A World Going Insane. The Daily Challenge. I'll Be Happy Tomorrow. Update.

For Scripture Sunday”:

A World Going Insane

“Sometimes I think the world is going crazy. The rest of the time I know it is.

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So much that we see around us is indeed a kind of insanity—thought processes and actions that defy rational explanation and make no sense.

I woke up this morning to news of another mass killing, this time in Dayton, Ohio, where a 24-year-old gun-man shot and killed nine people—among them his own younger sister. Another 27 were injured, some by gunfire and many from injuries incurred while running for their lives.

Only 12 hours earlier a similarly deranged 21-year-old murdered 22 people and wounded 24 more in a 20-minute shooting spree inside a large store in El Paso, Texas.

Just a few days earlier, another young man shot and killed three and wounded 15 more at a festival in California after cutting his way through a fence to avoid security officers.

Meanwhile, an average of 56 people are shot per week, 10 fatally, in Chicago alone. In all fairness, many cities in Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela have far higher murder rates, so devastatingly high homicide deaths are a worldwide phenomenon. And this doesn’t begin to take into account the ongoing mass murders of Christians in the Middle East and Africa by those determined to stamp out Christianity.

At the same time, those of us in the West live in societies where advocates of the murder of unborn babies lecture us on human rights, socialists lecture us on economics, transvestites lecture us on human biology, and Hollywood actors and actresses with multiple children by various sex partners lecture us on virtue.

Just last week a homosexual U.S. presidential candidate (there’s a phrase I never remotely imagined I would type on my keyboard!) lectured the nation on proper Christian and biblical morals—which in his view requires yet more government redistribution of citizens’ hard-earned money.

On the heels of that, dozens of Hollywood A-listers, politicians, entertainment moguls and celebrities descended on the Mediterranean island of Sicily in more than 100 luxury private jets and yachts (one costing $400million) to stay in $900-a-night resort rooms for a three-day conference. The reason for this meeting? To discuss how to “save” the planet from climate change! (The luxury private jets alone—not to mention the many limousines, sports cars and helicopters—generated some 900 U.S. tons of CO2 emissions.)

Yes, the world truly is going insane.

What do all of these problems have in common? One is that they are all symptoms of a spiritual sickness that pervades our world. So much that we see around us is indeed a kind of insanity—thought processes and actions that defy rational explanation and make no sense. We’re entering uncharted waters where up is down and down is up, or, as the Bible puts it, people “call evil good, and good evil” and “put darkness for light, and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20).

And to anyone with any perception at all, it’s obvious things are getting worse,not better.

Why can’t we find solutions? Because these are spiritual problems, symptoms of spiritual sickness, and the solutions must be spiritual.

Why do I say these problems are spiritual? Because there is a spiritual force and power behind them. Few people realize it, but a dark and malevolent influence is working continually behind the scenes of our world.

The Bible reveals to us information we otherwise could not know because it isn’t discerned by the human senses of touch, taste, sight, hearing or smell. But it is real, as surely as you and I are real. The Bible reveals the existence of an invisible, unseen spirit world. And it records the occasional intersection of our physical world and this spirit world, with results that often terrified those who experienced it!

The Bible reveals that there are spirit beings called angels who serve God. (To learn more, download or request our free study guide Angels: God’s Messengers and Spirit Army . ) But it also shows there are evil and rebellious angels called demons who serve a powerful fallen angel called Satan (meaning “adversary” or “enemy”) the devil (meaning “false accuser” or “slanderer”). He is called a liar and a murderer (John 8:44) because that is what he does.

His influence is so great that he “deceives the whole world” and “the world around us is under the control of the wicked one” (Revelation 12:9; 1 John 5:19, New Living Translation). If you believe in God the Father and Jesus Christ based on what is written in Their holy Word, the Bible, then you must also believe in Satan the devil and his demons, whom the Bible reveals to be every bit as real!

This is why our many problems are so entrenched and unsolvable in spite of humankind’s best efforts. Without God’s help we cannot solve them. They are spiritual in nature and require a spiritual solution. Spiritual forces we cannot defeat are behind them and fill our world with violence, hatred, hostility, murder and lies.

So what is the solution? God can and will do what mankind cannot. The time is approaching when He will intervene and send His Son Jesus Christ to earth to end Satan’s reign as “the god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4).  It’s why we encourage you to join us in praying, as Jesus taught, “Your Kingdom come!”” From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-magazine/a-world-going-insane

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The Daily Challenge

God tells us that in everything we do, we should avoid this at all costs.

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/8WgT1b0o76Q

[Steve Myers] “Here’s the BT Daily Challenge. In fact, it’s not just the BT Daily , it’s a daily challenge for every single one of us, that God inspired the apostle Paul to write about. Here’s what he said in Philippians 2:14, probably a familiar passage. Paul wrote this, “Do all things without complaining and disputing.” Now, talk about a daily challenge. This is certainly one of them. Not once in a while should we try not complaining or disputing, but he says do everything that way.

That’s a challenge, especially if you dig in to the Greek words that are used here. When he says, “Do things without complaining,” that word for complaining can mean murmuring or grumbling. Different translations will actually use those words, grumbling and complaining. Well, what is that about? I think that Greek word points to what’s happening on the inside. Because, if you’re grumbling about something, you usually aren’t understood, you know, you’re mumbling to yourself, and it’s something that’s going on on the inside. You’re thinking about something that’s really irritating you, and you’re letting that circulate in your mind. So Paul points to that as well.

But God also inspired him to write “Do all things without disputing.” And that second word, it can mean complaining, but it points to arguing and bickering and fighting. Now if that’s what you’re doing, that’s something exterior. That’s something on the outside. So I think that’s why this is really a powerful passage. Because, let’s say you’ve got control of what’s happening on the outside. Oh you look peaceful, you look nice, you seem to be getting along. But inside, you’re murmuring and grumbling and complaining. That’s not going to be helpful. That’s not the right thing to do. That’s not the spiritual thing. So here, God’s pointing out we’ve got to take care of both. It’s not just about what’s the outside, the exterior, but also what’s going on on the inside.

So, the daily challenge that we have, it’s inside out. It’s both. Both inside and outside. So, let’s do everything we can to begin to get a handle on our thinking, so that we don’t have this nice exterior while other difficult things are going on inside. Let’s put God in control of our life. And let’s pray and ask him, “Help me not to murmur. Help me not to grumble. Help me not to complain. And certainly help me not to show any of those things on the outside, to really have the mind of Christ.” That’s the daily challenge.”  From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/the-daily-challenge

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I'll Be Happy Tomorrow

“Are you an individual who does not allow joy and happiness into your life?

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In order to be happy, choose to be happy today by placing God first in your life.

Do you often tell yourself you will be happy when you graduate from school or college, or when you buy a new car, find the right job, get married, have a family, make enough money, have the perfect home or retire? Instead of waiting for a certain milestone to occur in your life in order to be happy, choose to be happy today by placing God first in your life and obeying his laws. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Happy is he who keeps the law.”

Each day we have on this earth can be filled with joy and happiness, so as you are seeking these blessings consider Gods promise to you: “To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness” (Ecclesiastes 2:26). Be happy today!”  From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/blogs/this-is-the-way/ill-be-happy-tomorrow

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Update.

Well, I have a lot to be happy about.  I love it here in slow paced Navasota, and I thank God every day that I got out from under all that stuff and work that my former house and guest house entailed. Hopefully, I won’t ever have to rake up another pine needle again. Everyone here is so nice and polite, and everything is close by.  It is about 30 years since I lived in town, and I had forgotten how convenient it is.

All those materials, parts, and tools that I had were just too much now that I have officially retired, but I did bring a lot of tools with me.  Tools are always easy to sell so that will give me a little more income.  Now, I am just having to find room for what I did bring with me here to this apartment, and then cope with the things that I have stored in Willis and Navasota.  I will probably keep my little storage place less than a mile from the apartment. It is small and cheap, and I have to keep the extra things like my carpet/upholstery shampooer, dog grooming stuff, foster cat equipment, and the things that are for sale, somewhere.  I hope to foster a cat soon.

Because I am in a different county now, Grimes, instead of Montgomery, I had to get a different health insurance.  An insurance broker spent a lot of time with me, and was very knowledgeable about the local facilities and signed me up with a new health plan and a highly recommended doctor in Navasota.

For the Sabbath, I made lentils and veggies in the crockpot for the church potluck, and it was complimented.  The teaching “Do What You Can While You Can” was given by the pastor and enjoyed by both the English and Spanish speaking congregations at the same time.  Because, after Bible study, they joined us in the sanctuary and an interpreter repeated each sentence in Spanish.

The weekly afternoon Bible study in the Community Room at the apartments was about Rev. 1.   The same people seem to be there each time. A preacher from a church in Anderson comes to teach us every Sunday.