God Commands the Feast of Trumpets. Is This A Christ-Centered Feast? Amla vs. Diabetes, Cholesterol.

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“The Wedding of Messiah / The blowing of the heavenly trumpet is a call for the entire, true, bride of God to assemble together.”

God Commands the Feast of Trumpets

Leviticus 23:24

“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.’”

Tomorrow, the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar is the Feast of Trumpets. This is one of God’s seven annual festivals described in Leviticus 23. These festivals reveal God’s plan to offer the gift of salvation to all of mankind.

The Feast of Trumpets pictures the pivotal turning point in the history of mankind—the return of Jesus Christ to earth. The Bible reveals that Christ will return at the sound of a great trumpet: “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, emphasis added).

The “last trumpet” will not only herald the end of 6,000 years of man’s misrule—and the beginning of Christ’s rule—but will be the moment when God’s elect will be gathered to meet Jesus Christ in the air. From this point forward, Jesus Christ and His glorified family of spirit beings will rule the earth (Revelation 5:10) and will begin establishing justice and peace (Isaiah 2:2-4).

Over the next days, we will explore more scriptures that reveal the theme of the Feast of Trumpets.

To read more about the Feast of Trumpets and its crucial meaning, read “The Feast of Trumpets: Alarm of War, Announcement of Peace.”  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/the-feast-of-trumpets/

More at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/feast-of-trumpets/

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The Feast of Trumpets: Is this a Christ-centered feast?

“The next biblical feast is the Feast of Trumpets. It is “a holy convocation commemorated with trumpet blasts” (Leviticus 23:24, New Revised Standard Version). Does the Feast of Trumpets teach us about Jesus Christ and His role in things to come?

The symbolism of the trumpet is mentioned by Jesus Himself: “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:30-31).

Several times in the New Testament we see the sound of trumpets tied to Christ’s coming. Notice Paul’s description of the resurrection of the dead at the time a great trumpet announces Christ’s return: “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

We find this again described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”

So Christ will ultimately fulfill the symbolism behind the Feast of Trumpets. He is the center of this feast too. At His second coming, the seventh trumpet shall sound, announcing the arrival of the King of Kings. Loud voices will proclaim, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15, English Standard Version).

So until the sound of the last trumpet is heard, this feast points to the future, with the return of Jesus at its center.”  More at: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-magazine/the-biblical-festivals-that-teach-us-about-jesus-christ

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Feast of Trumpets

“The Feast of Trumpets heralds the intervention of God in the affairs of humanity on a global basis—a dramatic turning point in world history and the return of Christ to this world.

The Feast of Trumpets teaches us that Jesus Christ will visibly return to the earth at the end of this age. At that time He will resurrect the saints who are no longer living and instantly change those saints who are still alive to immortal spirit beings (Matthew 24:31; 1 Corinthians 15:52-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).

This festival commemorates the blowing of the trumpets that will precede His return. Seven angels with seven trumpets are described in Revelation 8-10. Christ will return with the blowing of the seventh trumpet (Revelation 11:15). The Feast of Trumpets depicts the return of Jesus Christ to earth to establish the Kingdom of God.

To read more about the Feast of Trumpets click the links below.

http://www.ucg.org/tags/feast-of-trumpets

The Feast of Trumpets: A Turning Point in History

The Exciting Feast of Trumpets     From: https://www.ucg.org/members/news/feast-of-trumpets

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And: https://www.gotquestions.org/Feast-of-Trumpets.html 

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Jewish names and themes for this feast include:

1. Rosh HaShanah – ‘Head of the year’ / Tishrei 1 is the first day of the Jewish new year in their civil calendar. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve.

2. Yom Teruah – ‘Day of Awakening Blast’ / Jewish belief is that the resurrection of the dead will occur on the feast of Trumpets.

3. The Last Trumpet – On this day, there are 100 trumpet blasts. The final, long, and most significant trumpet blast is called ‘the last trump’.

4. Yom Zikaron – ‘Day of Remembrance’ / A day on which the chosen people remember God, and God remembers them.

5. Yom Hadin – ‘Day of Judgment’ / God opens the books on that day and judges the righteous and the wicked according to what they had done.

6. Yom Hamelech – the Day of the Coronation of the King.

7. The time of Jacob’s trouble – There shall be great tribulation in Israel such as never was since there was a nation.

8. Yom Hakeseh – The Hidden Day / It was ‘hidden’ because they didn’t know the exact day it would begin due to the fact that it is the only feast that starts on a new moon. Thus it was a two day feast because they didn’t want to celebrate it on the wrong day. Concerning Rosh HaShanah, the Jews would typically say “Of that day and hour no one knows.”

9. The Opening of the Gates of Heaven / The Gate of Heaven is opened on Rosh HaShanah so the righteous nation may enter.

10. The Wedding of Messiah / The blowing of the heavenly trumpet is a call for the entire, true, bride of God to assemble together.

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Amla vs. Diabetes, Cholesterol

“For a dollar a month, Indian gooseberry (amla) powder may work as well as a leading diabetes drug— without the side effects.

Transcript of YouTube: (207) Amla vs. Diabetes - YouTube

“Dripping plant extracts on cancer cells in a test tube is a far cry from testing whole foods on whole people. Another amla study published recently, though, tried Indian gooseberries on patients with diabetes.

A normal fasting blood sugar is considered under 100. Between 100 and 125 is called pre-diabetes, and over 125, you are, essentially, by definition, diabetic. So, they took people with diabetes and put them on a diabetes medication like glyburide, sold as Diabeta or Micronase. It brings down their blood sugars.

Then, researchers compared that leading diabetes drug to a just three-quarters of a teaspoon a day of dried powdered amla—that’s less than 2 berries a day worth. They just gave them a tiny bit of this fruit, and it worked even better than the leading drug. So they tried half a teaspoon a day of gooseberry powder; a quarter teaspoon a day. That’s less; that’s not even one berry, and it still brought their sugars down into the normal range.

Here are the potential side effects of the drug, glyburide: most commonly weight gain, feeling like you’re going to throw up, or (rarely), your skin starts to fall off, or your liver fails, or it poisons your bone marrow. Side effects of gooseberries? Well, I don’t know, they taste kind of sour.

Amla has been used safely for centuries, but these researchers did actually find three dramatic side effects. In addition to bringing their blood sugars down, amla lowered their bad cholesterol straight from the danger zone into the happy zone. One gooseberry a day cut their bad cholesterol in half in three weeks. Boosted their good cholesterol, and cut their triglycerides in half!

Yeah, but how expensive is this amla stuff? How expensive are Indian gooseberries? Most of the diabetes drugs are generic now. You can get a three months’ supply for only like $50. So I biked over to an Indian spice store I actually have in my neighborhood to see if they had amla, Indian gooseberries. I was afraid they’d be like, uh, what? Instead, they were like, uh, do you want frozen, dried, sweetened, salted, pickled, packed in syrup, packed in nitrogen? I bought all these in a tiny little store in a strip mall a couple blocks away from where I live. You can tell I liked the sweet the best. And yes, they had powdered too. A three months’ supply—three dollars!

Am I recommending people treat their diabetes with gooseberry powder? No, I recommend curing your diabetes with a plant-based diet. Why treat anything when you can get at the root cause and reverse it, in the first place?”

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 MaryAnn Allison.

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What-are-the-benefits-of-amla-powder

https://www.livestrong.com/article/280952-what-are-the-benefits-of-amla-powder/

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Forgiving Yourself? Private Prayers. Do Statins Reduce Your Risk of Heart Attack or Stroke?

Forgiving Yourself?

“Does God want us to be mired in guilt and regrets, or does He provide a way out of them? What do you need to know about forgiving yourself?

Our past deeds can sometimes weigh very heavily on us. There is no way to travel back in time to undo things we have done in the past, though many of us wish we could.

The apostle Paul’s regrets

Even the great apostle Paul looked at his past with great regret. “For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9).

Paul wrote these words about 20 years after his persecution of the early Christians, and they indicate that he had by no means forgotten his shameful and destructive actions as a young man. The Bible record shows us that Paul left that life behind and went on to lead a much more constructive and productive life. And, as we will see, he had much to say about forgiveness and not remaining stuck in feelings of guilt.

What can we do when guilt and regret about our past actions keep us from moving on with our lives as we should? How can we learn to leave those things behind and move forward? The Bible doesn’t speak in terms of forgiving ourselves, but it does give a blueprint to follow in freeing ourselves of past guilt and regaining mental health.

We can start by realizing that forgiving, whether it involves forgiving others or forgiving ourselves, is not about condoning wrong actions. It is not about a lack of accountability. It involves understanding that God forgives sinners who turn from their sins and turn to Him, and that God then allows and wants them to move forward.

Manasseh’s guilt

The life of Manasseh, king of Judah, is very instructive about how God views a repentant sinner. Manasseh was the son of righteous King Hezekiah, who was generally considered to be one of the best kings of Judah. Manasseh, on the other hand, was considered to be among the worst. Ironically, his reign over Judah was the longest of any of the kings—55 years!

The Bible lists some of the evil deeds of King Manasseh in 2 Chronicles 33. Verse 2 begins by telling us that Manasseh did evil things in God’s sight. He rebuilt the sites of pagan worship that had been torn down by his father (verse 3). He sacrificed his own children in idol worship and consulted mediums (verse 6). He set up an idol in the temple of God (verse 7).

Verse 9 finishes by saying that Manasseh seduced the people of Judah to do more evil than the pagan surrounding nations had done. That is a terrible indictment!

According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Manasseh was responsible for a great deal of bloodshed among those who tried to follow God: “For by setting out from a contempt of God, he barbarously slew all the righteous men that were among the Hebrews; nor would he spare the prophets, for he every day slew some of them, till Jerusalem was overflown with blood” (Antiquities of the Jews, p. 214).

It is hard to imagine having a more guilt-ridden past than Manasseh!

In time God caused the nation to be taken into captivity by the Assyrians and Manasseh to be carried away in chains (2 Chronicles 33:11). Finally, Manasseh took stock of his actions and repented of his sins (verse 12).

What was God’s response, after the enormity of Manasseh’s sins and wickedness? He saw Manasseh’s change of heart and heard his cries. He “received his entreaty” and restored Manasseh to the throne in Jerusalem (verse 13). Manasseh demonstrated his genuine change of heart by destroying the places of idol worship and rebuilding the altar of God (verses 15-16).

Even the sins of Manasseh were not too great to be forgiven by God!

Forgiveness from God comes first!

We need to first seek the forgiveness of God, as shown by Manasseh’s example. The common denominator among people being forgiven by God, no matter how deplorable their deeds might have been, is repentance (turning from their sins and turning to God).

The Bible describes Manasseh’s repentance: “Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers” (2 Chronicles 33:12).

Repentance involves sorrow for past deeds and turning from them to live life differently. In the words of the apostle Paul, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). Paul goes on to say that God has appointed a day when He will judge the entire world.

God’s opinion of us is what will ultimately matter, and He is willing to forgive if we repent. Understanding that should help us move on with our lives, regardless of what we may have done in the past. (For more information about repentance before God, see the article “How to Repent.”)

When we have repented of our sins, God not only forgives them, He also removes them from us. Knowing this is the vital starting point for forgiving yourself.When we have repented of our sins, God not only forgives them, He also removes them from us. Knowing this is the vital starting point for forgiving yourself.

Psalm 103:11-12 explains this wonderful truth about God’s forgiveness: “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

God’s mercy toward us gives us all the chance to move forward in our lives with a clean slate!

The problem with guilt

Guilt can be a healthy emotion to alert us to the fact that we have made mistakes, and we need to make changes in the way we treat others or changes in the way we live our lives. But if we hang on to feelings of guilt after repentance and after making needed changes, it can become an unhealthy emotion.

Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary gives this definition of guilt: “Feelings of culpability especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy: morbid self-reproach often manifest in marked preoccupation with the moral correctness of one’s behavior.”

Hanging on to feelings of guilt (whether the offenses are real or imagined) can prevent you from forgiving yourself and moving on with living a productive life. It is important to establish whose opinion really matters and to know how God views us. The apostle Paul explained that God “has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

There will be a time for all of us to answer to God and to be judged by Him. For those who are being called today, the time of giving account and being judged is now (1 Peter 4:17). God has made it possible for us to be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to Him by the death of Jesus Christ, through repentance and baptism. (For further information about this, see the article “What Is Baptism?”)

When we have truly repented and been baptized, we are forgiven completely and reconciled to God. Notice Colossians 1:21-22: “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.”

When God has forgiven us and reconciled us to Himself by the death of His Son, there is no reason to hang on to guilty feelings about anything in our past!

In the words of the apostle Paul: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Moving forward

When we have repented of our sins, been baptized and made the necessary changes in our lives, it is time to leave the past behind and move forward. Even after baptism we will always need to be aware of the times we fall short, and we will always have a need to repent of sin when it enters our lives. Our focus, though, should be forward-looking, and we should bear in mind that when God forgives sins, He forgives completely and desires to see us move on.

An encouraging passage from the book of Jeremiah is repeated in the book of Hebrews: “‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,’ then He adds, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more’” (Hebrews 10:16-17).

What about the concept of forgiving yourself? The Bible has shown us that the path to follow is to repent before God, change the path we’re on and be assured that when God forgives, He removes us from our transgressions.

Consider one more passage from the apostle Paul: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press forward toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).”  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/change/forgiveness/forgiving-yourself/

Read more about God’s incredible gift of forgiveness in the article “What Is Forgiveness?”

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Private Prayers

Matthew 6:5-6

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ laid out the foundations of Christianity; and in this section He addresses the wrong and right ways to pray. Prayer is not for show or to impress other people. It is designed to help us build a personal relationship with our Creator. The core of our prayer life is one-on-one, alone with God. When we pray in private, we can express our deepest emotions and be open with God in a way we could not be in public.

The example of the New Testament Church shows that this does not mean that there is no place for public prayer, as there are many examples of the Church of God praying together (Acts 1:14; 4:24-31; etc.). But we must always be on guard against the attitude of hypocrisy that Jesus warned about.

Read more in our article “Private Worship Toward God.”  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/private-prayers/?

For more about what the Bible teaches about prayer, see our article “How to Talk to God.”

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Do Statins Reduce Your Risk of Heart Attack or Stroke?

Watch Now 

“Statins are used to lower cholesterol levels but don’t reduce the risk of stroke or heart attack. Cholesterol is a risk factor tied to artery disease - the higher the cholesterol the more likely you’ll have a heart attack or stroke. Dr. McDougall presents a new study that shows statins provide a risk reduction of about 1% for heart attack or stroke prevention, in other words no real reduction. As with all drugs, statins have potential adverse side effects that can be serious, without offering any real benefit. Changing your diet yields greater results than any pill will ever deliver.”

From:  https://www.drmcdougall.com/articles/common-health-problems/high-cholesterol/?

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The Record Breaking Queen. Cause and Effect in Prophecy. Soy Worth a Hill of Beans?

 

The Record-breaking Queen

The “Princess Auto Mechanic”

The “Princess Auto Mechanic.” At the age of 19, Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service, where she learned to repair automobiles and served as a skilled auto mechanic. 

During the war, the young Princess Elizabeth desired to serve her nation in a more active way. She begged her parents to let her join the military to defend the island.

Though her parents refused to allow her to join at first (since princesses did not historically serve in the military), they eventually relented and allowed her to enlist.

At the age of 19, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) as Elizabeth Windsor. During her service in the ATS, she learned to repair automobiles and served as a skilled auto mechanic. The press dubbed her the “Princess Auto Mechanic.” She served in this role until the end of the war.

To this day, she is the only female member of the royal family to have ever served in the military.

She carried her knowledge and love for automobiles throughout her life. She was known to drive herself on various occasions; she taught her children to drive and even worked on automobile engines into her old age.

  “Queen Elizabeth II has broken many records during her long reign.

• Her coronation was the first to be broadcast live on television. Three out of every four people in the United Kingdom (over 27 million) watched the ceremony, with 11 million more listening on the radio.

• (The coronation. Queen Elizabeth II, wearing the Imperial State Crown, with Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, after her coronation on June 2, 1953 (Press Association via AP Images)).

  She was the longest-reigning queen in British history, exceeding the 63-year reign of Queen Victoria (her great-great-grandmother) by seven years.

• At the age of 96, she was the oldest British monarch, having surpassed Queen Victoria and King George III, who both died at the age of 81.
• Her image or profile appears on the currency of at least 35 different countries—the most of any monarch.   
• In her 1970 visit to Australia and New Zealand, she became the first monarch to do a casual stroll to meet the people in person, instead of just waving from a distance. It is now the norm for British royals to mingle directly with the people.

But her most outstanding attribute was her deep sense of duty to serve and faithfully carry out her responsibilities with honor. During her silver jubilee celebrations in 1977, she recommitted herself to her pledge to devote her life to serving her people.

The queen kept her personal life as private as possible, though sadly, the actions of her sister, children and extended family made that challenging. Yet despite many controversies surrounding her family, she remained personally grounded and fulfilled her duty to her people and the institution she represented.

The throne of David 

As we reflect on the long life of Queen Elizabeth II, it is important that we also consider the prophetic significance of the throne she sat on for just over 70 years.

In the Bible, God made a promise to King David that his throne would exist forever, never lacking a ruler to occupy it (2 Samuel 7:12-17). God was so emphatic about this promise that He told the prophet Jeremiah that the fulfillment of this promise and prophecy was as sure as the rising and the setting of the sun (Jeremiah 33:17-21).

We believe that the late Queen Elizabeth sat on that throne—making her a link in the chain of this promise’s fulfillment. (To learn more, download our free booklet The United States, Britain & the Commonwealth in Prophecy.)

As the British people, and the world, mourn her death—we pay tribute to her by honoring her part in that long historical chain. She served her people with honor and set an example that will continue to benefit people for years to come.

Please join us in praying for the comfort of this great woman’s family and, in particular, for her son, the new King Charles III.

Long live the king and . . . Long remember the queen.”       More at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/blog/long-remember-the-queen-a-tribute-to-queen-elizabeth-ii/?

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Cause and Effect in Prophecy

Deuteronomy 28:1, 15

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. …

“But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you. …”

“Bible prophecy, and the Bible as a whole, teaches us the principle of cause and effect. Obeying God’s good and beneficial laws ultimately leads to wonderful blessings. Disobeying—sinning—ultimately leads to the horrible curses described in Deuteronomy 28.

This is a sure and certain principle—there are predictable consequences to our actions, physically and spiritually.

So why does humanity so easily forget this inevitable truth? Because under the sway of Satan, we have learned to postpone some of the bad consequences, and Satan has used his enormous powers of deception to make the bad look good and the good, bad. He tricks us into thinking there are shortcuts—that we can escape the consequences.

But God wants us to take the long view—to see through the deception to the ultimate reality. He gives us His laws and Bible prophecy so we can see what will cause suffering and what will cause real joy and happiness. Choose life!”

Read more about cause and effect in our article “Why Is Our Modern World Under Ancient Curses?”      For more about the purposes of Bible prophecy, see “Purpose of Prophecy.”  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/cause-and-effect-in-prophecy/?

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Soy Worth A Hill Of Beans?

“Are soybeans better than other types of beans for heart disease prevention—or does the soy industry just have more money and clout to tout?

For over a decade, soy foods have enjoyed the rare privilege of an FDA-approved food label health claim about soy’s ability to protect against heart disease. Now a billion-dollar industry, they have a lot of money to fund research touting the benefits of their bean. And although there is also a U.S. Dry Bean Council, representing all the other beans, I think you can get a sense, just by comparing their websites, who may have more money to spread around.

So though you may not soon see ads on TV with anyone exclaiming they are “gonzo for garbanzos,” there was a study out of Tulane recently that looked at the cholesterol-lowering power of non-soy legumes. There are all sorts of beans out there. Which did better to lower the #1 risk factor (LDL cholesterol) of our #1 killer (heart disease): soybeans or non-soybeans?

Soy consumption drops bad cholesterol, on average, about four points. Other beans—lentil, lima, navy, pinto, etc.—dropped bad cholesterol eight. Though it’s illegal for, say, a baked bean manufacturer to make health claims on their label, soy isn’t special in that regard. All beans are beautiful—and in this case, beat out soy, two to one!” 

(To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the video. This is transcript contributed by Bruce A. Hamilton.)

Video at: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/soy-worth-a-hill-of-beans/

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM · February 10, 2012 · Volume 7

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The Festivals Jesus Celebrated. The Sign of Love. Why Don’t Health Insurers Encourage Healthier Eating?

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The Festivals Jesus Celebrated.

“Which days will you celebrate this year? Few give this any consideration, but you should. Some little-known holy days can help unlock benefits God wants to give you!

People lost sight of a beautiful series of holy days designed by God to remind us each year of His plan to offer salvation to each of us and all mankind.

Here are the basic facts:

When it comes to religious celebrations, most people claiming to be Christian today don’t observe the days Jesus did. Instead, they’ve accepted the decision of church leaders long ago to abandon the days of worship that Jesus and the first-century Christians observed in favor of pagan celebrations such as Christmas and Easter that were rebranded with Christian meaning centuries after Christ’s death.

Historians tell us that church leaders made these decisions in order to separate Christianity from Judaism and to make it easier for pagans to convert to Christianity. While this reasoning obviously seemed valid to those who made these decisions, the result was catastrophic.

Abandoning the biblical holy days given by God stripped mainstream Christianity of “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). People lost sight of a beautiful series of holy days designed by God to remind us each year of His plan to offer salvation to each of us and all mankind. (Read more in our free booklet From Holidays to Holy Days: God’s Plan for You.)

God’s festivals

Fortunately for us, the festivals of God and their rich meanings are still recorded in the Bible, and there are many people all over the world who have discovered them and observe them.

Here is a brief overview of these masterfully designed days that build upon each other in spiritual significance.

Passover: Jesus and the apostles observed this festival on the evening prior to His crucifixion, and it continues to remind us of Christ’s atoning sacrifice for our sins. This is the foundation of Christianity and begins God’s plan of salvation—a plan that will provide eternal life as members of God’s family to all who respond.

The Days of Unleavened Bread: This festival lasts for seven days and includes holy days on the first and seventh days. Christians observe these days by putting leavening—which is symbolic of sin—out of their homes to remind them of Christ’s instruction that we must put sin out of our lives to please God (Mark 1:15).

Pentecost: This festival pictures the receiving of God’s Holy Spirit, which is given to people when they repent of their sins and are baptized. The Holy Spirit empowers us to obey God’s good and beneficial laws, and it is through the Holy Spirit that we can receive the gift of eternal life.

The Feast of Trumpets: This festival is the pivot point in God’s plan of salvation. This holy day represents Christ’s return to earth, the resurrection and transformation of faithful believers into spirit, and Christ’s forcibly taking control of the nations to establish the Kingdom of God here on earth.

The Day of Atonement: This day is observed by fasting—refraining from eating or drinking to humble ourselves and draw closer to God—and pictures the binding of Satan for 1,000 years. With Satan bound, it will be easier for people who have survived the chaotic events leading up to Christ’s return to understand and choose God’s way of life.

The Feast of Tabernacles: This seven-day festival pictures the millennial reign of Christ on earth. The first day is a holy day. As the effects of Christ’s reign unfold throughout the world, all people will be given the opportunity to respond to God’s calling and enjoy universal peace and prosperity.

The Eighth Day: This concluding festival, commonly called the Last Great Day, marks the culmination of God’s plan to offer salvation to all mankind. People who lived and died prior to Christ’s return and who did not understand God’s way of life will be resurrected back to physical life to be given a full opportunity to learn about God’s plan and respond.

A promised blessing

When you trade in Christmas and Easter for the festivals of God, you’ll put yourself in position to have a richer relationship with God and an enhanced understanding of His plan of salvation for all mankind. Psalm 111:10 offers this amazing promise: “A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.”.  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/seven-feasts-of-the-lord/

More at:  https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/biblical-festivals/festivals-jesus-celebrated/

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The Sign of Love

John 13:34-35

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

“Why did Jesus call this a “new” commandment, when He had long before inspired Moses to write, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” ( Leviticus 19:18 )? That is the old part, but Jesus adds in John 13, “as I have loved you.” That is the new, much more challenging part. Jesus Christ willingly gave His life for us! What greater depth of love can there be ( John 15:13 )?

So, though God gives those who follow Jesus Christ and the Bible many things that make us stand out from the world, here He lists the most important one as love.

Matthew Henry put it this way: “This was what their Master was famous for; and therefore, if you see any people more affectionate one to another than what is common, say, ‘Certainly these are the followers of Christ, they have been with Jesus.’” From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/the-sign-of-love/?

See “New Commandment: Why Did Jesus Give It?” For more about the spiritual gift of love, see “Love of God.” 

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Why Don’t Health Insurers Encourage Healthier Eating?

Why don’t more big payors in health care embrace plant-based eating? 

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.

“Many of the diseases that cause a constant drain on health care budgets can be prevented by proper nutrition; so, why aren’t the big payors getting involved? I mean even like a 1 percent decline in excess body fat could alone save tens of billions. You’d think at least the health insurance industry would try to get people to eat healthier to try to pay out less money. Well, one could say the insurance industry actually benefits from high healthcare costs because these rising costs are simply passed on to both individuals and employers in terms of higher premiums, and insurers take a fixed percentage of these premiums as increasing profits. They get a piece of the pie; so, the bigger the pie—the unhealthier everyone is—the bigger their piece. As such, insurers have not done as much as they could to help reduce health care costs because lower costs would hurt their bottom line.

“What if there was a medication that could successfully treat and even reverse heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and many other chronic conditions without any negative side effects and offered the promise of dramatically reduced health care costs?” Imagine all the advertising there would be to promote it; imagine how much they would charge. A drug that could not just treat but cure diabetes and these other diseases? “Then, what if you were told this medication exists today, is available to everyone in unlimited quantities at a low cost, but the vast majority of the American public has never heard about it.” Do you want a solution to significantly reduce health care costs? The solution is to use food as medical treatment, specifically, foods made from minimally processed plants.

“One of the main barriers is simply the current widespread belief that once someone has a chronic condition, such as heart disease or type 2 diabetes, there is very little that can be done to actually reverse the disease, and the best outcome possible is to maintain the condition so that it just doesn’t get any worse. The fact that a whole food plant-based approach provides a safe, effective, low-cost alternative to not just eliminating symptoms but potentially reversing the underlying condition without drugs or surgery is unknown to a vast majority of Americans. In contrast to the pharmaceutical industry that spends large sums to market new drugs,…there are not big profits in promoting a plant-based diet.”

The politics surrounding healthcare is who’s-going-to-pay-for-it, instead of what kind of healthcare is best, and the evidence is overwhelming that a whole food, plant-based diet provides the best opportunity to not only reduce the growth in spending, but actually decrease total health care costs more than any drug, medical procedure, insurance reform, or provider payment model out there.

Thankfully, the word is spreading. A review of the evidence published in Kaiser Permanente’s journal concluded that “[p]hysicians should consider recommending a plant-based diet to all their patients, especially those with high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or obesity. Kaiser has followed up with user friendly guides (freely available online) for both physicians and patients, explaining the benefits and practical aspects of implementing a plant-based diet.”

So hey, why aren’t all insurers sending out such information to all their members? You know how all the drug ads are, like, “Ask your doctor if this drug is right for you.” Well, members could be prompted to ask their physicians about the ability of a plant-based diet to reduce or eliminate prescription drug use and reverse disease. Though of course, these materials would also have to list all the side effects. Side effects include: “increased energy, lower blood pressure, improved digestion, all while eating unlimited quantities of satisfying food.” Ask your doctor if plants are right for you."  From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/why-dont-health-insurers-encourage-healthier-eating/?  Michael Greger M.D. FACLM ·  August 3, 2022  · Volume 58 

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