The annual Christmas has arrived, and it is the most “important” festival to a lot of people. Some people gather together to celebrate, some go to church, full of cheers and laughter. In this commercialized Christmas. Everywhere is decorated with lanterns and colored ribbons, bustling with noise and excitement. Look at this noisy scene, I can’t help thinking: Is Jesus’ redeeming mankind just to let people have such an attitude of gratitude? Does God just let people pay attention to these outward practices or receiving grace from Him? In real life, I see a lot of people who believe in the Lord Jesus just follow some superficial doctrine. Although they work and spend for the Lord, they actually don’t practice the words of the Lord Jesus, nor do they witness the Lord at all, but exalt themselves and establish their position in the hearts of others. Some even steal and eat the offerings…. They still sin while believing in the Lord, and don’t revere God in their hearts in the slightest, living in the vicious cycle of committing sins and then confessing them. I know a couple, the Lord’s believers. There is no forbearance between them, with the result that they quarrel with each other every day and sometimes the husband even struck his wife violently, and the wife was beaten so hard that she choked with sobs. Can their behavior glorify the Lord? Will the Lord acknowledge their belief? I’m confused: Why do people believe in God? And what is the significance of believing in God?
One day I saw the words of Almighty God, “**Many believe in Me only so I would heal them. Many believe in Me only so I would use My power to drive unclean spirits out of their bodies. And many believe in Me simply to receive peace and joy from Me. Many believe in Me only to gain from Me more material wealth, and many believe in Me just to spend this life in safety and to be safe and sound in the world to come. Many believe in Me only to avoid the suffering of hell and to receive the blessings of heaven. Many believe in Me only for temporary comfort but do not seek to gain anything in the world to come.” “Now you all know that belief in God is not solely for salvation of the soul and welfare of the flesh, nor is it to enrich your life through love of God, and so on. As it stands, if you love God for the sake of welfare of the flesh or momentary pleasure, then even if, in the end, your love for God reaches its peak and you ask for nothing, this ‘love’ you seek is still an impure love and not pleasing to God.**” (from The Word Appears in the Flesh)
After reading the words of God, I know that if belief in God is solely for grace, welfare of the flesh or salvation of the soul, it can’t be approved by God. But most people think that belief in God is just for enjoying the grace from God; don’t the people, who nowadays pay much attention to Christmas Day, hope for God’s grace with them all along? For thousands of years people have always been holding on to this viewpoint. So they never change nor seek whether belief in God in this way conforms to God’s will, but just enjoy God’s grace and blessings. What’s the meaning of truly believing in God? Almighty God tells us the answer in His words!
Almighty God says, “**Though many people believe in God, few understand what faith in God means, and what they must do to be after God’s heart. This is because, though people are familiar with the word ‘God’ and phrases such as ‘the work of God,’ they do not know God, much less do they know His work. No wonder, then, that all those who do not know God are possessed of a muddled belief. People do not take belief in God seriously because believing in God is too unfamiliar, too strange for them. In this way, they are far from the demands of God. In other words, if people do not know God, do not know His work, then they are not fit for God’s use, much less can they fulfill the desire of God. ‘Belief in God’ means believing that there is a God; this is the simplest concept of ‘faith in God.’ What’s more, believing that there is a God is not the same as truly believing in God; rather, it is a kind of simple faith with strong religious overtones. True ‘faith in God’ means experiencing the words and work of God based on a belief that God holds sovereignty over all things. So you shall be freed of your corrupt disposition, shall fulfill the desire of God, and shall come to know God. Only through such a journey can you be said to believe in God. Yet people often see belief in God as something very simple and frivolous. The belief of such people is meaningless and shall never gain the approval of God, because they tread the wrong path. Today, there are still those who believe in God in letters, in hollow doctrines. They are unaware that their belief in God has no substance, and that they are unable to gain the approval of God, and they still pray for peace and sufficient grace from God. We should stop and ask ourselves: Could believing in God really be the easiest thing on earth? Does believing in God mean nothing more than receiving much grace from God? Can people who believe in God but do not know Him, and believe in God yet oppose Him, really fulfill the desire of God?**” (from The Word Appears in the Flesh)
After reading God’s words, I understand we considered belief in God as something very simple before. In fact, it is not an easy thing to believe in God. Acknowledging God with our mouths and believing in our hearts is not enough. The purpose of faith in God isn’t solely to obtain grace. Rather, it means experiencing the words and work of God based on a belief that God holds sovereignty over all things. So we shall be freed of our corrupt disposition, shall fulfill the desire of God, and shall come to know God. If we don’t understand the meaning of truly believing in God, but believe in God according to our own notions and imaginations, we not only won’t gain the approval of God, but instead will be despised by God and finally be eliminated by God’s work. So if we want to gain the approval of God, we should walk the path of believing in God according to God’s will.
Bubbha ago
Thank you Reverend linda1978121. Will you be asking for tithes now?