Words of the Bible

Words of Heaven, Words of Salvation

Now people from all nations assemble and come to Zion just as prophesied in the Bible. So, the number of brothers and sisters in Zion is increasing day by day. Some of them do not yet understand the linguistic habits of Zion and the teachings of the Bible, and they still have the habit of speaking words that they have learned from the world. At the beginning of the New Year 2016, let’s take time to think about how we can speak only words of heaven, words of salvation. Heaven’s happiness comes from happy linguistic habits Recently I received an e-mail from a local Church member. She said in the e-mail that the overseer and his wife of the Church…

Who Is Jesus?

Since the fourth century up until today, there has been continuous dispute over the nature of Jesus. Some churches consider Jesus as a creature like one of us, denying the Trinity; some churches say that Jesus is one of the angels; some churches insist that God and Jesus are separate beings, although the two can be considered as one because they have the same will and purpose. Why are there great differences among the churches in interpreting the same Bible? It is because they see the Scriptures, written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, with their own physical eyes obscured by sin. Christ, who came in the flesh to save mankind, is in very nature God. Let us confirm…

Values of the Kingdom of Heaven & Calculation Method of Heaven

Everyone living in the world has his or her own standard of value. Some people put value on material goods or wealth, some on knowledge, and some on pleasures or hobbies. Unlike people in the world, we hope for invisible, eternal things. As “citizens of heaven,” we need to put priority on the heavenly standard of value when we do something, thinking, ‘What would God think about this?’ instead of focusing on people’s views about it (2 Co 4:18; Php 3:20). According to the heavenly standards of value, we are all valuable. Even a stone on the street was created by God and has its own value and reason for being there. How much more valuable are we, human beings!…

Turn from Evil and Do Good

These days we hear almost every day the news about violent and cruel crimes such as killing others without hesitation because of a misunderstanding or an argument over something trivial. The Bible teaches us to turn from evil and do good. If we have even the tiniest bit of evil in our hearts, we need to remove it all and pay more attention to God’s teachings in our everyday lives, as the children of heaven. Let us get rid of all anger, jealousy and hate from our hearts and have the heart of God full of love. Now, let’s take time to think about what God’s will is for us, His children, who are living in this age. An age…

According to the Word, According to the Prophecy

The Church of God has recently received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This award is given to all our members in Zion who have worked hard together with one heart and mind to put God’s teachings into practice; it is presented in recognition of our members’ sacrifice and service for others. That is why the award seems more valuable to us. Now the good news keeps pouring in from all over the world that our churches have received the awards, including the President’s Volunteer Service Award from the U.S. President and the Presidential Group Citation from the President of the Republic of Korea. Let’s take time to think about why God continuously grants us these honorable awards today, through…

Sarah’s Laughter and Zion

In the Bible, Abraham represents God the Father (Lk 16:19–31). Isaac, who inherited his estate, represents us, God’s children—the children of promise (Gal 4:28). And Sarah, Abraham’s wife and Isaac’s mother, stands for our Mother who is the reality of the new covenant (Gal 4:21–26). Since God has established Zion—the city of truth—in this dark and heartless world, the power of Satan is gradually fading away, while Zion is overflowing with joy and gladness, thanksgiving and the sound of singing every day (Isa 51:3). We have met our Heavenly Father and Mother in Zion. So, we should always be joyful and make our Heavenly Mother happy just as Sarah was so happy to have her own son Isaac that she…

God Is Visible Only Through Faith

When we preach God’s word, we often meet people who say they will believe in God if we show them God. They say, “How can I believe in the unseen. I only believe what I can see.” There is a saying that goes: “Seeing is believing.” Once a man said, “Show me God. Since it is said that seeing is believing, I will believe in God if I can see Him.” What do you think God said to him? “Believe in Me, and you will see Me.” God did not say, “Seeing is believing,” but said, “If you believe, you will see everything.” Just as the Bible says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of…

Those Who Have the Desires of the Spirit and Those Who Have the Desires of the Flesh

God has told us to always have the desires of the Spirit. Since the Spirit is God, the desires of the Spirit are the desires God gives us, which come from the same heart as God. On the contrary, the desires of the flesh are the desires Satan tries to instill in us to divert us away from spiritual things. When Satan tempted Jesus at the beginning of His public ministry, he also used the desires of the flesh; he attempted to entice Jesus with the riches and honors of the world. However, Jesus answered all the temptations of Satan by using the words of God, which awaken the desires of the Spirit (Mt 4:1–10). Now, let’s see in detail…

You Have Now Dedicated Yourselves

As Hezekiah reigns in Ahaz’s place, he opens the doors of the house of the LORD and repairs them. Then he brings in the priests and the Levites and assembles them in the square on the east side. “Now consecrate yourselves and the temple of the LORD. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary.” Since the wrath of the LORD was against Judah and Jerusalem by their fathers’ evil deeds—forsaking God and turning their faces away from the LORD’s dwelling, the king is hurrying to cleanse the temple of the LORD. “Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that His burning anger may turn away from us. My sons, do not be…

Overcome Temptation

When we look into what happened to the Israelites in the desert, we can find the wisdom to overcome temptations. The Israelites had suffered all kinds of hardships in Egypt for 430 years, and by the grace of God they were released from slavery in Egypt and proceeded toward the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey. As God’s chosen people, they celebrated the Passover and received the Ten Commandments—the words of the covenant—and many other decrees, laws and regulations from God. Although they were God’s chosen people who were given the covenant of God, most of them failed to reach the land of Canaan and were destroyed in the desert. It was because they did not overcome the…

Journey to the Holy Land, the Heavenly Jerusalem, for the True Peace

All Christians, at least once, dream about a journey to the holy land. Bethlehem where Jesus was born, Nazareth where He grew up, the Lake of Galilee where He met His disciples and preached the gospel . . . To feel the footsteps of Jesus, travelling back over a period of 2,000 years, would be the greatest delight in one’s life which cannot be compared with anything else. Sincere Christians leave on a journey to the holy land, being overwhelmed with joy, without hesitating to endure the long distance, the high costs and the inconvenience of waiting in line among so many pilgrims, just so that they can have a monumental and spiritual experience. A holy land which they cannot…

Be Joyful Always

What a joyful and happy place the kingdom of heaven we are going to must be! The Bible tells us that the things of this earth are a copy and shadow of the things in heaven (Heb 8:5). So, if we carefully examine the feelings of joy which God has given us human beings, we can realize the true joy and happiness that we will enjoy in heaven. The joy and pleasure we feel are expressed through a smile or laughter. In everyday conversations, when we talk about gloomy and heavy topics or negative things, we feel uncomfortable and our faces get stiff. On the contrary, when we talk about something funny or pleasant, it brings a smile or laugher…

God Saw That It Was Good

We are walking the path of faith towards the goal of entering the eternal heavenly kingdom. In the desert of faith, some walk the path of faith in a manner pleasing to people, and others live the life of faith in a way pleasing to God. In the history of the early Church, we can see that the apostles and the saints were trying to walk the path of faith in a God-pleasing direction, saying, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God?” (Gal 1:10). It is the same with us in this age. The reason we are trying to participate in the divine nature and always live a life full of smiles just as…

Photosynthesis, Natural Solar Energy Generation System

The Sun produces a tremendous amount of energy, and emits most of the energy into space in the form of light. Only 2.2 billionth of the sunlight that the Sun emits to all directions reaches Earth. 30% of it reflects back to space, and only 70% of it is absorbed into Earth. Still, the total amount of energy that the people of the world use for a year is equivalent to the solar energy that enters Earth only for one hour. All living creatures need energy for survival, but the light energy cannot be used directly. It has to be transformed to the form of organic matter. Except some microorganisms, however, it is only plants that can store the light…

The World Mission Society Church of God Gives Hope to All People Around the World

The Throne of Judgment & the Record of Actions

In Revelation, we see that a book, which contains a record of the actions that each person has done in his or her life, is opened before the throne of judgment when the time comes for God to judge human beings. According to what is written in the book, God will examine the whole course of our lives on this earth—whether we have done right or wrong and whether we have done good in obedience to God’s will or we have done evil, and He will judge each of us according to our deeds. So, every moment given to us each day is very important. As for those whose record of actions is filled with evil deeds, God will judge…

The Apostles’ Thoughts About the Soul

“What will happen when a man dies?” “Does a man really have a soul?” “Where does a man go after he dies?” These have been the concerns and unsolved questions of numerous people for a very long time. Countless people have thought about the true meaning of their existence and studied it but nobody has been able to find the answer. They have created various kinds of theories, ideas and philosophies only with their eagerness to know, without realizing who created them. However, the knowledge about the soul, taught by Christ, allows mankind to know who they are, and it teaches the value of their existence and the purpose of their life exactly. 1. The appearance of the soul in…

Preaching, a Conversation for Salvation

We have many conversations with people around us every day. Sometimes we have business conversations at work, sometimes we have pleasant conversations with our family members, and we also say the words of blessing to our brothers and sisters whenever we greet them. Come to think of it, conversations are a huge part of our everyday lives. It is because without conversations we can hardly communicate and understand each other. So, conversations are an essential part of our lives. There are empty and useless conversations and also bad conversations that bring forth evil (Mt 12:34–37). So, God has taught us how to have a good, beautiful conversation. That is preaching. Preaching is a conversation that we have with a mind…

Jonah’s Ship and Paul’s Ship

When the human life comes to an end, judgment follows (Heb 9:27). Judgment is the process of making the final decision on whether a defendant is guilty or not and what the nature of the crime is if the defendant is guilty. It is the same for judgment in the spiritual world. The people, who do not know how horrible the pain of hell is, waste their time on this earth, and they will meet a situation where they will have regrets at the end of their lives. Since God knows what happens at the end of human life, He came to this earth in the flesh. He established the new covenant by offering Himself as a sacrifice for our…

Preparing for the Eternal World

The Bible says, “As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field” (Ps 103:15). This shows how short and vain human life is. However, there is a new kind of life after our life on this earth; we are to return to the place we came from. When this life is over, everyone must go to the afterlife. Now, let us take some time to think about how much time and effort we are putting into preparing for the kingdom of heaven we are going to. A servant’s advice Once upon a time, there was a royal servant who won the king’s favor. The servant was good and faithful, and he was also…