Participants: John Bradshaw
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. |
Revised 2015-02-06