God loves the world. Each of us is chosen by God, and we all have different experiences and stories behind our faith in God. Here are 40 stories and experiences behind people's faiths that I have heard and seen. Maybe the story behind your faith might be here.
While part 1 contains the stories of six Christians and part 2 shares other stories of five believers who encountered God in their hard times, the third episode tells amazing stories of people who believed in the Lord as a result of love and family influence.
13. He was ignorantly brought to the church and became a believer.
He was brought to the church by his mother 20 years ago when he was a child. It can be said that he was "ignorantly" brought to the church by his mother. As a child, he played while in the church, recited the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and sang a few hymns. But that was all superficial. He was not baptized and he did not believe. It was not until he started working in his 20s that he got baptized.
After becoming a believer, he was very enthusiastic and joined the Youth Fellowship of the church and the church choir. He often communicated and consulted with church pastors, wrote some lessons from Bible reading and published poems in the Christian media, participated in the fellowship to share lessons from Bible reading as well as some charity activities carried out by the church. His faith went from ignorance to understanding, and he was able to bring the people around him to the church. He also reached out to some brothers and sisters who were confused about their faith or encountered setbacks, enlightened and helped them with the words of the Bible and his own faith experiences. Sometimes, he helped some brothers and sisters solve practical problems in life and work.
When he was ready to get married, the premise of his love was: "I want to find a believer who shares the same beliefs as me." Thank God that he found his partner among the believers and had a wedding in the church. Today, the three members of the family live a happy life.
14. The love of believers convinced him of the Lord.
The man had three failed marriages, and by the time he was in his 60s, he was alone. He tried to get out of this loneliness. When he was young, he liked musical instruments and was good at playing the saxophone, so he joined some groups of musical players in society. But here he also felt confused. The members of the band fought and schemed against each other, even sabotaged each other; whenever things got serious, it would end up in an uproar. He felt as if instead of relief, he was plunged into a different kind of predicament.
He also had a close friend in the band, a Christian who, when he saw his situation, admonished him and took him to church. He knew that the Christian faith was about love, but he had not experienced it. He was also suspicious. To save his "face", he went to the church with his Christian friend.
When his friends introduced him to the pastor and the church band leader, they warmly welcomed him. Although he was not yet a believer, he was invited to join the church band, where he played and praised with other members. He felt that there was less strife and complexity in the church band than in the social band, and they were filled with love for God. It was in this atmosphere of love that he came to the church almost every day, practicing with others in ensembles, attending church meetings, listening to sermons, and participating in Christmas and other activities organized by the church. Some believers of the church band who knew that he was alone, sometimes brought him steamed stuffed bun, and glutinous rice (zongzi) during the Dragon Boat Festival.
It was in this atmosphere of love that he slowly believed in the Lord, and continued to be active in the church band. He is no longer depressed and lonely.
15. She quit a top executive job position to serve as a writer.
She studied journalism in college, and after graduation, she naturally joined a large media bureau in Shenzhen as a business reporter. Over the years, she got to know many businesspeople and acquired much business knowledge. So she was invited to a company to be a deputy general manager, a top executive, with an annual salary. She did very well in this position, which was quite appreciated by the head of the company.
However, as a member of a family of believers for three generations, she did not forget her belief. She consistently attended church meetings and paid attention to the ministry of the church. Finally, she decided to refuse the company's request to stay, and without hesitation, went to a Christian media as editor-in-chief.
Her colleagues all felt sorry for her and wrongly thought she was going to a new place where the salary was better (choosing money over career). The salary and welfare benefits were nothing compared to that of her former job; the salary and office conditions were poor, the workload was much, sometimes she had to work from dawn to dusk. She had to attend to a lot of readers online, edit and submit articles every day, which was relatively boring. None of this shook her devotion to serve.
She said with a smile: "I have never regretted it, I did not choose this service, the Lord chose me, and gave me this platform."
16. Multi-level Marketing (MLM) bankruptcy caused him to desperately return to the Lord.
He was a believer, but when he saw some people making a lot of money, he envied them and always dreamed of becoming rich himself. To "quickly get rich", he listened to a friend and travelled thousands of miles to join a "project investment" in a southern province. He put in 58,000 yuan for "investment", and after becoming a member, he continued to bring in more people, a kind of "pyramid" marketing. The more people he brought in, the higher his "level" and the higher his income.
When he attended an MLM meeting, he was influenced by the rich "elite" performance speech and the shout of the people at the meeting venue; it seemed like he would soon have a luxury car, a mansion and a lot of money. So he not only invested his own money but also fooled his relatives, classmates, and other people into "get rich" together.
Finally, he became penniless, alienated from his relatives, with no permanent residence, and shamelessly returned to his hometown in the north, relying on his temporary job at the local construction site to make a living.
After all, he was still a believer. In his dilemma, he thought of the church. So he went to the local church to give it a try.
The head pastor of the church warmly welcomed him because believers who had been persecuted by MLM schemes had come to the church for help before. The priest comforted him, and according to his condition, the church placed him in a nursing home and gave him a job as a security guard. This way, he had a permanent home and a job, and his mind was at peace. He confessed his sins before God, and during his spare time, he participated in the service group ministry and actively served the believers and the church. He drove cars, helped with house maintenance, also did some weak current electricity maintenance, etc., and was a "jack of all trades" who went wherever he was needed.
Before the Spring Festival that year, with the encouragement of his pastor, he returned to his hometown with the money he had saved. Everyone thought he would never come back, but he came back after the Spring Festival and brought his wife to serve together in church. He also donated household appliances such as washing machines and electric fans to the nursing homes in his locality. He deeply said: "God and the church saved me when I was at the end of the road, so I cannot bear to leave."
Later, with the encouragement of the church pastor, he did a sales job for an entity company. After working hard, he achieved remarkable results and his income was increased. He now drives his car for business, and it has become the church's "official vehicle".
To be continued…
(The article is originally published by Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Nonye Nancy
十三、 懵懵懂懂被带到教会、明明白白成为信徒。
他是在20年前，从小就被妈妈经常带到教会来参加聚会。可以说，是懵懂被妈妈带到教会来的，其实就是一个在教会玩耍的孩童。小的时候他也会背诵使徒信经，主祷文，也会唱一些赞美诗。但那都是一些表面的，他并没有受洗，也没有信。直到他参加工作后，20多岁的时候，才受洗归主。
成为了信徒以后，他的热情非常高，参加了教会的青年团契、参加了教会的诗班。还经常与教会的传道人交通、请教，写一些读经的心得体会或者诗歌在主内的媒体发表，参加团契的读经心得分享，积极参加教会的一些慈善活动。他的信仰由懵懂变成了明白，而且还能够带领自己周围的人到教堂来。他还会帮助一些在信仰上模糊，或者遇到挫折的弟兄姊妹，用圣经里的话语，用自己的信仰体会来开导他们、帮助他们。有时候还会帮助有的弟兄姊妹解决一些生活当中、工作当中的实际问题。到了谈婚论嫁的年龄，他谈恋爱的时候前提就是：我要找一个信徒，和我有一样的信仰。感谢主！他真的在信徒当中找到了自己的伴侣，并且在教会举行了婚礼。如今，他们一家三口人日子过的其乐融融。
十四、 信徒的爱使他信主了。
这个人有三次失败的婚姻，到了60多岁的时候，落了个孑然一身。他试图摆脱这种孤独的窘境，他年轻的时候喜欢乐器，擅长吹奏萨克斯，于是就参加了社会上的一些玩乐器人的群体。但是在这里他也感觉到了困惑：乐队的这些人在一起也有勾心斗角，甚至互相拆台，严重的时候大吵大闹。他感觉到这里没有使他得到解脱，反而陷入了另外一种的困境。
乐队里也有和他关系挺好的朋友，是基督徒。看到他这种情况就劝告他，带他到教堂里。他也知道信仰基督教是讲爱的，但是他没有体会到，也是将信将疑的，出于“面子”跟着信主的朋友来到了教堂。
当他信主的朋友把他介绍给牧师和教会乐队队长的时候，大家都对他表示了热情的欢迎。尽管他还不是信徒，但是也邀请他参加了教会的乐队，跟着大家一起演奏、伴奏赞美。他感觉到在教会的乐队当中少有社会乐队那种乱糟糟的争斗和复杂的关系，而是充满了主内的爱。就是在这种爱的氛围当中，他几乎每天都到教会来，跟着大家一起练习合奏，同时也参加教会的聚会和听道，参加教会组织的圣诞节等活动。教会乐队的一些弟兄姊妹知道他是一个人，有的时候还会为他带来包子、端午节送粽子等。
就是在这种被爱包围的氛围中，他慢慢地他信主了，而且继续活跃在教会的乐队中，再也没有那种郁闷、没有那种孤独了。
十五、不做高管做文字服侍。
她在大学学的是新闻专业，毕业后自然参加了某大媒体驻深圳的记者站作为商业方面的记者。几年下来，她认识了不少的商界人士，也学习到了不少的经商知识。于是，她应邀到了一家公司做副总经理，也就是说做了公司的高管，拿的是年薪。在这个岗位上她做的也是很好，颇得公司老总的欣赏。
但是，这位姊妹是三代的信徒家庭，她没有忘记自己的信仰，“一直坚持到教会参加聚会，也关注教会的事工。感终于，她下决心谢绝了公司的挽留，毅然来到了一家基督教的媒体做了文字的主编。
同事们都为她惋惜，也有不理解的，以为她去的新地方工资待遇要比这里更好。实际上这个岗位，工资、福利待遇跟在原来的位置上没有办法比拟，工资低的可怜、办公条件简陋、工作量也是很大，有时候要起早贪黑的工作。她在网络要每天面对很多的读者和处理、编辑投稿，也是比较枯燥的。这些，都没有动摇她服侍的忠心。
她笑着说：我从来没有后悔过，不是我选择了这个服侍，是主选择我，给了我这样一个平台。
十六、 传销破产走投无路再次归向主。
他本来就是信徒，但是他看到有的人大把赚钱，很是羡慕，总是梦想自己也能发家致富。为了“快速致富”，他听信了一位好朋友的话，不远千里来到南方某省加入了一个“项目投资”。就是拿出5.8万元，“投资”，成为会员后，再继续拉人头，属于那种“金字塔”式的传销。拉进来的人越多，他的“级别”越高，收入也越高。
当他参加千人的传销聚会现场，被那些“精英”暴富的业绩演讲和会场火爆的呼喊所感染，似乎他马上也会有豪车、豪宅和巨款。于是不仅自己拿出了钱加入，也忽悠了自己的亲属、同学等来一起“致富”。
最后，他落了个分文皆无、众叛亲离、居无定所，无颜回到北方家乡，靠着在当地的工地打工维持生活。
毕竟是信徒。在困境中他想到了教会。于是他抱着试试看的心态来到了当地的教会。
教会的主任牧师热情的接待了他，因为遭受传销迫害的信徒之前也有来到教会求助的。牧师安慰了他，根据他的情况，教会把他安置在一个养老院居住，给了他一份保安的工作，这样，他有了固定的住处和工作，他的心也安定了。他在神的面前认罪悔改，业余时间他参加了服务组的事工，积极为信徒和教会服务：开车、帮助维修房屋、也会一些弱电的维护等等，就是哪里需要就到哪里去的“多面手”。
那一年的春节前，他在教会牧师的鼓励下，带着积攒的钱，回老家了。大家以为他不会再回来了，但是春节后他又回来了，还带来了妻子，一同参加教会的服务。他还为所在的养老院捐献了洗衣机、电风扇等生活电器。他深情的说：是神和教会在我穷途末路的时候挽救了我，我舍不得离开。
后来，他在教会牧师的鼓励下，做了一个实体公司的销售工作，经过打拼，业绩斐然，收入也多了起来。现在，他已经开着自己的车出去跑业务了，同时，他的车也成为了教会的义务“公务用车”。
（本文作者为福音时报特约撰稿人，未完待续。）
http://www.gospeltimes.cn/article/index/id/56406
信仰背后的40个故事（三）
God loves the world. Each of us is chosen by God, and we all have different experiences and stories behind our faith in God. Here are 40 stories and experiences behind people's faiths that I have heard and seen. Maybe the story behind your faith might be here.
While part 1 contains the stories of six Christians and part 2 shares other stories of five believers who encountered God in their hard times, the third episode tells amazing stories of people who believed in the Lord as a result of love and family influence.
13. He was ignorantly brought to the church and became a believer.
He was brought to the church by his mother 20 years ago when he was a child. It can be said that he was "ignorantly" brought to the church by his mother. As a child, he played while in the church, recited the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and sang a few hymns. But that was all superficial. He was not baptized and he did not believe. It was not until he started working in his 20s that he got baptized.
After becoming a believer, he was very enthusiastic and joined the Youth Fellowship of the church and the church choir. He often communicated and consulted with church pastors, wrote some lessons from Bible reading and published poems in the Christian media, participated in the fellowship to share lessons from Bible reading as well as some charity activities carried out by the church. His faith went from ignorance to understanding, and he was able to bring the people around him to the church. He also reached out to some brothers and sisters who were confused about their faith or encountered setbacks, enlightened and helped them with the words of the Bible and his own faith experiences. Sometimes, he helped some brothers and sisters solve practical problems in life and work.
When he was ready to get married, the premise of his love was: "I want to find a believer who shares the same beliefs as me." Thank God that he found his partner among the believers and had a wedding in the church. Today, the three members of the family live a happy life.
14. The love of believers convinced him of the Lord.
The man had three failed marriages, and by the time he was in his 60s, he was alone. He tried to get out of this loneliness. When he was young, he liked musical instruments and was good at playing the saxophone, so he joined some groups of musical players in society. But here he also felt confused. The members of the band fought and schemed against each other, even sabotaged each other; whenever things got serious, it would end up in an uproar. He felt as if instead of relief, he was plunged into a different kind of predicament.
He also had a close friend in the band, a Christian who, when he saw his situation, admonished him and took him to church. He knew that the Christian faith was about love, but he had not experienced it. He was also suspicious. To save his "face", he went to the church with his Christian friend.
When his friends introduced him to the pastor and the church band leader, they warmly welcomed him. Although he was not yet a believer, he was invited to join the church band, where he played and praised with other members. He felt that there was less strife and complexity in the church band than in the social band, and they were filled with love for God. It was in this atmosphere of love that he came to the church almost every day, practicing with others in ensembles, attending church meetings, listening to sermons, and participating in Christmas and other activities organized by the church. Some believers of the church band who knew that he was alone, sometimes brought him steamed stuffed bun, and glutinous rice (zongzi) during the Dragon Boat Festival.
It was in this atmosphere of love that he slowly believed in the Lord, and continued to be active in the church band. He is no longer depressed and lonely.
15. She quit a top executive job position to serve as a writer.
She studied journalism in college, and after graduation, she naturally joined a large media bureau in Shenzhen as a business reporter. Over the years, she got to know many businesspeople and acquired much business knowledge. So she was invited to a company to be a deputy general manager, a top executive, with an annual salary. She did very well in this position, which was quite appreciated by the head of the company.
However, as a member of a family of believers for three generations, she did not forget her belief. She consistently attended church meetings and paid attention to the ministry of the church. Finally, she decided to refuse the company's request to stay, and without hesitation, went to a Christian media as editor-in-chief.
Her colleagues all felt sorry for her and wrongly thought she was going to a new place where the salary was better (choosing money over career). The salary and welfare benefits were nothing compared to that of her former job; the salary and office conditions were poor, the workload was much, sometimes she had to work from dawn to dusk. She had to attend to a lot of readers online, edit and submit articles every day, which was relatively boring. None of this shook her devotion to serve.
She said with a smile: "I have never regretted it, I did not choose this service, the Lord chose me, and gave me this platform."
16. Multi-level Marketing (MLM) bankruptcy caused him to desperately return to the Lord.
He was a believer, but when he saw some people making a lot of money, he envied them and always dreamed of becoming rich himself. To "quickly get rich", he listened to a friend and travelled thousands of miles to join a "project investment" in a southern province. He put in 58,000 yuan for "investment", and after becoming a member, he continued to bring in more people, a kind of "pyramid" marketing. The more people he brought in, the higher his "level" and the higher his income.
When he attended an MLM meeting, he was influenced by the rich "elite" performance speech and the shout of the people at the meeting venue; it seemed like he would soon have a luxury car, a mansion and a lot of money. So he not only invested his own money but also fooled his relatives, classmates, and other people into "get rich" together.
Finally, he became penniless, alienated from his relatives, with no permanent residence, and shamelessly returned to his hometown in the north, relying on his temporary job at the local construction site to make a living.
After all, he was still a believer. In his dilemma, he thought of the church. So he went to the local church to give it a try.
The head pastor of the church warmly welcomed him because believers who had been persecuted by MLM schemes had come to the church for help before. The priest comforted him, and according to his condition, the church placed him in a nursing home and gave him a job as a security guard. This way, he had a permanent home and a job, and his mind was at peace. He confessed his sins before God, and during his spare time, he participated in the service group ministry and actively served the believers and the church. He drove cars, helped with house maintenance, also did some weak current electricity maintenance, etc., and was a "jack of all trades" who went wherever he was needed.
Before the Spring Festival that year, with the encouragement of his pastor, he returned to his hometown with the money he had saved. Everyone thought he would never come back, but he came back after the Spring Festival and brought his wife to serve together in church. He also donated household appliances such as washing machines and electric fans to the nursing homes in his locality. He deeply said: "God and the church saved me when I was at the end of the road, so I cannot bear to leave."
Later, with the encouragement of the church pastor, he did a sales job for an entity company. After working hard, he achieved remarkable results and his income was increased. He now drives his car for business, and it has become the church's "official vehicle".
To be continued…
(The article is originally published by Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Nonye Nancy
40 Christian Faith Stories (Part 3)
