By Emi Iwanaga

“I am convinced that any suffering we endure is less than nothing compared to the magnitude of glory that is about to be unveiled within us…
There is nothing in our present or future circumstances
that can weaken his love. 
There is…no power that could ever be found in the universe
that can distance us from God’s passionate love, 
which is lavished upon us through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One!”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:18, 38-39‬ ‭TPT‬‬

“I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too— 
your reassuring presence…”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭139:1-12‬ ‭MSG‬‬

HE AND ME

Redemption, restoration
	Occurrence at the cross.
Physical, emotional healing
	Sometimes, to varying degrees
Intimate, passionate presence 
	Always — He and me

Illness, loss
	Occurrence in life.
Physical, emotional healing
	Sometimes, to varying degrees.
Intimate, passionate presence
	Always — He and me

Healing
        Heart hoping, eyes looking 
               for the sometimes
Presence
        Heart resting, eyes focusing
               in the always — He and me

Emi Iwanaga served thirteen years as a missionary in Amazon Valley in Brazil, over 20+ years as a children’s ministry director, women’s ministry director, and pastor’s wife, and is currently a spiritual director.

By Jerrica KF Ching

Healing comes in many different forms, covering many aspects of our life.  Healing can be for physical ailment, emotional turmoil, or spiritual renewal.  I believe there are many of us who, amidst an ongoing global pandemic, have been hoping, praying, and seeking healing in all areas of our lives. 

By Melanie Mar Chow

Being a campus minister for over 30 years, I have appreciated walking alongside Christian students who seek to learn about God and science and apply their knowledge to valuable careers. The most recent survey in 2015 notes that Asian Americans rank the highest among those pursuing STEM majors at 30%.

By April Yamasaki

Last Sunday I preached on Psalm 111 which is both a psalm of thanksgiving and a wisdom psalm. The psalmist writes, “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart” (v. 1), and ends, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.”

May Chin is the pastor of Grace Alive Fellowship (GAF), which she planted with a team of five women in the heart of NYC Chinatown. She also helped to found Women of Wonder! (WOW!) and is working part-time as the Director of Spiritual Discernment. Formerly, May served as the Director of the Herald Youth Center serving Chinese immigrant teens, as well as the former Director of English ministries at the Church of the Living Lord, where she established an inter-generational congregation, a children’s church, youth service, and a summer leadership training school for early teens. She is a licensed social worker and recently graduated with an MA in Ministry in the Global City at the City Seminary of New York. May is married, has a daughter studying costume design, and 2 fun loving cats.

By Ajung Sojwal

I have friends who insists that the earth is barely 6000 years old and genuinely believe that humanity’s scientific endeavor is the devil’s scheme to lure us away from God. If I had half the kind of passionate curiosity about God as do scientists about their field of study, I would never be able to forget that indeed, ^“neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:38-39).

By Angela Ryo

I am not a science person. Science never really made much sense to me. However, I have come to appreciate science and the role it can play in our faith formation, leadership development and relationship building endeavors. This realization came pretty late in my life.

By Casey Iwanaga

How is God seen in the media?

Little sparks of likes on posts, mentions, retweets and 30 second shout-outs to God in speeches

The one verse “everyone” should know is John 3:16

There are over 31,000 verses in The Bible, but only one that “saves”,

 one “worth mentioning”

 and the “most important one to know”

By Sarah D. Park

As a writer, I can’t help but hope that as many people as possible will read something I’ve written. A high quantity of readers is a clear confirmation that I’ve written something that connected with people. Because really, what’s the point of writing something if no one will read it?

By Diana Kim

With the realization that media, particularly social media, is not going away any time soon, many churches have joined various platforms to promote outreach and inform their communities. Throughout the pandemic, there has been an exponential increase of churches utilizing various digital platforms, including Facebook and Youtube, to livestream their services and document various events, allowing members to participate in spirit. During a time when people could not physically gather together to worship, these media platforms seemed to be a godsend, allowing people to worship in their homes and “gather” for small groups, life groups, and Bible Study while social distancing.