Xi Jinping: Another Strongman. Jesus’ Jewish Heritage. Health Science and the Bible. Pets and Antifreeze. Update.

 

For "Scripture Sunday":

Xi Jinping: Another Strongman Arises in the East

"Throughout the past year, the world has focused on Vladimir Putin and a resurgent Russia. But another strongman is rising in the east. Meet China’s Xi Jinping.

The rise of Vladimir Putin as a strongman in Russia has been covered thoroughly in American media this last year. His actions in Crimea and Ukraine have made him one of the most distrusted men in America and Europe, and the world continues to watch what he will do in eastern Ukraine.

But there is another political leader in Eurasia that our readers should be aware of: Xi Jinping.

Complete article at: http://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/blog/xi-jinping-another-strongman-arises-in-the-east/  by Erik Jones - November 19, 2014

_______

Jesus’ Jewish Heritage

Matthew 1:17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

"The genealogies of Matthew 1 and Luke 3 give context to the life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who also was the descendant of Abraham and David. Both David and Jesus were of the tribe of Judah (verse 3), the tribe promised the scepter—the symbol of rulership (Genesis 49:10). As Jesus said, He was born to be a King, and He will rule all nations in the Kingdom of God (John 18:37; Revelation 11:15).

Jesus was ethnically a Jew and grew up with a Jewish heritage. The genealogies help to link the Old and New Testaments into the unified whole that God intended. Though Jesus argued against many human traditions that had grown up around the religion of the Bible, He always showed respect for the inspired writings of what we now call the Old Testament and the laws revealed in it. This only makes sense when you consider that Christ was the “spiritual Rock” that followed and worked with ancient Israel (1 Corinthians 10:4).

For more about the inspiration and unity of the Bible, see “Who Wrote the Bible?” and “What Is the Bible?""   From: http://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/jesus-jewish-heritage/

_______

From me: As Jesus was a Jew, he went to the synagogue on Saturday, the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath.  It was the Romans who didn't want to have anything to do with anything Jewish who changed the day of worship to Sunday, the first day of the week.  But God didn't change it.

_______

Health Science and the Bible

"The Holy Bible was not written as a medical textbook, but the health advice in it is sound, pivotal and far ahead of its time.

The Bible is concerned more with spiritual soundness than with physical health. Yet surely the God who created us would understand what we need to be healthy. Certainly He would teach us the most important rules for caring for the bodies He designed.

Indeed, God provides sound guidance in the Scriptures to help us achieve the healthiest possible lifestyle.

Let’s see how seven of these biblical health tips stack up with modern medical advice.

1. Practice good hygiene and sanitation.

Deuteronomy 23:12-13: “Also you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out; and you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse” (see also Leviticus 11:32; 15:11; Numbers 19:14-15; Job 9:30; and Matthew 23:25-26). More….

2. Get checked out.

Leviticus 13:2-3: “When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling, a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes on the skin of his body like a leprous sore, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. The priest shall examine the sore."  More……

3. Stay away from others if you are sick.

Leviticus 13:45-46: “Now the leper on whom the sore is, … his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” More….

4. Be faithful to your spouse.

1 Corinthians 6:18: “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body” (see also Exodus 20:14; Romans 1:27; and Leviticus 18:6). More….

5. Watch what you eat and drink.

…..Eat clean meats only.  According to a 2009 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, consumption of pork consistently correlates with liver disease across countries and over decades of research in epidemiology. Impressively, the strength of the association may be even stronger than the correlation between alcohol and cirrhosis. This pattern does not emerge with beef (a biblically clean meat).

God truly wants what is best for us. Scientists are still learning about factors that make certain meats dangerous choices for humans, but the Bible lit the way long ago.

A little alcohol (up to one or two drinks in a day) can have health benefits. However, the Mayo Clinic warns, “drinking too much alcohol increases your risk of high blood pressure, high triglycerides, liver damage, obesity, certain types of cancer, accidents,” alcoholism and even weakened heart muscle (cardiomyopathy). The Bible does not forbid alcohol, but it clearly shows that alcohol abuse is not only dangerous, it’s sinful. More…..

6. Get adequate rest and exercise.

Ecclesiastes 5:12: “The sleep of a laboring man is sweet” (also see Psalm 127:2 and 1 Timothy 4:8). Modern medicine and the Bible agree: The sedentary, bleary-eyed lifestyle is not good for us. Sleep helps regulate our hormones and immune systems and provides time for cell repair. As a result, sleep-deprivation can make us susceptible to colds, heart disease, diabetes, accidents and even obesity, as WebMD reports. More…..

7. Cultivate a positive outlook.

Proverbs 18:14: “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?” (see also Proverbs 17:22).

The Bible suggests that attitude affects our physical health. More and more researchers are finding that it’s true! For instance, older adults who expressed only low to moderate levels of satisfaction with their lives were, after eight years, “about 80 percent more likely than their happier counterparts to have developed mobility and functional problems,” as The Washington Post explains.

In contrast, subjects in another study were told to briefly write, once a week, about five things for which they were thankful. After only two months of “gratitude lite,” they felt happier and more optimistic. What’s more, they “reported fewer physical problems and spent more time working out,” according to The New York Times.

Need another reason to be thankful?

God’s Word doesn’t just encourage us to have positive attitudes. It shows us the best, healthiest way to live now and the amazing destiny God is offering each one of us!"  More….

Complete article at: http://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/is-the-bible-true/how-do-we-know-the-bible-is-true/health-science-and-the-bible/  by Heather Cole

_______

In the Animal Kingdom:

Poison Alert: Keep Antifreeze Containers Tightly Closed and Far Away from Your Pets

"Animals love the taste!  It is estimated that up to 90,000 animals are poisoned each year by the toxic agent ethylene glycol, which is found in antifreeze. Poisoning most often occurs when an animal encounters an antifreeze leak from a car radiator. Dogs typically lick the fluid right off the ground; kitties are more likely to walk through it, then lick their paws.

The toxic agent in antifreeze is ethylene glycol, and it takes as little as 1 tablespoon to cause acute kidney failure in dogs. About 5 tablespoons can kill a medium sized dog, and just 1 teaspoon can be fatal to a cat."   More at: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2014/11/23/antifreeze-poisoning.aspx

_______

Update:

Last Sunday, 16th., Ray and I drove to Houston to buy a used small dishwasher to install in the guest house.  These are the little ones that some people install in RVs.  I have one here in my house and it works well, so I wanted one for the guest house.  The freeways were packed, the weather was horrible, rainy and wet, but it was the only day that we could go.  Sorry, I was too beat to post when I got home. 

Jay and I got a bit more done on the storeroom extension.  Then he came down with a cold.

Ray and I have been busy solving problems.  We are thankful that we have all this behind us.  Ray's brakes went out and he found out that it was a wheel cylinder. 

We had to cut another trapdoor in the floor of Ray's utility room to find a second drain leak.  When we had that slow water leak earlier on in the year, it had washed away some of the support to the house.  That caused a beam to sink and made the two drain leaks.

One night it was going to freeze for the first time this winter, so Ray and I spent the whole afternoon covering and moving plants. The next day it came back up to the mid 70's, so they are uncovered now.  10-day-weather shows that it's not going to freeze again in the next 10 days.  The plants all appreciated the day of rain, and then the sunshine.

Even with the bad weather, I am still selling aloe plants and shipping them north.  But I have to really insulate the packages with newspaper.

Ray's son's power went out during the freeze.  He lives next door on the other side of me, so he stayed with Ray for a couple of days.  Ray and I, armed with a long cord plugged into my house, work lights, flashlights, multimeter and other electrical tools, tried to fix it. This is a rare breaker box and the main breaker has to be removed with a 9mm Allen key.  Now if you have ever bought a set of Allen keys, if you look, you'll find that they don't come with a 9mm!   We went, or called every tool place in town.  Finally, after I looked through five tool boxes here, I found one.  We cleaned the wires with DeOxit, and then figured out that it was the main breaker that was faulty.  Now this is a rare Gould 200 amp breaker and so we had to go to the one and only electrical supply house that carried it.  We were too wary about doing the change-out ourselves and called Jim the mechanic down the street to come and do it.  He did, and so let there be light!

Then I had bought a new door bell, and it wouldn't work every time the button was pushed.  We messed with that thing for ages.  I wrote to the company that made it, and they said it was obsolete so they would send me a new one. Hurray!

Yesterday, Ray and I went to our church's Thanksgiving dinner.  Jay still had the sniffles and a wet cough so even though he wanted to go, he didn't.  The Bible readings were Gen 25:19-28:9, Mal 1:1-2:7.  The teaching was about putting on "The New Man"

Eph 4:24 "and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another. 26 "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you."

The teaching also reminded us to be thankful for everything.  At my age, I am just thankful to wake up this side of the grass!!  We all had a great turkey dinner for the potluck.  I took scalloped sweet potatoes with apple, Craisins and walnuts; and a big dish of mashed rutabagas topped with Parmesan, and some canned cranberry sauce.  Ray helped me by cleaning up my silver cranberry sauce server, so I took that, too.     It was a great day.