Faith & Life

The Spirit of Ownership

Nanami Shiono, a Japanese author and novelist known for her work titled “The Story of Romans,” stated that one of the main reasons why the Roman Empire fell even though it was so powerful was that the Romans defended their country by hiring soldiers mostly from other countries. Since the soldiers were not defending their own country, they were lacking in the sense of belonging and of duty, so they neglected which made them neglect their defense responsibilities. During the Japanese colonial period, Ahn Chang-ho, a Korean independence activist, mentioned the difference between an owner and a stranger. He said, “The house which is not under the custody and control of its owner will collapse someday.” Saying this, he emphasized…

Those Who Absolutely Obey God’s Word

I often thought, ‘Ah! This is what I should do,’ or, ‘I should get rid of my sinful nature,’ after listening to a sermon or watching an educational video. Within a few days, however, I would soon find myself leading the same lifestyle as before and feel a great deal of shame. Yet I would justify my action, thinking that I was at least keeping worship services. But I came back to my senses when I read this verse: “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.” 1 Jn 3:4 I thought that lawlessness referred only to disobeying God’s commands such as the Passover or the Sabbath day. Since I kept God’s commands, I thought I was…

Jo Gyeong-jun from Yangsan, Korea

The Perfect Pasta Sauce

A food company in the United States asked a consumer psychology expert to find the perfect taste of a pasta sauce. It was to find the best taste, “the bliss point,” as any other food company tries to find out. “The bliss point” refers to the optimum concentration at which the combination of food ingredients in the food reaches the peak of sensory satisfaction. The expert made 45 kinds of sauces such as spicy, sweet, sour, and salty, and let people taste it. As a result of the experiment, there was no taste that was particularly scored higher than others. The bottom line was, “There is no such thing as a perfect pasta sauce in the world. There are only…

Strive for Heaven

If one cultivates and practices virtue towards God by doing good, where will his soul go? His faith, deeds and blessings will remain with him, and he will receive glory in the eternal kingdom of heaven. The Bible tells us to train ourselves to be godly. From now on, little by little, we should try to practice hospitality and also to practice honoring God. Give glory to God all the time by using your good mind to the fullest, and strive for the eternal kingdom of heaven for the rest of your life on earth. Father’s Words Give glory to God all the time by using your good mind to the fullest, and strive for the eternal kingdom of heaven…

Through the Time of Refinement

Diamond is a mineral made when carbon has endured high pressure and high temperature in the depths of the earth for a long time. However, a rough diamond itself doesn’t look like a jewel at all. Besides, not all diamonds are treated as precious. Some of them are beautifully recreated through the hands of jewelers to attract the world’s attention, while others are processed and are used for industrial purposes. The value varies, depending on what kind of process it goes through. “But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.” Job 23:10, NLT God likened the process of the refinement of faith to the process of obtaining gold.…

Yu Min-jeong from Busan, South Korea

God who divided the Red Sea

During the Sino-Japanese War, a Chinese missionary was evacuating along with over a hundred children who had lost their parents. When they reached a desperate situation where they had no more food to eat and no place to go, the missionary gave up on everything and collapsed. Then a child came to him. “Sir, be strong! God will protect us. He even divided the Red Sea for the people of Israel.” “That’s right, but I am not Moses and I do not have a staff that can create a miracle.” When the missionary helplessly answered back, the child said. “You are not Moses, but God is the same God who divided the Red Sea.”

Every Day Is a Special Day

It was a Tuesday. After helping my husband prepare for his going to work as usual, I was resting for a moment in my room while my children were preparing for going to school. Then, my two children came to me together hand in hand and spoke out loud at the same time. “Mom! Thank you for raising us!” It was very unusual for them to say so. I was curious about what had happened to them. “Huh? Why?” “Nothing special. We wanted to buy you something, but why don’t you take this and buy something you want?” Then, they handed me a creased bill. Receiving an allowance from them, I felt like their sincerity touched my hand. It was…

Cho Yun-ju from Uijeongbu, Korea

How to Break Free From Trivial Worries

There was a man who always felt restless and anxious over small and trivial matters. His desire was to live without worry. So one day he went to see a wise man in his village and asked him how to be free from anxiety. Then the wise man said: “Why don’t you set aside a specific day for worrying?” So he decided to worry on one day each week. From then on, whenever he was confronted with any trouble, problem or worry, he wrote it down on a piece of paper, along with the date it occurred, and put it into a box. On an appointed day, he opened the box and started to read what was written on each…

God Is Our Guide Forever

Sometimes I think, ‘I am lacking in many ways. How can I successfully carry out my God-given mission?’ Soon, however, I get reminded of God’s sure promise, which makes me cheer up. “For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.” Ps 48:14 God divided the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross over on dry ground and destroyed the fortified city of Jericho to level the way to Canaan. God is still guiding His children who are preaching the gospel to all people around the world in the age of the Holy Spirit. Although I am still weak in faith, I will do my best to successfully carry out…

Jeon Sahng-hui from Seongnam, South Korea

I Will Remember Their Sins No More

“No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Jer 31:34 It is not easy to forgive someone who has done wrong to you or hurt you. Even if you manage to forgive him, you will be distressed whenever the painful memories pop up. You can forgive him maybe with your mind, but it seems difficult to completely remove the scars in your heart. What if God has forgiven us but remembers our sins? When I think about the weight of our…

Choe Hyeong-hwan from Panaji, India

Limitation

In the 1900s, it was considered beyond human capability to lift 500 pounds (approx. 270kg) in weightlifting. Vasily Alexeyev, the legendary Russian weightlifter, attempted a 500-pound lift, but he failed every time; he was only able to lift up to 499 pounds. In 1970, the World Weightlifting Championships were held in Ohio, USA. Alexeyev gave up on the 500-pound lift, and he easily lifted the barbell of which his trainer had said, “It weighs 499 pounds.” Shortly after, the weight he had lifted was announced. 501.5 pounds! Since then, there have been many weightlifters who are able to lift over 500 lbs.

“It’s Okay Because We Are Family”?

A family is the first group that a person belongs to after he was born, where the members’ gender and age are different. If the members don’t make efforts to take care of each other with sincerity, their relationship faces difficulty. Most people have a wrong idea about their family that they can keep the family relationship even though they don’t make efforts. They believe that they don’t need to try to look good to the family members or be nice to one another because they are family. However, we can see that big and small disputes that separate family members are from being inconsiderate of and feeling too comfortable with each other. This month, let us think about some…

Dandelions

A man started a garden. He poured soil into the garden, where he planted the seeds of his favorite flowers. After some time, beautiful flowers were in full bloom. While he was looking at his garden with satisfaction, he found that a bunch of dandelions had grown in his garden. He tried every possible means to get rid of the dandelions. But no matter how hard he tried to eradicate them, they did not disappear but continued to grow somewhere in the garden. As a last resort, he called the gardening association. After telling how much effort he had put into removing the dandelions, he said, “What do I have to do to get rid of the dandelions from my…

Bushland Care

“Your two hours equal our six months.” This was what a council member said, when he explained that our volunteer work in two hours would’ve taken them six months to complete. While we were working wholeheartedly with bright smiles and happy laughter ringing through the forest reserve, we planted 120 plants and shoveled three great piles of mulch to cover and protect a large area of native trees and plants. My realization was to do with One of the most memorable things was the task of mulching, which is to cover the ground around plants with wood chips to prevent excessive evaporation or erosion, enrich the soil, and inhibit weed growth; in the ground where the weeds had already been…

Maxine Hannah from Sydney, Australia

Chosen by Grace

I thought I became a child of God because I was good and righteous until I saw the following words: So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. Ro 11:5–6 I could become a child of God not because of my actions, but because of God’s grace. We are walking the path to the kingdom of heaven thanks to Heavenly Father and Mother’s grace and love. I will always follow Heavenly Father and Mother with humility, giving thanks for choosing me as Their child though I’m lacking in many ways.

Park Ji-won from Toronto, Canada

My Dream

In 1952, Edmund Hillary, New Zealand’s most famous mountaineer, attempted to climb Mount Everest after training rigorously, but he failed. Then people asked him, “You’ve experienced how hard and difficult it is to climb Mount Everest, so you won’t climb it again, will you?” “Yes, I will try again. Mount Everest remains as it is, but my dream keeps growing.” The next year, he became the first person in the world to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Be All the More Eager to Make Your Calling and Election Sure

When I was faced with an unexpected situation during my overseas mission, I felt bad about myself. I felt incapable of doing any task and become low-spirited, thinking, ‘If it were another member, she would have done it much better than I did.’ However, after reading this cheerful verse, I never get frustrated at myself any longer. “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Pe 1:10–11 God has called and chosen me. It is not by my own effort or ability that such…

Gong Ju-hui from Medellín, Colombia

Take the Initiative

A family is the smallest unit of the community. A community is a group of people who live or act together or who have a particular shared purpose. When many people live together in the same house, they sometimes pass their work onto another and want someone else to do things for them—even something that must be done jointly. There are also many times when they compete against each other over totally useless things. So, the mission of this month is to take the initiative. It doesn’t mean that you should eat delicious food first and have good things first, but that you should be the first to put love, care, and sacrifice into action for your family. Tip Apologize first after an argument, greet warmly first, smile…

The Importance of the First Comment

When I see malicious comments on the Internet news and criticism people make without any reason, I frown and feel offended even when I am not involved. That is why I tend not to read comments though I read articles. Just in time, ASEZ, the World Mission Society Church of God University Student Volunteer Group, carried out the “No More Verbal Abuse” campaign. The campaign was to encourage people to use uplifting words in daily life online and offline, and I started posting positive comments. Then I realized the importance of the first comment while taking part in this campaign. Normally, a good comment leads to another uplifting and encouraging comment, but a malicious comment leads to another malicious comment.…

Go Na-yeong from Busan, Korea

100 Percent Faith

Elijah and 850 idolaters gathered on Mount Carmel. It was the last battle to distinguish the true God from the gods they served. What Elijah did at that time moved me greatly. “With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed.” He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time.…

Gu Jeong-min from Durban, South Africa