. It wasn’t until I read God’s words afterward that I had a deep understanding of the Lord Jesus’ intention in saying the words.

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Where Ever Is the Kingdom of God? On Earth or In Heaven? | Eastern Lightning

Where Ever Is the Kingdom of God? On Earth or In Heaven?

By Liu Yu

In the Bible, the Lord Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2–3). Someone may ask: The Lord ascended upon a white cloud to prepare our place. Once ready, He will come and receive us to the kingdom of heaven. You say the Lord Jesus has come, but why haven’t we been raptured up into heaven and are still on earth?

What Is True Belief in God? | Eastern Lightning

Brothers and sisters: If we believe in God based on the viewpoint “seeing is believing”, is it in accordance with the truth? Can such faith be approved by God? Can people with such faith welcome the Lord’s return and enter the kingdom of heaven? How should we practice so as to have a true belief in God?

By Liu Lei

The Bible recorded such an incident: When the Lord Jesus was resurrected three days after being crucified, He appeared to His disciples. At that time, some of the disciples saw Him, but Thomas didn’t. He said, “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). Later, the Lord Jesus appeared to all His disciples, and Thomas was with them. The , “Reach here your finger, and behold my hands; and reach here your hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.” When Thomas saw the Lord was really resurrected, he knelt down and said, “My Lord and my God.” However, the Lord Jesus said: “because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:27–29). Thomas was one of the twelve disciples and followed the Lord Jesus all the time when He preached and worked. He saw the Lord preached in all places and taught people, and saw the Lord performed many signs and wonders, such as, healing the person who was born blind, feeding five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish, raising the dead, calming the wind and waves, and so on. But why did he still doubt the Lord’s identity? This problem has been puzzling me for a long time. I sought many pastors and elders for that, but none of them could explain it clearly.

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Is the Kingdom of Heaven Really in Heaven? | Eastern Lightning

Is the Kingdom of Heaven Really in Heaven?

I’m a sailor. I learned about the Bible from abroad in the middle 90’s, and loved reading the Bible. But because of my job, I never attended meetings. That, however, made no difference to my faith in the Lord. Through reading the Bible, I was fascinated by the kingdom of heaven mentioned many times by the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, and knew by heart many verses about it. For example, “Repent you: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

The Four Basic Aspects Christians Should Enter Into to Live Out Normal Humanity | Eastern Lightning

The Four Basic Aspects Christians Should Enter Into to Live Out Normal Humanity

By Shicheng

    As a Christian, we all know that we should live out normal humanity. When interacting with brothers and sisters, we should love each other, understand, forbear and forgive each other, and help each other. This is the Lord’s requirement for every Christian and also what we should practice. Thank the Lord for His guidance! Regarding this topic, I’ll talk about my understanding. In my opinion, there are four basic aspects that we should enter into to live out normal humanity. The first aspect is that brothers and sisters should love each other. Second, we should deal with others with wisdom. Third, we should correctly view others’ merits and shortcomings, neither overestimating nor underestimating others. Fourth, we should also possess conscience, reason, and integrity in interacting with others. If we can practice and enter into these four aspects, then we will meet the basic conditions for living out of the normal humanity Christians should possess. Now, let’s talk about the four aspects in detail.

"God Is Seeking Those Who Thirst for His Appearance" | Eastern Lightning

Christian Song | The Second Coming of Lord | "God Is Seeking Those Who Thirst for His Appearance"

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    God seeks those who long for Him, who long for Him to appear. God seeks those who don't resist, obedient as babies before Him. God seeks those who are able, able to hear His words, accept what He's entrusted and offer heart and body to Him. If nothing can shake, nothing can shake your devotion to God, He'll look down upon you, look down upon you with favor, oh … God will bestow His blessings upon you, upon you, oh … God will bestow His blessings upon you!