It Is Written

Health Matters

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Bradshaw

Home

Series Code: IIW

Program Code: IIW001262


00:07 It has stood the test of time,
00:11 God's book, the Bible.
00:17 Still relevant in today's complex world.
00:22 It Is Written, sharing hope around the globe.
00:36 Thanks for join me today This is It is Writen
00:39 I'm John Bradshaw We all have to eat - and God
00:43 in His goodness has created an enormous variety of food.
00:49 One of the most interesting foods I learned to love is
00:53 durian.
00:54 It grows in Asia - It's a large fruit covered in dull
00:57 spikes - not the prettiest thing you'll ever see.
01:00 I read where someone described the durian as
01:03 looking like something that would dangle from a
01:05 gladiator's chain.
01:07 The durian is probably best known for its smell - it
01:12 smells...
01:13 how would you say?
01:15 Okay - there's no delicate way to say it.
01:17 The durian stinks!
01:19 But if you can get past that - and I did, I'm proud to say
01:23 - you can love it.
01:24 And I do.
01:26 Now if you don't like durian then about the worst thing
01:28 that can happen is that you...
01:30 don't like durian.
01:31 More for me.
01:33 But there are some other foods people in that are just
01:35 plain hazardous.
01:38 Dangerous, even.
01:40 In Japan there's a fish that's popular in certain
01:43 circles called "Fugu".
01:46 It's a pufferfish.
01:47 Fugu means, literally, "river pig" - and maybe for good
01:52 reason.
01:53 Some say eating this fish is the culinary equivalent of
01:56 playing Russian roulette.
01:58 Diners pay good money to eat this fish, which, if prepared
02:02 incorrectly, could kill them owing to parts of the fish
02:06 being toxic.
02:08 Fugu served as tempura of sashimi, or baked or added to
02:12 a glass of hot sake, is considered a treat by many.
02:17 Now in Tokyo food authorities are preparing to introduce a
02:20 change to regulations, allowing unlicensed
02:23 restaurants to serve fugu - a move that will make eating
02:27 the fish cheaper but which some chefs say could raise
02:31 the risk for diners.
02:32 Now there is a safeguard.
02:33 Chefs that serve Fugu have to undertake special training
02:37 which takes about two years before they are able to serve
02:40 it.
02:41 During this time they are taught and then examined on
02:43 how to remove the poisonous parts of the fish.
02:46 Only 35% of the candidates pass the exam.
02:50 Several people die every year after attempting to prepare
02:53 fugu at home.
02:55 The flesh is safe but other parts, including the liver,
02:58 heart, intestines and ovaries, contain
03:03 tetrodotoxin, which can kill you if it's ingested, even if
03:07 you ingest it in minute quantities.
03:10 There were 23 deaths among 338 fugu-poisoning cases
03:14 recorded in Japan from the year 2000 to the year 2009.
03:20 You're not going to catch me eating anything poisonous and
03:22 potentially lethal.
03:24 I'm guessing you'd probably say the same.
03:27 But what's interesting is that many of us are eating
03:31 foods every day that are potentially lethal.
03:36 Let me tell you about that.
03:38 A friend of mine told me about an article he read
03:40 online.
03:41 It was in the 'health' section and the article was
03:43 about the dumbest things American eat.
03:48 Here's some of what the article talked about.
03:50 Here is what people eat.
03:52 Deep fried donuts.
03:54 Not so surprising.
03:55 Deep fried candy bars.
03:58 Turkey stuffed with a duck that has been stuffed with a
04:04 chicken.
04:05 Deep fried bacon.
04:08 Squirt on cheese.
04:10 Fried macaroni and cheese balls Scrapple.
04:15 Scrapple is described as scraps of pork boiled with
04:18 cornmeal and spices until it's thick enough to form a
04:21 loaf.
04:22 After congealing over night, slices of the loaf are fried
04:26 to order.
04:27 I read about deep friend cheese balls being served at
04:31 a county fair somewhere.
04:33 Well these may bring a bit of a smile to our faces and we
04:36 may well be thinking that's just not quite normal.
04:40 But a restaurant in Las Vegas has attempted to take all
04:42 this to a whole new level.
04:45 The restaurant is called the Heart Attack Grill.
04:48 There've been other locations in the past in Arizona and
04:51 Texas.
04:52 The management of the Heart Attack Grill has been quoted
04:54 as saying their intent is to serve food "so bad for you
04:57 it's shocking".
04:59 Waitresses are dressed as nurses and customers are
05:01 referred to as patients.
05:03 Burgers have names like the "Quadruple Bypass" and can
05:06 contain as many as 8000 calories.
05:12 (8000 - the recommended daily calorie intake for men is
05:16 around 2500 and for women it's around 2000.
05:21 8000 is a LOT of calories!
05:24 Not surprising this thing has 8000 calories seeing as it
05:28 comes, with among other things, 20 slices of bacon!)
05:33 There are reduced versions of that burger - such as the
05:35 Single Bypass burger - that contain far fewer calories.
05:39 But still a lot!
05:41 The establishment's "Flat Liner Fries" are cooked in
05:45 pure lard, and soft drinks are made with real sugar.
05:49 And anyone who weighs over 350 pounds can eat for free.
05:55 "So bad for you it's shocking" is the claim made.
05:58 (Nodding...) While you might be surprised by people
06:04 wanting to eat food that is celebrated for being
06:06 unhealthy, and while the food we've just talked about isn't
06:09 your every day food and is a little over the top, lots and
06:13 lots of people eat food very similar to that every day.
06:18 How does God feel about that?
06:20 Does it matter to God at all what we eat?
06:24 We'll find out in just a moment.
06:29 Planning for your financial future is a vital aspect of
06:32 Christian Stewardship.
06:34 For this reason, It Is Written is pleased to offer
06:36 free planned giving and estate services.
06:39 For information on how we can help you, please call
06:44 1.800.992.2219.
06:45 To receive additional material on the advantages of
06:48 life-income plans such as a Charitable Gift Annuity,
06:51 which can provide you with tax benefits and income for
06:54 life, call today or visit our special website:
06:57 www.hislegacy.com.
07:01 You could also write to It Is Written, Planned Giving and
07:04 Trust Services, Box O, Thousand Oaks, California
07:08 91359.
07:10 Our toll-free number again is 1-800-992-2219 and our web
07:16 address: www.hislegacy.com It
07:24 Is Written is dedicated to sharing the gospel around the
07:27 world.
07:28 Our dream is to impact the world for God.
07:30 Our television program is only one aspect of how we try
07:33 to accomplish that.
07:34 To discover more about It is Written, I invite you to
07:37 visit our website itiswritten.com and browse
07:40 the dozens of pages that describe what we do and how
07:43 we do it.
07:44 Let's get to know each other a little better.
07:46 Visit our website itiswritten.com today.
07:50 Welcome back to It Is Written.
07:52 Today - Health Matters.
07:54 It's fair to assume that a lot of the food that's
07:57 available to us today simply isn't good for us.
08:00 But where do we go to get the information that we need to
08:02 help us make the right decisions.
08:05 In Australia a professor called Bruce Neal, the senior
08:09 director of the George Institute for Global Health
08:12 has come out and said that diet and exercise campaigns
08:14 are so ineffective at preventing heart disease that
08:17 they should be abandoned and replaced with strict
08:21 regulation of salt levels in food combined with wider
08:24 medication use.
08:25 Professor Neal is saying that the government should stop
08:27 having a hands off approach and regulate the food
08:31 industry to bring about change.
08:33 But then one doctor says this and another doctor says that
08:36 - and it usually is not bad advice, usually - and in all
08:41 of the confusion we are just trying to do our best.
08:44 Let me make a suggestion.
08:46 The Bible encourages us to go to God and seek his advice
08:51 about things that are happening in our lives.
08:53 Has God ever failed to give you good advice?
08:56 No he hasn't.
08:57 Sometimes we say 'what would Jesus do about this'?
09:01 Well, what did Jesus eat when he was upon this earth and
09:05 better still what would Jesus eat if he were upon the earth
09:09 now?
09:10 Jesus was not raised in a wealthy family, which means
09:13 that as far as his diet went his family probably couldn't
09:17 afford too many extras - or too many expensive
09:21 alternatives.
09:22 In society today, if you come from a lower socio economic
09:25 background you're more likely to be sick, a smoker and/or a
09:29 drinker and have a poor diet.
09:30 That's what the researchers tell us.
09:33 So when the government looks at health issues they have to
09:35 keep those things in mind.
09:36 Now Jesus wasn't weighed down by that kind of diet or
09:40 lifestyle.
09:41 For thirty years Jesus had to work hard in his fathers
09:44 carpenter shop and no doubt ate a fairly typical
09:46 Mediterranean diet that was wholesome, unprocessed and in
09:52 line with the Jewish dietary laws.
09:54 He would have consumed little saturated fat, only natural
09:58 sugars, He would have got plenty of sleep and lots of
10:01 exercise.
10:02 Jesus would also have a heart full of love for his father
10:07 and have a concern for the needs of others.
10:10 And no doubt someone is tempted to say, "That's all
10:12 very well but I can't go back and live in Jesus time."
10:17 But the Word of God gives us guidelines for what we can
10:19 include in our busy modern lifestyles.
10:22 One thing I'm quite certain of: Jesus likely wouldn't
10:27 advise us to eat at the burger restaurant I talked
10:30 about a moment ago.
10:32 I mentioned previously the Jewish dietary laws just a
10:35 second back.
10:36 These were laws that God gave to Israel to preserve their
10:39 health.
10:40 The Hebrews had been slaves in Egypt for several hundred
10:43 years.
10:44 Yet even among that slave lifestyle they got to the
10:46 stage where they considered their food tolerable.
10:50 They later said this (you read it in Exodus 16), "Oh,
10:54 that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of
10:57 Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate
11:02 bread to the full!
11:04 For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill
11:07 this whole assembly with hunger."
11:10 Exodus 16:3But history tells us that the Egyptians
11:14 lifestyle wasn't too healthy.
11:17 The Egyptians suffered from every modern disease that we
11:20 suffer from today, except of course from modern diseases
11:23 such as AIDS.
11:24 Heart disease, Cancer, Cirrhosis of the liver,
11:28 Gallstones, Kidney stones, Gout, Arthritis,
11:30 Osteoporosis, Pneumonia, obesity - of course the
11:35 depictions of Egyptians by the artists of the time were
11:37 quite flattering, but they were some sick people.
11:41 God knew that when the children of Israel eventually
11:44 settled in the land that he had promised them they might
11:47 be tempted to adopt an Egyptian-style so he said
11:53 this.
11:54 "You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God
11:58 has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be
12:02 well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the
12:05 land which you shall possess."
12:08 Deuteronomy 5:33.
12:10 God through Solomon advised the people like this "My son,
12:16 give attention to my words; incline your ear to my
12:19 sayings.
12:20 Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the
12:23 midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find
12:26 them, And health to all their flesh."
12:30 Proverbs 4:20-22.
12:31 Our present day knowledge has been gathered in little over
12:35 100 years or so.
12:38 However there was an efficient public health
12:40 program in effect some 3000 years back and how sad that
12:45 it was lost sight of for centuries.
12:47 Moses the great Egyptian leader and then Hebrew leader
12:50 was the founder of preventive medicine.
12:53 The children of Israel lived in the desert for 40 years
12:56 and not one of them got sick.
12:59 In just a moment - more timeless health principles
13:03 from the Bible.
13:07 In Matthew 4:4 the Word of God says "It is written 'Man
13:11 shall not live by bread alone but by every word that
13:15 proceeds out of the mouth of God'."
13:17 Every Word is a one minute Bible-based daily devotional
13:20 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed
13:23 especially for busy people like you.
13:27 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch it
13:33 on-line everyday on our website itiswritten.com.
13:37 Receive a daily spiritual boost.
13:41 Watch Every Word.
13:42 You'll be glad you did.
13:45 Here's a sample.
13:48 When they found her body in the wreckage of the car,
13:50 Police noticed a cell phone with a half-finished text
13:54 message on it.
13:56 See, she'd been texting while driving in terrible weather,
13:59 in a car full of people.
14:00 The risks are so well known, but that doesn't stop a lot
14:03 of people.
14:04 Sin is the riskiest behavior of all, and it says in
14:07 Ecclesiastes 8:11, "Because sentence against an evil work
14:10 is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the
14:16 sons of men is fully set in them to do evil."
14:19 God isn't going to zap you every time you sin, so some
14:22 go on sinning like there are no consequences.
14:25 Ignoring the consequences of sin is deadly.
14:27 One day we'll reap what we have sown.
14:29 Don't roll the dice on sin.
14:30 Be motivated by love for God, and let Him keep you in the
14:32 center of His will.
14:34 I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written.
14:36 Let's live today by Every Word.
14:41 This is It Is Written.
14:42 And today - Health Matters.
14:44 And the Bible is clear health really matters!
14:49 Humans were carefully designed by God - and just
14:51 like when you buy a car the car's engineers - the
14:55 creators of the car - tell you how to run your car to
14:57 keep it in the best possible condition, God gave us the
15:01 Bible as an owner's manual so we'd know how to keep our
15:05 bodies - and more importantly, our minds - in
15:09 the best condition: to give us every advantage in
15:12 receiving everlasting life.
15:14 Now I'd understand if you said, "But John - salvation
15:17 is a gift we receive freely through Jesus.
15:20 What does eating have to do with that?"
15:23 Good question - I'm glad you asked!
15:25 The state of our health most often affects the
15:28 functionality of our frontal lobe, the part of your brain
15:31 that governs moral reasoning and social behavior.
15:36 It's the part of our brain that governs our
15:38 decision-making processes.
15:40 And the point for Christians is that if you compromise
15:43 your decision-making ability - your moral-reasoning
15:47 ability - you compromise your ability to maintain an
15:50 optimum connection with God.
15:54 It just makes sense.
15:55 If you want your vehicle to run right you make sure it
15:58 gets the right fuel.
15:59 A farmer is going to make sure his or her farm animals
16:02 get the right food so those animals produce the best
16:05 results.
16:06 Athletes follow careful diets because they want the best
16:09 possible outcome when they compete.
16:11 And here we are involved in what Paul calls a battle
16:14 against spiritual darkness...
16:16 Don't you think we need every advantage we can get?
16:19 Of course we do.
16:21 Which is why God drew up the menu in the Garden of Eden.
16:24 It's why God provided the food for the children of
16:26 Israel when they were in the wilderness.
16:29 God knew that health matters.
16:32 Now I'ld like to show you a text from the book of
16:34 Proverbs.
16:35 Does the wisest man who ever lived give us good healthy
16:39 living advice?
16:40 Yes he does.
16:41 He talks about honey a number of times.
16:46 First he tells us to eat honey because it is good.
16:48 Solomon said in the book of Proverbs: "My son, eat honey
16:53 because it is good, and the honeycomb which is sweet to
16:56 your taste."
16:57 (Proverbs 24:13).
17:00 Now that is good news.
17:01 But tell me what parent would let their child loose with an
17:05 entire pot of honey?
17:07 We wouldn't do that because we know that wouldn't be good
17:10 for us.
17:11 What are the type of foods that are full of sugar that
17:14 we eat a lot of?
17:16 Confectionary, soft drinks ...
17:19 the list goes on.
17:20 It's a big list.
17:21 Is God giving us poor advice here?
17:24 No - we read in Proverbs 25:16, something that
17:29 balances this up.
17:31 Proverbs 25 and verse 16: "Have you found honey?
17:37 Eat only as much as you need, lest you be filled with it
17:44 and vomit."
17:45 I remember as a child that my brother went to a party and
17:48 got stuck into his favorite food.
17:50 We used to call them "Chocolate Crackles".
17:52 They were made out of Rice Krispies and chocolate and
17:56 honey.
17:58 This boy was in his element.
18:00 And without our mum looking over his shoulder, he ate
18:04 just as many of those things as he wanted to, not as many
18:08 as he needed to.
18:09 How did they work out?
18:12 Let's just say...
18:14 it wasn't pretty.
18:16 We read in Proverbs 25:27, "It is not good to eat much
18:21 honey."
18:22 (And what's meant by that is TOO much honey.) So there it
18:24 is, it is not good to eat too much honey, to much sweet
18:33 stuff.
18:35 That same brother of mine loves Mars bars.
18:38 At least he used to.
18:39 He ate them for years.
18:40 But he doesn't anymore (very often...) I asked him
18:43 recently why he gave them up.
18:44 He simply said: "Just too much sugar in them.
18:48 I know it's not good for me".
18:49 Well I am glad to say that you can teach an old dog new
18:54 tricks.
18:55 Let me share with you something.
18:57 I want to share with you another text out of the
19:00 Bible, this time from the book of Proverbs, from
19:04 Solomon, and notice what it says.
19:07 Proverbs 23:1-3 says this:
19:16 "When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider
19:19 carefully what is before you; and put a knife to your
19:22 throat if you are a man given to appetite.
19:25 Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food."
19:31 It seems to me Solomon is warning us about over-eating.
19:36 Overeating is one of the biggest issues that we have
19:38 today in society, healthwise.
19:40 You can go to restaurants in every city from sea to
19:43 shining sea and eat as much as you want which leads to
19:48 any number of things - including obesity.
19:51 Obesity is one of ...
20:00 pardon the expression ...
20:01 the biggest public health problems in the Western world
20:03 today.
20:04 It leads to a host of diseases and chronic
20:06 illnesses including diabetes, cancer, heart disease,
20:08 osteoarthritis, gall stones, gout, asthma...
20:10 the list goes on and on.
20:11 The Bible gives us good advice.
20:13 Don't over eat.
20:14 Along with overeating goes the national habit of eating
20:16 between meals.
20:17 This is a nation that has been encouraged to eat
20:19 whenever it wants, what it wants, how it wants.
20:22 It is best to follow the Bible's advice and teach
20:26 ourselves not to overeat and not to eat between meals.
20:32 This brother I've been telling you about told me
20:34 recently that he had lost about 9 pounds.
20:36 I thought, well, he must have got himself on the latest
20:38 wonder diet from Oprah or Kim Kardashian.
20:41 He said "No, no.
20:42 My wife suggested that I eat my meal on a smaller plate."
20:47 Simple.
20:48 He didn't notice any real difference until it seemed to
20:51 him as if his belt had stretched.
20:54 He suggested I try the same thing - the smaller plate...
20:57 and I suggested that he was meddling.
21:01 Solomon also tells us to avoid the "delicacies".
21:04 Now these are the extras, the treats, the indulgences we
21:08 like to eat.
21:10 Back in Solomon's time it seems like only the rich
21:12 could afford those things.
21:13 Today they are available to everyone.
21:17 When it comes to practical suggestions for our diet and
21:21 health, the Bible has got a lot to say.
21:24 Here's just one more point.
21:25 God gave the children of Israel extensive advice on
21:28 what they could or couldn't eat.
21:31 On what they should or shouldn't eat.
21:33 In Leviticus 3:17, God says.
21:35 "This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your
21:38 generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat
21:42 neither fat nor blood."
21:46 Interesting!
21:47 God told his people not to eat fat.
21:53 If that strikes you as strange, the truth is God was
21:57 simply up on the latest good health information.
22:00 I suspect that if you went to your doctor for health advice
22:03 he or she will tell you not to eat fat.
22:06 For many of us a low fat diet is just common sense.
22:10 You certainly don't get that at some of these hamburger
22:14 places we've been discussing.
22:16 God also advice about which animals should or shouldn't
22:21 be eaten.
22:22 Or perhaps I should say, may or may not be eaten.
22:26 It was as simple as this.
22:28 This is what God says.
22:29 You find it in the Holy Bible.
22:33 "Whatever in the water has fins and scales, whether in
22:37 the seas or in the rivers--that you may eat.
22:40 But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins
22:45 and scales..."
22:46 God says leave it off the menu.
22:49 God said in the same chapter that birds of prey or those
22:53 birds that feed on offal or carrion - the scavengers and
22:57 carnivorous birds - God says we shouldn't eat them either.
23:01 The fact is they're likely the most likely to transmit
23:05 disease to humans.
23:08 If you're out driving and you see an animal that's been hit
23:10 by a car you don't say, "Good news, here's dinner!"
23:13 You know better than that.
23:15 Those birds see those animals on the side of the road, they
23:17 say "Good news!
23:18 Here's dinner!"
23:19 Why would we want to eat them?
23:23 God made clear that the only animals that should be eaten
23:27 are the ones that have a cloven hoof and chew the cud.
23:33 Now, that would be what?
23:34 Well - cows, goats, deer, sheep...
23:38 maybe some others.
23:39 But God said animals we shouldn't eat include the
23:43 camel - bound to disappoint you I know - rabbits,
23:48 badgers, and pigs.
23:50 Hummmm.
23:51 Getting closer to home now.
23:53 God said they are unfit to eat.
23:57 You read that in the Bible.
23:59 God doesn't want the food that we eat to make us sick.
24:04 He gives us an overarching principle in 1 Corinthians
24:07 10:31.
24:08 He said this, he said "Therefore, whether you eat
24:12 or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
24:14 So what can you do to help improve your health in the
24:25 future?
24:27 I would like to give you some advice.
24:29 My advice comes in the form of a suggestion.
24:32 As a matter of fact, my advice comes in the form of
24:36 an offer.
24:37 I'd like to recommend to you this book, produced by It Is
24:41 Written titled "Easy Steps for Better Health."
24:46 This book has the capacity to change your life and give you
24:51 improved health.
24:56 To get your copy of Easy Steps for Better Health, just
25:00 call us at 1.800.253.3000.
25:05 1.800.253.3000.
25:08 Easy Steps for Better Health contains loads of great
25:11 information scientifically up to date, easy to implement
25:15 that will help you make the changes in your life that
25:18 will lead you on the pathway to better health, both
25:21 physically and spiritually.
25:23 Easy Steps for Better Health.
25:24 To get your copy, call now, 1.800.253.3000.
25:30 Or, you can write to us at It Is Written, Box O, Thousand
25:34 Oaks, California, 91359 and we'll gladly send you a copy
25:39 of this book to your address in North America.
25:43 Easy Steps for Better Health.
25:46 Getting this book might be just about the best decision
25:50 you've made in a long time.
25:51 It will be a blessing to your health and can set you on the
25:55 road to a fuller life, a healthier life, a life where
26:00 you can enjoy more of the blessings of God.
26:03 Easy Steps for Better Health.
26:04 Call 1.800.253.3000 or write to us at Box O, Thousand
26:10 Oaks, California, 91359.
26:11 And please remember, It Is Written is a faith-based
26:17 ministry, made possibly by people like you.
26:21 To support the ministry of It Is Written, you can send your
26:24 donation to us at Box O, Thousand Oaks, California
26:29 91359 or you can go on-line to our website,
26:32 itiswritten.com.
26:33 Thank you for your prayers and thank you for your much
26:38 needed support.
26:44 I'm glad you've joined me today.
26:46 Before we go, I'd like to pray with you.
26:48 We've got a lot to pray about.
26:50 Let's pray.
26:51 Our Father in heaven, challenging subject today,
26:54 but a subject that can make the difference between life
26:56 and death, literally, for so many of us that are watching
26:59 today and people have been saying, "Oh, I need to but
27:02 how can I?"
27:03 Lord, we know Jesus said that we can do all things through
27:08 him who strengthens us.
27:09 So Father, I pray your spirit will get inside of us, that
27:12 you will live your life out in us and make in our lives
27:15 the changes that need to be made.
27:22 We thank you for this blessing and we pray in
27:35 Jesus' name, Amen.
27:41 [Music] Thanks for joining me today.
27:43 I look forward to seeing you again next time.
27:45 Until then, remember - It Is Written:
27:48 man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
27:52 word that proceeds from the mouth of God.


Home

Revised 2015-02-06