Matthew | Daily Inspiration

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Hebrews 6

⁹My friends, we are talking this way. But we are sure that you are doing those really good things that people do when they are being saved. ¹⁰God is always fair. He will remember how you helped his people in the past and how you are still helping them. You belong to God, and he won’t forget the love you have shown his people. ¹¹We wish that each of you would always be eager to show how strong and lasting your hope really is. ¹²Then you would never be lazy. You would be following the example of those who had faith and were patient until God kept his promise to them.

Matthew

²⁸“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Richard: We do well to take the scripture of Matthew 6:33 as our motto. It is, indeed, a rare path for people to take, as Jesus said earlier in verse 24 of the same chapter
“You cannot be the slave of two masters! You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Muhammad

Living in polytheistic Arabia, Muhammad saw the truth of the one God and accepted his calling to be God’s apostle. Though he knew the stories of the bible from childhood, the Jews and Christians living in his area did not impress him, for they lacked the conviction or zeal to confront the ruling polytheistic tribes. Muhammad went through the streets of Mecca proclaiming the message of Islam to anyone who would listen. Though he suffered persecution and exile, he also found supporters. Muhammad and his companions were welcomed in Medina, where they defended the young faith against overwhelming odds. Muhammad was devoted to God and uncompromising with evil. Father Moon honors him as one of the foremost founders of religion.

1. God’s Revelation to Muhammad

Muhammad is… the Messenger of God and the Seal of the Prophets.
Qur’an 33.40

O Prophet, We have sent you as a witness, and good tidings to bear and warning, calling unto God by His leave, and as a light-giving lamp.
Qur’an 33.45-46

It belongs not to any mortal that God should speak to him, except by revelation, or from behind a veil, or that He should send a messenger and He reveal whatsoever He will, by His leave; surely He is All-high, All-wise. Even so We have revealed to thee [O Muhammad] a Spirit of Our bidding. You knew not what the Book was, nor belief; but We made it a light, whereby We guide whom We will of Our servants. And you, surely you shall guide unto a straight path—the path of God.
Qur’an 42.51-53

In the month of Ramadan… in the night on which God honored Muhammad with his mission and showed mercy on His servants thereby, Gabriel brought him the command of God. “He came to me,” said the Apostle of God, “while I was asleep, with a coverlet of brocade where-upon was some writing, and said, ‘Read!’ I said, ‘I cannot read.’ He pressed me with it so tightly that I thought it was death; then he let me go and said, ‘Read!’ I said, ‘I cannot read.’ He pressed me with it again so that I thought it was death; then he let me go and said, ‘Read!’ I said, ‘I cannot read.’ He pressed me with it the third time so that I thought it was death and said, ‘Read!’ I said, ‘What then shall I read?’ —and this I said only to deliver myself from him, lest he should do the same to me again. He said,

Read! In the name of thy Lord who
created,
Who created man of blood coagulated.
Read! Thy Lord is the most beneficent,
Who taught by the pen,
Taught that which they knew not unto
men. [Qur’an 96.1-5]

“So I read it, and he departed from me. And I awoke from my sleep, and it was as though these words were written on my heart. Now none of God’s creatures was more hateful to me than an ecstatic poet or a man possessed: I could not even look at them. I thought, Woe is me, a poet or possessed—never shall the Quraysh say this of me! I will go to the top of the mountain and throw myself down that I may kill myself and gain rest. So I went forth to do so, and then, when I was midway on the mountain, I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘O Muhammad! Thou art the Apostle of God and I am Gabriel.’ I raised my head toward heaven to see who was speaking, and lo, Gabriel in the form of a man with feet astride the horizon, saying, ‘O Muhammad! Thou art the Apostle of God and I am Gabriel.’ I stood gazing at him, moving neither forward nor backward; then I began to turn my face away from him, but toward whatever region of the sky I looked, I saw him as before…
“I said to Khadija, ‘Woe is me, a poet or one possessed.’ She said, ‘I take refuge in God from that, O Abu’l-Qasim. God would not treat you thus, since He knows your truthfulness, your great trustworthiness, your fine character, and your kindness. This cannot be, my dear. Perhaps you did see something.’ ‘Yes, I did,’ I said. Then I told her of what I had seen; and she said, ‘Rejoice, O son of my uncle, and be of good heart.48 Verily, by Him in whose hand is Khadija’s soul, I have hope that you will be the Prophet of this people.’”
Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Why did God reveal Himself to the prophets and create the great religions of the world? It was to enable the human race to return to Him, and then, in perfect oneness with His blessed Will, establish one peaceful world. Humanity must know God’s original vision for the world, and know the reason why God revealed Himself to the prophets. Surely no one expressed more deeply this original ideal of God than the blessed Prophet Mohammed, not only in word but also in deed. (October 21, 1990)

Muhammad was centered on God, and based on God’s revelation he founded the religion of Islam. It adopted the teachings of the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible with contents appropriate to Arab culture. Through Islam, Muhammad sought to give human beings the absolute truth of God. (39:316, January 16, 1971)

God always supports those serving the larger purpose… Between one who lived for his family, and one who sacrificed his beloved family for the benefit of his community, God would support the one living for the community. This is an unchanging principle of God. Once again, we can use the Prophet as a supreme example of knowing and living according to this Divine Principle. Did the Prophet live only for his own clan or tribe or even only for the Arab people? No, he always lived for the higher purpose, not limiting his message for only one group or race. The message of the Prophet was for every precious one into whom God breathes His spirit. (October 21, 1990)

The Truth that Is Dwelling in Jesus’ Heart Has Been Completely Revealed

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Romans 1

²⁸Since these people refused even to think about God, he let their useless minds rule over them. That’s why they do all sorts of indecent things. ²⁹They are evil, wicked, and greedy, as well as mean in every possible way. They want what others have, and they murder, argue, cheat, and are hard to get along with. They gossip, ³⁰say cruel things about others, and hate God. They are proud, conceited, and boastful, always thinking up new ways to do evil.

Matthew 8

⁸But the officer said, “Lord, I’m not good enough for you to come into my house. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. ⁹I have officers who give orders to me, and I have soldiers who take orders from me. I can say to one of them, ‘Go!’ and he goes. I can say to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes. I can say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he will do it.”

Jesus

8. Jesus Taught in Parables

Another parable he put before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed he said nothing to them without a parable…

Matthew 13.31-34

The disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
Matthew 13.10-13

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

For what purpose did Jesus come to this earth and proclaim the Gospel? Why did he shed tears for 30 years and walk a path of tribulations? First, he wanted human beings to restore their relationship with God; and next, he wanted to lead them to the Kingdom of Heaven.
    Jesus introduced the Kingdom of Heaven with the Word—the truth. Through Jesus, God bestowed the Word upon human beings, that they might establish an eternal, unchanging relationship with Him and to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Through Jesus, God desired to manifest His truth. Hence, Jesus began to spread the word of truth to bring human beings back to God…
    However, instead of receiving the truth, the people of Israel did not believe in Jesus… For this reason, he could not fully communicate the truth to humanity. He was left to convey the truth only in symbols and parables, while its fullness remained hidden.
    Since then, numerous people throughout history have utilized all their knowledge and wisdom trying to open the gate to the hidden truth. They have been searching inwardly by the Spirit and externally by the truth. When the Last Days arrive, finally spirit and truth will meet. The truth that has been dwelling in Jesus’ heart will be completely revealed, and the numerous people who had been searching for it will become Jesus’ true followers. In that day, as people learn the truth both inwardly and outwardly, they will come to know Jesus truly. (2:126-27, March 17, 1957)

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Matthew 6

22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Ecclesiastes 11

11 Be generous, and someday
    you will be rewarded.
²Share what you have
    with seven or eight others,
because you never know
    when disaster may strike.
³Rain clouds always bring rain;
trees always stay
    wherever they fall.
⁴If you worry about the weather
and don’t plant seeds,
    you won’t harvest a crop.

Buddha

1. The Buddha Rejects the World in Search of the Path to Truth

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Shakyamuni entered the religious life in search of the true path. Leaving the palace behind, he journeyed as a solitary monk, overcoming many obstacles. He searched for the way for human beings to live according to the Way of Heaven, the Universal Law, which God sought to establish in the world. Yet when he set out on his journey a sea of tears blocked his way—tears from individuals, tears from his family, and tears from his countrymen. Surely the saintly Shakyamuni, who had to overcome all this, walked a most miserable path.34 (101:151, October 29, 1978)

The passing joys of those who delight in the pleasures of the flesh are nothing compared to the bliss experienced by those on the path of enlightenment, who find joy in the midst of simple poverty. Gautama Buddha, who abandoned the luxuries of the royal palace and became enraptured in the pursuit of the Way, was not the only one who wandered about homeless while searching for his heart’s resting place, though he knew not where it was. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Introduction)

Buddha was persecuted by members of the royal family because he gave up his position as the crown prince. People persecuted him in a country where royalty was worshipped. (258:87, March 17, 1994)

Shakyamuni of India was born as a prince of his country, but when he came to understand that life was a “sea of bitterness,” he gave up his position as a prince to search for the path of truth. Buddhism originated in India, but today there are not many Buddhists in India. There has never been a religious founder who was received well in his own country. No nation has treated its saints well during their lifetime. (39:255-56, January 15, 1971)

2. The Buddha’s Enlightenment

Having mastered perfectly all the methods of trance, the prince recalled, in the first watch of the night, the sequence of his former births.
Next the Rightly-illumined One perceived, and thus was decisively awakened: When birth is destroyed, old age, and death ceases; when becoming is destroyed, then birth ceases; when attachment is destroyed, becoming ceases; when craving is destroyed, attachment ceases…35\\
Reflecting his right understanding, the great hermit arose before the world as Buddha, the Enlightened One. He found self nowhere, as the fire whose fuel has been exhausted. Then he conceived the Eightfold Path, the straightest and safest path for the attainment of this end.
For seven days, the Buddha with serene mind contemplated the Truth that he had attained and gazed at the Bodhi tree without blinking: “Here on this spot I have fulfilled my cherished goal; I now rest at ease in the Dharma of selflessness.”
Ashvaghosha, Buddhacarita 14

Through many a birth I wandered in samsara, seeking but not finding the builder of this house. Sorrowful is it to be born again and again.
O house-builder! You are seen. You shall build no house again. All your rafters are broken. Your ridgepole is shattered. My mind has attained the unconditioned. Achieved is the end of craving.
Dhammapada 153-54

In heaven and on earth, I alone am the honored one.Digha Nikaya 2.15

Know then, that from time to time a Tathagata is born into the world, a fully Enlightened One, blessed and worthy, abounding in wisdom and goodness, happy with the knowledge of the worlds, unsurpassed as a guide to erring mortals, a teacher of gods and men, a blessed Buddha. He thoroughly understands this universe, as though he saw it face to face… The Truth does he proclaim both in its letter and in its spirit, lovely in its origin, lovely in its progress, lovely in its consummation. A higher life does he make known in all its purity and in all its perfection.
Digha Nikaya 13, Tevigga Sutta

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
If you establish yourself at a true perpendicular angle [to Heaven] and resonate with the true love of the universe, you will become one with God’s love both internally and externally. Then the universe will belong to you, you will become a great person, and everything will be under your dominion. Shakyamuni experienced this state, and said, “In heaven and on earth, I alone am the honored one.” (178:299, June 12, 1988)

Shakyamuni Buddha said, “In heaven and earth, I alone am the Honored One.” In what state did he teach this? If you were to enter that state of resonance, you would become one with God. In that state, you would be able to see thousands of years of human history unfold before your eyes. You would experience yourself as having that incredible value.
How can we humans escape from the painful cycle of suffering, life after life? How can we escape from our miserable life’s destiny that ends in the cemetery? This is the homework given to each of us. In order to solve this, we have to receive training to enter the realm of resonance. (38:270-73, January 8, 1971)

Mary was a Revolutionary Woman

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Matthew 7

²⁴Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on solid rock. ²⁵Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and winds beat against that house. But it did not fall, because it was built on solid rock.

²⁶Anyone who hears my teachings and doesn’t obey them is like a foolish person who built a house on sand. ²⁷The rain poured down, the rivers flooded, and the winds blew and beat against that house. Finally, it fell with a crash.

Acts 17

17 After Paul and his friends had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they went on to Thessalonica. A Jewish meeting place was in that city. ²So as usual, Paul went there to worship, and on three Sabbaths he spoke to the people. He used the Scriptures ³to show them that the Messiah had to suffer, but that he would rise from death. Paul also told them that Jesus is the Messiah he was preaching about. ⁴Some of them believed what Paul had said, and they became followers with Paul and Silas. Some Gentiles^[a] and many important women also believed the message.

⁵The Jewish leaders were jealous and got some worthless bums who hung around the marketplace to start a riot in the city. They wanted to drag Paul and Silas out to the mob, and so they went straight to Jason’s home. ⁶But when they did not find them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the Lord’s followers. They took them to the city authorities and shouted, “Paul and Silas have been upsetting things everywhere. Now they have come here, ⁷and Jason has welcomed them into his home. All of them break the laws of the Roman Emperor by claiming that someone named Jesus is king.”

⁸The officials and the people were upset when they heard this. ⁹So they made Jason and the other followers pay bail before letting them go.

Women of the Bible

7. Mary

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Mary was a revolutionary woman in faith who could follow God’s Will. Because the Human Fall came through the archangel Lucifer, another archangel [Gabriel] should assist Mary by bringing her God’s revelation. Eve believed the words of the archangel and fell. This time Mary should absolutely believe the archangel’s message from God and follow it. This is for restoration through indemnity. Therefore, Mary risked her life, completely believing what the angel told her: “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus… the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” (Luke 1.31, 35)
Mary’s situation paralleled that of Eve in the Garden of Eden before the Fall. Mary and Joseph were engaged but not yet married; Adam and Eve were also in an engagement period as they were growing up—they were brother and sister, but someday to marry. An angel induced Eve to commit the Fall; now another angel brought Mary to God for the fulfillment of His Will. In these respects their situations were precisely parallel.
Since human beings have inherited the fallen act like a normal tradition, the same act should be repeated for God in the course of restoration. Therefore, Mary deceived her husband-to-be and her father. Do you think Mary could discuss with her father or Joseph about how she had conceived her baby? She was risking her life, because in those days an adulterous woman would be stoned to death.
Mary conceived Jesus after inheriting the victorious foundation of Rebecca and Tamar. Through these three women, all the indemnity conditions were fulfilled for the birth of the Son of God. Therefore, Satan could not make any accusation against the birth of the child. That is why, even in Mary’s womb, Jesus was already the only begotten Son of God. (92:289-90, April 18, 1977)

Mary, who was engaged to Joseph, received from the archangel Gabriel the surprising message that the Messiah would be born through her. (Luke 1.31) In those days, if an unmarried woman became pregnant, she would be killed. But Mary accepted the will of God with absolute faith, saying, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1.38)
Mary consulted with the priest Zechariah, who was her relative and was highly respected. Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth, with the help of God, was pregnant with John the Baptist. She said to Mary, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1.42-43) With these words she testified to the coming birth of Jesus. In this way, God let Mary, Zechariah, and Elizabeth know about the birth of the Messiah before anyone else. All of them had the absolutely crucial mission of following the will of God and serving Jesus. Zechariah’s family let Mary stay in their house. Jesus was conceived in the house of Zechariah. Elizabeth and Mary were cousins on their mothers’ side. But according to God’s providence they were considered sisters, with Elizabeth as the elder (Cain) and Mary as the younger (Abel). Mary received Elizabeth’s help in the presence of Zechariah. Through this cooperation, Zechariah’s family, on the national level, indemnified the lack of unity between Leah and Rachel in Jacob’s family. This allowed Jesus to be conceived. For the first time in history, there could be born on earth, free of satanic accusation and through a prepared womb, the seed of the Son of God—the seed of the True Father. In this way, the only begotten Son of God, the owner of the first love of God, was born. Mary had to achieve something that could not be understood by common sense, nor easily tolerated under the law of those times. Mary, Elizabeth, and Zechariah had been spiritually moved. They were to follow the revelation that came from God, and unconditionally believe that it was the will and desire of God. (277:206-07, April 16, 1996)

Women on God’s Side Must Go the Opposite Way

James 2

²⁰But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works isdead? ²¹Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? ²²Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? ²³And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. ²⁴You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

Richard: The “works” is the providence of Home Church.

Matthew 10

¹³If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. ¹⁵Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

Richard: Good advice for visiting your neighbors when doing Home Church.

Women of the Bible

4. Tamar

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Tamar was one example of how God’s lineage developed through women with an unusual path of life. Why would God use women of questionable morals in the dispensation? Ordinary women who offer their bodies in love, as Eve did, belong to Satan and are 100 percent on Satan’s side. Women on God’s side must go the opposite way. Hence, God needed women who could deny love on Satan’s side and [offer their bodies] to return to God.
Since Tamar met this criterion, God selected her and worked through her to fulfill the providence. What exactly did Tamar do? She was a righteous woman who was willing to take on the role of a sinner as she strived to fulfill God’s will. As Eve lied to God and her husband-to-be at the time of the Fall, Tamar deceived her father-in-law and her husband to-be, the third son of Judah. Tamar did precisely what Eve did, risking her life, but she did it for God’s will. (92:286-88, April 18, 1977)

I am sure Tamar prayed like this, “O Lord God, I miss the realm of Thy blessing. I am doing this to continue Thy blessed lineage, so God, please forgive me. Even though I may die tens of thousands of times, if only I can continue the blessed lineage of Judah through this immoral act, I have no regret.”
With that desperate heart, Tamar did not mind facing even death in order to fulfill God’s Will and resolve His grief. Tamar’s filial piety and obedience to God’s will was truly amazing. Yet it was painful for God to have to work His providence of restoration through this kind of complicated situation. (110:222-23, November 18, 1980)

Satan sowed the seed of false love within the womb of Eve, which gave birth to evil life. Therefore, God needed to purify a mother’s womb from which the heavenly Son could be born. Despite Jacob’s victory in winning over Esau, the forty-year period from their birth to their reconciliation still remained to be separated from Satan. The great mother who assumed the responsibility to meet this condition was Tamar.
Tamar had the single-minded conviction that she would carry on the lineage of the chosen people. To that end, she disguised herself as a prostitute and slept with her father-in-law, Judah, and became pregnant with twins. At the time of birth, one of the twin sons, Zerah, stretched out his hand from the womb to be born first. But he was pulled back into the womb; and the second son, Perez, was born first, taking the position of the elder brother. Thus, within the womb of Tamar, the first and second sons fought, and their reversal of position separated them from Satan.
This became the condition for restoration in the womb. Upon this condition, the Messiah could be conceived within the blood lineage of the chosen people, on the base of the nation of Israel that could stand up to the Roman Empire two thousand years later. The victorious foundation on the national level could then be formed in the womb of a mother free of satanic accusation, prepared for the seed of the Son of God. On this foundation, the holy mother Mary emerged in the mainstream of God’s providence. (277:205-06, April 16, 1966)