Danger, Fake News. Heeding an Alarm: The Texas Tragedy Still Haunts Us. The Same Diet That’s Anti-Cancer Is Also Anti-Heart Disease And Anti-Lung Disease.

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Fake News in the Church? It Started in a Garden...

“Fake news isn’t new.

In fact, the very first fake news story was broadcast in the Garden of Eden when Satan told Eve:
“You will not surely die...” (Genesis 3:4)

That was a lie — and it’s been spreading ever since.

Christ called Satan the father of lies (John 8:44), and to this day, he remains the invisible broadcaster behind every slander, whisper, distortion, and deception — including many that make their way right into the Church of God.

In a world trained to doubt everything and mock everyone, the spirit of fake news has crept in among God’s people — not just through media, but in our conversations, our comments, our posts, and even our fellowship.

Let’s be real:
Gossip, rumors, harsh opinions, character assassinations — these are all modern forms of false witness, and they violate the Ninth Commandment:

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16)

Even if something is “technically” true, if it’s told with the intent to damage, divide, or discourage — it becomes spiritual fake news.

God hates it.

“A lying tongue… a false witness who speaks lies… and one who sows discord among brethren.” (Proverbs 6:16–19)

It’s easy to fall into it.
We’ve all heard it — maybe we’ve even spread it.

That’s why we must wake up and take spiritual inventory.

Christ didn’t just speak truth — He was the Truth (John 14:6).
As His followers, we must reflect that same Spirit of truth — in our words, our tone, our posts, and even in our private conversations.

So ask yourself:

Do I speak negatively about others?

Do I pass on things I haven’t personally confirmed?

Do I allow cynicism or distrust to shape my attitude in the Church?

Cynicism isn’t harmless. It damages your faith and erodes others’. It causes stumbling — and Christ warned that causing a brother to stumble is no small thing (Matthew 18:6).

This isn’t about being naïve. It’s about being spiritually responsible.
We must not become the carriers of a spiritual virus that Satan uses to weaken the Church from within.

So here’s the challenge:

▸ Don’t engage in or pass along gossip
▸Speak well of others when possible — and stay silent when it’s not
▸Change the subject when others veer negative
▸Choose your words — and your thoughts — carefully

“Let all that you do be done with love.” (1 Corinthians 16:14)
“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne.” (Revelation 3:21)

You were called to truth — not just to know it, but to live it.

Let’s overcome the spirit of fake news — and be vessels of faith, clarity, and peace.

With sincerity and encouragement in Christ,
Bob Schenfield”

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Heeding an Alarm: The Texas Tragedy Still Haunts Us

“Have you ever heard an emergency alarm sound and ignored it?  I have.
I remember the alarm system when I was young in my hometown. A weather alert would come on the television or the radio. Those were the only two systems we had. Because my mother had once experienced a tornado, and we had a next-door neighbor who took the alarms seriously and came knocking on our door, we took it seriously. We would go to our basement until the alarm passed.

Recently, I visited my hometown. One night, storms came through, spawning tornadoes, and the tornado alarms went off. The town now has a system of very loud alarms. When the alarms sounded my wife and I did nothing. We turned over and went back to sleep. Fortunately, nothing occurred. I am alive to write this piece.

I am still digesting the recent flooding tragedy in south Texas along the Guadalupe River. Every time I think of the young girls who were swept away in the dark of night, I grieve for their families. The whole incident haunts us. The region will take a long time to recover. Parents and family of the dead will never fully recover.

Could the devastating loss of life have been prevented? Had it occurred in daylight, rather than the early hours of morning when all were asleep, the number of casualties would certainly have been reduced. It happened when it did, when people were sleeping and evidently the only alarm system was on people’s cell phones. When you are asleep it is difficult to hear and heed an alarm.

I read that Kerr County, Texas, where this occurred is about the size of the state of Rhode Island (1,107 square miles) and only has 54,000 inhabitants. Rhode Island has more than a million people. Emergency services were likely tailored to the size and resources of the population. They proved inadequate.

What do we learn from this tragedy?

I will pay more attention to the sounding of an alarm, whether it is a tornado, fire or other emergency. It is the right thing to do. One day danger will strike. If we prepare even a small amount, it can save a life.

I have thought about the biblical references to the coming of the Lord as a “thief in the night.”  This phrase is used in four locations in the New Testament. Revelation 16:15 says, “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” (Luke 21:34; 1 Thessalonians 5:4; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 3:3).

The metaphor is striking—“a thief in the night.”  While we sleep—when we are least able to hear and respond to danger.
These scriptures refer to spiritual watchfulness.
The events of the Day of the Lord will begin suddenly. Spiritual deception is high. World events suddenly shift. These biblical references speak to preparedness, alertness and righteous works.
My lack of reaction to a local alarm tells me I may need to study these scriptures again.
There is much to learn.” From: https://mailchi.mp/ucg/heeding-an-alarm-texas-tragedy?e=72c729d811

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The same diet that’s anti-cancer is also anti-heart disease and anti-lung disease.

“Following cancer prevention guidelines for lifestyle and diet may increase longevity.

Adherence to cancer prevention recommendations isn’t just associated with higher survival in cancer patients and lower risk of dying from cancer, but lower risk of dying overall. That’s the beauty of eating a more plant-based diet.

Thirty to 50 percent of common cancers are preventable with diet and lifestyle. We have the power to change our health destiny.

A healthy lifestyle that includes a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes may help reduce the number of breast cancer incidences, for example.

The American Institute for Cancer Research recommendations include maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, and eating a diet rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans, while limiting fast food, processed junk, meats, soda, and alcohol.

Specific to breast cancer, those who met most of those recommendations only had half the risk, compared to individuals who only met a couple. If you could only do one of those recommendations, limiting animal foods seems most protective. Adherence to the recommendations is also associated with higher survival in people who already have cancer.

Higher dietary fiber consumption was associated with a 37 percent lower risk of dying from all causes put together and a 28 percent lower risk of dying specifically from breast cancer among breast cancer survivors––and it didn’t take much. There was about a 10 percent drop in death risk for every increment of 5 daily grams of dietary fiber. That’s like a cup of oatmeal or broccoli, or just a third of a cup of beans.

Watch the video “Diet and Lifestyle for Cancer Prevention and Survival” at see.nf/3O4GyAa

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Why is Shavuot Important? Pentecost For Kids. How Much Cancer Does Lunch Meat Cause?

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Shavuot in Scripture: Why is Shavuot Important?

Pentecost is today, Sunday, 28 June, 2023.

“Most Christians today don’t celebrate or are knowledgeable about Jewish (Old Testament) holy days. Yet, there is great benefit to believers in digging into and experiencing the culture and meaning behind the various festivals. Today, we’re looking at why Christians should celebrate Shavuot.

Perhaps you desire to know more or want to connect the Old Testament and New Testament in a way that will help your kids remember it.

Celebrating the Feasts of our Lord is the best teaching tool we as parents and grandparents can use to instill God’s Word, story, and truths in the hearts of our children.

If you have a longing to teach them all that God is and why it matters, this is a great addition to family traditions. I still remember stories that were told to me when I was very young. In fact, in grade school our music teacher was also the music leader at his church. So our musical in 4th grade school was Daniel in the Lion’s Den. I ‘ll never forget those songs or stories.

The same is true today. As we teach God’s Word to our kids – let them sing the stories, read the stories, enact the stories, and celebrate the stories – they too will never forget. I hope you agree that these are great reasons as to why Christians should celebrate Shavuot.

Shavuot In Scripture

Let’s turn to the Bible for a moment. In Scripture, Shavuot is known as “the Feast of Weeks.” Later, in the New Testament, it becomes Pentecost. The following Bible verses show us what the Bible says about this special feast.

Exodus 34:22  You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.

Numbers 28:26 ‘Also on the day of the first fruits, when you present a new grain offering to the Lord in your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work.

Deuteronomy 16:10 Then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give just as the Lord your God blesses you;

Acts 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.

Now let’s talk about why Shavuot (or Pentecost) matters.

Why Is Shavuot So Important?

Shavuot is one of those favorite stories to relive. God has something important to convey in it and that’s why He set it aside as one of the Feasts of our Lord.

In fact, it was so important that God commanded the Jewish people to come to Jerusalem each year to celebrate Shavuot, also known as the Feast of Weeks.

But why is the festival of Shavuot so important to us today?  Glad you asked.

This is my personal take on Shavuot and why we as Christians should celebrate this Jewish tradition every year.

1. God's Holy Law

Shavuot is a reminder of God’s laws (the ten commandments) written on the tablets of stone. It helps to always be reminded of how God delivered the laws on Mt Sinai and read as a family the verses where the experience was recorded.

And all the people were watching and hearing the thunder and the lightning flashes, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it all, they trembled and stood at a distance. Exodus 20:18   Lightning, flashes, thunder, smoke (fire). Things we can all relate to.

Jewish teachings relay that Moses received the Law on the 50th day after Passover. (Exodus 19:1)

We can also note that when Moses came down from the mountain 40 days later, there was a golden calf waiting for him. The people had rebelled against the God who rescued them out of slavery and sustained them day-to-day and created their own god.

The Lord was understandably angry. On that day around 3,000 Israelites were killed.

God is very serious about His Words and His promises!

2. Promise Delivered

We see Shavuot celebrated in the book of Acts as the disciples, who were Jews, plus many more people gathered together.

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out. Acts 2:1-4

This experience told to us by Luke is an example of God delivering on His promise from the book of John.

…but an hour is coming and now is when true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers. God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:23-4

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit who the father will send in my name he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you! John 14:26

That is reason enough to celebrate the Feast of Weeks – Shavuot!

We need reminders of what God has given us. We need the Holy Spirit to bring to remembrance all that God’s Word teaches us.

Jesus the Messiah delivered on His promise! And He is still delivering on His promises today.

Shavuot is about deliverance from bondage and also deliverance from the evils of this world. These are amazing promises of the Lord!

The Feast of Weeks is celebrating God’s faithfulness in maintaining His covenant and fulfilling His promises. There’s a distinct connection between fulfilled promises of the Lord and Pentecost, when Shavuot begins, in the early church.

This particular Pentecost, or Shavuot, is when God gave the law written in the hearts of the people through the Holy Spirit.

3. Languages

In my upbringing, we rarely talked about the early disciples’ Pentecost experience because it brought up the hard-to-answer question about ‘tongues’.

This is not hard to explain when it’s learned in the context and original language of the time.

When God delivered the tablets of stone – the laws – in Exodus 20:18,  it says “the people perceived the thunder and lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking and when the people saw it they trembled and stood at a distance.”

This thundering is each person hearing God’s voice.  The Israelites on the mountain were hearing God speak.

The tongues in Acts are the languages to spread the Gospel to all peoples.  The people outside the room where the disciples were being given the gift of the Holy Spirit heard the Gospel for the first time in their own language.  People traveled from miles around, there would have been people in Jerusalem from all over. Some authorities say there could have been a million people in Jerusalem that day.  The sound coming from the room to the outside was the Gospel and those hearing it were being saved in their own language.  Around 3,000 were saved that day.

It was never about confusion. That’s a misinterpretation. Tongues mean languages. It was and always is about the Gospel. And the people who needed to hear it. Heard it in their language. Today we have the power of the Holy Spirit to share the Gospel with all people. God will supply the words. We are not to let nationalities or languages cause us to hesitate our call.

4. Thanksgiving

Shavuot is a feast of thanksgiving. Thanking God for the harvest, historically wheat and barley. People bring gifts as a sacrifice, gifts from their produce.  We too need to celebrate with a feast of thanksgiving.  Thanking God for the complete assurance of salvation by grace through faith in Christ Jesus.  Gratitude for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who is our helper. Celebrating Shavuot helps us teach our kids about the Holy Spirit and how He guides us on a daily basis.

Are you interested in learning more about the feasts of the Lord and how we can celebrate them?

For free celebration guides, devotionals, decor ideas, activities for kids, and quick, easy teachings on each feast (including Shavuot), click here.

5. Leaven

At Passover, we removed all the leaven from the home. (Leaven represents sin in our lives.)  During Shavuot, we’re given new leaven.  Leaven also means teachings.

Yeshua (Jesus) explained that leaven represents teachings and we are not to learn from the Pharisees, who focus on traditions and doctrines. Instead, we’re to learn from God’s Word. In the first chapter of the Treasures of Healthy Living Bible Study, we discuss how there’s as much to unlearn as there is to learn. As we study scriptures for ourselves and teach our kids to do the same, the Holy Spirit guides us. There are many gifted and blessed teachers we can learn from. Yet the Word is always the final authority.

Celebrate Shavuot

As we celebrate Shavuot, it doesn’t have to be in the traditional Jewish nature.  We celebrate with music, singing, sharing praises, enjoying a feast, fellowship, and reading the story of Ruth with some fun antics added in.  Then we pray for our nation and for Israel.  Consider Acts 2:42-43: They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship to breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

Later, in chapter 3, a man was healed. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Acts 3:8-9  This is why we celebrate the Feasts of Our Lord. We are to live in such a way that people say, “Times are hard. Why are you walking and leaping and praising God?”

Our world can be chaotic and worrisome. Just in the most recent times our gas was shut down, we have COVID fear, and bombs are going off in Israel. There are always a host of hard, painful, and tragic things occurring in this broken, fallen world. Yes, I know these things. I don’t ignore them, but I know the God who knows all and loves me beyond all measure. That He is still good and He is still in control.

Therefore, I’m going to walk and leap and praise God. The Bible isn’t just great stories. It’s Jesus in real time. And because of Him, we rejoice in His Word, His revelation, His redemption, and so much more.

Shavuot is another great opportunity to take a break from our normal routines and set aside special time to remember and celebrate God’s faithfulness.

Are you ready to celebrate Shavuot with your family? I hope and pray so!”  From: https://thebiblicalnutritionist.com/why-christians-celebrate-shavuot/

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See also: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/pentecost/from-pentecost-to-pentecostalism/

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“Almost 2,000 years ago, on the Day of Pentecost, God gave His Church a powerful gift: His very Spirit.

We may not have visible tongues of fire on our heads today, but

with God’s Spirit we can miraculously transform our hearts and

minds daily and take on God’s character.”

“Learn about the significance of the wave sheaf offering

and its connection to the festival of Pentecost.”

“Refresh your understanding on what it means to be

a “firstfruit” and on what the character of a firstfruit

looks like.”

“Discover the power that can guide and direct us daily,

enabling us to have the mind of Christ.”

“Have a refreshing and joyous Feast of Pentecost!”

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: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/learning-center/youth-development/the-word-of-god/feast-of-pentecost/?

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How Much Cancer Does Lunch Meat Cause?

“Why does the leading cancer and diet authority recommend we avoid bacon, ham, hot dogs, sausage, and all other processed meats—including chicken and turkey?

How many years of life are lost to potentially preventable cancers? Every year, more than five million expected years of life are lost to lung cancer, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer alone. Therefore, identifying and improving strategies for prevention of cancer remains a priority, especially since not more than 2% of all human cancer is attributable to purely genetic factors. The rest involve external factors such as our diet.

The most comprehensive summary of evidence on diet and cancer ever compiled recommends we should eat mostly foods of plant origin to help prevent cancer. This means centering one’s diet around plant foods. Not just whole grains and beans every day, but every meal.

And, when it came to foods that may increase cancer risk, they were similarly bold. Unlike many other dietary guidelines that wimp out, and just advise people to “moderate” their intake of bad foods, like eat less candy. The cancer guidelines didn’t mince words when it came to the worst of the worst. For example, don’t just minimize soda intake, avoid it. Don’t just cut back on bacon, ham, hot dogs, sausage, and lunch meats, but avoid processed meats, period, because data do not show any level of intake that can confidently be shown not to be associated with risk.

Processed meat cannot only be thought of as a powerful multi-organ carcinogen, but may increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Red meat was bad, but processed meat was worse, and that included white meat, like chicken and turkey slices. So, with more heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, it’s no surprise processed meat consumption has been associated with increased risk of death.

In Europe, they calculated that reduction of processed meat consumption to less than 1/4 a hot dog a day [sic – – should be half a hot dog] would prevent more than 3% of all deaths.

This was the second largest prospective study ever done on diet and cancer, a study of more than 400,000 people. The largest ever, 600,000, was done here in the US, the AARP study. They found the preventable fraction to be much higher, suggesting, for example, that 20% of heart disease deaths among women could be averted if the highest consumers cut down to like less than a half strip of bacon a day.

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

DOCTOR'S NOTE

“The World Health Organization recently published a report that puts chicken nuggets, deli turkey slices, bacon and other processed meats in the same category as cigarettes and asbestos: known carcinogens. According to independent research cited by the WHO, the deaths of 34,000 people from cancer every year are attributable to diets high in processed meat, in addition to the 800,000 additional deaths due to cases of diabetes and heart disease. That’s a meat-borne epidemic every year.”  From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-much-cancer-does-lunch-meat-cause/

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More on processed meat can be found in videos such as:

• How to Avoid Phosphate Additives
• Autopsy of Chicken Nuggets
• Bacon, Eggs, and Gestational Diabetes During Pregnancy
• Why Is Meat a Risk Factor for Diabetes?
• The Palatability of Cancer Prevention
• Meat Industry Reaction to New Cancer Guidelines
• How Much Cancer Does Processed Meat Cause?
• IARC: Processed Meat Like Bacon Causes Cancer

But cancer risk has been associated with unprocessed meat as well via a variety of potential mechanisms:

• PhIP: The Three Strikes Breast Carcinogen
• Meat Fumes: Dietary Secondhand Smoke
• How Many Cancers Have Been Caused by Arsenic-Laced Chicken?
• Prevent Cancer from Going on TOR
• Starving Cancer with Methionine Restriction
• Zeranol Use in Meat and Breast Cancer

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Five Foolish Things We Do to Foul Up Our Future. Where Is Lent in the Bible? The Truth About Potassium Bromate.

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Five Foolish Things We Do to Foul Up Our Future

“There are some human tendencies that create pitfalls on the path to our future. Here are five of the most common and dangerous ones.

I cringe when I hear the words stupid, dumb or foolish. No one wants to hear those words applied to his or her actions or choices. But sometimes, looking back, we see that those words fit. It has nothing to do with intelligence—some of the smartest people do some of the stupidest things.

We all have blind spots. We can’t always see when we are making a colossal mistake.

But God has given us a book of wisdom to help us look past the blind spots to the reality beyond. The warnings of the Bible can help us avoid the traps that so easily ensnare us.

Consider the following five foolish things God wants to help us avoid. With each one we also provide the alternative wise choice and some resources for further learning. As we will see, studying the wisdom of the Bible is the real antidote to foolishness and failure.

1. Following the wrong things

It’s easy to follow the crowd, even if the crowd is confused or leading us into evil. Wise King Solomon warned, “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent” (Proverbs 1:10). How many young people have been lured with money and precious possessions (verse 13), just to end up in prison—or worse?

It’s even more natural to follow our heart. But the Bible warns, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).

Worthwhile goals and good actions seem to always be upstream, so just going with the flow won’t get us there.

So, what should we do?

Follow God: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Helpful reading: Check out these articles on the Life, Hope & Truth website: “Saying No,” “Temptation: How Does It Occur?” and “The Trouble With Listening to Your Heart.”

2. Blowing up!

How many bad decisions have been made in the heat of anger? As Solomon explained, “Any fool can start a quarrel” and “whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls” (Proverbs 20:3; 25:28). Having a chip on your shoulder can leave you vulnerable—especially to our worst enemy, the devil.

Responding to slights by others can escalate. Even if the first provocation was unintentional, the belligerence can quickly boil over as each mad young man returns fire. (Of course, it’s not just mad men; women can fail at anger management too.)

What does anger do? “When anger is too intense, out of control, misdirected, and overly aggressive, it can lead to poor decision making and problem solving, create problems with relationships and at work, and can even affect your health” (PBS.org from Anger Research Consortium and American Psychological Association sources).

What should we do instead?

Don’t allow anger to cause you to sin. “‘Be angry, and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27). God Himself gets angry (Numbers 25:3), but His anger is always righteous and always under control. We must not allow our anger to explode or to fester, or we will leave an opening for Satan to attack us and lead us into sin.

Helpful reading: “What Does the Bible Say About Anger?” and “Overcoming Dangerous Emotions: Anger.”

3. Starting a bad habit

Generally we don’t think we are starting a habit. But giving in once to something that can harm us can make it easier to repeat and repeat and (you get the idea). This is especially true of addictive substances like tobacco and drugs. Other habits can have varying levels of powerful psychological addiction, like gambling, pornography, eating disorders and video game addiction.

Even laziness can become a bad habit. Solomon wrote, “How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep—so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man” (Proverbs 6:9-11).

The negative results of our habits aren’t always immediately discerned, so we tend to ignore the consequences (Ecclesiastes 8:11). But bad habits of every kind tend to get stronger and harder to break with time, so it is best to avoid them or nip them in the bud as early as possible.

So what should we do instead?

Develop a good habit! Good habits include prayer and Bible study, exercise, a healthy diet, making more good friends and using time productively.

Helpful reading: “Freedom From Addictions” series, including “Alcoholism,” “Pornography,” “Smoking,” “Gambling,” “Gaming” and “The First Month of Recovery: What to Expect”; How to Pray; “How to Study the Bible”; and “What Do You Do With All Your Time?”

4. Believing lies

From the very beginning, lies have come in attractive packages. The serpent convinced Eve that the delicious-looking (but forbidden) fruit would make her “like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Humanity has accepted that lie ever since—the lie that we can decide for ourselves what is right and wrong, that we don’t need God to define it for us.

Along with that lie, Satan told Eve that she wouldn’t surely die. Humanity has since swallowed several other similar lies, including the one that humans have an immortal soul and that God was withholding good things from mankind. Humans began believing the liar and mistrusting the truth-teller. That’s a dangerous combination.

If we believe that our mind and feelings are the ultimate source of morality, we will believe other lies, such as: It feels so right, it can’t be wrong.

However, God created us and the laws of the universe, and He really does know what will help us and what will hurt us. He is the source of all truth.

But what about those who say there is no God or who reject the Creator and His laws?

God challenges us to examine the facts: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. … [They] exchanged the truth of God for the lie” (Romans 1:20, 25, emphasis added throughout). (Study this for yourself in our Life, Hope & Truth article “Intelligent Design: Can Science Answer the Question, Does God Exist?” and the related articles.)

And God strongly warns against falling for a widespread religious deception that rejects His laws in the last days.

“The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).

So what should we do?

Seek the truth. Jesus defined truth in His prayer to the Father: “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). The entire Bible was inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16), and God is pleased by those who, like the Bereans, “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).

Helpful reading: “What Is Truth?” “How to Find Answers to Your Bible Questions,” “Can You Handle the Truth?” and the biblical warnings about deception in the article “Antichrist.”

5. Committing to something we shouldn’t

Solomon advised against hasty decisions and thoughtless promises.

“Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge, one of those who is surety for debts; if you have nothing with which to pay, why should he take away your bed from under you?” (Proverbs 22:26-27).

Too many people saddle themselves with unmanageable debt early in life. Others jump into other commitments without weighing the long-term consequences, whether it be marriage, military service or some other endeavor that can be difficult to extract oneself out of and have long-lasting effects.

So what does God want us to do?

Take commitment seriously, especially the commitment of marriage and the commitment to God through baptism. God is not against commitment! He just wants us to carefully count the cost and be sure we will follow through on the good commitments we wisely choose to make (Luke 14:28-30, Luke 14:31-33).

Helpful reading: “Decision Making: Seven Steps for Making Good, Christian Choices,” “What Is Marriage?” “What Is Baptism?” and Change Your Life!

Perhaps in your study of the wisdom of the Bible you will find many more foolish choices to avoid, and many more wise actions to take. But these five provide a start. Applying these points will help us get on God’s road that leads in the best possible direction: “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).”  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/holy-bible/old-testament/the-writings/proverbs/five-foolish-things/

RELATED ARTICLES

• Wisdom Literature in the Bible
• The Book of Psalms
• Proverbs
• The Book of Job
• Song of Solomon
• The Book of Ruth
• Lamentations
• Ecclesiastes
• The Book of Esther
• Book of Daniel
• Ezra
• Nehemiah
• 1 Chronicles: Lessons for Us
• 2 Chronicles: Lessons From Judah’s Kings

Learn More About The Writings

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Where Is Lent in the Bible?

Transcript from Daily Video at: https://youtu.be/ZsLnzmTEegY

“The Bible shows the truth behind popular customs like Lent.

[Steve Myers] “Christianity has now entered the Lenten season. Mardi Gras is passed, Fat Tuesday into Ash Wednesday, and now the Lenten season is recognized by much of the Christian world. But when you check out what your Bible has to say about Lent, you're not gonna find anything. It's a man-made tradition, and when you recognize what God thinks about counterfeiting his way, it's a very serious thing.

There is a powerful passage in the book of Colossians, Colossians 3:23. This is what God inspired Paul to write. "These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh."

You see the problem with false Christianity, made up Christianity, false traditions, they do a disservice to God and dishonor him. And when you really check out the basis for these practices, you'll find them rooted in false beliefs, paganism.

I hope you'll take some time to check it out. If you'll search on our website, just type in the words "Lent," and you'll find a number of articles where you can get into the details of how Lent is an imposter, how it is fake, how is it a counterfeit to what the true God wants us to observe. So check it out, I think you'll be surprised by what you find.” From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/where-is-lent-in-the-bible

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The Truth About Potassium Bromate

    (Image credit: Viktorfischer | Dreamstime) 

“In 2007, Chinese authorities pulled a batch of imported snack chips from store shelves because they believed the chips contained potassium bromate, a food additive banned in China. The chips' country of origin? The United States.

Potassium bromate is also illegal in the European Union, Canada, Brazil and elsewhere because it causes cancer in rats and mice. In the United States, however, it has remained legal since it was first patented for use in baking bread, in 1914.

Bread dough's beige and shapeless appearance belies the staggering complexity of the molecules that hold it together. Gluten — the wheat protein infamous for its indigestible components that some people have to avoid — is the glue that binds bread dough to itself. (Gluten-free bread relies on other thickening agents such as xanthan gum).

But in order for two gluten molecules to bind to each other, molecular bridges have to form between them.

Such bridges do not form spontaneously. Rather, they're the product of oxidation. Historically, bakers relied on oxygen in the air to form the molecular bridges in dough — they "aged" flour after milling it by exposing it to open air for weeks, and then slowly mixed the flour in dough, all the while allowing ambient oxygen to do the hard work of bridge building.

But potassium bromate is a powerful oxidizing agent that chemically ages flour much faster than open air. Potassium bromate bleaches dough, and enhances its elasticity by strengthening its network of molecular bridges, which makes for the formation of tiny, thin-walled bubbles as the bread rises. The end product is fluffy, soft and unnaturally white.

Ideally, that end product is also entirely devoid of potassium bromate, which changes to potassium bromide, a harmless byproduct, during baking.

In 1982, researchers in Japan published the first of a series of studies showing that potassium bromate causes cancer in the thyroids, kidneys and other body parts of rats and mice.

As a result of these findings, countries around the world banned the additive, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration held back, in part because the amount of potassium bromate that remains in bread after baking should be negligible: less than 20 parts per billion (ppb).

According to information published by baking industry trade groups, it is "well within the normal production control measures in any modern bakery to ensure that bromate residues are well below 20 ppb."

However, whenever bromated flour isn't baked for long enough or at a high enough temperature, or if too much potassium bromate is added in the first place, this harmful additive can potentially be found in the final product in far greater quantities.

Today, many small and commercial bakeries voluntarily avoid using bromated flour. However, it's still found in many fast food buns and some flours, among other products.

To avoid this additive, check ingredients lists for "potassium bromate" and "bromated flour." Shoppers in California will have an easier time steering clear of potassium bromate: since 1991, California law has required products containing this additive to bear a warning on their labels.

Pass it on: Potassium bromate is an unnecessary and potentially harmful food additive, and should be avoided.” 

From: https://www.livescience.com/36206-truth-potassium-bromate-food-additive.html

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The Origin of the Jack-o’-Lantern. Our Dark Side. How to Cook Rice to Lower Arsenic Levels.

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The Origin of the Jack-o’-Lantern

“The jack-o’-lantern is now associated with the holiday of Halloween. Where did this mysterious symbol come from? What should we do with that knowledge?

Where did the jack-o’-lantern come from?

The childhood of many a person has been haunted by a dark, headless figure on a horse holding a flaming jack-o’-lantern. Washington Irving’s classic horror story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” has intrigued and terrified millions for over 200 years.

Interestingly, Washington Irving never mentioned his dark rider bearing a jack-o’-lantern. The author only referred to a shattered pumpkin found the morning after the main character’s disappearance. Adaptations of Irving’s story since then have made the famous pumpkin into the glowing jack-o’-lantern that we all imagine today. Since that fateful connection, the pumpkin with a sinister grin has become an integral part of Halloween.

But where exactly did the jack-o’-lantern come from, and what made it fit in so well with this haunting story and the holiday of Halloween?

Why carve up pumpkins?

The origin of the jack-o’-lantern goes back several centuries, starting with pagan customs that predated even the term jack-o’-lantern. In the dark woods of Ireland, England and Scotland, the Celts ruled. In their religion, the shortening days of autumn indicated the merging of the spirit world with our physical world. This merging was believed to fully happen on their holiday of Samhain (pronounced sah-win) on the night of Oct. 31.

Because of this terrifying belief, the Celts prepared for this time when they believed the spirits of the dead wandered the earth. They imagined that some of the spirits just wandered around, while others were vengeful spirits.

People were mostly defenseless against these dreaded spirits, except for the use of costumes and root vegetables such as turnips with carved faces. To add to the effect, they were “then illuminated by coal, wooden embers, or candles as a way to ward off evil spirits” (Merriam-Webster.com, “The History of ‘Jack-O’-Lantern’”). Displaying these ghastly vegetables was said to keep the spirits from visiting a person’s property.

English historian Ronald Hutton states that root vegetables were “hollowed out to act as lanterns and often carved with grotesque faces,” in association with Samhain, later known as Halloween, in the Celtic part of the world (The Stations of the Sun, 1996).

Eventually, the Roman Empire took over and “christianized” this pagan festival of Samhain, creating All Saints’ Day Nov. 1, with All Hallows Eve (Halloween) the night before. As Irish celebrants eventually moved to the United States, some of the ancient practices came with them. In the United States, the pumpkin was abundant and quickly became the vegetable of choice for carving.

But why call it a “jack-o’-lantern”?

There are various ideas about where the name “jack-o’-lantern” comes from. Britannica in its article “Why Do We Carve Pumpkins at Halloween?” states that it started with the Irish tale of Stingy Jack, who tricked the devil. When he died, the story goes, the deceitful Jack was not allowed to go to heaven due to the life that he had lived. The devil, however, wouldn’t allow him to enter his domain either.

Jack-o’-lanterns may appear fun now, but they have a very dark past that involved pagan worship and an attempt to keep roaming spirits away. To God, anything associated with any of those pagan customs cannot be tolerated in any way, shape or form. Destined to restlessly roam the earth forever, the spirit of Jack was given a burning ember by Satan. Placing that ember in a carved-out turnip, Jack wandered the countryside with his ghastly lantern. The superstitious Celts believed that mysterious swamp fires, called ignis fatuus, that actually occurred when decaying matter combusted, were evidence Jack’s spirit was roaming nearby. Over time, “Jack of the Lantern” became shortened to “jack-o’-lantern.”

Carved turnips and other vegetables were placed in the window at night to ward off Jack and other unwanted spirits. Naturally, the ghostly tale of Jack of the Lantern came to be associated with Halloween and added to the allure of the dark holiday.

According to History.com, when the Scots and Irish migrated to the United States, they used the abundant pumpkins to ward off evil spirits and celebrate Halloween (“How Jack O’Lanterns Originated in Irish Myth”).

What does God think of jack-o’-lanterns?

Many today think that jack-o’-lanterns are cute or fun symbols of a holiday celebrated by many Christians, Halloween. (For more about the origin of Halloween, read “Halloween: Should Christians Celebrate It?”) The symbolism in the minds of some has even changed from one of horror and wandering spirits to one of community, according to National Geographic.

Admittedly, very few will set out jack-o’-lanterns this year hoping to scare off evil spirits. Probably no one will do it in honor of Stingy Jack. Does that mean the symbol has been cleaned up and is okay to use?

Some pagan religions, including Wicca, do still use jack-o’-lanterns for their originally intended purpose.

However, the ultimate question is, What does God think of people using jack-o’-lanterns?

God warns us to avoid spirits or anything associated with them (Leviticus 19:31, and Jeremiah 10). He abhors witchcraft and pagan religions, as well as any of the dark arts that delve into an evil spirit world. 

God also has strong words to say about mixing His true religion with false and pagan practices: “Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods” (Deuteronomy 12:30-31).

Jack-o’-lanterns may appear fun now, but they have a very dark past that involved pagan worship and an attempt to keep roaming spirits away. To God, anything associated with any of those pagan customs cannot be tolerated in any way, shape or form.

God knows the origin of the jack-o’-lantern and will not have anything to do with it. What will you do now that you know the origin of the jack-o’-lantern?”       From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/holy-days-vs-holidays/halloween/origin-jack-o-lantern/

Jeremiah 10

Idols and the True God

10 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel.

² Thus says the Lord:

“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,
For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
³ For the customs of the peoples are ^[a]futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
⁴ They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers, So that it will not topple.
⁵ They are upright, like a palm tree, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, For they cannot do evil, Nor can they do any good.”

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Our Dark Side

 

“Marketing experts know there's something strangely appealing about the dark side of human nature—and they are capitalizing on it.

"Get in touch with your dark side," urges Toyota in an ad for the Matrix VCAM.

"Go ahead, indulge your dark side," Nestle says of its dark chocolate caramel Treasures.

Marketing experts know there's something strangely appealing about the dark side of human nature—and they are capitalizing on it.

Goth and Halloween

One example of this strategy is the successful promotion of Goth characters such as Emily the Strange that are rapidly gaining popularity with preteens. As Karyn M. Peterson of Playthings magazine reports, "Fuzzy zombie teddy bears wielding weapons, cuddly-yet-creepy skeletal pets, designer dolls with ghostly death-mask faces—toys and collectibles like these that embrace dark (and even macabre) themes...are increasingly finding younger and younger fans."

Another example is the annual marketing blitz surrounding Halloween. According to Businessweek, "Halloween is the second-biggest holiday behind Christmas in home-decorating sales, and the sixth-biggest retail holiday for overall sales." Between all the parties, TV shows and special events that accompany this holiday, themes of fear and death have now become normalized as entertaining traditions.

Desensitizing games

Does popularizing evil desensitize us to the true nature of the human heart?

A 2007 Iowa State University study of video game players found that even brief exposure to violent media has a measurably desensitizing effect. The authors of this study expressed the following concerns regarding the way popular media is presented to the public over our lifespan:

"Children receive high doses of media violence. It initially is packaged in ways that are not too threatening, with cute cartoon-like characters, a total absence of blood and gore, and other features that make the overall experience a pleasant one, arousing positive emotional reactions that are incongruent with normal negative reactions to violence. Older children consume increasingly threatening and realistic violence, but the increases are gradual and always in a way that is fun. In short, the modern entertainment media landscape could accurately be described as an effective systematic violence desensitization tool."

Desensitization often starts when we are very young, whether through the surrounding culture and related media or via family experiences. This may lead to a decreased appreciation—or even subtle acceptance—of the evil and all too typical violence that permeates the world such as:

• The attack that occurred in Beijing just after the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
• The practice of slavery—still a problem all over the globe.
• Terrorist plots to overthrow entire national or religious cultures.

Cure for a sick heart

How dangerous is our world to us? The common thread among these and other evils we see today is a sick heart—and we're all vulnerable to infection.

"Who can understand the human heart? There is nothing else so deceitful; it is too sick to be healed" (Jeremiah 17:9, Good News Bible).

God says we all have the capacity to deceive ourselves into thinking good is evil, and evil is good. That's a frightening revelation. Given the right circumstances, we have the ability to commit evil and justify doing so. If we desensitize to the point that we can no longer recognize evil, is it possible that we, too, could become agents of evil instead of just spectators?

Our Creator warns us to carefully guard the thoughts and motives of our heart to avoid falling prey to self-deception. With His help and careful vigilance as to what we allow into our minds, we can prevent the dark side of the human heart from controlling our destiny.

To find out more about how to overcome your dark side, read "The Battle for Your Mind."  From: https://www.ucg.org/vertical-thought/our-dark-side

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How to Cook Rice to Lower Arsenic Levels

Boiling rice like pasta reduces arsenic levels, but how much nutrition is lost?

See video at: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-to-cook-rice-to-lower-arsenic-levels/

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.

“Cooking rice in a high water to rice ratio reduces [toxic] arsenic content”—meaning if you boil rice like pasta, and then drain off the water at the end, you can drop arsenic levels in half. 50 to 60 percent of the arsenic gets poured down the drain, whereas the typical way we make rice, boiling the water off like in a rice cooker or pot, doesn’t help. Or, may even make things worse, if the water you’re using to cook the rice has arsenic in it too—a problem that exists for about three million Americans, as about 8% of public water supplies exceed the current legal arsenic limits.

But “cooking rice in excess water [and then discarding] efficiently reduces the amount of [toxic arsenic] in the cooked rice.” Yeah, but how much nutrition are you pouring down the drain when you do that? We didn’t know, until now.

“Unpolished brown rice naturally contains [nutrients] that are lost when the bran layer and germ are removed to make white rice. To compensate, since the 1940s,” white rice has had vitamins and minerals sprayed on it to quote-unquote “enrich it.” That’s why cooking instructions for white rice specifically say don’t rinse it, and cook it “in a minimal amount of water.” In other words, “the opposite” of what you’d do to get rid of some of the arsenic. But brown rice has the nutrients inside, not just sprayed on.

For example, “rinsing [white] rice [—like putting it in a colander under running water—] removes much of the enriched vitamins sprayed onto the [white] rice…surface during manufacture,” removing most of the B vitamins, but has “almost no effect on vitamins in whole-grain brown rice,” because it’s got the nutrition inside. Same thing with iron: rinsing white rice reduces iron levels by like three-fourths, but the iron in brown rice is actually in it; and so, rinsing only reduces the iron concentration in brown rice by like 10%. But rinsing didn’t seem to affect the arsenic levels; so, why bother?

Now, if you really wash the rice, like agitate the uncooked rice in water for three minutes, and then rinse and repeat, you may be able to remove about 10% of the arsenic. And so, this research team recommends washing, as well as boiling in excess water. But I don’t know if the 10% is worth the extra wash time. But, boiling like pasta and then draining the excess water does really cut way down on the arsenic, and while that also takes a whack on the nutrition in white rice, the nutrient loss in brown rice is “significantly less,” as it is not so much enriched as it is rich in nutrition in the first place.

“Cooking brown rice in large amounts of excess water reduces the [toxic arsenic] by almost 60% and only reduces the [iron] content by 5%,” but does reduce “the vitamin content of brown rice by about half.” Here it is graphically. A quick rinse of brown rice before you cook it doesn’t lower arsenic levels, but boiling it instead of cooking to dry, and draining off the excess water drops arsenic levels 40%. That was using like six parts water to one part rice. What if you use even more water, boiling at 10:1 water to rice? A 60% drop in arsenic levels.

With white rice, you can rinse off a little arsenic, but after cooking, you end up with similar final drops in arsenic content. But the iron gets wiped out in white rice by rinsing and cooking, whereas the iron in brown rice stays strong. Similar decrements in the B vitamins with cooking for brown and unrinsed white, but once you rinse white rice, they’re mostly gone before they make it into the pot.

What about percolating rice? We know regular rice cooking doesn’t help, but boiling like pasta and draining does. Steaming doesn’t do much. What about percolating rice as a radical rethink to “optimize [arsenic] removal”? So, they tried like some mad scientist lab set-up, but also just a regular “off-the-shelf coffee percolator.” But instead of putting coffee, they put rice, percolating 20 minutes for white, 30 for brown, and got about a 60% drop in arsenic levels using a 12-to-1 water-to-rice ratio. Here’s where the arsenic levels started and ended up. The squares are the brown rice; circles are the white.

So, raw brown may start out double that of raw white, but after cooking with enough excess water and draining, they end up much closer. Though, 60%, percolating at a 12-to-1 ratio, was about what we got boiling at just 10-to-1; So, I see no reason to buy a percolator.

But, even with that 60%, what does that mean? By boiling and draining a daily serving of rice, we could cut excess cancer risk more than half, from like 165 times the acceptable cancer risk, to only like 66 times the acceptable risk.”  From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-to-cook-rice-to-lower-arsenic-levels/

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Importance of Taking Responsibility. Crossing the Rubicon. The Actual Benefit of Diet vs. Drugs.

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The Importance of Taking Responsibility

“The Bible shows many examples of people refusing to take responsibility for their actions. Must Christians take responsibility for their actions?

Taking responsibility is the willingness to give an account for your actions—to willingly bear the burden of what you have, or have not, done. It is being willing to answer for your conduct and obligations.

However, human nature can lead us to refuse to take responsibility for our actions. In fact, when we’re confronted with our mistakes, we’ll often play the blame game and attempt to deflect our responsibility onto someone else.  

Are there examples of this in the Bible?

Examples of refusing to take responsibility

Here are three examples of individuals who deflected responsibility for their errors onto others:

Aaron

When ancient Israel left Egypt, God led the people to Mount Sinai, where they would receive His laws. Moses went up the mountain to receive the commandments from God Himself. Because Moses was away for so long, the people got weary.

They asked Aaron to make “gods that shall go before us.” Unfortunately, Aaron obliged and made a golden calf for them to worship. He even declared a “feast to the LORD” in honor of the idol (Exodus 32:1-6).

When Moses finally came down and confronted his brother, Aaron refused to take responsibility. Instead, he blamed the people: “You know the people, that they are set on evil” (verse 22). Aaron downplayed his own involvement in the situation, saying, “I cast [the gold] into the fire, and this calf came out” (verse 24).

King Saul

Though Saul had the appearance of a king, he lacked the character to reign righteously. For example, before going into battle with the Philistines, Saul was instructed to wait for Samuel to come and offer sacrifices to God (1 Samuel 10:8).

But instead of waiting for the prophet, Saul got impatient and hastily performed the sacrifices himself. When confronted by Samuel, Saul offered a litany of excuses for why he did it his way instead of God’s way (1 Samuel 13:8-11).

A similar thing happened when Saul was instructed to completely destroy the Amalekites, yet refused to do it (1 Samuel 15:3, 8-9). Saul again blamed the people instead of taking responsibility for his failure (verse 15).

Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judaea during Jesus’ arrest and trial. At the trial, Pilate desired to release Jesus because he knew Jesus was innocent. However, he relented to the demands of the mob to crucify Jesus. To deny any responsibility for executing an innocent Man, he washed his hands of guilt and placed the responsibility on the people (Matthew 27:22-25; Acts 3:13).

Blaming God

People often see God as being harsh, distant and disconnected from their lives. When things don’t go their way, it’s common for people to blame God.

When we fall short, we are to take responsibility, repent and make changes. Consider the following examples from the Bible:

• After being confronted for eating the forbidden fruit, Adam found a way to blame God for his sin: “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate” (Genesis 3:12).
• After killing his brother, Cain complained that God’s punishment was too harsh (Genesis 4:13).
• When they went into captivity for their sins, the ancient Israelites complained that God was unfair and that their punishment was unjustified (Ezekiel 18:25).
• Job’s wife blamed God for the calamity that fell on them and even tried to convince her husband to curse God (Job 2:9).

For more insight on this, read “Who Is to Blame?”

Christians must take responsibility

God expects Christians to be responsible and self-governing. God has given us His laws, which set boundaries on how we are to conduct ourselves. When we fall short, we are to take responsibility, repent and make changes.

A major part of the repentance process is confessing our sins to God, which essentially means we are taking responsibility for our sins before the God of the universe. To learn more about the importance of confessing our sins, read “What Does It Mean to Confess Your Sins?”

God expects us to take responsibility for our actions—instead of refusing to take responsibility and blaming God (or others) for our mistakes—and He aids those who do (Proverbs 28:13). Every human being will have to give an account for his or her life and actions

(Galatians 6:4-5; Hebrews 4:13).

A responsible person is one who is accountable, can be counted on, is trustworthy, upholds his or her word, and is reliable. Responsible people will even make sacrifices for the good of others.

A responsible person is what a spouse looks for, what a family needs, and what makes a strong society and nation.”  From:  https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/blog/the-importance-of-taking-responsibility/?

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Crossing the Rubicon

“Culturally our society has started "crossing the Rubicon." As Christians we must separate ourselves before the point of no return.

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/T3roKe8sfPM

[Steve Myers] “By law, no Roman general could lead his troops into Rome. 49 AD, Julius Caesar led his 13th Legion across the Rubicon River into Italy. Now, there was no going back. There was no turning around and it generated civil war for years until he finally became absolute ruler.

That idea of crossing the Rubicon is reaching the point of no return. There is no going back. It's become known for that very thought, point of no return.

And when you think about it, have we as a society crossed the Rubicon? Have we reached the point of no return? When you look at the values of the culture around us, there is a war that's going on and it is a war that is tearing us apart. And it's more than just political. It is relentless. It's all around us. And whether it's on the radio, when we listen to music or whether it's the news or whether it's any aspect of what we watch or listen, it is something that is bombarding us everywhere with values most oftentimes that are not godly.

Have we reached the point of no return? I mean, there's been a dramatic realignment of what is important to our society today, and we're caught in the middle as God's people.

I can't help but think of a passage that's back in the book of Lamentations. I don't often turn to the book of Lamentations, but in Lamentations 2:14, we find a warning to ancient Judah. They had ignored God and they had done it for so long. In this book of Lamentation, it really points to the fact that they had reached the point of no return. And, of course, there's connections for us today. And in 2:14, it says, "Your profits have seen you false and deceptive visions. They've not uncovered your iniquity to bring you back your captives, but have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions."

Yeah, our society talks a lot about how great this wonderful new perspective is, new values, new ways of doing things, but those are false prophecies. And what's happened to our world is we have reached the point of no return. And so, we as God's people have to make sure we separate ourselves. We can't fall captive to this world's values. And what's happened to Judah is just a type of what's prophesied to happen as we draw nearer to the time of the return of Christ.

So, it's a reminder. It's not too late for us. We don't have to cross the river. It's not the point of no return for us. Just make sure we don't ourselves to be caught into the values and the ways of thinking of this world. Don't get distracted. Don't allow that to happen. So, guard your heart, be on guard, and don't fall captive to those troops that have crossed the Rubicon.”  From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/crossing-the-rubicon

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The Actual Benefit of Diet vs. Drugs

“The medical profession oversells the benefits of drugs for chronic disease since so few patients would apparently take them if doctors divulged the truth.”

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/P0y-lO2YpuQ

“One of the reasons people may undervalue diet and lifestyle changes is an overconfidence in the ability of pills and procedures to prevent disease. For example, people tend to wildly overestimate the power of things, like mammograms and colonoscopies, to prevent deaths from breast and bowel cancer, or the power of drugs, like Fosamax, to prevent hip fractures, or the power of cholesterol-lowering drugs to prevent fatal heart attacks. Patients believe statin drugs, like Lipitor, are about a hundred times more effective than they actually are in preventing heart attacks.

Most people wouldn’t take multiple blood pressure medications if they knew the truth, which raises a dilemma for doctors. Most patients want to be told the truth.  They want to be told what the chances are that the drugs will actually benefit them, but there is this tension between the patient’s right to know and the likely reduction in patients’ willingness to take the drug if they were so informed. If taking a cholesterol-lowering drug would reduce your risk of getting a heart attack over the next five years by 100%, then, of course, everyone would take it. Even if there were a 50% chance of benefiting, most would still want to take the drugs. But if the chance of benefit is just a few percent, hardly anyone would be willing to take the drugs every day for the rest of their lives. And that’s the actual benefit.

For most people the chance of benefit is normally less than 5% over five years for cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood-thinning drugs. It’s no wonder that doctors seldom share these figures with patients. So, even high risk patients have less than a 5% chance of benefit; whereas, patients don’t want to take drugs unless they have at least a 1 in 5 chance—even those who just had a heart attack. The study therefore suggests that informing patients of the percentage chance of benefit from preventive drug strategies will substantially reduce the uptake of such drugs. They recognize that for the individual, this is unlikely to be detrimental; after all there’s a 95% chance it won’t do anything for them, but for the population at large, it would make a difference; so, doctors and drug companies tend to oversell the benefits by conveniently not mentioning how tiny they actually are, knowing that most patients wouldn’t take them if doctors divulged the truth. To practice non-lifestyle medicine is to practice deceptive medicine.

The best cholesterol-lowering statin drugs can do here is an absolute risk reduction of 3.1% over six years. A whole foods plant-based diet has been shown to work twenty times better–an absolute risk reduction of 60% after less than four years. Overall, 99.4% of patients who stuck with the diet avoided major cardiac events, such as death from heart attack.

So, when we have to decide whether we want to go diet versus drugs, it’s not a choice between eating healthy to prevent a heart attack, or taking a pill to prevent a heart attack, because in 97% of cases the pills don’t do anything —we’re risking side effects for nothing, whereas if we treat the underlying root cause of the disease, by eating this healthy cholesterol-free diet, we may even reverse the progression of the disease.

Stop eating an artery-clogging diet and our bodies can start dissolving that plaque away, opening up arteries, in some cases, without drugs and without surgery. This wasn’t an Ornish study; so, no exercise requirement, no meditation, no stress management, no yoga; just a healthy whole food plant-based diet may work twenty times better than drugs to combat our #1 killer. Now, that’s something doctors may want to tell their patients.” From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/The-Actual-Benefit-of-Diet-vs-Drugs/

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

Most drugs have side effects which cause having to take another drug!

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What Is a Godly Woman? What Is a Godly Man? Increased Lifespan from Beans.

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What Is a Godly Woman?

“What does it mean to be a godly woman? If we want to become godly women, we need to understand godly attributes and begin developing them in our lives.

Congratulations! If you’re interested in the topic, it shows that you have the heart to learn and grow and take your role as a godly woman seriously. This is a topic that is significant to me too. Allow me to share what I have learned about this subject, based on guidance from the Scriptures.

What does “godly” even mean?

Before we take a deep dive into what it means to be a godly woman, I think it is crucial that we first understand what being godly means. Is it just a cutesy phrase that some religious types throw around? Or is this an actual character trait that we can work toward attaining?

The suffix -ly attached to a root word often conveys that something is like the root word. To illustrate this: What comes to our minds when we hear the following: brotherly, cowardly, friendly, motherly and kingly?

The actual root word came quickly to our minds, didn’t it?

This is the same way we can visualize what godly means. The root word is God. Therefore, if we want to know what it means to be a godly woman, we must first understand God’s attributes. And to begin to actually be godly—be like God—we must begin developing those behaviors in our lives.

What do the Scriptures say are godly attributes?

The Scriptures are abundant with details of God’s wonderful attributes, such as:

• God is righteous and kind (Psalm 145:17).
• God has been and will always be reliable (Hebrews 13:8).
• God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4).
• God never lies (Titus 1:2).
• God is faithful and merciful (1 Corinthians 10:13; Psalms 145:9; 86:15).
• God is loving (John 13:34-35; 1 John 4:8, 16).
• God is slow to anger (Psalms 145:8; 103:8).

The apostle John said that whoever “says he abides in Him [Jesus Christ] ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6). The apostle Paul and apostle Peter were also in total agreement with this mind-set.

In his letter to the Corinthian congregation, Paul instructed members to “imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). To the church at Ephesus, he stressed that they should “be imitators of God as dear children” (Ephesians 5:1).

Similarly, in his first epistle, the apostle Peter wrote that we follow Christ’s example by following in His (Jesus Christ’s) steps (1 Peter 2:21). It is pretty clear that we should follow in His steps!

Now, consider three overarching behaviors that can steer us toward becoming godly women.

1. A godly woman is a God-fearing woman.

A godly woman’s most apparent behavior trait is that she fears God. In fact, fearing God is a blessing mentioned in the book of Psalms. The psalmist begins Psalm 128 by saying, “Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways.” The entire psalm makes the point that ultimately happiness is found in a proper relationship with God.

Fearing God is vital because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7) and the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10). Fearing God means that we strive to live righteous lives, embrace truth and love others as Jesus Christ demonstrated and instructed us to do (Mark 12:30-31). In other words, God-fearing women are God-obeying women.

You probably remember the biblical account about the new king of Egypt who looked at the growing number of Israelites in his country with concern. His fear was an ungodly fear. His fear was selfish. His fear was ego-driven. He feared being outnumbered and losing power, so he inflicted horrible burdens on the Israelites (Exodus 1:8-14).

This same account noted two beautiful examples of biblical women who obeyed and feared God. In Exodus 1:15-21, two Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, disobeyed Pharaoh’s command to kill the Israelite male newborns. How is it possible that these women resisted the orders of a king? Weren’t they fearful? Surely they knew the consequences of disobedience!

Clearly, they did know the consequences of disobedience. But their concern was not about disobeying the king, but about disobeying God. In verse 17 we learn that “the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.”  Their fear wasn’t selfish or ego-driven. Why? Because they feared God. (See “What Does the Fear of the Lord Mean?”)

Fearing God means that we strive to obey His commands from the heart and in our deeds—no matter the consequences.

Additional reading about fearing God:

• “God Is Love.”
• “Safe in God’s Hands.”
• “What Is Truth?”

2. A godly woman is a mature woman.

It takes a certain level of maturity to fear and obey God. I’m not talking about the maturity of someone who has reached a particular age. Instead, the emphasis is on emotional or mental maturity.

The apostle Paul talked about this aspect to the Corinthian church, telling them to “not be children in your thinking” and instead instructing them “but in your thinking be mature” (1 Corinthians 14:20, English Standard Version).

So how exactly can maturity help us to become godly women?

We start with controlling our emotions. Yes, this is tough! We start by bringing every thought into submission (2 Corinthians 10:5) to make it obedient to Christ. What are we putting into our minds? What are we saying without even thinking—or sometimes without even caring what others think? It takes wisdom to hold our tongues and reserve judgment.

Deborah, the prophetess and judge, showed maturity in wisdom and judgment in the Old Testament. In Hebrews 11 Barak is listed as someone who “through faith subdued kingdoms” (verses 32-33), yet it was Deborah who gave Barak the motivation and help to do so. In fact, Barak hesitated and said that he would do as God commanded through Deborah, only if Deborah would go with him! And she did.

Can you imagine the maturity it would take to control your emotions to go into battle? Deborah’s wisdom and faith came from obedience to God as a spiritually mature woman.

Additional reading about spiritual maturity:

• “2 Peter 1:5-7: Spiritual Maturity Explained in Three Verses.”
• “Deborah in the Bible.”
• “Emotions in the Bible.”

3. A godly woman is a devoted woman.

What do we call someone who is loyal, faithful, committed, dedicated, loving, caring and steadfast? If we are lucky enough to know someone like this, we might call the person devoted. Who wouldn’t want to be recognized as a devoted person?

If we take the time to sit and really think about what it means to be devoted, we quickly realize how important these traits genuinely are. Yes, it takes effort and determination to live a life devoted to following God and doing the right thing. The good news is that if we do this, God promises that He will help us (Psalm 37:3-7) and make our paths straight (Proverbs 3:1-6).

An excellent example of a devoted, godly woman is Ruth, a young Moabite, who married a man from Bethlehem. When her first husband and her father-in-law died, Ruth left her family and culture and committed herself to a new life with Naomi, her mother-in-law. That included following the true God that Naomi worshipped. Ruth declared to her that “your people shall be my people, and your God, my God” (Ruth 1:16).

Ruth’s actions—and heart—showed that she was a loyal, faithful, committed, dedicated, loving, caring and steadfast imitator of God. She was now a follower of God. Ruth’s devotion pleased God, and her offspring through Boaz continued the royal line that ultimately led to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Just like Ruth, when we put our faith in the Lord, He will bless us (Jeremiah 17:7). We can take that to the bank!

Devotion to God means that we strive to please Him, draw close to Him in prayer and fasting, study His Word and meditate on what we have learned. It also means being devoted in a godly manner to one’s husband and family.

Additional reading about being devoted to God’s way of life:

• “Women of Faith in the Bible.”
• “How to Please God.”
• “Prayer, Fasting, and Meditation: Relating to God.”
• “Christian Conversion: How Does the Bible Say We Become Christians?”
• Change Your Life booklet (digital, audio and free print version available).

When we reflect on these three overarching behaviors, we can see how beneficial they are to living a godly life. So, let’s strive to do our best by applying these principles today!”

Check out Life, Hope & Truth’s Relationship section for additional reading about “The Role of Women” and “5 Traits Men Should Look for in a Godly Woman.”      From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/relationships/family/role-of-women/what-is-a-godly-woman/?

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What Is a Godly Man?

“As a man, how will you be remembered at the end of your life? How will you be described? Will it be humble and honest—a good man? How about, a godly man?

Let’s face it, ever-changing social values make it tough to be a man in this world. I’m not talking about being just any man.

Sadly, the man I am talking about has always been scarce. He’s a man of honor, integrity and commitment. He’s a man who centers his life on the ways of his Creator. He’s a godly man.

What is a godly man? What does it take to become one? Here are some important characteristics of a godly man.

1. A godly man must be kind.

After my dad’s death, over and over, people would say, “Your dad was a kind man.” And it was true! I loved and admired that quality in my dad. Yet, in such an unkind world, could I have that same quality? Could I be a kind man as he was?

The answer is—yes!

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23, emphasis added throughout).

Kindness is a quality of God that every godly man must have. It is a fruit of God’s Spirit—an aspect of a converted man.

But to whom do we need to be kind? Our closest friends? Our family? Well, being kind to them isn’t too difficult for most of us. But the truth is, God is kind to everyone.

Jesus said, “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil” (Luke 6:35).

According to Psychology Today, “Kindness is defined as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Affection, gentleness, warmth, concern, and care are words that are associated with kindness. While kindness has a connotation of meaning someone is naïve or weak, that is not the case. Being kind often requires courage and strength.”

Sadly, kindness in the 21st century seems to be slipping through our fingers.

In a piece published in The Guardian, Julia Unwin, chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, states, “As a society, we appear to have lost the instinct for kindness and the willingness to extend the hand of friendship.” This statement is sad, yet true.

The 32nd president of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, is credited with saying, “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people.”

The apostle Paul got right to the point. He said, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

• Don’t know how to be kind, or want biblical help to learn to be more kind? For more information, please see our article “The Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness.” And for an explanation of the broader topic of conversion, please read our free, downloadable booklet Change Your Life.

2. A godly man must think like Christ.

In December 1999 Time magazine named Albert Einstein “Person of the Century.” The article states, “The touchstones of the era—the Bomb, the Big Bang, quantum physics and electronics—all bear his imprint.”  He was as brilliant as his hair was messy!

Albert Einstein, however, was not alone. Mental giants like Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking also had gifted minds. So, this begs the question: What if you could harness their intellectual firepower? What if you could think like them? Whose mind would you pick?

But beyond IQ, there are more profound issues.

A godly man desires spiritual knowledge, wisdom and understanding—things that academia cannot teach and IQ alone cannot grasp.

A godly man wants to think like his Creator. A godly man strives to think like Jesus Christ!

You may be thinking to yourself, How can a man think like Jesus Christ? It seems as if it’s not possible! Well, with God, anything is possible.

One time when Jesus’ disciples were amazed at what they heard, “Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’” (Matthew 19:26).

Paul said something extraordinary in his first letter to the congregation in Corinth. He said that if you have the gift of God’s Spirit in you, you can begin to discern spiritual things! “But he who is spiritual judges all things” (1 Corinthians 2:15).

He quickly followed up with an astounding claim: “But we have the mind of Christ” (verse 16).

Paul was clear. With the gift of God’s Spirit, it is possible to think like Christ! Is this too good to be true? No! Paul confirms this incredible blessing in another passage: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). How remarkable!

• Through the power of God’s Spirit, a godly man can think like Christ! For more information on how to receive the Holy Spirit and the mind of Christ, please read our articles “Holy Spirit: What Is God’s Spirit?” and “Reading the Mind of God.”

3. Godly men draw strength from God.

Imagine you’ve been away, traveling on business. Nearing home, you’re happy to get back into familiar territory. Yet, off in the distance, something doesn’t look right. Is your mind playing tricks on you? Is that smoke you see?

You begin to panic! Picking up speed, you move toward your home, only to have your worst fears confirmed. Your house is a total loss. Where it once proudly stood is nothing but charred rubble and debris!

There are many qualities that make a man godly. Being kind, striving to have the mind of Christ and going directly to God for strength are good places to start. Your mind immediately goes to your family. Your wife—your kids! Where are they? Did they die in the fire? Were they kidnapped? Your mind whirls out of control. Overcome with grief, you are locked up in despair. Eventually, even your strength to cry escapes you.

Dazed and hopeless, you collapse near the smoldering heap that once was your home.

This story describes the horrific scene David and his men encountered as they returned to the city of Ziklag. Their families and all of their possessions were gone!

David and his men were overcome with emotion. “Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep” (1 Samuel 30:4).

These combat-hardened soldiers who had seen the horrors of the battlefield cried until they couldn’t cry anymore.

Their strength was gone.

No doubt they asked themselves, How did this happen? Then, as if things couldn’t get any worse, David’s men turned on him. This band of brothers who had fought by his side now blamed him for this tragedy.

David was in trouble! They even talked of killing him.

Tormented and filled with anguish, David found himself alone. There was nowhere else to turn, no one to offer him words of encouragement and strength. Except One!

“Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God” (verse 6).

This was not the first time David had asked God for help. He regularly called on God for strength. He was no stranger to staring down his fears.

David, the youngest of his brothers, did not lack confidence that God would deliver him in battle. After all, God had done it many times before.

For example, David’s chances of defeating the giant Goliath had been slim to none. The contest was not even close!

Undeterred, David courageously turned to God for strength. David said, “‘The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the LORD be with you!’” (1 Samuel 17:37).

• David—a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22)—continually turned to God for strength. Likewise, a godly man must turn to God for strength! Please read our article “Depending on God.”

Set your standards high

Desiring to be a godly man is an admirable goal. Yet our adversary, Satan the devil, will stop at nothing to derail your efforts.

However, there is no need to fear. As James, the half-brother of Jesus, tells us, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).

There are many qualities that make a man godly. Being kind, striving to have the mind of Christ and going directly to God for strength are good places to start.

Paul said to Timothy, “But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11).

To be a godly man—this is God’s desire for you!

Study more about this subject in these articles and blog posts:

• Role of Men.
• Biblical Masculinity: Becoming a Man After God’s Own Heart.
• 3 Characteristics That Define a Real Man.
• What Happened to Masculinity?
• Jesus Christ: The True Model for Biblical Masculinity.

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/relationships/family/role-of-men/what-is-a-godly-man/

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Increased Lifespan from Beans

“The intake of legumes—beans, chickpeas, split peas, and lentils—may be the single most important dietary predictor of a long lifespan. But what about concerns about intestinal gas?

TRANSCRIPT of https://youtu.be/KVYmfTTw7_g

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.

“Legumes may be “the most important…predictor of survival in older people” from around the globe. They looked at “five [different] cohorts in Japan, Sweden, Greece, and Australia.” And, of all the food factors they looked at, only one was associated with a longer lifespan across the board: legume intake. Whether it was the Japanese eating their soy, the Swedes eating their “brown beans and peas,” or those in the Mediterranean eating “lentils, chickpeas, and white beans,”…”[o]nly for legumes intake was the result plausible, consistent, and statistically significant from [the] data” across all the populations combined. We’re talking an “8% reduction in risk of death for every 20 grams increase in daily legumes intake.” That’s just like two tablespoons’ worth! So, if a can of beans is 250 grams, and you get 8% lower mortality for every 20 grams, maybe, if we eat a can a day, we’ll live forever? Let’s find out!

If you want to increase your lifespan, eat beans. If, however, you’re suicidal, and want to decrease your lifespan, “A bean-free diet” may increase the risk of death.

So, having arrived at the one dietary fountain of youth, what’s the #1 reason people aren’t clamoring for them? Fear of flatulence. So, is that the choice we’re left with? Breaking wind or breaking down? Passing gas or passing on? Turns out that “[p]eople’s concerns about excessive flatulence from eating beans may be exaggerated.”

Add a half-cup of beans every day to people’s diets for months, and what happens? What’s the #1 symptom? Nothing. The vast majority of people experienced no symptoms at all—though a few percent did report increased flatulence. So, it may occur in some individuals. But, “not all people are affected.” Even among those that were, “[s]eventy percent or more of the participants who experienced flatulence felt that it dissipated [no pun intended] by the second or third week of bean consumption”. So, we’ve just got to stick to it.

And, you know, a small percentage reported increased flatulence on the control diet without any beans. People have preconceived notions about beans, such that “just the expectation of flatulence from eating beans may influence their perceptions of having gas.” They didn’t actually measure farts in this study; they just asked people what their perception of the amount of gas they had was. And, we know from previous studies that you give someone a product labeled to contain something that may cause intestinal distress, and it causes more intestinal distress whether it actually contains the ingredient or not. In other words, “just thinking they were eating [it] caused digestive distress, or the perception of it, to a proportion of persons.”

So, people thinking beans are going to cause gas may just be more likely to notice the gas they normally have. Either way, it tends to go away; “after a few weeks of daily bean consumption, people perceive that flatulence occurrence returns to normal levels.”

In this other study, where they added more than a half a cup of kidney beans to people’s daily diets, the research subjects reported that the discomfort they initially felt within the first day or two of adding beans “quickly disappeared.” So, again, stick with it.

Bottom line (no pun intended!): “An increasing body of research and the [latest] Dietary Guidelines…supports the benefits of a plant-based diet, and legumes specifically, in the reduction of chronic disease risks.”  In some people it “may result in more flatulence initially.”  However, doctors should emphasize that it “will decrease over time” if we just keep it up.

And, “the nutritional attributes of beans in the diet outweighs the potential for transitory discomfort. The long-term health benefits of bean consumption are great.” And, indeed, eating beans in the long term may make your term—on Earth—even longer.”    From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/increased-lifespan-from-beans/

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