Words of the Bible
The Bible enables us to be wise for salvation (2 Ti 3:15). Let us learn the true will of God from it.
Why did Jesus come in the human form though He is Almighty God?
God can surely appear in the human form if He wants. God is omnipotent and omniscient. God has the power to choose to be or not to be in the flesh. Then, why did God Himself come to the earth as a fragile baby and son? We can easily understand…
There are many people in the world who claim to follow Jesus. Why is it, then, that they do not keep the new covenant Jesus established?
The purpose of Jesus’ coming to this earth is to give eternal life to human beings who are destined to die because of their sins. In order to lead us to salvation, Jesus established the new covenant on the day of the Passover and became a sin offering for us,…
The Biblical Sabbath Is Saturday. Then, Why Do Most Churches Worship on Sunday?
It is clear that the Biblical Sabbath is Saturday, the seventh day of the week. The early Church kept the Sabbath day holy according to the teachings of the Bible (Ac 17:2; 18:4). Then, why do most churches today worship on Sunday? Let's find out the reason. Sunday and Roman…
Passover
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”Jn 6:53 The Passover that makes “disasters pass over” is celebrated at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month in…
My Sheep Listen to My Voice
On the Feast of Dedication—a festival of the Jews, Jesus is in the temple area, walking in a colonnade. The Jews gather around him and say, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I and the Father are one.” Then the Jews pick up stones to stone him. “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” “We…
Build Up Goodness
“Building others up” means understanding and accepting others with a broad mind like the sea as it is written in the Teachings of Mother. There are many teachings on virtue or goodness in the Bible. It is because goodness is one of the most important virtues that the people, who have been called to display the glory of Heavenly Mother to the whole world, must possess. Since we are the children of Zion, we ought to honor God with all our heart, mind and strength, keeping the laws of God. When doing all these things, we must add goodness or virtue to them. This is what God wants us to do. Following this will of God, let us engrave in…
The Church of God puts great importance on the feasts such as the Sabbath and the Passover, which other churches do not keep. Is there any special reason for that?
It is God who has established the feasts and commanded us to keep them. Among the laws given by God, there is not a single law that has nothing to do with our salvation and has no meaning. The feasts recorded in the Bible are also closely related with our salvation. The reason why God has established the feasts We are all sinners who committed sins in heaven and have been cast down to this earth. No one born on this earth escape the penalty of “death,” which is the result of sin. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ro 6:23 In order to save sinners…
The Passover and the Truth of Salvation
Today, the world is suffering from spiritual thirst without hearing the words of God and from rampant disasters (Am 8:11; Jer 44:23). Nevertheless, some people deny God’s word and insist, “The Passover of the new covenant is not the truth of salvation. So we don’t need to celebrate it.” Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, who were religious leaders in those days, for their hypocrisy and said that the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven was not given to them. Even now, there are people like them who claim to believe in God but do not understand the will of God correctly. As the Bible says that God’s people are destroyed from lack…
We Reap What We Sow
In spring, farmers sow in their fields what they want to reap. If it is expected that red pepper farming will earn them lots of income this year, they will plant red pepper seeds; and if it is estimated that the price of garlic will soar, they will plant garlic seeds. So, when the harvest season comes, they will reap red peppers from the field where they planted red pepper seeds and will harvest garlic from the field where they planted garlic seeds It is the same with us who are walking the path of faith, looking forward to the eternal kingdom of heaven. Each and every day, we have to sow the valuable things that we want to reap…
The Seed of God
The Bible tells us that God regards the people, who are to be saved in the last days, as His seed, and that He will see His seed by giving Himself as a guilt offering. Among God’s creatures in nature, a seed has special characteristics. When the seed sprouts to life, it resembles the maternal form exactly. A seed also has the characteristic of bearing fruit. Every kind of seed bears much fruit as it sprouts and possesses its own distinct form and shape. The Bible says that God regards us as His seed. This implies that if we are born again in the truth and grow in faith, we must resemble God and bear fruit. Unless we learn God’s…
Searching for Eternal, Unchanging Standards
One Sunday afternoon, Mrs. Kim went grocery shopping with her family. As the temperature was below 2℃, they brought winter jackets with them and got inside the car. The GPS indicated that it would take about 20 minutes to drive to the supermarket that was about 5 km [3.1 mi] away. First of all, she went to buy shoes for her husband. He tried on shoes (275 ㎜ and 280 ㎜) and chose ones in the larger size. In the grocery store, they bought beef (600 g) for dinner, and two bottles of milk (1 L) on discount, and a box of apples (5 ㎏) as well. Temperature, distance, weight, and all different sizes … We are surrounded by countless…
“I Have Already Come!”
Starting from the beginning of the new year after the 94th anniversary of the birth of Christ Ahnsahnghong, the shouting of the people of Zion proclaiming the voice of Christ—“I have already come!”—is being heard all over the world. As the good news of Christ’s coming has been reported through mass media such as newspapers, many people are showing much interest, wondering who on earth has come and where He has come from. We have to tell people that God, whom the world is waiting for, has already come. As those who have received God earlier, it is our duty to let them know when God came, where He came from, and why He came, so that they can receive…
Though They Try to Hide the Truth with a Lie
Two women went to the tomb of Jesus, where they met an angel. The angel told them that Jesus had risen, and they were filled with great joy and ran to tell this good news to Jesus’ disciples. Some of the guards also went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. The chief priests met with the elders and devised a plan. Then they gave the solders a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” As instructed by the chief…
The Wicked Cannot Inherit the Kingdom of Heaven
As the gospel of the new covenant spreads to the whole world, the spiritual blind open their eyes, the spiritual deaf hear, and the souls in the shade of death revive. How amazing and marvelous is the power of the new covenant which has been established through the blood of God’s sacrifice! God has promised that He will surely give the forgiveness of sins and eternal life to those who believe in the new covenant and keep it, and He has become our God and made us His people through the new covenant (see Jer 31:31-34). We have been cast down to this earth and waiting for the sentence of death since we committed sin against God in heaven. So,…
Yearning and Waiting for Heaven, Our Dear Home
It seems like yesterday that we started 2011, but it has already come to an end and now another new year has begun. Day after day, year after year, our yearning for the kingdom of heaven and for our Heavenly Father grows bigger and bigger. I think it is around this time every year that the members of Zion feel a mixture of emotions in their hearts all at once, yearning for the eternal kingdom of heaven which they lost and waiting eagerly for Heavenly Father to come to this earth. I hope that all of you will live a worthwhile and valuable life every day, patiently waiting for our hopes to be fulfilled and eagerly looking forward to the…
“I” Who Belong to God and “I” Who Belong to Myself
On our journey of faith towards the everlasting kingdom of heaven, what kind of person am I—“I who belong to God” or “I who belong to myself”? As we reflect upon ourselves, we come to realize that we have often belonged to “myself” rather than “God.” Of course, we used to think to ourselves that we should become “I who belong to God.” However, there were many times when we didn’t have our life completely belonging to God. Now, let’s take some time to examine ourselves if we live as “I who belong to God” or as “I who belong to myself,” through the words of God. Stubbornness and arrogance of “I who belong to myself” The Bible teaches that…
Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven Is Near
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is what Jesus fi rst said when He began to preach the gospel after being bap-tized at the age of 30 about 2,000 years ago (Mt 4:17). By saying those words, Jesus expressed His desire for human beings to prepare for the kingdom of heaven by repenting from their hearts. Jesus wanted everyone to enter the kingdom of heaven by living a life of righteousness with a repentant heart as the kingdom of God was drawing near, and that was why He opened the door to preach the gospel by saying, “Repent!” Now we are almost at the end of 2011. The eternal kingdom of God is much closer this year…
Mirror Neuron That Reflects “Myself”
Why is it that we often draw when we do rock-paper-scissors? Why do we instantaneously and unconsciously decide to play the same shape? About this matter, the neuroscience research team at University College London in U.K. announced a result of a fun experiment. They asked the participants to do rock-paper-scissors for several rounds, and in every game, either one or both players were blindfolded. When both were blindfolded, the proportion of draws was 33%, which is in accord with the mathematical proportion. However, it went higher to 36% when only one of them was blindfolded; it was because the participant who could see imitated the other who was blindfolded. Such a thing happens in our daily lives, too. When someone…
The One Who Serves Shall Be the Greatest
The mother of James and John is bowing down to Jesus to ask a favor of Him. “What is it you want?” “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at Your right and the other at Your left in Your kingdom.” Hearing this, the ten are indignant with the two brothers. Jesus calls them together and says, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over people and exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. I too did not come to be served, but to serve, and to be sin on behalf of many.” Jesus told the disciples who wanted to…
A Life With Goals
When we look back on our past lives, at night after finishing each day or at the end of the year, even though we were given the same period of time, some of us might live faithfully and some might not. The difference comes from whether we had a goal or not. When we set a goal and do our best to achieve the goal, a fruitful result is produced. That’s why an individual or a group sets a goal when starting their work. It is the same in our life of faith. While the same period of time flows, those who have a spiritual goal live a faithful life, looking forward to the blessings and glory that they will…
Those Who Please God
God has promised to give His children, who dwell in Zion, the eternal inheritance of the kingdom of heaven where there is no death or pain or sorrow. Giving thanks and glory to God for granting us the promise of the eternal heavenly kingdom which we will possess for ever and ever, we should follow God wherever He leads us, having faith. The Bible says that a wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother (Pr 10:1). As wise sons and daughters of God, we should live a gracious life without any regrets for the gospel, thinking about how we can please God and what kind of faith and determination we must have…
Do Not Be Arrogant
Now, our lost brothers and sisters scattered all around the world are coming to Zion like clouds. Our attitude of mind should be more mature than ever. As more and more people are being led into the truth, we need more leaders who can help and guide the new members. We are God's workers who have been called by God earlier and are participating in the holy work of the gospel. When we fear God, humble ourselves and serve our brothers and sisters, the gospel work will be accomplished more swiftly. Not only should we listen to the word of God, but also we should put the teachings of God into practice. If we act like Christians only in Zion…
The Promises of God
A promise is a commitment by someone to do or not to do something. It is made between two parties. So, every promise has two sides: that of the giver and that of the receiver. The Bible, consisting of 66 books, contains a multitude of God’s promises to His people—the promises made between God and mankind. The Old Testament is the old covenant given by God to the Hebrew people, and the New Testament is the new cov- enant given by God to us. No one can change this promise of God—not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen—or replace it with anything else. So, the Bible tells us never to add to or take away from…
Your Stubbornness and Unrepentant Heart
By the grace of God, we have been called to become the people of Zion and received redemption; our countless sins and transgressions have been forgiven. Since we have received such overwhelming grace, we should live a life of repentantance perfect enough for us to stand before God. As the day of our salvation comes closer, if we are still going against the will of God with our sinful nature, stubbornness and unrepentant hearts, the forgiveness of sins that we have received will lose its meaning. Originally, we are sinners who committed grievous sins in heaven and were cast down to this earth. Keeping this fact in mind, we should always humble ourselves before God. We must not betray the…