Faith & Life

Rejoicing in His Salvation

Let’s say, you were on the brink of death but get saved by someone’s help. You cannot help but rejoice at the relief that your one and only life was saved. At the same time you will be thankful towards the person who saved you, along with the joy of salvation. In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” Isa 25:9 We were mired in the swamp of sin and had no choice but to die. However, God saved our souls. Even though there may be lots of tough things in life,…

The Church That Is Good at Volunteer Activities

On an autumn day, we had a cleanup at Yeongrang Beach in Sokcho. Our voluntary service was postponed a couple of times because of the typhoon and tidal waves, but that day, the weather was fresh with a cool breeze. It was a perfect day for a voluntary service. In the city of Sokcho, the Church of God is known for its voluntary service. That’s because since last year, we’ve cleaned up the streets with the community service centers of the districts where we live every month. This time, the staff members from the community service centers joined us. We cleaned up around Jangsa Port where there are many restaurants, and Yeongrang Beach which is a resort beach during vacation…

Tak Jeong-sun from Sokcho, South Korea

Bronco and Donkey

Broncos were once a symbol of the vast American western region. A bronco is a wild and rough horse, so if a person rides on or burdens it with a load, it jumps up and down. So, when people used a bronco, they had to tame it. In order to tame a bronco, cowboys mounted on the bronco and subdued it, which has been developed into rodeos today. Another way to tame a bronco is to tie it to a donkey. If the two are tied together on the grassland, at first the weak donkey will be dragged on by the wild horse running around. Surprisingly, however, the bronco, which acts as he pleases, will follow the donkey gently in…

Walking with God

Have you ever been disappointed because the scenery of a famous tourist attraction was not as good as you had expected and the surrounding facilities were also poor? Nevertheless, if your trip still remains as a pleasant memory, it is most likely that you went there with some like-minded people. Being with those who have similar tastes makes you feel satisfied, wherever you are and whatever you do. It is the same when you walk with God. If you are like-minded with God, you can always be joyful, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances (1 Th 5:16–18). As long as you have the same mind as God who always cares about our salvation and our glorious future in…

Mother Answers Even the Smallest Prayers

One day, about five months after I had my first child, I lied down to get some sleep. Then suddenly a thought came into my mind and kept me from falling asleep. ‘What happens when I die?’ I had no idea why I was curious about it all of a sudden, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the life after death. Maybe it was because I had just become a mom, who needs to take care of her baby, and it made me even more eager to avoid death. Around that time, I met some people from the Church of God. Actually, my relationship with the Church of God began when my first child was still in my womb. I…

Kim Gyeong-suk from Osan, South Korea

Stopped Tennis Game

In September, 2016, the game was abruptly stopped during the tennis match in Mallorca, Spain. Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal stopped a match at the voice of a mother finding her missing child. As he looked up to the audience and found a crying woman calling out the name of her child, this caught the attention of about 7,000 people and they all cried, “Clara!” Then finally, the woman spotted her little girl who looked distressed among the crowd. Upon seeing her mother, the toddler cried and opened her arms wide and the two got emotional. The crowd erupted in applause at their reunion. This video got broadcasted all over the world, and people said this showed his class and that…

Words

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Eph 4:29 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt . . .” Col 4:6 There are many verses related to what we ought to speak in the Bible. Most of them teach us to speak something that moves the listeners and help them. Words can become a seed of blessing or a seed of unhappiness. Some live blissful lives with proper words whereas some ruin their lives with a slip of the tongue. Most of accidents that became headline news began from improper words if…

Brotherly Love Is the Best Filial Piety for the Parents

Yi Seong-gye established Joseon Dynasty in Korea and became the first king called King Taejo. His fifth son, Yi Bang-won, was very ambitious. As one of his half-brothers became the crown prince, Yi Bang-won got furious and killed the half-brother and another half-brother as well. Then King Taejo’s second son sat on the throne, but this time there was a conflict between the brothers born of the same mother—Yi Bang-won and Yi Banggan, the fourth son. The former one is called the First Strife of Princes, and the latter is called the Second Strife of Princes. The tragedy from family discord, which took place at the beginning of Joseon Dynasty, often occurs in this age, too. Among the top forty…

To the Kid Who Will Have My Brother’s Heart

In March 2016, an 11-year-old child named Eric was killed in a car accident in the United States. His family was in deep sorrow and anger, but decided to forgive the driver and to donate Eric’s organs for the life of others. Eric’s older brother posted the following message to a kid who would receive his brother’s heart: “Eric gave us great vitality and love. He knew his time was not long, so he lived his life to the full. You may have been living a hard life, but now that you have the heart of my brother, please live a positive and active life. Sometimes you may find it hard to love. Sometimes you may feel like you’re alone…

Heavenly Mother’s Pain and Sacrifice I Understood in Ireland

I would like to share what I realized while walking the path of the gospel for eight months in Dublin, Ireland, a few years ago. Ireland, located in the northeastern part of the North Atlantic Ocean, is highly influenced by Catholicism among European countries. Catholic festivals have become big holidays in the country, and you can hear the bells telling you the prayer time anywhere at noon and 6 p.m. Religion takes up a special part in the lives of individuals as well as in the political and cultural sphere, and the Irish people seem to be inseparable from God. However, it was different from what I had expected when I preached the gospel. Most people did not seek God,…

Choi Nan-young from Cheongju, South Korea

What God Has Given Us

The backcountry explorers say the most difficult time of the day is wake up time in the morning. When they hear tempestuous wind blowing outside, lying inside the tent, they are scared and this makes it hard for them to get up. However, once they get up and go outside, many times they see the weather isn’t as bad as they thought it would be. We may all have similar experiences. It takes a while to put what we have determined to do into action. However, after you put it into action, you will realize that you have worried over nothing. The problem is timidity. Of course, we need to be prepared no matter what we decide to do, but…

Sending My Child to a Foreign Country

Not long ago, my daughter in the sixth grade went abroad for a history visit, a program supported by the Education Office. She was given the opportunity to take a flight for the first time in her life. On the day of departure, my husband brought her to the airport at dawn. However, when it was around the departure time, I received a call from the teacher in charge. “Jieun says her stomach hurts. Do you know why?” My daughter often complains of stomachache when she is nervous. That day, too, she had stomachache because of nervousness. There was no other way to solve it. I just asked her to skip a meal before getting on the plane and then…

Ma Eun-hui from Yeosu, South Korea

Discard Stereotypes

Let me give you an interesting game. Draw four straight lines without taking your hand off and try to connect all nine dots below. Did you succeed? Here’s the answer for those who have absolutely no idea how to solve it. Assuming that you have numbered ① to ⑨ in order from the beginning of the first line to the end of the bottom line, connect the numbers ①, ④ and ⑦ first. At this time, do not stop the line at ⑦ but draw a line as long as the length between ④ and ⑦. Then, draw a diagonal line through ⑧ and ⑥. Here again, do not stop at ⑥ but continue drawing to the right side of…

Resolution

A French sport shooter Véronique Girardet was blinded in one eye by cancer at the age of two. She was introduced to shooting by her father when she was sixteen. She has been crowned world champion four times. She revealed the secret of her excellent records despite being at a disadvantage to others. “Shooting is more a matter of concentration than a matter of sight. My father gave me strength and convinced me I could make it,” she said and made a resolution that she would do her best in the next shooting games, thinking that her late father would be watching her.

Nanny, King’s Another Mother

The prince of the Joseon Dynasty in Korea was raised by a nanny. The queen, who had to take on her role as the mother of the kingdom, could not concentrate only on childcare, and it was too much to do the work of feeding, washing, and changing diapers for her baby by herself. The prince regarded the nanny, who always cared for him, as another mother. Once the prince was crowned king, his nanny received a great court order in recognition of her contribution. She even had servants, riding in a sedan chair, and occasionally received royal gifts. For the nanny who came from the lowest class of people, it was like a story of rags to riches and…

Filling Emptiness Caused by the Absence of Mother with Care and Love

On a hot summer day, around fifty brothers and sisters from the Gangneung Zion volunteered to clean the place of a young man who has an intellectual disability. He was living alone since his mother had died. His home was a mess because he didn’t clean the place for a long time. All kinds of dirty things were over the wall and floor, and all the furniture and clothes had molds over them. It seemed impossible for anyone to live in such a place. It required urgent cleaning; otherwise, the young man’s health could be in danger. We were divided into a few teams, put on masks and rubber gloves, and started cleaning right away. First of all, we took…

Hong Sun-tae from Gangneung, South Korea

Doing Well and Doing the Best

Phil Lawler, who teaches physical education in Naperville, IL, U.S., let his students run a long distance in P.E. class for their health. Some students were good at running, while others weren’t. In order to improve the ability of students who weren’t good at running, he first tested an eleven-year-old girl’s running ability. When she ran with a heart rate monitor, she had an average heart rate of 187 and peaked at 207 at the finish line. Lawler was shocked when he saw the record. The theoretical maximum heart rate was 220 minus one’s age, so it turned out that she ran with her full speed. It seemed that she was not good at running, but in reality, she ran…

Family Awards Ceremony

At the end of every year, various awards ceremonies are held. It is to recognize and reward for the labor of those who have shown remarkable performance in each field and those who have made efforts steadily in their own places though they were not acknowledged. No matter what it is, good results cannot be achieved by one person. It is thanks to all members who help each other and do their best in their own places. The same goes for home. It would not be the result of one person’s efforts to have a happy home for a year while the family is all right. It may be the result of practicing sacrifice, love, and consideration for the family…

Like Planting a Tree

There is a tree-planting day in Australia. Australia puts a lot of efforts into planting and taking care of trees because its land is wide and has lots of plants and parks. Our Sydney Zion members decided to support the government work for National Tree Day 2018. When we arrived at the park on the day of our volunteer service, the park keepers were waiting for us with seedlings and planting tools. The work seemed easy because they had already dug the hole to plant the seedlings. But before long, we realized that planting a tree was not simple; depending on how we planted a tree, the tree could grow well or die. The method of planting trees was complicated.…

Ryu Mun-suk from Sydney, Australia

Even at the Same Temperature

There was once a record-breaking cold wave in Taiwan, and more than eighty people lost their lives due to hypothermia, heart attack, and cerebral hemorrhage. How cold was it that many people came to die? The temperature of the coldest day in winter was 4℃ [39℉]. You might not understand how people can lose their lives at above-zero temperature, but if you consider the average temperature in Taiwan, you can understand 4℃ could be very cold to them. Taiwan has a subtropical climate and its annual average temperature is well over 20℃ [68℉]. Winter temperatures are usually 10–15℃ [50–59℉], and it rarely goes down below 10℃ [50℉]. That is why Taiwanese people, who have never experienced frigid cold are vulnerable…