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How to Achieve Maximum Health |
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Marcus Jones had planned his life well. He hadn’t missed a days work in thirty years! Just a few more weeks and he was eligible to retire from his job. How excited he and his wife were. They had managed to save a little money after educating their children, and now they could do a little traveling. If they were careful, they figured, they would be able to live comfortably for the rest of their lives! Then, just five weeks before his retirement, Marcus woke up with a stabbing pain in his chest. An ambulance rushed him to the hospital where the emergency crew called for the local heart team. A triple bypass saved his life but left his bank account and savings devastated. The agonizing thoughts kept racing through his mind, if only I had quit smoking sooner, if only I had exercised a little more! Their little nest egg was nearly spent. The cost of the prescription drugs would keep them merely existing on their meager retirement. What a change a few weeks had made in their lives! Friend, can you afford to have poor health? People spend billions of dollars a year for medical care. Disease is the costliest thing in the world that people spend their money for! How much, then, is it worth to be well? Ask the dying cancer patient or the person suffering from AIDS. Ask the parents of a child dying from leukemia or an older person deformed by arthritis. They will tell you that good health is priceless-that it is a blessing never fully appreciated until lost! What is a year of life-or even one day-worth? Queen Elizabeth I is said to have cried on her death bed, "All my possessions for one moment of time!" But it can’t be bought with money. Do you realize, however, that you can reap more and better years by simple, common sense guidelines for health? Dr. Breslow of UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) did a research study over a period of nine years. He asked 7,000 people seven questions relating to health habits and then observed these patients, comparing those who had followed positive health habits with those who had not. Here are the seven questions he asked: 1) Do you smoke? Those who faithfully followed good health habits relating to these seven questions lived 11.5 years longer than those who did not. What would you give for 11.5 years added to your life? What is being shared with you right now in this message could very well add years to your life-happy and healthy years. Do you think it will be worthwhile for you to listen carefully? It comes as a surprise to many people that God is concerned about our health and happiness here and now. "Beloved, I pray that you may
prosper in all things and be in health, Jesus said, "...I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10 Jesus wants us to have a happy, joyous, healthy life. He wants us to live life to its fullest! Is it possible to know how to have good health? It is! Many are unaware that in the Bible, God has given important rules and guidelines concerning healthful living. For decades the lifestyle of the Orthodox Jew has been of considerable interest to medical researchers. The cancer mortality rate is far less than that of others, and they seem less prone to other catastrophic illnesses. Do Jewish people have a hereditary factor that gives them immunity to the leading killers, which strike down others? It is interesting to note that when Jews begin eating as others around them do, their cancer rate, and that of other diseases, too, is the same as that of other people. It has been discovered that the secret lies in their health practices, nutrition, and lifestyle. When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, He reminded them of some very important rules and regulations concerning healthful living. After outlining His plan for good health, He gave a most remarkable promise to those who would follow His instructions. He said: "...If you will diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought upon the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you." Exodus 15:26 He also said this, "So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you." Exodus 23:25 Do you catch the significance of this? If we follow the Lord’s instructions, the effects of disease can often be reversed! That is priceless information! What an amazing promise! Commenting on the fulfillment of this promise, the psalmist tells us, "...There was not one feeble person among their tribes." Psalm l05:37 "Well" you say, "probably the Egyptians didn’t have the same diseases we have today." Wrong! A team of specialists from around the world gathered in 1975 for the express purpose of performing autopsies on the Egyptian mummies in the Manchester (England) Medical School museum. These mummies dated back to 1900 B.C. The findings were remarkable. The ancient Egyptians suffered from many illnesses common to modern man: heart disease, cancer, vascular diseases, arthritis, hepatitis, tetanus, trichinosis, lockjaw, and others. Although Egypt was the educational and cultural center of the world during Moses’ lifetime, its medical knowledge and remedies were very similar to those of the African witch doctor today! In 1552 B.C., not long before the birth of Moses, a famous medical book was written in Egypt called The Papyrus Ebers. This book lists scores of remedies or "cures" for a host of diseases, infections, and accidents, very few of which you would probably like to use! For slivers embedded deeply, it recommends rubbing worm’s blood and horse dung into the wound. No wonder lockjaw took a hefty toll! For snake bite: drink water poured over an idol. Bald? Rub into the scalp a tonic made from horses’ hooves, date blossoms, and dog heels boiled in oil. The Bible tells us that Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians (Acts 7:22). His writings are filled with instruction concerning sanitation, quarantine, personal hygiene, and nutrition, but not once did he prescribe any of the cures listed in The Papyrus Ebers. Where did Moses get these amazing health principles and guidelines? From God! Black Death and leprosy were the two most terrible plagues of the Middle Ages. The principles of public health, given by God and taught by Moses after the Exodus, brought these scourges under control. Millions of lives were saved as doctors turned to the church leaders for help during these plagues. George Rosen wrote: "Leadership was taken by the church,
as the physicians had nothing to offer. The church took as its guiding
principle the concept of contagion as embodied in the Old Testament ... This idea and its practical
consequences are defined with great clarity in the Book of Leviticus." What a shame that 60 million people died from these plagues when the Bible principles of public health were there all the time! God designed our bodies. He knows how we can avoid disease and keep our bodies at optimum performance! God gave man a remarkable body with almost limitless possibilities. It has many delicate parts. God made us, and He knows exactly what is necessary to keep us healthy and at peak efficiency. A young man bought a shiny new car for which he had saved money for years. He was given the manufacturer’s manual that told exactly how to care for his new car in the very best way, to keep it running at its best for many years. It was an expensive car, and you would think the new owner would have at least read the instructions about its care. But he did not. The only thing he could think about was how fast it could reach 60 miles per hour-in just seconds. He liked to make it go as fast as it could, then put on the brakes to see how quick it could stop. He liked to hear the squeal of the tires. He didn’t check the oil or water or air in the tires-it was a bother and took too much time. He couldn’t waste his valuable time on such simple things. He wanted to be behind the steering wheel, driving where he wanted to go-and especially to the places where lots of people could see him speed by in his flashy car. You can guess the rest of the story. Yes, the car didn’t last long before it needed expensive repairs. Do we do the same thing with this wonderful body God has given us? We certainly want to follow His instructions! One trip to the hospital can wipe out a lifetime of savings. It will certainly be worth our time to go back to the Garden of Eden, back to Creation, and notice some of the things God told Adam and Eve that promote good health. Before sin came, God gave Adam and Eve a perfect diet to sustain and promote their health. "See, I have given you every herb
that yields seed which is on the face of
all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields
seed; to you it shall be for food." In modern language we would say they were given fruit, grains, and nuts. This was their food. God also gave them the Tree of Life, which supplemented their diet in a way that insured eternal youth and health. After Adam and Eve sinned, God separated them from the Tree of Life and added vegetables to their diet. "...And you shall eat the herb of the field." Genesis 3:18 This, with fruits, grains, and nuts, was man’s total diet until the Great Flood. Was it adequate? Yes, indeed! Consider that people on God’s original diet lived to be hundreds of years old. The oldest man who ever lived on earth was Methuselah: "All the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty nine years: and he died." Genesis 5:27 After the Flood, man’s life span decreased markedly. Noah’s son, Shem, lived 600 years; his grandson 239 years; his great-grandson 175 years. By the time of King David, man’s lifespan had decreased to 70 years! And that’s a big drop, wouldn’t you say? Plant life on the earth was severely limited by the Great Flood. Noah’s supply of food was exhausted after he and his family had lived in the ark for more than a year. Not until then did God allow Noah and his family to eat animals as an emergency measure. Not all plants and all animals were good for food. God gave guidelines for the food considered good for man to eat. A distinction was made between "clean" and "unclean" animals. God even instructed Noah which animals to take with him and how many of each: "You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female." Genesis 7:2 It is apparent that Noah knew which animals God considered clean or unclean. Later, when God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, He gave Moses dietary principles to protect their health and longevity. God identified which animals are clean and which are unclean for food: "And you may eat every animal with cloven hooves, having the hoof split into two parts, and that chews the cud, among the animals." Deuteronomy 14:6 Notice the guideline that is so easy to remember: just two things: 1) split hoof and 2) chews the cud. A few of the common clean animals according to verses 4 - 6: ox, sheep, deer, goat, wild goats, antelope, cows, and gazelle. Unclean animals now commonly used for food, according to verses 7 and 8, would include the camel, rabbit, swine, and rock-badger. Remember the two guidelines? If the animal has a split hoof and chews the cud, it is safe for food. It is important to remember since some chew the cud but do not have a split hoof. For example, the pig or swine, divides the hoof, yet it does not chew the cud, it is unclean. The Bible has some very direct instruction about the swine: "And the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. They are unclean to you." Leviticus 11:7-8 Most of the animals that God listed as unclean are classified as scavengers. God did not withhold anything good when He gave these guidelines. He knows which are healthful and which can cause disease and illness. "...No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." Psalm 84:11 The hog is a scavenger. The food, garbage included, eaten by pigs is digested and converted into food in a matter of hours. The cow, on the other hand, has a complex digestive system. It takes 48 hours for its food to be converted into flesh. It also has a more complex elimination system, which removes many of the impurities from the system. Pork is often infected with trichina larvae, or worms. When a person eats infected pork, the hard cyst surrounding the larva is dissolved. The trichina worm then burrows into the intestinal wall and multiplies. These worms enter the bloodstream and are carried to other parts of the body. Trichinosis can be a fatal disease, depending on the number of worms eaten. Often the disease is wrongly diagnosed as arthritis or food poisoning. Autopsies reveal that many mummies of the people who lived in Moses day were infected with trichina worms! God knows best-leave it alone! God also gave instruction for fish: "These you may eat of all that are in the waters: you may eat all that have fins and scales. And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you." Deuteronomy 14:9, 10 That is very clear, and notice again that there are two guidelines that make it easier to remember: 1) they have fins, and 2) they have scales. Can you think of common seafoods that are widely eaten around the world that do not have fins and scales? Dr. Bruce Hallsted, of Loma Linda University, was asked by the government to do research for the military to determine which fish were safe for human consumption and which were poisonous. Servicemen who are shipwrecked or stranded in deserted areas need to know which fish are poisonous and which they can eat for survival. When all his work was done, Dr. Hallsted concluded that the rule of thumb for the army and navy men to follow was the same one God gave to the Israelites 3,500 years ago: "Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales." God knew how they were made and why we may or may not eat certain things. "What about birds," you may be asking. The Bible gives this important instruction: "All clean birds you may eat. But these you shall not eat: ..." Verses 11-18 God proceeds to list them: vulture, buzzard, red kite, falcon, raven, ostrich, owl, stork, heron, bat, and those of their kind. And then God said, "Also every creeping thing that flies is unclean for you; they shall not be eaten." Verse 19 God gave further instruction: "`This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor blood." Leviticus 3:17 Orthodox Jews still follow these instructions today. When they slaughter an animal, it is hung upside down so that the blood will drain out. Then the animal is butchered and soaked in a salt solution to draw out the rest of the blood. The fat is cut off and not eaten. For years people thought this command forbidding the eating of fat and blood was merely a ceremonial restriction given by God. However, modern research confirms the wisdom of God’s command. We now know that blood carries impurities, germs, viruses, and body wastes. Many diseases are passed on through the blood. We also know that highly saturated fats like those found in dairy products and meat cause a rise in the cholesterol level of the blood—an important factor in vascular and heart disease. How much sickness could be avoided if man would trust his Maker in deciding what is best to eat! Exercise for Health -- The Bible says that after God created Adam and Eve, He gave them work to do-some useful activity and exercise: "Then the Lord God took the man
and put him in the garden of Eden to tend Exercise protects the body from many diseases! An inactive body deteriorates. Exercise improves the tone of the muscles and blood vessels. The lungs become more efficient, able to process more air with less effort. The heart is more efficient, pumping more blood with each beat. Energy-producing oxygen is carried to the tissues, which improves the overall condition of the body. After Adam and Eve sinned, God increased the amount of work and a more physically demanding work. God said, "In the sweat of your face you
shall eat bread till you return to the ground..." He also said the ground would be cursed and there would be thorns and thistles and that "...in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life." Verses 17, 18 God knew that man needed exercise and that he needed it not only for his body, but to keep him out of trouble. Someone said, "Idleness is the devil’s workshop." God said, "Six days shall you labor and do all your work." Exodus 20: 9 If everyone worked six days a week, perhaps they would be too tired to get into trouble! Our Bodies Are the Temple of the Holy Spirit The importance of caring for our bodies can be understood only when we know how important it is to God. The apostle Paul said, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are
not your own? For you were bought at a price;
therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are
God’s." Man is God’s property by creation and by redemption. The price God paid for us was the sacrifice of His Son on Calvary. Because man has been redeemed at such an infinite price, he should glorify God in everything he does. "Whether you eat or drink or
whatsoever you do, do it all for the glory of
God." Every person who truly loves God will be careful to avoid anything that would destroy or defile his body. "If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." 1 Corinthians 3:17 Perhaps you are wondering in what way a person defiles his body. Paul lists several things we need to avoid: "...Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards ... will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10 The Bible lists immorality and perversion as practices that defile the body. It also lists drunkenness. Solomon wrote: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." Proverbs 20:1 And again: "Do not look upon the wine when it is red. When it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; at the last it bites like a serpent and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart shall utter perverse things." Proverbs 23:31-33 Alcoholism is one of the world’s biggest health problems. More than half of all automobile accidents can be traced directly to a driver or pedestrian "under the influence." In more than half of all murders, either the killer or the victim, or both, have been drinking! Alcohol impairs the body’s ability to use vitamins, and the sugar in alcoholic drinks (as in most soft drinks) lessens the body’s ability to fight infection. The alcoholic develops a fatty liver; the chances of dying from cirrhosis of the liver are much greater. Lifespan is shortened by at least 12 years. And according to the latest statistics, one out of every ten people who take the first drink becomes an alcoholic. Recent research shows that many brain cells die any time alcohol is introduced into the bloodstream and that drinking fathers and mothers have a significantly greater number of their babies born with birth defects than do nondrinkers. But for the Christian, the use of alcoholic beverages has even greater consequences. Christians must have full use of their minds to avoid Satan’s temptations. They cannot afford to impair their judgment or lose control of their ability to distinguish right from wrong! Jesus refused the stupefying potion offered Him on the cross by the soldiers as a means of deadening the pain. Even though Jesus suffered excruciating pain, He would receive nothing that might becloud His mind. A number of other common practices seriously impair good health. Smokers have a thousand percent greater chance of dying from lung cancer than do those who never smoke. And cancer is not tobacco’s only killer. A smoker’s chances of dying from heart disease are 103 percent greater than those who have never smoked on a regular basis. And emphysema claims more than 55,000 lives each year! Nicotine also causes the arteries to shrink. This combination of fat buildup and shrinkage of the arteries hinders the blood vessels from supplying enough blood to the heart, extremities, and other organs. At this point it takes only a small blood clot caught in the constricted blood vessels to cause a heart attack or stroke. The person who smokes is also a prime target for senility because of diminished oxygen to the brain. Women who smoke during pregnancy are damaging their baby’s blood vessels. Newborn deaths are 27 percent higher in infants of smoking mothers. Cigarette smoking contributed to the deaths of more than 500,000 people in just America alone last year. God said, "You shall not murder." Exodus 20:13 How many people are killing themselves by the things they eat, drink, and smoke? Someone has said that the most common suicide weapons are knives, forks, and spoons. Perhaps we should add cups and bottles! "Caffeine, the drug contained in
coffee, is classed in textbooks as both a stimulant and a poison. The fatal dose is listed as
one-third ounce (10 grams)." Tea and cola drinks also contain caffeine. All of these beverages are now being linked to heart disease, neurological disorders, and cancer of the bladder. If someone you knew had to dash off to another room to inject a couple of grains of caffeine into his veins every few hours, you would call him an addict. Yet how many are doing the same thing with coffee and cola drinks. Weight Watchers -- True temperance means to avoid using anything that is harmful, and to use moderately that which is good. Many people consume too much of that which is good! This leads to another major health problem for people in many parts of the world. "Someone has estimated that every
pound of body fat calls for another two-thirds of a mile of new
blood vessels. And, the heart must pump blood
through this extra system of vessels." The heart, kidneys, liver, and lungs of overweight persons are overworked. Overweight people suffer from sixteen diseases that are not common to their thinner friends. God wants us to take good care of our bodies so that we can enjoy life at its best now. He wants us to be responsible, moral, joyous people. He wants us to have an abundant life. How long and how healthfully we live depends on how we follow His instructions. Rest and Relaxation -- Jesus believed in vacations and getting away from the pressure. After a hard day with a crowd of people, Jesus said to His disciples, "...Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while..." Mark 6:31 Jesus wants us to balance work with rest and relaxation. That is why He gave us the Sabbath. God knows that we need to forget our problems and our work and spend time with Him. Your time away from a busy schedule may not be in the desert, although that can be a restful place at certain times of the year. You might prefer a remote area in the mountains where the tall trees and the deep lakes can calm your anxious heart. Whatever it is, you need to find a spot away from the crowd and noisy freeways. If you can have a little fun, so much the better! Yes, God wants you to have a little bit of heaven here, and to be ready to live on the earth made new, where all diseases that plague our world will be forever banished. "That really sounds good to me," you say. "I want to be there, but I have some habits that I just can’t overcome." There is good news today. God does not expect you to do it on your own. In fact, Jesus said, "...Without Me you can do nothing." John 15:5 In our own strength, we cannot overcome wrong habits. Our Saviour is right there, longing to help us! Paul knew the secret. He said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13 With His help you can live an abundant, healthy, joyful life here and now, and enjoy eternal life on the earth made new. Reach out to Jesus-He’s reaching out to you!
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