Category: Acts

Find the True Source of Your Pride

Acts 18

4 Every Sabbath, Paul went to the Jewish meeting place. He spoke to Jews and Gentiles[b] and tried to win them over. 5 But after Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, he spent all his time preaching to the Jews about Jesus the Messiah. 6 Finally, they turned against him and insulted him. So he shook the dust from his clothes[c] and told them, “Whatever happens to you will be your own fault! I am not to blame. From now on I am going to preach to the Gentiles.”

Richard:  We have to get out of our “holy huddlle” and mingle with others and provide the words of salvation.

Ezekiel 31

10 King of Egypt, now listen to what I, the Lord God, am saying about that tree:

The tree grew so tall that it reached the sky[c] and became very proud and arrogant. 11 So I, the Lord God, will reject the tree and hand it over to a foreign ruler, who will punish it for its wickedness. 12 Cruel foreigners will chop it down and leave it wherever it falls. Branches and broken limbs will be scattered over the mountains and in the valleys. The people living in the shade of those branches will go somewhere else. 13 Birds will then nest on the stump of the fallen tr

Let Us Understand God, Who Wanted to be Proud

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
February 8, 1959

Genesis 1: 24-31

We have not known the God who could never take pride in His creation. We did not know that He saw His pride turn into sorrow and manifest itself in tears.

Therefore, now we must find the original heavenly nature and original love of which God longs to be proud. Accordingly, as the people who possess the original heart of love that can relate with God, you must cultivate yourselves to become those in whom God can take pride. Although God has been yearning and searching for the one person who can bring shame to Satan and provide God with a source of pride, He has not been able to find such a person.

People want to boast. It is human nature to put one’s self forward and boast about oneself. We have the desire to boast about our parents, our children, and the whole of our family. Furthermore, we have the desire to be proud of our tribes, our nations, our world, and the whole of heaven and earth. Although you are fallen people, your original minds that seek to boast about things are controlling both your lives and history. You have to understand this. Continue reading “Find the True Source of Your Pride”

The Thoughts of Jesus

Acts 8

36-37 As they were going along the road, they came to a place where there was some water. The official said, “Look! Here is some water. Why can’t I be baptized?”[c] 38 He ordered the chariot to stop. Then they both went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

Richard:  We have the life giving water and element of God’s love and truth and the grace of Christ’s salvation.  We should offer that water to others!

Jeremiah 30

12 The Lord said:

My people, you are wounded
    and near death.
13 You are accused of a crime
    with no one to defend you,
and you are covered with sores
    that no medicine can cure.
14 Your friends have forgotten you;
    they don’t care anymore.
Even I have acted like an enemy.
And because your sins
    are horrible and countless,
I will be cruel
    as I punish you.
15 So don’t bother to cry out
    for relief from your pain.

16 But if your enemies try to rob
    or destroy you,
I will rob and destroy them,
and they will be led as captives
    to foreign lands.
17 No one wants you as a friend
    or cares what happens to you.
But I will heal your injuries,
    and you will get well.

The Incarnation of Jesus, A Pioneer

Sun Myung Moon
February 1, 1959

Matthew 8: 18-22

What determination did Jesus make as a pioneer during the thirty-year preparation period? He determined, “I will even go toward the path of death, the road of persecution. I will go on even if I am to be destroyed.” Jesus made the determination of a lifetime, that he would gain control over his living environment during his preparation period, eradicate any self-centered philosophy, resolve all relationships on the level of the people, and rectify the rituals in Judaism that placed too heavy an emphasis on the Old Testament and its laws.

For Jesus, who had to pioneer the Kingdom of Heaven and the hearts of all humanity, there was no day when his heart did not visit the realm of God’s ideals at least several times. You have to understand that Jesus was this kind of person. Continue reading “The Thoughts of Jesus”

Find True Brothers and Sisters to Find True Parents

Acts 18

19 The three of them arrived in Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He then went into the Jewish meeting place to talk with the people there. 20 They asked him to stay longer, but he refused. 21 He told them good-by and said, “If God lets me, I will come back.”

22 Paul sailed to Caesarea, where he greeted the church. Then he went on to Antioch. 23 After staying there for a while, he left and visited several places in Galatia and Phrygia. He helped the followers there to become stronger in their faith.

Richard:  We need to be out preaching the Word.

Jeremiah 48

No one honors you, Moab.
In Heshbon, enemies make plans
    to end your life.
My sword will leave only silence
    in your town named “Quiet.”

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
January 4, 1959

Genesis 1:27

Genesis 2: 15-17

Acts 1

After this, centering on Joshua and Caleb, the Israelites entered into Canaan and lived there. Their hope was to receive the Lord.

Why was Jesus necessary? Since they failed to serve Moses as the father of the nation, they had to wait for the day they could receive the father of the world. In other words, they waited and prepared for the Messiah who would come as the true father. If, after the birth of the Messiah, they had respected the heavenly Will and had made a father- son relationship with Jesus along with the disciples, they could have never separated from Jesus. Also, the disciples could have never separated from one another. We know that Israel’s inability to make a father- son relationship to receive the love of Jesus and God has become a sorrow of history today.

Thus, in this time, we should find representatives like the tribal leaders for which God has been looking and create a father- son relationship centered on the love of the returning Lord. Otherwise, God’s providential Will cannot be completed. You should understand this. Continue reading “Find True Brothers and Sisters to Find True Parents”

I Am In the Father and the Father In Me

The latest on the Richard Urban Show:

Big Pharma, Farming and the Parkland Murders:  https://youtu.be/zWZOsfR7Lko

YouTube censored this video about a Christian school with armed teachers:  https://youtu.be/8qPUGPfH2RA

Acts 6

8 God gave Stephen the power to work great miracles and wonders among the people. 9 But some Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria were members of a group who called themselves “Free Men.”[c] They started arguing with Stephen. Some others from Cilicia and Asia also argued with him. 10 But they were no match for Stephen, who spoke with the great wisdom that the Spirit gave him. 11 So they talked some men into saying, “We heard Stephen say terrible things against Moses and God!”

Psalm 55

Our Lord, we belong to you.
We tell you what worries us,
    and you won’t let us fall.
23 But what about those people
    who are cruel and brutal?
You will throw them down
    into the deepest pit
long before their time.
    I trust you, Lord!

God’s Possession and Our Possession

Matthew 6: 16-34

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
November 9, 1958

People today speak of God in a self-centered way, but they are wrong in this. Jesus said, “I am in the Father and the Father in me.” For this we should be grateful. You too must experience such a feeling. If that happens, you will realize that the world, the whole universe you thought you had lost, is in front of you in a more splendid way, with God.

The words “I am in you and you in me,” are not empty words. Only when that happens do things that belong to God simultaneously belong to me, and vice versa. That is something about which to boast. God cannot do without me. Why? God created all creation for human beings. Because He established human beings as the object or focal point that returns all of creation to Him, without human beings, God cannot do anything. Continue reading “I Am In the Father and the Father In Me”

The Kingdom of Heaven is Not Here Yet

Acts 3

7 Peter then took him by the right hand and helped him up.

At once the man’s feet and ankles became strong, 8 and he jumped up and started walking. He went with Peter and John into the temple, walking and jumping and praising God. 9 Everyone saw him walking around and praising God. 10 They knew that he was the beggar who had been lying beside the Beautiful Gate, and they were completely surprised. They could not imagine what had happened to the man.

Richard:  We should give others a helping hand up on our journey in life.  Lift someone up in words and deeds today.

Psalm 94

Then they say,
    “The Lord God of Jacob
    doesn’t see or know.”

8 Can’t you fools see?
    Won’t you ever learn?
9     God gave us ears and eyes!
    Can’t he hear and see?
10 God instructs the nations
and gives knowledge to us all.
    Won’t he also correct us?
11 The Lord knows how useless
    our plans really are.

12 Our Lord, you bless everyone
    that you instruct and teach
    by using your Law.
13 You give them rest
    from their troubles,
    until a pit can be dug
    for the wicked.

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
November 9, 1958

Matthew 6: 16-34

What kind of people would the people of the heavenly kingdom be? They are the throng who steps forth under the flag of service. For that reason, to save a certain race today, we must distribute everything we own for that race. If that is not enough, we must become the people who know how to give even their lives. These are the very people of the heavenly kingdom. God is in a situation where He has to gather this kind of person and accomplish the ideology of the heavenly kingdom.

Since you have come to know that Jesus wishes to fix the value of true ownership upon this earth, you should think about yourselves. Jesus said, “Do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or `What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?'” (Matthew 6:31) This was the word of warning that seemed contradictory to the people of that age.

Why did Jesus speak such words? The heavenly ideology of ownership remained to be restored even at the cost of not eating, drinking and dressing well for 6,000 years.

If there is a certain race that is starving and miserable, God is in a more miserable situation than that race. If a certain race feels mortified, God is in a situation where He feels more mortified. Continue reading “The Kingdom of Heaven is Not Here Yet”