Shincheonji Bible: True Faith

Did you know that the appearance of Jesus as portrayed through media today, is actually incorrect? In movies and even paintings, Jesus is depicted as being very handsome with luscious locks and chiseled features. However, according to the Bible, it states that the appearance of Jesus was actually very far from this.

The reality of Jesus' true appearance is recorded in Isaiah 53:2:
"He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."

Jesus, the promised Lord of Lords and King of Kings, didn't even have some beauty or majesty, but had no beauty and no majesty, as would be expected from a king.

God, who is the Creator of all creation, undoubtedly had the power to grant Jesus any appearance, to be even more beautiful and majestic than any celebrity or actor that we know of today. Even today, when people see a handsome or beautiful celebrity in real life, they follow the celebrity around just to catch a glimpse of the person. Likewise, more people during Jesus' first coming could have followed him if Jesus' appearance was also in this way, because humans are so easily convinced by what is seen with the eye.

Then, why didn't God make it easier on himself and have Jesus be this way?

Because, God was seeking for those with true faith, those who would follow Jesus not by his appearance or aura, but would follow and believe in the words that Jesus spoke at that time. Those who believed in Jesus' words believed that these words were from God, and that they were the truth. It couldn't have been easy carrying out faith at this time, yet the 12 disciples believed and held on to the very words of Jesus, even though everything else was going against them.

We are now living in a time where Jesus' is soon to come. Are we going to make the same mistakes as those in the first coming and follow based on only what we see? Or, are we going to check and discern the words that we are hearing, and believe words that are truly given by God as according to the Scriptures?

Let us be those who don't have faith that is pleasing to the human eye, but have faith that is pleasing in God's eyes. Amen.

Shincheonji Bible: Faith for Thought

What do people mean when they say they have faith in something? We can start to answer this question by understanding that having faith is just another word for believing and that believing is tied to trust.

Trust is a universal concept. Children come to trust their parents because of a lifetime of caring for them. People come to trust their friends after getting to know them through time spent together. Communities come to trust their leaders based on their actions and history. But in the same way it can be established, it can also be broken! A leader that doesn't act in the interest of the community will result in this.

So what has God done to be trustworthy? This answer is in the Bible where there are countless examples of God making a promise and then working to completely fulfill it. God has already been acting for thousands of years to prove that He is trustworthy. It is up to us to delve into the Bible, learn what God has done, and have the correct faith in the promises He made.

Shincheonji Bible: Faith in what We Cannot See

Today we live in a society where we have a tendency to only believe in what we can see. Some instances of this case are exemplified in the belief that the world is flat. Other examples can be seen from couple hundred years ago before we had a microscope to see the bacteria and viruses that make us sick. Many actually thought bacteria and viruses were the unseen evil spirits that plagued the people. Now the reason we believe that bacteria and viruses exist is because we can see them through a microscope. However, does this actually mean we can only believe in the things we can see with our physical eyes? What about the people who are blind? How do they believe that everything around them is actually real? These are some basic questions I even personally think about. This is because I am intrigued by the fact that many people in this world believe in something they cannot see which are things pertaining to the spiritual unseen world.

Why do people of Christianity believe in the unseen world and even in God who cannot be seen with our physical eyes? First, we cannot just believe in God who is unseen because we "feel" His presence. God provides us evidence of His existence, but where does He show this? God shows His existence through the scriptures. God promises many things in His scriptures and He fulfills them. Fulfillment of His scriptures is evidence that the Word is living and breathing. How can something that is not alive fulfill a promise, let alone make a promise? A rock cannot promise nor keep a promise, but the scriptures which God's spirit is given (John 6:63) provides promises and even fulfillment. Then our quest as Christians is to find evidences of God's existence so we may have faith in Him (Jn 14:29).

Many people of the Old Testament based their faith in the seen. For example, they sought for God's existence through miracles such as the splitting of the sea or even the fiery pillars that came down from the sky. However, even despite seeing those things, they lost their faith in God and even created gods themselves. Then we have to ask ourselves how faithless people must be and what kind of faith God seeks from our hearts.

Let us continue to seek God through the scriptures in which we are able to see Him even if our physical eyes are unable to. Amen!

Shincheonji Bible: The Last Hope

What is the greatest hope of our lives? Is it to be a rich? What is the hope that is deep inside of our hearts? Parents always try to help their children to have a bright dream so that they may grow to make those dreams a reality. Therefore, if we have a hope that is shining bright within our heart and mind, we can endure all hardships that come our way. However as a person with a life of faith, what are we hoping for? Is our hope to have the greatest riches of the earth? Is it to have the best career? We must reflect on what our hope is even through those who lived 2,000 years ago.

           Do you know how many prophets sacrificed their lives for God and spreading the gospel? Was it easy for them to give up their lives? Do you know why the 12 disciples of Jesus decided to follow Jesus? Weren’t they persecuted because they believed in Jesus? It is because they believed 100% of the hope of heaven that God promised. Moreover, they perceived that nothing more can be precious than life. Therefore, they believed God’s promise in order to receive eternal life.

          Then, let’s look into our hearts deeply. Do we really have the hope for eternal life? Our wishes and hopes for the world can’t last forever because it is meaningless without life. If we say that we have 100% faith in heaven and eternal life, let us put God’s Words of promise into our hearts just as the prophets and the twelve disciples did. Amen.

13 write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. - 1 John 5:13 -

Shincheonji Bible: The Value of Grace

Did you know that there is one thing free of cost that all of mankind has equally received?

As stated in Ephesians 2:8, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."

We have all received this precious, free gift of grace.

When people receive something that is free of cost, it's difficult to really appreciate the full value of what's given. This is because no amount of effort or work was taken to earn this free gift, which decreases the value of the item. To take this even a step further, some could eventually even be disillusioned into thinking that they actually did something to deserve this gift, when in actuality, they didn't do a thing.

We who are beyond undeserving, we who sin day after day, have been saved because of an act of love from God. There is nothing favorable or impressive that we did to warrant receiving this free gift. This grace is beyond comparable value to any physical thing on this earth, because it is the gift that has spiritually saved us, through the precious blood of one who never sinned, Jesus Christ.

When someone gifts you something incredibly huge, what is a normal person's reaction? Even just saying the words "thank you," is not enough. An average person would try to think of a way to repay this gift, either with a similar gift of value or through actions. Don't our actions have to surpass those of "average" people? We are believers, children of God set apart from this world. Then, we need to work towards repaying this grace in a way that is truly acknowledged by God.

Let us be those who are truly doing the work of God, according to His will, so that we can repay even a tiny percentage of this huge gift of grace that he has saved us with. Amen.

Shincheonji bible: Light of the World

Thomas Edison was one of the greatest American inventors who invented the lightbulb. Why did he try to invent the light bulb? Did you ever think about living in a world without light? What if the lighthouse didn’t exist to flash light onto the sea at night? What if the streetlights didn’t exist to light the roads we walk on? Therefore, we can’t do anything from the moment the sun goes down because this world is too dangerous without the sun’s light.

Thomas Edison realized the importance of light in everyday life. Everyone acknowledges that Thomas Edison was a genius and he said, “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.” Then let us ask ourselves, where did he get the inspiration to invent the light bulb? Don’t you think he was inspired through something that provides light? Surely if I was in his shoes, I would have been inspired by the light that shines from the sun that God created.

Let’s think about the world without the sun. Without the sun, we won’t be able to live on the earth. Why? Because the earth would be a frozen ball without radiant heat of the sun. Moreover, the earth revolves around the sun while the sun provides the energy and life through its radiance.

In the bible, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor;” (Psalm 84:11). We can understand through this verse that God is like the sun who give us life and we need to receive the light of His word in order to live. Therefore, let us constantly hear and put the words of light within our hearts to shine like the stars of heaven. Amen.

Shincheonji Bible: Grace

What is grace to you?

There are many definitions of grace and some may simply define it as a heart of gratitude. Others define just by a movement of elegance. However in the Bible, we are able to define grace through the pain and suffering of God and the many people who saw their lives as nothing in comparison to the word.

Within the history of the Bible, there are many events where we see grace in reality. For example, the sinful woman who washed Jesus' feet perceived grace. How? She understood that she was a sinful woman yet she was forgiven despite her sins. In her act of being thankful for the grace, she washed and put perfume on Jesus' feet. If we were in the situation of sitting with Jesus, would we sit next to him like a friend, or would you be face down in tears while washing his feet?

Today we live in grace. What is that grace? It is truth. For it says in John 1:17 that grace and truth came through Jesus. The words that Jesus came with were the words fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies and also the prophecies of the New Testament. We have to be thankful for these words because the disciples gave up their lives thinking of people in the future who may have the words of Jesus. Then if the words of truth we have today came with so much grace, what could we do in thankfulness? The best we can honestly do is obey the words that were given. In fact, God wants us to have these words in our hearts and our minds (Hb 8:10-12).

If we cannot obey these words, how can we show God we are thankful? If we don't even understand, how can we obey? Therefore, let us remember that understanding follows with obedience and obedience leads to action that can repay the grace God has given us. Amen.