Challenge Answers & THE FOUNDATION OF HAPPINESS

Good Evening to All!

The answers to the Bible Challenge" Revelation" is as follows:

1. a) the seven churches of Asia (Revelation 1:4)
2. c) 1,260 days (Revelation 11:3)
3. c) Michael (Revelation 12:7)
4. b) dragon (R3Revelation 12;9)
5. c) 666 (Revelation 13:18)
6. d) those who receive the mark of the beast (Revelation 14:11)
7. Armageddon (Revelation 16:16)
8. c) 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-3)
9. b) sea (Revelation 21:1)
10. d) crystal (Revelation 22:1)

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Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all, For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13

Reference: (NKJV): To fear God is one of the major themes of the Book of Ecclesiastes and of wisdom literature in the Old Testament. To fear God is to respond to Him in awe, or amazement, reverence, and wonder, to serve Him in purity of action and to shun evil and any worship of anything else in His universe. Keep His commandment: The commandments of the Law are in view here. Jesus summed them up as to love the Lord your God" and "your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. 22:34-40). Man's all: We are whole or complete only when we fear God and obey His commandments. what profit is there in living? If we follow what this book has said, we will have a relationship with "God and find life in Him.

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Solomon, who is believed to be the author of this book tried everything to be happy, from being wealthy to having an abundance of power, and women. Anything he wanted, he got. He had tremendous wisdom and knowledge. He had complete respect given to him, and yet he was miserable. After spending a very long time trying to figure out life and why he was so unhappy, he finally came to the realization that it was because he had not been obeying God's commandments. By not following God's wishes for his life, he didn't really know what would make him happy, and therefore spent most of his adult life searching for happiness. He made the statement that the foundation of all happiness is obedience.

There are many people walking around in this world today being miserably unhappy. They are so busy trying to find fault and blaming everyone for their unhappiness, that they fail to look at what is right in front of them and they fail to look inward. I could even go a step further and say they are confused. They are in this shape because they are being disobedient to God. I know, your probably thinking , no I'm not! I follow each of the Ten Commandments. So I am in compliance with God's commandments. No, not necessarily. God has a lot more than ten commandments. Not only that, but if you get the "feeling that God wants you to do something for someone, or give something to somebody, if you get an urge to walk up and tell someone you barely know something, it's probably from God and you should do it. Every time you don't you are disobey God. I've been there. I have to admit though as soon as I get a feeling that something is a little "off", I pray and ask God if there is anything I'm not doing that I should be or that I am doing that I shouldn't be doing, and He usually lets me know. I get a nudge in my spirit about something and as soon as I correct it, things will get back to normal or better. At times, I've felt like I needed to do something for someone, and waited. By delaying, I disobeyed God. The reason I say that is because God is an "on-time" God. He wants things done at a certain time in a persons life, and certain people to put things into play, if I can put it that way. Someone to "plant a seed". Say something specific or do something specific for a certain person that will affect the rest of their lives and generations to come. In Biblical times, do you thing God did thing for certain people just to be doing them, just to make them happy? I think not. I think He planned certain things to happen to certain people and certain people to carry them out. After all, look at Jesus and John the Baptist. He planned Elizabeth's pregnancy just a few months before the Holy Ghost overshadowed Mary, so that these cousins would be "tied" or connected. John the Baptist came before Jesus just so he could go out and start telling people about Jesus' coming. Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery just so He could get into Pharaoh's good graces and help out more of God's people. The Bible is full of these "non-coincidences." God has a plan for us all. Therefore, He has a plan for us all to get where He wants us to be.

He says in His Word that He wants us to be happy, have "joy unspeakable" I believe is the way He puts it. He wants us to prosper in the things that matter. While I'm sure He doesn't want us all to be impoverished, I don't think when he said to prosper He was strictly talking about finances. After all His main thing is spiritual. He is concerned with what we are doing now in context of what we are doing to reach our main priority goal which is "or should be heaven.

Something else you might want to consider: whenever you do something for someone you are being a blessing to them. Whenever you bless others, God will repay your kindness with many more blessings. Now before you go getting the wrong idea, I'm not saying to bless others just to get blessed yourself. God is ALWAYS looking at our hearts. We must have "pure" hearts and good motives when we bless others or it's all for nothing. We must do for others out of love. Obedience is "the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances." This means that anything out of order or harmony got that way through disobedience and only obedience can make it right again. Every time we obey God, something in our lives improves.

If you will learn to obey God when He speaks to you, your life will be so much happier and fuller.


Good Night To All and May God Bless!