Faith & Life

Once a Stranger

“At that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away…

Park Ji-won From Toronto, Canada

Longing

My children live in distant cities now, and I only get to see them once every few months. After graduating and settling into jobs far from home, they had promised to visit at least once a month. But reality had…

Park Jin-mi from Daegu, Korea

The Gift

When I was a child, the moment my neighborhood friends and I gathered, we would divide into teams with a game of rock-paper-scissors and play “fist baseball.” It was a simple game where we hit a rubber ball or tennis…

Park Dong-min From Yongin, Korea

Power and the Ability to Empathize

Professor Adam Galinsky of Northwestern University in the United States conducted an interesting experiment. He divided participants into two groups. Group A was asked to recall a time when they gave orders to someone else, while Group B was asked…

What He Did in the Meantime

A college student was looking for a part-time job, but it was hard to find one. One day, he saw a job posting from a company and went straight there, expressing his eagerness to do any kind of work. Impressed…

God’s Grace in Every Circumstance

My brother-in-law, who lives overseas, recently visited Korea. After a meal at home, we all gathered to watch a women’s volleyball match. The players kept the scores neck and neck, exchanging sets back and forth until they reached the fifth…

Lee Mi-suk From Yongin, Korea

Invisible Love

I watched a video featuring an aquarium beautifully decorated with colorful coral. Inside lived marine fish such as the porcupine puffer, yellow tang, clownfish (famous from an animated film), and the blue-striped imperial angelfish—it was as if a slice of…

Gahng Yo-na From Moscow, Russia

To Sound a Clear Trumpet

“How can I preach about God as boldly as Paul?” “How can I proclaim God as confidently as Peter?” I used to think that to preach boldly and confidently, great faith was necessary. After learning that “faith comes from hearing,”…

Park Mun-seo From Seoul, Korea

The Warmest Words

A few years ago, a Korean news outlet surveyed 305 people to find out what they thought were the warmest, most comforting words. In the results, phrases like “Did you eat?”, “I’m proud of you,” and “Get some rest early”…

Rightly and Honestly

This happened while I was taking a break from school and working part-time at a convenience store near my home. One quiet afternoon, the sound of the bell jingling at the door snapped me out of my drowsiness. I clearly…

Park Chae-un From Sokcho, Korea

Stand Firm

At the start of the new year, some of the members of Zion and I gathered together to share words of blessing and hope. As I considered what message I should share, I turned to the Scriptures, and a passage…

Gahng Ye-jin From Gangneung, Korea

The $20 Gift to a Soldier

One day, eight-year-old Miles, who lives in the United States, found a $20 bill in a restaurant parking lot. He was thrilled, thinking about using it to buy a video game. But as soon as he walked into the restaurant…

The Trouble Caused by Greed

In parts of Africa, local people are said to use a clever and simple method to catch monkeys. They hang a bag filled with fruit—something monkeys love—on a tree branch along a path monkeys frequently travel. The bag’s opening is…

Pine Heartwood: The Undecaying Pine

When a tiger dies, it leaves its skin; when a person dies, they leave their name. Likewise, when a pine tree dies, it leaves behind something known as gwan-sol in Korean. When a pine tree breaks in strong winds or…

To Reach the Destination Safely

I remember the first time I boarded a flight to Russia. Since I had to travel alone for many hours and make two layovers, I was very worried that something might go wrong. With a fearful heart, I clung to…

Park Yun-ju From Melbourne, Australia

The Best Time to Make a Decision

Making a decision often comes with mental stress, because one wrong choice can lead to deep regret. Everyone wants to make wise decisions, but instincts, emotions, or external influences can lead to biased judgment. So when is the best time…

Emotional Contagion

Have you ever noticed that being around someone who’s happy and positive makes you feel happier, too? That’s not just in your head; it’s a real phenomenon known as “emotional contagion,” where one person’s emotions, like joy or sadness, can…

Don’t Judge by Appearances

A young mouse went out to explore the world for the first time. After finishing its adventure, it returned home and excitedly told its mother about the two animals it had met. “The first one I saw was so elegant!…

Gyeori and Hori

In traditional farming societies, oxen were essential workers. Using them for plowing made the task much easier than doing it by hand. When one ox pulls a plow, it’s called a hori in korean. When two oxen pull a plow…

Two Persimmon Trees

“Which tree should I cut down?” A scholar stood in his yard, axe in hand, eyeing two persimmon trees. One tree bore many fruits, but they were bitter and hard to eat. The other tree produced only a few sweet,…