Health – Divine Doctor’s Advice (23)

God has given us priceless instructions for an abundant and vigorous lifestyle so that we can be healthy in body, mind and soul. He has planted natural laws in us and left it with us to obey them, and when we disobey, we become guilty and the bearers of the consequences, often times in the form of disease.

Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, God has given us the ability to make His stay in us a delight. Let us not be busy mopping the floor, trying to deal with our diseases rather than to turn off the faucet, correcting our erroneous habits and coming in line with God’s health instructions. This is the only way we can prevent disease as much as possible. We will clearly see God’s health instructions from from His word.

Does God care about our health? 3 John 2
“2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”

Can we find a demonstration of this in Jesus’ life? Matthew 9:35
“35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”

What did God promise the Israelites, those that loved, obeyed and followed His commandments? Exodus 15:26
“26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.”

Nothing that deteriorates our health is God’s will. In fact He restricts disease and sin from overtaking us. However we may feel about the appearance of our body, we are very precious to God.

Whose temple, or house is our body? 1 Corinthians 6:19
“19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (See also 1 Corinthians 3:16 which confirms this.)

Why is it a delight to glorify God in our bodies? 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

What was the price of our purchase? 1 Peter 1:18-19
“18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”.

What happens if we defiantly defile God’s temple? 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
“16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” (See also 2 Corinthians 6:16, which informs us that idols or harmful things are in disagreement to the health God’s wants to give us.)

God has put health laws on our bodies, and when we defile ourselves, we brake those laws. This leads to our own self-destruction.

In what state should our bodies be presented in? Romans 12:1
“1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

In what activities are we not to defile our bodies but keep them alive, holy and acceptable to God? 1 Corinthians 10:31
“31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

It’s clear that diet is a means of defiling the body; what diet did God originally give us in order to glorify Him? Genesis 1:29
“29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” (See also Daniel 1:1-15, which reveals Daniel and his friends in a scientific study on the effects of food on the mind and body. God’s diet made them wiser, stronger and healthier looking than their peers.)

What addition to the original diet did God provide after sin entered the world, and was flesh foods included? Genesis 3:18-19
“18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

What event did require another change in diet? Genesis 6:5-7, 17
“5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. .. 17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.”

The flood destroyed everything including all trees and vegetation that had so far been included in our diet.

What did God provide as a permissible emergency diet under strict conditions? Genesis 9:1-3
“1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. 3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.”

What were some of the strict conditions and consequences of the emergency diet? Genesis 9:4-5
“4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.”

By every portion of flesh-food we eat, we decrease in life, making fully plant-based foods to still be the best diet for our optimal health today.

Were they at liberty to eat what they pleased; camel burger anyone? Leviticus 11:1-4
“1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. 3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. 4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.” (See also Lev 11:3-7, 9, 13-20, 21-22 for a complete list of principles of what flesh food they could eat including fowl, cattle, water creatures etc., permissible under strict conditions.)

What was the terms used to distinguish between the edible and inedible? Genesis 7:2
“2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.”

Was this applicable only in the Old Testament? Acts 10:14
“14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.” (See also Act 11:8. which confirms this.)

What are inedible flesh such as swine, or pork, which is not clean, associated with and what dangers are involved in eating flesh from this category? Isaiah 66:17
“17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.”

How is this reflected in the New Testament? Philippians 3:19
“19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)”

It’s not strange that the world is suffering from plagues termed swine flu, bird flu, chicken pox, monkey pox, bat diseases (Ebola), COVID and so on and so forth.

Was black pudding, with its main ingredients being fat and blood, ever edible, in other words permitted to be eaten? Leviticus 3:17
“17 It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.”

Noah and the Israelites were commanded not to eat fat nor blood, did the early church receive a different commandment? Acts 15:28-29
“28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; 29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.” (See also 1 Samuel 2:12-17, 34, which instructs us that medium rare or halfway cooked flesh is harmful and tends to ones demise.)

Unhealthful, surfeiting, or excessive, food habits are very harmful to the body; what are they in line with? Luke 21:34
“34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.”

What did God instructs us about alcoholic drinks and what was the result of disobedience? Leviticus 10:1-2, 8-10
“1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. 2 And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. … 8 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying, 9 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 for ever throughout your generations: 10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean.”

We are incapable of thinking correctly under the state of intoxication, and there are consequences that must follow.

How do we then drink to the glory of God? Ephesians 5:18
“18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”

God describes a miserable picture of an addict; is it something desirable? Proverbs 23:29-30
“29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? 30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.”

Is it a wise plan that we should pursue? Proverbs 20:1
“1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”

Will persistent drunkards inherit the kingdom of God? 1 Corinthians 6:10
“10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

The Bible condemns drunkenness and intoxication of any kind, and endorses a sober lifestyle. When we continue to reject God’s health advice, we are working on a plan of self-destruction.

“Food is that material which can be incorporated into and become a part of the cells and fluids of the body. Non – useful materials, such as drugs, are all poisonous. To be a true food the substance eaten must not contain useless or harmful ingredients. For example, tobacco, which is a plant, contains proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins and water. As such, it should be a food. But, in addition to these materials, it also contains considerable quantities of poisons, one of these the most virulent poisons know to science. Tobacco, therefore, is not a food.” (Shelton, Herbert M., Food Combining made easy, 10)

God has given us the health laws because He loves us and wants us to be as healthy as possible; how much of us does He want to preserve blameless? 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
“23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”

God has made it clear, He desires the whole of us, that is our cells, to give Him glory. No room has been left for occasional intoxication in drinking or eating, recreational drugs, smoking or any other kind of excess.

• Can we use drugs, marijuana, cocaine or inject heroin to God’s glory? “35 million people are estimated to be suffering from drug use disorders”, besides legally prescribed drugs¹.
• “Moderate drinking is the school in which men are educated for the drunkard’s career.”² 40% of moderate drinkers suffer injuries, while 10% become alcoholics. How many planned to be alcoholics? Overall, alcohol is “the most harmful drug”³.
• “Smoking kills”, that is what it says on the package. “Tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year. More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.2 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.”⁴ “Breathing even a little tobacco smoke can be harmful. Of the more than 7,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, at least 250 are known to be harmful, including hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, and ammonia. Among the 250 known harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke, at least 69 can cause cancer.”⁵
• Tea & coffee drinking and ill-prepared food is equally harmful. Nicotine is alkaloid, an active agent, poisonous in this case. Another alkaloid is caffeine found in teas, coffee, soda and energy drinks. While being mild as a drug, they have similar effects, causing addictions, headaches and other health conditions. “A wrong course of eating and drinking destroys the health and paves the way for drunkenness. Gluttony degrades, as well as intoxication by strong drink.”⁶

These all tend to kill our cells and potentially take our lives. Let’s shun them altogether as we obey God’s sixth Commandment, “Thou shalt not kill“, even yourself. (Exodus 20:13)

What is Christ’s aim for us? Matthew 5:48
“48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

Friend,

Is it your desire to treat God’s temple as He has instructed you to treat it? Are you willing to follow the divine Doctor’s advice, which is more than just food and drink? Would anything keep you from beginning today?

References

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• 1 – https://www.who.int/health-topics/drugs-psychoactive#tab=tab_1
• 2 – Ministry of Healing, 332
• 3 – Nutt et al, The Lancet 2010
• 4 – https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco
• 5 – https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/tobacco/cessation-fact-sheet
• 6 – Pacific Health Journal, May 1, 1902, 5