Category: Exodus

Your Worst Enemies Will Be in Your Own Family

Exodus 32

5 When Aaron saw what was happening, he built an altar in front of the idol and said, “Tomorrow we will celebrate in honor of the Lord.” 6 The people got up early the next morning and killed some animals to be used for sacrifices and others to be eaten. Then everyone ate and drank so much that they began to carry on like wild people.

7 The Lord said to Moses:

Hurry back down! Those people you led out of Egypt are acting like fools. 8 They have already stopped obeying me and have made themselves an idol in the shape of a young bull. They have bowed down to it, offered sacrifices, and said that it is the god who brought them out of Egypt. 9 Moses, I have seen how stubborn these people are, 10 and I’m angry enough to destroy them, so don’t try to stop me. But I will make your descendants into a great nation.

Matthew 4

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went to Galilee. 13 But instead of staying in Nazareth, Jesus moved to Capernaum. This town was beside Lake Galilee in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali.[b] 14 So God’s promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said,

15 “Listen, lands of Zebulun
    and Naphtali,
lands along the road
to the sea
and east
    of the Jordan!
Listen Galilee,
    land of the Gentiles!
16 Although your people
    live in darkness,
they will see
    a bright light.
Although they live
    in the shadow of death,
a light will shine
    on them.”

17 Then Jesus started preaching, “Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here.”[c]

Let Us Fathom the Heart of Heaven

Sun Myung Moon
September 13, 1959

Matthew 10:24-39

24 Disciples are not better than their teacher, and slaves are not better than their master. 25 It is enough for disciples to be like their teacher and for slaves to be like their master. If people call the head of the family Satan, what will they say about the rest of the family?

26 Don’t be afraid of anyone! Everything that is hidden will be found out, and every secret will be known. 27 Whatever I say to you in the dark, you must tell in the light. And you must announce from the housetops whatever I have whispered to you. 28 Don’t be afraid of people. They can kill you, but they cannot harm your soul. Instead, you should fear God who can destroy both your body and your soul in hell. 29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for only a penny? But your Father knows when any one of them falls to the ground. 30 Even the hairs on your head are counted. 31 So don’t be afraid! You are worth much more than many sparrows.

32 If you tell others that you belong to me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you are my followers. 33 But if you reject me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you don’t belong to me.

34 Don’t think that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came to bring trouble, not peace. 35 I came to turn sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. 36 Your worst enemies will be in your own family.

37 If you love your father or mother or even your sons and daughters more than me, you are not fit to be my disciples. 38 And unless you are willing to take up your cross and come with me, you are not fit to be my disciples. 39 If you try to save your life, you will lose it. But if you give it up for me, you will surely find it.

Prayer

We know that the verses just read revealed the things that Jesus kept deep in his heart.

Father, Jesus was to bring an end to the four-thousand-year providential history. He was to lead the many Israelites, build the altar of victory before the Father, and restore everything on that altar of glory as the chief priest. Yet we know that he died without fulfilling this historic mission.

Father, although two thousand years have passed since Jesus, please allow us to picture Jesus’ situation at that time. It is said that these are the Last Days. We know through the phenomena unfolding in our lives that the time is near when we can eliminate all sinful elements.

Looking at this and at all the phenomena of the world, we conclude that these are the Last Days. At this moment, when all unfolding signs are foretelling the Last Days, what should we possess? What should we feel? What should we be proud of? We should not pursue any power of this world, anything material, nor anything that has to do with people’s character. The only thing is to resemble Jesus Christ who lived two thousand years ago. Please allow us to reflect upon how we have to make his heart, desires and situation our own and lay the foundation for the fulfillment of his wishes.

In his time, Jesus appeared to be a humble man. He appeared to be inferior to John the Baptist. John the Baptist came before the Israelite people who were gathering to be baptized in accordance with the new law and appeared to be a great personality. The Israelites honored him as a prophet.

When Jesus emerged as someone who seemed inferior to John the Baptist, the people could not believe him. He was opposed wherever he went. Those who followed Jesus were a lowly group of women and tax collectors. When we think about this, we can sense the most sorrowful historical reality, that there was no true son or daughter of Heaven who could honor Jesus as the Lord.

Heaven needed those who could believe in Jesus as God’s only begotten son and the Savior, lowly in social status and unpolished though he might be. Please allow us to be in tune with the heart of that time and bow our heads humbly before Jesus. Let us receive Heaven’s instructions in the midst of God’s love.

I am about to convey the truth of the Father. If there is a gap between the mind of the speaker and the minds of the listeners, that will be the basis for Satan’s action and a condition which will block the gates of our life. We know that if that is to be the outcome, it is better not to listen to the words at all.

Please allow us to open our hearts wide, to cleanse ourselves of our own thoughts and concepts, and to entrust our minds and bodies to the Father’s movement of life. Let us be in harmony with the Father’s will.

I sincerely pray that with the power of the words of re-creation You will let us experience the center of life and rise up as the life itself before the Father’s will during this hour.

We entrust everything to You. Please govern us. Please let all the beloved members dwell in the same state of grace. We prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen.

We Should Long for Eden

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Exodus 38

8 Bezalel made a large bowl and a stand out of bronze from the mirrors of the women who helped at the entrance to the sacred tent.

I Kings 19

20 Elisha stopped plowing and ran after him. “Let me kiss my parents good-by, then I’ll go with you,” he said.

“You can go,” Elijah said. “But remember what I’ve done for you.”

21 Elisha left and took his oxen with him. He killed them and boiled them over a fire he had made with the wood from his plow. He gave the meat to the people who were with him, and they ate it. Then he left with Elijah and became his assistant.

Longing for Eden

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
June 28, 1959

Genesis 2: 1-25

We members of the Unification Church should have a kind of flower which we like the most among all the flowers, just as God loves certain things more than others among all of His creations. If we do not have such a feeling, then we should be disqualified from the world of the heart. You should be able to say which flower out of all the flowers, which tree out of all the trees, which grass out of all the grasses you like the most. Only then will you have a longing mind toward nature.

As one’s life vibrates, the one who has a relationship of heart which can embrace life and attract nature would be a person of dedicated will and seriousness. The nature we are looking at, this land we are stepping on, what kind of nature and what kind of land are they? Unfortunately, it became fallen land, sorrowful land. You should feel this. When you look at all things, you should feel the sorrowful situation of all things, as well as joy and goodness, for they remain in the realm of lamentation. Fallen humankind should feel unlimited sorrowful emotion and be able to connect with God as they look at beautiful places and enjoy them.

We should be a people who can feel sad, who can cry, and who can sigh, instead of feeling joy as we hold a blade of grass, look at a tree or mountain, and all other things. We should know that this mind emerges out of a longing for Eden. God is filled with such a heart. Humankind has not escaped from that relationship of heart until now. The person with such a heart would long for Eden as he looked at nature. When longing for Eden, we should long not only for nature within it, but also for the original person who can own all things there.



Guide Us to Bear Fruits of Goodness

Watch the latest Richard Urban show:  Do You Know Where Your Donations Are Going at Sanctuary Church or Family Federation?  https://youtu.be/A-eIgljcVTE.

Exodus 1

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.

Psalm 71

71 I run to you, Lord,
for protection.
    Don’t disappoint me.
2 You do what is right,
    so come to my rescue.
    Listen to my prayer
    and keep me safe.
3 Be my mighty rock,[a]
    the place
where I can always run
    for protection.
Save me by your command!
    You are my mighty rock
    and my fortress.

Let Us Follow the Way of Jesus

Sun Myung Moon
April 26, 1959
Matthew 7:1-20

Prayer

Father! Until now we did not know what Your will was; nor did we know the will concerning history, the age, or our individual lives. We thank You, however, for the grace of letting us understand the historical will, for the grace of teaching us the Shim Jung of the age, of life, of daily living, and even of time. We are truly grateful.

With this Shim Jung, we will have to go through the gate of the disciples and follow Christ through the narrow gate. We know that we can avoid judgment only when we more than attain the grace of resurrection by winning over the hill of death and leaving the resurrected tribe of goodness on the earth to bear fruit.

Since you said that a tree not bearing good fruits will be cut down, we will have to be trees of goodness. Please allow us to become trees of goodness and bear fruits of goodness. As Jesus has been fighting for two thousand years to bring fruits of goodness, please guide us to bear fruits of goodness today as trees of goodness. Father, we eagerly hope and desire that You allow us to be sons and daughters who know how to sow the seeds.

Father, we eagerly hope and desire that You allow us to be the ones who can realize that this is Your will; this is the purpose for which You came to the earth; this is the content for which You have fought. Let us be the ones who can live, fight and hold You, consumed with this will, this purpose, and content.

We eagerly ask You to lead us so that we become the best filial sons and daughters who can console the Lord and You after fulfilling the will that remains and running the required road. We pray all these words in the name of the Lord. Amen.

Feel God’s Sorrow

Exodus 1

15 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.

Richard:  Be aligned with God’s Will and follow God’s calling, according to your conscience!

Jeremiah 21

Pay attention, you that belong
    to the royal family.
12 Each new day, make sure
    that justice is done,
and rescue those
    who are being robbed.
Or else my anger will flame up
like a fire that never goes out.

13 Jerusalem,
    from your mountaintop
you look out over the valleys[c]
    and think you are safe.
But I, the Lord, am angry,
14 and I will punish you
    as you deserve.
I’ll set your palace[d] on fire,
and everything around you
    will go up in smoke.

Let Us Halt in Our Steps and Behold the One Who Is Protecting Us

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
March 8, 1959

Psalm 121

Why did God not abandon the world, even as He was forsaking Jesus? Why did He allow Jesus to be hung on the cross, yet did not forsake his enemies? It was to show that there was even greater sorrow than Jesus’ death.

We fallen people must seek the infinite love of Heaven and experience His historical heart as our reality. He has protected us and labored for our sake. We must emerge victorious before God. When you look at society, you will find that it is not a joyful world. Human history is a history of sorrow. Because human history did not begin in joy, but in grief, human history has become a history of sorrow.

When you look at a person weeping painfully over his grief, you probably feel sympathy toward him. However, do not sympathize with an individual’s grief or rejoice over your situation. Our grief transcends the individual level and is connected to the family level, the national level, the world level, and even to the level of Heaven. Continue reading “Feel God’s Sorrow”

Allow us to bring the numerous people of this earth to awareness

Exodus 29

People of Israel, I will meet and speak with you there, and my shining glory will make the place holy. 44 Because of who I am, the tent will become sacred, and Aaron and his sons will become worthy to serve as my priests. 45 I will live among you as your God, 46 and you will know that I am the Lord your God, the one who rescued you from Egypt, so that I could live among you.

Job 16

God set me up as the target
13     for his arrows,
and without showing mercy,
he slashed my stomach open,
    spilling out my insides.
14 God never stops attacking,
15     and so, in my sorrow
I dress in sackcloth[a]
    and sit in the dust.
16 My face is red with tears,
and dark shadows
    circle my eyes,
17 though I am not violent,
    and my prayers are sincere.

The Ideal Kingdom of Heaven, Our Hope

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
February 22, 1959

Matthew 3: 1-17

Prayer

Father, You have gathered us here. Therefore, do not let us be the only ones who survive in this hour. We thank You for protecting us from many difficulties that we may come to this place. We know that You have led us this way for our sake. We also know that the sorrow of Heaven and the sorrow of earth must be reversed, depending on us as the condition. We know we have this historic responsibility.

We are deeply grateful that You gave us the glorious grace of calling You “Father” when we face You. This came to us through the privilege of Your words, Your grace, and Your life.

We know today how precious is our responsibility. Loving Father, do not abandon us in this hour. Hold us to Your heart that You may transmit Your Shim Jung to our Shim Jung. Impart to us Your whole will, and mold us into people You can trust. Continue reading “Allow us to bring the numerous people of this earth to awareness”