Category: Matthew

Misuse of Love Is the Sin God Abhors the Most

Join us for the Urban Life Training Chapter Workshop, online or in-person on July 3rd 2020. Learn materials that teach about the physical, intellectual, emotional and long term benefits of sexual abstinence before marriage. Learn about setting up a Chapter of Urban Life Training to teach this material to middle and high school youth: https://www.urbanlifetraining.org/index.php/109-training/351-urban-life-training-chapter-workshop .

Matthew 6

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Psalm 24

7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

Hosea 7

2 And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 2

Cause and Effect

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

In order for life to be sustained centering on this body, all the different parts must engage in give and take action as subject and object partners. If everything engaged in this action does what it is sup-posed to do, then the physical body will function smoothly, and existence will continue. But what happens when this is blocked somewhere?
This universe protects anything that engages in give and take in accord with God’s ideal. If an opposing element appears, something becomes lacking, or there is a blockage, there will be a failure within that realm of interaction. Hence, in order to protect the universe, there will be a reaction to expel it. This reaction is not a bad thing. It may be seen as something bad, but it truly functions to protect the larger realm.

For example, if your stomach hurts, it means there is a blockage in a circuit of give and take action between some subject and object partner. The blockage causes it to be pushed away to the same extent as it is blocked. A cosmic force to push it out acts on the stomach, and it hurts. All you need to do is open the place that is blocked, and you will feel fine.
Likewise, the world of our conscience and the entire human world are in pain. Why? There are elements that do not meet the standards of the cosmic force, and the universe is trying to push them out. Hence, we feel pain in our conscience. While the conscience was going in the proper direction, something stood opposing it and blocked the conscience’s function. We experience a reaction, resulting in pain. If the problem is not solved, that reaction will send the person into hell. (165:176-77, May 20, 1987)

The law of cause and effect cannot be avoided in history. America is an extension of Great Britain… thus America is in a position to indemnify what Britain did wrong in history. What did Britain do when she colonized Asia, especially China? She killed countless Asians through pushing the opium trade. Britain adopted that policy to dominate the Chinese and profit off of them, while totally unconcerned that whole populations became helpless addicts. Someone today has to indemnify that sin. Americans, especially American youth, should indemnify that historical debt; otherwise young people here will be plagued by drugs as a result. (105:134, October 4, 1979)

God abhors sin, and misuse of love is the sin God abhors the most. God regards sinners who com-mit such transgressions and do not repent as His enemies, and He visits them with destruction. It is the Principle that whoever indulges in illicit love will perish. In Italy, the lustful and immoral city of Pompeii was destroyed by instant calamity. Sodom and Gomorrah perished under the same law. The Roman Empire once prevailed in the world with unparalleled power, but it collapsed for the same reason. From the vantage point of history, America today is on the same path. Unless it repents for its violations of the law of God’s love, it too will perish. (104:141, April 29, 1979)

I was involved in the underground resistance movement against Japanese imperial rule, and from that perspective the Japanese were my enemies. They were the enemies of the Korean people in gen-eral and my enemies in particular. Yet, after Japan was defeated at the end of World War II, I loved the Japanese. Some time earlier, certain Japanese policemen had arrested me for my activities in the resistance and tortured me severely. When the war ended I could have reported them, and they all would have been executed. Yet, when I came across those same policemen running for their lives, I helped them escape to safety.
Do you know why so many young people in Japan place their eternal lives in my hands and pledge their loyalty to me? It is because there is a principle of cause and effect, which dictates that they must return what was given. (True Family and World Peace, February 10, 2000)

From the Beginning You Were Told That We Must Love Each Other

Watch or listen to the latest Richard Urban show: Will We Seek Blessing and Love or Anarchy and Chaos?
President Trump did the right thing by going to St. Johns’ Episcopal Church with a Bible. Terrance Floyd told people not to riot and destroy their communities, yet protests and riots continue. What is behind this chaos?

1 John 3

11 From the beginning you were told that we must love each other. 12 Don’t be like Cain, who belonged to the devil and murdered his own brother. Why did he murder him? He did it because his brother was good, and he was evil. 13 My friends, don’t be surprised if the people of this world hate you. 14 Our love for each other proves that we have gone from death to life. But if you don’t love each other, you are still under the power of death.

15 If you hate each other, you are murderers, and we know that murderers do not have eternal life. 16 We know what love is because Jesus gave his life for us. That’s why we must give our lives for each other. 17 If we have all we need and see one of our own people in need, we must have pity on that person, or else we cannot say we love God. 18 Children, you show love for others by truly helping them, and not merely by talking about it.

Matthew 1

Jesus Christ came from the family of King David and also from the family of Abraham. And this is a list of his ancestors. 2-6a  From Abraham to King David, his ancestors were:

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and his brothers (Judah’s sons were Perez and Zerah, and their mother was Tamar), Hezron;

Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz (his mother was Rahab), Obed (his mother was Ruth), Jesse, and King David.

6b-11  From David to the time of the exile in Babylonia, the ancestors of Jesus were:

David, Solomon (his mother had been Uriah’s wife), Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram;

Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, and Jehoiachin and his brothers.

12-16 From the exile to the birth of Jesus, his ancestors were:

Jehoiachin, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim;

Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, and Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

17 There were fourteen generations from Abraham to David. There were also fourteen from David to the exile in Babylonia and fourteen more to the birth of the Messiah.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 2

Truth and Universal Law

The Golden Rule

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Even looking at contemporary morals and social ethics, a certain principle applies. It is the standard that we live for the sake of others and not insist that others live for us. (71:125, April 29, 1974)

What is the path for us to live a true life? As we go on the path, the main thing we should keep in mind is to live for the sake of others. Confucius, Jesus, Muhammad and Buddha all affirm this truth. Living for the sake of others is the universal principle that defines the way we should live our lives—the one law of the true way of life. (133:18, July 1, 1984)

What should you do to others if you want them to serve you? [Serve them.] Should you serve them first, or let them serve you first? [I’ll serve others after they serve me.] That won’t do. Isn’t there a saying that if you want others to serve you, you should first serve them? [Yes.] The basic rule is that you should be the first to serve. What about me? Do I, Father Moon, seek to serve you, or do I seek to have you serve me? I never have the slightest thought of wanting you to serve me. It is not good to be indebted to others. (50:339, November 8, 1971)

What is a life of true love? In a nutshell, it is living for the sake of others. It is living for the sake of another before you wish that the other would do something for you. In living for others, you give and forget that you ever gave. You do not give in hopes of receiving something in return. You give and give to the point where you have no regrets for not having given more. Even as you give, you bow your head in humility. Thus, Jesus said, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (January 27, 2004)

According to the universal law, a subject partner should care for its object partner as parents care for their children or teachers for their students. However, people in the fallen world instead try to use others in self-centered ways. That is why they perish. Through their good example, religious people should educate others in Heaven’s principle that we should place the happiness of others before our own happiness. (271:72, August 21, 1995)

God Totally Invested Himself in the Work of Creation

In 2020 in West Virginia we elect the Governor, one US Senator, the Commissioner of Agriculture and three of five Supreme Court of Appeals Justices. We will also elect School Board members, delegates, state senators, sheriffs and more. Especially in light of the many intrusions on constitutional rights now taking place, it will be important to choose wisely on June 9th, 2020 in the primary election and in November. Remember that the Supreme Court of Appeals, School Board members and Magistrates are chosen in the June election only. View the candidate interviews so that you can make informed choices.

Matthew 12

18 “Here is my chosen servant!
I love him,
    and he pleases me.
I will give him my Spirit,
and he will bring justice
    to the nations.
19 He won’t shout or yell
    or call out in the streets.
20 He won’t break off a bent reed
    or put out a dying flame,
but he will make sure
    that justice is done.
21 All nations will place
    their hope in him.”

Ezra 9

8 But for now, Lord God, you have shown great kindness to us. You made us truly happy by letting some of us settle in this sacred place and by helping us in our time of slavery. 9 We are slaves, but you have never turned your back on us. You love us, and because of you, the kings of Persia have helped us. It’s as though you have given us new life! You let us rebuild your temple and live safely in Judah and Jerusalem.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Part 1
God and Creation

Chapter 1
God

The Creator

1. In the Beginning

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Christians today believe that the omnipotent God created by speaking words, saying “Let there be…” and the creation appeared as if it were a magic show. On the contrary, God totally invested His entire self into the work of creation. He invested, expressing His total love. Don’t we give our utmost sincerity and invest our flesh and blood for sake of the people we love? Likewise, in creating human beings, God invested His entire Being in us; we are the bone of His bones, the flesh of His flesh and the ideal of His ideals. Therefore, God can relate with us as His beloved object partners and His hope. (78:111-12, May 6, 1975)

When God created heaven and earth, after each day of creation, “God saw that it was good.” This means He felt joy. What is the experience of joy? It is the feeling of satisfaction we have when we accomplish a certain purpose. Because the created universe embodies God’s purposeful consciousness, God rejoiced at its creation. (9:169, May 8, 1960)

Every result begins from a motive or cause. Every existence begins from a motive and unfolds through a process before it materializes as a result. This is the case with all natural phenomena. Human beings did not make it so; rather, this is a basic principle and heavenly law, God’s law. For this reason, there is no such thing as the evolution of new species by random mutation. All things exist in order. The world was created by design, in which every existence, as an object-partner of God, arose through a principled process out of that motive [in the mind of God]. Consider successful people: could they succeed without a firm determination in their minds? Starting with a motive and plan in their mind, they prepare the ground and steadfastly push forward to reach their objective. Since this is necessary for an individual to succeed, would it not also be necessary for God, the Creator of this great universe, to attain His objectives? It is the same principle. (9:227, May 29, 1960)

The natural world contains such a wide diversity of creatures. What was the process by which each was created? They were created through the Creator’s heart of dedication and sincerity. Even the microscopic organisms were created through God’s heart of love and His cherished desire to exhibit His own splendor. (20:248, July 7, 1968)

God carried out His work of creation with the utmost sincerity, dedication and investment. He established the standard of absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience, and then invested absolutely. All created beings are God’s beloved object partners, whom He created by investing with utmost sincerity. (400:81, December 27, 2002)

Each of you wishes for your partner of love to be better than you in every way. By the same token, God is looking to create something and someone greater than Himself. Do you suppose God would expend only 90 percent of His energy in creating the universe, or would He give His full 100 percent? How about 100 percent a thousand times over? Indeed, He would invest and forget what He gave, and give again and again a thousand times over. Know that this is how our universe was created: God invested 100 percent of His energy, giving and forgetting what He gave, and repeating the process tens of thousands of times. (254:266, February 15, 1994)

God is Tested Continually by the World

Romans 5

9 But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger. 10 Even when we were God’s enemies, he made peace with us, because his Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by his Son’s life. 11 And in addition to everything else, we are happy because God sent our Lord Jesus Christ to make peace with us.

Richard: But we should recognize also that Jesus came to fulfill God’s purpose of creation and create the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. As such, he did not come to die primarily; that was the result of the faithlessness of the people.: See Chapter 4 of the Divine Principle: The Messiah: His Advent and the Purpose of His Second Coming .

Matthew 28

11 While the women were on their way, some soldiers who had been guarding the tomb went into the city. They told the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 So the chief priests met with the leaders and decided to bribe the soldiers with a lot of money. 13 They said to the soldiers, “Tell everyone that Jesus’ disciples came during the night and stole his body while you were asleep. 14 If the governor[a] hears about this, we will talk to him. You won’t have anything to worry about.” 15 The soldiers took the money and did what they were told. The Jewish people still tell each other this story.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Part 1
God and Creation

Chapter 1
God
Unchanging and Eternal

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

God is eternal. He was eternal in the past, He is eternal in the present, and He will be eternal in the future. (22:317, May 11, 1969)

Eternity cannot be captured within time, but time exists within eternity. (41:285)

God’s ideal is eternal. God is the center of absolute and eternal life. Yet the center of that ideal is true love, with “me” as its counterpart. (216:115, March 9, 1991)

To love means to take responsibility for eternity. Love is unchanging. If God changed the way people do, how could we ever trust Him? But God is unchanging and eternal. He wants to make a relationship with mankind through true love. Nevertheless, people are constantly changing, day in and day out. How can God trust us? (31:210, May 31, 1970)

Eternal life is essentially an attribute of love. Even God, when He created the universe, adhered to the standards of absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience. God lives this way, always desiring to invest more love for the world, even though everything in the world is transient. For this reason, every creature without exception attends Him as the absolute, unique, unchanging and eternal Lord. (330:262, August 18, 2000)

How old is God? For billions of years He has been growing old, waiting. If God had a beard, I am sure it would have grown all the way down to His feet, and if God grew taller every year, there’s no telling how tall He would have grown. By what power has He been able to endure and wait for so long? It is nothing else but love. (111:77, January 25, 1981)

If your day-to-day life has only a transient value, you cannot make a connection with eternity. Your life should connect with God’s eternal love. Only then will the eternal God be with you. (2:13, January 6, 1957)

When God decides something, His decision is unchanging for eternity. Can you meet God’s standard if you change your mind a dozen times a day? Truth is truth whether you live or die; it is eternal. Truth is beyond death, beyond changeability. Thus, in order for you to be a true person, you should be beyond death, and be unchangeably steadfast. This means there will be a collision at some point between your changeability and unchangeability. Unchanging elements will overcome changing elements. Changing elements will vanish. It is as if life and death collide. When you overcome death you will have life. Once you pass through this stage, then you can have a connection with God. (66:43-44, March 18, 1973)

Being absolute, God is tested continually by the world. Everyone—even Satan—tests whether God’s love is unchanging. If God were ever unable to overcome a test and stopped loving, then He would be changeable. Yet God remains calm and unperturbed by anything. When I contemplated why God permits Himself to be put through intolerable difficulties, I realized that He had to endure them in order to secure His unchangeability. Satan and God are completely opposite. God is eternal, while Satan is transient; God is unchanging, while Satan is ever changing; God is unique, while Satan is not. There is a clear contrast between the characteristics of God and Satan. Is your mind changing or unchanging? An unchanging mind is closer to God. You prefer to be unchanging, not changing, to be absolute, not relative, because you want to take after God’s character. You would resemble God because you wish to be His object partner. God is unchanging, eternal, unique and absolute, but for what end? If God possessed these attributes purely for His own sake, they would have no meaning. These attributes are for the sake of His object partners. Likewise, we seek to be unchanging and absolute for the sake of our counterpart, not for ourselves. Therefore, no matter how many people in the world oppose God, He must endure in silence. Evil people swear, accuse and lash out at God, but He just takes it all in and remains silent. All people are meant to make the journey to true love. Therefore, even evil people seek to become absolute, unique, eternal and unchanging. Were we solitary beings, what difference would it make if we were changing or unchanging? When we say we want to be unchanging, we automatically have a relationship in mind. Because of the unchanging relationship between God and human beings, love can be possible. And love—true love—is eternal. (123:330-32, January 9, 1983)

All the ideologies, doctrines and rights that people hold— all these will disappear. But Father, we yearn that Thou dost put in our minds power ever flowing and ever bursting forth, the Eye of resurrection, that our minds and bodies may rise to the place where we can live eternally. (4:65, March 9, 1958)

God Stands in the Position of a Doctor Who Seeks to Cure Human Beings

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TheCOVID-19 Agenda: What is Really Going On?

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Matthew 25

12 But the groom replied, “I don’t even know you!”

13 So, my disciples, always be ready! You don’t know the day or the time when all this will happen.

Obadiah

15 The day is coming
when I, the Lord,
    will judge the nations.
And, Edom, you will pay in full
    for what you have done.

16 I forced the people of Judah[f]
to drink the wine of my anger
    on my sacred mountain.
Soon the neighboring nations
must drink their fill—
    then vanish without a trace.

Richard: Both of these scriptures warn us to expect God’s sovereignty to come about after a period of suffering for those on God’s side. The period of suffering has occurred/is occurring due to the COVID-19 Fraud. See my video and podcast series on the Richard Urban Show: https://www.visionroot.org/blog/ .

When and how God’s sovereignty will be implemented is closely connected to our own human portion of responsibility.

Rev. Sun Myung Moon warns and predicts on September 23, 2005 in Washington, DC:

Ladies and gentlemen, humanity is traveling down a dead-end street. The only way to survive is to practice the peace philosophy of true love, true life and true lineage taught by Reverend Moon.   If all the university presidents and the United Nations agree upon this, we can do it quickly.  Now that we have entered the Age after the Coming of Heaven, your good ancestors are activated and the heavenly hosts are sweeping down upon the earth. Soon the countries and peoples that appear strong and mighty will change course and shift in this direction.  Probably the Communists will change their direction more quickly than the people in the free world.  Think about China, Japan and Russia.  If they are united then they can take over the entire Pacific Ocean.  Who knows in the future, if the trend goes this way if there will be another world war centering on the Pacific Ocean.  You politicians, think about it.   We can educate them.    

I leave you with a choice.  It’s not my problem.  I have told you all.  Whether you die or live is your choice.   There can be no perfection in ignorance.  If you don’t know anything, there is no way to perfect yourself.   The message from Heaven that I convey to you today is both a blessing and a warning to this generation. I, Reverend Moon, will take the lead in establishing true families, true societies, true nations and a true world. Will you join with me as I rise and gain strength in accordance with heavenly fortune?  Or will you remain captive behind the same old walls, all of them Satan’s handiwork.  You, Protestants and Catholics, you all have to be united.  No more separation.  You have to straighten the course of the United Nations.  We have to educate them.  If you have such a spirit and determination.   You have to utilize all the media  arms, such as radios and televisions and so forth and spread this truth all over the world.  It may not take even six months.  We can do it. 

https://www.visionroot.org/resources/rev-sun-myung-moon/gods-ideal-family-the-model-for-world-peace/

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Part 1
God and Creation

Chapter 1
God
Sovereign and Omnipotent

  1. Almighty God

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

What is God like? [You say,] He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, who can destroy or create worlds with just one word. However, we do not need this kind of God. What kind of God does our original mind desire? We long for a God about whom we can say, “I love Him more than I love my own father and mother.” (147:271)

God is almighty. It was not due to His shortcoming or lack of ability that He has been imprisoned in great pain and has endured immense suffering behind the scenes of history. It was because there are provisions in the Principle of Restoration, which He was not free to disclose, that called Him to wait with forbearance until Adam and Eve’s positions, lost at the human fall, were recovered with the appearance of the perfected Second Adam. Although God is all-powerful, He will not set aside the eternal laws and principles that He Himself established. (September 12, 2005)

Many people rattle off words about God’s absoluteness, omnipotence and glory. Nonetheless, through my lifelong search for truth, I have found that to be way off the mark. When the first human ancestors fell, God became a bereaved Parent who lost His beloved children. Think of it: if your children were in prison, could you as a parent live in glory? So you can understand how God’s heart could be in deep pain and sadness. Furthermore, God also had to hand over to Satan the beautiful creation which He had made for His children. From the moment He lost His object partners of love, the God of true love became the God of loneliness. From that moment on, God was in no position to exercise His power as the Lord of the universe. He had no opportunity to display His authority as the Creator of all things, while fallen people go about boasting over their petty creations. Although God is the Lord of all that has breath, He could not display His dignity. Although God is the Owner of all that lives, He was never able to manifest His supreme glory. Although God is Author of the Principle, how could He operate freely in a world that had fallen and become unprincipled? Human beings, living with all degrees of distrust and rebellion, mock God as non-existent or dead. Even those who say they believe mostly ignore God as they go about their daily life. God has endured this long history with a heart full of excruciating pain.13 (January 29, 2001)

We need a God who transcends evil and everything, who has absolute power to subjugate all. Even though the Devil exists, he should not be able to hinder God; rather God should transcend the Devil and be completely unrestricted. Until we find such a God, we will not be able to overcome the present state of conflict. God has been fighting with the Devil throughout history, and religions have been relegated to an internal, spiritual role. That condition has not provided a way to establish a new culture. Only when God is absolute and transcendent, when the Devil cannot interfere in any way, can there be the new beginning that can resolve the problems of today’s world. Yet consider the present position of God. He is not a transcendental Being who rules over human history or the history of providence. Why? It is because human beings fell. God stands in the position of a doctor who seeks to cure human beings of this sickness. He is the repairman, mending us of this defect. Not having yet raised up perfected individuals, He could not be the God who stands in the absolute position and guides humankind towards the one goal. (140:18-19, February 1, 1986)

Father! Mayest Thou become the Lord of this heaven and earth which have no lord; the Center who can be responsible for this nation and lead it to its future destiny, the Center of our families’ hopes, and our individual hopes. What the world needs, the nation needs, the family needs and the individual needs art Thou, our Father, the Lord who created all of heaven and earth. Thou art the Being of infinite might. Thou art the omnipotent Being, unlimited in the world of time and space, the Creator of everything. Thou art the Subject Partner endowing everything with meaning. Everything exists according to its destined relationship with Thee. Nothing that exists is without purpose: each is an object partner to Thee, the Subject Partner. We know that we ourselves, our families, nations and the world, find their position in relation to Thee. When the sun shines, the life of all beings springs forth from that light. Even microorganisms seek to unite with the light, facing one center. In the same way, we must attend Thee as the Lord of our lives, our Father who brightens the path on which we must tread. Unless we unite with Thee, and become one with Thee, our path of life will be blocked. (59:65-67, July 9, 1972)