Faith & Life

Habit

I am ever-present by your side. Observing your actions attentively, I instinctively step in to manage affairs on your behalf. When cultivated effectively, I become your pathway to a priceless asset: success. Yet, if allowed to govern unchecked, I can lead you to the precipice of failure, a painful descent. I serve the triumphant, yet reign over the defeated. I am known as “Habit.”

The Angelic World, Overflowing With Delight Day After Day

“Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence.” Pr 8:30 Proverbs 8 shows us that Solomon existed in the angelic world even before God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them in the beginning. We can also learn that it is a place full of delight and joy day after day. No matter how much delight and joy we experience on this earth, it fades quickly, often followed by hardships and sorrows. Perhaps the reason the heavenly world is eternally delightful is because new joys are continuously created. Similarly, our ability to rejoice always may stem from the constant creation of new joy. While…

Lee Sun-ju from Gwangju, Korea

Sowing the Seed of Positives

If you plant lettuce in a field, it becomes a lettuce field; if you plant cabbage, it turns to a cabbage field; if you plant flowers, it becomes a flower field. It depends on what kind of seeds you plant. The field of our heart is the same. Just as a good seed produces good fruit, in order to bear fruits of joy, gratitude, and hope, we must first sow the seed of positives in our heart. This month, let’s sow the seed of positives, which may be small but will bear rich fruits. Remember that after sowing, you have to take good care of them! Tip Practice smiling before the mirror every morning. Try to discover other people’s strengths.…

Talents Borne from Work Mission

It had not been long before I started a new job at a big company after I transferred to New Windsor. I became excited at the thought of starting a new career and being able to move up in a large corporation. The money that I could make, the position I could reach, and the respect I could gain were all thoughts that I had when I started the job. These kinds of worldly thoughts took over my mind as I began to work there. While I knew that preaching is something we should do in our given situations, in reality it was not at the forefront of my mind when I thought about my new job. I was discouraged…

Duane Edward from New Windsor, NY, U.S.

Here Comes the Sparkling!

As the Bible teaches us to display God’s glory through our good deeds, we formed a voluntary service team to show Heavenly Father and Mother’s glory to our neighbors. Our team was named “The Sparkling”; we wanted to clean not only the shopping area around the church but also the broad streets and narrow alleys to make them all sparkle. We decided to clean up every Thursday. “Sparkling loving hearts! Sparkling smiles! Here we go! Yay!” During our first cleanup day, we started cleaning the streets with a powerful chant. Our church was located in a shopping area, and the streets were rather dirty. Every street, especially each corner of the alleys, was full of trash that had been sitting…

Shin Gab-seon from Gwangju, Korea

God’s Will in Entrusting Me with the Gospel Mission

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” Jn 8:32 God granted the truth of the new covenant in order to give true freedom to us, who sinned in heaven and came to this earth. Ever since I received the truth when I was a student, I enjoyed God’s blessing of spiritual freedom to the full extent. However, I started to change after getting into college. I found more and more things that I wanted to try, and God’s commands and teachings felt like chains that shackled me. Complaints and grumbles began to bud and became huge enough to be out of my control. The love and emotions that I felt at first gradually disappeared.…

Im Hye-min from Hwaseong, Korea

With My Youth and Passion

The Philippines is a country consisting of about 7,000 islands. The major islands are Luzon in the northernmost part, Visayas in the middle, and Mindanao in the southernmost part. Last summer, I went on a short-term mission to Roxas City in Visayas. In Roxas City where I preached for a short-term mission, there were many Catholics. In a square nearby Zion, there was an old Catholic Church; every Sunday evening, there was a crowd of people attending mass. Due to their strong religious sentiment, people in Roxas City were closed-minded. They insisted that God is only one, and strongly denied God the Mother though seeing definite testimonies of the Bible. One day, a middle-aged man who studied the truth asked,…

Kang Tae-wu from Incheon, Korea

A Warm Day

One day, I had a sudden pain on my back; I couldn’t even move or talk. When evening came, the pain got worse. There were pile of dishes and housework to do but I had to lie down on bed. Though I tried to go to sleep, I couldn’t. It was difficult to lie either on my back or sideways because my back hurt. Later, I even started to cough and had fever as well. When I moaned in pain alone, my mother came across my mind. I was almost in sleep, thinking of my mother who used to nurse me by my side, putting on wet towel on my forehead, then I felt cold wet towel covering my forehead.…

Seo Hyeon-ju from Incheon, Korea

Focus on Good Points of Your Family

“He’s too distracted and lacking in concentration.” “I’m worried that my child is indecisive.” “My wife is perfect in everything, but too strongly insists on her own way.” “I wish my husband will change his hot temper,” “My younger brother is so greedy.” . . . When we talk about our family, we might often point out their shortcomings or what we are dissatisfied with rather than their strong points. In the world, there is not a single person who has merits or demerits alone. All people are imperfect with advantages and disadvantages. However, the human brain tends to look at negative qualities more than positive ones, so that you may make the error of clinging to one disadvantage more…

The Love of the Passover, the Love of Life

Not everybody can donate blood just because they want to. It requires careful consideration of factors such as age, weight, blood pressure, recent trip/travel abroad, illness, and medical records. You should also be in good condition on the day of donation. The brothers and sisters of the Seosan Church showed a commitment to participating in blood donation and started taking good care of their health as soon as they heard that the “Worldwide Blood Drive to Give Life through the Love of the Passover” was going to be held in Gongju. Over 580 brothers and sisters of Zion, along with some citizens who came to join the good event, gathered together in the Church of God, Gongju. All the seats…

Shin Seon-hwa from Seosan, Korea

Father’s Shoes

It was when I visited my parents for my mother’s birthday after a long time. On the way to the market to buy my mother a birthday gift, I met my father who was returning home. Then I noticed his shoes were worn-out tennis shoes, tied so tightly that no air could go through. “Father! Why do you wear tennis shoes on this hot day? Don’t you have sandals?” He just smiled and entered the house without saying anything. I bought a pair of shoes for my mother in the market. However, on the way out of the store, my father’s worn-out shoes came across my mind. I went inside the store again and picked a pair of sandals for…

Jeon Eun-ok from Seongnam, Korea

Use “Cushion Words”

When you see a cushion, you want to lean on it. And when you do, it feels soft and comfortable. In words too, there are “cushion words” that make listeners pleased and comfortable. Before you ask someone to do something, if you say words like “Excuse me,” “I am sorry to bother you,” “I am afraid but,” or “If you don’t mind,” you will get rid of objectionable feelings and make them feel respected. Try not to forget to use these cushion words because they can even turn hard words into soft words. Reference Examples of Cushion Words “Sorry, but would you please help me?” “Honey, I know you are busy, but would you do me a favor?” “I’m sorry,…

A Way to Convey Love

When I was about to go on a short-term mission trip to Mumbai in India, I was half excited and half worried because I felt pressure to learn Hindi. Wondering if I really had to learn Hindi, I asked some members if it would be okay for me to speak only English. However, they all replied that I might have a problem or difficulty if I didn’t understand Hindi. I decided to learn Hindi after all, but I was confused because all letters looked alike to me. Hindi has many difficult grammatical elements to learn, such as masculine nouns, feminine nouns, and singular and plural distinctions. Hindi has a complex grammatical structure; there is a distinction between masculine and feminine…

Choi Hui-won from Namyangju, Korea

Confession in Thirty-Seven Years

My mother got married at the age of twenty-four when she was young and beautiful, and lived in a remote countryside where even buses did not operate, taking care of her parents-in-law, brother-in-law, husband, and three kids. As she was so devoted to her family, she didn’t have any time to look after herself. On her sixty-first birthday, all our family gathered. Around the time when her cute grandchildren’s congratulation almost finished, my father came out of his room, holding a piece of paper in his hand. Though he seemed a little bashful, he began to read his handwritten letter that began with “Darling”: “Happy 61st birthday to you! Ever since you married me, you’ve worked hard for thirty-seven years,…

Park Yeong-gyeong from Gumi, Korea

Difference Between “Interest” and “Interference”

“Honey, which one do you think is better for my homecoming?” “Let’s see. The dress looks a little gorgeous and the suit looks too formal.” “There is nothing to wear except these.” “What about this jacket? Neither distinctive nor heavy. This looks perfect!” “But I have no suitable skirt for it.” “You have this checkered skirt!” “Oh, the color doesn’t match.” “What about these pants, then?” “I don’t like it.” “You say, ‘I don’t like this, I don’t like that.’ What should I do?” “Just forget it. I’ll take care of it.” “You were sorry for me not to have interest in you last time, but now are you troubled by my interest?” Both husband and wife became displeased. This…

Safety and Happiness to Our Neighbors

One day, the members from the Baltimore Church gathered at the Fraternal Order of Police Hall in Crownsville. Some of them had arrived earlier than the appointment time, unpacked the things they had brought there, and started to work in earnest. We were there to serve an appreciation dinner to local police officers who were working hard day and night. The dull and empty space turned into a beautiful place like an elegant wedding hall when the members’ hands touched it. When the time of the event was near, the hall was crowded with police officers. Some of them came with their families, and some came during a break from work. Then suddenly a siren rang and seven to eight…

Baltimore Church, MD, U.S.

Discover Hidden Merits of Your Family

While living with your loving family, you may see each other’s weaknesses. If you just look at weak points of others, you might unwittingly grumble against them. But if you consider their strengths bigger than their weaknesses, thanksgiving will come out of your mouth naturally. This month, find out 50 merits from each and every one of your family members with your eyes wide opened. If you look at others with a beautiful mind, you will be able to discover their hidden merits you haven’t recognized before and realize you’re living with such good people. Tip Tips for discovering family members’ hidden merits Have interest in them. Think positively even for their weak points. Note down whenever you find a…

God’s Gift to My Dull Heart

Recently, I didn’t have as much time as before to preach the gospel because of many other things. I knew that serving Zion and doing everything else in God would bring us blessings, but I was eager to bear fruit by preaching God's word to others. One day, I was able to make some time to go out preach the truth with a sister. I was excited at the thought that I would sow the seeds of the gospel diligently though we didn’t have much time. However, I felt somewhat hesitant probably because I hadn’t preached for long time. To say nothing of preaching whether they would listen or not, I only looked for someone who seemed to listen to…

Kim Yun-ah from Seongnam, Korea

Son Who Looks Just Like Dad

“Your son resembles you a lot.” When my dad hears someone say that, he smiles from ear to ear. Sometimes I wonder if it is such a joyful thing to him that he smiles so big. In fact, when I was a child, I heard so many times that I was a carbon copy of my mom, and I just thought that I resembled her. Then one day, someone said to my dad that I resembled him. He bragged about it to my mom as soon as he came home. Since then, I started to hear more often that I resembled my dad, and I was often asked, “You look like him. Is he your dad?” My dad was pleased…

Kim Seung-hyeok from Madrid, Spain

Book of Acts of the Female Pastoral Staff

I am a pastoral staff wife. Before coming here, I carried out the gospel ministry in El Salvador. I’d like to share what happened while I was visiting a doctor’s office in El Salvador. When I finished talking with the overseer’s wife of the main church in El Salvador on the phone in Korean at the waiting room, a nurse came up to me. “I’m learning Korean because I’m very interested in Korea. I heard you speaking in Korean, and I just came to say hello,” said the nurse shyly. She then kindly asked me when I came to El Salvador, and if I was adapting well to the lifestyle here. It was an unexpected situation, but we continued a…

Seo Ha-neul from Puebla, Mexico