Faith & Life

The Difference in Words

A horse rancher had a problem: A school bus stopped at his ranch and kids gave cookies to his horses, which made the horses gain weight day after day. “Do not feed the horses!” He put up a sign, but it didn’t work. One day, a person who studied positive psychology heard about his problem and made a new sign for him. After he put it up, his horses returned to their previous shape—agile with fine, shiny hair. The sign standing at the ranch read: “We only eat apples and carrots.”

God Who Protects Me All My Life

I first came to study the Bible at the Church of God. I was so excited by the amazing and marvelous words that I could not help reading the Bible every night. “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Isa 46:3–4 The impression I get after reading the above verses before going to bed doesn’t fade for a long time.…

Lee Chang-seob from Namyangju, Korea

Be Calm like Water, Not like Cola!

Have you ever opened a bottle of coke thoughtlessly which spewed carbonated bubbles out of control? There are times when people act like a cola. It is when they cannot tolerate irritation, anger, or rage and let it out as they feel. For any reason, if you lose your temper, you feel down and uncomfortable. But others will feel worse. There are many things that do not come up to your expectation, and sometimes you may feel frustrated due to communication problems with others, but you cannot get angry every time. Wouldn’t it be better to control your anger wisely than to get angry and regret? Let’s promise not to burst into sudden anger this month just as water keeps…

A Parachute That Was Packed by Someone Else

Charlie Plumb, a veteran American fighter pilot, escaped his fighter and managed to survive by using his parachute when the fighter was shot down in the Vietnam War. Although he was taken captive and imprisoned for six years, he came back safely and reunited with his family. One day, he was sitting at a restaurant and a man from another table came over and said, “You’re Plumb, aren’t you? You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. I heard that you survived the day the fighter was shot down.” The man, who knew about his incident in detail, turned out to be a soldier who was on the same aircraft carrier. “I folded your parachute and put…

My Son’s Finding the Way Back Home

In the late afternoon when the sunlight came through the curtain, I became drowsy. Suddenly, my cell phone rang. It was my second son who went out with his friends to ride scooters. “Mom, I don’t know where I am.” When I heard that, my body got up instantly. ‘He had said he was going to a nearby park, but how come he doesn’t know where he is now?’ My son said he was riding scooters in the park, and then he went out of the park and rode it around the alleys with his friends. As the evening time was approaching, his friends went back home one by one, and he was left alone. Looking around, he could not…

Jeon Eun-ok from Seongnam, Korea

What to Grow in a Greenhouse

“If you criticize an idea whenever you come up with it, whether it is a good or a bad one, you will never get a good result.” Tom Monahan, Think Different, 2009, Magellan Press This is very fragile. It is sensitive to mocking or criticism, and even just seeing a frowning face, it will die from worrying too much. However, if you grow it well, amazing things will happen. Something new comes to exist in the world, and sometimes it makes what was already going well even better. What is it? It is idea. A world famous design company has a rule. If someone says something negative to discourage creativity, such as “That won’t work” or “I’ve already done that,…

Please Let Me Always Have Hope in God

After I graduated from university, I worked as an administrative assistant at the school immediately. At first, I was grateful to God for allowing me to accomplish the workplace mission at the school where I had been working for the campus mission until then. As time went by, however, I lost my commitment to the gospel mission. As the new semester began, things got tougher. I was not familiar with the administrative work, but while dealing with freshmen all at once and carrying out professors’ instructions, I lost track of time. I thought, ‘Do I have to work so hard like this?’ Wanting to be comforted by someone, I pulled out my cell phone and our church app caught my…

Lee Jin-gyeong from Suwon, Korea

How Is Your Life Going?

David Brooks, a New York Times columnist, said in his book that one should ask the following four questions for the assessments of his life. First, have I spent time on important things, developing my most consequential talents? Second, have I contributed to the river of knowledge, left a legacy for future generations? Third, have I transcended this earthly realm? Fourth, have I loved? How is your life going?

The Best Medicine

“I just want to sleep for a day, no more or no less.” I go to work early in the morning and work all day. After work, I go to church and participate in the young adult group gathering. So, I often get exhausted when I return home. When I spent even day-offs with things, I felt like my body was so heavy that I wanted to sleep all day long. Last Sunday, I left home early in the morning because of the IWBA education. I was still tired, but my eyes opened wide as I heard the professor read the following verses before education. “My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not…

Seo Mi-ju from Incheon, Korea

The Secret to Becoming a Genius

When Pablo de Sarasate, a renowned Spanish violinist, was ten years old, he was so talented that he performed in front of Queen. He was praised for his sophisticated vibrato and unique rhythmic performance, and contemporary composers such as Camille Saint-Saens, Edouard Lalo, and Max Bruch dedicated pieces for him. He went on an endless concert tour to the Americas as well as Europe, such as France and the U.K., and thrilled his audiences. Sarasate also excelled in composition, and gained his fame through his pieces such as Zigeunerweisen, Carmen Fantasy, and Spanish Dances. In particular, Zigeunerweisen was difficult even for contemporary violinists to try to play it, but Sarasate surprised the world by playing it with full command. People…

Because I Love Them

From morning, the rain sounds so nice. It brings back my old memories of the time I met the members from the Church of God for the first time long ago. As far as I can remember, I’d never had that kind of sincere conversation about the world’s future which I was very afraid of. I used to go to the Buddhist temple, believing that I could go to paradise as long as I lived a good life without causing trouble to others. Of course, I didn’t live a good life enough to guarantee that for sure, but I still believed that I could fill the rest of my life with good deeds. The problem was the period of my…

Yang Seong-rim from Gimhae, Korea

If the Words of God Remain in Me

I prayed to God many times to allow me to bear good fruit of the gospel, but it was hard to bear fruit. I was wondering why, and then a verse came into view. “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” Jn 15:7 The secret of receiving whatever I want is having the words of God in me. On the contrary, if there is no word of God in me, I cannot get what I want. Heavenly Mother always gives us sound instructions and godly teachings so that we can go back to the kingdom of heaven. However, I have been lazy in engraving God’s words…

Kim Mi-hui from Geoje, Korea

Formula for Success

“Mr. Morgan, in this envelope I hold the guaranteed formula for success which I will gladly sell you for 25,000 dollars.” An old gentleman approached John P. Morgan, a world-renowned financier. Morgan said that he would be willing to pay for it if he liked it, and he opened the envelope and took out a sheet of paper. Then, without a word, he paid the agreed-upon 25,000 dollars to the old gentleman. The paper read: 1. Every morning, write down a list of the things that need to be done that day. 2. Do them.

Why There Are Many More Customers

In one village, there were two flower shops. One flower shop was large and diverse flowers were displayed, and the other shop was small but was always crowded with customers. So the owner of the large shop was envious of the small shop. ‘It doesn’t make sense. What flowers does she have over there to attract many more customers?’ The owner couldn’t find the reason why she was going through a slump in business. She enlarged her shop and put many more flowers on display. For a few days, some more customers visited her shop, but soon they again stopped visiting her shop. She found out much later that there was something that the owner of the small shop was…

Do Not Be Afraid of Them, for I Am With You

When I received the truth in the Church of God, I was so happy and joyful, and being confident that this is the true church which people must go to, in order to receive salvation. I wanted to become a great prophet and preach to many people—to whomever I meet. But I was often intimidated because of my age and what I would look like. Everybody always mistook me for being an elementary student because of my petite body and baby-face look. I was also slow-witted and didn’t speak well. So I wondered, ‘Will people listen to me and be convinced in what I say?’ While I was in distress because of this matter, one of my branches, who led…

Sharina Aya Z. Gorospe from Quezon City, Philippines

The One Who Saves a Soul Saves the World

I met a Mongolian woman named Bolormaa, who came to Korea with her husband and was focusing on parenting as she had a year-old son. She looked very glad to meet us because she was going through a hard time raising her child alone in a foreign land with no relatives. As we were also raising children, we gave her good information on childcare and we got closer to each other. Visiting our church often, she became a child of God. But she liked talking and eating with Zion members more than following God’s word. We were anxious to deliver the words of God to her for the salvation of her soul. So we showed her a short video with…

Heo So-hyeong from Seoul, Korea

A Positive Mindset

During America’s Great Depression, Walter Hobby who lived in Pennsylvania kept sending resumes to a pharmacy which had over 300 branches just in New York. However, he did not even receive one reply from them. Yet he did not give up, and personally visited the pharmacy. “I’m Walter Hobby.” An employee welcomed him with a bright smile. “Mr. Hobby, we have been waiting for you. We have been looking for a positive person like you.” From that very day, Walter Hobby started working at the pharmacy, and later he climbed his way to the top post.

Until All of the Prophecies Are Fulfilled

It has almost been a year since I started preaching overseas. When my heart was going to be weakened due to the hot weather lasting throughout the year, a great language barrier, and unpalatable food, I became spiritually renewed by the following verses: “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” Mt 26:52–54 Jesus was able to avoid the situation at that time, but He silently…

Kim Min-gyeong from Cheongju, Korea

Eating Both the Pheasant and Its Eggs

There is a time when a pheasant acts differently, though it usually flies away when it senses even the slightest motion. It is when it incubates eggs. The pheasant never flies away by itself, leaving its eggs behind. So, if you see a pheasant sitting on its eggs, you can catch it and get the eggs as well. This is the origin of the saying: “Eating both the pheasant and its eggs.” It describes the pleasure of securing a double benefit with one action. However, there’s a sad story about a mother’s instinctive love behind the scenes.

When One of Two Is in Pain

Recently, I had gone through a hard time; I had a pain in my stomach and had a high fever and even vomited up. Sure enough, I was rushed to the emergency room and took various medical checkups in the hospital. It took a long time to take even one checkup. As my disease was not identified, I couldn’t get into a ward. What was worse, I had to wait for a couple of hours to see a doctor. Meanwhile, I was exhausted both physically and mentally. While I was having such a hard time, one person was always with me. It was my husband. Staying beside me for four days in the emergency room, he became my hands and…

Kim Sahng-seon from Gimje, Korea