Jacob RI
newvisionet@primus.com.au
Melbourne, Australia

Cross and Peace Jacob RI, 03 Jan 2000

"Dear Children! This is the time of grace. Little children, today in a special way with little Jesus, whom I hold in my embrace, I am giving you the possibility to decide for peace. Through your 'yes' for peace and your decision for God, a new possibility for peace is opened. Only in this way, little children, this century will be for you a time of peace and well-being. Therefore, put little newborn Jesus in the first place in your life and He will lead you on the way of salvation. Thank you for having responded to my call." (25 Dec 1999, The message of Virgin Mary)

One of the most serious problems existing in Christian living today is that they look for Christ in pleasure. They enjoy or pursue the power, fame, wealth and pleasure in the world in the same way other religious or unbelievers do. The only difference is that they may seek the consolation, help or protection from God only when they have misfortune or sickness. Thus the ways of asceticism or mortification of ego are likely regarded as the expired value of faith to the Christian in these days. In 15th century as Thomas a Kempis pointed for the problematic facts in the reality of their faith, we the Christians in 21st century have the same or even more complicated problems to face.

Many want to have the peace of the world.
But hardly anyone decide to forget oneself, and carry own cross to follow Jesus.
Many want to be in time of Grace of God.
But hardly anyone put Jesus in the first place in own life.
"Many want to receive consolation from Jesus.
But hardly anyone wish to take His suffers.
Many want to be joyful and happy with Jesus.
But hardly anyone wants to endure His sufferings with Him and for Him.
Many like to see the miracles of Jesus.
But hardly anyone wish to take insult and mockery on His Cross."
(Thomas a Kempis, Imitation of Christ-hand written in1441, Part II, Chapter 11)

He gave the answers to change of the weakness in such human faith, that is to abandon oneself totally to God(Matthew 16:24) and empty oneself completely from the love of ego. As the Blessed Virgin Mary gave us the same scriptures Matthew 16:24-27 for the peace of the world, there is no other way except for that "If anyone wants to come with me, he must forget self, carry his cross, and follow me." That's why Our Blessed Mother has been appearing for a long period and asking always for fervent prayer in our hearts and the total conversion of ourselves to follow the way of Jesus.

The Path of Peace: A Total Abandonment

In 25 Dec 1999 Our Blessed Mother gave us a wonderful message about the possibility of the peace of this world. The key words of the message are in our response with 'Yes' to the plan for peace of God ,and in placing Jesus first in our life. To say 'Yes" is creating a new history of mankind. As the birth of Jesus changed the world, and created a new mankind through the say 'Yes' of Virgin Mary we will have the peaceful new earth in this new century through our say 'Yes'. In perspective, two thousand years ago the Virgin Mary responded to God's will with her exclusive obedience, even though She was wondering how a virgin Herself could become pregnant. "I am the Lord's servant," said Mary; "May it happen to me as you have said." (Luke 1:38) God needs our Yes when He plans to grant His grace to mankind. With this regard the Virgin Mary's Yes was not only to simply consent to the messages of the angel, but also to unconditionally obey and abandon herself totally to God's plan. Afterwards, as we know, Mary's life was abandoned herself totally to Jesus from the time of a conception to the death of Her son on cross.

In the last message of Our Lady God wants to grant us peace of the world in the 21st century, but He requires the obedience with our say 'Yes' for peace and to accept His will. For this, in a practical way, Our Lady asks us to put little newborn Jesus in the first place in our life and to let Him lead us on the way of salvation. These words imply that we mortify and abandon totally ourselves to Jesus for letting Him be in the center of our life to lead and bring us to the true peace of the world. Our 'Yes' to God, which we abandon our selves totally to follow God's demand, seems not to be easy for us in today. However it is the reality of our faith itself that we have always been facing in the challenges or sometimes in harrowing our decisions for saying Yes to God especially in the particular and imminent situation.
In history we see the great faiths; Abraham had to be so painful in saying Yes to God's request for the offer of his only son Isaac whom he loved so much as a sacrifice; and the Virgin Mary said Yes to God. For this, as the prophet Simeon predicted, Mother of Jesus had have to be in the great sorrow, like a sharp sword breaking Her own heart throughout Her whole life along the way of Her Son, Jesus. Above all, Jesus, Son of Man prayed on Mount of Olives, "Father, if you will, take this cup of suffering away from me. Not my will, however, but your will be done."(Luke 22:42) Therefore our Yes to God may have been demanding and a painful decision with an abandonment of ourselves, rather than allowing us to be in the joyful human pleasure.

Yes Lord! : I forget myself and follow you.

I had also have been facing in the critical moments of deciding to say Yes for a few times in my life. Those were the painful decision for me to give up the comfortable living in compromising with a worldly security, wealth, fame and power, but to accept the dangers at death. In the 70s of South Korea the socio- political evil structure had been legally justified under the constitution and martial law in terms of restriction of basic human rights such as the suppression of freedom of speech, interference with the freedom of religion, restriction of freedom to travel overseas and so on. It prohibited any reporting of violation of this evil law not only by the media organizations, but also by the academic or religious organizations. In the consequences violent suppression, torture, inhumane treatment and many other brutal oppressions upon the mass of the people had decisively impoverished her democracy , and that, above all, they had devastated the society dehumanized.

It was the time for me to say Yes or Not Yet to the Lord Jesus. In other word, it was a critical moment to decide whether or not, to die for the justice of the Lord Jesus with giving up every my personal dream and future. At that time I was preparing the High Diplomat Examination of Foreign Ministry with a good confidence in accordance with my majority in university. My conscience had been consistently stirring me up; it said, "you may have the power, fame or a comfortable job in future with keeping yourself in ignorance of what is happening now around your country. But how you can sustain your belief or idea in this such corrupted and repressive evil organization, and that the selfishness only for the secured future of you is not of what your Lord Jesus wants. Do not be craven, but bravely stand up for the justice of God, for the many innocent people and the future of your nation. Fight against the social evils deeply rooted in society." I embraced the cross with a bountiful of tears. And I could so hear some of the words from my heart, which clearly inspired me; "Happy are those who work for peace; God will call them his children; Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them."(Matthew 5:9-10) On the other hand, however, devils whispered in my ear; they gave me the fears and worries about my parents and especially about my older brother, who was a public government officer. With regarding my parents I felt so sorry and guilty upon their full dedication of what they had done on me; they paid the full expenses of university fee and the high costs for boarding in Seoul. And what about their expectations on my future! Truly the oppressive South Korean government in the 70s had been used to dismiss or give a great disadvantages directly to the public officers if they had anyone among their family who were in any action against the martial law.

Soon later Jesus awakened my heart to listen to "Jacob, look at the people. Many know this repressive law is bad and evil, but the most are not free from their duty on finance for their family living, or dislike losing their own privileges in this government.; Many of the young people are not aware of the significance of this epoch, or some are scared of the upcoming persecution and the following dangers." He was waiting for my 'Yes'. I could not turn my eyes away from suffering Jesus on His cross. I said, "Yes, Lord! All my future is in your hands whether it is sweat or bitter." I was filled with the strength of my Lord Jesus.

Embracing the Cross in a Torture Cell

Since I said my Yes to Jesus, I did my best on doing with forgetting self, but the consistent oppressions and sufferings under the tight surveillance by KCIA and police detectives are accompanied with long and lonely life throughout my twenties.
In this period I had been expelled by the military regime from three different universities, and had even been in the torture rooms for a few times. During the detentions, such as being almost fatally beaten with 13 wooden and hard plastic combat bats by the torture specialist of the police authority, and the other more brutal tortures likely as brain washing treatments in a black colored cell without food and sleep had been given to me. And by a team of detectives, I had have been interrogated and forced to write detailed statements of my activities for certain periods, and the physical torture had been added in between the interrogations. Beside this physical suffering the most painful matter was forced to betray my cronies connected with the activities. With the regards it was the most grateful grace of the Lord Jesus that I could keep myself not only to yield their inhumane request, but also I could have joy and peace followed by the hearted prayer in imminence and the decision for the entire abandonment of myself to Him. My prayer was that " I am ready to be imprisoned, Lord! Give me your strength and joy during the upcoming five years imprisonment period. And asked Holy Mother for Her special care of my spirit to always be in the heart of Jesus." After this prayer I was so joyful and peaceful in my heart even when my body was in the worst condition.

Holy Mother's visit to open the torture cell door.

When I opened my eyes after this prayer I could see the Holy Mother was standing over the table before me with the bright light and white dress. It was so contrast to the dark small cell, which was specially designed for the psychological torture and covered with the soundproofing walls and ceiling. She said, " Jacob, you will be released. You have much more things to do outside. Do not be afraid!" I thought it was a kind of temptation. In reality there were not any possibilities of my release at any time soon, so I was preparing myself for being in prison for a long term and having the inevitable and brutal tortures such as watering and electrical performances on the steel plate that was scheduled in the next step, I knew.

About one hour later, an armed combat guard came into my cell in the intervals of the interrogation sessions held by the detectives. He spoke to me and said that he heard about me from the office and found out that we came from same high school back home. With a deep sympathy and respect for me he informed me that the detectives had decided to take me to a newly equipped for torturing. To prevent further torture, he advised me to confess and provide the real statement of what happened with the names of my friends involved. He told me that four of my friends were in neighboring cells and we all gave false statements, thus resulting in torture. I realized that we could not avoid the heavy tortures unless the five would confess to the same alibi story.

Till that time, I had completed eight statements with my own scenario. I quickly jotted down on four pieces of paper a brief alibi statement of what our activities were, who was involved and when it happened. I handed these papers to the sympathetic guard and asked him if he could pass these on to my friends. The combat guard handed the pieces of paper over to the four surveillance armed guards who were standing at the rooms. From that time I had to write down the same statements in three times more, and my friends were able to make their statements similar to mine. All of us could make the same alibi story continuously through the night. The smart and cruel detectives wondered, but could not doubt at all. So they could not keep us any longer in the torture rooms. The helper combat guard was the top rank among the guards team, and he was the only one whom graduated from the same high school of mine. This fact made it possible for passing the secrets over to my friends, otherwise in looking at the characteristics of the detectives' organization it was impossible. Further this helper combat was moved to this department only a few days ago before I was detained from another local district in distance. Any how the next day I could be released by the miraculous help of the Blessed Holy Mary. She also helped the four of my friends as well; later on, I found them captured separately in different time, but they were released all together with me in same time.

Afterward, I had gratefully thought about the words of Holy Mother given to me when I was 10 years old. One night, I prayed Rosary as usual before the time in bed, but unusually I asked in my prayer for that " Holy Mother! I wish to see you very much. Please allow me to see you tonight. If it is difficult, please let me see you even in my dream." And then, I fall in sleep leaving unfinished all the Rosary courses. Our Lady did not neglect listening to a simple wish from a small kid. She appeared in my dream at that night with so splendid light. She was so beautiful and so bright in golden ray. She looked down me, so I kneel down. She did put Her hands on my head, and said," Jacob, through the whole your life in future you have to always be in goodness and do good in your life. Pray the Rosary always. I promise you that I will rescue you whenever you will be in danger or difficulties if you ask me with your Rosary prayer." Since the time She has never forgotten Her promise to me, and has been teaching me to lead my heart to the love of Her son, Jesus. But so many times I may have hurt the Heart of Holy Mother and Jesus.

Notwithstanding the oppressive regime had been becoming more formidable in incarcerating the conscious day after day I kept on following the way of cross. Subsequently, about three months later, I had to be in other torture cell again as it was the last one in my life. At that time I had been beaten enough to be killed by torture, and I gave up everything in my prayer as I had done before. A man, who was ranked at No.2 among a few torture specialists in the government said that he had a license to kill, so he could send me out as a dead body. I still remember his name. Some years later he had been sentenced to imprisonment for his cruel torturing criminal by a new democratic government. By this I could deeply understand of the insult and mockery on the Cross of Jesus, and above all, the deep pains with the inhumane brutality on Him at the court. I was released without any particular reasons, however, I found later the dictatorial President was assassinated by his follower. So the repressive regime was ended with the abolishment of the presidential martial law during on this period. For my faith, this was a precious opportunity to inscribe in my heart the truth of that "For whoever wants to save his own life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."(Matthew 16:25)

Peace without the Cross is an Idol

In the teaching of Our Lady's messages are so clear and simple, but it implicates the profound meaning of the truth in illuminating the confusion of the value that all the religions may have pursued. As previously mentioned, in Her message of 25 December 1999, She said that we have to place little newborn Jesus in the first place in our life for leading us to the way of salvation with our Yes to God for peace of this world, then the possibility of the peace will be opened in this century. And in the previous month She said that the cross is the sign of love and unity for the peace of the world.

In this regard it is so meaningful to deliberately think about the peace of the world in the relations to our Christian faith, the cross of Christ, the faith of the other religions and teachings or philosophy.

The major religions like the Buddhism and Islam today have the similar teachings in term of what the believers should go with their fundamental attitude such as the abnegation of humane avarice, emptying the ego for receiving the truth, and doing good to others and so on. In scrutinizing the teachings of Buddhism they do not have God to worship, but suggest people to overcome the suffering existing in life from the birth to the moment of death and enlighten the ways to the suppression of suffering, which consist of right views, right speech, right action, right livelihood,, right effort, right-mindedness, and right contemplation in morality, meditation and wisdom. The goal or the ultimate value of Buddhism is to emancipate themselves from the suffering in humane nature. For this Buddhist faith requires for the ascetic and moral life as the same as the Christian faith does. Since BC 534, the time of that Buddha's teachings were transmitted as an oral tradition for many centuries Buddhism immensely influenced the morality and the living of the people in Eastern as well as Confucianism did. Undoubtedly Buddhism, as it was the only major religion for them until the time when the Christianity was introduced, contributed redirecting and enlightening the people to the goodness as the essence of the Creator. However the great effort for deliberating humane suffering in Buddhism is not to reach at the love of God, Creator, but is ending in itself within the cyclical rebirth belief.

Unlikely Buddhism, Islam as major world religion believe in the same God as of Judaism and Christianity. Islam faith claims for that there is no god but God(Allah) and the Mohammed is the Messenger of God. In the early 7th century AD, in a religious sense they see it as identical with the true monotheism which prophets before Mohammed, such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus had taught. In Koran and other writings Jesus is refereed to as the Messiah and was the Word of God. But they reject that Jesus is the "Son of God', and did die on cross. Notwithstanding they believe in same God of Abraham and Jacob as the Christians do, Islam and Judaism, the both rejected Jesus as the "Son of God'. There is not the Cross of Jesus in their faith.

Today there are many other teachings or techniques which have overwhelmingly been spreading over the world and attracting the people to practice these for obtaining their individual peace or healing in life such as Yoga, Mind control, Khee discipline( Khee means inner strength existing in mind and spirit), Deep abdominal breathing and so on. These are the humane techniques to reach at the maximization of inner human spirit as being regarded likely a subconscious potentiality in mind through by the mental or bodily disciplines. By the concentration of their mind, the people try to extend or upgrade their ability in spirit and body with the disciplinary forms of special body exercise, deep breathing, meditation in quietness or even psychic mind training. These spiritual humane techniques bring some certain limited level of tranquility of the mind or physical healing to them. However they do not end their practice in possessing tranquillity or healing, but seek for the further some more likely supernatural status of mind, because they know and believe that spiritual or mental disciplinary for self-empty brings about more effective and higher performance for humane spirit and body.

Palatable Stakes on the table of Satan

In the process of self-empty disciplinary through human spirit or techniques, the spirit of the people becomes more centered in their own lives, and they navigate and search for the meaning of life in an earthly value; not in God, the creator. Satan never sleep with these favorable chances in occupying the well prepared and cleaned place, where there is not God, and in becoming the center of their activities. It is likely to give the well-done stakes to the dogs. Satan encourages so much the most people in doing these disciplinary in their typical ways such as; false miracle, faked vision, temporary physical healing, faked peace, wealth, fame, power, honey coated mind-comforts, flesh pleasure and so on. Even if someone presumably can perform this disciplinary without satanic intercede or interference, he can get only a handful of humane tranquillity. As a matter of fact we can see easily in the reality of today that when the people, who are in these disciplinary, experience with the unusual symptoms happened in their mind or body, they become readier to put these techniques as a powerful tool in the center of their life. It does not take a long that the powerful tool becomes their gods as idol, in which occupied by the satanic power they control over the people and destruct the lives with letting people stay in the honey swamp. Where there is no Cross of Jesus in doing the spiritual disciplinary, there is only a faked peace given by Satan.

Beside the value of life without the cross of Jesus in other religions and the humane spiritual techniques, it may be more significant to see that many of the Christians believe in Jesus without His cross. Let us put seriously this into our accounts hereinafter. Seeing the temptation of Jesus in scripture; Then the Devils took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their greatness. All these I will give you, the Devil said, if you kneel down and worship me. Then Jesus answered, Go away, Satan! The scripture says, Worship the Lord your God and serve only him! ( Matthew 4:8-10)

We, the many Christians are not seeming to turn their pleasure away from the kingdoms of the world in their greatness which Devils had shown to Jesus. We have fear to become Someone who is prepared to lose his life will gain again as Jesus told. Thus some of the Christians and even some of the church leaders have been experiencing in seeking the spiritual or bodily comforts through the humane spiritual disciplinary of Yoga, Khee or Breathing training. Not only with these, but Satan provide lots of human pleasure to the people today with such as the faked peace of New Age, Rock Music, Floods of sexuality, Violence, Drug, Alcohol and so on. As someone say, especially the young people in these day are just like the palatable stakes on the table of Satan.

Further, very necessarily it ought to be discerned between so called the positive thinking in the concealment of materialistic expansion spirit based on human honor and pleasure and the positive thinking in the biblical interpretations for our spiritual growth. This is also a crafty concealed activity of Satan among the Christians. We can see easily this kind of Satanic work in everywhere among those; Who desire to be sumptuous in using the positive thinking tool (PTT); Who seek miracles or wonders in PTT; Who desire for fame, honor and power in PTT. To these PTT is only a human technique like a mind control or Khee disciplinary. For instance, many evangelic entrepreneurs are powerfully using PTT for their healing ministry in Jesus name. They could show healing, miracles and wonders to the people and obtain the power, money, fame and many from Satan. Because they pursue and teach the earthly pleasure only focussing on the magnification of material blessing, not but the totally self-abandonment way of the Cross. In a word, PTT is their god.

Only the Cross of Jesus: Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!

As Our Blessed Mother teaches us through the recent messages of Her, we can not follow Jesus unless let the Cross be reborn in our hearts and put Him first in our life with the entire conversion for our total abandonment to Him. But still many people think of this way for a total conversion impossible as long as being with body in earth. It is of course not easy, but possible. That's why we need to listen to the message from Mother of Jesus, Mother of us. For the Christians who try not to get rid of all the obstacles on the way to follow Jesus, but pursue only a pleasant Christianity for pleasure, Our Blessed Mother has always been telling us about prayer and conversion, and that our fervent and hearted prayer makes all things possible. Thus through our prayer and by the grace of God we can also become a St. Francis of Assisi as an Apostle of Peace, and further we can abandon ourselves totally to God as he did. Our Mother said, "Only through prayer will you become my apostles of peace in this world without peace." The Cross of Jesus as the sign of love and unity is the only way to bring the peace to this world and it is the ultimate omega point of the completion of love for mankind. Through putting the Cross of Jesus in our heart we will only become aware of the love of God, and we shall live with Him, in Him together. So without loving and embracing the Cross of Jesus we can not achieve the true peace, but stay in the swamp of idols.

~ Jacob RI 5th January 2000

Source: www.whatisthetruth.com