What Kids Take In
Friday, 11 May 2012
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
God’s Guidance
God's Promises for His People
By Mark A. Finley
Have you ever wondered how we can be certain of God’s guidance in the decisions we make? What are the principles of receiving guidance from God? How can we be sure we are following His will and not our own? In today’s lesson we will explore four biblical principles in receiving guidance from God. We will discover an all-knowing God who longs to guide His children in their decisions, and how we can be open to understand His will and let Him lead in our lives.
1. What three things does God promise to do for us? Read the text below and write your answer on the lines provided.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye” (Ps. 32:8).
God promises to
(a) ________________________________________ you,
(b) ________________________________________ you,
(c) ________________________________________ you.
2. How constant is God’s guidance? Write your answer in the following blank.
“For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death” (Ps. 48:14).
God promises to guide us each day of our lives, even to ________________________________.
PRINCIPLE 1—PRAYER
3. What invitation did God give us to receive His guidance?
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).
God invites us to ask for (what) _____________________________________________________
and He will give it (how) _________________________________________________________ .
There may be times when we pray regarding a decision and wonder whether or not we actually are receiving an answer from God or simply following our own desires. God’s answers generally come in the form of growing convictions, not impulsive actions. A divine impression is a growing, constant awareness that God wants us to do something, not usually some split-second impression that may be here today and gone tomorrow.
PRINCIPLE 2—COUNSEL
4. How does God balance our convictions to help us avoid wrong decisions?
“Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Prov. 11:14).
“Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established” (Prov. 15:22).
God provides us with ______________________________________ to help us make good
decisions. If we are wise we will seek out godly counselors in the significant decisions we make.
decisions. If we are wise we will seek out godly counselors in the significant decisions we make.
PRINCIPLE 3—PROVIDENCE
5. As we seek God for guidance in prayer and are open to godly counsel, what specific instruction does God give for knowing His will?
“My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways” (Prov. 23:26).
“Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men” (Ps. 66:5).
God invites us to ________________________ His ways and __________________His works.
When we seek His will, God’s providence will operate in our lives. As we look for doors He opens and observe His ways we will discover His will.
PRINCIPLE 4—THE WORD
6. What illustration did the psalmist use to describe God’s Word as a source of God’s guidance?
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105).
The principles of God’s Word are like a ___________________ and a ____________________ .
God’s will never leads us to where God’s Word is not guiding us. If we make decisions that lead us contrary to God’s Word, we can be certain they are our own decisions and not His. One overriding principle in discerning God’s will is the willingness to do whatever it leads us to do (Ps. 40:8; Matt. 26:39; Heb. 10:7). Another way we can be sure we are following God’s will and not our own is if we are willing to give up the very things we long for the most in order to put God’s will first. Only as we surrender our decisions and their outcomes to Him will we be certain of His guidance.
God longs to guide us. As we follow these biblical principles of guidance, we will make good decisions to the glory of His name, and our lives will be blessed. 
Sunday, 6 May 2012
Health and Longetivity
Priceless Medicine for a Modern Man
-From amazing facts study guide
Great medical care is priceless - but wouldn't it be great if we didn't need doctors anymore? Did you know there is a proven way to put a lot of doctors out of work? Take care of your body! Scientists have sounded the ominus warnings about cholesterol, tobacco, stress, obesity, and alcohol, so why press your luck? Hospitals and psychiatric institutions are packed with people who have ignored the warnings - do you really want to join them? God truly cares how you treat your body, and He's given you a free health plan, and a manual to go by... the Bible! For amazing facts about how you can have abundant health and longer life, look over this Study Guide - but be sure to read it all before jumping to conclusions!
1. Are health principles really a part of true Bible religion?
"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." 3 John 2.
Answer: Yes. In fact, the Bible rates health right near the top of the list in importance. Man's mind, spiritual nature, and body are all interrelated and interdependent. What affects one affects the other. If our bodies are misused, our minds and spiritual natures cannot become what God ordained they should.
2. Why did God give health rules to His people?
"And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes ... for our good always, that he might preserve us alive." Deuteronomy 6:24. "And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee." Exodus 23:25.
Answer: God gave health rules because He knows what is best for the human body. Automobile manufacturers place an "operations manual" in the glove compartment of each new car because they know what is best for their product. God, who made our bodies, also has an "operations manual." It is called the Holy Bible. Ignoring God's "operations manual" results in disease, twisted thinking, and burned-out lives, just as abusing a car (against the manufacturer's counsel) results in serious car trouble. Following God's rules results in "saving health" (Psalms 67:2) and more abundant life (John 10:10). These great health laws are like a wall or fence to keep out the diseases of Satan. God tells us what these rules are so we can avoid the devil's traps.
3. Do God's health rules have anything to do with eating and drinking?
"Eat ye that which is good." Isaiah 55:2. "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31.
Answer: Yes, a Christian will even eat and drink differently--all to the glory of God--using only "that which is good." If God says a thing is not fit to eat, He must have a good reason. He is not a harsh dictator, but a loving Father. All His counsel is for our good always. The Bible promises: "No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." Psalms 84:11. So if God withholds a thing from us, it is because it is not good.
Note: No person can eat his way into heaven. Eating even the food of angels will not entitle people to paradise. Only acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour can do that. Ignoring God's health laws, however, may cause a person to be lost, because it will ruin his judgment and cause him to sin.
4. What did God give people to eat when He created them and provided a perfect diet?
"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed ... and every tree ... yielding seed." "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat." Genesis 1:29; 2:16.
Answer: The diet God gave people in the beginning was fruit, grains, and nuts. Vegetables were added a bit later (Genesis 3:18).
5. What items are specifically mentioned by God as being unclean and forbidden?
Answer: In Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, God very clearly points out the following groups as being unclean. Read both chapters in full.
Pigs are unclean.
A. All animals which do not have a split hoof and chew the cud (Deuteronomy 14:6).
Shellfish and catfish are unclean.
B. All fish and water creatures that do not have both fins and scales. Nearly all fish are clean (Deuteronomy 14:9).
Birds of prey are unclean.
C. All birds of prey, carrion eaters, and fish eaters (Leviticus 11:13-20).
The ones which live all or part-time in water and do not have both fins and scales are unclean.
D. Most "creeping things" (or invertebrates) are also unclean (Leviticus 11:21-47).
Note: These chapters make it clear that most animals, birds, and water creatures people ordinarily eat are clean. There are, however, some very notable exceptions. According to God's rules, the following animals are unclean and are not to be eaten: hogs, squirrels, rabbits, catfish, eels, lobsters, clams, crabs, shrimp, oysters, frogs, and many others.
6. But I like pork. Will God destroy me if I eat it?
"For, behold, the Lord will come with fire ... and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves ... eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord." Isaiah 66:15-17.
Answer: This may be shocking, but it is true and must be told. The Bible positively states that all who eat "swine's flesh," the "mouse," and other unclean things that are an "abomination" will be destroyed with fire at the coming of the Lord. When God says to leave something alone and not eat it, we should by all means obey Him. After all, the mere eating of a piece of forbidden fruit by Adam and Eve, a sinless couple, brought sin and death to this world in the first place. Can anyone say it doesn't matter, when God so clearly shows it does? God says men will be destroyed because they "chose that in which I delighted not." Isaiah 66:4.
7. But didn't this law of clean and unclean animals originate at Sinai? Wasn't it for the Jews only, and didn't it end at the cross?
"And the Lord said unto Noah, ... Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens ... and of beasts that are not clean by two." Genesis 7:1, 2.
Answer: No indeed! The Bible has ample evidence that there were clean and unclean animals from the very dawn of Creation. Noah lived long before any Jews existed, but he knew of the clean and unclean, because he took into the ark the clean animals by "sevens" and the unclean by "twos." Revelation 18:2 refers to some birds as being unclean just before the second coming of Christ. The death of Christ had no altering effect whatever on these health laws, since the Bible says that all who break them will be destroyed when Jesus returns (Isaiah 66:15-17). The Jew's stomach and digestive system in no way differs from that of a Gentile. These health laws are for all people for all time.
8. Does the Bible forbid the use of alcoholic beverages?
"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." Proverbs 20:1. "Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." Proverbs 23:31, 32. "Neither fornicators ... nor drunkards ... shall inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10.
Answer: Yes, the Bible clearly forbids the use of alcoholic beverages.
9. Does the Bible condemn the use of tobacco?
Answer: Yes, the Bible gives six reasons why the use of tobacco is displeasing to God:
A. The use of tobacco injures health and defiles the body. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17.
The use of tobacco in any form is displeasing to God.
B. Nicotine is an addictive substance that enslaves people. Romans 6:16 says that we become servants to whomever (or whatever) we yield ourselves. Tobacco users are servants of nicotine. Jesus says, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Matthew 4:10.
C. The tobacco habit is unclean. "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you." 2 Corinthians 6:17. It is really preposterous to think of Christ using tobacco in any form, isn't it?
D. The use of tobacco wastes money. "Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?" Isaiah 55:2. We are God's stewards of the money given us, and "it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful." 1 Corinthians 4:2.
E. The use of tobacco never draws anyone closer to Christ. "Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." 1 Peter 2:11. Tobacco use is a fleshly lust.
F. The use of tobacco shortens life. Recent scientific findings confirm the fact that the use of tobacco often shortens the life span by as much as one-third. This breaks God's command against killing (Exodus 20:13). Even though it is slow murder, it is still murder. One of the best ways to postpone your funeral is to quit using tobacco.
10. What are some of the simple, yet very important, health laws found in the Bible?
Answer: Here are 11 Bible health rules:
Eating meals at regular hours is very important.
A. Eat your meals at regular intervals, and do not use animal fat or blood. "Eat in due season." Ecclesiates 10:17. "It shall be a perpetual statute ... that ye eat neither fat nor blood." Leviticus 3:17.
Note: Recent scientific studies have confirmed the fact that most heart attacks result from a high cholesterol level in the blood--and that the use of "fats" is largely responsible for this high level. It looks like the Lord knows what He is talking about after all, doesn't it?
Christ specifically warns His followers not to overeat.
B. Don't overeat. "Put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite." Proverbs 23:2. In Luke 21:34, Christ specifically warns against "surfeiting" (overeating) in the last days. Overeating is responsible for many degenerative diseases.
C. Don't harbor envy or hold grudges. These evils disrupt body processes. The Bible says that envy brings "rottenness of the bones." Proverbs 14:30. Christ even commands us to clear up grudges that others may hold against us (Matthew 5:23, 24).
A cheerful, happy disposition benefits health.
D. Maintain a cheerful, happy disposition. "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." Proverbs 17:22. "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7. Many diseases from which people suffer are a result of mental depression. A cheerful, happy disposition imparts health and prolongs life.
Ample sleep is essential to good health.
E. Put full trust in the Lord. "The fear of the Lord tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied." Proverbs 19:23. Trust in the Lord strengthens health and life. "My son, attend to my words. ... For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh." Proverbs 4:20-22. So health comes from obedience to God's commands and from putting full trust in Him.
F. Balance work and exercise with sleep and rest. "Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work." Exodus 20:9, 10. "The sleep of a labouring man is sweet." Ecclesiates 5:12. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." Genesis 3:19. "It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late." Psalms 127:2. "For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? ... his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity." Ecclesiastes 2:22, 23.
Cleanliness is crucial for health.
G. Keep your body clean. "Be ye clean." Isaiah 52:11.
H. Be temperate in all things. "Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things." 1 Corinthians 9:25. "Let your moderation be known unto all men." Philippians 4:5. A Christian will completely avoid all things that are harmful and will be moderate in the use of things that are good. Habits that injure health break the command "Thou shalt not kill." They kill by degrees. They are suicide on the installment plan.
I. Avoid all harmful stimulants. Here is a surprise for some. Medical science has confirmed the fact Caffeine harms the body.
that tea, coffee, and soft drinks that contain the addictive drug caffeine and other harmful ingredients are all positively damaging to the human body. None of these contain food value except through the sugar or cream added, and most of us already use too much sugar. Stimulants give a dangerous, artificial boost to the body and are like trying to carry a ton in a wheelbarrow. The popularity of these drinks is due not to flavor or advertising, but to the dose of caffeine they contain. Many Americans are sickly because of their addiction to coffee, tea, and caffeinated soft drinks. But the real tragedy is that men and women seeking peace and strength are using tea and coffee as cheap substitutes for prayer and Bible study. This delights the devil and wrecks human lives.
J. Make mealtime a happy time. "Every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God." Ecclesiastes 3:13. Unhappy scenes at mealtime hinder digestion. Avoid them.
Helping people in need enhances your health.
K. Help those who are in need. "Loose the bands of wickedness, ... undo the heavy burdens, ... deal thy bread to the hungry, and ... bring the poor that are cast out to thy house ... when thou seest the naked, ... cover him ... and thine health shall spring forth speedily." Isaiah 58:6-8. This is too plain to misunderstand: when we help the poor and needy, we improve our own health.
11. What solemn reminder is given to those who ignore God's rules?
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Galatians 6:7.
Answer: The answer is too plain to miss. Those who break God's rules regarding the care of the body machine will reap broken bodies and burned-out lives, just as one who abuses his automobile will have serious car trouble. And those who continue to break God's laws of health will ultimately be destroyed by the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:16, 17). God's health laws are not arbitrary. They are natural, established laws of the universe, like the law of gravity. Ignoring these laws always brings certain disastrous results. The Bible says, "The curse causeless shall not come." Proverbs 26:2. Trouble comes when we ignore the laws of health. God, in mercy, tells us what these laws are so we may avoid the tragedies that result from breaking them.
12. What fearful, shocking truth about health involves our children and grandchildren?
"Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee." Deuteronomy 12:25. "I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." Exodus 20:5.
Answer: A person may suffer because of his parents' or grandparents' bad health habits.
God makes it very plain that children and grandchildren (to the fourth generation) pay for the folly of parents who ignore God's health rules. The children and grandchildren inherit weakened, sickly bodies when mother and father defy God's rules for their lives. Is this what you want for your dear children and grandchildren?
13. What more fearful, sobering fact does God's Word reveal?
"There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth." Revelation 21:27. "But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord God." Ezekiel 11:21.
Answer: Nothing defiling or unclean will be permitted in God's kingdom. All filthy habits defile a person. Use of improper food defiles a person (Daniel 1:8). It is sobering, but true. Choosing their "own ways" and that in which God "delighted not" will cost people their eternal salvation (Isaiah 66:3, 4, 15-17).
14. What should every sincere Christian endeavor to do at once?
"Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit." 2 Corinthians 7:1. "Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he [Christ] is pure." 1 John 3:3. "If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15.
Answer: Sincere Christians will bring their lives into harmony with God's rules at once, because they love Him. They know that His rules greatly add to their happiness and protect them from the devil's diseases (Acts 10:38). God's counsel and rules are always for our good, just as good parents' rules and counsel are best for their children. And once we know better, God holds us accountable. "To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." James 4:17.
15. But I'm worried because some of my evil habits have bound me so tightly. What can I do?
"As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God." John 1:12. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13.
Answer: Take all of these habits to Christ and lay them at His feet. He will joyfully give you a new heart and the power you need to break any evil habit and become a son or daughter of God (Ezekiel 11:18, 19). How thrilling and heartwarming it is to know that "with God all things are possible." Mark 10:27. And Jesus says, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37. Jesus is ready to break the shackles that bind us. He longs to set us free, and will, if only we will permit it. Our worries, evil habits, nervous tensions, and fears will be gone when we do His bidding. He says, "These things have I spoken unto you ... that your joy might be full." John 15:11. The devil argues that freedom is found in disobedience, but this is a falsehood (John 8:44).
16. What thrilling promises are given about God's new kingdom?
"And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick." Isaiah 33:24. "And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain." Revelation 21:4. "They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31.
Answer: The citizens of God's new kingdom will obey His health laws, and there will be no sickness or disease. They will be blessed with eternal vigor and youth and will live with God in supreme joy and happiness throughout all eternity.
17. Since healthful living truly is a part of Bible religion, it is my plan to follow God's health rules.
Answer: Thought Questions
1. 1 Timothy 4:4 says, "Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused." Can you explain this? (1 Timothy 4:4)
This Scripture passage (verse 3) refers to meats "which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving" by His people. These meats, as we have already discovered, are the clean meats listed in Leviticus chapter 11 and Deuteronomy chapter 14. Verse 4 makes it clear that all creatures of God are good and not to be refused, provided they are among those created to "be received with thanksgiving" (the clean animals). Verse 5 tells why these animals (or foods) are acceptable: they are "sanctified" by God's Word, which says they are clean, and by a "prayer" of blessing, which is offered before the meal. Please note, however, that God will destroy people who try to "sanctify themselves" while eating unclean foods (Isaiah 66:17).
2. Matthew 15:11 says, "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out." How do you explain this? (Matthew 15:11)
The subject in Matthew 15:1-20 is eating without first washing the hands (verse 2). The focus is not eating, but washing. The scribes taught that eating any food without a special ceremonial washing defiled the eater. Jesus said the ceremonial washings were meaningless. In verse 19, He listed certain evils--murders, adulteries, thefts, etc. Then He concluded, "These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man." Verse 20.
3. But didn't Jesus cleanse all animals in Peter's vision, as recorded in Acts 10? (Acts 10:13)
No! In fact, the subject of this vision is not animals, but people. God gave Peter this vision to show him that the Gentiles were not unclean, as the Jews believed. God had instructed Cornelius, a Gentile, to send men to visit Peter. But Peter would have refused to see them if God had not given him this vision, because Jewish law forbade entertaining Gentiles (verse 28). But when the men finally did arrive, Peter welcomed them, explaining that ordinarily he would not have done so, but "God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean." Verse 28. In the next chapter (Acts 11), the church members criticized Peter for speaking with these Gentiles. So Peter told them the whole story of his vision and its meaning. And Acts 11:18 says, "When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."
4. What did God make the hog for, if not to eat? (Isaiah 66:17)
He made it for the same purpose that He made the buzzard--as a scavenger to clean up garbage. And the hog serves this purpose admirably.
5. Romans 14:3, 14, 20 says: "Let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth." "There is nothing unclean of itself." "All things indeed are pure." Can you explain this? (Romans 14:3)
Verses 3 through 6 are a discussion of those who eat certain things versus those who do not. The passage does not say either is right, but rather counsels that neither pass judgment on the other. Instead, let God be the Judge (verses 4,10-12). Verses 14 and 20 refer to foods that were first offered to idols (and were thus ceremonially unclean)--not to the clean and unclean meats of Leviticus chapter 11. (Read 1 Corinthians 8:1, 4, 10, 13). The point of the discussion is that no food is "unclean" or "impure" just because it has first been offered to idols, because an idol is "nothing in the world." 1 Corinthians 8:4. But if a person's conscience bothers him for eating such food, he should leave it alone. Or even if it merely offends a brother, he should likewise abstain.
6. Are health laws and eating and drinking really important to me personally? If I love the Lord, isn't that enough? (Romans 12:1)
They are a matter of life versus death, because these laws involve obedience. "He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." Hebrews 5:9. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 7:21. Love to Christ is involved here because He says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15. When we truly love the Lord, we will gladly obey Him without dodging or making excuses. This is the supreme test.
Quiz Questions
1. Following God's health rules for the human body (1)
___ Is necessary for children, but not of great importance to an adult.
___ Is a very important part of true Bible religion.
___ Has nothing to do with a person's religion.
2. God's health laws were given (1)
___ By a loving God who made us in the beginning and knows what is best for our happiness.
___ For the Jews only and do not apply today.
___ To show us He is boss and can control us.
3. A true Christian will (1)
___ Eat and drink anything he desires.
___ Just love the Lord supremely and ignore His health laws because they were done away with at the cross.
___ Eat and drink only those things which will strengthen the body, mind, and character and bring honor to God.
4. Man's first diet (1)
___ Consisted of fruit, grains, and nuts.
___ Included alcoholic beverages and flesh foods.
___ Consisted of anything and everything that Adam and Eve wanted.
5. God lists these creatures as unclean: (7)
___ Cow.
___ Pig.
___ Chicken.
___ Squirrel.
___ Rabbit.
___ Catfish.
___ Deer.
___ Trout.
___ Clam.
6. Alcoholic beverages are (1)
___ All right for a Christian if used in moderation.
___ Wrong for a person to use only if he thinks they are wrong.
___ Not to be used by a Christian.
7. The use of tobacco is (1)
___ Each person's private business and has no relationship whatever to his religion.
___ Sinful, and a Christian will not use it in any form.
___ Beneficial to the Christian.
8. Check the health laws listed below which are God's health laws: (9)
___ Don't overeat.
___ Smoke after each meal.
___ Be happy and cheerful.
___ Drink some liquor before meals.
___ Keep your body clean.
___ Eat lots of pork.
___ Drink plenty of coffee and tea.
___ Be temperate in all things.
___ Eat meals at regular intervals.
9. A very important truth regarding God's health laws is that (1)
___ Children and grandchildren often have weak bodies and minds because parents ignore God's health laws.
___ These laws were for the Jews only and do not apply today.
___ If we really love Christ, His health laws are unimportant.
10. The best way to overcome sinful habits is to (1)
___ 'Taper off.'
___ Yield fully to Christ, who gives us power to do all things.
___ Hope they will go away.
11. God's health laws are (1)
___ Like the rules for operating a car: They are best for us, and we run into serious trouble when we ignore them.
___ Part of Moses' law that was done away at the cross.
___ A good idea, but do not affect a person's relation to God.
12. A sincere Christian will (1)
___ Spend more time praying and ignore God's health rules.
___ Immediately change any habit when he finds it conflicts with God's rules, because when we love Christ, we will gladly keep His rules and commandments.
___ Feel free to use tobacco.
Adventist Health Emphasis
Written by Theodore R. Flaiz
1. The question is often asked, "Why do Seventh-day Adventists give such significant attention to questions of health, apparently with a close relationship to their religious convictions?" The answer lies in their understanding of the nature of man. If they correctly interpret Biblical teaching on the matter, man is a complex entity consisting of a physical, an intellectual, and a spiritual nature. In the absence of any one of these entities, or natures, there is no man. The spiritual alone or the intellectual alone does not exist. The physical alone is but a lump of clay. The three together in right form constitute man, the whole man. (See Counsels on Health, page 66.)
2. Imperfections alter state. The spiritual entity may be blighted by immorality in any form, the intellect may be marred by mental disease or emotional instability, or the physical may be marked by deformity or disease. In any such deviation from the original perfection the resulting entity is not a whole man.
a. Sin.—The first of these shortcomings results from conflict with or violation of God's moral precepts. Willful violation of such nature is referred to as sin, the violation of God's moral law.
b. Mental defects.—The weakening or the blight of the intellectual entity may have resulted from violation of the laws of the mind or may be inherited from ancestry that was in some way in such conflict.
c. Physical disease.—Disease of the body, physical disease, results from the violation of the laws of health, more often by the individual himself, but possibly by an ancestor. Disease may be the result of the violation of laws as inexorable as the law of gravity—perhaps the violation of the laws of hygienic eating and exercise, with ulcers or possibly an early coronary as the result.
3. Is violation of physical law a moral question? The violation of moral precept makes a man a sinner before God. And transgression of the known laws of one's physical being, such as the intemperance that brings on ulcers of the stomach or hypertension, is just as surely sin. In either case the image of the whole man is marred, recognized or known laws of his being are violated, and a portion of the penalty for such violation begins to be experienced by the offender.
Comment.—"A continual transgression of nature's laws is a continual transgression of the law of God. . . . Men and women cannot violate natural law by indulging depraved appetites and lustful passions, without violating the law of God."—Counsels on Health, pp. 20, 21.
4. Adventist emphasis. Seventh-day Adventists hold that any matter affecting the wholeness of man—spiritual, physical, intellectual—is a legitimate concern of religion. It will be our attempt in this study to explore the Biblical basis for such a concept and to draw from the Spirit of Prophecy and other sources a better understanding of how we may intelligently relate ourselves to this question of health.
II. Biblical Statement—Our Bodies a Sacred Trust
1. Our bodies are the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16).
Comment.—"God has given you a habitation to care for, and preserve in the best condition for His service and glory. Your bodies are not your own."—Ibid., p. 622. "A misuse of the body shortens that period of time which God designs shall be used in His service. By allowing ourselves to form wrong habits, by keeping late hours, by gratifying appetite at the expense of health, we lay the foundation for feebleness. By neglecting to take physical exercise, by overworking mind or body, we unbalance the nervous system. Those who thus shorten their lives by disregarding nature's laws, are guilty of robbery toward God. We have no right to neglect or misuse the body, the mind, or the strength, which should be used to offer God consecrated service."—Ibid., p. 41.
2. To glorify God in our bodies. We are "bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your bodv, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Cor. 6:20).
Comment.—"Our bodies are not our own. God has claims upon us to take care of the habitation He has given us, that we may present our bodies to Him a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable."—Ibid., p. 73.
3. Bodies a living sacrifice. Paul's admonition (Rom. 12:1).
Note.—"It is impossible for a man to present his body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, while continuing to indulge habits that are depriving him of physical, mental, and moral vigor."—Ibid., p. 23.
Note from experience of Daniel.—"In that ancient ritual which is the gospel in symbol, no blemished offering could be brought to God's altar. The sacrifice that was to represent Christ must be spotless. The word of God points to this as an illustration of what His children are to be, —'a living sacrifice,' 'holy and without blemish.' "—Prophets and Kings, p. 489.
4. Only one life to live.
Comment.—"Only one lease of life is granted to us; and the inquiry with everyone should be, 'How can I invest my powers so that they may yield the greatest profit? How can I do most for the glory of God and the benefit of my fellow men?' For life is valuable only as it is used for the attainment of these ends."—Counsels on Health, p. 107.
III. Our Example—The Great Physician
1. Changes at the Fall. At the Fall, man lost not only his spiritual and intellectual perfection but also his physical perfection, and he began to die. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. Although Jesus preached the gospel, the good news of salvation, in its spiritual sense, He spent more time repairing broken bodies than He did preaching. He thereby gave evidence that physical restoration, physical health, are of significance in Christian religion.
2. Areas of Christ's interest.
a. Prevention.—Health education, "sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee" (John 5:14).
b. Therapeutic.—"And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them" (Matt. 15:30).
c. Welfare.—"I have compassion on the multitude, ... I will not send them away fasting. . . . And they did all eat" (Matt. 15:32).
3. Jesus is our example in medical ministry. Under the impulse of His love and compassion He worked for the health and comfort of the multitude. His health work was focused upon the immediate health need of the individual or the multitude.
Relating Ourselves to Health Reform
I. Our Relationship Is Concerned With Our Health
1. Emphasis is on health, not on any dogma, ritualistic considerations, or taboos.
2. If our particular attitude toward health principles is such that the result is an anemic, sickly body, or worse, our interpretation of health reform is in error. The purpose of health reform is health. Health that we might better glorify God through effective service to God and to our fellow men.
" 'The more perfect our health, the more perfect will be our labor.' "—The Story of Our Health Message, p. 78.
3. Consistency.—"Those who advocate an unpopular truth should, above all others, seek to be consistent in their own life. They should not try to see how different they can be from others, but how near they can come to those whom they wish to influence, that they may help them to the positions they themselves so highly prize. Such a course will commend the truths they hold. . . . When those who advocate hygienic reform carry the matter to extremes, people are not to blame if they become disgusted. Too often our religious faith is thus brought into disrepute. . . . These extremists do more harm in a few months than they can undo in a lifetime." —Counsels on Health, pp. 153, 154.
II. Health a Sacred Trust
1. Health and character, a great treasure.
Comment.—"The health should be as sacredly guarded as the character."—Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 147.
"Health is a great treasure. It is the richest possession mortals can have. ... It is a terrible sin to abuse the health that God has given us."—Counsels on Health, p. 186.
2. Health concerns. Health reform, then, is concerned with any matters important to our health. Proper nutrition, fresh air, exercise, proper clothing for the cold weather, digitalis for certain serious heart disease, quinine for malaria, sanitary precautions to prevent dysentery, and urgent skillful surgery for intestinal obstruction—all are of concern in the intelligent care of the health.
The counsel is concerning the health which should be guarded, not the methods, the procedures, or the practices. If our efforts do not contribute to health, then we must conclude that what we practice is not health reform, and may be a witness against the very idea of health reform.
3. Relative importance of health efforts. Comment.—"Every faculty with which the Creator has endowed us, should be cultivated to the highest degree of perfection, that we may be able to do the greatest amount of good of which we are capable. Hence that time is spent to good account which is used in the establishment and preservation of physical and mental health."—Ibid., p. 107.
4. Sacred duty.
Comment.—" 'I saw that it was a sacred duty to attend to our health, and [to] arouse others to their duty. . . . We have a duty to speak, to come out against intemperance of every kind—intemperance in working, in eating, in drinking, in drugging. ... I saw that it was duty for everyone to have a care for his health. . . . The more perfect our health, the more perfect will be our labor.' "—The Story of Our Health Message, pp. 77, 78.
Here again the emphasis is on health, "The more perfect our health, the more perfect will be our labor."
6. Health reform recognizes varying circumstances of the people. If health is the objective of health reform, it will vary according to the circumstances or the needs of the individual or the community. It will emphasize the need of the person concerned or of the community concerned. Examples:
a. For the peasant in parts of South India, many of whom suffer from beriberi, it will emphasize the necessity of eating the whole-grain rice, his best assurance of protection from beriberi. It will counsel a moderation in his use of the hot chilies, which may cause inflammation if not actual ulceration of the stomach or duodenum. It will not advise leaving these red peppers off entirely, for they may be his only source of the protective vitamin C.
b. Health reform will counsel the peasant of East Bengal to guard himself against the deadly malignant tertian malaria by sleeping under nets, and if he should contract the disease, it will counsel him to take the appropriate medication. It will teach him to do more in growing his own fresh vegetables, to grow more of the papaya fruits, and it will not advise against the abundantly available fish until something better is available.
c. Health reform will recognize the varying needs of the farmer, the woodsman, or miner as opposed to the professional man, the businessman, or the student. It will recognize the limited food requirement of the elderly, who if their work schedule permits proper spacing of meals may do well on two good meals a day, while recognizing that the same program for growing children would be not only harmful to health but would constitute an act of actual cruelty.
d. Physical health and spirituality.— "The health of body is to be regarded as essential for growth in grace and the acquirement of an even temper. If the stomach is not properly cared for, the formation of an upright, moral character will be hindered. The brain and nerves are in sympathy with the stomach. Erroneous eating and drinking result in erroneous thinking and acting."—Counsels on Health, p. 134.
e. Religion and health not incompatible. —"The view held by some that spirituality is a detriment to health, is the sophistry of Satan. The religion of the Bible is not detrimental to the health of either body or mind. The influence of the Spirit of God is the very best medicine for disease.
Heaven is all health. . . . The relation which exists between the mind and the body is very intimate. When one is affected, the other sympathizes."—Ibid., p. 28.
f. The true health reformer will not evidence gloom, criticism, or faultfinding in his life and relationship to others, but will radiate joy, courage, enthusiasm, and evidence of a more abundant life. The true health reformer will emphasize the positive, the constructive, not the negative.
III. Health Affects Our Efficiency and Performance
1. Affects our denominational service. Speaking of some practical health suggestions, Mrs. White says that "these are not matters of trifling importance. We must pay attention to them if healthful vigor and a right tone are to be given to the various branches of the work."—Gospel Workers, p. 242.
Note that in this reference Mrs. White calls attention to health as relates to a "healthful vigor" in the work. The emphasis is on health, and this is because it is essential to efficient performance, not out of respect for some procedure, practice, or prohibition, all of which are only a means to an end. Health, in turn, is a means to more effective service.
2. Proportionate relationship stated.
Comment.—"The character and efficiency of the work depend largely upon the physical condition of the workers."'—Ibid.
3. Results of ill health in sermons.
Comment.—"Many committee meetings and other meetings for counsel have taken an unhappy tone from the dyspeptic condition of those assembled. And many a sermon has received a dark shadow from the minister's indigestion."—Ibid.
4. Willing ignorance of health is sin.
Comment.—"He who remains in willing ignorance of the laws of his physical being and who violates them through ignorance is sinning against God. All should place themselves in the best possible relation to life and health."—Christ's Object Lessons, p. 348. Paul states he "that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things" (1 Cor. 9:25).
5. Avoid the negative approach.
a. Our health emphasis is a positive, a constructive, concept.
b. Fanaticism places the emphasis on the negative, the prohibitions.
c. This explains why fanatics, extremists, are often anemic and unhappy people.
d. Health does not come by not doing things. It is the product of doing those things that make for health.
-From amazing facts study guide
Great medical care is priceless - but wouldn't it be great if we didn't need doctors anymore? Did you know there is a proven way to put a lot of doctors out of work? Take care of your body! Scientists have sounded the ominus warnings about cholesterol, tobacco, stress, obesity, and alcohol, so why press your luck? Hospitals and psychiatric institutions are packed with people who have ignored the warnings - do you really want to join them? God truly cares how you treat your body, and He's given you a free health plan, and a manual to go by... the Bible! For amazing facts about how you can have abundant health and longer life, look over this Study Guide - but be sure to read it all before jumping to conclusions!
1. Are health principles really a part of true Bible religion?
"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." 3 John 2.
Answer: Yes. In fact, the Bible rates health right near the top of the list in importance. Man's mind, spiritual nature, and body are all interrelated and interdependent. What affects one affects the other. If our bodies are misused, our minds and spiritual natures cannot become what God ordained they should.
2. Why did God give health rules to His people?
"And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes ... for our good always, that he might preserve us alive." Deuteronomy 6:24. "And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee." Exodus 23:25.
Answer: God gave health rules because He knows what is best for the human body. Automobile manufacturers place an "operations manual" in the glove compartment of each new car because they know what is best for their product. God, who made our bodies, also has an "operations manual." It is called the Holy Bible. Ignoring God's "operations manual" results in disease, twisted thinking, and burned-out lives, just as abusing a car (against the manufacturer's counsel) results in serious car trouble. Following God's rules results in "saving health" (Psalms 67:2) and more abundant life (John 10:10). These great health laws are like a wall or fence to keep out the diseases of Satan. God tells us what these rules are so we can avoid the devil's traps.
3. Do God's health rules have anything to do with eating and drinking?
"Eat ye that which is good." Isaiah 55:2. "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31.
Answer: Yes, a Christian will even eat and drink differently--all to the glory of God--using only "that which is good." If God says a thing is not fit to eat, He must have a good reason. He is not a harsh dictator, but a loving Father. All His counsel is for our good always. The Bible promises: "No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." Psalms 84:11. So if God withholds a thing from us, it is because it is not good.
Note: No person can eat his way into heaven. Eating even the food of angels will not entitle people to paradise. Only acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour can do that. Ignoring God's health laws, however, may cause a person to be lost, because it will ruin his judgment and cause him to sin.
4. What did God give people to eat when He created them and provided a perfect diet?
"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed ... and every tree ... yielding seed." "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat." Genesis 1:29; 2:16.
Answer: The diet God gave people in the beginning was fruit, grains, and nuts. Vegetables were added a bit later (Genesis 3:18).
5. What items are specifically mentioned by God as being unclean and forbidden?
Answer: In Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, God very clearly points out the following groups as being unclean. Read both chapters in full.
Pigs are unclean.
A. All animals which do not have a split hoof and chew the cud (Deuteronomy 14:6).
Shellfish and catfish are unclean.
B. All fish and water creatures that do not have both fins and scales. Nearly all fish are clean (Deuteronomy 14:9).
Birds of prey are unclean.
C. All birds of prey, carrion eaters, and fish eaters (Leviticus 11:13-20).
The ones which live all or part-time in water and do not have both fins and scales are unclean.
D. Most "creeping things" (or invertebrates) are also unclean (Leviticus 11:21-47).
Note: These chapters make it clear that most animals, birds, and water creatures people ordinarily eat are clean. There are, however, some very notable exceptions. According to God's rules, the following animals are unclean and are not to be eaten: hogs, squirrels, rabbits, catfish, eels, lobsters, clams, crabs, shrimp, oysters, frogs, and many others.
6. But I like pork. Will God destroy me if I eat it?
"For, behold, the Lord will come with fire ... and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves ... eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord." Isaiah 66:15-17.
Answer: This may be shocking, but it is true and must be told. The Bible positively states that all who eat "swine's flesh," the "mouse," and other unclean things that are an "abomination" will be destroyed with fire at the coming of the Lord. When God says to leave something alone and not eat it, we should by all means obey Him. After all, the mere eating of a piece of forbidden fruit by Adam and Eve, a sinless couple, brought sin and death to this world in the first place. Can anyone say it doesn't matter, when God so clearly shows it does? God says men will be destroyed because they "chose that in which I delighted not." Isaiah 66:4.
7. But didn't this law of clean and unclean animals originate at Sinai? Wasn't it for the Jews only, and didn't it end at the cross?
"And the Lord said unto Noah, ... Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens ... and of beasts that are not clean by two." Genesis 7:1, 2.
Answer: No indeed! The Bible has ample evidence that there were clean and unclean animals from the very dawn of Creation. Noah lived long before any Jews existed, but he knew of the clean and unclean, because he took into the ark the clean animals by "sevens" and the unclean by "twos." Revelation 18:2 refers to some birds as being unclean just before the second coming of Christ. The death of Christ had no altering effect whatever on these health laws, since the Bible says that all who break them will be destroyed when Jesus returns (Isaiah 66:15-17). The Jew's stomach and digestive system in no way differs from that of a Gentile. These health laws are for all people for all time.
8. Does the Bible forbid the use of alcoholic beverages?
"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." Proverbs 20:1. "Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." Proverbs 23:31, 32. "Neither fornicators ... nor drunkards ... shall inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10.
Answer: Yes, the Bible clearly forbids the use of alcoholic beverages.
9. Does the Bible condemn the use of tobacco?
Answer: Yes, the Bible gives six reasons why the use of tobacco is displeasing to God:
A. The use of tobacco injures health and defiles the body. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17.
The use of tobacco in any form is displeasing to God.
B. Nicotine is an addictive substance that enslaves people. Romans 6:16 says that we become servants to whomever (or whatever) we yield ourselves. Tobacco users are servants of nicotine. Jesus says, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Matthew 4:10.
C. The tobacco habit is unclean. "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you." 2 Corinthians 6:17. It is really preposterous to think of Christ using tobacco in any form, isn't it?
D. The use of tobacco wastes money. "Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?" Isaiah 55:2. We are God's stewards of the money given us, and "it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful." 1 Corinthians 4:2.
E. The use of tobacco never draws anyone closer to Christ. "Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." 1 Peter 2:11. Tobacco use is a fleshly lust.
F. The use of tobacco shortens life. Recent scientific findings confirm the fact that the use of tobacco often shortens the life span by as much as one-third. This breaks God's command against killing (Exodus 20:13). Even though it is slow murder, it is still murder. One of the best ways to postpone your funeral is to quit using tobacco.
10. What are some of the simple, yet very important, health laws found in the Bible?
Answer: Here are 11 Bible health rules:
Eating meals at regular hours is very important.
A. Eat your meals at regular intervals, and do not use animal fat or blood. "Eat in due season." Ecclesiates 10:17. "It shall be a perpetual statute ... that ye eat neither fat nor blood." Leviticus 3:17.
Note: Recent scientific studies have confirmed the fact that most heart attacks result from a high cholesterol level in the blood--and that the use of "fats" is largely responsible for this high level. It looks like the Lord knows what He is talking about after all, doesn't it?
Christ specifically warns His followers not to overeat.
B. Don't overeat. "Put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite." Proverbs 23:2. In Luke 21:34, Christ specifically warns against "surfeiting" (overeating) in the last days. Overeating is responsible for many degenerative diseases.
C. Don't harbor envy or hold grudges. These evils disrupt body processes. The Bible says that envy brings "rottenness of the bones." Proverbs 14:30. Christ even commands us to clear up grudges that others may hold against us (Matthew 5:23, 24).
A cheerful, happy disposition benefits health.
D. Maintain a cheerful, happy disposition. "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." Proverbs 17:22. "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7. Many diseases from which people suffer are a result of mental depression. A cheerful, happy disposition imparts health and prolongs life.
Ample sleep is essential to good health.
E. Put full trust in the Lord. "The fear of the Lord tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied." Proverbs 19:23. Trust in the Lord strengthens health and life. "My son, attend to my words. ... For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh." Proverbs 4:20-22. So health comes from obedience to God's commands and from putting full trust in Him.
F. Balance work and exercise with sleep and rest. "Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work." Exodus 20:9, 10. "The sleep of a labouring man is sweet." Ecclesiates 5:12. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." Genesis 3:19. "It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late." Psalms 127:2. "For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? ... his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity." Ecclesiastes 2:22, 23.
Cleanliness is crucial for health.
G. Keep your body clean. "Be ye clean." Isaiah 52:11.
H. Be temperate in all things. "Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things." 1 Corinthians 9:25. "Let your moderation be known unto all men." Philippians 4:5. A Christian will completely avoid all things that are harmful and will be moderate in the use of things that are good. Habits that injure health break the command "Thou shalt not kill." They kill by degrees. They are suicide on the installment plan.
I. Avoid all harmful stimulants. Here is a surprise for some. Medical science has confirmed the fact Caffeine harms the body.
that tea, coffee, and soft drinks that contain the addictive drug caffeine and other harmful ingredients are all positively damaging to the human body. None of these contain food value except through the sugar or cream added, and most of us already use too much sugar. Stimulants give a dangerous, artificial boost to the body and are like trying to carry a ton in a wheelbarrow. The popularity of these drinks is due not to flavor or advertising, but to the dose of caffeine they contain. Many Americans are sickly because of their addiction to coffee, tea, and caffeinated soft drinks. But the real tragedy is that men and women seeking peace and strength are using tea and coffee as cheap substitutes for prayer and Bible study. This delights the devil and wrecks human lives.
J. Make mealtime a happy time. "Every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God." Ecclesiastes 3:13. Unhappy scenes at mealtime hinder digestion. Avoid them.
Helping people in need enhances your health.
K. Help those who are in need. "Loose the bands of wickedness, ... undo the heavy burdens, ... deal thy bread to the hungry, and ... bring the poor that are cast out to thy house ... when thou seest the naked, ... cover him ... and thine health shall spring forth speedily." Isaiah 58:6-8. This is too plain to misunderstand: when we help the poor and needy, we improve our own health.
11. What solemn reminder is given to those who ignore God's rules?
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Galatians 6:7.
Answer: The answer is too plain to miss. Those who break God's rules regarding the care of the body machine will reap broken bodies and burned-out lives, just as one who abuses his automobile will have serious car trouble. And those who continue to break God's laws of health will ultimately be destroyed by the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:16, 17). God's health laws are not arbitrary. They are natural, established laws of the universe, like the law of gravity. Ignoring these laws always brings certain disastrous results. The Bible says, "The curse causeless shall not come." Proverbs 26:2. Trouble comes when we ignore the laws of health. God, in mercy, tells us what these laws are so we may avoid the tragedies that result from breaking them.
12. What fearful, shocking truth about health involves our children and grandchildren?
"Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee." Deuteronomy 12:25. "I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." Exodus 20:5.
Answer: A person may suffer because of his parents' or grandparents' bad health habits.
God makes it very plain that children and grandchildren (to the fourth generation) pay for the folly of parents who ignore God's health rules. The children and grandchildren inherit weakened, sickly bodies when mother and father defy God's rules for their lives. Is this what you want for your dear children and grandchildren?
13. What more fearful, sobering fact does God's Word reveal?
"There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth." Revelation 21:27. "But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord God." Ezekiel 11:21.
Answer: Nothing defiling or unclean will be permitted in God's kingdom. All filthy habits defile a person. Use of improper food defiles a person (Daniel 1:8). It is sobering, but true. Choosing their "own ways" and that in which God "delighted not" will cost people their eternal salvation (Isaiah 66:3, 4, 15-17).
14. What should every sincere Christian endeavor to do at once?
"Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit." 2 Corinthians 7:1. "Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he [Christ] is pure." 1 John 3:3. "If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15.
Answer: Sincere Christians will bring their lives into harmony with God's rules at once, because they love Him. They know that His rules greatly add to their happiness and protect them from the devil's diseases (Acts 10:38). God's counsel and rules are always for our good, just as good parents' rules and counsel are best for their children. And once we know better, God holds us accountable. "To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." James 4:17.
15. But I'm worried because some of my evil habits have bound me so tightly. What can I do?
"As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God." John 1:12. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13.
Answer: Take all of these habits to Christ and lay them at His feet. He will joyfully give you a new heart and the power you need to break any evil habit and become a son or daughter of God (Ezekiel 11:18, 19). How thrilling and heartwarming it is to know that "with God all things are possible." Mark 10:27. And Jesus says, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37. Jesus is ready to break the shackles that bind us. He longs to set us free, and will, if only we will permit it. Our worries, evil habits, nervous tensions, and fears will be gone when we do His bidding. He says, "These things have I spoken unto you ... that your joy might be full." John 15:11. The devil argues that freedom is found in disobedience, but this is a falsehood (John 8:44).
16. What thrilling promises are given about God's new kingdom?
"And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick." Isaiah 33:24. "And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain." Revelation 21:4. "They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31.
Answer: The citizens of God's new kingdom will obey His health laws, and there will be no sickness or disease. They will be blessed with eternal vigor and youth and will live with God in supreme joy and happiness throughout all eternity.
17. Since healthful living truly is a part of Bible religion, it is my plan to follow God's health rules.
Answer: Thought Questions
1. 1 Timothy 4:4 says, "Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused." Can you explain this? (1 Timothy 4:4)
This Scripture passage (verse 3) refers to meats "which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving" by His people. These meats, as we have already discovered, are the clean meats listed in Leviticus chapter 11 and Deuteronomy chapter 14. Verse 4 makes it clear that all creatures of God are good and not to be refused, provided they are among those created to "be received with thanksgiving" (the clean animals). Verse 5 tells why these animals (or foods) are acceptable: they are "sanctified" by God's Word, which says they are clean, and by a "prayer" of blessing, which is offered before the meal. Please note, however, that God will destroy people who try to "sanctify themselves" while eating unclean foods (Isaiah 66:17).
2. Matthew 15:11 says, "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out." How do you explain this? (Matthew 15:11)
The subject in Matthew 15:1-20 is eating without first washing the hands (verse 2). The focus is not eating, but washing. The scribes taught that eating any food without a special ceremonial washing defiled the eater. Jesus said the ceremonial washings were meaningless. In verse 19, He listed certain evils--murders, adulteries, thefts, etc. Then He concluded, "These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man." Verse 20.
3. But didn't Jesus cleanse all animals in Peter's vision, as recorded in Acts 10? (Acts 10:13)
No! In fact, the subject of this vision is not animals, but people. God gave Peter this vision to show him that the Gentiles were not unclean, as the Jews believed. God had instructed Cornelius, a Gentile, to send men to visit Peter. But Peter would have refused to see them if God had not given him this vision, because Jewish law forbade entertaining Gentiles (verse 28). But when the men finally did arrive, Peter welcomed them, explaining that ordinarily he would not have done so, but "God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean." Verse 28. In the next chapter (Acts 11), the church members criticized Peter for speaking with these Gentiles. So Peter told them the whole story of his vision and its meaning. And Acts 11:18 says, "When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."
4. What did God make the hog for, if not to eat? (Isaiah 66:17)
He made it for the same purpose that He made the buzzard--as a scavenger to clean up garbage. And the hog serves this purpose admirably.
5. Romans 14:3, 14, 20 says: "Let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth." "There is nothing unclean of itself." "All things indeed are pure." Can you explain this? (Romans 14:3)
Verses 3 through 6 are a discussion of those who eat certain things versus those who do not. The passage does not say either is right, but rather counsels that neither pass judgment on the other. Instead, let God be the Judge (verses 4,10-12). Verses 14 and 20 refer to foods that were first offered to idols (and were thus ceremonially unclean)--not to the clean and unclean meats of Leviticus chapter 11. (Read 1 Corinthians 8:1, 4, 10, 13). The point of the discussion is that no food is "unclean" or "impure" just because it has first been offered to idols, because an idol is "nothing in the world." 1 Corinthians 8:4. But if a person's conscience bothers him for eating such food, he should leave it alone. Or even if it merely offends a brother, he should likewise abstain.
6. Are health laws and eating and drinking really important to me personally? If I love the Lord, isn't that enough? (Romans 12:1)
They are a matter of life versus death, because these laws involve obedience. "He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." Hebrews 5:9. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 7:21. Love to Christ is involved here because He says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15. When we truly love the Lord, we will gladly obey Him without dodging or making excuses. This is the supreme test.
Quiz Questions
1. Following God's health rules for the human body (1)
___ Is necessary for children, but not of great importance to an adult.
___ Is a very important part of true Bible religion.
___ Has nothing to do with a person's religion.
2. God's health laws were given (1)
___ By a loving God who made us in the beginning and knows what is best for our happiness.
___ For the Jews only and do not apply today.
___ To show us He is boss and can control us.
3. A true Christian will (1)
___ Eat and drink anything he desires.
___ Just love the Lord supremely and ignore His health laws because they were done away with at the cross.
___ Eat and drink only those things which will strengthen the body, mind, and character and bring honor to God.
4. Man's first diet (1)
___ Consisted of fruit, grains, and nuts.
___ Included alcoholic beverages and flesh foods.
___ Consisted of anything and everything that Adam and Eve wanted.
5. God lists these creatures as unclean: (7)
___ Cow.
___ Pig.
___ Chicken.
___ Squirrel.
___ Rabbit.
___ Catfish.
___ Deer.
___ Trout.
___ Clam.
6. Alcoholic beverages are (1)
___ All right for a Christian if used in moderation.
___ Wrong for a person to use only if he thinks they are wrong.
___ Not to be used by a Christian.
7. The use of tobacco is (1)
___ Each person's private business and has no relationship whatever to his religion.
___ Sinful, and a Christian will not use it in any form.
___ Beneficial to the Christian.
8. Check the health laws listed below which are God's health laws: (9)
___ Don't overeat.
___ Smoke after each meal.
___ Be happy and cheerful.
___ Drink some liquor before meals.
___ Keep your body clean.
___ Eat lots of pork.
___ Drink plenty of coffee and tea.
___ Be temperate in all things.
___ Eat meals at regular intervals.
9. A very important truth regarding God's health laws is that (1)
___ Children and grandchildren often have weak bodies and minds because parents ignore God's health laws.
___ These laws were for the Jews only and do not apply today.
___ If we really love Christ, His health laws are unimportant.
10. The best way to overcome sinful habits is to (1)
___ 'Taper off.'
___ Yield fully to Christ, who gives us power to do all things.
___ Hope they will go away.
11. God's health laws are (1)
___ Like the rules for operating a car: They are best for us, and we run into serious trouble when we ignore them.
___ Part of Moses' law that was done away at the cross.
___ A good idea, but do not affect a person's relation to God.
12. A sincere Christian will (1)
___ Spend more time praying and ignore God's health rules.
___ Immediately change any habit when he finds it conflicts with God's rules, because when we love Christ, we will gladly keep His rules and commandments.
___ Feel free to use tobacco.
Adventist Health Emphasis
Written by Theodore R. Flaiz
1. The question is often asked, "Why do Seventh-day Adventists give such significant attention to questions of health, apparently with a close relationship to their religious convictions?" The answer lies in their understanding of the nature of man. If they correctly interpret Biblical teaching on the matter, man is a complex entity consisting of a physical, an intellectual, and a spiritual nature. In the absence of any one of these entities, or natures, there is no man. The spiritual alone or the intellectual alone does not exist. The physical alone is but a lump of clay. The three together in right form constitute man, the whole man. (See Counsels on Health, page 66.)
2. Imperfections alter state. The spiritual entity may be blighted by immorality in any form, the intellect may be marred by mental disease or emotional instability, or the physical may be marked by deformity or disease. In any such deviation from the original perfection the resulting entity is not a whole man.
a. Sin.—The first of these shortcomings results from conflict with or violation of God's moral precepts. Willful violation of such nature is referred to as sin, the violation of God's moral law.
b. Mental defects.—The weakening or the blight of the intellectual entity may have resulted from violation of the laws of the mind or may be inherited from ancestry that was in some way in such conflict.
c. Physical disease.—Disease of the body, physical disease, results from the violation of the laws of health, more often by the individual himself, but possibly by an ancestor. Disease may be the result of the violation of laws as inexorable as the law of gravity—perhaps the violation of the laws of hygienic eating and exercise, with ulcers or possibly an early coronary as the result.
3. Is violation of physical law a moral question? The violation of moral precept makes a man a sinner before God. And transgression of the known laws of one's physical being, such as the intemperance that brings on ulcers of the stomach or hypertension, is just as surely sin. In either case the image of the whole man is marred, recognized or known laws of his being are violated, and a portion of the penalty for such violation begins to be experienced by the offender.
Comment.—"A continual transgression of nature's laws is a continual transgression of the law of God. . . . Men and women cannot violate natural law by indulging depraved appetites and lustful passions, without violating the law of God."—Counsels on Health, pp. 20, 21.
4. Adventist emphasis. Seventh-day Adventists hold that any matter affecting the wholeness of man—spiritual, physical, intellectual—is a legitimate concern of religion. It will be our attempt in this study to explore the Biblical basis for such a concept and to draw from the Spirit of Prophecy and other sources a better understanding of how we may intelligently relate ourselves to this question of health.
II. Biblical Statement—Our Bodies a Sacred Trust
1. Our bodies are the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16).
Comment.—"God has given you a habitation to care for, and preserve in the best condition for His service and glory. Your bodies are not your own."—Ibid., p. 622. "A misuse of the body shortens that period of time which God designs shall be used in His service. By allowing ourselves to form wrong habits, by keeping late hours, by gratifying appetite at the expense of health, we lay the foundation for feebleness. By neglecting to take physical exercise, by overworking mind or body, we unbalance the nervous system. Those who thus shorten their lives by disregarding nature's laws, are guilty of robbery toward God. We have no right to neglect or misuse the body, the mind, or the strength, which should be used to offer God consecrated service."—Ibid., p. 41.
2. To glorify God in our bodies. We are "bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your bodv, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Cor. 6:20).
Comment.—"Our bodies are not our own. God has claims upon us to take care of the habitation He has given us, that we may present our bodies to Him a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable."—Ibid., p. 73.
3. Bodies a living sacrifice. Paul's admonition (Rom. 12:1).
Note.—"It is impossible for a man to present his body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, while continuing to indulge habits that are depriving him of physical, mental, and moral vigor."—Ibid., p. 23.
Note from experience of Daniel.—"In that ancient ritual which is the gospel in symbol, no blemished offering could be brought to God's altar. The sacrifice that was to represent Christ must be spotless. The word of God points to this as an illustration of what His children are to be, —'a living sacrifice,' 'holy and without blemish.' "—Prophets and Kings, p. 489.
4. Only one life to live.
Comment.—"Only one lease of life is granted to us; and the inquiry with everyone should be, 'How can I invest my powers so that they may yield the greatest profit? How can I do most for the glory of God and the benefit of my fellow men?' For life is valuable only as it is used for the attainment of these ends."—Counsels on Health, p. 107.
III. Our Example—The Great Physician
1. Changes at the Fall. At the Fall, man lost not only his spiritual and intellectual perfection but also his physical perfection, and he began to die. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. Although Jesus preached the gospel, the good news of salvation, in its spiritual sense, He spent more time repairing broken bodies than He did preaching. He thereby gave evidence that physical restoration, physical health, are of significance in Christian religion.
2. Areas of Christ's interest.
a. Prevention.—Health education, "sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee" (John 5:14).
b. Therapeutic.—"And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them" (Matt. 15:30).
c. Welfare.—"I have compassion on the multitude, ... I will not send them away fasting. . . . And they did all eat" (Matt. 15:32).
3. Jesus is our example in medical ministry. Under the impulse of His love and compassion He worked for the health and comfort of the multitude. His health work was focused upon the immediate health need of the individual or the multitude.
Relating Ourselves to Health Reform
I. Our Relationship Is Concerned With Our Health
1. Emphasis is on health, not on any dogma, ritualistic considerations, or taboos.
2. If our particular attitude toward health principles is such that the result is an anemic, sickly body, or worse, our interpretation of health reform is in error. The purpose of health reform is health. Health that we might better glorify God through effective service to God and to our fellow men.
" 'The more perfect our health, the more perfect will be our labor.' "—The Story of Our Health Message, p. 78.
3. Consistency.—"Those who advocate an unpopular truth should, above all others, seek to be consistent in their own life. They should not try to see how different they can be from others, but how near they can come to those whom they wish to influence, that they may help them to the positions they themselves so highly prize. Such a course will commend the truths they hold. . . . When those who advocate hygienic reform carry the matter to extremes, people are not to blame if they become disgusted. Too often our religious faith is thus brought into disrepute. . . . These extremists do more harm in a few months than they can undo in a lifetime." —Counsels on Health, pp. 153, 154.
II. Health a Sacred Trust
1. Health and character, a great treasure.
Comment.—"The health should be as sacredly guarded as the character."—Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 147.
"Health is a great treasure. It is the richest possession mortals can have. ... It is a terrible sin to abuse the health that God has given us."—Counsels on Health, p. 186.
2. Health concerns. Health reform, then, is concerned with any matters important to our health. Proper nutrition, fresh air, exercise, proper clothing for the cold weather, digitalis for certain serious heart disease, quinine for malaria, sanitary precautions to prevent dysentery, and urgent skillful surgery for intestinal obstruction—all are of concern in the intelligent care of the health.
The counsel is concerning the health which should be guarded, not the methods, the procedures, or the practices. If our efforts do not contribute to health, then we must conclude that what we practice is not health reform, and may be a witness against the very idea of health reform.
3. Relative importance of health efforts. Comment.—"Every faculty with which the Creator has endowed us, should be cultivated to the highest degree of perfection, that we may be able to do the greatest amount of good of which we are capable. Hence that time is spent to good account which is used in the establishment and preservation of physical and mental health."—Ibid., p. 107.
4. Sacred duty.
Comment.—" 'I saw that it was a sacred duty to attend to our health, and [to] arouse others to their duty. . . . We have a duty to speak, to come out against intemperance of every kind—intemperance in working, in eating, in drinking, in drugging. ... I saw that it was duty for everyone to have a care for his health. . . . The more perfect our health, the more perfect will be our labor.' "—The Story of Our Health Message, pp. 77, 78.
Here again the emphasis is on health, "The more perfect our health, the more perfect will be our labor."
6. Health reform recognizes varying circumstances of the people. If health is the objective of health reform, it will vary according to the circumstances or the needs of the individual or the community. It will emphasize the need of the person concerned or of the community concerned. Examples:
a. For the peasant in parts of South India, many of whom suffer from beriberi, it will emphasize the necessity of eating the whole-grain rice, his best assurance of protection from beriberi. It will counsel a moderation in his use of the hot chilies, which may cause inflammation if not actual ulceration of the stomach or duodenum. It will not advise leaving these red peppers off entirely, for they may be his only source of the protective vitamin C.
b. Health reform will counsel the peasant of East Bengal to guard himself against the deadly malignant tertian malaria by sleeping under nets, and if he should contract the disease, it will counsel him to take the appropriate medication. It will teach him to do more in growing his own fresh vegetables, to grow more of the papaya fruits, and it will not advise against the abundantly available fish until something better is available.
c. Health reform will recognize the varying needs of the farmer, the woodsman, or miner as opposed to the professional man, the businessman, or the student. It will recognize the limited food requirement of the elderly, who if their work schedule permits proper spacing of meals may do well on two good meals a day, while recognizing that the same program for growing children would be not only harmful to health but would constitute an act of actual cruelty.
d. Physical health and spirituality.— "The health of body is to be regarded as essential for growth in grace and the acquirement of an even temper. If the stomach is not properly cared for, the formation of an upright, moral character will be hindered. The brain and nerves are in sympathy with the stomach. Erroneous eating and drinking result in erroneous thinking and acting."—Counsels on Health, p. 134.
e. Religion and health not incompatible. —"The view held by some that spirituality is a detriment to health, is the sophistry of Satan. The religion of the Bible is not detrimental to the health of either body or mind. The influence of the Spirit of God is the very best medicine for disease.
Heaven is all health. . . . The relation which exists between the mind and the body is very intimate. When one is affected, the other sympathizes."—Ibid., p. 28.
f. The true health reformer will not evidence gloom, criticism, or faultfinding in his life and relationship to others, but will radiate joy, courage, enthusiasm, and evidence of a more abundant life. The true health reformer will emphasize the positive, the constructive, not the negative.
III. Health Affects Our Efficiency and Performance
1. Affects our denominational service. Speaking of some practical health suggestions, Mrs. White says that "these are not matters of trifling importance. We must pay attention to them if healthful vigor and a right tone are to be given to the various branches of the work."—Gospel Workers, p. 242.
Note that in this reference Mrs. White calls attention to health as relates to a "healthful vigor" in the work. The emphasis is on health, and this is because it is essential to efficient performance, not out of respect for some procedure, practice, or prohibition, all of which are only a means to an end. Health, in turn, is a means to more effective service.
2. Proportionate relationship stated.
Comment.—"The character and efficiency of the work depend largely upon the physical condition of the workers."'—Ibid.
3. Results of ill health in sermons.
Comment.—"Many committee meetings and other meetings for counsel have taken an unhappy tone from the dyspeptic condition of those assembled. And many a sermon has received a dark shadow from the minister's indigestion."—Ibid.
4. Willing ignorance of health is sin.
Comment.—"He who remains in willing ignorance of the laws of his physical being and who violates them through ignorance is sinning against God. All should place themselves in the best possible relation to life and health."—Christ's Object Lessons, p. 348. Paul states he "that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things" (1 Cor. 9:25).
5. Avoid the negative approach.
a. Our health emphasis is a positive, a constructive, concept.
b. Fanaticism places the emphasis on the negative, the prohibitions.
c. This explains why fanatics, extremists, are often anemic and unhappy people.
d. Health does not come by not doing things. It is the product of doing those things that make for health.
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Inspirational Counter
"The only way you may correct the bad things in your past is to add better things to your future."
PEOPLE WHO GIVE IN
… (THEY HAVE PAIN)
PEOPLE WHO GIVE UP
… (THEY HAVE REGRET)
PEOPLE WHO GIVE
… (THEY HAVE EVERYTHING)
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Sick without a Cause?
Yeast
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. Proverbs 23:29-31. The fermentation of wine is initiated by naturally occurring yeasts present in the vineyards. Alcohol is a colorless liquid, produced by the fermentation of sugar or starch, that is the intoxicating agent in fermented drinks and is used as a solvent. The alcohol that is produced from fermentation is called ethanol or ethyl alcohol. Wine is fermented, producing yeast and the top fermenting yeast is harvested to be used in bread making and the barm for beer making. Ever notice how a yeast roll spells like beer? Under optimal conditions the yeast can produce up to 18 percent, by volume, of ethanol with 15 to 16 percent being the norm.
Alcohol fermentation is the formation of alcohol from sugar. Yeast, when under anaerobic conditions, convert glucose to pyruvic acid via the glycolysis pathways, then go one step farther, converting pyruvic acid into ethanol (ethyl alcohol), a C-2 compound.
The adverse affects of the ethanol in beer and wine on the human nervous system are something with which many college students are familiar (sometimes too familiar?), and it is the CO2 produced by the process of fermentation that makes these beverages effervescent. Interestingly, since beer and bread contain pretty-much the same ingredients: yeast, sugar, and grains, in the past, beer has been referred to as “liquid bread.”
So what is yeast?
Yeast are simple, single cell fungi. The most common forms of yeast -- baker's and brewer's yeast -- are strains of the species Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. "Saccharomyces" derives from Latinized Greek and means "sugar mold" or "sugar fungus", saccharo- being the combining form "sugar-" and myces being "fungus". Cerevisiae comes from Latin and means "of beer".
Yeast microbes are probably one of the earliest domesticated organisms. People have used yeast for fermentation and baking throughout history. Archaeologists digging in Egyptian ruins found early grinding stones and baking chambers for yeasted bread, as well as drawings of 4,000-year-old bakeries and breweries. Yeast multiplies by a speedy process called budding. One gram of yeast contains 20,000,000,000 (twenty billion) single-celled living micro-organisms.
Yeast Facts: It's a single celled living fungus
The yeast consumes sugar and breaths out (defecates) carbon dioxide
As little as two pounds of yeast starter can raise 500 pounds of bread dough.
Yeasts, like most fungi, respire oxygen (aerobic respiration), but in the absence of air they derive energy by fermenting sugars and carbohydrates to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide.
Baking leavened bread became a skill in Egypt, along with their ability to brew beer.
Commercialized and domesticated yeast bread and beer products originated in Egypt. The earliest recorded leavening of bread was in Egypt.
Israel was never to leaven their bread at all.
Exodus 12:20 “Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.”
Exo 13:3 And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. But contrary to the Lord’s word they took the practice with them from Egypt.
Was manna leavened?
This form of baking (unleavened bread) is healthier-not only for the large number of people who are allergic to yeast, but for all of us. One significant health advantage to yeast-free bread is its value to digestion. While yeasted breads create, over time, an imbalance in our intestinal flora, yeast-free breads help to preserve that balance. And, as it contains strains of lactobacillus-an organism important for the proper digestion of complex carbohydrates-yeast-free bread is easier for our stomachs to break down and utilize.” (French Meadow)
Bread should be light and sweet. Not the least taint of sourness should be tolerated. The loaves should be small and so thoroughly baked that, so far as possible, the yeast germs shall be destroyed. When hot or new, raised bread of any kind is difficult of digestion. It should never appear on the table. This rule does not, however, apply to unleavened bread. Fresh rolls made of wheaten meal without yeast or leaven, and baked in a well-heated oven, are both wholesome and palatable. “Ministry of Healing by E.G. White Pg. 301”Unless the food is prepared in a wholesome, palatable manner, it cannot be converted into good blood, to build up the wasting tissues.--T., V. II, p. 538. {HL 80.3}
The Dreamer: Genesis 37
The butler and the baker: Genesis 40
We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. Isaiah 4:1
Spiritually yeasty: Paul understood the harmful depths of leaven. Consider what he says about being puffed up? Puffed up includes physical as well as mental and spiritual problems that people may have trouble overcoming. 1 Corinthians 4:6, 18, 19; 5:2; 13:4; Col 2:18
Among the more serious of the evils that had developed among the Corinthian believers, was that of a return to many of the debasing customs of heathenism. One former convert had so far backslidden that his licentious course was a violation of even the low standard of morality held by the Gentile world. The apostle pleaded with the church to put away from among them "that wicked person." "Know ye not," he admonished them, "that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened." {AA 303.2}
Stir up every family, every church, to do the very utmost of their power, every one consecrating himself to God, putting the leaven of evil out of his heart, out of the home, and out of the church. {RH, December 11, 1900 par. 4}
Physically yeasty: Candida, mental fogginess, poor digestion, eyesight and many more
Through the use of alcohol the tissues of the body lose their power of resistance to the noxious bacteria that are continually lying in wait to devour. "How is it that the tissues have lost their power of resistance?-For the simple reason that they have without ceasing, day in and day out, year in and year out, from generation to generation, been deluged with a particular poison, the poisonous excretion of a fungus, the yeast fungus." …Every year gigantic loads of our most valuable food products, various grains, fruits, berries, are sacrificed to provide nourishment for these yeast fungi.{July 17, 1906 EJW, MEDM 19.2}
EJ Waggoner-The Medical Missionary
The last word of science, after exact research in all the domains, is that alcohol is a poison. It has been found to be a hydrocarbon of the formula C 2 H 6 O, that is produced by the process of fermentation, and is the toxin, or liquid excretion or waste product, of the yeast or ferment germ. According to the universal law of biology, that the toxin of one form of life is a poison to all forms of life of a higher order, alcohol, the toxin of the low yeast germ, is a protoplasmic poison to all life, whether plant, animal, or man, and to all the living tissues and organs.
Alcohol Paralyzes the Powers of Resistance.—Nearly all the diseases of mankind and nearly all the deaths hang upon the vitality and vigor of the white blood corpuscles. Under the microscope it was found that even a moderate drink of alcoholic beverage passing quickly into the blood paralyzes the white blood corpuscles. They behave like drunken men. In pursuit they cannot catch the disease germs. In conflict they cannot hold the disease germs for devouring, and they cannot operate in great phalanxes, as they do when sober, against such powerful germs as those of consumption. Every time a man takes a drink of alcoholic beverage, he lays himself open for a time to contracting diseases. Every time a man takes a drink, he puts his life in peril. No wonder the mortality statistics show, as they do, that a total abstainer has nearly twice the security and hold on life that the average drinker has, and about three times the hold of heavy drinkers—Id., p. 3. {1919, R&H, SBBS 197.6}Source Book for Bible Students
Emotionally/mentally yeasty: all emotions that rise: anger, envy, jealousy, sexual, impatience, intolerance
Hypocrisy is like leaven or yeast. Leaven may be hidden in the flour, and its presence is not known until it produces its effect. By insinuating itself, it soon pervades the whole mass. Hypocrisy works secretly, and if indulged, it will fill the mind with pride and vanity. There are deceptions practiced now similar to those practiced by the Pharisees. When the Saviour gave this caution, it was to warn all who believe in Him to be on guard. Watch against imbibing this spirit, and becoming like those who tried to ensnare the Saviour (MS 43, 1896). {5BC 1121.10}
The Communion Service
Galations 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
On communion day, if you have partaken of a yeast product in the morning or during the week before, your body is not unleavened and is not prepared to partake of the holy bread at the communion table. The leaven has leavened the whole lump. Let the ladies who prepare the symbols of the Lord’s body, make fresh squeezed juice of the grape and truly unleavened bread.
The Lord's supper was instituted at the Passover supper, and the wine used was unfermented, because nothing fermented was allowed in their houses. {1919 SNH, BHB 165.1}
Leaven represents sin and death. We should eat for life.
God never makes fermented wine; that is always a product of the curse. {December 24, 1901 EJW, ARSH 831.12}6
The communion is to be celebrated, as it should be, with the "fruit of the vine," the pure, unfermented grape juice. This, and this only, is fit to be used as an emblem of "the precious blood of Christ," {July 28, 1890 EJW, SITI 426.8}
The Unleavened, Unfermented Mind of Christ
"The bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
"I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever." John 6:22-71
“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” I Corinthians 2: 16
Fermented Drug Facts
Biotechnology, one of the newest businesses, is based on fermentation. About 200 chemicals are made. Most of the chemicals are antibiotics. The most money is made from antibiotics and other drugs (including supplements).
Food Facts
Rhizopus stolonifer, bread mold, makes a dye called carotene. Cheddar cheese is dyed with carotene to make it orange. Cheese is made from an aging mold process. “Cheese should never be introduced to the stomach.” EG White
Quorn The manufacturer of Quorn is Marlow Foods, a division of the multinational pharmaceutical giant Astra Zeneca, one of the dominant corporations in genetically engineered food. They are telling the public that the food is made from mushrooms. The packaging says the “mycoprotein” in Quorn is “made from natural ingredients” that are “mushroom in origin,” and “made from a small, unassuming member of the mushroom family.” This evokes images of tiny mushrooms growing humbly and peacefully in the Earth.
Actually, though, this is far from the case. Quorn, in fact, is a highly processed food made in giant laboratory vats from a fungus (Fusarium venenatum) which is a mold, not a mushroom. An expert on Fusarium fungus, David M. Geiser of the Pennsylvania State University Fusarium Research Center, told the FDA that calling the Fusarium fungus that is the basis of Quorn foods a mushroom is like “calling a rat a chicken because both are animals.”
Cheese making processes are usually referred to as "mold-ripened." This demonstrate how
we can change the meaning of a process to sound more favorable when fungi are carrying out a process which benefits us. Normally, when we see fungi growing on our food, we say that it is "rotted." This latter process is actually what is occurring in mold-ripened cheeses!
Soy sauce is probably the most familiar Asian food product in this country, but probably few people know how it is made. All of you probably are aware that it is made from soybeans. The soybeans are cooked mixed with wheat flour, pressed into cakes, and placed in a special room where it is inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae (the same species used in making saki). The mixture is then incubated for three days. If all goes well the cakes will become covered with yellow mycelial growth. The molded cake is referred to as Koji, which is a fermentation product of grains. The koji is now mixed with salt and water and is now referred to as the Moromi. The moromi is then inoculated with a bacterium, Peiococcus soyae, which will ferment the mixture for approximately 6 months. The aged liquid which is pressed out is the soy sauce. Because it is a fermentation product, soy sauce does not spoil when left out.
Tempeh is one product that has gained some degree of popularity in the United States. It is a food product made from the fermented products of usually legume seeds with Rhizopus oligosporus. The principal steps in its preparation are the removal of the seed coat so that the fungus can reach the nutritional cotyledons underneath. The beans are then soaked in water, boiled or steamed until nearly cooked. The beans are then drained and cooled. The cooled beans are then ready for inoculation with R. oligosporus. The inoculation of the fungus into the boiled beans digests the complex carbohydrates and other organic compounds that may cause gas.
Miso is a Japanese word for fermented soybean paste. Miso is not usually consumed by itself, but is dissolved in water as a base for soup or used as a flavoring agent. Miso fermentation consists of washed, polished rice, which is steamed and inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae. The inoculated rice is incubated for 48 to 50 hours at 40 C or below, resulting in rice koji. The carbohydrates and proteins of the inoculated rice are digested by the fungus and converts it to sugars and amino acids. The rice koji is then inoculated by yeasts and bacteria and allowed to ferment for about a week at 28 C and then raised to 35 C for about seven months.
Yeast Flakes: Nutritional Yeast Flakes are produced from a selected strain of Saccharomyces and then vitamin B12 is added (attached) to the yeast to make a supposed healthy food flavoring. Vitamin B12 is harvested from bacteria grown in sewer sludge. To keep the B12 stabilized for consumption, it must be attached to another form of bacteria, Yeast!
Vinegar is double fermented. Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanolby acetic acid bacteria.[1] Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. Slow methods generally are used with traditional vinegars, and fermentation proceeds slowly over the course of weeks or months. The longer fermentation period allows for the accumulation of a nontoxic slime composed of acetic acid bacteria.
He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. Numbers 6:3Apple cider vinegar, otherwise known simply as cider vinegar, is made from cider or apple must, and has a brownish-yellow color. It often is sold unfiltered and unpasteurized with the mother of vinegar present. Because of its acidity, apple cider vinegar may be very harsh, even burning, to the throat. Like vinegar, it is also double fermented.
Balsamic vinegar sold in supermarkets is typically made with concentrated grape juice mixed with a strong vinegar, which is laced with caramel and sugar. Regardless of how it is produced, balsamic vinegar must be made from a grape product. Balsamic vinegar has a high acidity level, but the tart flavor is usually hidden by the sweetness of the other ingredients, making it very mellow.
Kombucha is an effervescent tea-based beverage that is often drunk for its anecdotal health benefits or medicinal purposes. Kombucha is available commercially and can be made at home by fermenting tea using a visible, solid mass of yeast and bacteria which forms the kombucha culture, often referred to as 酵母 (lit. "yeast mother").
Mushrooms are a fungus that live on dead and decaying material. A mushroom rises much like a boil. The mushroom comes up and releases carbon dioxide back into the air. Mushrooms should never be eaten and some are deadly.
Sugar is not good for the stomach. It causes fermentation, and this clouds the brain and brings peevishness (an irritable petulant feeling) into the disposition. {CD 327.1}
Wise Counsel Many are made sick by the indulgence of their appetite. . . . So many varieties are introduced into the stomach that fermentation is the result. This condition brings on acute disease, and death frequently follows. {CD 110.3}
I consider that one reason why I have been able to do so much work both in speaking and in writing, is because I am strictly temperate in my eating. If several varieties of food are placed before me, I endeavor to choose only those that I know will agree. Thus I am enabled to preserve clear mental faculties. I refuse to place in my stomach knowingly anything that will set up fermentation. This is the duty of all health reformers. We must reason from cause to effect. It is our duty to be temperate in all things. {CD 493.3}
Hot biscuit raised with soda or baking-powder should never appear upon our tables. Such compounds are unfit to enter the stomach.--R. and H., 1883, No. 19. {HL 81.1}
Saleratus (sodium bicarbonate-baking soda) in any form should not be introduced into the stomach; for the effect is fearful. It eats the coatings of the stomach, causes inflammation, and frequently poisons the entire system. Some plead, "I cannot make good bread and gems unless I use soda or saleratus." You surely can if you will learn. Is not the health of your family of sufficient value to inspire you with ambition to learn how to cook and how to eat?--T., V. II, p. 537. Variety. {HL 81.2}
Hot raised bread of any kind is difficult of digestion.--R. and H., 1883, No. 19. {HL 80.6}
Some use milk and a large amount of sugar on mush, thinking that they are carrying out health reform. But the sugar and the milk combined are liable to cause fermentation in the stomach, and are thus harmful. {TSDF 17.15}
The wine created by Christ at the marriage feast in Galilee was the best wine that those present had ever tasted. But it was entirely free from all fermentation. Christ Himself had forbidden the use of fermented drink, saying, "Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations; and that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between clean and unclean, and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses."{BEcho,September 4, 1899 par 1}
Fermented liquor confuses the senses and perverts the powers of the being. God is dishonoured when men have not sufficient respect for themselves to practice strict temperance. Fermented wine is not a natural production. The Lord never made it, and with its production He has nothing to do. Paul advised Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach's sake and oft infirmities, but he meant the unfermented juice of the grape. He did not advise Timothy to take what the Lord had prohibited. {BEcho, September 4, 1899 par.2}
The use of fermented wine caused Nadab and Abihu to confuse the sacred and the common, and death was their penalty. After this, severe restrictions were placed on those connected with the sacred service. They were prohibited, when they came before the Lord, from touching wine or using grapes in any way, that they might avoid the result of becoming familiar with fermented liquor. When food or drink which bewilders the brain is placed in the mouth, the destroyer sees his opportunity to enter and dethrone the reason. {BEcho, September 4, 1899 par. 3}
Some foods do not agree with other foods. A disturbance is created by improper combinations of food, fermentation sets in, the blood is contaminated, and the brain is confused. {PUR, October 9, 1902 par. 2}
The salads are prepared with oil and vinegar, fermentation takes place in the stomach, and the food does not digest, but decays or putrefies. As a consequence the blood is not nourished, but becomes filled with impurities, and liver and kidney difficulty appear. Heart disturbances, inflammation, and many evils are the result of such kind of treatment, and not only are the bodies affected, but the morals, the religious life, are affected. {2MR 143.3}
Fermented Wine. Fermentation is a sign of death, and death is the result of sin. Alcohol is formed by a process of fermentation; hence, it is a direct child of death and sin.
Prov. 20:1. The wine here referred to is fermented; because it is a "mocker" and "deceiver" its character is evil.
Prov. 23:20, 21. This is also fermented wine; for it is evil and is classed with the "riotous" and the "drunkards."
Gen. 9:21. Fermented wine causes one to lose all sense of modesty.
Isa. 5:11. The evil nature of the wine here referred to is revealed in its inflaming the passions.
Isa. 28:7. Fermented wine causes the one who drinks it to err in vision and stumble in judgment.
Prov. 31:4, 5. It will cause one to forget the law and pervert judgment.
Prov. 23:21. The use of it brings poverty.
Prov. 23:29, 30. It brings sorrow and contention.
Eph. 5:18. The use of fermented wine forbidden.
Prov. 23:31. We are forbidden to even look upon this kind of wine.
1 Cor. 6:10. No one addicted to the use of intoxicating wine can enter heaven.
Some Yeasty Foods to avoid:
Breads, rolls, cookies, pastries, pretzels, doughnuts and other bready foods
Vinegar, and foods which contain it, like salsas, mayonnaise, salad dressing, barbecue sauce,
mustard, pickles and pickled foods.
Wine, beer and spirits
Fermented foods and beverages like sauerkraut or cider
Sugar
Milk
Moldy Foods:
All cheese
Dried, smoked or pickled meats
Cured bacon
Mushrooms, peanuts, and pistachios
Soy sauce, miso, tamari, and tempeh
Malt
Pre-packaged herbs and teas
Canned tomatoe
Yeast Removal
In the evening, drink the following mixture:
1 cup water blended with 2 cloves of garlic and 1 medium sized onion.
In the morning drink a glass of water mixed with 2 tbsps of charcoal. Determine that you will eat no more yeasty foods.
In the evening make a garlic water which is prepared with a cup of water and 1-2 cloves of minced garlic added. Let stand for about 10 minutes and then drink the water only.
Continue drinking the charcoal water in the morning and the garlic water in the evening for three days. You will only do the onion and garlic mixture one time
Facts about Food Chains
This section contains a brief description of the food chains and food webs in an ecosystem.
Introduction
In an ecosystem, plants capture the sun's energy and use it to convert inorganic compounds into energy-rich organic compounds1. This process of using the sun's energy to convert minerals (such as magnesium or nitrogen) in the soil into green leaves, or carrots, or strawberries, is called photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis is only the beginning of a chain of energy conversions. There are many types of animals that will eat the products of the photosynthesis process. Examples are deer eating shrub leaves, rabbits eating carrots, or worms eating grass. When these animals eat these plant products, food energy and organic compounds are transferred from the plants to the animals. These animals are in turn eaten by other animals, again transferring energy and organic compounds from one animal to another. Examples would be lions eating deer, foxes eating rabbits, or birds eating worms.
This chain of energy transferring from one species to another can continue several more times, but it eventually ends. It ends with the dead animals that are broken down and used as food or nutrition by bacteria and fungi. As these organisms, referred to as decomposers, feed from the dead animals, they break down the complex organic compounds into simple nutrients. Decomposers play a very important role in this world because they take care of breaking down (cleaning) many dead material. There are more than 100,000 different types of decomposer organisms! These simpler nutrients are returned to the soil and can be used again by the plants. The energy transformation chain starts all over again.
Here is a figure showing one such food and energy chain:
Names and word definitions
Producers. Organisms, such as plants, that produce their own food are called autotrophs. The autotrophs, as mentioned before, convert inorganic compounds into organic compounds. They are called producers because all of the species of the ecosystem depend on them.
Consumers. All the organisms that can not make their own food (and need producers) are called heterotrophs. In an ecosystem heterotrophs are called consumers because they depend on others. They obtain food by eating other organisms. There are different levels of consumers. Those that feed directly from producers, i.e. organisms that eat plant or plant products are called primary consumers. In the figure above the grasshopper is a primary consumer.
Organisms that feed on primary consumers are called secondary consumers. Those who feed on secondary consumers are tertiary consumers. In the figure above the snake acts as a secondary consumer and the hawk as a tertiary consumer. Some organisms, like the squirrel are at different levels. When the squirrel eats acorns or fruits (which are plant product), it is a primary consumer; however, when it eats insects or nestling birds, is it is a tertiary consumer.
Consumers are also classified depending on what they eat.
Herbivores are those that eat only plants or plant products. Example are grasshoppers, mice, rabbits, deer, beavers, moose, cows, sheep, goats and groundhogs.
Carnivores, on the other hand, are those that eat only other animals. Examples of carnivores are foxes, frogs, snakes, hawks, and spiders.
Omnivores are the last type and eat both plants (acting a primary consumers) and meat (acting as secondary or tertiary consumers). Examples of omnivores are:
1. Bears --They eat insects, fish, moose, elk, deer, sheep as well as honey, grass, and sedges. 2. Turtles -- They eat snails, crayfish, crickets, earthworms, but also lettuce, small plants, and algae.
3. Monkeys -- They eat frogs and lizards as well as fruits, flowers, and leaves.
4. Squirrels -- They eat insects, moths, bird eggs and nestling birds and also seeds, fruits, acorns, and nuts.
Trophic level. The last word that is worth mentioning in this section is trophic level, which corresponds to the different levels or steps in the food chain. In other words, the producers, the consumers, and the decomposers are the main trophic levels.
Food Webs
In looking at the previous picture, the concept of food chain looks very simple, but in reality it is more complex. Think about it. How many different animals eat grass? And from the Facts about Red-tailed Hawks page, how many different foods does the hawk eat? One doesn't find simple independent food chains in an ecosystem, but many interdependent and complex food chains that look more like a web and are therefore called food webs. A food web that shows the energy transformations in an ecosystem looks like this:
As you can see from this picture, food webs, with all their dependencies, can be very complex, but somehow nature balances things out so that food webs last a long time. Many species share the same habitat, their populations survive for many years, and they all live happily together.
The Ecological Pyramid
We described in the previous sections how energy and organic compounds are passed from one trophic level to the next. What was not mentioned is the efficiency of the transfer. In a highly efficient transfer almost all of the energy would be transferred -- 80% or more. In a low efficiency transfer very little energy would be transferred -- less than 20%. In a typical food chain, not all animals or plants are eaten by the next trophic level. In addition, there are portions or materials (such as beaks, shells, bones, etc.) that are also not eaten. That is why the transfer of matter and energy from one trophic level to the next is not an efficient one.
One way to calculate the energy transfer is by measuring or sizing the energy at one trophic level and then at the next. Calorie is a unit of measure used for energy. The energy transfer from one trophic level to the next is about 10%. For example, if there are 10,000 calories at one level, only 1,000 are transferred to the next. This 10% energy and material transfer rule can be depicted with an ecological pyramid that looks like this:
This pyramid helps one visualize the fact that in an ecological system there need to be many producing organisms at the bottom of the pyramid to be able to sustain just a couple of organisms at the top. In looking at the pyramid, can you guess how much larger the volume of each layer is as compared to the one just above it? Take a guess. It might not look like it but they are close to 10 times larger.
Final comments
Oaks rate a position at or very near the top of the wildlife food chain (or bottom of the ecological pyramid). They are the "staff of life" for many wild life species. The greatest food value comes from the acorn, especially during the winter season when other foods are scarce.
Squirrels, which are omnivores, are neither at the bottom or the top of the food chain. Since the feed from producers as well as primary consumers, one could say that they occupy two layers in the pyramid.
Hawks, which are mature birds of prey, are at the top of the their food chain and of the ecological pyramid.
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. Proverbs 23:29-31. The fermentation of wine is initiated by naturally occurring yeasts present in the vineyards. Alcohol is a colorless liquid, produced by the fermentation of sugar or starch, that is the intoxicating agent in fermented drinks and is used as a solvent. The alcohol that is produced from fermentation is called ethanol or ethyl alcohol. Wine is fermented, producing yeast and the top fermenting yeast is harvested to be used in bread making and the barm for beer making. Ever notice how a yeast roll spells like beer? Under optimal conditions the yeast can produce up to 18 percent, by volume, of ethanol with 15 to 16 percent being the norm.
Alcohol fermentation is the formation of alcohol from sugar. Yeast, when under anaerobic conditions, convert glucose to pyruvic acid via the glycolysis pathways, then go one step farther, converting pyruvic acid into ethanol (ethyl alcohol), a C-2 compound.
The adverse affects of the ethanol in beer and wine on the human nervous system are something with which many college students are familiar (sometimes too familiar?), and it is the CO2 produced by the process of fermentation that makes these beverages effervescent. Interestingly, since beer and bread contain pretty-much the same ingredients: yeast, sugar, and grains, in the past, beer has been referred to as “liquid bread.”
So what is yeast?
Yeast are simple, single cell fungi. The most common forms of yeast -- baker's and brewer's yeast -- are strains of the species Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. "Saccharomyces" derives from Latinized Greek and means "sugar mold" or "sugar fungus", saccharo- being the combining form "sugar-" and myces being "fungus". Cerevisiae comes from Latin and means "of beer".
Yeast microbes are probably one of the earliest domesticated organisms. People have used yeast for fermentation and baking throughout history. Archaeologists digging in Egyptian ruins found early grinding stones and baking chambers for yeasted bread, as well as drawings of 4,000-year-old bakeries and breweries. Yeast multiplies by a speedy process called budding. One gram of yeast contains 20,000,000,000 (twenty billion) single-celled living micro-organisms.
Yeast Facts: It's a single celled living fungus
The yeast consumes sugar and breaths out (defecates) carbon dioxide
As little as two pounds of yeast starter can raise 500 pounds of bread dough.
Yeasts, like most fungi, respire oxygen (aerobic respiration), but in the absence of air they derive energy by fermenting sugars and carbohydrates to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide.
Baking leavened bread became a skill in Egypt, along with their ability to brew beer.
Commercialized and domesticated yeast bread and beer products originated in Egypt. The earliest recorded leavening of bread was in Egypt.
Israel was never to leaven their bread at all.
Exodus 12:20 “Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.”
Exo 13:3 And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. But contrary to the Lord’s word they took the practice with them from Egypt.
Was manna leavened?
This form of baking (unleavened bread) is healthier-not only for the large number of people who are allergic to yeast, but for all of us. One significant health advantage to yeast-free bread is its value to digestion. While yeasted breads create, over time, an imbalance in our intestinal flora, yeast-free breads help to preserve that balance. And, as it contains strains of lactobacillus-an organism important for the proper digestion of complex carbohydrates-yeast-free bread is easier for our stomachs to break down and utilize.” (French Meadow)
Bread should be light and sweet. Not the least taint of sourness should be tolerated. The loaves should be small and so thoroughly baked that, so far as possible, the yeast germs shall be destroyed. When hot or new, raised bread of any kind is difficult of digestion. It should never appear on the table. This rule does not, however, apply to unleavened bread. Fresh rolls made of wheaten meal without yeast or leaven, and baked in a well-heated oven, are both wholesome and palatable. “Ministry of Healing by E.G. White Pg. 301”Unless the food is prepared in a wholesome, palatable manner, it cannot be converted into good blood, to build up the wasting tissues.--T., V. II, p. 538. {HL 80.3}
The Dreamer: Genesis 37
The butler and the baker: Genesis 40
We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. Isaiah 4:1
Spiritually yeasty: Paul understood the harmful depths of leaven. Consider what he says about being puffed up? Puffed up includes physical as well as mental and spiritual problems that people may have trouble overcoming. 1 Corinthians 4:6, 18, 19; 5:2; 13:4; Col 2:18
Among the more serious of the evils that had developed among the Corinthian believers, was that of a return to many of the debasing customs of heathenism. One former convert had so far backslidden that his licentious course was a violation of even the low standard of morality held by the Gentile world. The apostle pleaded with the church to put away from among them "that wicked person." "Know ye not," he admonished them, "that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened." {AA 303.2}
Stir up every family, every church, to do the very utmost of their power, every one consecrating himself to God, putting the leaven of evil out of his heart, out of the home, and out of the church. {RH, December 11, 1900 par. 4}
Physically yeasty: Candida, mental fogginess, poor digestion, eyesight and many more
Through the use of alcohol the tissues of the body lose their power of resistance to the noxious bacteria that are continually lying in wait to devour. "How is it that the tissues have lost their power of resistance?-For the simple reason that they have without ceasing, day in and day out, year in and year out, from generation to generation, been deluged with a particular poison, the poisonous excretion of a fungus, the yeast fungus." …Every year gigantic loads of our most valuable food products, various grains, fruits, berries, are sacrificed to provide nourishment for these yeast fungi.{July 17, 1906 EJW, MEDM 19.2}
EJ Waggoner-The Medical Missionary
The last word of science, after exact research in all the domains, is that alcohol is a poison. It has been found to be a hydrocarbon of the formula C 2 H 6 O, that is produced by the process of fermentation, and is the toxin, or liquid excretion or waste product, of the yeast or ferment germ. According to the universal law of biology, that the toxin of one form of life is a poison to all forms of life of a higher order, alcohol, the toxin of the low yeast germ, is a protoplasmic poison to all life, whether plant, animal, or man, and to all the living tissues and organs.
Alcohol Paralyzes the Powers of Resistance.—Nearly all the diseases of mankind and nearly all the deaths hang upon the vitality and vigor of the white blood corpuscles. Under the microscope it was found that even a moderate drink of alcoholic beverage passing quickly into the blood paralyzes the white blood corpuscles. They behave like drunken men. In pursuit they cannot catch the disease germs. In conflict they cannot hold the disease germs for devouring, and they cannot operate in great phalanxes, as they do when sober, against such powerful germs as those of consumption. Every time a man takes a drink of alcoholic beverage, he lays himself open for a time to contracting diseases. Every time a man takes a drink, he puts his life in peril. No wonder the mortality statistics show, as they do, that a total abstainer has nearly twice the security and hold on life that the average drinker has, and about three times the hold of heavy drinkers—Id., p. 3. {1919, R&H, SBBS 197.6}Source Book for Bible Students
Emotionally/mentally yeasty: all emotions that rise: anger, envy, jealousy, sexual, impatience, intolerance
Hypocrisy is like leaven or yeast. Leaven may be hidden in the flour, and its presence is not known until it produces its effect. By insinuating itself, it soon pervades the whole mass. Hypocrisy works secretly, and if indulged, it will fill the mind with pride and vanity. There are deceptions practiced now similar to those practiced by the Pharisees. When the Saviour gave this caution, it was to warn all who believe in Him to be on guard. Watch against imbibing this spirit, and becoming like those who tried to ensnare the Saviour (MS 43, 1896). {5BC 1121.10}
The Communion Service
Galations 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
On communion day, if you have partaken of a yeast product in the morning or during the week before, your body is not unleavened and is not prepared to partake of the holy bread at the communion table. The leaven has leavened the whole lump. Let the ladies who prepare the symbols of the Lord’s body, make fresh squeezed juice of the grape and truly unleavened bread.
The Lord's supper was instituted at the Passover supper, and the wine used was unfermented, because nothing fermented was allowed in their houses. {1919 SNH, BHB 165.1}
Leaven represents sin and death. We should eat for life.
God never makes fermented wine; that is always a product of the curse. {December 24, 1901 EJW, ARSH 831.12}6
The communion is to be celebrated, as it should be, with the "fruit of the vine," the pure, unfermented grape juice. This, and this only, is fit to be used as an emblem of "the precious blood of Christ," {July 28, 1890 EJW, SITI 426.8}
The Unleavened, Unfermented Mind of Christ
"The bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
"I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever." John 6:22-71
“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” I Corinthians 2: 16
Fermented Drug Facts
Biotechnology, one of the newest businesses, is based on fermentation. About 200 chemicals are made. Most of the chemicals are antibiotics. The most money is made from antibiotics and other drugs (including supplements).
Food Facts
Rhizopus stolonifer, bread mold, makes a dye called carotene. Cheddar cheese is dyed with carotene to make it orange. Cheese is made from an aging mold process. “Cheese should never be introduced to the stomach.” EG White
Quorn The manufacturer of Quorn is Marlow Foods, a division of the multinational pharmaceutical giant Astra Zeneca, one of the dominant corporations in genetically engineered food. They are telling the public that the food is made from mushrooms. The packaging says the “mycoprotein” in Quorn is “made from natural ingredients” that are “mushroom in origin,” and “made from a small, unassuming member of the mushroom family.” This evokes images of tiny mushrooms growing humbly and peacefully in the Earth.
Actually, though, this is far from the case. Quorn, in fact, is a highly processed food made in giant laboratory vats from a fungus (Fusarium venenatum) which is a mold, not a mushroom. An expert on Fusarium fungus, David M. Geiser of the Pennsylvania State University Fusarium Research Center, told the FDA that calling the Fusarium fungus that is the basis of Quorn foods a mushroom is like “calling a rat a chicken because both are animals.”
Cheese making processes are usually referred to as "mold-ripened." This demonstrate how
we can change the meaning of a process to sound more favorable when fungi are carrying out a process which benefits us. Normally, when we see fungi growing on our food, we say that it is "rotted." This latter process is actually what is occurring in mold-ripened cheeses!
Soy sauce is probably the most familiar Asian food product in this country, but probably few people know how it is made. All of you probably are aware that it is made from soybeans. The soybeans are cooked mixed with wheat flour, pressed into cakes, and placed in a special room where it is inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae (the same species used in making saki). The mixture is then incubated for three days. If all goes well the cakes will become covered with yellow mycelial growth. The molded cake is referred to as Koji, which is a fermentation product of grains. The koji is now mixed with salt and water and is now referred to as the Moromi. The moromi is then inoculated with a bacterium, Peiococcus soyae, which will ferment the mixture for approximately 6 months. The aged liquid which is pressed out is the soy sauce. Because it is a fermentation product, soy sauce does not spoil when left out.
Tempeh is one product that has gained some degree of popularity in the United States. It is a food product made from the fermented products of usually legume seeds with Rhizopus oligosporus. The principal steps in its preparation are the removal of the seed coat so that the fungus can reach the nutritional cotyledons underneath. The beans are then soaked in water, boiled or steamed until nearly cooked. The beans are then drained and cooled. The cooled beans are then ready for inoculation with R. oligosporus. The inoculation of the fungus into the boiled beans digests the complex carbohydrates and other organic compounds that may cause gas.
Miso is a Japanese word for fermented soybean paste. Miso is not usually consumed by itself, but is dissolved in water as a base for soup or used as a flavoring agent. Miso fermentation consists of washed, polished rice, which is steamed and inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae. The inoculated rice is incubated for 48 to 50 hours at 40 C or below, resulting in rice koji. The carbohydrates and proteins of the inoculated rice are digested by the fungus and converts it to sugars and amino acids. The rice koji is then inoculated by yeasts and bacteria and allowed to ferment for about a week at 28 C and then raised to 35 C for about seven months.
Yeast Flakes: Nutritional Yeast Flakes are produced from a selected strain of Saccharomyces and then vitamin B12 is added (attached) to the yeast to make a supposed healthy food flavoring. Vitamin B12 is harvested from bacteria grown in sewer sludge. To keep the B12 stabilized for consumption, it must be attached to another form of bacteria, Yeast!
Vinegar is double fermented. Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanolby acetic acid bacteria.[1] Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. Slow methods generally are used with traditional vinegars, and fermentation proceeds slowly over the course of weeks or months. The longer fermentation period allows for the accumulation of a nontoxic slime composed of acetic acid bacteria.
He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. Numbers 6:3Apple cider vinegar, otherwise known simply as cider vinegar, is made from cider or apple must, and has a brownish-yellow color. It often is sold unfiltered and unpasteurized with the mother of vinegar present. Because of its acidity, apple cider vinegar may be very harsh, even burning, to the throat. Like vinegar, it is also double fermented.
Balsamic vinegar sold in supermarkets is typically made with concentrated grape juice mixed with a strong vinegar, which is laced with caramel and sugar. Regardless of how it is produced, balsamic vinegar must be made from a grape product. Balsamic vinegar has a high acidity level, but the tart flavor is usually hidden by the sweetness of the other ingredients, making it very mellow.
Kombucha is an effervescent tea-based beverage that is often drunk for its anecdotal health benefits or medicinal purposes. Kombucha is available commercially and can be made at home by fermenting tea using a visible, solid mass of yeast and bacteria which forms the kombucha culture, often referred to as 酵母 (lit. "yeast mother").
Mushrooms are a fungus that live on dead and decaying material. A mushroom rises much like a boil. The mushroom comes up and releases carbon dioxide back into the air. Mushrooms should never be eaten and some are deadly.
Sugar is not good for the stomach. It causes fermentation, and this clouds the brain and brings peevishness (an irritable petulant feeling) into the disposition. {CD 327.1}
Wise Counsel Many are made sick by the indulgence of their appetite. . . . So many varieties are introduced into the stomach that fermentation is the result. This condition brings on acute disease, and death frequently follows. {CD 110.3}
I consider that one reason why I have been able to do so much work both in speaking and in writing, is because I am strictly temperate in my eating. If several varieties of food are placed before me, I endeavor to choose only those that I know will agree. Thus I am enabled to preserve clear mental faculties. I refuse to place in my stomach knowingly anything that will set up fermentation. This is the duty of all health reformers. We must reason from cause to effect. It is our duty to be temperate in all things. {CD 493.3}
Hot biscuit raised with soda or baking-powder should never appear upon our tables. Such compounds are unfit to enter the stomach.--R. and H., 1883, No. 19. {HL 81.1}
Saleratus (sodium bicarbonate-baking soda) in any form should not be introduced into the stomach; for the effect is fearful. It eats the coatings of the stomach, causes inflammation, and frequently poisons the entire system. Some plead, "I cannot make good bread and gems unless I use soda or saleratus." You surely can if you will learn. Is not the health of your family of sufficient value to inspire you with ambition to learn how to cook and how to eat?--T., V. II, p. 537. Variety. {HL 81.2}
Hot raised bread of any kind is difficult of digestion.--R. and H., 1883, No. 19. {HL 80.6}
Some use milk and a large amount of sugar on mush, thinking that they are carrying out health reform. But the sugar and the milk combined are liable to cause fermentation in the stomach, and are thus harmful. {TSDF 17.15}
The wine created by Christ at the marriage feast in Galilee was the best wine that those present had ever tasted. But it was entirely free from all fermentation. Christ Himself had forbidden the use of fermented drink, saying, "Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations; and that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between clean and unclean, and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses."{BEcho,September 4, 1899 par 1}
Fermented liquor confuses the senses and perverts the powers of the being. God is dishonoured when men have not sufficient respect for themselves to practice strict temperance. Fermented wine is not a natural production. The Lord never made it, and with its production He has nothing to do. Paul advised Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach's sake and oft infirmities, but he meant the unfermented juice of the grape. He did not advise Timothy to take what the Lord had prohibited. {BEcho, September 4, 1899 par.2}
The use of fermented wine caused Nadab and Abihu to confuse the sacred and the common, and death was their penalty. After this, severe restrictions were placed on those connected with the sacred service. They were prohibited, when they came before the Lord, from touching wine or using grapes in any way, that they might avoid the result of becoming familiar with fermented liquor. When food or drink which bewilders the brain is placed in the mouth, the destroyer sees his opportunity to enter and dethrone the reason. {BEcho, September 4, 1899 par. 3}
Some foods do not agree with other foods. A disturbance is created by improper combinations of food, fermentation sets in, the blood is contaminated, and the brain is confused. {PUR, October 9, 1902 par. 2}
The salads are prepared with oil and vinegar, fermentation takes place in the stomach, and the food does not digest, but decays or putrefies. As a consequence the blood is not nourished, but becomes filled with impurities, and liver and kidney difficulty appear. Heart disturbances, inflammation, and many evils are the result of such kind of treatment, and not only are the bodies affected, but the morals, the religious life, are affected. {2MR 143.3}
Fermented Wine. Fermentation is a sign of death, and death is the result of sin. Alcohol is formed by a process of fermentation; hence, it is a direct child of death and sin.
Prov. 20:1. The wine here referred to is fermented; because it is a "mocker" and "deceiver" its character is evil.
Prov. 23:20, 21. This is also fermented wine; for it is evil and is classed with the "riotous" and the "drunkards."
Gen. 9:21. Fermented wine causes one to lose all sense of modesty.
Isa. 5:11. The evil nature of the wine here referred to is revealed in its inflaming the passions.
Isa. 28:7. Fermented wine causes the one who drinks it to err in vision and stumble in judgment.
Prov. 31:4, 5. It will cause one to forget the law and pervert judgment.
Prov. 23:21. The use of it brings poverty.
Prov. 23:29, 30. It brings sorrow and contention.
Eph. 5:18. The use of fermented wine forbidden.
Prov. 23:31. We are forbidden to even look upon this kind of wine.
1 Cor. 6:10. No one addicted to the use of intoxicating wine can enter heaven.
Some Yeasty Foods to avoid:
Breads, rolls, cookies, pastries, pretzels, doughnuts and other bready foods
Vinegar, and foods which contain it, like salsas, mayonnaise, salad dressing, barbecue sauce,
mustard, pickles and pickled foods.
Wine, beer and spirits
Fermented foods and beverages like sauerkraut or cider
Sugar
Milk
Moldy Foods:
All cheese
Dried, smoked or pickled meats
Cured bacon
Mushrooms, peanuts, and pistachios
Soy sauce, miso, tamari, and tempeh
Malt
Pre-packaged herbs and teas
Canned tomatoe
Yeast Removal
In the evening, drink the following mixture:
1 cup water blended with 2 cloves of garlic and 1 medium sized onion.
In the morning drink a glass of water mixed with 2 tbsps of charcoal. Determine that you will eat no more yeasty foods.
In the evening make a garlic water which is prepared with a cup of water and 1-2 cloves of minced garlic added. Let stand for about 10 minutes and then drink the water only.
Continue drinking the charcoal water in the morning and the garlic water in the evening for three days. You will only do the onion and garlic mixture one time
Facts about Food Chains
This section contains a brief description of the food chains and food webs in an ecosystem.
Introduction
In an ecosystem, plants capture the sun's energy and use it to convert inorganic compounds into energy-rich organic compounds1. This process of using the sun's energy to convert minerals (such as magnesium or nitrogen) in the soil into green leaves, or carrots, or strawberries, is called photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis is only the beginning of a chain of energy conversions. There are many types of animals that will eat the products of the photosynthesis process. Examples are deer eating shrub leaves, rabbits eating carrots, or worms eating grass. When these animals eat these plant products, food energy and organic compounds are transferred from the plants to the animals. These animals are in turn eaten by other animals, again transferring energy and organic compounds from one animal to another. Examples would be lions eating deer, foxes eating rabbits, or birds eating worms.
This chain of energy transferring from one species to another can continue several more times, but it eventually ends. It ends with the dead animals that are broken down and used as food or nutrition by bacteria and fungi. As these organisms, referred to as decomposers, feed from the dead animals, they break down the complex organic compounds into simple nutrients. Decomposers play a very important role in this world because they take care of breaking down (cleaning) many dead material. There are more than 100,000 different types of decomposer organisms! These simpler nutrients are returned to the soil and can be used again by the plants. The energy transformation chain starts all over again.
Here is a figure showing one such food and energy chain:
Names and word definitions
Producers. Organisms, such as plants, that produce their own food are called autotrophs. The autotrophs, as mentioned before, convert inorganic compounds into organic compounds. They are called producers because all of the species of the ecosystem depend on them.
Consumers. All the organisms that can not make their own food (and need producers) are called heterotrophs. In an ecosystem heterotrophs are called consumers because they depend on others. They obtain food by eating other organisms. There are different levels of consumers. Those that feed directly from producers, i.e. organisms that eat plant or plant products are called primary consumers. In the figure above the grasshopper is a primary consumer.
Organisms that feed on primary consumers are called secondary consumers. Those who feed on secondary consumers are tertiary consumers. In the figure above the snake acts as a secondary consumer and the hawk as a tertiary consumer. Some organisms, like the squirrel are at different levels. When the squirrel eats acorns or fruits (which are plant product), it is a primary consumer; however, when it eats insects or nestling birds, is it is a tertiary consumer.
Consumers are also classified depending on what they eat.
Herbivores are those that eat only plants or plant products. Example are grasshoppers, mice, rabbits, deer, beavers, moose, cows, sheep, goats and groundhogs.
Carnivores, on the other hand, are those that eat only other animals. Examples of carnivores are foxes, frogs, snakes, hawks, and spiders.
Omnivores are the last type and eat both plants (acting a primary consumers) and meat (acting as secondary or tertiary consumers). Examples of omnivores are:
1. Bears --They eat insects, fish, moose, elk, deer, sheep as well as honey, grass, and sedges. 2. Turtles -- They eat snails, crayfish, crickets, earthworms, but also lettuce, small plants, and algae.
3. Monkeys -- They eat frogs and lizards as well as fruits, flowers, and leaves.
4. Squirrels -- They eat insects, moths, bird eggs and nestling birds and also seeds, fruits, acorns, and nuts.
Trophic level. The last word that is worth mentioning in this section is trophic level, which corresponds to the different levels or steps in the food chain. In other words, the producers, the consumers, and the decomposers are the main trophic levels.
Food Webs
In looking at the previous picture, the concept of food chain looks very simple, but in reality it is more complex. Think about it. How many different animals eat grass? And from the Facts about Red-tailed Hawks page, how many different foods does the hawk eat? One doesn't find simple independent food chains in an ecosystem, but many interdependent and complex food chains that look more like a web and are therefore called food webs. A food web that shows the energy transformations in an ecosystem looks like this:
As you can see from this picture, food webs, with all their dependencies, can be very complex, but somehow nature balances things out so that food webs last a long time. Many species share the same habitat, their populations survive for many years, and they all live happily together.
The Ecological Pyramid
We described in the previous sections how energy and organic compounds are passed from one trophic level to the next. What was not mentioned is the efficiency of the transfer. In a highly efficient transfer almost all of the energy would be transferred -- 80% or more. In a low efficiency transfer very little energy would be transferred -- less than 20%. In a typical food chain, not all animals or plants are eaten by the next trophic level. In addition, there are portions or materials (such as beaks, shells, bones, etc.) that are also not eaten. That is why the transfer of matter and energy from one trophic level to the next is not an efficient one.
One way to calculate the energy transfer is by measuring or sizing the energy at one trophic level and then at the next. Calorie is a unit of measure used for energy. The energy transfer from one trophic level to the next is about 10%. For example, if there are 10,000 calories at one level, only 1,000 are transferred to the next. This 10% energy and material transfer rule can be depicted with an ecological pyramid that looks like this:
This pyramid helps one visualize the fact that in an ecological system there need to be many producing organisms at the bottom of the pyramid to be able to sustain just a couple of organisms at the top. In looking at the pyramid, can you guess how much larger the volume of each layer is as compared to the one just above it? Take a guess. It might not look like it but they are close to 10 times larger.
Final comments
Oaks rate a position at or very near the top of the wildlife food chain (or bottom of the ecological pyramid). They are the "staff of life" for many wild life species. The greatest food value comes from the acorn, especially during the winter season when other foods are scarce.
Squirrels, which are omnivores, are neither at the bottom or the top of the food chain. Since the feed from producers as well as primary consumers, one could say that they occupy two layers in the pyramid.
Hawks, which are mature birds of prey, are at the top of the their food chain and of the ecological pyramid.
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