Category: New Testament

Jesus Bold Determination Before Heaven

Luke 22

41 Jesus walked on a little way before he knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you will, please don’t make me suffer by having me drink from this cup.[f] But do what you want, and not what I want.”

43 Then an angel from heaven came to help him. 44 Jesus was in great pain and prayed so sincerely that his sweat fell to the ground like drops of blood.[g]

45 Jesus got up from praying and went over to his disciples. They were asleep and worn out from being so sad. 46 He said to them, “Why are you asleep? Wake up and pray that you won’t be tested.”

Isaiah 2

This is the message[a] that I was given about Judah and Jerusalem:

2 In the future, the mountain
with the Lord’s temple
    will be the highest of all.
It will reach above the hills;
    every nation will rush to it.
3 Many people will come and say,
    “Let’s go to the mountain
of the Lord God of Jacob
    and worship in his temple.”

The Lord will teach us his Law
from Jerusalem,
    and we will obey him.
4 He will settle arguments
    between nations.
They will pound their swords
and their spears
    into rakes and shovels;
they will never make war
    or attack one another.
5 People of Israel, let’s live
    by the light of the Lord.

The Incarnation of Jesus, A Pioneer

Sun Myung Moon
February 1, 1959

Matthew 8: 18-22

Two thousand years ago, Jesus looked upon the Israelite people, who had the potential to betray him, with great anxiety. He also saw that Judaism, which should have been built on the foundation of the heavenly heart, had become enslaved to the formalities of the Mosaic Law. As Jesus watched the Israelites, who did not know where their home was or in what direction they must head, he understood that God had raised him through a 4,000-year course of pioneering and had sent him with the purpose of bringing them together to pave the way for the new world. You must understand that, at that moment, Jesus could not help feeling tragic.

After he was born in a stable, Jesus led a lonely life and helped his father, Joseph, who was a carpenter. Although he lived in a limited environment, his ideas transcended the Israelites and the world to connect with the whole cosmos. This is how Jesus lived. Continue reading “Jesus Bold Determination Before Heaven”

Live for the Father’s Sake

The latest Richard Urban Show:  Gaining Ground:   Sex Wars in Washington DC Part Three:  https://youtu.be/bYa9ILQhPBc

Hebrews 11

23 Because Moses’ parents had faith, they kept him hidden until he was three months old. They saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s orders.[b] 24 Then after Moses grew up, his faith made him refuse to be called Pharaoh’s grandson. 25 He chose to be mistreated with God’s people instead of having the good time that sin could bring for a little while. 26 Moses knew that the treasures of Egypt were not as wonderful as what he would receive from suffering for the Messiah,[c] and he looked forward to his reward.

Richard:  Faith is a beautiful thing.

Psalms 74

18 Remember your enemies, Lord!
    They foolishly sneer
    and won’t respect you.
19 You treat us like pet doves,
    but they mistreat us.
Don’t keep forgetting us
    and letting us be fed
    to those wild animals.

The Incarnation of Jesus, A Pioneer

Sun Myung Moon
February 1, 1959

Matthew 8: 18-22

Prayer

The Father has guided us to this place, we who have been wandering without knowing our path. We prostrate ourselves before the holy presence of the Father with wounded minds and hearts.

Although we have not prepared anything to give You, please lead us and grant us Your compassionate grace. Father of love, please hold our fatigued hands and embrace our bodies, which have no place on which to lean. My Father, we ardently wish that You let this be an hour when You give us the love of the eternal world and instruct us in the name of the Father of hope for which we have yearned. Continue reading “Live for the Father’s Sake”

Honor the True and Righteous Way, Just Like Jesus

Wonderful Sunday Service with Pastor Hyung Jin Moon:  https://youtu.be/ZhWv2UQ7K9E.

2 Peter 2

20 When they learned about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they escaped from the filthy things of this world. But they are again caught up and controlled by these filthy things, and now they are in worse shape than they were at first. 21 They would have been better off if they had never known about the right way. Even after they knew what was right, they turned their backs on the holy commandments that they were given. 22 What happened to them is just like the true saying,

“A dog will come back
    to lick up its own vomit.
A pig that has been washed
    will roll in the mud.”

Isaiah 2

Stop trusting the power
    of humans.
They are all going to die,
    so how can they help?

The Sorrowful Heart of Jesus as He Went to the Mountain

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
January 25, 1959

Matthew 17: 1-8

Prayer

Father, we know that in search of religion, humankind needs beautiful and great mountains. We know well that the great figures of history had relationships with mountains, sharing their situations with mountains and determining the standards of life and death and victory and defeat on mountains. We have learned that Jesus visited the top of a mountain as the representative of humankind and there pleaded with Heaven from the depths of his heart. Continue reading “Honor the True and Righteous Way, Just Like Jesus”

Jesus Grave Shim Jung

1 Corinthians 16

13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.14 Do everything in love.

John 5

1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda[a] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. [4] [b] 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The Sorrowful Heart of Jesus as He Went to the Mountain

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
January 25, 1959

Matthew 17: 1-8

For whom did Jesus come to the earth? Although he came for the sake of history, the age, the nation and the church, his path was full of pathos. Since he knew that his sorrow would not end simply as his own, but would be expanded as the sorrow of history, the age and the future, he was consumed with anxiety.

For this reason, Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane. We should be able to feel sadness about this matter. The place where Jesus, the Savior of all people and the King of Kings, shared his final sorrow was not in the home of a disciple. It was not in a Jewish church nor a palace of the Jewish state. The place to which he went to decide everything in consultation with God was the garden of Gethsemane, where there were no visitors that late night. We should know this. Continue reading “Jesus Grave Shim Jung”

The Israelites and Jewish Churches Did Not Welcome Jesus

Book Review:  The Rod of Iron Kingdom by Hyung Jin Sean Moon

Revelation 11

12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.

13 At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Proverbs 22

Start children off on the way they should go,
    and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

7 The rich rule over the poor,
    and the borrower is slave to the lender.

8 Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity,
    and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.

9 The generous will themselves be blessed,
    for they share their food with the poor.

The Sorrowful Heart of Jesus as He Went to the Mountain

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
January 25, 1959

Matthew 17: 1-8

Although Satan “showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” and said to Jesus, “All these I will give you if you will fall down and worship me,” (Matthew 4:12) Jesus resolutely rejected Satan. In this way he established the standard of victory in front of Satan. You should consider the situation of Jesus. In this fashion, he won the standard of the self who could connect to the sorrows of history and the age. Jesus then had to descend the mountain and look for the chosen Israel and the Jewish church, as the footing for the historical connection.

Jesus went to the Israelites and the Jewish churches with the victorious standard from the wilderness course, yet they did not welcome him. Instead of welcoming him, they persecuted him wherever he went. He met with opposition and ridicule. Having to go the wilderness course after being rejected the first time was already enough to provoke hard feelings and anger. When Jesus saw the Jewish church and the Israelite nation opposing him, the one who had returned to them with a victory over Satan, his heart was consumed with inexpressible pain and sorrow. We should contemplate the position and situation of Jesus. Continue reading “The Israelites and Jewish Churches Did Not Welcome Jesus”