Is There Any Point in Sharing My Faith With My Non-Christian Friends and Family? All Who Are in the Graves Will Hear His Voice. Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Depression.

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Is There Any Point in Sharing My Faith With My Non-Christian Friends and Family?

“If they'll be in the second or general resurrection anyway, is there any point in sharing my faith with my non-Christian friends and family? Absolutely!

Ben Duchac/Unsplash

There is certainly a point in sharing our faith with others, but the method by which we share our faith is equally if not more important.

We see within Scripture that God is the One who calls people to His truth (John 6:44). But we also see in scripture that Christ Himself told His disciples—those who believed in and followed Him—to go out to the world and preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God to every creature (Mark 16:15-16). So the fact that God draws people to Christ didn't absolve the disciples of their personal responsibility to preach the gospel.

We don't know whether God is working with someone or not, and it's impossible to know how our example—or perhaps our words—might positively affect someone.

God desires that no man should perish and that all should come to repentance and knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9), and there is an incredible amount of joy in heaven over every sinner that repents (Luke 15:7). Those individuals who overcome their sins in this life will inherit the Kingdom of God (Revelation 21:7). By extension, as followers of Jesus Christ, we have a similar responsibility today. What if we are the tool that God uses to draw another sheep into His fold? We don't know whether He is working with someone or not, and it's impossible to know how our example—or perhaps our words—might positively affect someone that God is working with. What if it leads another person to repent and turn to God?

The gospel that Jesus preached was the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Those who believe it, accept it and overcome in this life will have an opportunity to be a part of the first resurrection—a resurrection which is referred to in Hebrews 11 as a "better resurrection" (Revelation 20 discusses the resurrections in more detail).

So there is certainly a point in sharing our faith with others, but the method by which we share our faith is equally if not more important. In Matthew 5:14 Jesus suggests we are to be as a "light on a hill"—a soft and welcoming light in the distance that people can see and navigate towards. Have you ever accidentally shone a powerful flashlight into your eyes? Was it pleasant and inviting? If our interaction with others is "shining our light" in this way, effectively blinding them—there's a good chance that it won't be welcome or appreciated.

Instead of blinding others, Peter simply tells us to live good honorable lives among those who are not believers, that they might see our conduct and glorify God in the day of His coming, letting our light shine in an appropriate way (1 Peter 2:12).” 

From: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/bible-questions-and-answers/is-there-any-point-in-sharing-my-faith-with-my-non-christian-friends-and-family

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All Who Are in the Graves Will Hear His Voice 

John 5:28-29 

“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”

“Jesus Christ’s statement supports the biblical teaching of the need for a resurrection of the dead. Nowhere does the Bible teach that immediately at death we either go to heaven or hell. Instead it talks about those who are dead waiting in their graves for a future resurrection when they will be brought back to life to receive their judgment.

When all the passages about the resurrection of the dead are put together, it becomes clear that there is more than one resurrection described in the Bible. The resurrection of Jesus Christ to spirit life was the precursor of all other resurrections into God’s family. Then Revelation 20:5 talks about a “first resurrection” of the saints when Jesus Christ returns to begin a thousand years of peace (verse 4). The saints will become immortal in this “resurrection of life.”

Then the “rest of the dead” will not be raised until “the thousand years [are] finished” (verse 5). In this second resurrection to physical life, people come before the judgment seat of God (verses 11-12). The Greek word translated “condemnation” in the New King James Version of John 5:29 is krisis, which means “the process of investigation, the act of distinguishing and separating” (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 1985, “condemn, condemnation”).

In this time of judgment, all will be declared guilty of sin (Romans 3:23), but God will ensure that everyone has a full and complete chance to repent and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). God’s Holy Spirit will be offered to those who repent (Ezekiel 37:14) to prepare them for eternal life in God’s family.

The Bible has much more about resurrections, but it is seldom taught in churches today.”

Read what the Bible says in our section on “Life After Death” and our booklet The Last Enemy: What Really Happens After Death? 

From:  https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/all-who-are-in-the-graves-will-hear-his-voice/?    

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Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Depression

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/4xbNNxQZEgA

“If depression can be induced with pro-inflammatory drugs, might an anti-inflammatory diet be effective in preventing and treating mood disorders?

Depression affects more than 150 million people worldwide, making it a leading cause of losing healthy years of life as a result of disability. In fact, by 2020, depression may be the second leading cause of healthy years of life lost, second only to heart disease. Why is depression so common? Well, it is said, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” But, why would we evolve to get depressed?

Depression poses a baffling evolutionary puzzle. It has such negative effects, but remains so common and heritable, meaning a big chunk of risk is passed down through our genes. So, there must be some kind of adaptive benefit. Otherwise, presumably, it would have been naturally selected against. Maybe, depression is an evolutionary strategy for defense against infection.

Infection has been the leading cause of mortality throughout human history. The average life expectancy was 25, and it was not uncommon for half our kids to die. With such stark capabilities, infection has been a critical and potent driving force in natural selection.

When we become infected, there is a surge of inflammation as our body mounts a counterattack, and then what happens? We feel lousy. We feel sick.  We get weak, tired, slow, and sleepy. We don’t see anyone; we don’t want to do anything; all we want to do is sleep. It’s like we’re depressed—and that’s great for fighting infection. Not only does that help us conserve energy so we can put up a good fight, but it reduces social contact. We’re not running around infecting everyone.

It’s the same reason we evolved to think poop doesn’t smell good, or decaying flesh. That keeps us safe from infection. In fact, we see this phenomenon with other social animals, like honeybees and mole rats, who feel impelled to crawl off and die alone when they get sick, which reduces the risk to the rest of the community.

The relationship between mental health and inflammation was first noted in 1887, for which the only psychiatrist to ever win the award got a Nobel Prize. But what evidence have we accumulated in the century since that inflammation causes depression? Well, people who are depressed have raised inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein, and inflammatory illnesses are associated with greater rates of major depression. Indeed, that’s what’s found in a variety of inflammatory conditions including more benign inflammatory conditions, such as asthma and allergies. And, that’s important, suggesting the mood symptoms are not simply ‘feeling bad about having a terrible disease,’ but may be directly tied to the inflammation. Most powerfully, you can actually induce depression by inducing inflammation, like when we give interferon for certain cancers or chronic infections—up to 50% go on to suffer major depression. Even just giving a vaccine can cause enough inflammation to trigger depressive symptoms. Taken together, these studies are strongly suggestive of inflammation being a causative factor of mood symptoms.

So, can an anti-inflammatory diet help prevent depression? We didn’t know, until about 43,000 women without depression were followed, along with their diets, for about a dozen years to see who became depressed, and it was those who ate a more inflammatory dietary pattern, characterized by more soda, refined grains and meat, suggesting that chronic inflammation may underlie the association between diet and depression. Normally, we think of omega-3’s as anti-inflammatory, but they found fish to be pro-inflammatory, associated with increased C-reactive protein levels consistent with recent findings that omega-3’s don’t seem to help with either depression or inflammation. The most anti-inflammatory diet is a plant-based diet, which can cut C-reactive protein levels by 30% within two weeks, perhaps because of the anti-inflammatory properties of antioxidants.

I’ve talked about this before, but never explained why antioxidants are anti-inflammatory. Oxidative damage caused by free radicals may cause an autoimmune response in the body by changing the chemical structure of otherwise ubiquitous molecules to generate new structures that the body attacks as foreign. For example, when LDL cholesterol gets oxidized, our body creates antibodies against it and attacks it. And, so, clinical depression can be accompanied by increased oxidative stress and the autoimmune inflammatory responses it creates.

Where else does inflammation come from in our diet? Endotoxins. It’s worth reviewing how the endotoxins in animal products can cause a burst of inflammation within hours of consumption. What does that do to our mood? If you inject endotoxin into people, within a few hours, inflammation shoots up, and so do feelings of depression, as well as feelings of social disconnection from people.

Although previous research has demonstrated that inflammatory activity contributes to depressive symptoms, no work in humans has examined the effect of experimentally induced inflammation on anhedonia, the lack of reaction to pleasurable stimuli, a key diagnostic feature of depression.  No work has been done, that is, until now.  Within hours of endotoxin hitting their bloodstream, these experimental subjects not only started to feel depressed, but they had significant reductions in activity in the reward center of the brain. They were less excited about winning money playing video games, for example, in the study.

But by eliminating animal products, and eating antioxidant rich diets, we may be able to prevent or treat depression.”

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Katie Schloer.

From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/anti-inflammatory-diet-for-depression/

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The Curse of Inflation, A Biblical View. Saying Thank You. Sugar vs. Corn Syrup. Mercury In Corn Syrup.

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The Curse of Inflation,  A Biblical View

“The ramp-up we’re seeing in inflation in the United States is the reaping of a bitter harvest sown by wrong policies. It’s important to understand.

Among those hardest hit by inflation are the ones governments assure us they are dedicated to helping, namely the poor and the elderly.

Prices have been on the rise—whether gasoline, food, electricity, furniture, you name it. Inflation is hitting people’s wallets hard—especially in America, but in other countries as well.

The problem is actually worse than most realize. Real inflation is running much higher than the 7 percent reported in official U.S. government numbers, as calculation methods have changed. A more honest assessment at shadowstats.com reveals that if inflation were measured as it was in 1990 the rate would be 12 percent—or if figured as in 1980 the rate would be 15 percent.

Unemployment is also high. Government statistics put it at 3.4 percent in January, but it also has changed the calculation method for determining unemployment numbers. Going by more reasonable pre-1994 calculation, U.S. unemployment now shockingly stands at around 25 percent!

Another facet of the grim financial outlook is U.S. household debt, which for the first time passed $15 trillion in the third quarter of 2021. And in January 2022 U.S. national debt for the first time exceeded a mind-boggling $30 trillion as part of a dangerous money-creation experiment that is fueling the ramp-up in inflation.

Just what is going on? Where will it ultimately leave us?

The lure of Modern Monetary Theory

The Federal Reserve has gone into overdrive over the past decade in what amounts to creating more and more money out of thin air. We’re told not to worry about any repercussions of this massive money creation and the debt associated with it because of the new economic siren song of Modern Monetary Theory or MMT.

Writing in the American Enterprise Institute publication National Affairs, author Jonathan Hartley explains: “The defining feature of MMT—and what distinguishes it from more established, mainstream economic theories—is its insistence that, so long as a government’s debt is denominated in its own currency, there is no upper limit on the state’s monetary borrowing. In other words, public debt is irrelevant; a country’s central bank can always avoid default by printing more money. Such printing, MMT proponents further argue, can go on without any inflationary consequences” (“The Weakness of Modern Monetary Theory,” Fall 2020).

This especially appeals to those who want to fund an endless array of massively expensive government programs, but it gained wider acceptance as a means to buoy up the economy during Covid lockdowns. While MMT may be convenient, Hartley goes on to say, “MMT’s central claims regarding the harmlessness of deficits, debt, and mass currency production are not only flatly false, they are deeply dangerous” (emphasis added throughout).

He does note that the United States, due to the vastness and richness of its economy and the dollar serving as the world’s reserve currency, is able to borrow enormous sums. But this ultimately comes on the backs of everyone who holds dollars—in both America and around the world. Eventually investors, “no longer believing the government to be solvent, will refuse to buy bonds or lend to the government at manageable interest rates.” America is not there yet, but those calling for endless massive spending are driving the nation steadily to that point.

For years economists have warned that if the United States keeps ballooning up the money supply without commensurate economic growth and productivity, it is inevitable that other global economic powers such as the European Union or China will demand that the dollar be replaced as world reserve currency with the euro or Chinese yuan. This would lead to huge economic problems in America, including the hyperinflation nightmare.

The government is stealing from you

It was reported earlier this year that “U.S. companies are expecting to pay an average 3.4% raise to workers in 2022” (CNBC, Jan. 18, 2022). They’re forced to do so to retain workers, but this does not come close to keeping up with inflation. Likewise a Breitbart headline reads, “UK Wage Hikes Wiped Out to Zero by Soaring Inflation Rate” (Jan. 18, 2022).

Through policies that create inflation, governments are actually stealing from companies and individuals. How does this work? It’s really very simple. By artificially adding more and more money‚ the value of existing dollars is diminished. Therefore virtually everything you buy costs more—sometimes a lot more.

How bad is it? In 2020-2021, the U.S. money supply soared an astonishing 27 percent, the biggest jump in the nation’s history. This was far greater than in response to previous national crises such as the Great Depression (10 percent) and World War II (18 percent). Hundreds of thousands of businesses shut down and tens of millions of Americans were paid to stay home rather than work. The federal government sent “free money” checks to every American, including incarcerated felons. And now Americans are paying the price.

Among those hardest hit are the ones governments assure us they are dedicated to helping, namely the poor and the elderly. But since most of their meager income goes to such basics as food and utilities, inflation is especially devastating to their financial condition.

Besides the massive money creation that gives governments more wealth while diluting how much the money you have is worth, governments must keep interest rates low to finance that huge debt they’ve taken on. This keeps savers—especially those who are trying to preserve their income, such as those in or nearing retirement—from earning interest income and pushes many into gambling with their futures by seeking more dangerous investments just to maintain the same income (“How the Fed Is Driving Savers to Riskier Investments,” The Washington Post, July 1, 2020).

The truth is that the whole concept of fiat currency— money decreed into existence with no tangible basis—constitutes the biggest thieving scheme in history. Such currency manipulation contravenes God’s laws on maintaining honest weights and measures (see Deuteronomy 25:15; Proverbs 11:1; 16:11; 20:23).

God in the Bible repeatedly condemns stealing from others and mistreating the poor and needy (Exodus 20:15; Leviticus 19:11; Deuteronomy 24:14; Psalms 72:4; 82:4; Amos 8:4-6). And He warns against going into debt as a road to enslavement (Proverbs 22:7).

Former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson wrote to his friend John Taylor on May 28, 1816, that “spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.”   Indeed, expanding government debt obligates future generations to repaying debt they never incurred or had any say in creating. Again, it’s pure theft.

Do what you can to prepare

Bible prophecy warns about coming economic upheaval and troubles increasing in the English-speaking nations and the ultimate collapse of the financial system the world over (see our free study guides The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy and The Book of Revelation Unveiled).

Yet in some ways all will seem to be humming along—until calamity strikes (Matthew 24:38-43).

Do what you can to prepare —to be ready (verse 44). As Proverbs 22:3 and 27:12 tell us, “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences” (New Living Translation). Of course, humanly we can only do so much. We need God to see us through. Jesus promised that if we seek first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness that our physical needs would be provided for—that we would not be destitute (Matthew 6:25-34; compare Psalms 37:25).

The sobering fact we all face is that a reckoning lies ahead. Let us all take God’s warnings seriously and do whatever we can to prepare. Above all, we must prepare spiritually (see Matthew 25:1-13), and God will see us through to the wonderful age beyond today when His laws—including His economic laws—will at last be followed the world over.”    From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-magazine/the-curse-of-inflation-a-biblical-view?

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Saying Thank You,  An Attitude of Gratitude

“Being grateful, to God and to those around you, can be beneficial to you, your relationships, and your spiritual life.

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/yxr96HZQ6jk

[Darris McNeely] “The ability to say, "Thank you," is a very important character trait that every one of us must have, should have. And we should check ourselves on a regular basis to make sure that we are grateful to God, to each other, to those who do good things, kind things to us. Say "Thank you." Have an attitude of gratitude. And this is not just some trivial approach, it really enhances your life. It enhances the quality of relationships that we have.

Christ spoke a parable about it that I have long known about, you have as well, about this attitude of being grateful, saying "Thank you." It happened it says in Luke 17:11, "That as Christ went to Jerusalem, He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee," the regions to the north of Jerusalem, He was coming south. "He entered a certain village, and there He met 10 men who were lepers who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us'." Leprosy was the scourge of the ancient world, there was no cure for it, very contagious, and those who had it had to be ostracized from the community, and they were begging Christ, "Have mercy on us."

When He saw them, He said to them, "Go show yourselves to the priest." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed before they even got to the priest, it seems. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned and with a loud voice, glorified God and fell down on his face at his feet, at Christ's feet, giving Him things. And this man was a Samaritan, those who were looked upon as, kind of, inferior by the rest of the Jews at that time. And this was the one who turned back and said, "Thank you," to Christ, he gave him thanks. And in verse 17, Jesus answered and said, "Were there not 10 cleansed, but where are the 9?" The other 9 went on their way. Maybe they went on to the priest, maybe they thought they had to fulfill everything. We're just not told, but only one came back and said, "Thank You." He said, "Were they not found, who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner." And he said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you whole."

And so 1 out of 10, 10%, turned back and said, "Thank You," That's fine, what's the lesson for us? Be grateful. Have a spirit that recognizes when someone has done something well, good, a good job, either for us or for someone else, in the office, in the school, in your church, or your community, someone who has helped you, be sure that you say, "Thank you," and show an appreciation and gratitude. It's a Godly trait. It is what Christ called out, and one who was looked down upon by the rest of the community, the Jewish community of the time, say "Thank you." It's a good spirit. It's a good attitude to have.”

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Sugar vs. Corn Syrup

“Mercury content aside, is high-fructose corn syrup worse than table sugar?

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/aygf8vNXbJI

“Which is worse: sugar or corn syrup? Three choices: the sugar, the corn syrup, or, they’re both just as bad? Around and around it goes; where it stops, maybe some of you knew. Equally bad.

Now that was kind of a trick question. Regular, baking corn syrup is pure glucose; zero fructose. There’s no corn syrup in soft drinks, either. It’s all high-fructose corn syrup. Now, some of you may have heard the rumor that high-fructose corn syrup may contain mercury.

Let’s assume, for the purposes of this question, that there’s no mercury: pure sugar, versus pure high-fructose corn syrup. Is the sugar worse? Is the high-fructose corn syrup worse? Or, are they still both equally bad?

And the winning loser is—both of them. Table sugar is 50% glucose and 50% fructose, and high-fructose corn syrup is about 45%/55%. It doesn’t matter; it’s all just sugar. The Corn Refiners Association launched a $25 million PR campaign last year, boasting that high-fructose corn syrup is as good for you as sugar. True, but again, how much is that really saying?”

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.” 

More about mercury at: “Mercury in Corn Syrup”  https://nutritionfacts.org/video/mercury-in-corn-syrup/

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The Miracle and Meaning of Pentecost. PENTECOST PROVES THE SABBATH. How Much Cancer Does Processed Meat Cause?

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The Miracle and Meaning of Pentecost

“Noisy and amazing things were happening in Jerusalem nearly 2,000 years ago. But a silent miracle turned out to be the most powerful of all—and it continues to happen to this day!

As thousands of people came streaming to see the miracles unfolding that morning, little did they know that these stunning events would pale in comparison to the unseen, silent miracle coming later that day.

It was the Day of Pentecost, A.D. 31, in Jerusalem. Just over seven weeks had passed since another world-changing event had occurred nearby—Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.

For His disciples, it had been the most dramatic two months they could imagine—going from the depths of despair at seeing Him murdered to the heights of amazement at seeing Him alive again. After being with Christ for another 40 days, they had watched as He ascended into heaven.

And then they waited—as He had told them—until “the Promise of the Father,” the Holy Spirit, would be given to them.

“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,” He had declared, “and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

But how would that happen, they wondered, and what would it mean?

Now they were finding out!

In a remarkable display of power, “suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind” (Acts 2:2), followed by flames of fire appearing over each of them.

And then, the most astonishing miracle so far: “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (verse 4).

Jerusalem was overflowing, as it was every year in the holy day seasons, with pilgrims, “devout men, from every nation under heaven” (verse 5). Word of these wonders quickly spread among them. The crowds came running, probably hoping to see a miracle, but not expecting to be included in one. However, when they arrived, the miracle now fell on them! Not only were Christ’s disciples speaking other languages (not “unknown tongues”), but “everyone heard them speak in his own language” (verse 6).

Making it relevant

Okay, you might say, that’s a great story, but why should I care? How is what happened nearly 2,000 years ago relevant to my life today?

Good question. The answer is in what happened next.

While the miracles grabbed the crowd’s attention, the apostle Peter grabbed the opportunity to enlighten them. In these physical signs and wonders, he explained, you are seeing evidence of the spiritual fulfilling of one of the greatest prophecies for humanity. Centuries earlier the prophet Joel had foretold the time when God would pour out His Spirit, Peter said—and this is it!

The Jews listening to him certainly knew this prophecy, but Peter still had much to explain. He continued, ending the section from Joel 2 with this: “And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved” (verse 21).

He then quickly transitioned from Joel to “Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know” (verse 22).

They knew well the string of miracles Jesus had performed for over three years. Furthermore, the greatest miracle of all was undeniable: Jesus—whom they had “taken by lawless hands, … crucified, and put to death”—God had “raised up” (verse 23)!

The exalted Christ, Peter said, was now at the right hand of God, and “having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear” (verse 33).

Making it personal

They had to find Peter’s explanation interesting, but now he was about to make it uncomfortably personal.

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (verse 36).

Those three words—“whom you crucified”—were an unmistakably personal indictment. The thousands gathered there could have scorned Peter at this point, arguing that they bore no responsibility, that they were not even there, or that the Romans had killed Him.

But it seems that many of them clearly grasped what Peter meant. If Christ had to come and die for all of our individual sins, then we are all individually guilty of His death. Those who accepted this reality were deeply convicted—“cut to the heart,” as Luke so aptly describes it—and asked remorsefully, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (verse 37).

“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Peter offered a simple, but demanding, answer: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

And, he added, “the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call,” just as Joel had prophesied.

Spiritual problems need spiritual solutions

This was the crux, but not the end, of Peter’s sermon that day. He continued with “many other words,” we’re told, exhorting them to “be saved from this perverse generation” (verse 40). The point was clear. We cannot save ourselves, we cannot live the way we ought, without the Spirit of God living in us.

There exists within each human, as Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 2:11-12, a spirit in man. God also has a spirit, known in the Bible as the Holy Spirit. Where has our human spirit—our mind with its ideas and attitudes—brought us at this point? History shows it has always been a two-edged sword, capable of mind-boggling creations and technological advancements, yet incapable of finding peace or solving our deep-seated problems of selfishness, lust, hatred, prejudice, greed, envy, lack of self-control, etc.—the list of our character-related problems seems endless.

Why? It’s because our problems are spiritual in nature, and spiritual problems require spiritual solutions!

This Day of Pentecost takes us back to the time when God acted, as He had promised, to open the door to us for the only possible solution—to receive a different spirit. His Spirit.

And Pentecost today brings us back to the reality that we need His Spirit more than ever. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can our minds be renewed and our lives transformed (Romans 12:2). No greater miracle can happen to someone—and God is still working that miracle today!

Pentecost pictures even more than that, though. Having the Spirit of God, Paul stated in Romans 8:16-17, means that “we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”

Furthermore, the children of God comprise the Church of God. Jesus had promised His disciples that He would build His Church, and He did not mean a building or denomination. “Church” in the New Testament Greek language is ekklesia, which means “a calling out,” especially “a religious congregation,” or an “assembly” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, #1577). The word designates the body of believers of which Jesus Christ is Head.

Changing your life:     More at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/pentecost/miracle-and-meaning-of-pentecost/?

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Pentecost Proves the Sabbath.

“In Leviticus chapter 23, God revealed a series of celebrations to be observed throughout the year. One of them is called Pentecost. It also goes by other names such as Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, and First fruits (of the wheat harvest). It is a unique festival in two aspects. Firstly, it is the only holy day that does not fall on a specific day of the Hebrew Calendar. Instead, we must calculate its timing. Secondly, we must know when the weekly Sabbath occurs.

The verses about this celebration are found in Leviticus chapter 23:15-22. We will look at a few of these verses: “15 And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord…21 And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.”

Notice that Pentecost is the day after the seventh weekly Sabbath from Unleavened Bread. This means it always occurs on the first day of the week. Any church body who celebrates Pentecost on Sunday is acknowledging that the true Sabbath is from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. This includes the Catholic Church. Some of their authors and clergy have admitted this!

John Laux, an author of textbooks for Catholic schools, wrote: “If we consulted the Bible only, we should still have to keep holy the Sabbath Day, that is, Saturday, with the Jews, instead of Sunday…” (Laux, p 51).

John Gibbons, a Catholic Cardinal, wrote: “But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify” (Gibbons, pp 72-73).

The Catholic Church acknowledges the timing of the Biblical Sabbath. Any church that celebrates Pentecost on Sunday reflects the same belief. Pentecost proves the Sabbath.

Kelly McDonald, Jr, BSA President    www.biblesabbath.org

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How Much Cancer Does Processed Meat Cause?

“I quantify the risks of colon and rectal cancers from eating bacon, ham, hot dogs, sausage, and lunch meat.

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/y4dZbSU6Ka0

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

“In 2018, arguably the most prestigious cancer research institution in the world, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), within the World Health Organization, published their report on processed meat, concluding that foods like bacon, ham, hot dogs, lunch meat, and sausage are cancer causing, classifying processed meat as a Group 1 carcinogen.

“These findings,” concluded the director of the agency, “further support current public health recommendations to limit intake of meat.” Critics questioned putting processed meat in the same carcinogenic classification as asbestos or tobacco. Or, as a pesticide company roughly put it, how can eating processed meat fall into the same category as mustard gas?

The classifications only relate to the strength of evidence that the agent causes cancer or not––not how much cancer. This does not mean that they are all equally dangerous. It’s safer to eat a sandwich filled with pastrami than plutonium, even though they are both Group 1 carcinogens––both substances known to cause cancer in people.

Okay, so just how dangerous is meat? The relative risk of colorectal cancer was 18 percent for every 50 grams a day. Okay, so what exactly does that mean? Well, 50 grams is about one hot dog, or two breakfast links, or two slices of Canadian bacon or ham. So, a daily sandwich with one or two slices of baloney would increase your colorectal cancer risk by 18 percent. But a half-pound pastrami on rye would bump it up more like 80 percent.

Okay, but what does the 18 percent increased risk really mean? One way to look at it is absolute risk versus relative risk. Assuming that the lifetime risk of colorectal cancer is about 5 percent (1 in 20), increasing your risk about 20 percent would only bump up your absolute risk of getting colorectal cancer from 5 percent to 6 percent. Now, on a population scale, an 18 percent drop in risk could mean about 25,000 fewer cases of colorectal cancer every year in the United States: 25,000 fewer families a year dealing with that diagnosis––if we swapped out the daily baloney sandwich for hummus, or chose veggie dogs instead. So, it all depends on how you look at it.

Colorectal cancer is our second leading cause of cancer death for men and women combined, after lung cancer. So, if you don’t smoke, colon and rectal cancer may be your greatest cancer nemesis. But we can drop the risk of getting it by about a fifth with a single dietary tweak: cutting a serving of processed meat out of our daily diet.

How does 18 percent increased cancer risk compare to other risky behavior? In my testimony before the Dietary Guidelines Scientific Committee, I made what may sound like a hyperbolic metaphor. I asked, “We try not to smoke around our kids; why would we send them to school with a baloney sandwich?” That is not hyperbole. According to the Surgeon General, living with a smoker increases your risk of lung cancer by 15 percent. So, breathing secondhand smoke day in and day out increases your risk of lung cancer almost as much as eating a serving of processed meat day in and day out increases your risk of colorectal cancer.

The meat industry responded by saying that the risks and benefits must be considered together before telling people what to eat or breathe. Think about all the baloney benefits. Lunch meat isn’t just about cancer, but convenience.

Indeed, processed meat isn’t just about cancer. An article railing against the World Health Organization’s “meat terrorism” cited the Global Burden of Disease studies comparing how many cancer deaths are caused by processed meat consumption, compared to tobacco or alcohol use. But if you look at the study they’re referencing, the 30-something thousand deaths attributable to higher processed meat intake are just the colorectal cancer deaths, and don’t also include the 100,000 deaths from diabetes, or the 400,000 deaths from heart disease. So, in actuality, we may be talking a half million deaths attributable to processed meat. And it’s not just colon and rectal cancer. If you look at the science since the IARC decision was published, processed meat may also increase the risk of prostate cancer, breast cancer, and pancreatic cancer.

Unfortunately, despite growing public health concerns about processed meat consumption, there have been no changes in the amount of processed meat consumed by U.S. adults over the last 18 years. Of course, it would have helped if the last Dietary Guidelines for Americans had happened to mention that processed meat was a carcinogen. An explicit and science-based statement on processed meat in the next Dietary Guidelines would certainly help. But the scientific committee made no such recommendation.

Sadly, even those diagnosed with colorectal cancer hardly improve their overall lifestyle after diagnosis, though that may be because “70 percent of cancer patients had never received nutrition advice from their [medical] providers during or after treatment.” That just blows me away.

“Despite the continued obfuscation of the issue by the meat industry—they learned well from the tobacco merchants—meat should continue to be a focus of public health action.” New York City is leading the way, passing legislation to ban processed meats from school meals. What a concept, not giving our kids carcinogens.

Meanwhile, the processed meat industry is trying to reformulate its products. It’s kind of like in the pharmaceutical area, where you try to mitigate the potential adverse effects of one drug by prescribing an additional drug. Like you could add fiber to hot dogs or something to try to counterbalance the risk, potentially reducing the cancer load by changing how it’s processed, rather than by banning processed meat altogether."  From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-much-cancer-does-processed-meat-cause/

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