Get Up! What Is "Armageddon"? Key to Happiness. Update.

For “Scripture Sunday”:

Get Up!

“We have all experienced a fall from time to time.

Don’t get discouraged, the failure is not in the initial fall—failure is in not getting back up!

Babies learn to walk by falling until the sense of balance develops. But they would never walk at all if they did not get up after they fell. The Bible tells us the righteous man falls seven times (Proverbs 24:16). That informs us that he has gotten up again and again. We learn about this lesson, but we sometimes fail to apply it to ourselves when we fall. We often are mired in bemoaning the fall rather planning to get up
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Mary Pickford was a writer who wrote, “There is always another chance.” This thing that we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down. Sometimes we feel that our fall cannot be repaired—like Humpty Dumpty. But our Creator is full of mercy and understanding and waits for us to get up. One example was the terrible sin of King David in his affair with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. But David got up from that fall, was forgiven (though punished) and once again found grace from God (2 Samuel 12:13). Don’t get discouraged, the failure is not in the initial fall—failure is in not getting back up!”  From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/blogs/this-is-the-way/get-up
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What Is "Armageddon"?

The subject of Armageddon has sparked mystery ever since the apostle John recorded the book of Revelation. Learn the truth about what will happen at Armageddon.

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/IllCMDozHoQ

[Darris McNeely] “What do you hear when the term Armageddon comes to mind? Is it a final battle between the forces of good and evil that has been portrayed in many different ways? Or perhaps is it even a popular movie by that name a few years ago about an asteroid that was going to hit planet Earth and just blow the earth to pieces? The idea of Armageddon represents something that is a very important lesson for all of us to learn about the Bible, what it does say as opposed to what we think that it might say. In Revelation 16, we have the one place in the Bible where this term Armageddon is mentioned. Let’s read it and get the context and understand what is said here.

The setting is the time of the tribulation and the events leading to the close of the age that are portrayed in the book of Revelation. And beginning in verse 12 of Revelation 16 it talks about an angel pouring out a plague upon the land and the kings of the East being prepared and brought into actually the land of Israel. The land of the Bible as the map here shows. John writes here, “I saw three unclean spirits like frogs going out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet,” figures and an image of Satan, the devil that are mentioned here. “They are the spirits of demons, performing signs which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
So there is a battle, but let’s look at what it says in verse 16 then, “And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.” The one place in Scripture, Revelation 16:16, where the term Armageddon is mentioned. Now, closer look at what it says here, and what it really means. It’s pointing us to, not to an event, but actually to a place, and the place is Megiddo, or the mountain of Megiddo, which is actually in the valley of Jezreel, far to the north of Jerusalem, in the land of Israel today. You can go there, you can see it. I’ve actually been there a couple of times. It’s an archaeological site. Tel Megiddo, the place of Megiddo. And it is a place that’s been inhabited for quite a long time. It actually was the topic or the setting for a very famous novel written a number of years ago called ‘The Source’ that told the story of civilization that grew up and lived around in that area. But Megiddo is a place. And the scriptures are saying that armies that are gathered at this time of the end just prior to Christ’s return are gathered in the place of Megiddo. And then what happens as we know from other scriptures, especially in the book of Joel, the third chapter, these armies then move south to Jerusalem, several miles to the south and a little bit to the east. And that is where this final battle takes place in the valley…of the Kidron Valley next…and within Jerusalem at the return of Jesus Christ.

And so the place called Megiddo or Armageddon is actually a place. Not necessarily an event, though there is a battle that does take place between the armies of the earth and Christ at His return.
Now, here’s the point that I think is larger for us to think about today. As I said, Armageddon is a place not an event. Culture, preconceived ideas about what the Bible tells us show sometimes that we may be wrong. Apply this to a lot of other ideas that you might have about Scripture that you’ve either been taught or you think you know from whatever source that has taught you is not always the matching up to be the truth.

Challenge some of the other assumptions, some of the other ideas, some of the other beliefs that you might have about what the Bible really does teach and you’re going to be in for a surprise. This is just one example. But it helps us to understand that the Bible does hold a great deal of understanding and truth for us.”     From:  https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/what-is-armageddon-0
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New Study Reveals a Key to Happiness

Pew Research group recently found that “actively religious” people are happier than those who are not.

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/9VAbdsA-7vo

[Darris McNeely] When was the last time you heard something that really made you happy, something that gave you a great deal of joy? Pew Surveys recently did a survey, and they found that actively religious people are much more likely than those who are less religious to describe themselves as very happy. It was a very interesting poll. They did this in other countries as well, found that people in Japan, it held true there. More faith, greater happiness. In Australia, that was one of the bigger gaps right there to show that more people were happy in a group that were with faith and had faith than those that did not. It’s interesting. Regardless of what one believes, again, you could look to a nation like Japan, that is not a Christian nation, and then one like America, that is predominantly Christian, and this holds true.

And I got to thinking about that. How much more joy, how much greater joy might one have if one really knew the full truth of God and His kingdom and the plan and the purpose of God? There’s a scripture that I think bears this out. It’s in Matthew, chapter 13, talking about the sowing of the seed of the gospel upon different types of ground, the way that it is received by various people. And when it comes to those who receive the Kingdom of God and begin to bear fruit, in verse 20 of Chapter 13 in Matthew, it says, “He who received the seed, which is the seed of the gospel, on stony places, is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.” (Matthew 13:20)

The Word of God, the knowledge of the truth about the Kingdom of God can cause someone who is on a stony piece of ground and what that is really talking about is people who are coming from a background without a lot of faith, where that seed is less likely to bear fruit. But when people receive it, it gives them great joy. The truth of the Kingdom, the truth of God’s purpose and His plan of salvation, when you come to know that, that can provide even greater joy. This survey bears out that faith does bring a greater amount of happiness. True faith brings even more. Think about that and seek the Kingdom of God and the true faith of God.”  From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/new-study-reveals-a-key-to-happiness
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Update.

Not much new this week, just more studying and listing stuff for sale. Zack and I burned more pine needles in the barrel and got rid of the burn pile by the road forever.  We also sanded the table we are redoing with 220 grit and applied the second coat of poly. 

As I was going into Conroe anyway for a doctor appointment, I donated a couple of boxes of clothes and things to The Assistance League.  These ladies take turns and donate their time to running this nice clean thrift shop.  I know that this organization really helps people at no profit to themselves because I know one of the ladies. Not all of the so-called charity thrift shops distribute to those in need as expected, but make personal profit from the merchandise.   My doctor wasn’t feeling well and didn’t really address my concerns about my thyroid, so I might be firing her!

A lot of my time this week has been cooking.  Having gone through the rationing in England, I can’t stand to see food wasted.  I had acquired a lot of veggies so I cooked them and froze them in Mason jars.  Lots of spinach, red cabbage, green beans, mushrooms, organic potatoes, baby bok choy, I even cooked and froze Romaine lettuce I had so much of it. https://www.marthastewart.com/892732/sauteed-romaine-lettuce  .

For the church’s potluck I made Sante Fe Pasta, it is really Sante Fe Penne, but I didn’t want to use up my penne made of red lentils, so I used whole wheat spaghetti instead:  https://youtu.be/zErQHvgYP98 .  I had plenty of non-GMO corn, black beans, spinach, tomatoes etc, to make the recipe.  I also cooked a bison steak, sliced it, served it in gravy and that was all eaten up at the potluck.
  
The Bible readings were Gen. 49:28-50:26, 1 Kin. 2:1-12, 1 Pet. 1:1-9 and all of Matt. 8. The Teaching was about The Everlasting Covenant.


My desktop computer is back but it often shuts down all by itself and it is getting more aggravating each day.