Just three days until the STAR Interfaith Leadership Training Conference November 24 to 26 in Harpers Ferry, WV.
This conference details the physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual benefits of a lifestyle of sexual abstinence before marriage.  Your children under age 19 can attend with you for free!  What a great opportunity to discuss crucial issues with your children!
Informed choice between a lifestyle of sexual abstinence before marriage and one of non-abstinence is a crucial issue for societal stability and personal happiness.
This conference provides a practical and Biblical framework for understanding the benefits of practicing sexual abstinence before marriage and faithfulness within marriage.
Register or find out more:  http://www.urbanlifetraining.org/index.php/281-star-interfaith-leadership-training-conference

Exodus 1

⁵ Finally, the king called in Shiphrah and Puah, the two women who helped the Hebrew^[d] mothers when they gave birth. ¹⁶ He told them, “If a Hebrew woman gives birth to a girl, let the child live. If the baby is a boy, kill him!”

¹⁷ But the two women were faithful to God and did not kill the boys, even though the king had told them to. ¹⁸ The king called them in again and asked, “Why are you letting those baby boys live?”

¹⁹ They answered, “Hebrew women have their babies much quicker than Egyptian women. By the time we arrive, their babies are already born.” ^20-21 God was good to the two women because they truly respected him, and he blessed them with children of their own.

The Hebrews kept increasing ²² until finally, the king gave a command to everyone in the nation, “As soon as a Hebrew boy is born, throw him into the Nile River! But you can let the girls live.”

John 8

¹⁹ “Where is your Father?” they asked.

“You don’t know me or my Father!” Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would know my Father.”

²⁰ Jesus said this while he was still teaching in the place where the temple treasures were stored. But no one arrested him, because his time had not yet come.

Let Us Understand the Heart of the Resurrected Jesus

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
April 17, 1958

Mark: 16:1-20

16 After the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James bought some spices to put on Jesus’ body. ² Very early on Sunday morning, just as the sun was coming up, they went to the tomb. ³ On their way, they were asking one another, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance for us?” ⁴ But when they looked, they saw that the stone had already been rolled away. And it was a huge stone!

⁵ The women went into the tomb, and on the right side they saw a young man in a white robe sitting there. They were alarmed.

⁶ The man said, “Don’t be alarmed! You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who was nailed to a cross. God has raised him to life, and he isn’t here. You can see the place where they put his body. ⁷ Now go and tell his disciples, and especially Peter, that he will go ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.”

⁸ When the women ran from the tomb, they were confused and shaking all over. They were too afraid to tell anyone what had happened.

ONE OLD ENDING TO MARK’S GOSPEL^[a]

⁹ Very early on the first day of the week, after Jesus had risen to life, he appeared to Mary Magdalene. Earlier he had forced seven demons out of her. ¹⁰ She left and told his friends, who were crying and mourning. ¹¹ Even though they heard that Jesus was alive and that Mary had seen him, they would not believe it.

¹² Later, Jesus appeared in another form to two disciples, as they were on their way out of the city. ¹³ But when these disciples told what had happened, the others would not believe.

¹⁴ Afterwards, Jesus appeared to his eleven disciples as they were eating. He scolded them because they were too stubborn to believe the ones who had seen him after he had been raised to life. ¹⁵ Then he told them:

¹⁹ After the Lord Jesus had said these things to the disciples, he was taken back up to heaven where he sat down at the right side^[b] of God. ²⁰ Then the disciples left and preached everywhere. The Lord was with them, and the miracles they worked proved that their message was true.

ANOTHER OLD ENDING TO MARK’S GOSPEL^[c]

^9-10 The women quickly told Peter and his friends what had happened. Later, Jesus sent the disciples to the east and to the west with his sacred and everlasting message of how people can be saved forever.

The Heart of Jesus Toward Heaven and His Desire Toward Humankind

Today is the day of resurrection, the day when Jesus resurrected 2,000 years ago. Although there have been many Christians in this world, they have not understood this day. When you consider this, you begin to fathom how pained and sorrowful the heart of Heaven is as it looks down upon people who are ignorant even about this day of resurrection.

At least you who are here should celebrate this day no one understands on behalf of Heaven and all people. You should become the internal and external friends of Jesus Christ, the ones who feel his heart in this hour. You should sense that the place that you are sitting is a precious place where the attention of Heaven, earth and all things is focused. Thirteen years ago on this day, I remember when Jesus appeared before me and revealed to me that this was the day of his resurrection.

What kind of person did Jesus want to be? What kind of person did Heaven want him to be? Although Jesus came to the earth as the bridegroom, people on the earth did not receive him from the position of brides. Therefore, the bridegroom and the bride had to be separated. If you understand this reality, you will then also realize that Heaven wants you to become the bride who can feel the inexpressible heart of Jesus for the sake of all people.

Jesus knew he had the responsibility to fulfill the purpose of the 4,000-year providence of God, and the enormous mission to pour out all of his heart and strength to pay indemnity for the sins of humanity, which had piled up for 4,000 years. Therefore, he led a life of internal and external ordeals and sorrows, surpassing anyone in history.

Jesus wanted the restoration of the world of creation. The objects of his words were the people of the earth with whom he was to accomplish the task. This is why Jesus unveiled the urgent heart of God to people and appealed to them to fulfill that will. Yet the people of that time neither received nor understood him. As a result, those who received the words of Jesus were limited to certain spheres. He could not speak freely, even within those limited spheres. We must be able to console and mourn over the heart of Jesus, who was trying his utmost in such troublesome circumstances.

The time came when, after persevering through these hardships for three years, he should have been welcomed by all people. Yet not even one person received him as the son of God who represented God’s will. Not even the family of Joseph and his relatives recognized him, although they certainly should have. The Jewish faith and the Israelites who should have recognized him did not. The world not only did not recognize him, it opposed him.

Even as he received opposition from all fronts, Jesus looked upon the unfaithful land and comforted the deep sorrow of Heaven. He still had to be concerned about the earth. Even the moment he died on the cross, facing the faithless people, Jesus had to bless them. You have to understand the heart of Jesus.

If you sincerely want to become the bride of Jesus, you must understand the heart of Jesus, who came and died in this manner. You must single-handedly pay indemnity for the sins of all your ancestors and become someone who can cherish the heart of the Lord in your heart and live it in your daily life.

If there is no one in this land who understands the sorrow of God and Jesus and possesses this mind-set and heart, then you who are here must try your best to do so. If there is someone today who possesses the heart Jesus exhibited on the earth, that person will be overwhelmed by deep grief and will not know how to face Heaven. Although there might be a 2,000-year gap of time between Jesus and that person, such a person can still become the bride who can comfort the heart of Jesus

If you understand this situation, then you must compare your life with that of Jesus. If your life and the life of Jesus differ too much, you cannot become a friend or bride of Christ.