What Is the Old Covenant? The New Covenant: What Is New About It? World Health Organization Classified Processed Meat As A Group 1 Carcinogen.

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What Is the Old Covenant?

“The Bible speaks of an Old Covenant and a New Covenant. What was the Old Covenant? Were God’s laws abolished along with the Old Covenant?

Covenants are common in our modern day, as they were in biblical times. A covenant is a formal, binding contract or agreement between two or more parties, in which each party agrees to abide by specific terms spelled out by the covenant.

So what is the Old Covenant?

Background of the Old Covenant

The roots of the Old Covenant actually trace back to Abraham, the forefather of Israel. God initiated a covenant with Abraham in which He promised to make a special nation of his descendants. It is these descendants who later entered into a covenant with God at Mount Sinai.

Notice the following scriptures in which God spells out specific promises to Abraham and his descendants. These promises include:

• Becoming a populous nation and a company of nations (Genesis 12:2; 15:5; 17:2-7; 35:11).
• Specific real estate—the Promised Land (Genesis 13:15; 15:18-21; 17:7-8).
• National greatness (Genesis 22:17; 27:28-29; 28:13-14).

These covenanted promises passed from Abraham to his son Isaac (Genesis 17:19), to Isaac’s son Jacob (whom God renamed “Israel”—see Genesis 35:10-12; 28:3-4, 13-14), to Israel’s 12 sons (Genesis 49), and to their offspring (who became the 12 tribes of Israel).

After Abraham’s death, the family eventually ended up in Egypt, and they grew prolifically. Exodus 1 records that while in Egypt, they became entrapped in a life of bondage. “So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” (Exodus 2:24, emphasis added throughout).

The next 10 chapters record God’s intervention to extricate Israel from Egypt, through the famous 10 plagues and the appointment of Moses as God’s spokesman.

Then, 430 years after confirming the covenant with Abraham, God brought his descendants out of slavery, free at last to begin living as an independent nation (see Exodus 12:40-41).

Israel’s formal introduction to the covenant”

Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/covenants/old-covenant/

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The New Covenant: What Is New About It?

“What was the problem with the Old Covenant, and what really changed with the New Covenant? What does the Bible say is new about the New Covenant?

Throughout history, God has made various covenants, or agreements, with human beings. These covenants lay out the terms of the relationship God wants to have with humanity. Two of the key covenants recorded in the Bible are:

The covenant God made with ancient Israel at Mount Sinai, also referred to as the “Old Covenant.”

The “New Covenant,” which was inaugurated by Jesus Christ, and which is the covenant that is in force for spiritual Israel, the Church.

Scripture states that the New Covenant is making the Old Covenant obsolete (Hebrews 8:13). But what does that mean? Did God create an entirely different set of terms for this new agreement? Just what is “new” about the New Covenant?

This article highlights four key changes from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. Although these four items do not encompass every difference, they illustrate the fundamental distinction between the two agreements.

A change of the sacrificial law

The Bible states that sinners earn the death penalty (Romans 6:23). Forgiveness of those sins requires blood to be shed to satisfy that penalty (Hebrews 9:22). Under the Old Covenant, the Israelites sacrificed animals as sin offerings, shedding the blood of those creatures as God commanded.

However, animal sacrifices were insufficient as substitutes for human beings. The sacrifices did not truly cleanse the Israelites from their wrongdoing, “for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).

Since animal sacrifices could not blot out sins, why did God require them under the Old Covenant? Because those sacrifices reminded Israel of their sins and pictured the time when removal of the death penalty would truly become possible! God never intended for those sacrifices to be in force permanently! He had a plan in place “from the foundation of the world” to have Jesus Christ make the ultimate sacrifice (Revelation 13:8).

Christ’s sacrifice of Himself made it possible to take “away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Because He is God, and human beings were created through Him (Colossians 1:16), His life is worth immeasurably more than all other human lives throughout history. Thus, His sacrifice was more than sufficient as total payment for the death penalty we have earned because of sin.

When Christ instituted the New Covenant with His shed blood (Luke 22:20), He made it possible for us to be truly cleansed from sin (Hebrews 9:13-14; 1 John 1:7). The result was that animal sacrifices were no longer required as symbols, because Christ was the ultimate fulfillment of that symbolism. We accept Christ’s sacrifice at baptism. Although we must still repent each time we sin in the future, Christ’s sacrifice is applied upon our repentance—no further sacrifices for our sins are needed (Hebrews 9:24-28; 10:12).

A change of the priesthood

Under the Old Covenant, priests came from the family of Aaron in the tribe of Levi. The high priest was required to offer a sacrifice for the Israelites’ sins each year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29-34). He alone was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place (the innermost room) in the tabernacle and to approach the mercy seat—which represented the throne of God.

The Israelites all deserved the death penalty for their sins, and so the high priest’s responsibility was to make intercession for them. Since he was also “subject to weakness,” he understood how easy it was to sin, and he could show compassion for the people (Hebrews 5:1-4).

However, as we saw, the shed blood came from animal sacrifices under this physical system. Thus the priests under the Old Covenant were not able to truly make people right with God, and a change was necessary (Hebrews 7:11-12).

That change came with Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for all humanity, which fulfilled the symbolism of the yearly sin offering on the Day of Atonement. But Christ also filled the role of the high priest by offering Himself. He continues to serve as our High Priest, interceding on our behalf (Hebrews 7:23-28).

Under the New Covenant, Christ does not serve in a physical tabernacle (Hebrews 9:11). Instead, He performs His duties as High Priest in “the true tabernacle” (Hebrews 8:1-2). Today the Church is “the household of God” and “a holy temple” (Ephesians 2:19-22).

Members of the Church are able to draw near to the true mercy seat—the throne of God—as they develop a close and meaningful relationship with the Father. This is made possible because of Christ’s sacrifice and His continuing role as our High Priest (Hebrews 10:19-22).

Due to the change from the Levitical priesthood and the physical tabernacle, the rituals associated with the tabernacle and temple under the Old Covenant are no longer required—including various types of food and drink offerings, as well as ceremonial washings. These physical rituals were only “imposed until the time of reformation” (Hebrews 9:8-10)—which Jesus Christ ushered in with the New Covenant.

Under the New Covenant, God’s people now have a High Priest in Jesus Christ who intercedes for them continually. Since Christ lived as a human being, He understands our weaknesses, can help us when we are tempted, and can show us compassion when we sin. We can therefore be confident in seeking forgiveness when we repent (Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:14-16).

A change of the heart

God gave Israel His eternal laws that define sin—with the 10 Commandments serving as the core of Israel’s responsibility under the Old Covenant (Exodus 34:27-28; Deuteronomy 4:13). However, there was one key problem with this arrangement: Although God’s law was, and is, perfect (Psalm 19:7), the people were not.

God knew in advance that the Israelites were missing something very important. They did not have the necessary heart to be truly obedient to Him (Deuteronomy 5:23-29). The Israelites agreed to obey God because of external motivation. They were afraid of punishment from God (Exodus 20:18-21), but that type of external motivation does not guarantee right behavior! Unless a person is internally convicted to do what is right, it can become far too easy to choose to do what is wrong instead.

Ancient Israel sadly fell into this trap and repeatedly disobeyed God throughout history, despite the fact that they suffered punishment as a result. Time and time again, the Israelites broke the covenant they made with God, illustrating a key flaw in the covenant. The flaw was not with the laws they agreed to obey, but rather with the people themselves (Hebrews 8:7-8)!

The Israelites did not have a heart to truly know God because the time was not yet right for God to give them that heart (Deuteronomy 29:4). But even without a right heart, it was still possible for the Israelites to respond to the correction God gave them when they made wrong choices. Unfortunately, they failed to adjust their behavior in the long run. However, their example provides a powerful lesson to us of how easy it is to sin (1 Corinthians 10:11-12).

Under the New Covenant, God’s people have the opportunity to receive a heart to obey Him. In the Old Testament, God announced that the time would come when His people would have His laws internalized and written on their hearts—when they would truly be able to know Him (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

When God’s Spirit was made widely available on the Day of Pentecost, that goal became possible. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians become able to think like God (1 Corinthians 2:11, 16). God’s mind—reflected in His law of love—can now be internalized within His people.

A change of promises

Under the Old Covenant, Israel agreed to obey God; and in return, God agreed to treat Israel as “a special treasure” (Exodus 19:5-6). He promised Israel specific blessings, including rain at the appropriate time; victory in battle; freedom from sickness; a fear of Israel among other nations; and such tremendous prosperity that Israel would lend to other nations, not borrow (Leviticus 26:3-13; Deuteronomy 7:12-15; 28:1-14).

These promises were all incredible. But they were also all limited to this physical existence! There was no opportunity under the Old Covenant for the nation of Israel to receive access to the gift of eternal life. Thus, the Israelites could only enjoy the blessings of the Old Covenant during their life span on this earth.

Why was eternal life not offered under the Old Covenant? Because Jesus Christ had not yet come to this earth as humanity’s Savior, and “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Christ’s sacrifice provided a way for humans who had not lived perfectly (all of us!) to avoid the death penalty. Forgiveness was a key requirement so that human beings could “receive the promise of the eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15)—eternal life (Titus 3:7).

Another necessary missing component is the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ called it “the Helper” (John 16:7), a “Promise” from God that He gave on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 1:4-5; 2:1-4).

As covered earlier, the Holy Spirit enables God’s laws to be written on our hearts. But beyond that, the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to be “heirs of God,” so that we can “be glorified together” with Christ (Romans 8:16-17). God’s Spirit serves as a guarantee, or down payment, on our promised inheritance of eternal life in God’s family (Ephesians 1:13-14).

The Holy Spirit was made available to a select few of God’s servants who lived prior to Christ’s inauguration of the New Covenant (1 Peter 1:10-11). However, the vast majority of the Israelites did not have access to that Spirit, and thus did not have access to eternal life. But God intended from the beginning for all human beings to have that opportunity (Titus 1:2)—His purpose is to bring “many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10), expanding His family.

Access to salvation under the New Covenant makes this “a better covenant” than the covenant at Mount Sinai, because the New Covenant “was established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6). Ultimately, all human beings throughout history will have an opportunity for eternal life as part of the New Covenant. Those who become part of God’s family will dwell with Him forever, and there will be no more death (Revelation 21:1-4).

The New Covenant amplifies the terms of the Old Covenant

This article has not covered every difference between the Old and New Covenants. However, the changes we have examined illustrate a consistent trend: Contrary to the belief of many, the New Covenant does not abolish all the terms of the Old Covenant!

Both covenants include provisions for a sacrifice for sin, a priesthood serving in a tabernacle, obedience to God’s laws, and promised blessings from God. However, in each case, the changes in the New Covenant amplify the terms of the Old Covenant!

Under the Old Covenant, God presented the Israelites with two options and told them to “choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20). God offers that same choice today to those whom He calls into the New Covenant. What makes the New Covenant “new” is that it is a far better agreement than the one entered into at Mount Sinai.

Ultimately all humanity will have the opportunity to be part of the New Covenant. But if God is calling you to be part of that covenant now by helping you to understand His truth, you have a decision to make. Will you choose life—eternal life? The choice is up to you.”                    From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/covenants/the-new-covenant/?

For further study on this topic, read the article “Biblical Covenants.”

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WHO report says eating processed meat is carcinogenic: Understanding the findings

“The World Health Organization (WHO)’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) announced that consumption of processed meat is “carcinogenic to humans (Group I ),” and that consumption of red meat is “probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A).” The report differentiates the two meats as follows:

• Processed meat – meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to enhance flavor or improve preservation
• Red meat – unprocessed mammalian muscle meat such as beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, horse and goat meat

Consumption of processed meat was classified as carcinogenic and red meat as probably carcinogenic after the IARC Working Group – comprised of 22 scientists from ten countries – evaluated over 800 studies. Conclusions were primarily based on the evidence for colorectal cancer. Data also showed positive associations between processed meat consumption and stomach cancer, and between red meat consumption and pancreatic and prostate cancer.

• Meat processing such as curing (e.g. by adding nitrates or nitrites) or smoking can lead to the formation of potentially cancer-causing (carcinogenic) chemicals such as N-nitroso-compounds (NOC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).
• Meat also contains heme iron, which can facilitate production of carcinogenic NOCs.
• Cooking – especially high-temperature cooking including cooking meats over a flame (e.g., pan-frying, grilling, barbecuing) – can also produce carcinogenic chemicals, including heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAA) and PAHs.

To help further explain the report findings we spoke with Kana Wu, a member of the IARC Monograph Working Group for this report and a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The IARC Working Group said red meat is “probably” carcinogenic, but several studies showed no clear association. Can you explain why it’s probably carcinogenic?

In large population studies, but not all of them, greater red meat consumption has been associated with higher risk of colorectal cancer. Although these studies were not entirely consistent, results of laboratory studies led the IARC working group to conclude that red meat is probably carcinogenic.

Some reports in the media, particularly those from the meat industry, promote red meat consumption as part of a healthy and balanced diet. Is this true?

While it is true that red meat has nutritional value – it is rich in protein, minerals and vitamins (e.g., vitamin B12) – many studies have also shown that high consumption of red meat can increase the risk of colorectal cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases, and may lead to higher risk of dying of those diseases (when compared to other good sources of protein, such as poultry, fish or legumes). Thus, much evidence suggests that an optimally healthy diet would be low in red meat.

The IARC/WHO classified processed meat as a Group 1 carcinogen, the same category as tobacco smoking and asbestos. Some media reports have indicated that eating bacon or hot dogs is as bad as smoking. Is this true?

It has been known for a while that high consumption of red or processed meat can adversely affect health, including raising risk of colorectal cancers and some other cancers.”  Continued at: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2015/11/03/report-says-eating-processed-meat-is-carcinogenic-understanding-the-findings/

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America’s Forgotten Christian Heritage. When He Had Given Thanks. How Effective Is Chemotherapy?

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America’s Forgotten Christian Heritage

“As the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving comes around again, we are reminded of America’s founding and how far the nation has drifted from the devotion to God on which it was founded.

Paintings courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol 

This famous painting in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol building depicts the presentation of the draft of the Declaration of Independence to Congress on June 28, 1776.

The wall of the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., features a series of eight massive paintings illustrating key events in the founding of America. One of these depicts the Pilgrims who were first on the Speedwell before transferring to join others on its sister ship the Mayflower. Prominent figure William Brewster holds open the Bible to the clear words “The New Testament of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Above them on the sail are written the words “God with us,” shortened from the Pilgrim motto, “In God we trust, God with us.”

Of course, “In God we trust” is America’s national motto even today—imprinted on all U.S. currency and coins. Yet new polls reveal that trust in God and in the Bible have plummeted in recent years. But this result has been a long time coming—the end of a leftist, secular humanist agenda to banish God from the public sphere.

For many decades we have seen a concerted effort to play down the role of the Bible and religion in early America. Now things have gone much further, with the nation’s founders denigrated as evil racists. Of course, they were not perfect men, even by the world’s standards. But they established a nation that has overall been a great blessing to the world.

Yet as they would be first to point out, this achievement was not their doing but God’s. They regularly acknowledged Him and, along with the wider populace, sought out His direction and blessing. Let’s take a closer look at the Christian underpinnings of America’s founding and consider the depths to which the nation has now sunk—and what that means for the future.

Restoring the Sovereign

The Pilgrims and other Puritan settlers sought to construct a model Christian society. Conrad Cherry, in his 1971 book God’s New Israel: Religious Interpretations of American Destiny, states: “They believed that, like Israel of old, they had been singled out by God to be an example for the nations (especially for England). With their charter and company in America, the Puritans could in effect construct a republic independent of an English crown that had not allowed them the freedom of their experiment at home” (p. 27).

Setting up and spreading the Kingdom of God, as they understood it, was central to their national purpose. The 1643 Articles of Confederation for Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Plymouth and New Haven declared, “We all came into these parts of America with one and the same end and aim, namely, to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to enjoy the liberties of the gospel in purities with peace.”

To this end, the Puritans set up a theonomist state—one based on the laws of God as found in the Bible. The 1644 New Haven Charter was written with the following stated purpose: “that the judicial laws of God, as they were delivered by Moses . . . be a rule to all the courts in this jurisdiction . . .”

Fast-forward a century to the Continental Congress deciding to break away from British rule, the group signing a world-changing document “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world . . . with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence.” That document, the Declaration of Independence, meant independence from Great Britain but direct dependence on God.

Unbelievable as it may seem today, the United States of America was formed not as a secular republic but one recognizing God as its unseen Ruler. In The Nature of the American System, R.J. Rushdoony writes: “The concept of a secular state was virtually non-existent in 1776 as well as in 1787, when the Constitution was written, and no less so when the Bill of Rights was adopted. To read the Constitution as the charter for a secular state is to misread history, and to misread it radically. The Constitution was designed to perpetuate a Christian order.”

As the Declaration of Independence was being signed, Samuel Adams, who was the driving individual behind the American cause, stated it clearly: “We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven, and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His Kingdom come” (quoted by Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Light and the Glory, 1977). No one in the room objected.

The faith of the Founding Fathers

Many have tried to argue that the Founding Fathers were mostly deists. Deism is the belief in an impersonal God who set everything in motion but does not actively intervene in His creation. However, M.E. Bradford in A Worthy Company proves that up to 52 of the 55 framers of the Constitution were professing Christians.

On July 4, 1821, John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, declared: “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity. From the day of the Declaration . . . they [the American people] were bound by the laws of God, which they all, and by the laws of the Gospel, which they nearly all, acknowledged as the rules of their conduct.”

George Washington, the “Father of Our Country,” spoke in his 1789 inaugural address of “my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aid can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes . . .”

In 1787, James Madison, the “Father of the Constitution” and fourth president of the United States, said: “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future . . . upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to sustain ourselves, according to the Ten Commandments of God.”

John Adams, a loud Christian voice in the early United States and its second president, believed that the nation should be governed by the Bible, writing: “Suppose a nation in some distant Region, should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited. Every member would be obliged in conscience to temperance and frugality and industry, to justice and kindness and charity towards his fellow men, and to piety and love, and reverence towards Almighty God.

“In this commonwealth, no man would impair his health by gluttony, drunkenness, or lust . . . No man would steal or lie or any way defraud his neighbour, but would live in peace and good will with all men—no man would blaspheme his maker or profane his worship, but a rational and manly, a sincere and unaffected piety and devotion, would reign in all hearts. What a Eutopia, what a paradise would this region be” (Diary, Feb. 22, 1756).

The religious views of revolutionary America’s “Renaissance man,” Benjamin Franklin, are fiercely debated today. Many have stated that Franklin died a deist. But this is simply not true. While it’s clear from his Autobiography that he adhered to deism in his early years, he became disenchanted with it later in life.

In his famous speech to the Constitutional Convention on June 28, 1787, Franklin violated a fundamental tenet of deism—God’s non-involvement—when he said: “. . . The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings, that ‘except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this . . .” He followed this with a proposal to hire a clergyman to open every session of Congress with prayer.

It should be noted that none of the Founding Fathers has been so misrepresented as Thomas Jefferson, who’s also charged as being a deist. Yet this is the same Jefferson who concluded his second presidential inaugural address by saying, “I shall need . . . the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our fathers, as Israel of old, from their native land and planted them in a country flowing with all the necessaries and comforts of life.”

In 1815 he stated: “We are not in a world ungoverned by the laws and the power of a Superior Agent. Our efforts are in His hand, and directed by it, and He will give them their effect in His own time.” Clearly both Franklin and Jefferson believed in a personal, intervening God, and they both were supportive of the Christian religion.

Jefferson’s phrase about a “wall of separation between church and state” has been wrested from its context. He was speaking to a Baptist audience and was likely referring to a similar phrase by early Baptist leader Roger Williams—the “wall” referring to protecting the Christian church from the ravages of the world, not protecting the state from influence by Christian principles. The Founding Fathers did not want the establishment of a national state church, but they very much wanted the involvement of God and Christian believers in the governance of the country.

In an 1892 U.S. Supreme Court case, Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, the justices reached this decision: “Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian.”

Reaping national blessings—and curses

As a result of so many in early America relying on God, the nation experienced great blessings. We find this principle laid out by God in 1 Samuel 2:30: “. . . Those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” But the strong morality and devotion to God that characterized the early United States were not just happenstance. God brought it about as a necessity.

As explained in our free study guide The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy, America was destined to separate from Great Britain and become a great nation in its own right, helping to fulfill the promises to the biblical patriarch Abraham of national blessings and of being a great blessing to the world (be sure to request your free copy).

This required that America have high moral standards and a devotion to the God of the Bible. God would not pour out His wonderful national blessings on a despicable populace that would misuse and squander all His gifts. Of course, there were problems and sins among the people, but not the widespread immorality and contempt for God we see today.

God turned the hearts of the early Americans toward Him to a significant degree so that He could bless them. We find a similar instance of this in Scripture, when Judah’s King Hezekiah sought to restore the worship of God after a period of idolatry and rebellion. As we’re told, “the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, at the word of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 30:12).

And so God did with the United States—which was richly blessed and in turn became a blessing to the world at large. But that was then. Today many Americans have rejected any sense of godly morality. They have increasingly turned away from Him, rejecting Him from having a role in their lives or society as a whole. Many outright blaspheme Him. So where does that leave America today?

Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 both start with a list of wonderful blessings that God would bestow on Israel for remaining faithful to Him in obeying His laws. But then these chapters move to list terrible curses for unfaithfulness and disobedience. Be sure to read these chapters with a mind toward where America has been and the road it is now heading down.

The curses read like many of today’s headlines. Many other sobering prophecies foretell terrible destruction to come as a consequence of our national sins. Again, see our free study guide and take heed.

We should pray for the nation and other nations—that all will come to repentance. But realize that they are set on a course they are unlikely to turn from until prophesied end-time calamities strike, which they assuredly will. But you can heed God right now and make sure that you personally are obedient to Him. As He promises, “Those who honor Me I will honor.”

As Thanksgiving approaches, reflect on the amazing origins of America as a God-honoring nation and be thankful for our blessings. But also grieve over the terrible wrongs we see. And pray for the day when the true Kingdom of God will come with the return of Jesus Christ and untold blessings will overflow the world.”  From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-magazine/americas-forgotten-christian-heritage

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When He Had Given Thanks

John 6:11

And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.

“Giving thanks for our food has a long history. Here Jesus Christ, the Son of God, not only gave thanks for the five barley loaves and two small fish, He gave a miracle that multiplied this lad’s lunch into enough food to feed thousands! This is the only miracle of Christ that is recorded in all four Gospels.

Every meal we eat is a gift from God and a reminder of the miracles of creation. So it is only fitting that we follow Christ’s example of thanking God for the food He provides.”

For more about the miracles Jesus Christ performed, see our article “Miracles of Jesus.” For more about praying as Jesus did, see “Do You Pray the Way Jesus Taught?”

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/when-he-had-given-thanks/

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How Effective Is Chemotherapy?

“Most chemo drugs are approved by the FDA without evidence of benefit on survival or quality of life.

Transcript of YouTube at:  https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-effective-is-chemotherapy/

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.

“Chemotherapy is one of the most common treatments for cancer. How effective is it for improving survival and quality of life? This video, and the next, will answer those questions.

Over the next few decades, the number of new cancer cases will continue to skyrocket. Are we winning the war on cancer? Sadly, in general, no––this despite the introduction of hundreds of new anticancer drugs.

The war on cancer has been likened to the war on terror. No matter how many drone strikes you do, it’s nearly impossible to kill all the bad guys, and no matter how precise the bombing, one must always consider the collateral damage. The toxicity from cancer therapy can be debilitating, and not just health-wise. There’s also the “financial toxicity.”

Patented anticancer drugs are priced at up to nearly a thousand dollars a day. Even with health insurance, the average cost to patients for stage IV breast cancer, for example, can run $190,000. It’s bad enough to be fighting for your life without bankrupting your family at the same time; it’s a problem still common to this day.

Who can forget the apocryphal story of Walter White, working two jobs with health insurance, and still couldn’t afford his cancer care. Now, not everyone is willing to start their own meth lab, but many are willing to go for broke. A large proportion of cancer patients reported their willingness to declare bankruptcy or sell their homes to pay for treatment. I mean, look, aren’t the high prices justified if new and innovative treatments offer significant benefits to patients? But you may be shocked to find out that many FDA-approved cancer drugs might lack clinical benefit.

Wait, then how did they become FDA-approved? “Most approvals of cancer drugs are based on flimsy or untested surrogate endpoints, and postmarketing studies rarely validate the efficacy and safety of these drugs on patient-centered endpoints.” Let me explain what that means. New chemo drugs are increasingly approved just based on so-called surrogate endpoints, which means instead of looking at what we really care about—survival or quality of life—they approve drugs based on things like “response rate” or tumor shrinkage. But who cares if the tumor shrinks, if it doesn’t actually extend your quantity or quality of life? It’s kind of counterintuitive, but just seeing a tumor shrink on a CT scan or MRI is not necessarily correlated with improvements in survival or symptoms. In fact, most studies that have actually followed people out found low correlations with survival. The most recent comprehensive analysis found 90 percent of studies of such validation trials found little correlation with overall survival.

Of 36 new chemo drugs approved by the FDA based on these kinds of surrogate endpoints, once they were actually put to the test in the real world, only 1 in 7 was actually shown to extend life, and half explicitly flopped, and the rest remain untested, revealing “that most cancer drug approvals have not been shown to, or do not, improve clinically relevant endpoints.” “Exorbitant drug prices are bad enough for treatments that work, but charging vulnerable patients for drugs without evidence that they actually improve patients’ survival and quality of life is unconscionable.”

Why doesn’t the FDA require proof that chemo drugs actually benefit patients before approving them? Drug companies say that requiring randomized, controlled trials with meaningful measures would take too long, but the study time reduction using surrogate endpoints rather than overall survival is estimated at just 11 months. So, instead of it taking 7.3 years to come to market, on average, it would take 8.2 years. Yes, we want to get these drugs out as soon as possible, but only if they’re actually going to help people.

Do cancer drugs improve survival or quality of life? “You don’t need to know, according to our broken regulatory system.” And things aren’t much better over in Europe. A systematic evaluation of chemo drug approvals showed that most entered the market without evidence of benefit on survival or quality of life. And even years later, there was still no conclusive evidence that these drugs offered any benefit, and when they did, the gains were often marginal.

That’s why you see editorials in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute referencing Hans Christian Andersen, the author of the tale of The Emperor’s New Clothes. “These studies all converge on a singular conclusion: only a minority of new cancer drugs approved by US and European regulatory authorities in recent years deliver clinically meaningful benefits to patients;” in fact, some cancer-related deaths may be hastened, or even caused, by the toxic effects of chemotherapy rather than the cancer itself. Based on a review of tens of thousands of cancer patients, in as many as 27 percent of cases the cancer treatment itself caused or hastened death. Okay, but it might be worth that risk if the potential benefit is large enough.”  From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-effective-is-chemotherapy/

See Fighting the Ten Hallmarks of Cancer with Food and How Not to Die from Cancer.

And that’s the subject of my next video:  How Much Does Chemotherapy Improve Survival?   https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-much-does-chemotherapy-improve-survival/

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Is Thanksgiving Being Replaced? The Sacrifices of Thanksgiving. The Gut-Destroying Toxin You Eat Everyday.

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Is Thanksgiving Being Replaced?

“Saying thanks to God is what Thanksgiving was all about. Is it still?

This year some U.S. retailers are starting their Christmas sales even earlier than Black Friday—now on Thanksgiving Day. Have our priorities changed?

When I was a child, the American Thanksgiving Day was a big event. We were taught in school about the history of the day and to be thankful to God for our blessings. Even television commercials were focused around family togetherness and being thankful.     But times have changed.

Black Friday becoming Black Thursday?

For years the Christmas shopping season “officially” started the day after Thanksgiving in the United States.

The term “Black Friday” got its name from retailers making their largest profits during the holiday season. Profits put retailers “in the black.” Since Friday was the start of the Christmas season, the name “Black Friday” was born.

In recent years some retailers began opening their doors at 7 a.m. on that Friday. Then it was 6 a.m., then 5 a.m. and then midnight.

Now some retailers are beginning their sales at 8 p.m. on Thursday, the same day as Thanksgiving!

What that means is that some employees will have to be at these stores even earlier than that. They won’t have much of a Thanksgiving.

Black Friday is now Black Thursday.

Is Thanksgiving even important anymore?

When President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday, he called it “a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens” (quotes from the American Presidency Project).

Thanksgiving was originally intended to draw our attention to God, not ourselves. But today many Americans rush through Thanksgiving so they can go shopping and do the things they want to do. Instead of being thankful for the blessings they have, many believe they deserve and are entitled to them.

This completely different mind-set is not what Thanksgiving is supposed to be all about.

Losing sight of God

Concerning America’s wealth, President Lincoln commented that “no human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God.”

His words sound very similar to what God told the people of Israel more than 3,000 years ago about the blessings Israel’s descendants would receive.

“When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt … then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth’” (Deuteronomy 8:10-17).

For many decades America has been the most blessed nation on earth, and for that we should be thankful to God. But instead of being thankful for what we have, many want to rush out and accumulate more.

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money … unthankful … lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1-4).

“Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts. And their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21).

Americans have forgotten their heritage. Why else would we replace a day set aside for God with a day set aside for greed? Why are we replacing Thanksgiving with Black Thursday?         Because we have forgotten God.

Let’s remember God

Moses, the leader of ancient Israel, wrote about the heritage of Israel. (To explore the connection between ancient Israel and modern nations such as the United States, Australia, Britain and Canada, see “Who Are the United States and Britain in Prophecy?”)

Moses wrote, “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, and they will tell you” (Deuteronomy 32:7).

Moses goes on to show how God raised up ancient and modern Israel and blessed them so much that they became the greatest people on earth (verses 10-14).

But as the case is today, Moses also wrote that Israel would forget God because of this wealth (verses 15-18).

Then Moses wrote that because Israel forgets God, God will stop helping them and troubles will come upon Israel (verses 19-26).

God even says, “For they are a nation void of council, nor is there any understanding in them. Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!” (verses 28-29).

In light of all the troubles the United States has been experiencing over recent years, we should examine the quality of our relationship with God and our gratitude toward Him.

So before America replaces the meaning of Thanksgiving, let’s remember that the day was intended to pay homage to God, not to ourselves.”       From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/blog/is-thanksgiving-being-replaced/

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The Sacrifices of Thanksgiving

Psalm 107:22 

“Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.”

Leviticus 7 describes a “sacrifice of thanksgiving” that involved offering grain and an animal sacrifice (Leviticus 7:12). This offering was not for sin, but for rejoicing and showing thankfulness to God.

We know from the book of Hebrews that the system of animal sacrifices has been superseded, yet Hebrews still talks about a “sacrifice of praise to God.” This is defined as “the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Hebrews 13:15-16).

Praising God, doing good and sharing are sacrifices that continue to please our Creator today.”   For more about thanksgiving, see “In Everything Give Thanks.”

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/the-sacrifices-of-thanksgiving/ 

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The Gut-Destroying Toxin You Eat Everyday

by: Dr. Craig A. Maxwell

“Since the 1990s, there’s been something different about the food you eat everyday. It still looks the same, it tastes the same but it’s not the same nourishing food your grandparents ate. Lurking deep inside a fresh-grilled ear of corn or your favorite soy-based vegetarian dish could be a gut-destroying toxin. It’s called Bt toxin and what you don’t know about it could seriously affect your health.

What is BT Toxin?

Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) is a gram-positive soil-dwelling bacterium that has been used as an insecticide since the 1920s. When farmers spray their crops with this bacterium or its insecticidal proteins or spores, insects eat it and they die when their intestines explode. When this pesticide is just sprayed on your food, you are able to wash it off. Indeed, the spraying of it on crops, even organic crops, allows it to be washed off. Sunshine also quickly degrades it. When used in this way it is considered effective against pests and harmless to humans, as it is not absorbed into the plant.

Now with the advent of genetically modified crops, it is difficult to avoid this dangerous toxin. This is because biotech giant Monsanto decided to profit from this pesticide by splicing the Bt gene with corn, soybeans, and cotton. Now these plants have Bt toxin genetically inserted in them. It cannot be washed off, and it does not degrade during the growth cycle.

Monsanto describes these new crops as “pest-resistant”, giving unsuspecting consumers the idea that pests somehow smell the Bt pesticides and avoid the crops containing them. No. Nothing could be further from the truth. When any insect takes a bite of a genetically modified Bt toxin crop, the toxin literally splits their guts open and they die. So, why would you want to eat it? Remember, when it was only sprayed on the plant, it was easily washed off or degraded by sunshine.

Terrifying Side Effects of BT Toxin

According to a UK report published in 2004, twelve German dairy cows died a slow and painful death after consuming GMO Bt Toxin corn. Syngenta (a biotech company linked to Monsanto) has been trying to cover up this fact for nearly a decade.

Here are just a few of the side effects of Bt Toxin:

Allergic Reaction

Your immune system is designed to protect you against toxins and foreign invaders. Bt toxin is a foreign invader, which means the more you eat GMO foods, the worse you’ll feel. You may develop allergic symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, wheezing, watery eyes, asthma, and hives and be unable to figure out what’s causing them.

Developmental Disorders

Studies have proven that animals given feed from GMO crops experienced noticeable alterations in their mood and behavior. Hogs exposed to Bt toxin exhibited cannibalistic behavior while rats who ate it exhibited signs of anti-social behavior, withdrawing from others and aggressively climbing the cage walls.

This has led researchers to believe that Bt toxin and autistic symptoms are closely-related because they seem to interfere with functional digestive development. Children with ASD have a disproportionate amount of gastrointestinal disorders, reinforcing the belief that gut and brain health are very closely connected.

Autoimmune Disease

Less than a hundred years ago, autoimmune diseases were uncommon. Now we live in a society where conditions such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and multiple sclerosis are almost commonplace. It’s becoming more unusual now not to have some type of autoimmune dysfunction than it is to be sick! Sick has become the societal norm and pesticides have been cited as one of the primary causes.

Since 80% of your immune system is located in your gut, the last thing you want to do is eat gut-destroying Bt toxins. One of the most alarming facts about Bt toxin GMO foods is their staying power.

Even if you eat a primarily organic diet and “slip up” every once in the while by eating some corn chips laced with Bt toxin, the effects of the toxin can stay with you. Once inside your stomach, these Bt toxins take can over by destroying your natural gut flora and forcing your digestive system into continually producing more of the pesticide!

Severe Food Allergies

Once your immune system begins to go haywire, it will be unable to tell the difference between whole organic food and genetically modified food. Once your healthy gut flora has been destroyed and altered, a condition called leaky gut syndrome will result. In a person with leaky gut syndrome, the intestinal lining is more porous than it should be. This allows toxins, undigested food particles, and bacteria to run unchecked in your bloodstream, causing chronic inflammation and multiple food allergies.

Kidney Disease

Your kidneys are designed to flush toxins from your body. Continually eating genetically modified crops containing Bt toxins may eventually destroy your kidneys.

Infertility

There is a rising theory among health-conscious individuals that one of the main purposes for the development of GMO crops is population control. When Mike Adams of NaturalNews.com interviewed a biotech scientist known only as “Ed”, the man confirmed that Bt toxins do, in fact, contribute to infertility and that he thought this fact was “awesome!” He went on to say that he believed genetically modified crops were doing humanity a favor because the world is overcrowded.

Cancer

The Institute for Responsible Technology reports 65 serious health risks associated with GMO crops, including cancer development. For example, rats fed potatoes engineered to produce their own insecticide developed precancerous cellular growth in their digestive tract.

Foods Containing Bt Toxin:

Corn – Unless it’s organic, stay away from corn. Over half of the corn grown in the United States is genetically modified to contain Bt toxin.

Soy – Studies have shown that soy is not the health food you have been lead to believe. Up to 90% of soy grown in the United States is genetically modified to contain Bt toxin.

Sugar Beets – In 2012, GMO sugar beets got the green light as well so avoid these and purchase organic beets only.

Diary Products – The milk you pour in your coffee and onto your child’s cereal each day could contain dangerous Bt toxins, as livestock are often fed corn and soybeans which most often contain Bt toxin. Use organic milk instead. Better yet, use organic almond milk.

Squash – Most yellow and zucchini squash is genetically modified and contains Bt toxins.

Cotton – Cotton has been genetically modified to produce Bt toxins. It is pressed into cottonseed oil which is used in vegetable oil and margarine.

Beef-When possible, choose only grass-fed, organic beef. Cattle are often fed Bt toxin-containing feed.

Potatoes-Approved in 1995 by the FDA as the first pesticide-producing crop in the United States.

How to Avoid BT Toxin

The best way to avoid Bt toxins in food is to eat organic whenever possible. When selecting produce, it’s really important to understand what the label numbers mean. A four-digit number beginning with a “4” means it’s been conventionally-grown. A five-digit number that begins with a “9” means it’s organic. A five-digit number beginning with an “8” means it’s genetically-modified and contains harmful Bt toxins.

Also, it is very important to read food labels. Produce isn’t the only thing you have to watch out for. Any food containing corn, soy products, vegetable oil or dairy could potentially contain dangerous Bt toxins. Look for non-GMO or GMO-free foods only.

If you didn’t really understand the dangers about Bt toxins before, you’re not alone. These major biotech corporations will do anything it takes to make sure this critical information doesn’t reach you. Remember, become a label-reader, purchase organic, and look for “non-GMO” food labels. Once you stop unintentionally eating poison, your health will improve by leaps and bounds you never thought possible!                    From: https://www.askdrmaxwell.com/2013/03/the-gut-destroying-toxin-you-eat-everyday/

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Children of God. “You Shall Not Make Idols.” “Enriched” Flour: What It Is and Why You Should Avoid It.

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Children of God

“What does the Bible mean when it talks about the children of God? What does this description mean for our purpose in life—now and forever?

The ancient pagan world was rife with ideas about the relationships between mankind and the gods. They imagined gods who were half human and half animal; gods who were half man and half spirit. Even in today’s Christian community some believe angels cohabited with women to produce giants. What does the Bible say about children of God?

What does the phrase “children of God” mean? Is it just a way of describing those who do good deeds? Or the common heritage of mankind? Is it a mere label for professing Christians or other religious people?

If we are willing to look into the Bible for answers, we will find that children of God actually exist in our world today, preparing to inherit the universe from their Father.

Man and his gods

Ancient myths reveal that man wants to believe in gods and has created most of them in his own image. His gods may reside on earth, in heaven or in interplanetary space. They need have no morality or standards of behavior because as gods they are exempt. Their sexual exploits are a central theme of most myths, imagined by men to justify human immorality. Such gods may even be made of sticks or stones.

All of these gods are poor imposters, conjured up in the mind of the one described in the Bible as the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The former archangel, Lucifer, renamed Satan the devil, does hold sway over mankind for a limited time. Having lost his prominent place in the presence of God (see Isaiah 14:12), he is bent on destroying everything God stands for. He will soon be deposed by the returning Jesus Christ, who will take over Satan’s throne and rulership over the earth.

Of course, this Satan is not a man and does not literally sit on an earthly material throne. He is, in fact, a powerful spirit being, created by the Eternal God for good but turned to an adversary and destroyer through rebellion against his Maker. But he is the spirit ruler of earth and the deceiver who hides the true identity of the children of God.

The father of murder and lies

Is Satan really a god, then? Certainly, but only in the minds of those who worship him. Jesus Christ even called Satan the “father” of certain people. Why? Because he so dominates and influences the minds of men that they ignorantly model themselves after him. These might be properly called the children of a false god.

Man had been created to be the children of God, but Satan entered the picture and kidnapped the human race. He deceived them into rejecting God, and they lost that special relationship with their Creator. Satan in effect became their father. From that time forward, man’s behavior has reflected that of Satan himself.

Jesus, addressing certain religious leaders of His day, said to them, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me” (John 8:44-45).

In Revelation 12:9 Satan is described as “the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.” His deception blinds the minds of men and women to the real truth of their potential to become the “children of God!” Yet that close, loving family relationship with the Creator God is exactly what the Bible says is in store for all who will accept our Father’s call to be His children. Does that seem too fantastic to believe?

Children of God, now and forever

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are the children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:1-2).

Did you follow that? Though we may be called children of God today, we will become the true children of God at Christ’s return. The apostle John says that when Christ returns “we will be like Him.” And what is He like?

Most people today picture Jesus Christ as either a babe in a manger or a long-haired man walking the dusty roads of the Holy Land. He is often depicted as frail and sympathetic but rarely as a conquering warrior, king and judge.

But God’s Word gives us a completely different description of Him as He is in heaven today and as He will appear when He returns to earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

“His head and hair were like white wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength” (Revelation 1:14-16).

This is certainly no babe in a manger! Would you want to meet this Christ as an enemy? No! But what about as an elder Brother coming to rescue you from the destruction coming on the earth?

Brothers—sons of the same Father

It is common for Christians to mention Jesus Christ as our Brother. But what does that mean? Is He a brother only by personality or chosen lifestyle? Can we just pretend He is our brother on earth, in order to emulate His way of life? Or is there much more to the word brother in this relationship?

You will be amazed and astonished to find that you can actually become Christ’s literal brother in the spirit world—in the actual family of Almighty God, whom Jesus called His Father.

This is a great mystery! Since the Garden of Eden, God has allowed mankind to be ignorant of his potential relationship with the Father until Christ makes it known to whom He chooses. Jesus made this plain, saying, “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (Matthew 11:27).

But Jesus has revealed that His Father is holding in reserve a great inheritance to give to Jesus Christ. And believe it or not, that inheritance is also waiting for us who are called joint heirs, or coheirs with Christ.

Glorified children of God

Notice this amazing Bible passage: “The Spirit Himself [itself] bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:16-17)

This truth, directly from the Bible, has not been understood by most readers, perhaps because it is just too fantastic to believe! It clearly states that those who are spiritually in harmony with God through His Holy Spirit are going to be glorified.This truth, directly from the Bible, has not been understood by most readers, perhaps because it is just too fantastic to believe! It clearly states that those who are spiritually in harmony with God through His Holy Spirit are going to be glorified.

What does that mean? It means that they will be given the glory of God. As we read earlier, they are going to be like Him and see Him as He is. This is the future potential of the children of God today. But when will it happen? How does it happen?

A dramatic change coming

Here is the Bible’s answer: “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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53).

This is a description of the soon-coming return of Jesus Christ to this earth. The dead in Christ will live again—as children of God.

Only after we become the literal children of God, born into His spirit family, can we inherit the Kingdom right alongside Jesus Christ. And to what are we heirs? “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son” (Revelation 21:7).

This is entirely consistent with what is revealed to be the inheritance of our elder Brother, Jesus. Notice, “God … has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds” (Hebrews 1:1-2).

Yes, Jesus Christ, the firstborn Son of God, is heir of everything we know in the universe—and we are to be joint heirs with Him.

Doing the will of God

Who then are the children of God? How can we be counted among that number who are to inherit all things? Let Jesus, Himself, answer the question: “Then one said to Him, ‘Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.’ But He answered and said to the one who told Him, ‘Who is My mother and My brothers?’ And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother’” (Matthew 12:47-50). Christ’s brothers and sisters will be identified by doing the will of His Father in heaven!

Becoming part of the spirit family of God—often called everlasting life—starts with doing the will of God now, in this physical life. God created humankind to be born into His spirit family.

Do you really know God?

If you have read this short article about the children of God, you probably have an interest in knowing God. How will you respond to this precious truth?

Will you shrug it off as some do, or will you seek to know more? Will you dig deep enough into your own Bible to discover what it actually says about your incredible future? Will you be able to reject all the counterfeit gods and religious ideas that dominate our world?

Believe it or not, you can personally become one of the future children of God! We hope this website will help you explore what God wants you to do. Why don’t you start down that road today?”  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/what-is-the-meaning-of-life/children-of-god/?

For further study, read the companion article “Are We Children of God Now?”

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“You Shall Not Make Idols.”

“To give an overview of what the 10 Commandments are and why they are important.

“The EEI team is excited to announce the release of the next lesson on the 10 Commandments: “The Second Commandment: You Shall Not Make Idols.”

Idols are not just physically carved images; they can be anything that takes the place of God.

As this world becomes more focused on physical things, it is even more important that we teach our children that nothing should ever take the place of God.

This lesson helps to solidify that understanding, including an exciting activity! We hope this lesson will help you teach your children the importance of making sure nothing ever takes the place of God!

In addition, we are also excited to release a more in-depth overview of the 10 Commandments. This overview is complementary to the one already released. It is designed for those who want to do a more in-depth overview with their children. We hope it brings out even more to the purpose and awesome meanings of all of God’s perfect commandments.

Join other parents, grandparents and guardians to discuss how they are using the EEI Parenting Manual to teach their children in our Facebook Group.”       From: The Second Commandment: You Shall Not Make Idols - Life, Hope & Truth (lifehopeandtruth.com)

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Enriched Flour: What It Is and Why You Should Avoid It

“When you read the ingredient list of supermarket products, you’ll see many contain enriched flour. Enriched flour is flour that has had vitamins and minerals, usually, niacin, riboflavin, folic acid, thiamine, and iron, added to it. This sounds like a good thing. After all, you’re getting B-vitamins and iron when you eat foods made with enriched flour – but what sounds healthy isn’t always. Here’s why.

Enriched Flour is Flour That’s Been Processed and Refined

The reason enriched flour has nutrients added is that they were removed during processing of the grain. To make flour, manufacturers process the grain in a way that removes two portions called the bran and the germ. Bran is the fiber-rich portion that contains protein and a variety of minerals. The germ is rich in B-vitamins and minerals that are essential for health. What’s left after processing is the portion called the endosperm. The endosperm has nutritional value, being a source of protein, carbohydrates, B-vitamins, and iron, but it undergoes still further processing to create a fine powder. During this process, it loses even more of its vitamins and minerals.

Processing grains to white flour removes much of its fiber and destroys most of the B-vitamins and minerals. Flour is “enriched” with B-vitamins and iron to add back what was lost. In reality, other vitamins and minerals were also lost including zinc, magnesium, selenium and vitamin E, but only iron and B-vitamins are added back. Not only does grain processing destroy vitamins and minerals, but it also removes natural antioxidants along with fiber and protein, which are not added back in.

The Benefits of Whole Wheat Flour over Enriched White Flour

Processing grains to make white flour removes most of the fiber. In fact, whole wheat bread has three to four times the amount of fiber as enriched white bread. Why is this important? When you strip grains of their fiber, they become mostly starch and are rapidly digested and absorbed. This creates a more rapid rise in insulin levels that send your blood sugar levels on a roller coaster ride. Plus, it deprives your body of the benefits of fiber, a dietary component that most people don’t get enough of. Soluble fiber helps to reduce cholesterol and lower the risk of heart disease. It also helps you feel fuller after a meal. In addition, white flour is bleached through various means, including the use of chlorine gas. This produces by-products, including a compound called alloxan that destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas of animals. No one knows if they tiny amounts that remain in flour after bleaching are a health threat to humans or not.

Be Informed When Shopping for Bread and Pasta

Look for bread that is 100% whole wheat or 100% whole grain. Don’t be fooled by the term “enriched wheat flour.” This means it’s made primarily from white flour with a small amount of whole wheat added. Wheat flour, without the “whole” in front of it, is made from milled wheat that’s devoid of the nutrient and fiber-rich portions of the grain – the bran and germ. “Unbleached” is another term to be wary of. Just because flour is unbleached doesn’t mean it’s made from whole wheat flour.

The bottom line?

Choose 100% whole wheat or whole grain products, and avoid grain enriched products that have been processed. It’s a healthier choice.”  From: https://cathe.com/enriched-flour-what-it-is-and-why-you-should-avoid-it/

References:  Vegetarian Times “White Bread versus Wheat Bread”
Food and Drug Administration. Code of Federal Regulations. “Enriched Flour”

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