Breaking Through the Barriers of Darkness: Recognizing the Cult of Qigong for What It Is

Chapter 3

Knowing Jesus

1. Story of My Grandma

How quickly does life pass! It comes hurriedly and in a wink it is gone, just like a wind which is, in a twinkling, nowhere to be found; and it is like a shooting star which in an instant disappears from our eyes. The meaning of life and the mystery of the universe baffle all human beings. Since ancient times all humans, no matter what they have been, whether emperors, kings, scholars, commoners, high officials, or men of wealth, have faced death, no matter how different their identities have been. People reflected and searched for a final answer about the reasons of life and existence. But they all failed and left this world with regret and a sense of helplessness and were quickly forgotten by the living, who are going to meet with unavoidable death just like those before them.

My maternal grandma died in 1990. This was an event that I had never experienced in my family ever since I could remember anything. I found it so unbelievable. I was with the family that night at the crematorium. There were corpses lined up at the gate waiting to be cremated. Death was felt in every corner here. None of my family spoke; we only waited in silence.

When it was my grandma's turn, we lifted up and put her body on the conveyer belt. The cremator was an old man. He sized up human bodies as if they were charcoal and then added charcoal skillfully to the crematorium. The cart that held my grandma arrived slowly at the door of the cremator, and the door was flung widely open. The conveyor belt sent forth abruptly my grandma's body, which landed in the chamber of the crematorium. Instantly, my grandma's entire body was covered by fire. Then the door was lowered, shutting my grandma from our view. My soul was vibrantly shaken, and I remembered how grandma, in the boundless stretch of a field of wheat, had told my brother and me children's stories which enchanted us and aroused our imaginations. I saw again in recollection my grandma with the four-year-old me at the train station and saw her running about with her bound feet, asking for directions during the long trip she took me on, as if she were still in the flesh. But now, she was dead. My eyes saw the crematorium again, and I told myself repeatedly in my heart: Grandma is dead. She is indeed dead now, and she is being cremated…

In no more than half an hour, we were handed a plastic bag of bone ash, which we put in a cinerary casket.

This was the first time in my life when I had gotten so close to death and learned something about it. I was greatly shocked spiritually and mentally. I pondered over life itself, my own life and death in the future and also this world. I realized how difficult it was to understand the meaning of life. I longed to find out about the meaning of my life and the reasons for my existence in this world. Where did I come from? Do I have to die? Why do humans die? Is there another world where the dead will go? If only humans could live forever!

In my qigong career I had trusted that qigong could in the end offer answers to these questions. I had built up, on the basis of qigong, a worldview and value system, which were actually a combination of the worldviews of Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism and qigong. But no clear answer as to the essence or meaning of life was offered by this philosophical system.

After suffering all the pains that qigong had brought to me and the pains of life itself, I had now arrived at the remote geographical area that I yearned for. My new life had begun.

2 . Darkness before Daybreak

After I arrived at the new place, I started to do business. I had at that time suspected that it was qigong that had brought about my misfortunes and had at the same time been disappointed as to what qigong could do. Though I had not stopped practicing it, my enthusiasm for it had decreased considerably. By then, my practice of qigong had continued for almost eleven years, with the first seven years consisting of formal and continual practice. I could not give up the practice, even though seven years of persistence had been so uneasy that I was unable to understand how I could have done it when I looked back at my qigong history. I decided to say goodbye to the past and never to let anyone know I was a qigong master; nor would I heal anyone nor use any of my supernormal abilities, nor would I seek any more supernormal capabilities. I wanted to become a totally new man, having no trace at all of the past.

One day, I decided to stop practicing qigong for a day. That night I did not sit in meditation, but went to bed directly. I could not go to sleep. I lay on my bed and thought a lot, feeling an unusual relaxation and relief, but also a thread of regret. In seven years this was the first time that I had ever decided to stop for even one day my practice of qigong. But I hoped in this way to bring myself some good luck for my new life. I slept very peacefully that night, having no bad feelings at all. I resumed practice of qigong the next day. Even though I had stopped for only one day, I did feel that I had parted from the old time and started a new life.

It was not long before I got a very good business chance that I had dreamed of for a long time. I was thrilled about this good chance which was exactly what I had longed for. I did my daily business while waiting uneasily, fearing any change in this business opportunity. I did not believe that anything good could happen to me. Just at this time, however, an unexpected event put all my business into a desperate position. I was almost completely hopeless. What happened was extremely strange and totally illogical, as if a stone fell out of the sky and struck me on my head. I asked myself sadly why I was so unfortunate that it looked as if a curse were always following me, unwilling to leave me alone.

I went out of town on business one day and stayed in a hotel room with other guys. I did not practice qigong, for it was inconvenient with other people around. But the next day my business was unexpectedly so successful that I no longer believed myself to be an unfortunate person. For the first time in years, my heart was filled with the joy of success and also a degree of confidence. I felt indistinctly, though, that this had something to do with my missing my qigong practice the night before. But if it was true, then … I dared not to go on thinking along this line. I got a chance to practice qigong for a little while that night, and the next day a business deal which was expected to be easily successful failed completely and I even had to pay out of pocket. I was despondent on one hand, but, on the other hand, I realized suddenly that I had practiced qigong the night before. What a curious coincidence! What a sharp contrast! Good heavens! What on earth is the matter? Who could tell me? I was extremely grieved and began to see the most horrible series of cause and effect. But I was yet unable to make a confident judgement.

I went on practicing qigong like a moth darting into a fire, not knowing I was seeking my own doom.

How time flew! Soon it was winter vacation. A very strange thing happened. After spring festival I received a telegram informing me the recent death of my grandfather. In the following days strange things happened incessantly. My mum had in one meal the amount of food sufficient for her three meals; I took a picture of my mum, but later I found it was blank on the negative; the lamp fell by itself off the ceiling; the iron stove in the yard knocked itself over suddenly, as if someone had pushed it hard. I had not seen such strange things as these for a long time, and I worried what other terrible things were to come.

Spring came and I threw myself completely into my study. Studying was the best way for me to forget about the past.

One day I heard that the child of a friend had contracted an incurable illness. I was suddenly very sympathetic with this little kid and decided to use my qigong gongfu to heal her. I sat in my room and started to meditate, imagining that I had come all of a sudden to that friend's house, found the little girl, sent forth gong to her, and then returned to my room. But later I heard that this child's disease had gotten abnormally serious suddenly that day and that the child had been examined in the hospital without any discovery of the cause. The child got over the illness and was taken home happily, but the parents were badly troubled by the false alarm.

I wondered a lot why I could not heal the child, why on the contrary she seemed to have gotten sicker because of me. This was the last time I tried to heal the sick with my qigong since it was so unsuccessful a try. In some sense, it marked the end of a period in my life.

3. The Appearing of Morning Stars

One afternoon about the end of March in 1994, I rode my bicycle to a place where I had some business. The weather was still cold, but spring had definitely come.

I met an acquaintance on the way whom I had known for over half a year. Both of us had very a good impression of each other though we did not know each other very well. Since we were going in the same direction, we just rode our bicycles together and chatted. Up to day, I still wonder, when I recall, for what purpose or with what motivation I suddenly asked him that day about qigong.

I said, "Do you know about qigong?"

He nodded and said, "Yes. Qigong is very dangerous."

Instantly, his words sounded in my ears like thunders. I was stunned with shock. Time seemed to have stopped. A light seemed to have shone through the darkness and straightened out my mind. The window of my soul was flung open, light coming through.

I hurriedly asked him, "Why? Why is qigong dangerous?"

Having arrived at his place, he had me stop with him and continue our conversation. I impatiently waited, and he asked me, "Do you believe there is still another world outside this world?"

"I believe."

Maybe because I answered too easily for him to be sure I really understood what he meant, he gestured, drew a circle on his palm, and divided the circle into two halves, saying while pointing to one of them, "The world can be divided into two parts. This part is where we are living now. It is visible and intelligible by the senses. We call it the material world." He pointed to the other half circle and said, "but this half is invisible and very hard to understand by the senses. We call it the spiritual world. Do you see what I mean?"

I sure did, but I did not tell him that I had understood it through qigong practice. I told him that I believed what he had just said, and he was quite shocked, saying, "There are many atheists who believe only this world that their eyes can see. How did you find out about the spiritual world?" I didn't answer him directly.

I said goodbye to him and continued my way.

My soul was surging in me and hard to quieten down. I questioned repeatedly why he knew qigong to be dangerous and why he looked so sure about what he said about it. I knew that I had to consider this problem seriously that had been harassing me. I longed to make clarify this issue and suddenly felt that this person was the one who could completely solve my problem and remove my perplexity. I decided to find him and visit with him.

I finally found him on one warm afternoon. We walked and chatted, and I cautiously told him about the many strange things that had happened to my family after my grandfather's death, trying to see how knowledgeable he was in this area. What I found out was surprising. He said those things were not strange at all and that what was important was to understand the truth about these things. I realized I had finally met with a bosom friend. I was very happy because I was able to talk with him unguardedly. We then went directly to the major issue.

I asked him, "Do you believe supernormal ability exists?" I looked at him, waiting for a reply.

He nodded. "I know supernormal ability does exist. It is a supernatural power." In order to illustrate further, he pointed to some small buildings along the street and said, "Let me give you an example. Some people can use their supernormal ability to make them fly up to sky and back to ground. Very powerful. Of course, this is only an analogy."

I looked at him and said seriously, "I believe there are people who are able to do that."

He was very interested in talking with me and patiently explained, "But you have to understand that the supernormal capabilities do not belong to the person who claims to have them."

A peal of thunder split just above my head. My mind was opened up wide, with a cool wind blowing through.

I did not know what to say; panic and disturbance filled up my heart.

He suddenly became cautious and stopped the topic. After pondering for a little while, he said to me, "If you are interested in knowing more about these things, please come to my home in the evening the day after tomorrow. I have a Bible for you to read. It will answer all your questions.

I accepted his invitation immediately; I was a drowning man in the sea spotting a life buoy, and I had to seize it!

4. The Longest Night

I waited impatiently for the time to come when I could go and visit him at his home. But I continued to practice qigong. The time finally came.

It was a very peaceful and beautiful evening. Cool air instilled into my chest gave me a comfortable feeling. I walked along the street covered with leafy trees, and from time to time warm lamplight shed through the tree limbs on me and on the road before my feet. Stars shimmered in the night sky as if they were guarding a very special night.

I could never have dreamed that this night would be a life turning point for me, and it was a Good Friday.

I went up the stairs and knocked at my friend’s door. The door opened and a bright light shone through, seeming to bring with it a beautiful serenade.

He and his wife greeted me and smilingly welcomed me into their home.

Music was playing in their room, filling every corner and also my heart. I sat down on the sofa in the orange light sent forth from the lamp. On the tea table in front of me were a few small plates of candied fruit and three fine teacups. I could see they had especially prepared for my coming; feelings of gratefulness and warmth gushed up from the bottom of my heart.

He sat down kindly and chatted with me with a smile on his face. His wife sat down by the other side of the tea table, poured tea into my teacup, asked me if I would like have some candied fruit, and then listened to our conversation with a smile on her face.

We did not get to our topic immediately; we just chatted, but he seemed to have something on his mind.

Suddenly he put his hand unconsciously on the back of the sofa behind me. I felt a strong power in my back coming from his hand and spreading instantly to my neck. There was warmth wherever this power reached, and it seemed that there was a hard layer of ice in my back melting rapidly. I was astounded and looked at him with surprise, I could not keep from asking him, "There is great power in your hand! Why?" I described to him my feeling, but he just casually said, "Really? If it makes you feel comfortable, I'll keep my hand there." I was very much surprised, but also trusted him a lot. Then I heard the music played by the tape recorder. It not only reached my ears, but touched my heart as well. I had ease of mind, and my heart started to be moved by the peace, comfort and warmth in the music. I immediately discerned a special power in this music unlike that of ordinary music.

I could not help saying, "This music is very special, very powerful." A wonderful surprised look immediately came on his face, and he asked me, "You could really feel the power of this music? This is very interesting. Do you know what music it is?"

I shook my head. I had no idea at all.

"Let me tell you. It is Christian music." His hopeful eyes were filled with expectations.

I did not have much response, for I had very little knowledge of Christianity. I had known an old lady who had come back to China from the United States to preach the gospel. She visited my home, but after some research and discussion, we decided that Christianity and qigong were just the same in essence. Later I read part of the Old Testament and some pamphlets and reached the conclusion that Jesus was a qigong master of high level.

He said to me, "I'm a Christian. I believe in Jesus. I believe in God." He further asked me, "Why did you ask me those questions days ago? Do you have anything on your mind to tell me?"

I finally made up my mind to let him know about my practice of qigong. I believed that he would understand me. For years I had never found anyone who would listen to my stories. I had never found anybody to whom I could speak about all my miseries. I had now finally found this person, this man in front of me.

I started to tell my life history. All the loneliness and sorrow buried in my heart for years came out incessantly from me. I started from my childhood to the present time, including my qigong history, major events, failures and pains in my life, especially in the most recent years. Soon I could not help sobbing. Tears rushed out like a spring. All my grief and shame seemed to be flowing out of me with the tears. My friend and his wife listened quietly and said some words of comfort, sympathizing with me. Gently, he touched my back with his hand; warmth and power kept flowing into my body.

While I was still choked with sobs, he told me that they had been praying for me in Jesus’ name ever since I came into his house. Only Jesus as the Sovereign Representative of God could get me out of my abyss of misery and give me a brand new life. He asked me if I would like to pray and accept Jesus as my personal savior and friend. I hesitated a little and told them to please wait until I finished what I still had to say.

I went on pouring out my grievances, tears running down my face. I recalled the past events. What sufferings! How sorrowful! I cried for myself continuously. I kept recounting, releasing all the burdens and depressions in my heart. My soul was a bird freed from bondage. My body was like a piece of melting ice, warm and comfortable, extremely relaxed.

I wept for two to three hours, forgetting the world and time in my cries, leaving deep pains and hurt quickly behind me, never to return.

Eventually, my heart's grief came to a halt; my tears seemed to be no more. My cries weakened, and the beautiful praise music arose again in my ears. It sounded holy and peaceful.

I lifted up my head and leaned back on the sofa. I felt entirely relaxed both mentally and physically. My friend and his wife looked at me with concern and poured some more tea for me. He held my shoulders and passed to me a towel to wipe away my tears. I felt a little embarrassed for I had not realized until then that I had cried for such a long time.

He asked me again, "Would you like to accept Jesus as your Savior and Friend? Are you willing to accept God?"

I was hesitant. I was not ready, so I did not know what to do.

"There is one thing you must understand. When you practice qigong, you are actually worshipping the evil spirits and Satan. Those supernormal capabilities do not belong to you. To say they are yours is a lie, which you believed. The evil spirits empower you and let you taste some of the sweetness of being able to employ supernormal ability. But their purpose is to get you away from God and to further destroy your life. Do you understand?"

"I don't understand completely, but I'm sure what you said is true, for my past life has proved what you've just said."

"Very good." He was very happy and said, "So, it is a sin that you have committed, and it has angered and grieved God. The first thing you should do is to confess to God all the sins you have committed in your life, especially your practice of qigong. There is one thing you must be clear about: in God's eye, any faults and wrongdoings, whether they are actions, or words, or even thoughts, are all sins. Hence the Bible says, 'All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.'"

"Then everybody is full of sins?"

"Yes. But God is perfectly holy."

"Will God forgive me?"

"Of course, He will. God is the Heavenly Father of human beings. He is our God full of mercy. As long as you confess, He will forgive you. Jesus has taken away all our sins. Trust Him!"

I then told him my heart's anxiety: "Does that mean if I confess my sins and accept Jesus as my friend, my life will be happy?"

"Certainly. Because God will begin to bless you, for you have become His child." His answer gave me great comfort. "And more importantly, you will be able to go to Heaven after you die, and enjoy the perfect eternal life."

Eternal life? Is this not exactly what I seek? I was hopeful, like an endless night finally met with the twilight. Though I did not yet completely understand him, I saw hope and light. Water of life started to moisten my thirsty soul.

Following his guidance, I began to confess my sins before God. I recalled my past, searched my mind for every single sin I had committed, and confessed to God every one of them, saying, "God, please forgive this sin of mine." I prayed for each of them, and very soon I had come to the sin of my qigong practice. Oh, my God, I did not know how to pray about this one. It was like finding a big heap of garbage in the room after I had cleaned it. I felt ashamed and miserably regretful. I recalled and confessed all kinds of qigong that I had practiced. I was even reminded of all the Buddhist and Tibetan incantations I had chanted. I once imagined myself to be a skeleton. Thinking of these, I could not help but shiver with cold and confessed all the more wholeheartedly to God.

After I do not know how long, I had at last thrown all the garbage and filth out of my heart. I felt that my soul was totally cleansed.

My friend happily said, "This is wonderful. We've been praying for you to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

"What is the Holy Spirit?"

"There are two kinds of spirits in the spiritual world. One is the evil spirit, which comes from the devil, or Satan. When you practiced qigong, you were filled with evil spirits. In contrast is the Holy Spirit, who comes from God, who is the King of the universe. Christians are filled with the Holy Spirit. The essences of these two spirits are totally different and completely opposite to each other."

My rational knowledge was much clearer now. I suddenly realized what I had done before: "Is it that I worked for the devil before?"

He laughed. "Yes. And you have paid a miserable price for it. But all has passed. Tomorrow is a new day."

Yes. How beautiful! A new life had begun.

"Let us pray," he reminded me.

"Yes, let us pray."

My soul wanted to pray, to know God, to be blessed by God and part forever from the terrible past.

He told me prayers should be made in Jesus' Name. I asked him why. He explained, "I can only explain this very simply to you now, but all the truths are in the Bible, in which you can find answers to all your questions. This is why the Bible is the book which has sold the most copies in the world. People have found in it what is needed for life. You can take your time and read it. Well, now let me answer the question you just asked. Do you know about Christmas?"

"Yes, I do. It's the day when people remember Jesus' birth."

"Right. And what is the significance of the B.C. which people use all over the world to mark the time in history?"

"Remembering the birth of Christ." This I had learned a long time ago.

"You're right! 'B.C.' in its original language means 'before Christ.' Jesus is the Christ, and Christ means the Savior of the world."

"I know Jesus is a true historical figure who was sentenced to death by the local government in the time of Roman Empire under Caesar. He was crucified." I had read some historical data from books.

He was very much satisfied with my understanding: " Very good. Jesus is the most famous figure in the world over the past two thousand years. He is the most influential man in human history. He is not a politician, a philosopher, a scientist, or a theologian. He spent only three years telling his local people about Himself. But His words and teaching have become a faith spread continuously all over the world in the past two thousand years."

"What is his relationship with God?" I could not wait to ask this.

"You have asked a very good question. There is very clear and detailed answer in the Bible, but I can only make a simple explanation. The identity of Jesus is the Son of God. God sent Jesus to this world in order to save human beings. And He came as a human being. HE is the perfect Representative of God. You can take him as God. HE came to this world to die for human beings so that all who believe in Him will have their sins forgiven, no longer live under punishment, and have eternal life. But death could not control Him, and He rose again three days after His death and showed Himself to many. He is the One that He claims to be, the Son of God, the only Savior of the whole world. In the ‘Old Testament’ of the Bible, prophecies about the birth of Christ and His activities number over three hundred. Just as Jesus Himself has said, the whole Bible is written about Him."

"When was the Bible written? Who is the author?"

"The Bible consists of two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament was formed between 1500 and 400 B.C. and was written in Hebrew in different times by some prophets guided by God's revelation. When you read the Bible, you will see that many prophecies, especially all those about Jesus, have been already precisely realized. The New Testament was written by Jesus' disciples during A.D. 40 and 100, mainly in Greek."

After I received this knowledge, I got a much clearer understanding. It was absolutely unbelievable that the Bible prophesied about Jesus hundreds, even thousands, of years before Jesus was born.

Then I remembered my question: "Why do prayers have to be made in Jesus' Name?"

"Very well. Let's go back to the previous topic. The Bible tells us that because of human beings' sins, we are in no position to be in direct contact with God. But Jesus died for us and took away our sins. And the whole event is God's plan. Jesus said, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' So we can only be completely connected with God through Jesus alone. This is why we have to pray in Jesus' Name. It was also required by Jesus."

I understood, though not completely, for I still needed to put this new faith of mine into practice. But I was now willing to pray, for I wanted to speak to Jesus and to know my God.

Just then, he reminded me again, "Are you now willing to accept Jesus as your Savior and to pray to God?"

Why not? All of a sudden, I realized that the truth of the world that I had painstakingly sought had been presented in front of me. My soul made a most direct judgment. In the vast universe, there is only one Administrator. He is the God whom we can know through believing in Jesus.

I replied, "I am willing."

"That's good. Let us pray."

I immediately posed a sincere posture to get ready for praying.

He looked at me compassionately and explained, "Praying is different from practicing qigong. You do not have to have a certain posture or formality. The Bible says, 'God is a spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.' God is omniscient, and He can see into our hearts. The purpose of Jesus' coming into this world is to relieve and rescue us. He has said, 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' He gave to those who believe in Him freedom and peace, which can never be taken away from them. This is why you can take Jesus as your Friend and Brother and God as your Father. Do you think you should feel ill at ease with your friend or brother or father? Praying is speaking to Jesus our God and chatting and sharing your heart with Him. You can speak in whatever way you like and never exhaust His patience. He will always listen to you patiently and answer you and bless you. He is our most faithful, most trustworthy friend. He remains the same yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever. He never changes."

After hearing these words, I was silenced. For a time, I did not know how to express my feelings. Is this my God? So humble and accessible like a father to me? In an instant there flashed across my mind the deathlike, miserable feeling of my first sitting in meditation. I also seemed to see myself in pitiful tears while sitting in meditation in my mosquito net at that Qingming. I remembered again on the night of acknowledging my master how I was forced to the ground to kowtow. How stupid and miserable I was! I then wanted to cry aloud again for my own past and also for my God Jesus Christ.

I was fully relaxed and free from any inhibitions. I followed him in prayer to God.

I began to pray to accept Jesus into my heart. He led me sentence by sentence in prayer:

"Dear Jesus Christ, I believe You are the Son of God, the only Savior of my life and also the only Savior of the whole world. I believe You died on the Cross for me. I ask You to please forgive all my sins and debts. Please come now into my life and administer my whole life. I am willing to follow you. Please give me permission to enter Heaven and let me have the full life you promised. I ask You again to please forgive my sins and please give me the power to eradicate my bad habits and correct all my shortcomings either in my character, my quality, my speech, or my thinking. Jesus, please give me a strong faith, a great love, hope and wisdom. Please give me eternal life. In Jesus' Name. Amen!"

This is the very first prayer that I made in my life to Jesus Christ, and it is the most important turning point in my life. I proclaimed to the spiritual sphere and to the world: "I have become a follower of Jesus Christ. I am a Christian. I am now a child of God!" Henceforth, my brand new life had begun. But it was not until later that I really understood the significance of all these things.

After I had prayed this prayer, my friends were filled with joy, as if they had just accomplished something for themselves. They said to me, "Congratulations! We're very happy for you! Praise God for choosing you. You are blessed."

"Thank you very much! It was as wonderful as in a dream." I was exceedingly gratified and sipped the fragrant tea.

"Since you have made this prayer of confession, you can pray by yourself in Jesus' Name to God. You can also pray directly to Jesus. You can pray now for what you would like to pray for." He encouraged me.

How much I would like to pray! I had a lot of wishes to say to God. I longed for happiness, and I was afraid of my hellish life in the past. I longed for freedom, peace and blessings.

"I pray in Jesus' Name." I began to pray; my heart filled with joy and newness. "God, please give me a happy, free and peaceful life." My prayer was very simple, but by saying it, I told God personally my most sincere wish.

This was my first prayer request, and God has answered me, just as a father would answer a child. Since then I have obtained the life that I had long longed for and that I am enjoying up to today. I learned that God is faithful and dependable. When you put all of your hope in Him, you will never be disappointed.

When we looked at the watch, it was already after four in the morning.

Full of thankfulness and also embarrassment, I said goodbye to them. They assured me that it had been their great pleasure to do this for me and asked me never to feel sorry for taking their time. They promised me that they would pray for me and made an appointment with me to meet again on Sunday. I learned then that this Sunday was Easter.

I tucked the Bible into my bosom on the way home, joyfully thinking about the wondrous experience tonight. All was quiet at night; the whole world seemed to be sleeping. I had no fear, feeling as if God were holding me in His arms. No evil spirits dared harm me.

Back to where I live. I did not sit in meditation, but went straight to bed. I lay down and felt like gigantic chains on me had been loosened. Thinking that I no longer had to sit in meditation, I felt boundlessly and sweetly happy. I fell asleep, and my soul rested.

5. Who Am I

It was Easter. On this day two thousand years ago, Jesus rose from the dead and made this day a dividing line for human history. I had had two free and relaxed days. I arrived at his house on time.

He welcomed me like an old friend, and I found that a deep bond had formed between us, a friendship I had never had before, like sunshine in spring time shining on the frozen river bed in my heart that had just started to unfreeze.

After we had sat down, he asked me, "How have you been doing these days?"

I said with deep feeling, "I've been doing very well."

"Wonderful. Did you pray?"

Oh, right, how come I forgot to pray? I said very much ill at ease, "I forgot to pray. But I felt extremely well these days."

He said with concern, "We cannot depend on our feelings, unlike qigong practice, which depends totally on one's feeling. It is as dangerous as a blind person riding on a blind horse. Our Christian faith emphasizes facts very much. You should put your faith into practice in your life and verify what you believe. We should use God-given wisdom to analyze, evaluate and test what we experience in life. And Jesus said He must testify to us about Himself."

This was indeed a very truthful principle, completely different from the qigong ideologies that had been formed in me during the many years before. Qigong has its basis in feeling, which then produced facts. But Christ based our faith on facts, by which He had us verify our faith theories. I asked, "How should I practice?"

"Praying is the most direct means of practice. You can pray about general issues and also about detailed and specific things. When what you have prayed for is realized case by case, you will be shocked and know Who it is that you have believed in. Naturally, your heart will be fill with joy, and you will suddenly see the light and say, 'Wow! It IS so wondrous!' In the meantime, you should read your Bible and master as soon as you can the basic structure of the Faith. You had better start with the New Testament and try to understand all that is in the gospel and know God's plan and blessings for us." He explained to me joyfully, and I listened to him with great interest.

"One more thing. You should have fellowship with other Christians. You can go to church or get together often with Christian friends. In this way, you may, on one the hand, learn more truth and grow strong in Christ; on the other hand, you will know more Christian friends, those who know Jesus and follow Him, and you will start a new life totally different from before."

I learned a lot from his words, and this kind of real life was exactly what I had dreamed for. I began to realize how dangerous it was to live according to our feelings.

"What is most important for Christians?"

"This is a very good question. Always remember, the most important thing for Christians is love. Love Jesus and God and love all the people as we love ourselves." What wonderful principles! Love. Who would ever refuse it? Love. Who could live without it? I thought about it carefully and acquired some new knowledge of God.

"You can now pray if you would like," he warmly suggested to me.

What should I pray about? I searched for something in my mind and thought of the business that my family was doing. We were trying to run a restaurant and rented some rooms. We had done our very best to renovate the interior and were ready to start business when we suddenly received a notice from the government that forbade us to do so. What a most terrible misfortune it was! All of our efforts had been in vain. But I was already used to misery and numb to it. We rented another ideal site very soon, but others seized it within a week. They had a very good relationship with the owner. We were desperate and very low in spirit. This was my biggest concern at present.

I began to pray about it. "I pray in Jesus' Name. May God give us a good place to rent for a restaurant. Amen."

My friends joined me, saying "Amen," and showed they agreed with me in prayer about what I had just prayed for.

I felt a kind of comfort in my heart when I prayed, though I never thought what the result would be.

But what happened later made me understand who I am and what identity I do have!

Time passed by quickly, and we got more and more interested in our conversation. Finally I could talk as a normal person with others. New life had indeed begun.

My friend said they would like to pray for me, and I gladly accepted. He put his hand on my shoulder, and they began to pray. I felt a warm power permeate my whole body. Slowly I felt discomfort coming into my heart, and my body felt uneasy. I told them I would like to lie down, and they quickly made space for me on the sofa, and I lay down on my back.

I felt very exhausted or, I should say, very restless, as if something were going to happen. I closed my eyes.

They continued to pray for me, and there was a kind of power covering me and filling the whole room.

Suddenly, my body had a twitch. A power came into me. I was startled and opened my eyes immediately.

"What happened?" They asked.

"Nothing." I didn't know what it was, so I did not really care much about it.

They started praying again. Very obviously, greater power was at work. My body snapped again and wrenched violently. This time, I felt a power coming from within my body. Unlike the "spontaneous movement" in qigong practice, this power did not move my body into any movements but wanted to rush out of my body.

I sat up in a hurry and was frightened. He seemed shocked. Looking at each other, he and his wife exchanged their views. He then told me seriously, "Listen. Don't be afraid. You are ok. God is with you. We want to pray a special prayer for you. If the same thing happens again, you hold on and pray to God for His help."

I lay down again, deciding that I would like to see what was going to happen again.

The words of prayer rose again, and my body began to twitch again. A strong power at my belly button pulled my body violently and pushed my head and feet upward just like in a twitch. I tried to hold on and seized the sofa fast with my hands. It seemed that there was more than one power in my body knocking side to side. These forces then combined into a single force and rushed fiercely, which bulged up the part of my body it happened to attack, like a trapped rabbit wanting to escape out of a sack. I opened my eyes and looked while it tormented my body.

Slowly I felt this power had suddenly become a person, a conscious person. Oh, God, it was me! No, it was impossible. Then who was "he"? I felt again that it was me. But then who was I? A terrible idea came up to my mind. There were two "I"s. One wanted to go out of my body; the other was at a loss. Oh, my God, which one was me! I shouted out loud, and my cries were filled with fear. Then I was taken into warm warms, and I opened my eyes wide open and looked at my hands and my body. My mind made a clear judgment that this was me, no problem, a real me. Yes, this was me! I was able to control my consciousness at last and calmed down a little bit.

My body got impulsive again, and it seemed that my whole body was going to be thrown out. I clasped tightly the mat I was sitting on, expecting the power in my body to go out soon. It rushed to my chest, and my upper body shifted to one side abruptly, and the lower part of my body was stretched out like an arch. I twitched for a long time, and I moaned desperately. At last, all that crazy power rushed out of my body. Instantly my body became like a deflated rubber ball and was softened. I lay completely still. Both my body and my mind felt very empty, as if everything had become static. My friend’s gentle voice flew softly into my ear, saying, "It's ok now. You're all right. It's all over."

I opened my eyes slowly and felt as if a century had just passed by. I sat upright and looked at my body. I felt that I was myself, very real, and felt like I was cleansed thoroughly inside and out. My heart was thus extremely lightened. I was now very clear-headed. There was no doubt that I was I!

He looked at me with concern, and weariness on his face betrayed him. He told me that I had invited very strong demons into myself during the years of my qigong practice and that what had happened just now was the casting out of these demons so that Satan could no longer control me or defeat me because Jesus had saved me and made me a son of God.

Later I was surprised to read in the Bible about how Jesus drove out the demons from possessed people during his day. What had happened to me was very similar. Since then I have believed that my practice of qigong was actually the act of having the devil come into me and become one with my soul. I believed that my supernormal ability was actually the devil’s supernormal ability. But the devil did not let me notice this fact and had always fooled me and made me lose "my ego" and become his slave. I understood at last how much my life had once been in peril! I was nonetheless saved, and I am full of gratitude to God and admiration for Him.

During the years since that time, whenever I recall that night's experience, I consider myself to be very fortunate, and I cannot help thinking: Why has Jesus chosen me? How blessed I am!

I had had dealings with too many evil spirits, who were now very unhappy to leave me. When my friends prayed for me again a few hours later, I found there were still other demons lingering in me. I was reminded that Jesus once drove seven demons out of one person. I really did not know how many evil spirits were in me or how many sins I had had. It was very late at night, and my friends were very tired. I left them and got on my bike to go home.

I went to bed not long after I got back home, feeling complete ease in my mind, when my brother came in suddenly bringing me a piece of good news. He told me that he had just gotten a telephone call informing us the site for restaurant that we would like very much to rent was now available again for us.

Was not this exactly what I had prayed to God for hours ago? He answered me!

I nearly jumped off my bed, and praise to God came out of my mouth for the very first time: "You are great, God!" How unbelievable! God had really listened to my prayers! So quickly He had given me a wonderful surprise! I was so happy and started to learn a little about God.

God answered more of my prayers in the following days and assured me that His existence is a fact. He communicated with me and proved Himself through answering my prayers. All the help God gave me satisfied my biggest needs and was related to my daily life. He blessed me practically and made me see a lot of amazing and exact facts. The practice of my faith was full of excitement and the joy of success. Through the practice of prayer, I saw shocking results that brought me to complete submission to and admiration for God.

Days later, I went to their home again and found that they had invited another younger Christian to help pray for driving the demons out of me. This young Christian later became my best friend. The three began to pray, and I began to twitch again, though much less violently. Truly there were demons driven out again. They repeatedly did this for me for one month, and finally during the last time I could lie in peace when they prayed for me. I felt as if I were sleeping in warm arms. I no longer had any struggles or tears, but only inexplicable happiness and peace saturating my body and soul.

I remembered what Jesus said: "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." He also said, "Whoever lives and believes in me will never die."

I have been given this full and eternal life. Praise God!

This is how I became a Christian. I hope all qigong practitioners who read my story will take it as a true experience and draw lessons from it. We have all erred and taken a wrong and foolish direction, which leads to disasters, death and hell. Only Jesus is our Savior, through whom alone can we have eternal life and enter into the Kingdom of God. I sincerely hope that you will face the fact and make a wise decision, which is your God-given freedom and right, not to be taken away by anyone. Jesus said, "He who has ears, let him hear."

Life is like a short dream and passes quickly. Whether you believe in heaven and eternal life or not, please do not let go your last chance in this world.

I pray for you, and I love you deeply.

May God forgive you and bless you!

6. The Taste of Heaven

The wonders of God always amaze His believers greatly. Why are there two billion Christians in the world? Why does the Gospel give millions upon millions of people hope of life wherever it is spread? Why do American presidents take their oath with their hands on the Bible at their inauguration? Why do many famous scientists believe in Jesus Christ? Modern science and technology have helped to spread the Gospel more quickly and more widely. The rapid development of modern societies has proved the truthfulness of the Gospel. Jesus said, "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations." Over the past two thousand years, the spreading of the gospel has gone from its tiny infancy in its beginning to its development today over the whole world and has proved the prophecies of Jesus. When compared to the eternity of God, all the eminent figures in the long procession of human history—magnificent kings, so-called great people, celebrities, powerful autocrats, the luxuriant wealthy, and the ignorant arrogant—are but smoke disappearing into the air, leaving no traces at all or but pleasant flowers and fragrant grass that are merely burned up and never remembered, even in the place where they had once lived.

Truth does not need to be supported by authorities to be true. People long for truth like travelers in a long, dark night expecting the daybreak. Innumerable people do not know truth because they have never been shown the truth. When people who have been unable to see truth ever since birth at last have the blinders removed from their eyes, all lies are shown to be naught under the sunlight. Such people suddenly see the sky with tearful eyes.

When I was finally able to escape from the death valley of qigong, I entered into a boundless Garden of Eden flowing with milk and honey, and Jesus' love filled my soul and body.

My language is too poor to express the happiness, peace and joy I experienced when I first believed in God and became a Christian. All the demons in me were driven out, and I experienced during that month a happiness that I had never experienced before, a kind of happiness that was like a warm cloud surrounding me. When I was on my way or stayed at home or lay on my bed, wherever I was, God's Spirit was always in me, giving me limitless peace. I was like a wounded prodigal who had roamed about for long years and was now back home. God's love showered upon me, like holy living water bathing my body and soul. I would not have regretted it, even if I had died soon. I often found myself wondering whether this was only a dream, for over the past years I had become numb to happiness and come to believe I would never have happiness in my life. I looked up at the bright sunshine, the blue sky and white clouds, and the green trees along the street and found them to be so real that I realized I was indeed enjoying great happiness. Oh, how wonderful life is! Oh, God, how much You love me!

Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

My soul and body recovered rapidly, and I began to like my life and to realize that my life is pricelessly precious. I used to dislike my life and was obsessed by suicidal tendencies. After I became a Christian, I met a young Christian friend who helped to cast the demons out of me. He is a little older than I and like a big brother to me. He is full of love and often shows a holy light on his face. We often got together and enjoyed fellowship as we prayed and studied the Bible together. He has now become my best friend. When we were together, I experienced the love between Christians, a love which is sincere, attentive, and unguarded. It is a love that is shown in the treatment and forbearance of each other.

He taught me Bible truths and guided my growth in Christ. He prayed for me often and cared for me in all things, helping me to know Jesus and myself further. During this period of time, I not only had an actual happy feeling in my heart and soul, but was given timely and practical help in my life, for Jesus often answered my prayers. For me praying has now become both a necessity and a source of joy.

One summer morning, I went into the bathroom as usual. But when I looked into the mirror, I was stupefied. I found myself so greatly changed and full of grace and peace, my eyes so bright and clear, that I could not believe that these changes were all genuine. I looked closely at myself and found no change in my facial features. Yet my look was thoroughly different, and my whole person seemed to brighten up. I could not wait to go and tell my friend this surprising change. He was not surprised at all and told me that this kind of change happens to every Christian because when we have the Holy Spirit in us, we are full of love and light, which will very naturally show on our face.

I continued to pray for the restaurant that my family was trying to run. We lacked the funds to start the business. Someone owed us a sum of money that was just what was needed for our restaurant business. We asked him to return the money to us, but he insisted that he did not owe us any money. It seemed that we had to go to court. We tried our best to retrieve the money before going to court, and the result was dramatic. This person suddenly took all the money to where I lived and returned it to us. We were greatly satisfied and started our business immediately. I was filled with gratitude and reverence for God.

God's blessings quickly reached every aspect of my life. My character changed greatly, and everyone around me noticed it. After some time they all changed their impression of me, now regarding me as a joyful person. I was all the time full of fervent enthusiasm and affected others around me. One day a girl wrote me a note, saying, "Why is your sky always so beautifully blue?" I put the note in my pocket and smiled at her, thinking, I pray that you will know Jesus too.

God answered my many prayers, helping me with big issues as well as small ones. I was no longer easily surprised at what God could do, just let my heart be filled with more and more joy and thankfulness and gradually forgot the hurt in my heart. I prayed more and more and would often suddenly gain new insight when I read the Bible. What I learned from my fellowship with other Christian friends started to be enriched. My trust in Jesus and my self-confidence had obviously grown. There was more wisdom in my action and speech. My outward appearance was tidied, just as my soul was refreshed. Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

One day, I was very excited to hear that Christians all over the world would pray for China on the same day. My country was very much in need of prayer. How much she was in need for God to change and bless her! How significant it was that God made all the Christians in the world pray for China on the same day! God had not forgotten the disaster-ridden Chinese and had His great love delivered to all corners of China through the prayers of all the Christians all over the world. I got on to my bike excitedly and traveled into a remote wilderness. At four o'clock in the afternoon, I sat on the bank of a big river and read the Bible. I began to pray and found it very different the moment I opened my mouth. For the first time I felt that God was listening to me while I prayed. My words were no longer spoken into an empty space. God was actually listening, just like a father listening very attentively to a child's gibberish. I prayed for Chinese people, for our government, and also for Christians like me in China, for all the lost souls, for all the evil as well as good people, for all those who had humiliated and hurt me, for all those who had loved me, and for all qigong practitioners… I prayed loudly while the bright, shiny pages of my Bible left on the grass in the sunshine were shuffled by the wind. Birds afar were gliding through the sky; the river in front of me rolled on with roaring waves. It rushed towards the sea, glistening with the bright sunlight. Wind blew across my face; my prayers traveled with it afar.

After the day of world prayer for China, my faith in Christ increased rapidly. I grew to enjoy thinking and analyzing a lot. I seemed to have grown much more mature over night. I observed the people around me. Some of them were always busy, some idle. They were either happy or sad, rich or poor. They had no faith and lived in order do what they had to do every day. It seemed as if none of them used their mind to do any serious thinking. It seemed as if nobody pondered over death. I began to have compassion for them, for they had never heard of the truth. They should be told of the truth.

Months later, my friends decided to baptize me. Jesus said, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." Baptism is a ceremony with a very beautiful significance. We decided to have the baptism on the afternoon of the following Saturday. And everything had been arranged well for it.

I looked forward to my baptism. It was Saturday finally, and I got up quite early in the morning. I felt very much relaxed. Since I saw it was still early, I slept for another hour. But when I got up again, I felt dizzy suddenly, and my stomach was miserably uncomfortable. I struggled to get to the bathroom and vomited so badly that I was completely debilitated and felt dizzy. I lay on my bed and slept dizzily until the afternoon. My friends came to pray for me, and I felt good immediately and was even able to take in a little meal to gain some energy. They told me it was an attack by the devil, who wanted to stop me from being baptized. I got very angry and insisted that I be baptized. They said it would be better to wait for a few days since I was now physically very weak. But I insisted that I not wait, so they agreed. I went on my way to get to their place, and my bike suddenly got a flat tire. The owner of the bicycle repair shop at the roadside was very rude and refused to fix my flat tire. I was furious. This had never happened to me before. As I remembered that it was interference from the devil, I got even more furious, determining that I would certainly be baptized that day! I pushed my bike along, walking slowly and feeling very weak.

I was able to reach the destination and there met another Christian, who was very young. He had come just for the purpose of praying for me before my baptism. Those present prayed for me, and I confessed my sins to God. After praying for a little while, the Christian who had led me to the Lord asked me, "Why cannot you forgive in your heart those who have hurt you? God has forgiven you. He hopes you can also forgive others." He hit the nail right on the head, laying bare the truth with his penetrating remark. No doubt, the Holy Spirit revealed him the fact. When I became a Christian, I orally forgave all those who had hurt me, but did not really forgive them from my heart.

At this time I learned that nothing could be hidden from God. He knows all my thoughts and my heart's desires. I lowered my head and realized that I had to face this issue, which was a real challenge to me. The scenes replayed in my mind, showing how others had humiliated me, the bloody ground on that dreadful summer night, the huge wound on my brother's chest. I knelt down. Lord, could I forgive them? How could I be willing to forgive them? Lord, You know everything. It was as if I had something very heavy oppressing my heart. My eyes were full of tears, a great love flooded into my soul, and I was finally able to say, "Lord, I am willing." Immediately, I could no longer control myself and cried loudly as a child. All the rancor and hurt rushed out of my heart along with my tears. All the pains and fears that were still lingering in my mind disappeared. My heart was released and my soul freed.

After I do not know how long, they helped me to stand up, and in a tremendous light-heartedness, I accepted baptism. Each of my friends poured a gourd ladle of cool water on my head, and I felt refreshed both physically and spiritually. I was full of joy and peace. I picked up a gourd ladle and filled it with the pure water. I poured it down on myself from the top and refilled it and poured again. All the filth on my body and in my soul was washed away. I became a new person. Joy gushed out from the bottom of my heart, and I laughed.

My friends began to play music and sing songs. The whole room was filled with joyful singing, which wafted out of the room together with our laughter. The singing and laughter rang under the starry sky and proclaimed to the physical world and to the spiritual sphere that this baptized person had risen together with Jesus and had become a new creation who was now traveling from this world toward heaven.

7. Counterattack on Qigong

The spiritual warfare seemed to be never ceasing.

One afternoon I passed by a wood on the school campus and saw a group of people doing a kind of gymnastics. When I looked closer I saw that they were practicing qigong! I was very much shocked and wondered when people here had started to practice qigong and apparently on such a large scale.

The next day I met a classmate in front of the dining hall after lunch who told me mysteriously that a qigong master had just come to our school recently to teach us how to practice qigong and quite a few were enrolled. So that was how it was! I asked her, "Did you enroll?"

"Yes, I did." Great excitement came up on her face.

I felt very sorry for her and thought about what I could do to help her. I looked at her compassionately and could not help worrying about her. Then I got an idea after a little while and said to her seriously, "I heard that it is very dangerous to practice qigong."

She was a little surprised to hear it, "Why? Qigong can heal diseases. I have poor health, and I feel I am going to die if I continue to get an attack of my old illness every year. I have begun to practice qigong, and I started to have a 'qi feeling' already."

I cried out with deep grief within my heart and thought about how I could convince her. I decided to let her know a little about myself and said, "Would you believe me if I told you that I once practiced qigong for seven years? I know exactly what qigong is about. It can heal illness, but it is also very harmful and very dangerous. You listen to me. Don't practice again. Don't wait until bad things happen and regret it."

She thought for a second and said, "I believe what you have said. But I have already paid. Let me practice for a few days, and I'll stop if I don't feel very well."

I knew the common weakness of human beings and got another idea, "If you continue to practice it, you will be sick."

She looked at me half-believing and left.

Two days later, she came to see me with great uneasiness on her face and said, "I really get sick from practicing qigong."

I sighed and said to her, "Qigong teachers will actually tell you that this is the so-called 'qi' attacking the focus of illness that you have had already in your body and that it is a good happening. They will encourage you to continue practicing and make you believe that when it is over your illness will be thoroughly eradicated."

"Yes, yes, yes," she was very surprised, "that was exactly what he said."

"Then won't you believe me yet? Qigong is dangerous." I persuaded her sincerely.

Praise God, she was a little afraid and asked me, "What should I do then?”

"Stop practicing it," I said.

"How about my illness?"

I considered it, and out of my mouth came some shocking words: "You will be healed by tomorrow morning."

"Really?"

"No problem."

She left, and I started to feel anxious. How could I be so boastful just now? What could be done? I hurried to see my Christian friends and told them about the situation. They all paid much attention to it and prayed to Jesus, asking God to heal that girl before tomorrow morning. I was anxious for the whole day and prayed for her whole-heartedly.

The next day, she came to see me excitedly and described what had happened to her. "I was still suffering from my sickness last night, so I thought, I won't be able to get healed by tomorrow morning. But guess what happened. I got up this morning and found myself completely healed."

I cheered in my heart. How great You are, Jesus!

She asked me curiously, "How did it happen?"

I thought for a short while and was about to tell her before I decided not to tell her the whole story. Instead, I said to her, "As long as you do not practice qigong, you will be ok. You can let other students know that qigong is dangerous."

She expressed her attitude, saying, "I won't practice it any more, but I cannot convince others."

"That's ok. It is good enough that you know about it," I said in order to comfort her.

I did not know yet how to evangelize then and failed to introduce her to Jesus. But God did not forget her.

I met her again years later in another city. We were both happy to see each other. She is a kind girl, and I tried to share the Gospel with her. I took her to a big church, and she readily prayed and accepted Jesus to be her personal Savior. We prayed for God to eradicate the illness that attacked her once a year. God quickly answered her many prayer requests. She got to know a lot of Christian friends and started her new life. Her illness never recurred.

She later shared the Gospel with her parents, who accepted. Her mother was healed of the tumor she had, and they all began to spread the Gospel actively. Many believed because of their testimony. All the Christians in the local area got together, and the church grew rapidly.

In 1996 I began to look in many different areas for those people who once learned qigong from me. I named this action "anti-poisoning."

I went to look for someone in a big city in May. I did not remember his detailed address, but only the approximate direction of his place in the city. I rode on a long- distance bus and suddenly felt very tired. It was hot and agitating. When I got to that city, I did not know when to get off the bus, so I thought that maybe I should give up this trip of evangelization. I prayed to God, saying, "Lord, if You would like me to preach the Gospel to this person, please just let me meet him on the street." I knew I had made a harsh request, but I was just trying to be sure that I was doing what God wanted me to do.

The bus stopped several times, and there were people getting off. I was not sure whether I should, so I decided to wait for a little while. After we had traveled some way further, the bus stopped again, and there were some people getting off. I followed and got off the bus. When I inquired about where it was, it was an area near that person's work unit. Hallelujah! I was immediately in high spirits and was greatly encouraged. I walked along, asked about the way, and soon got to a street near where he lived. I was wondering how I could find him since I did not have his detailed address when I suddenly heard someone calling my name. I looked up, and it was he calling me! I was filled with joy! God had answered my prayer! My problem was solved. This person told me that he had gotten off work a little late today; otherwise, he would not have run into me coincidentally in the street.

We had supper together and chatted in great joy after having not seen each other for years. We sighed with feeling about the incomprehensible and irregular changes of life. Naturally he asked me if I still practiced qigong. I found my chance and said, "I quit practicing qigong a long time ago. And it is for this reason that I came to see you. To practice qigong is a mistake, for it brings harm to its practitioners."

He was taken by surprise and said, "I stopped practicing a long time ago too. As soon as I realized there was something wrong with it, I ceased further practice of it."

I was very glad for him and told him about the dangerous essence of qigong. I shared with him the truth of Jesus Christ, through whom alone we could be saved and delivered from the evil spirits that came into our lives through qigong. I told him that even if you had quit a long time ago, the evil spirits would not let you go. Only the power of God could defeat the evil spirits. He was a sensible person who had a discerning heart, so he made a decision at once, saying, "I am willing to become a Christian."

I led him in prayer, and he accepted Jesus as his personal Savior, and thus my desire was accomplished. I then apologized to him sincerely about bringing harm to him through qigong. I said, "I am very sorry for ever leading you to practice qigong and making you suffer. Please forgive me."

"Please do not mention it. We have all erred. Now it is all past." Brightness began to show on his face, together with relaxation after being relieved and great joy.

I went to many other places and tried my best to find all those old friends who had started to practice qigong under my influence. God's miracles followed me and proved the Gospel that I preached. When I traveled afar, I especially felt the presence of Jesus. He went with me and kept me company. I was not lonely and was cared for. My fellowship in Him was wonderful and interesting and only to be understood between us two. I was greatly delighted to see my old friends accept Christ very readily and begin their new lives. These former qigong practitioners were very sensible about spiritual affairs and deeply regretted that they had not heard the truth earlier, the truth that they were now overjoyed at knowing.

During the years when I practiced qigong, there was a girl who knew a lot about my qigong practice. We had done a lot of research together and admired each other in this area. When I thought of her, I got on my way to the city where she lived.

We were both very happy to see each other again. When we had lunch together at a restaurant, I prayed for her quietly. Then I began to tell her about the danger of qigong and preached the Gospel to her. She reacted as if she was awakening from a dream and sighed, "Why did not God let me know all this earlier?"

I comforted her, saying, "It is not too late as long as there is still today."

"Yes. But after all I have missed too much goodness."

"We are fortunate. There are many qigong practitioners who are still searching." I tried to encourage her.

"I understand. I am very thankful to you for telling me all this. I will always have a small regret. If only I could live my life all over once again." Tears came into her eyes.

"The Bible says, 'Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.' We will live forever in heaven in the future."

"You are right. I should have a new life now." Her expression brightened up.

I reminded her, "Would you like to pray to accept Jesus?"

"Why not?"

After she had prayed sincerely, she said happily, "Ah, it is very wonderful!"

I was happy for her and was full of gratitude to God.

She soon started to preach the Gospel to her friends so that they could also taste the sweet blessings from God.

My "anti-poisoning" action lasted for over half a year. Wherever I went, I witnessed the great power of God at work, sweeping away all obstacles. I learned a lot and was very often dumbstruck by Jesus Christ's doings. I sighed with emotion at what God could do. What is qigong in comparison? The work of the evil spirits could only give us more laughingstocks. My experience during this period of time helped to quicken my rapid growth in Christ. My life was full of miracles and the glory of God. I got more inspiration from the Bible and experienced more love in life. My soul was fully satisfied, and from it flowed a river of living water.

There were still many other people who had started their qigong career because of me. I was unable to find them all and share the Gospel with them. But I know God's wisdom is immeasurable. If He is willing, He will definitely let other Christians find them. None of the sheep that belong to Jesus will remain lost.

I also pray that God will let them see this book in which I have written down all my words for them.

I apologize to them all deeply and ask for their sincere forgiveness. May my Lord Jesus Christ find them soon, and I wish to see them again someday in heaven. Amen.

Chapter 2 | Table of Contents | Chapter 4