Food for Life – Educate in Abstinence

If February gives much snow, a fine summer it doth foreshow.” English Rhyme.

What has this year meant to you so far? We know that the Lord’s Second Coming is another year closer, and it behooves us to be ready for that glorious day!

“But what can be done to teach children and youth the evils of a practice of which parents, teachers, and ministers set them the example? Little boys, hardly emerged from babyhood, may be seen smoking their cigarettes. If one speaks to them about it, they say, ‘My father uses tobacco.’ They point to the minister or the Sunday-school superintendent and say, ‘Such a man smokes; what harm for me to do as he does?’ Many workers in the temperance cause are addicted to the use of tobacco. What power can such persons have to stay the progress of intemperance?

“I appeal to those who profess to believe and obey the Word of God: Can you, as Christians, indulge a habit that is paralyzing your intellect and robbing you of power rightly to estimate eternal realities? Can you consent daily to rob God of service which is His due, and to rob your fellow men, both of service you might render and of the power of example?

“Have you considered your responsibility as God’s stewards, for the means in your hands? How much of the Lord’s money do you spend on tobacco? Reckon up what you have thus spent during your lifetime. How does the amount consumed by this defiling lust compare with what you have given for the relief of the poor and the spread of the gospel?

“No human being needs tobacco, but multitudes are perishing for want of the means that by its use is worse than wasted. Have you not been misappropriating the Lord’s goods? Have you not been guilty of robbery toward God and your fellow men? Know ye not that ‘ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.’

“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Proverbs 20:1. Never was traced by human hand a more vivid picture of the debasement and the slavery of the victim of intoxicating drink. Enthralled, degraded, even when awakened to a sense of his misery, he has no power to break from the snare; he ‘will seek it yet again.’” Ministry of Healing, 329, 330.

Do You Want Freedom?

Do you feel trapped? Are you weighed down with unwanted habits? Do you want freedom from smoking, overeating, a hot temper, etc.? Have you tried again and again to stop, but do not know how? Do you find yourself doing what you do not want to do, and not being able to do what you want to do? Well you are not alone; Paul expresses the same feelings, in Romans 7:15–18. “That which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I…for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”

Is this how you feel? Do you want to do good but do not know how? Do you feel like you are in bondage, a slave to habits? Paul goes on to say, “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” Romans 7:19–23.

Paul is saying there is within us a law or power holding us in bondage to sin. This is terrible. Is there any hope? Can you ever be free from this bondage? In the next verse Paul says, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

Christ is Our Deliverer

Paul goes on to say, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. . . . For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans. 7:25; 8:2. “If the Son therefore shall make you free [from serving sin], ye shall be free indeed. John 8:36.

To bring us freedom is the whole purpose of the life of Christ. When Jesus began His ministry, He announced His mission in the sanctuary, He read, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” Then Christ said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Luke 4:18, 21.

Christ’s work is a work of deliverance and liberty. “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?” Isaiah 58:6,7.

Life in Christ is Freedom

“The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2.

Obedience to Truth (Christ) Makes us Free

“Jesus [said] to those Jews which believed on Him, ‘If ye continue in My word, then . . . ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” John 8:31, 32. “God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” Romans 6:17, 18. “[How] shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.” Psalms 119:9.

Freedom from the Bondage of Sin

“Ye also are become dead to the law by the body [death] of Christ.…” Romans 7:4. “We are buried with Him by baptism into death…our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Romans 6:3–7.

Buried with Christ — Surrender Thy Will to God

“…if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.” Romans 6:5. When Christ died, He prayed, saying, “‘O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.’” Matthew 26:42 “‘.…as I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father.…’” John 5:30.

Surrender (Death to Self) — To Obey the Spirit

“…when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members.…But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit.” Romans 7:5.

Obedience to the Spirit — Freedom From Sin

“Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For…if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law [of sin].” Galatians 5:16, 18. “…sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law [of sin], but under grace.” Romans 6:14.

Through the Spirit Put to Death the Deeds of Sin

“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” Romans 8:13. “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” Galatians 5:24.

Jesus said “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself [die to self], and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’” Luke 9:23.

Freedom Applied to Daily Living

Know and Claim Bible Promises

“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:4. “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” Hebrews 4:1.

Remember, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise.…” 2 Peter 3:9. And “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13.

Read the Bible Every Day

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” Luke 4:4. “‘Search the scriptures.’” John 5:39. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” Romans 15:4.

Guard Your Thoughts, Your Eyes and Ears

Temptation is stimulated by what you see and hear. “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Philippians 4:8. Keep your heart and mind stayed upon Christ. “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16.

Give Yourself to God and Run From the Devil

When temptation comes, give yourself to God. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7.

Resist Temptation with the Word of God

In Matthew 4:3–10 we read of Jesus being tempted of the devil again and again. And every time Jesus resisted, with a ‘thus saith the Lord.’ In verse 4 we read, “He answered and said, ‘It is written . . .’” In verse 7, “Jesus said unto him, ‘It is written again.’” In verse 10, “Then saith Jesus unto him, ‘Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written…’”

Be Prepared, Watch for Temptation Before it Comes

“‘Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape…’” Luke 21:36. Be prepared, watch for the things that trigger your habits (temptation). If the desire for a cigarette comes right after a meal, be prepared with prayer and Bible verses, and disrupt the habit with a change of routine. “Be sober, be vigilant [watch]; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8.

Total Abstinence

“Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” 1 Peter 2:11. Put away sinful indulgences (such as cigarettes) completely and immediately.

Do Not Put Yourself in a Situation to be Tempted

“Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.” Romans 13:14. If you are trying to stop smoking, throw away all cigarettes and do not purchase any. Do not “make provision” to be tempted.

Fellowship and Worship with God’s People

“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together…but exhorting one another.…” Hebrews 10:24, 25. “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16. “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak.…” Romans 15:1.

Continue to Grow — Add to Your Christian Experience

Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience;…if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.…give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” 2 Peter 1:5–10.

Victory is Through Faith and Obedience

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him [faith], ‘If ye continue in My word [obedience], then…the truth shall make you free.’” John 8:31, 32.

Obedience to Christ Wherever He Leads

“Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16. “These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men.…” Revelation 14:4.

Faith in Christ to Keep Us From Sinning

“…and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21. “…and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 2 John 5:4. “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” Jude 1:24, 25.

“…now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” Romans 6:22.

Health – Tobacco’s Effect Upon Health

Over a hundred years ago, God, through His messenger Ellen White, provided much counsel regarding the use of tobacco and its effect upon health.

“Tobacco, in whatever form it is used, tells upon the constitution. It is a slow poison. It affects the brain and benumbs the sensibilities so that the mind cannot discern spiritual things, especially those truths which would have a tendency to correct this filthy indulgence. Those who use tobacco in any form are not clear before God. In such a filthy practice it is impossible for them to glorify God in their bodies and spirits, which are His. And while they are using slow and sure poisons, which are ruining their health and debasing the faculties of the mind, God cannot approbate them. He may be merciful to them while they indulge in this pernicious habit in ignorance of the injury it is doing them; but when the matter is set before them in its true light, then they are guilty before God if they continue to indulge this gross appetite.” Healthful Living, 109.

“It is unpleasant, if not dangerous, to remain … in a crowded room that is not thoroughly ventilated, where the atmosphere is impregnated with the properties of liquor and tobacco. The occupants give evidence by the breath and emanations from the body that the system is filled with the poison of liquor and tobacco.

“Many infants are poisoned beyond remedy by sleeping in beds with their tobacco-using fathers. By inhaling the poisonous tobacco effluvium, which is thrown from the lungs and pores of the skin, the system of the infant is filled with poison. While it acts upon some infants as a slow poison, and affects the brain, heart, liver, and lungs, and they waste away and fade gradually; upon others it has a more direct influence, causing spasms, paralysis, and sudden death. The bereaved parents mourn the loss of their loved ones, and wonder at the mysterious providence of God, which has so cruelly afflicted them, when Providence designed not the death of these infants. They died martyrs to the filthy lust for tobacco. Every exhalation of the lungs of the tobacco slave poisons the air about him.” Ibid., 110, 111.

Science and medical research now confirm the correctness of this counsel.

Tobacco Is Bad For You

The fact that tobacco is bad for you is no secret. The Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-92) required that the warning “Caution: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous to Your Health” be placed in small print on one of the side panels of each cigarette package. [Emphasis added.]

In 1969, Congress passed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act (Public Law 91-222), which prohibited cigarette advertising on television and radio and required that each cigarette package contain the label “Warning: The Surgeon General Has Determined That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health.” [Emphasis added.]

In 1981, the Federal Trade Commission issued a report to Congress that concluded that health warning labels had little effect on public knowledge and attitudes about smoking. As a result of this report, Congress enacted the Comprehensive Smoking Education Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-474), which required four specific health warnings on all cigarette packages and advertisements:

SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING

  • Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, and May Complicate Pregnancy.
  • Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health
  • Smoking by Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, and Low Birth Weight
  • Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide

The Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-252) required three rotating warning labels on smokeless tobacco packaging and advertisements:

WARNING

  • This product may cause mouth cancer
  • This product may cause gum disease and tooth loss
  • This product is not a safe alternative to cigarettes

Warning labels on tobacco packages in the United States are weaker and less prominent than those of many other countries!

Despite these warnings, people continue to smoke, and new smokers adopt the habit every single day. Amazingly, smoking can still be viewed as an adult thing to do, and children continue to be influenced by this. Their parents or guardians smoke; therefore, they should smoke too if they want to be really grown up—or at least that is their perception. Smokers wish they had never smoked that first lousy cigarette and shake their heads in disbelief when they see their own young children or teenagers starting to smoke.

Tobacco can be “ingested” in more than one way. Some people chew it, others inhale it as snuff but the majority smoke it in the form of cigars and cigarettes. Regardless of how tobacco is used, it is dangerous.

When smokers inhale a single “shot” of nicotine from a cigarette, the lungs allow the nicotine to pass into the blood stream almost instantly. The smoker then feels the “hit” from the nicotine in his or her bloodstream and this is the sensation that they later crave.

Do not just assume that the inhalant is “pure” tobacco smoke either. That smoke inhaled from a cigarette contains 40+ carcinogenic substances. These are substances that have been clinically proven to cause various types of cancer. Cigarette smoke also contains 400 other toxins that can be found in rat poison, nail polish remover, and various types of wood varnish. As these carcinogens and toxins gather in the body, they begin to cause serious problems for the heart and lungs.

Smoke-Related Diseases

Of all the diseases associated with smoking, cancer is the most common. Lung cancer is the most common cancer associated with cigarette smoking, but a smoker can also get cancer of the mouth, bladder, kidney, stomach, esophagus, larynx, and pancreas. Some of these cancers can be treated, but others are 100 percent fatal.

Cancer is not the only disease that smoking causes, either directly or indirectly. Seventy-five percent of all fatal cases of emphysema and bronchitis are linked to smoking. Both of these diseases cause extreme breathing difficulties. Emphysema in particular is an extremely nasty disease, as an individual’s ability to breathe on his or her own slowly vanishes.

Smokers have dramatically shorter lives than nonsmokers. On average, a smoker will die 15 to 20 years before a nonsmoker.

Secondhand Smoke

The risk from smoking is not just limited to the smoker. The serious effects of secondary smoke are now very well-known. Smoking near others puts their health at risk also. Secondhand smoke is still loaded with chemicals and toxins as it was when first inhaled.

Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers. Secondhand smoke contains more than 250 chemicals known to be toxic or cancer causing, including formaldehyde, benzene, vinyl chloride, arsenic, ammonia, and hydrogen cyanide.

Dangers of Secondhand Smoke

Secondhand smoke causes about 3,000 deaths each year from lung cancer in nonsmokers. It also causes irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, and can also irritate the lungs, leading to coughing, excessive phlegm, and chest discomfort. Secondhand smoke has been identified as the cause of death from heart disease in thousands of adult nonsmokers.

Since their internal organs and immune systems are still developing, children are in the highest risk group. Children exposed to secondary smoke are far more vulnerable to asthma, sudden infant death syndrome (cot death), bronchitis, pneumonia, and ear infections, among other things.

Protect Yourself and Your Family

This is what you can do to protect yourself and your family from secondhand smoke:

  • Do not allow smoking in your home.
  • Choose restaurants and other places where you spend time that are smoke-free.
  • Let family, friends, and people with whom you work know that you do care if they smoke around you.
  • Ask your employer to make sure you do not have to breathe other people’s smoke at work.
  • Help people who are trying to quit smoking. Give them copies of the tract, “Just One Puff,” or Dr. John J. Grosboll’s booklet, “How to Quit Smoking,” available through the Mail Order Services Department of Steps to Life.

Resource information: www.quittersguide.com; www.cigarettewarninglabels.com; www.lungusa.org (February 2008).

Survival in the 21st Century

God’s moral law not only involves spiritual and mental health but also physical health. The sixth commandment states, “You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13.) This means not to commit homicide, which is to kill somebody else. It also means not to commit suicide, which is to kill yourself.

There are two basic ways a person can commit suicide: with an overdose of sleeping pills, a knife, a gun, etc., or a much slower way that might take twenty or thirty years, but nonetheless, suicide.

Every cigarette a person smokes shortens the life an average of six to ten minutes. If a person smokes forty a day for twenty years, his/her life is shortened by 3 ½ to 5 ½ years on average. This does not include extra sicknesses the person could suffer during his/her lifetime from cigarette smoking.

It is important to know how to survive in the 21st century and to find the path to real health. It seems to many that health comes in a bottle or by making sufficient visits to a physician. Our greatest need is for a new lifestyle. Health is not a matter of chance and does not come out of a bottle or a pill. Everybody wants health, but few people have it.

How can we find health? The Bible is the greatest book that has ever been written about health. It shows the path to good mental, spiritual, and physical health.

Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly.” John 10:10.

There is a startling message sent to the people living in the last days. This message involves a message about health. Revelation 14:6, 7 says, “And I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

The people of earth are called to worship God because He is the Creator. The crowning work of creation was man. “And God said, Let us make man in our own image, and in our own likeness.” Genesis 1:26.

The Bible is very clear that we did not evolve from some lower creature. We were created at the beginning in the image of God.

David said in Psalm 139:14, “I will praise you; for I am fearfully [and] wonderfully made: marvelous [are] your works; and [that] my soul knows very well.”

It is very serious to destroy the most wonderful thing God made in this world.

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him; for the temple of God is holy, which [temple] you are.” I Corinthians 3:16, 17. (Literal translation.)

In I Corinthians 6:19, 20, He asks, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [who is] in you, who you have from God, and you are not your own?”

Why are you not your own? “For you were bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

The Bible says that you were bought with a price so, “Whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” I Corinthians 10:31.

Our lifestyle is killing us slowly. The devil’s plan is to get us into habits that will destroy us. He has a counterfeit for everything God has made and a plan to destroy our health.

When God made air it was fresh, but all kinds of ways have been invented to pollute the air. At Slone-Kettering Institute for cancer research, substances are extracted directly out of cigarettes, painted on the skin of white mice which then develop skin cancers. Some of the diseases that cigarette smoking contributes to are:

  • Heart diseases—three times as many heart attacks among smokers
  • Strokes
  • Various forms of cancer—twenty times as much lung cancer
  • Emphysema
  • Premature births
  • Poor circulation
  • Shortness of breath

Smoking affects your health, and also that of your loved ones. New evidence links smoking to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). God doesn’t want us to kill somebody else or ourselves. He says, “You shall not kill.”

Some think smoking is a hard habit and impossible to get over. However, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Many have been delivered from all sorts of bad habits. The Lord wants you to have better health. Proverbs 20:1 says, “Wine [is] a mocker, strong drink [is] a brawler: and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.”

Alcohol is deceptive, addictive, and destroys brain cells. When I was in Graduate School, a visiting lecturer said, “If you were to watch an autopsy, you would easily tell by looking at the human brain with your naked eye, without a microscope, if that person was an alcoholic.” Alcohol destroys so many brain cells that the brain smoothes out and you can tell the difference between a normal brain and the brain of an alcoholic.

Every drink destroys brain cells and dramatically affects the ability to reason. The Bible says, “Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it gives its colour in the cup, [when] it moves itself. At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder. Your eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.” Proverbs 23:31–33.

The Bible says it is best to abstain.

“Well,” somebody says, “aren’t there places in the Bible where we are advised to drink some wine?”

The Bible uses the word “wine” to refer to two distinct grape beverages. One is unfermented and the other fermented. The Hebrew word in the Old Testament and the Greek word in the New Testament can mean either the fresh unfermented juice of the grape, or the fermented intoxicating drink. You have to look at the context to see which it is talking about.

Actually, the Bible says in no uncertain terms, not to use alcoholic beverages, but it does condone the use of unfermented grape juice which it calls wine, fresh wine.

The Lord said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you, which I have brought on the Egyptians: for I [am] the Lord God who heals you.” Exodus 15:26.

What kinds of diseases were these people suffering from in ancient Egypt? We know from studying mummies that they had a problem with atherosclerosis and their arteries were clogged up just like people today. They suffered heart disease, strokes, obesity, cancer, tooth decay, and stress.

When God created the world He gave to Adam and Eve a diet. He told them what they were to eat. “And God said, Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of the tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat (or for food).” Genesis 1:29.

Unfortunately, our first parents not only ate these things, but they ate from the forbidden fruit and were sent out of the Garden of Eden. When man sinned, God made an addition to His diet. Unfortunately, many of our children today do not like this addition to our diet but by its omission, millions of people have developed osteoporosis and other afflictions.

What was this addition? “You shall eat the green herb of the field.” Genesis 3:18. Things like spinach, Swiss chard, turnip greens, mustard greens, and all those things are not our children’s favorite food, but the literal translation of Genesis 3:18 is, the Lord told our first parents they were to eat the green herb of the field. At first, the people lived on this diet and they lived many years. “And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty nine years: and he died.” Genesis 5:27.

During the first ten generations before the flood, people lived between 750 and 950 or so years. The Lord told Noah, “You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female: and two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female.” Genesis 7:2.

Prior to the flood the people knew the difference between clean and unclean animals. After the flood, God gave His people permission to eat some flesh foods. However, in the book of Leviticus, it is made very clear that there are some things that should never be eaten. “It [shall] be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.” Leviticus 3:7.

My grandparents did not know about that verse in the Bible for a long time, so they ate things like blood pudding. The very things that God said not to eat, is what the devil wants you to eat. The devil has a counterfeit diet. God told the children of Israel that there were certain things they were free to eat. God said, “Speak to the children of Israel saying, These [are] the animals which you may eat among all the animals that [are] on the earth. Among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, have cloven hoofs [and] chewing the cud, that you may eat.” Leviticus 11:2, 3.

Some animals they were told not to eat. The Bible says, “Nevertheless of those that chew the cud or have cloven hoofs, you shall not eat such as these, the camel, the hare, for they chew the cud, but do not have cloven hoofs; they are unclean for you. Also the swine is unclean for you, because it has cloven hoofs, yet does not chew the cud: you shall not eat their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.” Deuteronomy 14:7, 8.

The devil wants everybody in the human race to eat exactly what God said not to eat. But remember what the Bible says: “No good [thing] will he withhold from those that walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11.

If God tells you not to do something, there is always a very good reason for it. Every instruction given by God is for the benefit of man.

There are many health related problems with eating pork. It is loaded with saturated fats and cholesterol. Cancer in the pig’s skin, kidneys, lymphatic system, and other internal organs is common. Pork products are regularly preserved with nitrates which are known to produce cancer producing compounds. Pork also contributes to numerous digestive and stomach problems.

Looking under the microscope at the flesh of pork, we find things like worms. People who eat a lot of pork will often get these little worms, trichina worms which embed themselves in the human muscle causing neuralgia, and different kinds of muscular problems.

The Lord said there are other foods that “you shall not eat.” Some fish they were told were clean and could eat and others that were unclean and not to be eaten. “These you may eat of all that [are] in the water: whatever in the water has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the river, that you may eat. But all in the seas, or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water, or any living thing which [is] in the water, they [are] an abomination to you.” Leviticus 11:9–10.

In 1988 nearly 300,000 Chinese of Shanghai developed Hepatitis A from clams which the Bible describes as unclean seafood. In addition to fish, the Lord told the people that there were some things that flew in the air that were scavengers, or birds of prey that were also an abomination to eat: “The eagle, the vulture, and the buzzard.” (Leviticus 11:13–20.)

The Bible talks about three different kinds of diets. First, is the ideal diet given to man when he was created. Then an acceptable diet with the use of clean flesh foods from clean animals, birds, or fish and also a diet that is unacceptable, one using unclean meats.

Some though may question that the health laws of Leviticus were nailed to the cross allowing the freedom to eat and drink anything you please. Some quote the story where God told Peter to not call any meat unclean.

A closer look at that story in Acts 10 sees Peter in a trance or dream seeing a sheet let down from heaven, tied at the four corners. In this sheet were snakes and all kinds of four footed creatures, and birds, and as he was looking at this, he was told to arise and to kill and to eat.

Peter, while in this trance told the Lord, “I’ve never eaten anything common or unclean.” Verse 14. He had never heard from Jesus, either before or after the resurrection, that it was all right to eat unclean animals, and he remonstrated with the Lord and said, “Look, I’ve never done anything like that.”

An angel appeared to a Roman centurion named Cornelius and said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up before God. And you are to send to Joppa, to a man by the name of Simon Peter, and he is going to come, and he’s going to tell you what you need to do.” Verses 31, 32. So he sent his servants to Joppa to get Peter. And as they were approaching the house where Peter was living, God gave Peter this dream and Peter was wondering what in the world does this dream mean?

Then the voice spoke the second time and said, “What God has cleansed, don’t call common.” Verse 15. And this was done three times and then the sheet was taken back up to heaven again.

And while that happened, the men from Cornelius came before the gate. The Holy Spirit spoke to Peter and said, “There’s three men seeking you, go with them. Don’t doubt anything because I’ve sent them.” Verses 19, 20.

They told him about what had happened with Cornelius and so Peter is going to go with them. It says, “And then he invited them in and they lodged with him, and on the next day Peter went away with them and some brethren from Joppa went with him.” Verse 23.

It says the following day they came to Caesarea and Cornelius was waiting for them and he had called his friends and relatives. Verse 24.

“Then he said to them, You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with anybody of another nation; but, God has shown me that I should not call any man uncommon or unclean.” Verse 28.

Peter did not start eating unclean foods at this point. He understood that God was trying to teach him to not call any man common or unclean.

Jesus said that it is not what goes into a man that defiles him; but what comes out. (Matthew 15:11.) Those things that come out are, “evil thoughts and murders, and adulteries, and thefts, and blasphemies.” Verse 19.

Everybody has some habits that are undesirable, that cause discouragement, realizing they are hooked and are slaves to those habits. So how can a person have victory over their undesirable habits?

Mark Twaine said, “It is not hard to quit smoking, I’ve quit a thousand times.”

We become slaves to these habits. The Bible says that people become bound, or enslaved, by their sinful habits. But God can deliver you from your evil habits. The Bible says, “But as many as received him, (that is, Jesus) to them gave he power to become the sons of God.” John 1:12.

Some people think it doesn’t matter what the food is, as long as you have prayed over it. A clergyman one time took this position and there was a young lady who said, “All right, I’m going to test this out.” This lady fixed a dish, and invited the clergyman to dinner. She said, “Before you eat this food I need to tell you something. I have put some strychnine into the entree, but pray over it and bless it, and you will be able to eat it.”

The clergyman decided not to eat that day. God wants you to have good health, but He needs your cooperation and to remember the reason He said to stay away from certain foods and chemicals. It is so you will not suffer the consequences of using them, and get the diseases that go with their use.

Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly.” John 10:10.

He wants to give you eternal life, and very soon He is going to come in the clouds of heaven to give you eternal life. But right now, before He comes, He would like you to have good health.

Maybe there is somebody saying, “I’m such a slave to my evil habits, I cannot get free.” You may not be able to get free, but God can set you free. The Bible says, “The things which are impossible with man are possible with God.” Matthew 19:26.

God wants to set you free. “Beloved,” John wrote, “I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health.” III John 1:2.

You can be delivered from evil habits, and have better health if you can believe that “all things are possible to him who believes.” Mark 9:23. Jesus wants to set you free from every habit. He wants you to have health right now and if He is going to give you health right now, you need to choose to cooperate, to obey, and to live according to what is written in His word.

An evangelist was having some meetings. He presented in one meeting what the Bible said about food and drink and different things like that.

After the meeting a man came to him and said, “I have to talk to you.”

“I’m in trouble for what you said tonight, because there is almost no food that I can eat. Any kind of vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, anything, even beef, I can’t eat without breaking out in allergic reactions. There is only one kind of food that I can eat, and not get sick.”

The evangelist enquired what food that was.

“Well,” the man said, “it is pork. That is the only food I can eat. If I eat anything else, I get sick and you just showed me from the Bible that God said not to eat it. Now what am I going to do?”

The evangelist told him he was willing to go to this man’s house and take some elders with him. They would pray over him and ask the Lord to deliver him so that he could eat other kinds of food that the Lord allowed to be eaten.

The man was willing to try it so they came to his house. It was in the evening and they knelt around this man who could not eat anything but pork, and prayed to the God of heaven. “Lord, You have said in Your word that You do not want Your children to eat pork. You have said it over and over again in Your book, both in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. This man can’t eat anything except pork. We pray that You will deliver him from whatever his bodily affliction is that keeps him from eating anything besides pork without getting sick.”

When they finished the prayer, they got up and went home. The evangelist was very nervous that night. He wondered what would happen.

The man went to bed at about 10:00 at night and as he was lying in bed he was thinking, “If there is a God in heaven, and He said in His book that I am not to eat pork, and He is going to deliver me so that I don’t have to eat pork, that means that I don’t have to eat pork now and I can eat whatever I want to.”

He decided he was going to find out, so he got up. It was late at night but he went to a fast food place. He hadn’t been able to eat any dairy products for a long, long time. But he thought, “The Lord has delivered me. They prayed that the Lord would deliver me; I believe that He did and I’m just going to take God at His word. The Bible says not to eat pork so I am going to eat something else.”

He went to a Dairy Queen and he said, “I want you to fix me a banana split sundae and I want you to put everything on it; all the fixings.” They even put a maraschino cherry on top. Here it was late at night, he had a big banana split and he ate the whole thing. Then he thought, “Well, I don’t feel bad; I am going to go back to bed.”

So he went back to bed and slept all night. The next morning he was so excited. He hadn’t had any indigestion or any problem at all. He was so excited, he got up and got dressed and went straight to see the minister and told him his story.

He said, “The Lord delivered me.” And from that time on, he never ate any pork again and he wasn’t sick either. The Lord delivered him that night.

God will deliver anybody from whatever their affliction or slavery to habit is that is contrary to His word, when they want to do His will and simply ask Him for victory.

I have seen God deliver people over and over again, both men and women from their old habits. God wants you to have good health, and if you are willing to cooperate, God will work. Don’t let the devil discourage you over anything we have studied here.

Remember what God told the Israelites that, “if you will keep my laws, you are not going to get the diseases the Egyptians are getting.” What were those diseases? Heart disease, cancer, atherosclerosis, tooth decay, and all those kinds of things.

The Lord said, “You are not going to have to get those diseases if you will keep My laws, and do what I want you to do.”

Pastor John Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316–788–5559.

Food – Smoking and Your Respiratory System

True temperance teaches us to dispense entirely with everything hurtful and to use judiciously that which is healthful.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 562. It is common knowledge that smoking is hurtful though often we do not understand the reasons or extent of the harmfulness of this offending habit. Our goal is to make you more informed so you will understand and be able to share with others more fully some of the effects that smoking has on the respiratory system.

In Genesis 2:7 we learn that God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. This is a true love story in that God merely spoke the rest of the universe into existence: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:6, 9. However, after lovingly forming Adam, the crowning act of creation, He personally breathed into his nostrils and imparted to man the breath of life.

The respiratory system is one of the primary targets of cigarette smoking. It is made up of two lungs, an immense system of air tubes that are lined and end in over 300 million small air sacs. Within the lungs and surrounding these air sacs is a massive system of arteries, capillaries and veins. The lungs hold about 4–5 quarts (liters) of air and with each breath the average adult takes in about ½ a quart (500 cc) of air. At rest we breathe about 16 times a minute and 12,000 quarts of air each day. As this air enters the body, it is warmed and cleansed by the nose, cilia (small hair-like projections from the lining of the breathing tubes) and the mucus within the breathing tubes. It is in these microscopic air sacs that the oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide via the blood stream. As the oxygen rich blood from the lungs is taken to the body, every cell is nourished and strengthened for life and work.

Tobacco is a slow, insidious and most malignant poison. It is known to have over 4,000 chemical agents, 43 of which are known to cause cancer in humans. Cancer of the respiratory system is greatly increased in smokers, with lung cancer being 700% greater. Eighty percent of those who have vocal cord cancer are smokers, and the incidence of cancer of the mouth and esophagus is increased in smokers. Of those who die from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, 85% were smokers. These frightening statistics are related to the physical effects of smoking on the respiratory system: the cilia are paralyzed, damaged and cannot sweep foreign matter out of the lungs, the excess mucous created from smoking clogs the airways, the small air sacs become distended, trap air and eventually rupture, forming large ineffective sacs. Eventually, the rib cage becomes barrel shaped because of excess trapped air, the blood pressure elevates and the entire system is deprived of oxygen in an attempt to push blood through the damaged air sacs. All the while this is going on, the carcinogenic chemicals in the smoke irritate and put the entire system at risk for cancer.

Food – Smoking and Your Health

True temperance teaches us to dispense entirely with everything hurtful and to use judiciously that which is healthful.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 562. The purpose of this article is to give a greater understanding of some of the dangerous effects that smoking has on the cardiovascular system.

Solomon said in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” This is very true. The heart and the associated system of arteries and veins are responsible for taking oxygen and nourishment to all parts of the body and bringing back the waste products for removal. The heart is located in the left center of the chest, weighs less than one pound and is approximately the size of a fist. It pumps about 100,000 times per day, releasing 7,000 quarts of blood. During times of exercise or need the output can be increased by six times. The pumping phase of the heart is about 1/3 of the heart cycle and the resting phase about 2/3. It is made up of four distinct chambers making two independent pumps to pump blood to the lungs and to the body. It has four directional valves to help the blood flow in the right direction and contains electrical tissue and tracts that spread the contraction impulse throughout the heart. The heart is assisted in its role by 100,000 miles of arteries, veins and capillaries. Despite this huge vascular system, it only takes 10–15 seconds for blood to circulate through the entire system.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and in high income countries worldwide. It is second only to lower respiratory infections in lower income countries and stroke/cerebral vascular disease in middle income countries. Heart disease, stroke and cerebral/cardiovascular diseases are intimately related to lifestyle: diets high in fat and sugar and low in fiber, smoking, obesity, sedentary habits, and stressful lifestyle. It is also closely associated to family history, age, sex, high blood pressure (over 130/70), and other diseases such as diabetes, kidney disease, and thyroid problems.

Smoking is very closely related not just to lung problems, but also heart disease. Smoking causes a whole host of problems for the heart: abnormally increases the heart rate both during and after smoking and it increases the blood pressure. It affects the arteries by causing holes and roughness of the lining of these very important tubes. Cholesterol formation is increased in these damaged areas. This causes both narrowing and hardening of the arteries, thus further increasing blood pressure and causing more stress on the heart. It affects the platelets in the blood by increasing their stickiness. This increases the likelihood of blood clots forming in the arteries and blocking blood flow to parts of the body. (Ultimately the heart is enlarged, right side that pumps blood into lungs damaged by smoking, and the left side that pumps into damaged, narrowed, stiff arteries throughout the body.)

Some of the risk factors for these problems are unavoidable: stress, family history, age, sex, but we can choose to not smoke. Smoking is clearly a risk factor for our hearts that we can avoid or stop. Won’t you ask God for power to overcome this habit or share this information with someone else who needs it?

Food – Smoking and the Nervous System

The brain, which is positioned within the skull, is the master control organ of the whole body. It is small, pinkish gray in color, weighing just over 3 pounds and the size of two large fists. It looks like a wrinkled walnut and has a consistency similar to oatmeal. There are four distinct sections of the brain. The cerebrum, which is made up of four lobes, is the upper most and largest part of the brain where all higher cognitive function occurs and where incoming information is received, analyzed and stored. The diencephalon forms the central core of the brain and is surrounded by the two halves of the cerebrum. It controls many of the internal organs, maintains equilibrium throughout the body systems, and is the center for the emotions and sleep/wake cycle. The third section of the brain is the cerebellum, which is located to the back of the skull and lower than the cerebrum. It cooperates with the cerebrum and the brain stem to produce smooth, efficient muscular movement. Finally, the brain stem is the lowest part of the brain and is the center for both vital organ control and protective reflexes. The spinal cord is located from the brain stem downward through the vertebras of the back and is the pathway for all information that travels between the brain and the body, carrying both motor and sensory impulses. The peripheral nervous system is a complex set of 12 pairs of cranial nerves and 31 pairs of spinal nerves. The cranial nerves carry information to and from the brain and structures in the head, neck, stomach, and heart. The spinal nerves carry information from the spinal cord to the body that deals with sensory information from within the body and the environment coordinating both voluntary and involuntary muscle movement.

Once smoke from a cigarette is inhaled, it takes approximately 7 to 10 seconds for the brain to be affected by the nicotine, tar, and over 4,000 chemicals, causing every cell in the brain to be poisoned by the chemicals and also the excess CO that is carried in the blood. The resulting changes in the blood vessels—roughness, narrowing, hardening, and stickiness of the wall lining and weakening of the vessel wall—all increase the risk of strokes for the smoker. Although the exact cause is not known, both genetics and environmental factors seem to play a role in the development of muscular sclerosis. The white matter of the brain and spinal cord become inflamed, develop lesions and the myelin sheath surrounding the nerves is lost. Smoking may initiate this inflammation. Brain tumors and problems related to improper chemical transmission in the brain and nerve cells are also problems related to smoking. With this added knowledge, it is hard to understand why anyone would choose to smoke.

 

Food – Smoking and Cell Damage

In previous issues we have discussed the broad effects of smoking on the respiratory, cardiovascular, and nervous systems. In this article we will address some general effects that smoking has on health.

Besides lung cancer there are many other types of cancer affecting the mouth, throat, vocal cords, pancreas, stomach, intestines, cervix, kidney and bladder that are increased due to smoking. In women who smoke, the reproductive system of the female is affected by a decreased fertility. This can cause an increase in miscarriages, stillborn infants, congenital birth defects, premature, underweight and undersized infants and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

A study performed at Berkeley University and published in The American Journal of Epidemiology, April 2006, showed a fourfold increase in childhood leukemia if the child’s father smoked before the conception. Although not all studies with childhood leukemia have been consistent, this was a significant study into the effects of paternal smoking on children. The European Journal of Cancer Prevention reported that fathers who smoked over 20 cigarettes daily are faced with enhanced hazards of fathering a baby with a central nervous system tumor. According to Dr. Bouffet, when men smoke tobacco it may stimulate transformation or change in the sperm. The results of another study published in The American Journal of Public Health, May 1985, showed overall cancer risks to adults to be increased by 50 per cent among the offspring of smoking men. The incidence of ear infection, bronchitis, pneumonia, colds, and asthma increases not only in the smoker, but also in those in the family or the work place regularly breathing the secondhand smoke.

Some cosmetic changes associated with smoking include accelerated aging and wrinkling of the skin, yellowing of the skin and especially the fingers and the hair becomes more brittle and grays earlier. It is a very sobering thought that the poison from cigarettes entering into the blood stream is carried to every cell of the body. Smoking produces carbon monoxide poison, which attaches more aggressively to the red blood cells than oxygen. It then robs every cell in the body of the oxygen necessary for maintenance, growth and repair. Is it any wonder that so many conditions of ill health and disease are directly related to smoking and who knows how many more are indirectly related?

Clearly, cigarette smoking is an attack of the devil against mankind and another way in which he can enslave men through his/her carnal flesh. What a blessing it is to understand the eight laws of health and counsel that states, “True Temperance teaches us to dispense entirely with everything hurtful and to use judiciously that which is healthful.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 562.

Food – Cost of Smoking

The cost of smoking can never be truly determined because of the loss of human life and potential, but it is just a matter of math to determine the cost of smoking if all of the cigarettes smoked over a lifetime were purchased today. You can see the cost of purchasing cigarettes in the table on the right.

Because of inflation, this table would have to be adjusted, making the numbers much higher the longer the person smokes. These numbers are astonishing, but they are only a part of the financial cost. The cost of damage to clothing, furniture, cars, homes and workplace also has to be considered. There is also expense related to lost work time and productivity. Injury related to inattentiveness can be very expensive. In July 2005, Dateline stated that the estimated cost of smoking related to lost productivity was 92 billion dollars. It quoted that 75.5 billion dollars of medical expenses was incurred in 1998. The cost of human suffering cannot begin to be estimated and the cost of lost life can only be enumerated, not estimated. About one-third to one-half of all smokers are killed by their habit and the average lifespan of a smoker is decreased by 12–15 years. This results in nearly 500,000 deaths annually in the United States, which represents about 1,400 people dying each and every day from smoking. Worldwide about 5.4 million people die annually from smoking, equating to over 15,000 people per day. These numbers are projected to increase to 6.4 million by 2015 and 8 to 10 million by 2030.

It is extremely hard to understand intellectually how anyone could decide to smoke or continue to smoke when these statistics are known. It is especially difficult when the benefits financially and physically are so marked in such a short time once someone quits smoking. Looking at the table below, there could be a savings the first month of $170 to $680. This alone is a huge incentive to stop. The physical benefits of smoking cessation are seen in a very short time. Within 20 minutes of the last cigarette, the blood pressure and pulse begin to return to normal. The temperature of the hands and feet will increase to normal. Within eight hours after quitting the carbon dioxide level in the blood drops to normal. Within just 24 hours after quitting, the chance of a heart attack decreases. By the time two weeks to three months pass, the circulation improves and lung function can increase by up to 30 percent. In one to nine months, coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath all decrease. The ability of the lungs to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce infection is greatly improved. The risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker within just one year. Within 5 to 15 years after quitting, the stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker. Ten years after quitting, the lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker. The risks of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas are also decreased. The risk of heart disease is that of a nonsmoker about 15 years after quitting.

So clearly there are costs associated with smoking and benefits to not begin or to quit once started. Won’t you think about this or share it with someone who smokes?

Food – Are You Ready to Quit Smoking?

Once you decide to quit smoking, the first thing to work on is a game plan. The most successful place to start is with a realization that it is not the Lord’s will that any should damage their body and mind with this habit nor be enslaved by it. God has given great and precious promises to help those who have made a decision to change bad and addicting habits. “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” Mark 9:23, 24. It is important that the smoker believes he/she can quit smoking and give any remaining doubt to the Lord—help my unbelief! Fear of failure is also common, and a great text to help with this is Isaiah 41:10: “Fear thou not, for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Lastly, it is critical for the smoker to realize that he/she is not strong enough on his/her own to do this, but with Christ as the Helper success is guaranteed: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13. With this dependence on God, the smoker is ready to develop the game plan.

Any plan must be initiated, so it is important to set a date to stop smoking. Remember, procrastination is the enemy of accomplishing anything worthwhile, so the sooner the better. It is important to prepare your home and surroundings to eliminate all roadblocks to success. Totally rid your house, vehicle, and work area of all cigarettes and smoking paraphernalia. As quickly as possible, wash your clothes, including dry cleaning winter coats or suits, bedding, and things that carry the odor of cigarette smoke. Vacuum your house, furniture, and vehicle thoroughly. Wash or dry clean your curtains, as these hold the smell of cigarettes and can hinder your quitting efforts.

Many people just do not know what to do with their hands or mouths when they stop smoking, so be sure to have carrot or celery sticks to chew on. Others have found that flavored toothpicks help. Have a calming, soothing, decaffeinated herbal tea available to drink. If you enjoy crafts, woodworking, mechanics, etc., plan to have a project that you can begin on your quitting day. It is also helpful to pick a day that you will remember, your birthday, the birthday of a loved one, just something to know that from this day forward, you are a non-smoker, and finally, begin to tell everyone you know that with the Lord’s help you are going to be a non-smoker.

It is also important to identify why you smoke. This varies and will affect the game plan. If someone smokes because of stress, then the plan must include some stress reduction modalities. Make a list of reasons why you smoke and then tailor part of your plan to address these reasons.