RECOVERY PLAN

Written by Slawomir Gromadzki, MPH

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Practising all presented here principles of a healthy diet and lifestyle, combined with listed below most effective natural remedies and nutritional supplements, will not only improve your general health and well-being but will also greatly increase your chances of recovery from various health problems.

In addition, you will increase your physical and mental energy, improve mood, memory, focus, immune system, blood circulation, metabolism, and will detoxify your body. The more of these principles you manage to implement the quicker you may recover and the better you will feel.

Also, please keep in mind that there is a small chance that initially, you may not feel great due to the detoxification process going on, but it usually lasts only one or two days and after that, you will start noticing great improvement.

However, since nutritional supplements and herbs may interact with medication, consult your primary healthcare physician before using any supplements or making any changes to your regime. Also, never disregard medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this book.

 

HEALTH RECOVERY PLAN (SHORT)

– Often eat fresh (washed) sprouts; Drink 1 glass of raw vegetable juice (leafy greens, beets, carrots, etc.). For serious problems, such as cancer, drink 1 glass 3-6 times daily. You can eat as much fresh raw vegetables and vegetable smoothies as you want. Steamed veggies are healthier than cooked. Eat raw veggies with homemade humus, plant yoghurts, or cold-pressed olive oil. Your unrefined plant diet should be 50-80% raw.

– Take 1 tablespoon of high in Omega-3 ground fresh flaxseed,1 tablespoon of chia seeds, and 1 tablespoon of organic chlorella powder (or 20 tablets) every day before meals. Use chlorella interchangeably with the same dose of organic spirulina, barley grass, and wheatgrass.

-Every day have 1 tablespoon of home-made raw sauerkraut (the best source of probiotic bacteria). Find online instructions on how to make it.

-Take 1 teaspoon of fresh raw organic ground turmeric (2-3 times daily). If you like hot spices, use only pure organic ground cayenne pepper.

-Avoid wheat. Use wholemeal rye or spelt flour for baking bread. Eat wholegrain barley, millet, oats, buckwheat, quinoa, and amaranth.

-Make soaked overnight and well-cooked pulses (organic soya, beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc.) your best source of protein.

-Instead of cow’s milk and dairy, use unsweetened coconut milk, oat milk, almond milk, soya milk, and organic Tofu (soya products are very healthy on condition they are organic and non-GMO). Replace dairy yoghurts with unsweetened coconut yoghurt or organic soy yoghurt. If you want them sweet, add sweet fruits (fresh, frozen, or dried), raw organic honey, stevia, erythritol or xylitol instead of sugar.

– Eat fresh fruits 15-30 minutes before meals, not after meals. Avoid fruit juices. They are too high in sugar and quickly raise blood sugar level because unlike whole fruits they are deprived of fibre. Avoid eating fresh fruits and raw vegetables at the same time as it may cause indigestion.

-Use sea salt or pink (Himalayan) salt instead of refined salt. Read labels and avoid sugar, fructose, and high fructose/glucose syrup.

-Avoid all animal foods (meat, dairy, fish, etc). If you can’t, make sure they make less than 10% of your diet, and come from grass-fed animals, farm chickens (not free-range). Never eat animal fat (lard, etc.) and “unclean animals” (including pork and seafood) prohibited in Leviticus 11 as their function is to clean the environment and for this reason, they are high in toxins. Read labels and avoid proinflammatory refined oils (sunflower, soya, corn, and vegetable oils) and margarine. Use raw organic coconut oil, fresh cold-pressed flax oil and extra virgin olive oil instead.

-Drink 3 times a day about 2-3 glasses of water (distilled or at least properly filtered) about 30 to 60 minutes before or 2 hours after meals. Don’t drink unfiltered tap water or water stored in plastic containers (both are contaminated with dangerous chemicals from water or plastic). Buy a water distiller (£50) and drink distilled water as it is perfectly free from all contaminants and inorganic calcium which contributes to arthritis and calcification (hardening) of arteries and pineal gland. Before drinking, add a pinch of sea salt to the distilled water.

-Avoid methylxanthines (black tea, coffee, and chocolate). In 90% of women with fibrocystic disease, breast tumours disappear in two to six months when methylxanthines are eliminated from the diet. Chocolate-promoting studies were sponsored by a chocolate manufacturer (Mars Inc.).

-Since plants grow on soils with low mineral content, even a good diet may not provide enough nutrients, and not organic but only biodynamic farming that uses natural fertilisers and allows soil to rest, can ensure a sufficient nutrient supply. For this reason, to safeguard an adequate nutrient intake, take the following: 1 tablet of Daily Essentials by Phoenix Nutrition (the only good Multivitamin formula in UK), twice daily with meals. Since multivitamins don’t contain enough MagnesiumVit. D and B12, in addition to the multivitamin, take 2 x 200mg of Magnesium Citrate powder (free from additives); 3000-5000 IU Vit. D3 daily; 1000mcg B12 (Methylcobalamin) daily after breakfast; and Kelp (iodine), 4 capsules daily.

Black Seed (Nigella sativa) oil: 1 teaspoon 2-3 times daily (multiple health benefits, strong antiviral, antibacterial, and immune system boosting properties); Everyday 20mg Zinc with 500mg Quercetin (presses zinc inside cells where zinc prevents viral replications and provides other benefits). 

Povidone Iodine spraykills all viruses (viruses enter our body through the nose and mouth staying there for a few days before they enter cells and start replicating. Spraying the mouth and nose with PI prevents viruses from entering cells). Buy online (eBay, etc.) 10% food-grade povidone iodine. Dilute it 1:20 with water (1 part of PI mixed with 20 parts of water). Fill an empty spray bottle with the solution and spray the mouth and nose 2-3 times daily (especially after contacting infected individuals). Use it also as a mouthwash instead of dangerous fluoride-based. Instead of PI you can use 3% food-grade hydrogen peroxide in the same way (also kills viruses). Dilute it with twice as much water and use it as a mouth and nasal spray.

-Learn about and use medicinal clay, charcoal, and water treatments (hydrotherapy) including alternative (contrast) hot and cold showers, hot foot baths and poultices as it will eliminate pain and give a tremendous boost to the circulation, metabolism, detoxification, and immunity.

-Read the Bible (start from 4 Gospels) and Ministry of Healing (online, free) by Ellen G. White, and often pray fervently and patiently with your own words. Confess your sins and accept the gift of salvation by faith in Christ. Don’t pray for yourself (God knows your needs) but completely surrender your life to God praising Him and praying for others. This is the only way to gain inward peace and true joy, control stress and get rid of negative thinking, nervousness, anxiety, hatred, and inability to forgive. It is vital as these negative emotions are the key causes of various health problems.

Rest every seventh day according to the given by God fourth Commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you are to do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God…” (Exodus 20:8-11) According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Sabbath is the day of rest observed from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday”. This Commandment was never changed neither by Christ nor the Apostles. In fact, the first Christians (both Jewish and pagan) kept Sabbath holy until the fourth century when Constantin the Great supported by the rising power of the papal Rome, issued a decree enforcing the observance of Sunday – the first day of the week. According to various studies, Sabbath-keeping vegan Seventh-day Adventists are currently the longest-living population on earth (google “Dr Greger, two longest-lived populations”).

Gardening and fast walking outside is the best type of exercise. If the weather is bad exercise at home (min. 30-60 twice daily).

-You must stop and find time to often enjoy nature praising the loving Creator. Expose your body to the healing influence of the sun whenever possible.

Sleep 7-9 hours. Go to bed before 10 pm because the more you sleep before midnight the more restorative your night rest will be.

In addition to a healthy lifestyle, use also various herbal remedies and nutritional supplements suggested specifically for your health problems: www.fullhealthsecrets.com/diseases/alphabetic-list-of-health-conditions/

EXCELLENT HEALTH SEMINAR: Open YouTube and type “Barbara O’Neil

 

MUST READ:

– Free, Inspired, Life-Transforming Book!

– The Most Effective Health Recovery Plan

– Can Christ Return in 2027

 

NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS

WHY WE NEED NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS

According to Linus Pauling (two times Nobel Prize winner), “Nearly all disease can be traced to nutritional deficiency (lack of vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and antioxidants)”. Unfortunately, due to the fact that for a very long time we’ve been using artificial fertilizers, the concentration of minerals in the soil today is 70 to 100 % lower than it was a hundred years ago. Due to various reports pointing to dangerous soil depletion, the nutritional content in both plant and animal foods is much lower today than it was before we started abusing the soil in many different ways including the heavy use of artificial fertilizers. Plant & animal foods are much lower in nutrients due to severe soil depletion, fast plant food growth (less time to accumulate nutrients), & other factors. As a result, also the food we consume is mostly deprived of a proper amount of nutrients, and only biodynamic farming, not organic, can help to solve this problem because only biodynamic farming is able to replenish the soil. Organic foods have fewer pesticides and herbicides but they are not significantly higher in nutrients. According to Scientific American, 2018, “If current rates of degradation continue all of the world’s topsoil could be gone within 60 years, a senior UN official said!” The research by the Worldwatch Institute suggests that orange from the 1950s was packed with Vitamin A & C. Today, to provide the same amount of these nutrients we would have to consume 20 oranges! Just one tomato from the 1940s was very high in Copper. Today we would have to eat 10 tomatoes to obtain the same intake of this mineral!

In the Old Testament, the One who claims to be the Creator of this world gave a special instruction telling us to allow the land to rest from active agricultural production every seventh year. It resembled the weekly Sabbath commandment and was called the Land Sabbath: “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unploughed and unused” (Exodus 23:10-11). The law was to benefit poor people and allow the land to rejuvenate itself and regain its mineral content. It also gave the farmer an opportunity to devote more time to repairs, travel, education, future planning, etc. Unfortunately, today this vital principle is completely forgotten or ignored. As a result, the land is greatly abused and almost completely deprived of its mineral content. This problem can be solved not by organic farming but only by biodynamic farming and allowing the soil to rest and regain its nutritional content.

In addition, the majority of people today consume products that either deprive them of vitamins and minerals or are very low in nutrients. The most dangerous among them are foods that contain high glucose or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), refined sugar (hidden in many different products), polished rice, and refined flour products such as white bread, doughnuts, cakes, biscuits, or refined pasta. Also, chronic psychological stress and the use of popular stimulants such as caffeine products, chocolate, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, etc. greatly contribute to nutritional deficiencies and poor health.

Therefore, taking into consideration all the above-mentioned facts the only way we can attempt to solve the enormous problem of dangerous nutritional deficiencies that contribute to or cause our health problems is by a regular intake of vitamins, minerals, micro-elements, and antioxidants in the form of supplements and superfoods. However, since as far as content and quality are concerned, there are huge differences between available on the market multivitamin-mineral formulas it is very important to spend some time reading labels and comparing the ingredients in order to make a wise and the best possible choice.

THE BEST MULTIVITAMIN & MINERAL SUPPLEMENT

I was looking for the best possible quality multivitamin with better forms of vitamins and minerals, high in D3, magnesium, and K2 MK7, and finally found one. It is Daily Essentials Multi-Vitamin & Mineral by Phoenix Nutrition. Since then, I try to recommend it to others (I don’t have any profit from it). Here is what one of those persons wrote to me today after giving it a try: “Regarding the multivitamins from Phoenix Nutrition, I bought them and have been using them for a couple of weeks. The benefits have almost been instant. My energy levels are high and it’s working well. I recommended it to a friend and he was asking if children can also use…”

Daily Essentials is a Multi-Vitamin and Mineral formula containing an effective, therapeutic dosage of active ingredients. Unlike most multivitamins which contain trace amounts of poorly absorbed ingredients, Daily Essentials uses only chelated minerals and coenzyme vitamins for maximum absorption and bioavailability. Using the coenzyme forms of vitamins B2, B6, B12, and folate, namely Riboflavin 5’phosphate, Pyridoxal 5’phosphate, Methylcobalamin, and L-5-Methyltetrahydrofolate (Methylfolate). The latter, methyl folate, is superior to cheap, synthetic folic acid which many people have a genetic inability to convert into the active form.

Look at the forms of vitamins, the strength of B vitamins and especially D3, the presence of extremely important Vitamin K2 MK7 (without K2 vitamin D leads to dangerous calcification, K1 in Centrum is unable to do it), or the presence of equally vital Magnesium in the form of glycinate which is one of the best forms of magnesium (poorly absorbed and cheap magnesium oxide is included in centrum). Vitamin B6 in Daily Essentials is in the form of much better P5P. Instead of the controversial folic acid (found in Centrum) Daily Essentials includes perfectly safe and well-absorbed Methylfolate. It also contains a high dose of 500mcg of Methylcobalamin – the best form of B12. Although Methylcobalamin works best when it is put under the tongue, yet even taken orally it is still much more effective than the useless tiny amount of 2.4 mcg cyanocobalamin B12 in Centrum.

In addition, Daily Essentials is in the form of a vegetable capsule, suitable for vegetarians, free from excipients (additives): Other Ingredients: Vegetarian Capsule. Centrum, on the other hand, contains dangerous Calcium (leads to calcification of arteries, pineal gland, kidneys, joints, etc.) & generating free radicals Iron (if you need Iron, get it from superfoods such as chlorella, spirulina, moringa, barley grass, molasses, etc.), numerous additives and gelatine (made from animal bones).

As far as value for money is concerned, Daily Essentials is very inexpensive (£10 for 180 vegetarian capsules – 2 a day, though you can take 1 a day if you are on a healthy diet), while for Centrum Advance, which I personally would never dare to use due to low quality, you need to pay about £5 for 30 tablets or £10 for 100 tablets. Therefore, taking into consideration the price, bioavailability, quality, and concentration of nutrients, the Daily Essentials seems to be 10-20 times superior to Centrum Advance. Even though Daily Essentials is a 2-a-day formula the concentration of nutrients and bioavailability is much higher than that of Centrum which claims to be a one a day multivitamin.

Although it doesn’t say anything about children, Daily Essentials is much better for them than any multivitamin recommended for kids, simply because they mostly contain cheap very poor-quality ingredients. For children over 12 years old I would suggest 1-2 capsules a day, over 5, one a day, and for 3-5, half capsules a day.

KEY VITAMINS & MINERALS

In mentioned above Daily Essentials Multi-Vitamin & Mineral you have all key vitamins, minerals and trace elements:  Each Serving (2 Capsules) Contains: Vitamin A (Acetate) [5,000 IU] 1,500mcg, Vitamin E (natural succinate) 24mg (32IU), Vitamin B1 (Thiamine Hcl) 20mg, Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin 5’Phosphate) 10mg, Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 25mg, Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) 20mg, Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxal 5’Phosphate) 10mg, Vitamin B12 (Methylcobalamin) 500mcg, Biotin (D) 500mcg, Folate (L-5-Methyltetrahydrofolate) 400mcg, Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) [2,000 IU] 50mcg, Vitamin K2 (MK-7) 150mcg, Zinc (as Picolinate) 15mg, Magnesium (as Bisglycinate) 150mg, Selenium (as Selenomethionine) 200mcg, Manganese (Bisglycinate) 5mg, Copper (Bisglycinate) 2mg, Chromium (Picolinate) 50mcg, BioPerine (Black Pepper Extract), 3mg (BioPerine is a natural extract known to significantly improve absorption of various nutrients). Other Ingredients: Vegetarian Capsule.

What I like very much about this formula is that unlike all other multivitamins, it is free from harmful Calcium carbonate and Iron; It is much higher in the most important Vitamin D3 (2000 IU per daily dose); It includes one of the best forms of Magnesium (Bisglycinate) instead of commonly used and poorly absorbed Magnesium Oxide; It contains more than enough Vitamin K2 (in the best form of MK-7 based on fermented Natto) to prevent D3 from leading to calcification; It is high in Biotin (500mcg) – the best beauty and hair-strengthening vitamin; It is high in cognition- & energy-boosting B Vitamins (in much better and more bioavailable forms); and it also contains other key Vitamins and Minerals in their best forms. As far as Iodine is concerned, you will get it in the best natural form by taking Kelp capsules (3-5 daily should contain about 300-700mcg of iodine). Don’t rely on iodises salt as iodine evaporates from it. The daily intake of iodine in Japan is 100 times higher than in the US or UK due to their regular consumption of seaweeds. Although Daily Essentials contain much superior form of Vitamin B12 (Methylcobalamin) than cheap Cyanocobalamin, yet this form is much better absorbed when placed under the tongue. For this reason, it is recommended to get sublingual Methylcobalamin and put 1000mcg under the tongue every day after breakfast or 5000mcg once or twice a week.

However, since many people today are very deficient in certain essential nutrients, especially Vitamin D and Magnesium, these nutrients often need to be taken in addition to the amount found in Daily Essentials. In case you decide to use different multivitamin than Daily Essentials, you must always get additional Vitamin D3, Magnesium and K2 as they are very low in them.

Vitamin D3: Experts recommend us to take about 4,000-5,000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily (don’t take vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol). If you are diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency, take 10,000-20,000 IU per day with breakfast for about 1-2 months and after that reduce to 4-5,000 IU. Vitamin D is associated to a vast number of health benefits, and it is the strongest immune system booster and regulator and deficiency of this vitamin today is rampant. Even in hot parts of the world such as Africa or India majority of people are deficient in vitamin D because they do not expose their uncovered bodies to the sun on a regular basis. Remember to take Magnesium every day as vitamin D without enough magnesium in the body is useless! In addition, taking vitamin D supplements lead to magnesium deficiency resulting in sleep problems, muscle cramps, and other symptoms! To maximize the benefits of vitamin D supplementation while also minimizing the potential risk of toxicity and dangerous calcification (to which supplemental vitamin D contributes), vitamin D must be taken with Vitamin K2 (not K1). Vitamin K2 activates the MGP, a protein that helps direct calcium to the right places (bones) and leads calcium away from the undesirable areas (pineal gland, kidneys, joints, colon or arteries) eliminating the risk of hypercalcaemia and calcification of these organs. Apart from Vitamin K2 also Magnesium plays a crucial role in proper conversion and absorption of Vitamin D. Vitamin K2 MK7 – based on fermented Natto, is the best form of this vitamin.

Magnesium: Take Magnesium of high bioavailability such as magnesium bisglycinate, magnesium chloride oil spray (highly absorbed through the skin), magnesium citrate tablets or magnesium citrate in powder form as it is free from binders and fillers: 150-200mg about 30 min before breakfast and the same amount about 1 hour before bed. Due to soil depletion and refined diet millions suffer from magnesium deficiency without even knowing it. Magnesium deficiency contributes to all health problems and it is almost impossible to detect it because it does not show up in blood tests as only 1% of the body’s magnesium is stored in the blood.

Vitamin B12: Take 1,000-2,000mcg of B12 supplement only in the form of Methylcobalamin (must be sublingual – dissolved under the tongue) every day only after breakfast. Vitamin B12 is the best vitamin to protect nerves from being damaged by high blood sugar levels, toxins, statins and other factors. It is also an excellent energy booster and detoxifier. Deficiency of this vitamin is also very common not only among elderly and vegans but also meat-eaters. All vegans, those on Warfarin (causes B12 deficiency), statins, antacids, and people over 60 (they don’t make intrinsic factor required for absorption) should take B12 on a regular basis.

Zinc: One or two times a day take about 5-15 mg of Zinc with meals (most multivitamin-mineral formulas should contain this amount). Make sure your zinc formula includes about 1mg of Copper per every 10mg of zinc. Other minerals and trace elements such as Selenium, Molybdenum, Manganese, etc. you should have in a good multivitamin formula mentioned above.

Note: Avoid Calcium supplements. If you have to take calcium to choose only pure calcium citrate powder (for some time) as it is more organic but never use calcium carbonate as it contributes to many health problems and calcification of various organs and body tissues. The best source of natural Calcium are green leafy vegetables, but not milk or dairy as the protein found in these products leads to acidity and osteoporosis. Avoid supplemental Iron as it is a free radical generator. However, if you are deficient in this mineral and suffer from anaemia or heavy menstruation, for some time you may take Iron in the form of Bisglycinate. At the same time take also Alpha Lipoic Acid, an excellent antioxidant which prevents oxidative stress triggered by Iron. However, it is always better to provide the body with Ion in a natural form found especially in chlorella, spirulina, moringa, wheatgrass, spinach, or blackstrap molasses. All these superfoods are high in this mineral.

MOST POWERFUL ANTIOXIDANTS

Take the following most powerful antioxidant supplements to slow down the ageing process, prolong life, boost energy, protects and strengthen the immune system, heart, nervous system, and memory, increase fat and sugar metabolism, improve detoxification and liver function, prevent cancer, and more:

Alpha-Lipoic Acid (600-1200mg a day): Effective or very beneficial in reversing nerve damage in the body (especially when combined with sublingual methylcobalamin form of B12) such as peripheral neuropathy (often caused by statins & chronic high blood glucose), diabetic neuropathy, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, etc. It also helps prevent and treat diabetes, heart damage and cataract. It increases body levels of glutathione and CoQ10, improves skin condition, memory, removes heavy metals from the body and increases energy. Together with Acetyl L-Carnitine reduces sciatic pain caused by a herniated disc, lowers blood pressure and was able to improve vascular function in patients with coronary artery disease.

Acetyl L-Carnitine (1 to 3g per day in divided doses): Like Alpha lipoic acid, it gives many benefits for the brain, nervous system, metabolism, heart, immune system, and blood sugar levels. In one study it imposed a huge energising and rejuvenating effect on ageing rats and can do the same for ageing humans. It is even more effective when combined with Alpha-lipoic acid and CoQ10.

Two Antioxidants that Made Old Rats Younger: According to a study conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, Research Institute, Alpha Lipoic Acid together with Acetyl L-carnitine were able to impose a huge energising and rejuvenating effect on ageing rats, and might do the same for ageing humans. A team of scientists led by Bruce N. Ames, professor of molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley, supplemented old rats with ALA and Acetyl-L-carnitine. As a result, not only the memory of the rats was significantly improved, but they also had much more energy. According to Professor Ames, “With the two supplements together, these old rats got up and did the Macarena. The brain looked better, they were full of energy – everything we looked at looks more like a young animal!” Also, another scientist associated with the same study, Professor Tory M. Hagen, suggested that they actually observed “a reversal in loss of memory” and “a dual-track improvement which was significant and unique that is really starting to explode and move out of the realm of basic research into people. We significantly reversed the decline in overall activity typical of aged rats to what you see in a middle-aged to young adult rat. This is equivalent to making an 80-year-old individual act like a middle-aged person!“

NAC (N-Acetyl cysteine) (500 to 1000mg a day): One experienced physician, who recommended this powerful antioxidant to his patients, wrote that “in certain cases, this supplement can make the difference between life and death.”

Coenzyme Q10 (30-300mg a day with meals): Extremely important especially for heart health and heart function. You must take 100-200mg per day if you are on statins as this drug causes a huge deficiency of CoQ10! Deficiency of CoQ10 and Magnesium leads to heart failure and eventually to a heart attack.

Glutathione: Often consume foods which increase levels of Glutathione (king of all antioxidants): Asparagus, Okra, Garlic, Onions, Rice bran, Mangosteen, Chlorella, fresh Dandelion leaves and fresh Nettle leaves (rinsed with very hot water to prevent stinging),  Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans), Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Maca, Turmeric, Lentils, Parsley leaves, Collard greens, Kale, Brazil nuts, Mustard greens, Radish, Turnip, Watercress, Bok Choy, Rosemary, Berries, Avocado, Peaches, Watermelon, Beets, etc. Keep in mind that cooking (heating) reduces the glutathione content of vegetables by 30-60%! Canning is even worse as it almost completely destroys glutathione!

Pycnogenol (or another good-quality and standardised pine bark extract) is one of the most powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory natural agents. It affects many vital processes in the human body including gene expression, cognition, blood vessels, and metabolism. It neutralizes free radicals protecting body cells against oxidative stress. It also boosts other antioxidant enzymes in the body. It helps regenerate vitamin C and E, slowing down ageing and helping prolong the lifespan. Pycnogenol’s active compounds have anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties, reduce allergies, and support the immune system. Pycnogenol is also very effective in boosting nitric oxide in the human body, which relaxes and protects blood vessels [>], enhancing both female and male sexual function. Pycnogenol is a nootropic, improves cognition, enhances exercise performance, and benefits people with ADHD, high blood pressure and blood glucose levels [>]. What’s special about pine bark extract is that some of its active compounds naturally act in the body as sustained-release substances. When you take pine bark extract [>], small molecule antioxidants (catechins, phenolic acids and taxifolin) are quickly absorbed from intestines into the blood and start to act within just about 30 minutes. However, the long chains of procyanidins are much more complex antioxidants. When they reach the gut, the probiotic bacteria present there slowly breaks them down into absorbable active compounds that appear in the blood six hours later and remain there for at least fourteen hours! That’s why pine bark extract provides a safe and long-lasting flow of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory substances [>, >]. The average recommended standard dose is 100-200 mg/day. Read more >

 

NATURAL REMEDIES

 

HERBS

Ashwagandha: Excellent help in coping with chronic stress, adrenal fatigue, hormonal imbalance in both men and women, lack of physical and mental energy, poor memory and other cognitive issues, sexual problems, infertility, etc.

Aloe Vera: Colon, stomach, immunity, detox, liver, inflammation, etc.

Black Seed Oil (Nigella Sativa) or ground black seeds: Allergy, asthma, hay fever, dysfunctional immune system, autoimmune conditions, HIV & AIDS, covid-19, cancer, diabetes 1 & 2, strong antibacterial & antiviral, MS, etc.

Cayenne Pepper (Capsaicin): Inflammation, gastro-intestinal problems, immunity, excellent natural blood thinner and vaso-dilator (shouldn’t be used together with warfarin and other blood thinners to avoid bleeding). Make your own tincture as 20-30 drops under the tongue may save the life of someone experiencing heart attack due to powerful vaso-dilating action (there are many people claiming it actually did save lives).

CBD Oil (Cannabis Oil): Cancer, autism, pain, epilepsy, seizures, anti-inflammatory, muscle spasms, IBS, colitis and IBD, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, mood disorders, anxiety, high blood pressure, etc.

Centaurium (Centaury): The best by far remedy for heartburn, indigestion, gas, bloating, etc.

Ginger: Nausea, digestive problems, immunity, colds, flu, morning sickness, inflammations, etc.

Ginkgo Biloba: Poor blood circulation in brain, legs and hands, cold feet and hands, poor memory, aged people, heart problems, oxygenates brain cells, erectile dysfunction (improves blood circulation in the penis), low mood, etc.

Ginseng: Adrenal fatigue, stress, low energy, tiredness, memory, concentration, libido, stamina, etc. Ginsengs (except Siberian Ginseng) shouldn’t be used by individuals with high blood pressure.

Holy Basil (Tulsi): Anxiety, low mood, irritability, detox, sleep problems, insomnia, etc.

Hops: Irritability, nervousness, sleep problems, anxiety, depression, cancer, digestive problems, sex addictions, etc.

Lemon Balm (Melissa): Irritability, nervousness, sleep problems, anxiety, depression, cancer, digestive problems, etc.

Maca Root: Hormonal imbalance, low energy and testosterone levels, promotes stamina & physical endurance, etc.

Milk Thistle: Liver problems, detox, bloating, gas, indigestion, etc.

Neem Oil: HIV & AIDS, covid-19, diabetes, allergy, etc.

Nettle: Diabetes, pancreas, regulates blood sugar levels, detox, skin, kidneys, etc.

Rhodiola: Adrenal fatigue, stress, energy, fatigue, memory, concentration, sexual health, etc.

Star Flower Oil and Evening Primrose Oil: Menopause, PMS, candida, nervous system, immunity, etc.

Vitex (Agnus Castus, Chaste Berry): Premenstrual syndrome (PMS), low progesterone, menstrual pains, (works even better to support hormonal balance when combined with Magnesium, Vitamin B6 and B5), etc.

 

ACTIVATED CHARCOAL >

Poisoning, heartburn, indigestion, gas, bloating, diarrhoea, live, kidneys, etc. Dr Agatha a Pathologist and Medical Examiner for the state of Georgia and founder of Uchee Pines Institute (>) wrote that “Activated charcoal is a remedy that should be in every household. It is a very effective agent for absorbing a variety of drugs and poisons that may have been accidentally swallowed. It is also an excellent remedy for intestinal disorders, insect bites, and many other applications”.

MEDICINAL CLAY

Clay (Green and Bentonite): Detox, gas, diarrhoea, bloating, poisoning, hair loss, skin problems, colon, etc.

OTHER REMEDIES

Colloidal Silver: Kills bacteria and viruses, flu, cold, covid-19, bronchitis, sinusitis (internally and as nose rinse), pneumonia, asthma, HIV, AIDS, periodontitis (gum disease), ear infections, ringworm, fungal infections (internally and externally), thrush, Candida albicans, digestive upsets, allergies, toothaches & tooth decay, mouth sores, bad breath (internally and mouth gargling), and as eye drops (pink eye), psoriasis, eczema, wounds, cuts,  rashes,  sunburns  (soothes the skin and repairs damage).

Propolis: Bacterial and viral infections, covid-19, weak immunity, stomach ulcer, inflammation, flu, cold, etc. Don’t use if allergic to bee products.

5-HTP (the best form of amino acid L-tryptophan): Low mood, depression, anxiety, migraine, etc. Boosts serotonin levels as tryptophan is the precursor of this most important in our body “happy” hormone and antidepressant. Take 50-100mg with breakfast and before bed with 10-30 mg of Vitamin B6 and 200-300mg Magnesium.

MSM (excellent form of sulfur): Increases glutathione (key antioxidant), excellent for arthritis, detox, hair, skin, immunity, inflammatory conditions, etc.

Mumio: Indigestion, gas, bloating, inflammation, immunity, hair, colon, skin, etc.

Probiotics: Colitis, gas, diarrhoea, constipation, colorectal cancer, leaky gut, Crohn’s disease, autoimmune conditions, depression, anxiety, lactose intolerance, diverticulitis, allergies, weak immune system, etc.

EXTERNAL REMEDIES

Charcoal (poultice or compress): poisoning, stings, eye inflammation, skin inflammation, liver & kidney conditions, strains, swelling, etc.

Propolis cream or tincture (mixed with raw coconut oil or olive oil): Fungus, haemorrhoids, vaginal infections, candida, cuts, burns, skin damage, ear infections, gum inflammation, toothache, etc.

Comfrey cream or compress: Bruises, skin cuts, damaged skin, bone fractures, etc.

Green Clay and Bentonite Clay: Skin cancer, skin ulcers, haemorrhoids, hair loss, psoriasis, inflammatory conditions, swelling, any skin condition, etc.

Magnesium Chloride oil spray (or buy magnesium chloride flakes, mix with filtered water and use externally). It gives all the benefits of magnesium as it is absorbed into the blood from the skin: Excellent natural deodorant, excellent for muscle cramps, uterine cramps, and unlike internal forms of magnesium (except ionic) it can be used externally in kidney failure, etc.

Aloe Vera gel or juice: cuts, burns, skin damage, bruises.

Ginger poultice: Arthritis, etc.

Cayenne Pepper (Capsaicin): Arthritis, relieves pain, peripheral neuropathy (externally gives great results plus Alpha-lipoic acid and sublingual Methylcobalamin internally), psoriasis (mixed with raw coconut oil), etc.

Steamed Onion poultice: Ear infection (including children), etc.

Potato (grated) poultice: Abscesses (boils), skin ulcers, leg ulcers, wounds, swollen eyelids, etc.

Castor Oil: Hair loss, skin problems, blocked fallopian tubes (cause of infertility in women), surgical adhesions, etc.

Neem Oil: Best natural contraceptive (vaginal application before sexual intercourse), hair & skin problems, etc.

Note: There are many articles and videos online explaining how to use listed above remedies externally. For instance, if you want to find details about Charcoal, google “how to make charcoal poultice”, etc.

 

EFFECTIVE WATER TREATMENTS

Alternative (contrast) hot and cold showers will give a tremendous boost to the blood circulation, improve metabolism, the elimination of toxins, and stimulate both the nervous and the immune system. Always start with hot shower and after about 3–5 minutes (when your body is warm enough) take a 1-3 min cold shower, slowly reducing the temperature until it is as cold as possible. After that, repeat this procedure alternating the flow of water from hot to cold, back and forth 1-3 times in a row. You can also take a hot bath (or sauna) and rub the entire body with a towel dipped in a very cold or icy water every 1-3 minutes. If you need to stay in a hot bath for a longer time, you must apply a cold compress to your forehead and neck. Remember to drink plenty of water before during and after water treatments. The more you sweat the more water you need to drink (urine colour should be pale).

Another excellent and very simple water treatment is a hot foot bath. Keeping your feet for about 30 minutes in hot water can be very helpful in boosting immunity and reducing congestion and pain from any area of the body. The very important benefit of water treatments such as hot foot bath is its ability to move blood from different parts of the body such as brain, chest, abdomen, etc. which is very helpful when the blood in the brain and internal organs is congested, inflamed and often overloaded with toxins and impurities. It might be very beneficial in case of pain, sinusitis, headaches, cancer, arthritis, any inflammation or even fibromyalgia which is believed to be caused by too much blood in the brain which overstimulates the nervous system leading to increased sensitivity to pain.

CAUTION! Do not use these treatments if suffer from any heart problems. If you are a diabetic use thermometer or ask someone to check the temperature as diabetics have lower sensitivity to heat and may burn themselves.

 

HEALING DIET

 

SUPERFOODS

Super Foods are the most vital element of an effective recovery plan so do your best to remember about them every day.

Super Greens: Every day, about 30 minutes before breakfast, take 1-2 full tablespoons of a mixture of super greens that should include some or all of the following (organic) powders: Chlorella, Spirulina, Barley grass, Wheatgrass, Alfalfa, Moringa, Turmeric, Bee Pollen, and Maca (most important among them are Chlorella and Spirulina, plus either Barley grass or Wheatgrass). You may also buy them separately and mix at home. Take 1 to 2 tablespoons of the mixture with warm water or a vegetable juice (the only good fruit juice you can use is a 100% grapefruit juice) about 30 minutes before breakfast. If you don’t like powders or taste of the mixture you can have about 10-20 tablets (500mg each) of chlorella and 10-20 tablets of organic spirulina every day about 30 minutes before breakfast with 1-2 glasses of water, fresh vegetable juice or a smoothie. Super greens are excellent sources of best quality protein, chlorophyll, natural iron, iodine, EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and trace elements that are often missing in commercially grown foods. Chlorella, Spirulina, Wheatgrass (it’s gluten-free), and barley grass powder, like cold-pressed vegetable juices and raw vegetables, should be the most important and always present ingredients of your diet! The above-mentioned superfoods can be taken two times a day but most important is to consume them before breakfast. If you take them before or instead of the second main meal (probably not later than 2 pm) make sure you don’t do it too late as chlorophyll is a powerful energy booster and in case of some individuals it may make it more difficult to fall asleep.

Fresh Raw Vegetable Juices are the key element of the most effective diet in the world – the Hallelujah Diet. Drink 2 times a day 2 glasses of cold-pressed Vegetable Juice (mostly carrots, beets, and dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale) about 30 minutes before each meal, then start your meal with most healthy and nutritious foods. Fresh raw vegetable juices contain a much higher concentration of nutrients than raw vegetable salads or smoothies as vegetables are high in fibre while juices are deprived of it. Therefore, one glass of carrot juice will contain all the nutrients found in approximately one kilo of raw carrots and those nutrients are easily and quickly assimilated by the body.

Turmeric (must be organic): Take 1 teaspoon of fresh raw organic ground Turmeric two or three times a day with meals, or include turmeric in the mentioned above mixture of superfoods. If you don’t like the taste take organic turmeric in vegan capsules at least 3 times 1-2 capsules with meals. According to some mind-boggling studies humble turmeric reversed memory loss in Alzheimer’s patients (although that treatment with turmeric took almost a year), gave better results in treating depression than Prozac, and unlike very harmful radiotherapy and chemotherapy was able to kill cancer stem cells!

Omega 3: In order to make sure your intake of Omega-3 is sufficient, every day consume Chlorella and Spirulina because they contain both the animal (DHA/EPA) and plant-based (ALA) omega 3 fatty acids. In addition, unlike fish oils, they are not contaminated with heavy metals (If you use omega 3 fish oil make sure it comes from molecularly distilled oil). In addition, take also one or two tablespoons of soaked (for at least 30 min. in water, plant milk or juice) Chia seeds and fresh ground Flaxseed with your meal. Both are the highest plant sources of ALA omega 3 fatty acids which in our body should be converted into DHA and EPA (if our body makes the required for the conversion enzyme).

Sprouts: Every day, or often, eat fresh raw (not cooked) Sprouts (alfalfa sprouts, watercress sprouts, sunflower sprouts, etc.). Please keep in mind that some of them, such as bean sprouts, shouldn’t be consumed raw as they may contain irritating substances which are deactivated by cooking. Without it, they may trigger severe indigestion including heartburn. You must always steam them or cover them and fry for a short time (use a lower temperature to avoid overheating them and destroying some of their healing properties). Make sure you always wash sprouts with warm water.

Bee Pollen: Some claim that it is the only perfect food on earth.

Probiotics from Raw Sauerkraut: Make your own home-made raw Sauerkraut (don’t buy it as it is heated) and have at least 1-2 tablespoons with a meal every day as it is the highest natural source of extremely beneficial Probiotic Bacteria you desperately need in your intestines. Alternatively, you may take a good probiotic formula. But make sure it contains live bacteria that are stomach acid- & bile-resistant as the majority of probiotic supplements and yoghurts on the market contain dead bacteria or bacteria that are not able to survive in the stomach. Raw home-made sauerkraut was analysed in the lab and it was found that in just a cup of it there were literally about ten trillion probiotic bacteria! That means a half cup of home fermented raw sauerkraut contains more probiotics than a whole bottle of the best and very expensive probiotic supplement! Unfortunately, most of the commercial sauerkrauts are pasteurised (heated), which means they are either completely deprived of live probiotic bacteria or are too low in them to be a good source of probiotics. Also, probiotic count of store-bought, shelf-stable sauerkraut does not compare to the raw home-brewed sauerkraut. Most yoghurts are also deprived of live probiotics. In sauerkraut, the predominant bacteria strain that’s born during the fermentation phase is especially Lactobacillus plantarum. When you eat sauerkraut the large part of the probiotic bacteria from ingested sauerkraut will survive stomach acid and 30–40% of them will rich the intestines to greatly benefit your immune system, mood, nervous system, colon and general health. TO MAKE RAW SAUERKRAUT AT HOME: Wash a stone or a glass jar with hot water and dry it. Make sure it’s clean. Wash your hands. Shred a medium cabbage (white or red or both) and one washed carrot. If you want to make more sauerkraut shred 2 or more cabbages and remember to proportionally increase other ingredients. Add 1 teaspoon of pink salt, Celtic salt or sea salt (2 teaspoons for a large cabbage). If you add too much salt it will slow down the fermentation process as salt preserves food. Add a tablespoon of each of the following seasoning (at least 3 of them, but the more you add the more health benefits you may expect): Ginger, Garlic, Onion, Juniper berries, Caraway seeds, Dill, Oregano, Fennel seeds, Coriander seeds, and one teaspoon of Cayenne pepper. Mix all ingredients together. Before putting the mixture in the jar pound it for about 10 minutes until the cabbage releases juices. Place it in a mason jar and press down firmly (very important!) until the juices come at the top of the cabbage. Cover tightly and leave at room temperature for 2-3 weeks before moving it to the refrigerator. Although the fermentation process will last and the optimum amount of probiotic bacteria will be reached after 2 to 3 weeks yet you can start consuming it after one week (about 1-3 tablespoons a day). Kept in the fridge the sauerkraut will be preserved for months. Consume your sauerkraut raw as cooking will kill probiotics it contains. It is important to remember that if the jar is stored in an environment which is too warm, the sauerkraut to form the wrong consistency, can get too acidic too early the lactobacillus get in on the action early leading to soft sauerkraut.  Although the finished sauerkraut is too acidic for pathogenic bacteria and fungi to live in, fungal spores may settle during the process if the temperature or other factors are not right spoiling the sauerkraut.

Brewer’s Yeast: a best natural source of GTF Chromium (with much higher absorption and effectiveness than synthetic chromium used in supplements) recommended especially for high blood glucose levels, insulin resistance, sugar cravings and overweight; Packed with Potassium (500-600mg per 2 tablespoons) for those who need to improve heart function or water balance; Very good source of Magnesium.

RECOMMENDED FOODS

– Your diet must include a variety of unrefined plant products such as vegetables (mostly raw and steamed), fresh fruits, well-cooked legumes (pulses, beans), whole grains, and unroasted seeds and nuts. After all, this was the original diet which the Creator of this world gave us in the beginning: “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it” (Genesis 1:29). That original diet included fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, legumes, and seeds. The human digestive system seems fit for this diet as the length of our digestive tract is 12-14 times our shoulder-to-hip trunk length, the same as fruit-eating animals.

– You can eat as much fresh and raw vegetables as you want (especially carrots, green leafy vegetables, and cabbage family), but if you prefer to cook them do it moderately or steam your vegetables. You will achieve much better results if your diet consists of at least 50% or even better up to 85% of raw (uncooked) and unprocessed plant foods (especially raw vegetables and raw vegetable juices).

– Include in your diet well-cooked wholegrain products, especially barley, millet, oats, buckwheat, quinoa, and amaranth.

– Instead of cow’s milk and dairy use plant-based milk substitutes and products such as unsweetened coconut milk, oat milk, almond milk, organic soya milk (make sure is non-GMO), organic Tofu, etc.

– Make soaked overnight and cooked pulses (beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc.) your best source of protein.

– Each day have about a handful of one type of raw unsalted and unroasted soaked overnight in clean filtered water nuts or seeds (almonds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, ground sesame seeds, etc.), changing them often.

– It is better to not eat any sweet and flavoured yoghurts (especially based on cow’s milk) because of fat, dangerous animal protein, and often high sugar content. Instead, from time to time have some unsweetened coconut or organic soy yoghurt and mix it with sweet fruits, seeds (or nuts), oat bran or another good source of fibre, and add some raisins, dates, or a little bit of raw honey, stevia or xylitol.

EAT LESS OR AVOID

Try to significantly reduce consumption of all foods that come from animals (meat, dairy, fish, etc.) or if possible switch to a totally plant-based (or at least mostly plant-based) unrefined diet eliminating the intake of all animal-based foods (dairy, meat products, and fish) as they contain too much protein, are packed with high-risk factors (cholesterol, triglycerides, dioxins, heavy metals, antibiotics, bacteria, virus, cancer cells, prions, etc.) and because they don’t contain fibre. According to Professor Colin Campbell author of the bestselling book China Study, “The more you substitute plant foods for animal foods, the healthier you are likely to be.” The same scientist considers “veganism to be the ideal diet.” If you only reduce the consumption of animal products you may not see the positive results quickly which may lead to discouragement and resignation. However, when you decide to make radical changes in your diet and lifestyle you will see the positive results much quicker and thus gain stronger motivation to keep on following this excellent and optimal plan. If you consume animal foods make sure you they make less than 10% of your diet and come from grass-fed animals, farm chickens (not free-range), etc.

Never consume so-called “unclean animals” which the Creator forbade to consume (Leviticus 11) as they were designed to clean environment and for this reason are high in toxins. Examples of unclean meat include pig, camel, hare, snakes, any seafood that doesn’t have fins such as shellfish or eel are prohibited in the Bible. Among birds, eagles, vultures, kites, ravens, ostriches, seagulls and owls are forbidden.

Never use any animal fat (especially lard as it is high in toxins) and avoid also free plant fats such as refined oils or margarines. Instead, use only moderate amounts of cold-pressed coconut oil or flaxseed oil.

Never use refined salt but only Celtic salt, sea salt or Himalayan salt.

Avoid foods containing refined sugar as it spoils your appetite, weakens your immune system and leads to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Don’t consume sweetened beverages and foods which are high in empty calories, refined sugar, white flour, and fat. Never use artificial sweeteners nor high glucose / high fructose syrup as they are more harmful than even refined sugar. Avoid drinking fruit juices because they have a high glycaemic index due to the fact that they are deprived of fibre and are high in sugar. Drinking fruit juices between meals will also cause the stomach to release some digestive enzymes thus reducing their amounts during meals and impairing digestion. Don’t eat overripe or unripe fruits, and avoid canned, fried, or frozen fruits.

In case you have a sweet tooth try to substitute unhealthy products with fresh and dried fruits (dates, raisins, figs, prunes, etc.). If you miss traditional dairy ice creams, which are very unhealthy, make your own delicious and healthy ice creams by blending frozen bananas or other frozen fruits. You can experiment adding some raw honey (or sweeten the ice cream with raw honey, xylitol or stevia), coconut cream, lemon juice, plant-based milk, a little bit of carob powder, ground cashew or other nuts to improve the flavour.

OTHER DIETARY PRINCIPLES

– Always eat good breakfast and avoid skipping it as otherwise you will be tempted to snack between meals and eat more in the evening which is unhealthy and dangerous because the metabolism at night slows down. Make breakfast the largest meal while supper the lightest.

– Try to have only two meals a day with the second one not later than at 6:00 pm (if possible) remembering that any food consumed after 6 pm will tend to be stored as fat. If you must have the supper make it very light (only either vegetables or fruits). Vegetable juice would be the best option.

Don’t eat between meals. If you are hungry drink warm water (or unsweetened herb teas) as it reduces appetite for at least 30 minutes.

Avoid cooking and frying with any oil but if you really need it, use only coconut oil. Bake your food without any fat and then add some raw organic coconut oil or cold-pressed flax oil if you wish.

– Avoid mayonnaise, pickled foods, vinegar, ketchup, mustard, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, pepper (black or red), cheese, soy sauce, baking soda, baking powder, or refined salt, because they tend to stimulate appetite and irritate the stomach and nervous system.

– Do not keep any junk refined foods at home as the accessibility to junk food encourage people to eat it.

– If possible you can try to fast one day each week from breakfast to breakfast, or skip one or two meals (not breakfast) one day a week as it will allow your digestive organs to rest and improve their functioning.

– Avoid eating fruits and vegetables at the same meal as it may lead to fermentation.

Don’t eat fruits after meals to avoid fermentation. A much better time to consume them is about 30 minutes before meals as they are digested much quicker.

– Include uncooked (raw) carrots, green leafy vegetables, beets, cabbages, cauliflowers and other vegetables in your diet as they are low in calories, but high in fibre and essential nutrients. In this way, your body will stop craving for more food in between meals as it will have enough nutrients. Raw cabbage reduces the conversion of sugar and other carbohydrates into fat.

Avoid overeating: In order to reduce appetite: Learn to control stress; Remember to drink 2 glasses of warm water between meals 3 times a day; 30 minutes before each meal drink 1 glass of cold-pressed vegetable juice mixed with 1 or 2 teaspoons of spirulina or barley grass powder; Pray before each meal thanking God for the food and asking with faith for His strength to stop eating when you really should; Start each meal consuming big portion of fresh and raw vegetables; Always eat very slowly taking small bites and chewing food to cream before swallowing. Doing this you will feel satisfied before eating too much.

– Find good vegan recipes. The best are found on the Hallelujah Diet website (or book Hallelujah Diet).

– Avoid stimulants such as alcohol, caffeine (in coffee, guarana, chocolate, green tea, cola drinks, etc.), theophylline (in tea) or and theobromine (in cacao and chocolate) because although they appear to give you a short time energy boost yet it is only a borrowed energy, which means sooner or later you will have to pay for it with the loss of energy. And, as soon as you feel exhausted it will force you to use stimulants again and again thus causing a vicious circle and addiction. Apart from that, stimulants also weaken your immune system and lead to nutritional deficiencies and may contribute to depression and other health problems. Don’t believe media promoting coffee and chocolate as beneficial for our health as those claims are based on biased studies sponsored by the coffee and chocolate industry.

 

TRUTH ABOUT DAIRY

After reviewing almost 30 different studies and investigating the relationship between fat intake and overweight, scientists found out that in countries where milk and dairy products consumption is higher also the prevalence of obesity goes up. But I encourage you to avoid milk and dairy products not only because they contribute to obesity and overweight but even more because these products increase risk of many other health-related problems including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, leukaemia, osteoporosis, diabetes, allergies, asthma, sinusitis, bronchitis, ear infections, or even very dangerous autoimmune diseases. Also consuming low-fat milk and dairy products doesn’t really improve the situation as in most cases it is the animal protein which causes the problem.

One of the most reasonable arguments against consuming milk and dairy is the fact that no existing in our world animal naturally drinks milk beyond infancy, and no animal would naturally drink the milk of a different species. Human babies are supposed to drink only mother’s milk and should stop drinking any milk after infancy. Cow’s milk which is very high in protein is designed only for calves, who gain weight almost four times faster than human babies. There is a huge difference in the amount of protein found in human milk and cow’s milk because the growth demands of calves are much higher than the demands of growing human babies. Calves grow much faster therefore also their protein needs are greater. It is, therefore, the very high protein content (especially casein) as well as many other risk factors present in milk and dairy that make these products unsuitable for human consumption and promote diseases among infants, children, and adults.

Cow’s milk and all the products of which milk is one of the ingredients may contain numerous dangerous factors such as cancer cells, bacteria, leukaemia virus, prions (the same which cause mad cow disease), cholesterol, triglycerides, antibiotics, dioxins, and many other risk factors. According to the World Health Organization, ninety per cent of the dioxins entering the human body come from dairy and meat products! Lactose and casein present in milk are regarded as the most common cause of the allergic reaction. Apart from that, it is a scientifically proven fact that milk and dairy products instead of strengthening our bones actually weaken them leading to osteoporosis especially due to too high amount of animal protein they contain.

Keep in mind that dairy products, don’t have any complex carbohydrates nor fibre, and usually are high in animal protein and saturated fat. Many popular products such as ice creams, cakes, or even yoghurts, apart from milk contain also a lot of refined sugar and almost 50% of fat. A glass of milk has about 50% fat. Also, hard cheeses, which are listed among the most unhealthy products, have a lot of saturated fat (at least 65%).

Unfortunately, the dairy industry uses very tricky ways of deceiving consumers in order to make them think that their products are safe and even healthy. For example, in spite of the fact that over 30% of calories in milk come from fat, somehow they are allowed to label milk only 2% fat! When consumers see 2% they think that this product is almost fat-free! The same is with cottage cheese which is labelled as “non-fat” in spite of the fact that 20% of its calories come from fat too.

Dr McDougall blames the dairy industry’s propaganda for brainwashing people and creating “obsession over calcium that has become, in effect, a major contributor to the suffering and death of more than one billion people annually on Planet Earth from diseases of overnutrition – obesity, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and diabetes”. He also states that “Because of their financial power and political connections, the people representing dairy industry can say whatever they want and no one can stop them”. This is why governments, as well as the mainstream media, still keep repeating the lie according to which milk is essential to good health while at the same time they ignore the numerous medical studies which repeatedly proved that milk is a serious health threat. In many countries, people seem to be easily fooled by the dairy lobby.

The best example can be Americans who consume 3 times more dairy products than grains, and 5 times more than fruits! That is one of the main reasons why there are so many sick and obese people living in America and why the prevalence of osteoporosis and rates of hip fractures are highest in countries such as USA, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand or Australia, where animal protein consumption (including dairy products) is very high. On the other hand, people living in rural regions of Asia or Africa whose diet is based on unrefined plant foods and the consumption of animal protein is low have the lowest rates of osteoporosis and hip fractures. Unrefined plant foods are packed with organic calcium and at the same time contain much lower but sufficient amounts of protein thus having only positive effects on our bones.

For example, the African Bantu women consume no dairy products and their daily calcium intake, which comes from plant sources, is only about 300 mg and even the oldest women among them are free of osteoporosis, as well as many other degenerative diseases. Research has shown that one of the main causes they don’t suffer from osteoporosis is their plant-based and low in protein diet. On the other hand, the rates of osteoporosis-related bone fractures among Inuit (Eskimo), whose diet is very high in animal protein, are one of the highest of all population groups. It is also interesting that although their diet contains about 2,000 mg of calcium per day (mostly from fish bones) it doesn’t seem to help at all. There is no evidence that higher calcium intake in adulthood will prevent or reverse osteoporosis.

The highly acidic nature of animal protein such as dairy and meat has been proved to be the major cause of osteoporosis and bone loss. Unlike plant foods which are high in proteins such as legumes (beans), the animal protein is rich in sulphur which creates a lot of acid during the digestion process and thus leading to acidosis. As a result, our body tries to lower the acidity and regulate the pH using calcium phosphate. The problem is that this process contributes to osteoporosis as the calcium is taken from the bones thus making them weaker. It means that by consuming milk and dairy products, people are losing more calcium than they actually ingest thus leading to a negative calcium balance. It is estimated that because of this a stunning 25 million people only in America have been diagnosed with osteoporosis! Yet the majority of physicians and nutritionists still encourage us to consume dairy in order to strengthen our bones!

The dairy industry now again attempts to brainwash people with the untrue idea according to which dairy consumption is supposed to promote weight loss and does not seem to be a major contributor to obesity. Older studies, however, clearly indicated that milk contributes to obesity and overweight. Nevertheless, whatever any study suggests it can’t deny the fact that milk and dairy products greatly elevate the risk of numerous listed above diseases and must contribute also to obesity because they contain fat, sugar, and unlike unrefined plant foods they have no fibre.

According to Dr Benjamin Spock milk is very low in essential fatty acids and high in the saturated fats which lead to heart attacks, strokes, and overweight. Dairy foods are almost always high in fat, cholesterol, calories, and often sugar thus greatly contributing to obesity, heart disease, strokes, or diabetes. Remember that milk is even more dangerous when it is combined with sugar in the form of extremely popular foods such as ice creams, cakes, chocolate, and many other products.

Another popular physician – Dr Mark Hyman, wrote about dairy: “Based on the research and my experience practising medicine, I advise my patients to avoid dairy products completely. I like ice cream just as much as the next person, but as a scientist I have to look honestly at what we know… The USDA’s ‘up-to-date’ food pyramid recommendation of drinking 3 glasses of milk a day is not based on strict science. Some of the ‘experts’ who helped create the pyramid actually work for the dairy industry, which makes the US Department of agriculture’s recommendations reflect industry interests, not science or our best interests. In fact, Walter Willett, MD, PhD – the second-most-cited scientist in all of clinical medicine and the head of nutrition at Harvard’s School of Public Health – is one of the pyramid’s most vocal critics. He’s even called its guidelines ‘udderly ridiculous.’ That’s not something a Harvard scientist says lightly. According to Dr Willett, who has done many studies and reviewed the research on this topic, dairy may increase the risk of bone fractures by 50 per cent! Calcium isn’t as bone-protective as we thought. Vitamin D appears to be much more important than calcium in preventing fractures.”

We are encouraged to consume milk and dairy because these products contain amino acid tryptophan which is converted in our body to serotonin. It is true that tryptophan is also found in animal foods especially milk, but animal sources (including milk and dairy) contain way too much of other competitive amino acids thus hindering the absorption of tryptophan. It means that because tryptophan is an amino acid (protein) therefore a diet rich in other types of protein (meat and dairy products) greatly hinders tryptophan from passing from the blood to your brain. It is so because tryptophan has to compete with many other amino acids (proteins) while trying to enter the brain and as a result, an only a small amount of this important amino acid gets in. That is another reason why you should be on the plant-based and unrefined diet. It is not only rich in tryptophan, which is essential to produce serotonin, but at the same time, unlike the animal-based diet, it is not too high in protein, and also gives you the opportunity to eat unrefined sweet carbohydrates which are necessary to allow tryptophan to reach the brain where it is converted to serotonin thus helping you to control appetite and negative emotions.

In addition, since milk and dairy are too high in protein they tend to suppress the production of leptin in mice as it constantly creates an ER stress in the hypothalamus cells thus activating a harmful protein response and leading to leptin resistance which stimulated mice to consume more food, become less active and gain weight. Milk also contains numerous high-risk factors such as cholesterol, triglycerides, antibiotics, dioxins and may be contaminated with extremely dangerous and deadly prions or leukaemia virus which are able to survive the pasteurization and cooking process. Cow’s milk contains a very powerful insulin-like growth factor (hormone) IGF-I which can stimulate normally slow-growing cancers (like breast, ovarian, and prostate) to grow very quickly.

Also, Dr. Colin Campbell stated that studies give enough evidence that even usual levels of animal protein (meat and dairy) consumption has strong carcinogenic effect. Dr Campbell (professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University) in his famous and bestselling book The China Study wrote: “What protein consistently and strongly promoted cancer? Casein, which makes up 87% of cow’s milk protein, promoted all stages of the cancer process. What type of protein did not promote cancer, even at high levels of intake? The safe proteins were from plants, including wheat and soy… Let there be no doubt: cow’s milk protein is an exceptionally potent cancer promoter… What most people don’t know, though, is that there is strong evidence that type 1 diabetes is linked to diet and, more specifically, to dairy products. The ability of cow’s milk protein to initiate Type 1 diabetes is well documented. The possible initiation of this disease goes like this: A baby is not nursed long enough and is fed cow’s milk protein, perhaps in infant formula. The milk reaches the small intestine, where it is digested down to its amino acid parts. For some infants, cow’s milk is not fully digested, and small amino acid chains or fragments of the original protein remain in the intestine. These incompletely digested protein fragments may be absorbed into the blood. The immune system recognizes these fragments as foreign invaders and goes about destroying them. Unfortunately, some of the fragments look exactly the same as the cells of the pancreas that are responsible for making insulin. The immune system loses its ability to distinguish between the cow’s milk protein fragments and the pancreatic cells, and destroys them both, thereby eliminating the child’s ability to produce insulin. The infant becomes a Type 1 diabetic and remains so for the rest of his or her life. This process boils down to a truly remarkable statement: cow milk may cause one of the most devastating diseases that can befall a child”.

In July 30, 1992, the renowned New England Journal of Medicine stated that, “Studies have suggested that bovine serum albumin is the milk protein responsible for the onset of diabetes… Patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus produce antibodies to cow milk proteins that participate in the development of islet dysfunction… Taken as a whole, our findings suggest that an active response in patients with IDDM (to the bovine protein) is a feature of the autoimmune response.”

It is a well-known fact that meat may contain prions which cause devastating and ultimately fatal infections in humans but only few people are aware of the fact that the same is true also in case of milk and dairy. For a long time it was impossible to detect prions in milk due to the insufficient technology. Now, however, it changed with the use of the new methods which are able to detect prions in both animal and human milk. Some time ago we were informed that a suffering from AIDS mother could not pass HIV to her child through her milk. Now, however, we know it is possible. Also today the inspired by powerful dairy lobby governments try to assure public that milk is free from prions and that it is impossible to contract these deadly proteins via milk and dairy consumption.

A careful analysis of the scientific data, however, doesn’t seem to justify this attitude. For example, a Japanese woman dying of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (human variant of mad cow disease) was found to have prions in her milk. In December 2006 Professor Nicola Franscini published a scientific paper according to which prion proteins, which cause mad cow disease in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans, were found in Swiss off-the-shelf milk and fresh milk.

Another study, performed by an international group of French, Norwegian, and British researchers and published in 2008 reported the presence of prions in sheep milk. Also, a study conducted in the UK revealed the possibility of „transmission of scrapie from ewe to lamb via milk”. The results of this study appeared in 2008 in BMC Veterinary Research. One of the newer studies demonstrated that sheep were capable of transmitting prions via milk to lambs that had never been exposed to prions. Surprisingly, the lambs developed scrapie after only two years. This alarming discovery was published in 2011 in the American Society for Microbiology and titled, “Prion disease spreads in sheep via mother’s milk”.

Unfortunately, animals are infected with the prions long before they can manifest any symptoms. It means that infected meat and dairy products can easily rich consumer before the diseased animals are recognized and isolated. In addition, since the prion-contaminated milk from still symptom-free cows is mixed in collection tanks with milk from other cows, it can easily contaminate the whole collected milk. Such milk is then used to produce different dairy products, distributed, and finally sold to an unaware of the danger consumer. What makes the things even worse is the fact that pasteurization or boiling contaminated milk can’t solve the problem because in order to destroy prions we would have to use extremely high temperature and burn milk (or meat) to ashes.

 

BITTER TRUTH ABOUT CHOCOLATE

Try to google the word “chocolate” and soon you will get the impression that the whole world is currently going bananas over the amazing health benefits of this delicious weakness.

One author apparently deceived by pseudo-scientific studies on cocoa (chocolate’s key ingredient) wrote that, “After water, cocoa is the single healthiest substance you can put in your mouth. It can easily replace a number of psychiatric drugs for mood, plus it produces the same chemistry in the brain that occurs when we fall in love.”

There are many excellent articles and sources of valuable health information on Dr Joseph Mercola’s website (which I myself often quote during my health lectures) but unfortunately, I am not sure I can agree with the one which says that “Chocolate is good not only for the soul but for your mind and body”.

Also the authors of popular magazine “What Doctors Don’t Tell You” (which I personally enjoy and subscribe) repeatedly praise chocolate for its tremendous health benefits.

On the other hand, according to some other popular authors and professionals, chocolate can’t be a part of a healthy diet because of the overall nutrient composition, sugar and caloric content that make it unsuitable as a health food. They also suggest that there are much more effective foods and natural remedies to improve different aspect of health including cognitive functions of the brain which do not cause any harmful effect cocoa does. Apart from that, the so-called scientific studies that demonstrated health benefits of chocolate seem to be mostly sponsored by the wealthy chocolate industry:

On 5th of January 2015 CBC News included a very interesting article by Kelly Crowe. It states that “When the New York Times ran this headline last fall, ‘To improve memory, consider chocolate,’ it quickly became one of the newspaper’s most popularised stories. The study, however, was not about chocolate at all. That’s because chocolate contains almost none of the compound that the researchers were studying. It’s an irony that lies at the heart of a major international scientific effort to find something healthy in the cocoa bean, an effort largely sponsored by the chocolate industry. ‘Unfortunately this is not news that you can use,’ said head researcher Dr Scott Small, director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Columbia University. ‘As a physician, I’m a little worried about the headlines that say, eat chocolate’. Headlines are as irresistible as the chocolate itself, as science transforms chocolate from mere candy into a superfood. The truth is that making chocolate destroys the very ingredient that is supposed to make it healthy. That’s why the study used a highly concentrated powder prepared exclusively for research by Mars Inc., the chocolate company, which also funded the study.”

Assuming that regular milk chocolate is deprived of beneficial flavonoids many people switched to dark chocolate not knowing that a high percentage of cocoa does not necessarily mean high levels of flavanols.

But even if dark chocolate may contain some of those active ingredients yet at the same time it is much higher in dangerous theobromine than milk chocolate.

Dark chocolate also contains more refined sugar necessary to mask the very bitter taste of cocoa. Exactly the same problem is true with regards to the popular now raw cocoa powder as it is also high in theobromine and requires high doses of sweetener.

Dr Agatha Thrash in her book “Chocolate Versus Carob” says that “Chocolate contains theobromine, which can cause headaches, itching, central nervous system irritation, depression, anxiety, breast cancer or prostatic hypertrophy. Its very bitter flavour must be masked with sugar, which is another addictive drug. Chocolate is high in calories as it contains a minimum of 50% fat. The oxalic acid in chocolate causes the body to only absorb 5% of the calcium it takes in. Caffeine products (coffee, tea, chocolate, cola drinks, etc.) are known to affect vitamin D receptors in human body, not allowing it to absorb all the ingested amount of the vitamin. Chocolate contains no more than an average of 75 insect and rodent fragments per 3 tablespoons. The visible or solid animal excreta is not to exceed 10 mg per pound. The insect fragments are from an insect similar to our cockroach.”

In addition, chocolate, like caffeine products, seems to contribute to different types of cancer including breast cancer.

Dr McDoughal doesn’t hesitate to express his negative opinion about chocolate and other stimulants in his book “The McDougall Plan”: “Some of the most popular drugs consumed by people of affluent western nations are found in coffee beans, tea leaves, and cocoa beans (chocolate) all of which contain methylxanthines (caffeine, theophylline, and theobromine). In 90% of women with fibrocystic disease, these breast tumours disappear in two to six months when methylxanthines are eliminated from the diet. Cancer of the bladder also has been related to methylxanthines. All three of the methylxanthines can stimulate growth of breast cells, causing painful enlargement of breast tissue and lumps. This condition is known as fibrocystic disease.”

Chocolate is also one of the most acidic foods. Only cola drinks produce a more acidic environment in our body than chocolate.

Unfortunately, chocolate production is also closely associated with true and still existing today child slavery in Ivory Coast and Ghana. Those kids are deceived by being told to receive money for working at cocoa plantations but when they get there they are never paid, they are forced to work whole day deprived of education, and severely bitten if they try to escape. According to Payson Center for International Development and Technology Transfer (March 31, 2011), “Almost 2 million children in the Ivory Coast and Ghana exposed to the worst forms of child labour on cocoa farms. There have been reports of children with terrible leg wounds from harvesting. Many are imprisoned on farms and savagely beaten if they try to escape. Largest chocolate manufactures know about this problem very well and they promised to solve it but during 10 years they have done almost nothing because of their greed, indifference, and selfishness.

 

HEALING RECIPES >

 

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

 

EXERCISE

– As soon as you wake up in the morning, drink 2-3 glasses of water and exercise for at least 30 minutes. Brisk walking outside is the best exercise. In order to enable a healthy diet to be more effectively used by your body, you need to exercise on a regular basis. If you suffer from different heart conditions you shouldn’t start with an energetic exercise routine. In this case, you need to change the diet first, keep in touch with your physician, continue taking your prescribed medication, and after some time start from a short distance and slow walking routine, gradually and carefully increasing the pace and distance every day. Fast walking outside is the best type of exercise. If the weather is bad exercise at home. You can use an exercise bike, mate, treadmill, Xbox Kinect, etc., but aerobic exercises (outside in the open air) are the best. You need a minimum of 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity four to five times a week. The most effective form of exercise is known as HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training).

REST & SLEEP

Every seventh day of each week take one whole day of rest, according to the given by God fourth Commandment (found in the Bible): “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you are to labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. You are not to do any work—neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your livestock, nor any foreigner who lives among you— because the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days. Then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:8-11) According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Sabbath is the day of holiness and rest observed from sunset on Friday to sunset of the following day (Saturday)”. In the New Testament, this Commandment was never changed neither by Jesus Christ nor the Apostles. In fact, first Christians (both Jewish and pagan) kept Sabbath holy according to the fourth Commandment until the fourth century when Constantin the Great supported by raising power of the papal Rome, issued a decree forcing Christians to observe the first day of the week – Sunday. However, throughout centuries there were always groups of believers who were blessed by resting on each holy day Sabbath according to God’s perpetual Commandment. Today the largest Christian denomination known to keep the Sabbath is the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

– Try to Sleep 7 to 9 hours each night and if possible go to bed before 10 pm because the more you sleep before midnight the more efficient your rest will be.

BEST WATER TO DRINK

– Drink 3 times a day about 2-3 glasses of water (distilled or at least filtered) about 30 to 60 minutes before each meal or about 2 hours after. During hot days you need even more. Your urine should be transparent, if it is yellow it means you don’t drink enough water. Don’t drink unfiltered tap water or water stored in plastic containers. Tap water contains dangerous toxins such as fluoride, chlorine, heavy metals, antibiotics, estradiol, dioxins, etc. Water stored in plastic containers is contaminated with hundreds of harmful chemicals from plastic. Here is the recent evidence how dangerous both tap and bottled water can be today: “A powerful form of oestrogen called estradiol (100 times more powerful than natural oestrogens) is causing half the male fish in our (UK) rivers to change sex, research shows! Experts believe the hormone can get into drinking water and affect hormones.” The best and most economical way to get perfectly clean water is by filtering tap water using inexpensive water distillers as they not only remove all toxins but also very harmful inorganic calcium carbonate. As far as filters are concerned, reverse osmosis filters are regarded as most effective. The water you drink should be as low in minerals as possible (soft water) because minerals in hard water are inorganic and are not beneficial but harmful, especially calcium carbonate which contributes to kidney stones, heart attacks, arthritis or constipation. For this reason, the best water to drink is distilled water as it is free from calcium and other inorganic minerals as well as all contaminants. Water distillers are inexpensive and you can purchase them on eBay or Amazon for about £50. Before drinking distilled water add a pinch of sea salt or Himalayan (pink) salt.

SUNLIGHT

– At home use a strong light imitating sunlight. Whenever possible, expose your uncovered body to the sun, especially during the summer season between 10 am and 2 pm (15-30 minutes front and 15-30 minutes back at least 3 times a week) as sun rays transform your body cholesterol into vitamin D which is extremely vital for your health, detoxify your body, boost immunity, increase serotonin levels, improve mood, lower cholesterol, normalise blood pressure and glucose levels, etc. Don’t take a shower after sunbathing (especially with soap) for as long as possible. Wash only armpits and intimate places. If you can’t do that you must take vitamin D supplements as deficiency of this vitamin is very dangerous. There is no scientific proof sun causes skin cancer. The opposite is true as the closer we get to the equator the lower the prevalence of skin cancer.

CONTACT WITH NATURE

Spend time in nature as often as possible. In the beautiful book, Ministry of Healing Ellen G. White wrote that “The sick, shut within four walls, look out on houses and pavements, with perhaps not even a glimpse of blue sky or sunshine, of grass or flower or tree. Shut up in this way, they brood over their suffering and sorrow and become a prey to their own sad thoughts. The pure air, the glad sunshine, the flowers and trees, and outdoor exercise amid these surroundings, are health- and life-giving. Outdoor life is the only remedy that many need. It has a wonderful power to heal diseases caused by the excitements and excesses of fashionable life, a life that weakens and destroys the powers of body, mind, and soul. How glad would they be to sit in the open air, rejoice in the sunshine, and breathe the fragrance of tree and flower.”

 

OTHER PRINCIPLES

– Try to find a support group or an individual person that might be able to support you in your efforts to recover.

Taking care of others, helping people in need, going for a walk, enjoying life and the beauty of nature is very effective in improving mood.

 

MIND CURE

There is no doubt chronic emotional stress, fears, and various negative feelings impact our body and health in a similar way as a bad diet or lack of exercise. It has been suggested that almost all common health conditions are related to stress, low mood, fear, irritability, hatred, and other negative emotions. We are told that in order to be able to prevent health problems or recover from them we should exercise on a regular basis and be on a healthy unrefined diet. However, if we really want to be very effective in achieving this goal we also need to add another aspect of a healthy lifestyle which is most vital. We need to take care of the emotional and spiritual aspect of our life, have strong faith, find out how to control stress and have peace of mind, and learn to think positive while avoiding negative attitudes, feelings and words.

HUMOUR & LAUGHTER

One of the most effective and at the same time neglected natural remedies is laughter. It greatly benefits our health because it increases the feel-good hormones – endorphins which strengthen our immune system and are regarded as powerful pain-killers. Researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered that just 20 seconds of laughter could be as good for the lungs as three minutes of vigorous exercise. If you’re not sure the laughter therapy is worthy to try, remember that children laugh about 400 times a day whereas adults manage a miserable 0 to15!

Laughter is a great way to cope with the effects of stress. And it is good to know that our body can’t really see any difference between real and fake laughter – so any giggle (real or fake) will do the trick. Laughter doesn’t seem to come easily to all of us, but even if you are not able to induce a genuine laughter then try to imitate it. It will still benefit your health. Fortunately, the body can’t actually distinguish between real and fake laughter. Therefore, faking it has the same beneficial effect.

Humour has been used as a natural health treatment for centuries. Physicians used humour to distract patients from pain as early as the 13th century. Also today there are doctors and medical centres that use it as a part of treatment. Dr Lee Berk of Loma University Medical Centre has been conducting laughter therapy research for decades. In 1989, Berk studied the effects of laughter in healthy males. Five experimental subjects watched an hour-long comedy while others didn’t. Blood samples taken from the participants revealed that cortisol (the hormone our body releases under stress) had decreased more rapidly in comparison to the control group. The research has also revealed that the level of natural killer cells (immune cells that fight viruses and cancer cells) was increased through laughter.

Laughter therapy trains us to laugh even when we are not happy. Laughing in spite of anger, stress or anxiety will actually improve our mood. And it’s contagious, stimulating others around us to start laughing or at least smiling.

Norman Cousins claims to have cured himself with a self-invented regimen of laughter and vitamins after years of chronic pain. In his book Anatomy of an Illness, he describes how watching comedies helped him recover. After evaluating participants before and after watching a comedy or funny video, studies have revealed that laughter helped to reduce pain, decrease stress-related hormones and boost the immune system. Dr Annette Goodheart has been using laughter to treat cancer, AIDS, depression, and other illnesses and been teaching at universities, schools, organisations and public events, trying to bring laughter to every part of the world.

PLACEBO EFFECT

In 2001 scientific American magazine published an excellent example of the placebo effect: „Neurologists in British Columbia used scans to determine the amount of dopamine activity in the brains of patients with Parkinson’s disease when given either a placebo or real drug that mimicked dopamine. Results showed that the brains of patients given the placebo responded by releasing as much dopamine as those that got the active drug.”

There was no difference as far as effectiveness was concerned! It is even more mindboggling that according to studies, „Placebo Still Works even Though You Know its A Placebo!” However, we need time to be ‘conditioned’ into believing the placebo is working. It works if we believe in the power of the treatment. The brain then responds as if it were a ‘real event’, even when we know we’re taking a placebo.

In one study, which took place in Italy, two groups of participants with and without lactose intolerance were fed with food high in lactose, although in reality, it was lactose-free. Sure enough, 44 % of those with intolerance and a staggering 26 % without it developed symptoms of gastrointestinal discomfort!

Also fake surgeries can be just as effective as the real thing, taking the placebo effect to the next level. In one experiment there where three groups of patients with arthritis. The first two groups had real surgery which was supposed to eliminate or reduce arthritic pain. Patients from the third group had a fake surgery but they didn’t know about that. The results were stunning. Those who had the actual procedures did no better than those who had the sham surgery! They all improved the same amount! The results were all in people’s heads.” It proves again how important it is to be very positive and enthusiastic about any treatment we receive or remedy we use.

NEGATIVE THOUGHTS EMPOWER ADDICTIONS

In a very interesting experiment, scientists divided women into two groups. Both groups received an identical milkshake to drink, but the first group was informed that their milkshake was very high in calories, the second one was told it was low in calories. After women consumed the milkshake all of them received a big bowl of chocolate ice cream. Guess which group consumed more of the ice cream? The participants who were persuaded that their milkshake was high in calories consumed more ice cream! It is not difficult to explain this phenomenon when we take into consideration the fact that when most of us are overcome by the temptation and eat something we know is unhealthy then we feel discouraged and have a tendency to go the whole hog.

Recently I was listening to an excellent lecture on depression by Dr Neil Nedley in which he mentioned about a woman who was on a diet but when she saw an ice cream in her fridge she thought it wouldn’t be a crime if she had a little. But after she ate some of the ice cream she felt as if she had committed a crime. As a result, she felt so down that she said to herself, “I am nothing but a pig”, and then she consumed the entire 2-litre box.

SPENDING MORE TIME IN NATURE AND EXPOSING BODY TO THE SUN HELPS BEING POSITIVE

While trying to be positive keep in mind that it is much easier if you manage to spend more time in nature and expose your body to the sun as in this way you will stimulate your body to make more happy hormones. In the beautiful book Ministry of Healing, Ellen G. White wrote: “The sick, shut within four walls, look out on houses and pavements, with perhaps not even a glimpse of blue sky or sunshine, of grass or flower or tree. Shut up in this way, they brood over their suffering and sorrow, and become a prey to their own sad thoughts. The pure air, the glad sunshine, the flowers and trees, and outdoor exercise amid these surroundings, are health- and life-giving. Outdoor life is the only remedy that many need. It has a wonderful power to heal diseases caused by the excitements and excesses of fashionable life, a life that weakens and destroys the powers of body, mind, and soul. How glad would they be to sit in the open air, rejoice in the sunshine, and breathe the fragrance of tree and flower”. Taking care of others, helping people in need, going for a walk, enjoying life and the beauty of nature is very effective in improving mood.

Research provided evidence that spiritual feelings, or a sense of awe when we look at a beautiful scene or hear uplifting music cause a powerful anti-inflammatory response in our body that’s as powerful as drugs. Those positive feelings boost the immune system, and lower levels of cytokines, proteins that cause the inflammation associated with heart disease, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease or clinical depression.

POWER OF IMAGINATION

One of the key causes of physical diseases is ill imagination, anxiety, depression, fears, and inability to control stress. Our mind and the way we think can have a tremendous influence on our body and health.

According to certain very interesting experiment scientists told a group of men to lie down with their eyes closed and imagine a hard bodybuilding training for 15 minutes five times a week. It is also important that, while imagining, they were not allowed to strain their muscles. The results were mind-boggling. After a certain time scientists examined those men and were very surprised when they found out that the muscle tissue of those men was 13% bigger than before the experiment! Their muscles were enlarged as a result of imagination without any physical activity!

It is interesting that over a hundred years before modern science proved it an American prolific author, by the name Ellen White, seemed to know about this, even though she lived in XIX century. In her beautiful book Mind, Character and Personality she wrote the following inspired words: „Few realize the power that the mind has over the body. A great deal of the sickness which afflicts humanity has its origin in the mind and can only be cured by restoring the mind to health… The mind needs to be controlled, for it has the most powerful influence upon the health. The imagination often brings severe forms of  disease. Many die of diseases which are mostly imaginary. They bring upon themselves actual disease by the influence of the imagination… Thousands are sick and dying around us who might get well and live if they would, but their imagination holds them. They fear that they will be made worse if they labor or exercise, when this is just the change they need to make them well. Without this they never can improve. They should exercise the power of the will, engage in useful employment, and forget that they have aching backs, joints, or heads.”

It simply means that negative imagination can greatly contribute to different health problems. I remember that years before my father died from time to time he expressed his belief that he wouldn’t live longer than 70 years, and guess at what age he died? He died when he was 70 years old. It is possible that in this way, he somehow inspired his body to program its death and duration of life. And even if it wasn’t the key cause of his death I believe it contributed to his premature death.

WHY IMAGINATION, MENTAL ATTITUDES AND EMOTIONS CAN INFLUENCE THE BODY

Now, we need to answer the question why the placebo or nocebo effect can be so powerful? According to Ivan Staroversky, „It is important to remember that cells, tissues and organs of the body do not question the information that is sent to them from the brain through the nervous system. Thus, our thoughts have the power to change our body chemistry.”

The psychological influence of our mind-set, imagination or mental attitude can be so powerful because brain is the managing director in our body and all the rest of the body including internal organs are controlled and ruled by the brain and they always do their best to obey mind’s thoughts and emotions.

MIND & AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES

The best example of a huge influence of the mind on our body and health are the 116 autoimmune diseases. When we carefully study the physiology of our immune system we quickly get an impression that somehow our immune system behaves in an incredibly intelligent way. It is also clear that the immune system is very closely connected to the brain and nervous system and that white blood cells respond to different physiological and even psychological needs. One scientist trying to express this idea even suggested that leukocytes behave like “pieces of brain scattered all over the body”.

There is no doubt brain is the most important part of the human body. Brain in our organism is like a “king” and because of that, no cell, including the immune system cells, ever question any information, signals or anything coming from the brain. That is why the placebo or nocebo effect (a positive or negative attitude of the brain) can impose such a powerful effect on the body’s physiology and health. Knowing this we can draw some very important conclusions which will help us to understand how mental attitudes and emotions can influence the immune system cells to either destroy thyroid or stimulate it to make more hormones.

According to Dr Sang, when a woman suffers from chronic anxiety or depression, when she has a negative attitude toward life, keeps on thinking about death or suicide, or if she is overwhelmed by any other negative thoughts and emotions, her intelligent and closely connected to the brain immune system gets a clear impression that the “boss” (brain) doesn’t want to live. Therefore, like obedient soldiers, the white blood cells feel obliged to fulfil the desire of the “chief commander”, so they turn against its own body and begin to attack different organs.

The whole situation is made even more dangerous when a depressed woman does not exercise, and since only a dead body does not move, the leukocytes draw a conclusion that she is already dead so why they should protect the dead body! If she is dead it is more reasonable rather to attack the body and accelerate the decaying process!

But, someone may argue that, if pessimism, depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases, how to explain that sometimes babies or small children are diagnosed with autoimmune diseases such as lupus, eczema, or type 1 diabetes? They couldn’t trigger these conditions through their pessimism. Well, also, in this case, the cause is also most often related to the negative mental attitude. Babies that were born with or developed autoimmune conditions either inherited overreacting immune system or their immune system was negatively influenced by mother’s nervous system (depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, etc.) when they were in their mother’s womb. There are many women who during pregnancy were depressed or even attempted to commit suicide and gave birth to children who sooner or later were diagnosed with autoimmune diseases. In addition, babies are very often deficient in Vitamin D and are fed with cow’s milk and it is scientifically proved that both factors also contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases.

It is also very interesting that the immune system does not always cause autoimmune diseases by destroying specific tissues and organs but sometimes it stimulates them to be overactive. The classic example is the Graves hyperthyroidism (another autoimmune condition), in which the behaviour of the immune system seems to be very opposite than in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. In Graves hyperthyroidism, instead of attacking and destroying the tissue, leukocytes just stimulate the thyroid to make even more hormones! Now, why on earth, in this case, the immune system changed its tactics and instead of killing thyroid gland it just decides to “help” it to work much harder?

Dr Sang Lee suggests the following answer. If a woman lives a very stressful lifestyle, always tries to do her best in performing her duties at home and work, often in a hurry, dealing with many different things at the same time, if she doesn’t rest and sleep long enough at night, gets often nervous or irritated, drinks coffee or uses other harmful stimulants to increase her energy so that she could be more efficient, then guess what the “intelligent” immune system does. Since human immune system reacts to the psychological wishes of the brain it says, “Ok, since the boss is very restless, and wants to be more energetic and efficient in performing different duties, let us then send antibodies to the thyroid and stimulate it to make even more hormones, and in this way, we will fulfil the wish of the boss.”

Well, if this idea is true, and research seems to provide enough evidence that autoimmune diseases are closely linked to depression, anxiety and chronic stress, then the best way to prevent and treat them is by stress control, positive thinking, laughter, frequent smiling, taking care of others, helping people in need, going for a walk, and enjoying life and the beauty of nature. As a result, those smart and intelligent invisible tiny soldiers (the white blood cells) will never attack your own body (or will stop doing it) but will protect and fight for you like Kamikazes.

RECOVERY THROUGH IMAGINATION

Staroversky gives a very good example of how as a child by using positive imagination he strengthened his immune system and quickly recovered from mumps: “At the age of 10 years old, I got infected with the Mumps virus. My mother advised me to think of the viruses that I had as intruders inside my body and that in my imagination I must use my own army to defeat them. Without any doubts, with a strong desire and full belief in what she said, I made a firm decision to beat the bad guys inside my body. I lied down and visualized a huge battlefield with the good and the bad army. And, in my imagination, the good army in me quickly defeated the invaders. The next day the mumps symptoms began to disappear.”

FEAR & BAD ATTITUDE NEGATIVELY INFLUENCE THE PHYSIOLOGY OF HUMAN BODY

Previously quoted Elle White, gives also an excellent example how fear and a pessimistic mindset can negatively influence the physiology of human organism: „If your mind is convinced that a bath will injure you, the mental impression is communicated to all the nerves of the body. The nerves control the circulation of the blood, and the good effects of the bath are lost. All this happens because the blood is prevented by the mind and will from flowing readily and from coming to stimulate and promote the circulation.”

FEAR & HEMATOHIDROSIS

A very good proof that Ellen White was right suggesting that fear can negatively influence the blood and circulation can be the fact that extreme stress and fear may also lead to a very rare phenomenon or a condition called hematohidrosis. Medical dictionaries define hematohidrosis as „Sweating of blood, which occur when a person is facing death or other highly stressful events. It has been seen in prisoners before execution, soldiers before battle, or occurred during the London Blitz.” When during the World War II German aeroplanes bombarded London some people experienced hematohidrosis. It means they started sweating blood because of extreme fear of death.

In hematohidrosis, extreme fear generates huge doses of stress hormones, adrenalin and cortisol that lead to a huge overproduction of harmful free radicals. Those free radicals cause a rupture of the capillaries (very tiny delicate blood vessels) surrounding sweat glands. As a result, the blood from the broken capillaries oozes into the sweat glands through the tiny spaces in between cells, and then from the sweat glands together with sweat, it flows out of the skin through the sweat ducts.

CHRIST & HEMATOHIDROSIS

Over 2000 years ago, Luke who was a physician and the author of the fourth gospel, wrote that when Christ was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, just before He was tortured and nailed to the cross, His sweat was like drops of blood. It means He also experienced hematohidrosis: “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” (Luke 22:44)

According to the Bible, Christ was sweating blood because of the unbearable anguish, extreme stress, agony, and suffering which was caused by the fact that He took upon Himself the guilt, fears, and punishment of each one of us, so that by believing in Him and accepting through faith the gift of His supreme sacrifice we might be forgiven and live forever. Long time before the Son of God was incarnated and born as a man, prophet Isaiah wrote about Him the following beautiful words: „He was punished for what we did. He was crushed because of our guilt. He took the punishment we deserved, and this brought us peace. We were healed because of his pain”.

It means that all those who believe in Christ and accept the free gift of salvation and Him as their Saviour can enjoy the true and constant peace and sense of perfect forgiveness.

FIND TIME TO ENJOY BEAUTY & ALWAYS EXPRESS GOOD EMOTIONS

On the basis of what we have learned about hematohidrosis, we can draw a conclusion that if an extreme fear can damage our blood vessels then also our daily less dramatic but frequent fears and stressors can also impose a very harmful effect on our bodies and health. This is another reason why we need to avoid fears, learn to control stress and be more positive, enjoy life, and express faith, trust, love, and gratitude.

For instance, whenever you see and smell a beautiful flower and you love the scent try to verbally express your positive feelings. As far as fragrance is concerned, my favourite is the one made by lilac flowers. Whenever I go for a walk and see a lilac tree I have to stop, smell it, and say, „Wow! Thank you, Lord!”

Pause for a while and think, why God created so many beautiful flowers with such amazing aromas? When a man gives many beautiful flowers to a woman, why he does that? Because he loves. So, why we were given so many beautiful flowers in nature? Because the One who created them also wanted to express his love toward us. Whenever He gives something He always does it out of love: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). So, please, whenever you see the beauty in nature stop for a while, smile and express your gratitude and good emotions. It will stimulate the production of happy hormones such as serotonin and endorphins that will energise you, boost immunity and make you feel better and healthier. If you say and feel nothing you get the same, you get nothing!

Some time ago I read about a study which found that black members of Christian evangelical churches on an average live about 5 years longer than white members even if their diet and amount of physical activity is the same! Since the study didn’t manage to explain that phenomenon, we must attempt to do it on our own.

Well, what could be the cause why black Christians live longer than white ones? Is it difficult to find the cause? For me, it is easy because every Saturday I attend the Church which members are black. They live longer simply because, unlike pale faces, they often verbally express their positive feelings, emotions, love, trust, and strong faith in a very enthusiastic and spontaneous way. As a result, they produce plenty of good hormones! Serious pale faces don’t say anything and therefore they get nothing. No hormones.

One of the best violinists in the world, Joshua David Bell, decided to make an experiment. He put on a baseball cap and played beautiful music using his 3.5 million dollars worth violin as an incognito busker at the Metro subway station in Washington, D.C. Of the over a thousand people who passed by during 45 minutes, only a few passers-by stopped to listen to the beautiful music and only one person recognised the famous musician. The one who paid the most attention was a 3-year-old boy, but his mother forced him to leave that place. The simple conclusion of that experiment is that almost all of us are too busy to stop and admire the beauty. As a result, we are deprived of good hormones that play a tremendous role in maintaining health and preventing diseases.

Research provided evidence that spiritual feelings, or a sense of awe when we look at a beautiful scene or hear uplifting music cause a powerful anti-inflammatory response in our body that’s as powerful as drugs. Those positive feelings boost the immune system, and lower levels of cytokines, proteins that cause the inflammation associated with heart disease, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease or clinical depression.

The Word of God says that we were created in God’s image which means we should be like Him and follow His example. And, what did God do at the end of each of the 6 days of creation? He stopped for a while, saw what He did, and expressed His admiration by saying that “it was good”. And after 6 days when all creation was finished, He took the whole seventh day off in order to rest. Why did He take a rest? Did He do it because He was tired? No, He never gets tired. He took the whole day off to admire the beauty of creation and to exercise a loving relationship with others (Adam and Eve) and to give us an example, to teach us that we need to stop every day for a while and every seventh day for the whole day (from Friday sunset till Saturday sunset) to admire the beauty of His character, His creation and to cultivate loving relation with Him. No aspect of a healthy lifestyle is more vital than this. Without daily and weekly communion with God through His Word, heart-felt prayers (>) and admiring the beauty of nature, we are deprived of real peace of mind, His unselfish love and the true meaning of life.

HATRED & UNFORGIVENESS – AN UNDERLYING CAUSE OF MANY HEALTH PROBLEMS

Also, inability or unwillingness to forgive is another factor which has a very negative effect on our mental and physical health. Hatred and unforgivingness are even classified in medical books as a real health condition or disease. Dr Steven Standiford, chief of surgery at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, claims that untreated emotional wounds and unforgiveness is one of the true hidden causes of many serious health problems including cancer and various autoimmune diseases. For this reason, professional forgiveness therapies are now offered to improve treatments of different health problems, such as cancer. According to the book Forgiveness Project, written by to Dr Michael Barry, the majority of cancer patients have forgiveness issues which trigger different negative emotions such as hatred or anger. Those bad feelings lead to chronic anxiety and increased levels of stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol, which suppress the immune system especially the killer T-cells responsible for fighting cancer. The best way to learn true forgiveness and get rid of anger and negative feelings is to study the Word of God (starting from the Gospel of John and other Gospels) and the beautiful book by Ellen White the Desire of Ages, as it will open your eyes and make realize how much we have been forgiven by God. It is the best way to true forgiveness because only when people are able to forgive from the heart they can feel true peace and relief.

Dr Barry wrote about five patients who claimed they overcame cancer because they managed to forgive from the heart as a result of following the steps described in his book “The Forgiveness Project”. Although Dr Barry does not claim that forgiveness alone cures cancer yet there is no doubt that through generating positive feelings and removing negative emotions such as anger, bitterness and unforgiveness it strengthens the immune system and generates good hormones. In this way, it helps the body to prevent and treat different health problems including cancer.

THE WAY WE THINK IS HIGHLY TUNABLE

According to the popular Adventist health promoter and nutritionist Vicki Griffin, “We have destiny secured in the Lord but we need to guard this security because we have it through faith (positive mental attitude). Very famous neuroscientist Mary Kennedy said that such traits as empathy are highly tuneable, our emotions, cognition all these things are highly tuneable traits. Our perceptions, the way we perceive the way we chose to think about a thing is going to have a very powerful shaping effect on the brain. We need to define what does tuneable mean. About 50 % things we do during the day is automatic which means we even don’t think about them. That includes our habits, the food we eat, good or bad, too many doughnuts, or whatever it is. When we repeat certain things it becomes an automatic either good or bad habit. Scientists do studies on focus attention. They take different personality types, for instance, a negative type of personality. They give them different pictures to look at for a certain period of time. For instance, they give a picture to look at to participants with tendencies to think negative and persons who represent a positive type of personality. They give them a picture of a person with skin cancer on the chick. And a negative person would stare at cancer for the most of the time and they would miss the rest of the picture while those with the basic positive attitude would focus on the whole picture and they would have more to describe what they saw while looking at that picture. It proves that depending on what type of basic personality we are our personality whether positive or negative would reinforce our perceptions the way we look at thing the way we think about them. That is why I always recommend spending time with God, and talk with Him, asking for His Spirit of love, peace, and a true joy to influence our minds and even control them, that is why it is so important for our minds to read or even study the Word of God, the Bible because in this way we will learn to think the way God thinks, we will be able to perceive through God’s eyes the world and reality which surrounds us, we will start looking at people, and different situations and experiences the same way Jesus did when He lived among us in our body and with our mind and even nature. In this way, we will become more loving more compassionate, peaceful, less and less self-centred. And as we do that when we have that daily relationship and friendship with God, and we experience the gradual and progressive influence of God’s Spirit on our brains, it actually changes the chemistry of our brains, our brains positively respond to that influence the good hormones and antidepressants such as serotonin or dopamine are elevated because the genes in the brain cells are energized by that powerful influence of that change of our way of thinking when we think in a more positive and enthusiastic way”.

DO NOT NEGLECT THE SPIRITUAL ASPECT OF HEALTH

It is so vital to understand that in order to be really successful in preventing and treating our health problems, we must learn how to achieve an optimum sense of well-being in all spheres of human existence; physical, mental and spiritual.

Most of us know from experience that it is very challenging and often even impossible to control stress, overcome fear, negative attitudes, tendencies to complain and criticise, or to become a positive-thinking person. It is so difficult simply because those negative emotions and fears (such as fear of death) seem to be a part of our nature we are born with.

The good news, however, is that there are many people who claim to find inward peace and great improvement in emotional health as a result of daily meditation and spiritual communion with a Higher Power. However, not a mantra-type thoughtless and repetitive prayers but only heart-felt daily conversations with God always give great results (>). As without oxygen, we are unable to maintain our physical and mental health likewise without proper regular prayer we are unable to maintain our spiritual health. This is the reason why theologians and spiritual leaders agree that prayer is the breath of the soul.

It means that without regular prayer our spirit will eventually suffocate: “Prayer is the breath of the soul. It is the secret of spiritual power. No other means of grace can be substituted and the health of the soul be preserved… Neglect the exercise of prayer, or engage in prayer sporadically, as seems convenient, and you lose your hold on God. The spiritual faculties lose their vitality.” (Ellen G White, Prayer, p. 12 >) „Satan well knows that all whom he can lead to neglect prayer and the searching of the Scriptures, will be overcome by his attacks. Therefore he invents every possible device to engross the mind.” (Ellen G White, Great Controversy, 519 >)

It is also important to emphasise the fact that, according to the research, this kind of spiritual approach is effective only when combined with sincere faith in a powerful but at the same time loving and carrying God. On the other hand, believing in a demanding, punishing, harsh, and vengeful God was associated with increased risk of depression and mental disorders including schizophrenia.

Also, thoughtful reading uplifting spiritual literature such as the Gospel of John (found in the Bible), which through Christ presents God as a loving, saving, healing, forgiving, and self-sacrificing, is another great way to find inward peace, hope and happiness, if such reading is combined with true faith.

Inspired Apostle Paul, in his epistle to Christians in Philippi, explains how this true peace of mind can be found: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

LONELINESS VS FRIENDSHIP WITH HIGHER POWER

In one thought-provoking experiment, scientists divided rats into 3 groups, feeding all of them with exactly the same food. In the first group, there were three rats. They were hand-fed by scientists who took care of them and played with them every day.

In the second group, there were also three rats, but they were not hand-fed and scientists didn’t associate with them.

And finally, in the third cage, there was only one single rat who was left alone all the time without any association neither with other rats nor scientists.

According to the fascinating results of this experiment the health of that lonely rat quickly deteriorated and he died much earlier than other rats.

The lifespan of rats from the second group was also shorter than average. They had weaker immune system, were lower in serotonin while higher in stress hormones and therefore they were more aggressive toward each other.

However, the rats that were hand-fed and experienced special care from scientists, were friendly toward one another, they were much healthier, had a stronger immune system, lower levels of stress hormones and higher in happy hormones, and their lifespan was almost 40% longer than the average rat lifespan! Also, their brains were larger than the brains of rats from the other two groups.

Now, what important lesson we can learn from this thought-provoking experiment? Taking into consideration the fact that our life consists of not only physical and mental but also a spiritual sphere, let me conclude that if the health and lifespan of those rats were so much better as a result of being cared and protected by human beings, then also in our life we will get similar results if we make friends with a Higher Being (God). If we talk to Him every day, read about His love, power, and care, and truly believe that He cares, protects, saves, and loves us. If we learn to trust and truly believe that He is almighty, can solve any problem, and that even if we die we will resurrect through His power to a new unimaginably wonderful everlasting life.

„The consciousness of rightdoing is the best medicine for diseased bodies and minds. To have a consciousness that the eyes of the Lord are upon us and His ears open to our prayers is a satisfaction indeed. To know that we have a never-failing Friend in whom we can confide all the secrets of the soul is a privilege which words can never express.” (Ellen G. White, 1T 502, 1867)

THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO FREEDOM FROM NEGATIVE EMOTIONS

The most effective way to freedom from fear and other negative emotions has been revealed by inspired Apostle Paul about two thousand years ago: „Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6–7)

„Many are suffering from maladies of the soul far more than from diseases of the body, and they will find no relief until they shall come to Christ, the wellspring of life. Complaints of weariness, loneliness, and dissatisfaction will then cease. Satisfying joys will give vigour to the mind, and health and vital energy to the body.” (Ellen White, 4T 579, 1881)

Healthy mind and spirit will naturally result in positive, encouraging and kind words that will benefit not only ourselves but also people we associate with, because „pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the body.” (Proverbs 16:24)

IF HE CARES ABOUT A SPARROW HE CARES ABOUT YOU

One day I was sitting in the forest and meditating. The place was very quiet and nobody was there. But suddenly I heard a noise behind me which seemed to be very close to me. When I turned around I saw a small old sparrow lying on the grass dead. The poor bird must had died while sitting on a tree and fell to the ground. As soon as I saw that dead old sparrow my heart was touched because the words of Jesus Christ immediately came to my mind. Since I had my Bible with me I opened it and with tears in my eyes I read: „Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?” By saying this Jesus wanted to emphasize the fact that according to human standards sparrows have a very little value, but not in God’s eyes. “Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered (there are about 150,000 hair follicles on an average head). So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Gospel of Matthew 10:29-31)

EVERY DAY CLAIM GOD’S PROMISES AND THANK HIM FOR FULFILLING THEM BEFORE IT HAPPENS

Travelling, waiting for something, and especially walking give great opportunity to talk to God, to thank and praise Him for the gift of life, for empowerment, and especially for His gift of the wonderful new eternal life which can be ours through faith in His Son. Every day keep on reading the Bible and beautiful books like the Desire of Ages which reveals the love of God through the life of Jesus in the most beautiful way. You can try to memorize some great and powerful Bible verses and repeat them while walking. Remember that unlike other books the Word of God doesn’t only talk about power but it contains the saving and transforming power because it is inspired by Holy Spirit. That is why Apostle Paul wrote about it in the book of Hebrews 4:12 that “the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Here are some examples of powerful Bible verses and promises that will give you strength and peace and will improve your emotional and spiritual condition if you claim these promises and repeat them with faith, confidence, and thanksgiving:

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10);

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7);

„The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.”  (Gospel of Luke 4:18);

“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:12-13);

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1-2);

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice! The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7);

“God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1Corinthians 10:13);

“Everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:8);

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:9-11);

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will by no means cast out.” (John 6:37);

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1John 1:7);

“The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.” (1John 1:7);

“If we refuse to admit that we are sinners, then we live in a world of illusion and truth becomes a stranger to us. But if we freely admit that we have sinned, we find God utterly reliable and straightforward – he forgives our sins and makes us thoroughly clean from all that is evil. For if we take up the attitude ‘we have not sinned’, we utterly deny God’s diagnosis of our condition and cut ourselves off from what he has to say to us.” (1John 1:8-10, J. B. Phillips NT Translation);

“Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away; behold, all things are new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17);

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20);

“I urge you (…), offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God (…) And do not conform any longer to the pattern (lifestyle and diet) of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:1-2).

MORAL & SPIRITUAL STRENGTH

In 1990 I had a privilege to participate in nutritional training which took place in New York. It was conducted by John A. Scharffenberg, M.D., MPH, and Professor of Nutrition at Loma Linda University. During one of his lectures, he stated that “Studies conducted in America demonstrated that if someone became determined to overcome an addiction because of religious beliefs and moral convictions the final success was almost always guaranteed.”

About 30 years ago I myself was addicted to negative thinking, bad attitudes, junk food, smoking, and alcohol. Fortunately, after many pathetic attempts and failures, when I realized I was too week to overcome all those bad habits using my own will power, I started to look for the strength outside of myself. I wanted that freedom and change in my life so much that I even tried spiritism as at that time I didn’t realize how dangerous it was. But when everything I tried failed, I finally decided to give God a chance, although at that time I wasn’t even sure He existed. Yet, one day, I was so desperate that somehow I knelt down on my knees and with tears in my eyes I started to beg God to change me, to give me the moral strength I needed and set me free from my addictions.

Soon after that, an amazing process of transformation began in my life. As an answer to my desperate prayer, I was given a book titled “The Great Controversy” by Ellen G. White (>). That book made such a huge impression on me that I started to feel a very strong desire to get even more acquainted with this totally new vision of God I had found there. Consequently, I started to study the Bible every day and talk with God using my own simple words. As a result, I had experienced the ‘new birth’ and became so effectively empowered that eventually, I gained total victory over my anxiety, fears, pessimism, bad habits and addictions.

That wonderful experience, which in the Bible is called ‘the new birth’, I could describe using the words of famous Russian writer – Lew Tolstoy, who about his conversion wrote the following words: “When five years ago I came to believe in Christ’s teaching, my life suddenly changed; I ceased to desire what I had previously desired and began to desire what I formerly did not want. What had previously seemed to me good now appeared to be evil, and what I regarded as evil now seemed good. It happened to me as it happens to a man who goes out on some business and on the way suddenly decides that the business is unnecessary and returns home. All that was on his right is now on his left, and all that was on his left is now on his right; his former wish to get as far as possible from home has changed into a wish to be as near as possible to it. The direction of my life and my desires became different, and good and evil changed places”.

If you wish to become enriched by the same experience and empowerment, please study the small and wonderful book Steps to Christ by Ellen G. White. It is available online free of charge in different formats (including audio):

Please remember that in order to experience the new birth (transformation) and receive the strength you are looking for, you have to carefully and repeatedly study each chapter step by step with understanding, praying and meditating over it, believing and doing exactly what the book says because only with true faith and whole-hearted involvement you won’t be disappointed. Here is a short passage from this great and inspired book:

“You are weak in moral power and controlled by the habits of your life. Your promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. You cannot control your thoughts, your impulses, your affections. The knowledge of your broken promises weakens your confidence in your own sincerity. But, you need not to despair… You cannot change your heart, but you can give your will to God; He will then work in you. Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ… By surrendering your will to Christ, you ally yourself with the power that is above all powers! You will have strength from above, and thus through constant surrender to God, you will be enabled to live a new life. You cannot change your heart but God promises to do all this for you through Christ. You believe that promise, confess your sins and give yourself to God. Just as surely as you do this, God will fulfil His word to you. Do not wait to feel that you are made whole, but say, ‘I believe it; it is so, not because I feel it, but because God has promised.’ There is a condition to this promise that we pray according to the will of God. But it is the will of God to cleanse us from sin! It is the will of God to make us His children, and to enable us to live a holy life! So we may ask for these blessings, believe that we receive them, and thank God that we have received them! It is our privilege to go to Jesus and be cleansed, and to stand before the law without shame or remorse… Consecrate yourself to God in the morning. Make this your very first work. Let your prayer be, ‘Take me, oh Lord, as totally Yours. I lay all my plans at Your feet… Abide with me, and let all my work be done in You.’ This is a daily matter. Each morning you must consecrate yourself to God for that day. Surrender all of your plans to Him to be carried out or given up as His providence shall indicate. Thus day by day you may be giving your life into God’s hands, and your life will be moulded more and more after the life of Christ. Your weakness is united to His strength; your ignorance is joined to His wisdom, and your frailty is merged to His enduring might. So you are not to look to yourself or to let your mind dwell upon self, but look to Christ. Let your mind dwell upon Christ’s love and upon the beauty and the perfection of His character”.

Every morning surrender your life and your mind to God in prayer. Often pray while walking, driving, working, and before each meal, thanking God for His gifts, and asking for empowerment with faith. Immediately after you ask thank Him for giving you the strength to overcome your bad habits and weaknesses. Pray more for others than for yourself. God loves you and knows what you need anyway. He appreciates when we think and care about others because the foundation of His nature, His Law, government, and all actions is His perfectly unselfish and everlasting love. Keep on doing it every day, be patients, and sooner or later you will surely gain victory and as a bonus, you will enjoy a wonderful inward peace, and freedom from existential fears.

Never get impatient, don’t get discouraged or give up if you can’t see the results quickly. Remember that even if sometimes you lose a battle it is already guaranteed that with God you will surely win the whole war, simply because He promises it to you in His Word and He always keeps His promises!

Also keep in mind that when you suffer being tempted the periods of strong craving or temptation never last long (usually 5 – 15 minutes), and then they disappear or get much weaker. So be patient and wait for a while. Remember that every time you overcome the temptation you get stronger while the temptation gets weaker and weaker until after some time it disappears completely. Just keep on thanking God and asking with faith for the strength and transformation and you will receive it. God loves you and it is His desire to help you. But He can do it only when you allow Him to work for you and in you. Ask, therefore, pray, and submit your life and mind to Him every day using simple words and talking to God like to a loving Father who is almighty and able to solve any problem.

Driving a car, travelling, and especially walking give great opportunity to talk to God, to thank and praise Him for the gift of life, for empowerment, and especially for His gift of the wonderful new eternal life which can be ours through faith in His Son. Keep on reading the Bible and books like the Desire of Ages every day. You can memorize great and powerful Bible verses and repeat them while walking. Remember that unlike other books the Word of God doesn’t only talk about power but it contains the saving and transforming power because it is inspired by Holy Spirit. That is why Apostle Paul wrote about it in the book of Hebrews 4:12 the following words: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

 

CHILD HEALTH

 

KEY HEALTH CONCERNS AFFECTING CHILDREN

Childhood obesity continues to be the number one concern for children in the UK. Rates of childhood obesity have tripled in the last three decades, significantly. At the same time, childhood obesity increases the risk of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure and other serious disorders.

One in eight of British children and young people aged between five and 19, surveyed in 2017, had a mental disorder. Almost one in four girls aged 17 to 19 had a mental disorder and half of them either had self-harmed or attempted suicide.

The same report also concluded that type 1 diabetes is an increasingly common autoimmune condition among children and young people in the UK, which can lead to serious long-term health problems.

WHY IT HASN’T IMPROVED?

There has been no improvement in the prevalence of child overweight and obesity over the past decade. Experts predict that more than half of British adults and a quarter of children will be obese by 2050. Also, mental health disorders are still on the rise among children. According to the report published in May 2019, one in four primary pupils has ‘hidden’ social and mental health difficulties.

Although there are more associated factors, yet the two key causes of childhood obesity and poor mental health are the same as in the case of adults. One of them is lack of physical activity as regular exercise is one of the best ways to improve metabolism and levels of antidepressant hormones such as serotonin. Unfortunately, children and young people were found to spend much more time on social media, TV, computer or video games than reading books, playing outside or engaging in extracurricular activities.

Another main cause is poor diet, low in essential nutrients and fibre while high in sugar, white flour products, and bad fats including pro-inflammatory refined commercial oils. Unfortunately, most British schoolchildren do not seem to receive proper health education at homes and schools they attend. Studies revealed that they are not taught about proper principles of healthy diet and are far from practising them. According to one report, only about 1 in 5 British children (aged 5 to 15) consumed at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day. More than 80% consumed refined white bread, chips and crisps, burgers, meat pies and other high fat and calories foods. Unfortunately, in spite of unhealthy eating habits, more than four in five of all children considered their diet as healthy! Looking ate the nutritional pyramid image below, no wonder children think white flour products are healthy.

Unfortunately, parents and school teachers are often deceived and brain-washed by pseudo-scientific sponsored by chocolate and dairy industry and popularised by mass-media propaganda making them believe that children need to be fed with dairy and chocolate in order to be healthy. Nothing farther from the truth. (Read: Bitter Truth about Chocolate & Truth about Dairy)

KEY NUTRIENTS CHILDREN NEED DUE TO DEFICIENCIES

An estimated 80% people living in the UK (including children) are deficient in vitamin D. Vitamin D is regarded as exceptionally important health-sustaining factor because it affects thousands of different human genes and cells. It plays a critical role in enhancing the immune system function, helps the body absorb minerals that are important for normal development of strong bones, teeth and muscles. It supports normal nervous system function and helps maintain healthy body weight by improving fat metabolism. Together with selenium, zinc and magnesium, vitamin D was also found to help prevent autoimmune diseases, including especially common among children type 1 diabetes.

The next most important nutrient children desperately need due to very common deficiency is magnesium. Magnesium is present in all body cells as they constantly require this mineral for a normal function. Magnesium is so important for preserving the health of children and young people because it is involved in over 600 reactions, including DNA repair, converting food into energy (metabolism & bodyweight), contracting and relaxing muscles, regulating neurotransmitters and hormones, and hundreds of other health-sustaining functions. Also serotonin (the strongest antidepressant and feel-good hormone) and glutathione (body’s most powerful antioxidant) require Magnesium for their synthesis.

Researchers suggest that due to soil depletion and other factors, millions of people in the UK (including children) suffer from lack of the trace mineral zinc. Zinc strengthens child’s immune system by stimulating antibody production and it has proven to be even directly toxic to certain types of viruses. It also speeds up recovery & helps minimise unpleasant signs associated with flu or cold such as runny nose or tiredness. Zinc is present everywhere in human body and it is required to maintain normal metabolism (bodyweight), brain and nervous system function, hormonal balance, strong bones & teeth, acid production in the stomach (to ensure normal digestion and assimilation of nutrients), healthy liver, and normal blood sugar levels. It is needed to produce tryptophan and then serotonin which regulates appetite and helps children to be happy.

Vitamin B12 is absolutely critical to maintain mental and physical health of children. Its deficiency can be associated with anaemia, poor memory, tiredness, mental fogginess, weak immunity, muscle weakness, sleep & mental problems, nerve damage, and other problems. Unfortunately, due to many different factors, the number of children with low Vitamin B12 levels is constantly growing.

According to Dr. Cees Vermeer a renowned vitamin K expert and researcher, majority of adults and children are deficient in vitamin K. Studies show that even if we have sufficient intake of this vitamin to prevent bleeding disorders, we may have insufficient Vitamin K intake to maintain strong bones and teeth and to prevent osteoporosis, cancer, and dangerous calcification of various organs including arteries (arterial calcification), pineal gland, and joints. However, much more important than K1 is vitamin K2 (found only in some fermented and unpopular in the UK foods such as natto or sauerkraut) as only K2 is able to activate the MGP, a protein that helps direct calcium to the right places (bones) and lead calcium away from the undesirable areas (pineal gland, joints, kidneys and arteries) thus preventing children from developing hypercalcaemia and calcification of these organs.

Of course, children need all other essential vitamins and minerals, including especially all B vitamins, vitamin A, iron, selenium, iodine, or vitamin C, but the four mentioned above nutrients require special attention due to very common deficiencies and extremely important role in maintaining good health and well-being of children.

MOST IMPORTANT NUTRITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR CHILDREN

The best nutritional solution to the obesity, poor mental health, and other health issues that are common among children can be found in the promotion of wellness and balanced unrefined and high in nutrients diet in school and home setting. Children need to consume much more foods that are high in fibre including vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grains, pulses (beans, lentils, chickpeas, organic soya products), as well as some seeds and nuts. Research gives evidence that dietary fat intake is much less related to body fat than the overall intake of dietary fibre. It means that diet high in fibre (found only in unrefined plant foods) is more efficient in reducing obesity than low-fat diet.

The benefits of such rich in fibre diet are manifold, because it not only reduces the absorption of fat, but also lowers blood glucose and cholesterol levels, is higher in nutrients, increases number of probiotic bacteria in the gut, boosts immunity, reduces the risks of cancer, diabetes, and mood problems, and increases satiety, as high fibre foods are digested more slowly.

Therefore, children and young people should be encouraged to be more physically active and increase consumption of unrefined plant-based foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, seeds, nuts, and whole-grain products.

By consuming more healthy foods they will automatically reduce the intake of animal-based foods, white flour products, white breads, cakes, sweetened beverages and foods which are high in empty calories, refined sugar and bad fat. They should be provided with access to healthy, nutritious and tasty foods, nutritional supplements (especially multivitamins, vitamin D, Magnesium, vitamin B12 and K2), and healthier beverages.

NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS FOR CHILDREN

Unfortunately, due to the fact that for a very long time we’ve been using artificial fertilizers, the concentration of minerals in the soil today is 70 to 90 % lower than it was a hundred years ago. Due to various reports pointing to dangerous soil depletion, the nutritional content in both plant and animal foods is much lower today than it was before we started abusing the soil in many different ways including the heavy use of artificial fertilisers. In addition, the majority of children and teenagers consume refined foods (such as white flour products) which are very low in nutrients and often high in sugar which deprive them of vitamins and minerals.

For this reason, apart from increasing consumption of healthier foods, children and young people need to be encouraged to support their nutritional demands by daily intake of vitamins, minerals, micro-elements and antioxidants in the form of good quality supplements and superfoods. In this way, their nutritional demands will be secured, supporting proper development and metabolism, strong immunity and healthy nervous system function, improving mental health, and preventing or at least significantly delaying serious health problems later in life, including obesity, depression, anxiety, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and other conditions.

First of all, their diet should be supported with a good quality multivitamin which should contain all mentioned above essential vitamins, all minerals and key trace elements. However, the quality of multivitamins for children is often very poor as most of them are too low in vitamin D, magnesium, and vitamin B12 and are almost always deprived of vitamin K2. For this reason, these four most vital nutrients often need to be taken in addition to a multivitamin in order to secure the high demands of still-growing body. Depending on age, children should take the following daily doses of supplemental key vitamins and minerals: 400-2000 IU of vitamin D3; 50-300 mg of elemental magnesium (such as citrate or bisglycinate); 5-10 mg of zinc, 100-500 mcg of vitamin B12 (sublingual methylcobalamin is the most effective option), 30-75 mcg of vitamin K2 (MK7).

Apart from multivitamins there are also various increasingly popular superfoods such as organic chlorella, spirulina, alfalfa, barley grass, bee pollen, royal jelly, brewer’s yeast, etc. available in powder, capsule or tablet forms and can be consumed about 15-30 minutes before regular meals. Products, such as Super Greens, are especially valuable as they contain the mixture of mentioned above superfoods. All of them are known to contain a much higher concentration of vitamins, minerals, proteins and antioxidants than regular foods and should be often recommended for both children and adults. All the green superfoods (especially chlorella and spirulina) are also very high in chlorophyll regarded as the best and super healthy energy booster, detoxifier and regenerator. Estimated 10 million adults and children in Japan consume at least 1 tablespoon or 10 tablets of organic chlorella every day.

 

DANGEROUS HEALING METHODS BASED ON SPIRITISM

 

HEALING IN CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT

“I saw that we should strive at all times to be free from unhealthy excitement. I saw that there was great danger of leaving the Word of God and resting down and trusting in excitement.” (Manuscript Releases, vol. 5, pp. 226, 227).

Charismatic movement in Roman-Catholic Church, including healing sessions, corresponds with charismatic movement in Pentecostal and other evangelical denominations, with the same manifestations. It means that the source (or the spirit) of those spiritual manifestations such as healing, dreams, spiritual praying, ecstatic singing, prophesying and speaking in tongues is the same.

However, such spiritual manifestations in Catholic Church can’t be inspired by God’s Spirit because this church (papal Rome) is presented in the Bible as a beast that opposes God’s Truth (>) and persecuted millions of true Christians in the past, and according to the book of Revelation, will persecute them again in the future (>).

The goal of the papacy is to regain the world’s religious and political supremacy. In order to achieve this goal, Rome introduced the ecumenical movement of which foundation and common ground is Sunday keeping and the charismatic movement. These two elements of the ecumenical movement, which are common for both catholic and charismatic evangelical churches, managed to unite Catholicism with fallen Protestantism, in spite of the fact that papacy never denounced its false doctrines that oppose God’s Truth found in the Bible (>). In 1965 Reverend Erwin Prange wrote, “recently I attended a Roman Catholic, Episcopalian and Lutheran retreat…I am convinced that the basic meaning of the charismatic renewal is the reunion of the churches” (>). Also, Charles Colson confirms the same in his book Evangelicals and Catholics Together: “The spread of the charismatic movement through songs, prayers and worship styles going well beyond officially charismatic circles, has done a great deal to reduce the barriers between Catholics and evangelicals” (>).

In Christian charismatic churches, there are many who heal thousands in the name of Jesus. One of the most famous among them is Benny Hinn. He claims God anoints him with the Holy Spirit to lay hands on people and heal them. The very popular YouTube video titled “Benny Hinn: Let the Bodies Hit the Floor” illustrates it very well.

Likewise, there are many charismatic healers in the Catholic Church. Richard McAlear is an excellent example with his lips moving in silent groaning.

Also, Francis MacNutt has introduced thousands of Christians to miraculous healing. Now 79, he hopes to train an army of healers to take his place. Often he will stand in front of an audience and sing in an unknown language. He doesn’t know what he’s saying, and neither do the people in the crowd. “I feel stupid doing it,” he says of the unusual practice. “I’ve been doing it for 25 years and it still feels funny.” After he lays hands on people, they fall to the floor. A priest he prayed for in England lay on the floor for two hours and got up healed of depression. MacNutt was baptized in the Holy Spirit in 1967 through the influence of charismatic healing pioneer Agnes Sanford. She prophesied that the enthusiastic Dominican priest would take supernatural healing to the Catholic Church worldwide. He took his newfound Pentecostalism to 30 countries.

With reference to the fanatical excitement, which included tongues-speaking, that attended one group of people who set the time of Jesus’ coming at 1854, Ellen White wrote: “Some of these persons have exercises which they call gifts and say that the Lord has placed them in the church. They have an unmeaning gibberish which they call the unknown tongue, which is unknown not only to man but by the Lord and all heaven. Such gifts are manufactured by men and women, aided by the great deceiver. Fanaticism, false excitement, false talking in tongues, and noisy exercises have been considered gifts which God has placed in the church… When the happy flight of feeling is gone, they sink lower than before the meeting because their happiness did not come from the right source… They give themselves up to wild, excitable feelings and make unintelligible sounds which they call the gift of tongues, and a certain class seem to be charmed with these strange manifestations. A strange spirit rules with this class, which would bear down and run over anyone who would reprove them. God’s Spirit is not in the work and does not attend such workmen. They have another spirit.” (Testimony for the Church, vol. 1, p. 412, 414).

MacNutt’s glorious days of favour and applause ended abruptly in 1980 when he did something his Catholic brethren could not accept: He married, but after the excommunication the MacNutt began to receive speaking invitations from Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Pentecostal groups. Mike Evans was a Baptist when he heard MacNutt speak in Bakersfield, California, in 1987. He was as sceptical of Catholics as he was of charismatics, but when he heard MacNutt speak on healing he embraced the charismatic experience and eventually became one of MacNutt’s closest colleagues.

Well, as Lord Jesus himself predicted there are many charismatic healers who before His return will cast out demons, perform miracles and heal people but not through His power or the power of Holy Spirit as Christ is going to tell them “I don’t know you” because they disregard the will of God revealed in His holy Commandments including the fourth one which says, “remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy”: “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS’.”

Since according to this statement, it is not Christ who gave them the power to heal than who enabled them to do it? They obviously do it not through the power of the Holy Spirit but the influence of evil angels who want people believe that those who heal them represent true Christ’s church.

The following statement by Ellen White corresponds with what Lord Jesus said about those healers as she declares that “Men under the influence of evil spirits will work miracles. They will make people sick by casting their spell upon them, and will then remove the spell, leading others to say that those who were sick have been miraculously healed. This Satan has done again and again” (2SM, 53, 1903).

Apart from meaningless speaking in tongues, noisy music or prophesying, there are various bizarre behaviours associated with charismatic movements. One of them is referred to as being slain in the spirit. It occurs when preachers place their hands on someone’s forehead, or when they gesture forcefully towards the targeted individual or even entire audience, causing them to be violently thrown back to the ground as if pushed by an invisible force. Often, these charismatic healers have men who attend the falls in an effort to avoid injury during ecstatic episodes. Another symptom associated with charismatic services is described as drunk in the spirit. It may involve spastic crawling on the floor, hypnotic dancing, shaking, uncontrollable laughing, inability to speak, etc. These abnormal and senseless manifestations resemble demon possession and have nothing to do with true healing described in the Bible and they can’t be empowered by God’s Spirit of love, peace, harmony, wisdom and order.

Some time ago I was told about a certain sister who was a member of the SDA Church in Poland. She was paralysed for a long time and earnestly prayed and often enquired from the church members to ask God to heal her. Unfortunately, for some reason, she wasn’t healed. Finally, someone from her own church suggested her to visit one of the charismatic churches where different people were often healed. And although in her spirit she doubted that those miracles were performed by God’s Spirit the temptation was too strong to resist and finally, she went there with her friend. And lo and behold, she was finally healed and was able to move without a wheelchair. However, although she was excited about being able to walk again, yet at the same time, something strange happened. After that charismatic healing, she completely lost her inward peace. Now her heart was filled with anxiety, remorse and fear as if she had committed a horrible sin. It was such a burden that she asked her church members to pray for her. And when they did ask the Lord to give her piece, guess what happened? She had her peace back but the effects of that charismatic healing were gone and she became paralysed again!

It is interesting that people who are healed by those false Christian healers always loose conscience and fall, but in the Bible, those who were healed by Jesus or apostles were always conscious and did not fall.

Let me give you an example of true and performed by the Lord healing which was experienced by Ellen White. This is the kind of powerful healing which can’t be imitated by Satan: “For five minutes I stood there, trying to speak, and thinking that it was my last speech. All at once, I felt a power come upon me, like a shock of electricity. It passed through my body and up to my head. The people said that they plainly saw the blood mounting to my lips, ears, cheeks, and forehead. Before that large number of people, I was healed, and the praise of God was in my heart and came from my lips in clear tones. A miracle was wrought before that large congregation. I then took my place among the speakers, and before the congregation bore a testimony such as they had never heard. It was as if one had been raised from the dead” (2SM, 54, 1904).

Those who look for miracles as a sign of divine guidance are in great danger of deception. It is stated in the Bible that the enemy will work through his agents who have departed from the faith, and they will seemingly work miracles. By means of healing and charismatic gifts, Satan keeps on deceiving many sincere believers. For this reason, we are not supposed today to lead sick people to recovery through miraculous healing but by sharing with them the health message, using God’s natural remedies and praying for His blessing: “The way in which Christ worked was to preach the Word, and to relieve suffering by miraculous works of healing. But I am instructed that we cannot now work in this way, for Satan will exercise his power by working miracles” (2SM, 54, 1904).

If we are not to relieve our suffering by miraculous works of healing then what we should do in order to recover from our health problems? We just need to live according to all the principles of a healthy lifestyle, use God’s remedies and pray for God’s blessing of our efforts.  Here is the list of remedies from God’s pharmacy that we can use with His blessing:

  • DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD THROUGH PRAYERS & BIBLE
  • UNREFINED PLANT DIET
  • EXERCISE
  • WATER
  • SUNSHINE
  • FRESH AIR
  • REST
  • TEMPERANCE
  • FAST
  • HYDROTHERAPY
  • ACTIVATED CHARCOAL & CLAY
  • HERBS & HERBAL REMEDIES
  • SUPER GRASSES
  • GOOD NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS (ESPECIALLY VITAMIN D, B12, MAGNESIUM, ZINC, SELENIUM AND OTHER MINERALS, AND ANTIOXIDANTS)

But please stay away and warn others against using the counterfeits of Gods remedies called the new age medicines as they are based on spiritism and are inspired by the enemy who wants people to use them in order to control our minds. Here is the list of dangerous new age medicines and healing methods that come from the same source as charismatic healing and lead to dangerous spiritual, moral and emotional side effects:

  • CHARISMATIC HEALING
  • HOMEOPATHY
  • REFLEXOLOGY (FOOT MASSAGE)
  • ACUPUNCTURE
  • REIKI
  • SHIATSU
  • EFT (EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUE)
  • HYPNOSIS
  • RADIESTHESIA
  • IRIDOLOGY
  • RADIONICS
  • BIOENERGOTHERAPY (THERAPEUTIC TOUCH)
  • YOGA
  • TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION
  • AROMATHERAPY

Also keep in mind that conventional medicine, especially prescribed drugs and any medication which is harmful is not a part of the right arm of the gospel or our health message as it causes horrible side effects often leading to death. According to the National Vital Statistics Reports, “Conventional Medical Care Kills More People than Heart Disease or Cancer” (January 11, 2012, Volume 60).

Can you believe this? Conventional medical care, instead of being more effective in saving lives kills more people than heart disease or cancer!

I think as Christians we should be brave enough to ask governments, NHS, the medical and public health authorities, why in spite of the fact that we know how harmful and dangerous the conventional medicine and often medical care is, why medical students still don’t study about nutrition, why they are not taught about the importance of healthy lifestyle, natural remedies, herbs, hydrotherapy, and good quality supplements?

And what is the answer to the question? The answer is, of course, the money of selfish big pharma which seem to control the modern conventional medical world!

When I was doing my master’s degree in public health at the University of Liverpool, I often tried to express my concern about present condition and mistakes of NHS and the health care as well as the great demand for health reforms, do you think it was welcomed? No, every time I tried it was condemned, regarded as a bad idea or a heresy.

Today it is not even a secret that the public health authorities, governments, health care, and the entire medical world are controlled by rich pharmaceutical companies.

But, let me give you an example from my own experience how effective are God’s remedies, especially when they are combined with prayers. In 1989 three years after my baptism, the Lord sent me from Poland to America where together with students from different countries I participated in a special one-year health and medical missionary training. I was living there with my friend sharing room with him. Unfortunately, after about six months somehow he contracted a virus and was diagnosed with chickenpox, suffered from very severe symptoms, high temperature and couldn’t participate in training for about two weeks.

But since as a child I didn’t go through chickenpox and wasn’t vaccinated, thank God, now everybody was looking at me with pity as they knew I would be the next victim of the chickenpox virus as it is extremely contagious and I shared the room with that sick person.

However, since my English was not very good at that time as I could assimilate only about 50% of the training knowledge from various classes and lectures we had every day I had to study much harder in order to keep up with others. Therefore, I concluded that if I contracted chickenpox I wouldn’t be able to participate in the training for about two weeks. Because of that, I decided to ask the Lord to protect me against virus or give me His wisdom how to do it.

And when I was praying a strong persistent thought came into my mind prompting me to do the alternating (or contrast) hot and cold showers twice a day. So, being convinced the idea was inspired by the Lord I was taking a very hot shower for about 3 minutes and then I took a very cold shower (gradually lowering temperature) for about 2 minutes, alternating from hot to very cold three to five times. I repeated the same procedure twice a day. Unfortunately, after a few days, the first symptoms of chickenpox appeared anyway, so I got a bit discouraged, but thank God I didn’t give up on showers. I continued taking them every morning and evening and every time did that treatment the symptoms disappeared. Altogether they appeared 3 times, but every time I did the hydrotherapy they disappeared, and after the third time they never appeared again.

However, a very short time after that experience, I was reading a book on health written by a certain American physician. And when I read one passage I got very excited. He wrote that even after contracting the chickenpox virus the disease can still be prevented or stopped by alternate hot and cold showers as it is the best way to weaken the virus and stimulate the immune system! That was exactly what I was doing, without even knowing that it was the most effective natural treatment I could use against that disease. So I was very thankful to God and Holy Spirit for giving me His wisdom and inspiring me to perform that approved by Him treatment.

Since I didn’t develop chickenpox all students and everybody in that retreat was surprised I was free from any sign of that extremely contagious disease in spite of the fact that I wasn’t vaccinated and never had chickenpox in my childhood. So, I told them the whole story and we all praised the Lord for His love, wisdom and very effective remedies.

Well, was God on my side? Yes. Could He heal me without hot and cold showers? Yes, but He wanted me to do what I could. He inspired me to use His remedies, be on a very healthy diet, ask for His blessing and trust Him. As a result, I recovered without any side effects and with a much stronger immune system.

The fact, however, that God wants us now to use healthy lifestyle and natural remedies to treat diseases doesn’t mean that He never performs direct miraculous healing, when it is required and according to His will.

Let me give you an example. It is a true story I’ve heard from Dr Milan Moskala, an SDA physician and very dedicated missionary who works as a dentist in Bangladesh. At the same time, he spends a lot of time helping poor families there, feeding hungry children with bananas and establishing SDA Christian schools. He told us an amazing story about a certain poor woman in a village who accepted Jesus as her Saviour and was baptized into the SDA Church. Unfortunately, not long after that, her son who at that time was about 5 years old, was playing with another boy, and when he jumped into the water he hit something and died. After about four hours the mother of that boy together with other people from her village finally found her son dead lying on the bottom of the pond. When villagers saw the boy dead they told that woman that their gods punished her for becoming a Christian. Soon after that, the SDA pastor came to comfort the poor woman and he was inspired to pray in the presence of all the villagers who were gathered around the dead boy’s body and his crying mother. Initially, he didn’t want to pray for a miracle and resurrection of the boy, but while he was doing it the Spirit of God inspired him with faith and courage. And when he prayed in the name of Jesus, suddenly, to the amazement of all the witnesses, the boy moved and came back to life. The first word he said was, „ma, mama”. Since that time almost the whole village accepted Jesus as their God and Saviour and they also changed the name of that resurrected boy. Now they call him Lazarus.

Well, it looks like the same Christ who lived 2 thousand years ago is still alive and working in accordance with His promise. He Himself said, „I am with you always even unto the end of the world”. And in another place, He says, “The one who comes to me I will not cast away”. And the wonderful good news is that death doesn’t have to have the last word. Amen

 

NEW AGE MEDICINE
HOMEOPATHY

 

ELLEN WHITE & HEALTH MESSAGE

 

THE GOSPEL OF FREEDOM

The bad news

Before I present to you this great message about God’s free gift of salvation from sin, condemnation and eternal death, I need to show you something without which you won’t be able to truly accept this gift and appreciate what God has already done for you through His Son. You need to be aware of the fact that by nature we all are slaves of selfish tendencies, fear, and death because we are born with nature which, according to the Word of God, is already condemned because it is corrupt, bent toward evil, and concentrated on self. According to Apostle Paul, we all carry in us the principle of selfishness, a power which drives us toward evil, toward seeking after own pleasures, toward pride, competition and adoring self. Apostle Paul calls this indwelling force ‘the law of sin’: “Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand… But I see in my body another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in me. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:20-24). Theologians suggest that apostle Paul uses the word ‘law’ because like, for example, the law of gravity, this dwelling in us evil law is always present in us and never gets weak. We can try to deny it for a time using our will power (if it is strong), but because our will power is not a law (it is not a constant and unchanging force) sooner or later it gets weak, and as a result, we have to lose the battle with this indwelling constant force, and again do what we don’t want to, or we do it even in spite of the fact that we promised to never do it again. As a result, we often feel like a discouraged, powerless, and miserable loser who is unable to carry out his own goodwill and keep these natural drives and desires, including the corrupt appetite, under control. The fact that by nature we all are contaminated with this ‘law of sin’ inspired apostle Paul to write another following shocking statement: “All (people) have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3,12). It is true that there are many so-called ‘good’ people who do have many good deeds, but, if they were not born from the Spirit, if while performing their good deeds Holy Spirit didn’t dwell in them with the unselfish God’s agape love, then they were only left with their selfish natures. Therefore, without God’s unselfish agape love they could be only as good as Nicodemus was before his conversion! When Nicodemus, who was known as a noble Pharisee and a very good man who had many good deeds, came to Jesus at night, the Lord surprised him with the same shocking truth. “Nicodemus” – Jesus said, “You can’t save yourself by your own goodness. Yes, you are a good man but only outwardly and according to human standards but not in God’s eyes. You do good things for selfish reasons because you haven’t yet experienced the new birth. Therefore, if you want to be really good, and do good things with unselfish motivation, first you have to be born from the Spirit so that Holy Spirit may dwell in you filling your heart with God’s unselfish agape love” (John 3).

Everything a person who hasn’t yet been born from the Spirit possess is only the sinful corrupt nature with its key ingredient which is the law of selfishness invented by Lucifer. It means that whatever we do, even if it is good, we consciously or subconsciously do it for selfish reasons. And, therefore, in God’s eyes, it is not a good deed but only a good sin. That is why we need to understand that we all are sinful not only because we repeatedly broke God’s moral Law, but we are sinful because we are born with the principle of selfishness and because by nature we are deprived of the indwelling presence of God’s love and Spirit. We are sinful not only because of what we do but especially because of who we are.

And that is the main reason why we are condemned by God’s holy and righteous Law and have to die. We are already born with the death sentence because the Law of God can’t allow someone who lives according to the principle of self-love, invented by Lucifer, to live forever in the perfectly holy Universe inhabited by countless sinless beings and holy angels. Wise, loving, and righteous God can’t immortalize selfish human beings because selfishness is like a virus which destroys its environment and moves to another, destroys it and again changes its environment repeating this vicious destructive procedure until everything is completely devastated.

The origin of evil

The principle of egocentric love was first found in a perfectly holy and glorious angel called Lucifer (Ezekiel 28:13-19). In spite of the fact that he was acquainted with God’s wonderful unselfish everlasting love, infinite wisdom, and goodness as no other of God’s holy creatures, somehow he started to cherish a tiny little thought about his own beauty, wisdom, and vindication until it conceived and ended up in an open rebellion. He could come with this problem to God who still loved him and would heal him, but instead, he decided to take a risk, separate himself from God, and built his own kingdom based on the principle of self-love.

After deceiving himself Lucifer also deceived other angels brainwashing them with the false idea that they would be much happier living according to his new rule of life, concentrating on self and living an independent from God eternal life. Unfortunately, although God knew what would be the result of that new virus-like way of life, He could not destroy Lucifer and his followers simply because if He did that then the pure love and devotion of the faithful angels and other holy inhabitants of the universe would have been contaminated with fear. So, it was in order to demonstrate the results of the life based on Lucifer’s principle of self-love that God didn’t destroy this rebellious angel and his followers but let them continue their egocentric existence for some time and show how horrible are its consequences.

Of course, God might have created Lucifer as well as Adam and Eve, who were later deceived by the rebellious angel, without a free will or the ability to rebel against Him. He could have programmed them enforcing eternal obedience. Unfortunately, on the other hand, God could not do it simply because in that case, they would have been only like robots programmed to serve and obey their Maker. The only type of service God can accept is the service of true and uncompelled love based on the freedom of choice. Without such freedom, the obedience of His created beings would not have been voluntary, but forced, and thus they wouldn’t be able to truly love Him. Unfortunately, both Lucifer, as well as our first parents who later followed the rebellious angel, abused the freedom of choice given them by God.

Fall of Adam and Eve and the corporate sinfulness of humankind

Originally, also our first parents were created as perfect, most beautiful, and holy beings destined not for animal-based diet, not to be afraid, nor to live a sedentary lifestyle. Instead, they were created to use only unrefined plant-based fuel, they were intended to be physically active, and to live forever, to enjoy life, to be peaceful and free from any kind of fear, and finally to enjoy constant communion with their loving Creator. At that time, living such peaceful and perfectly holy life was for them something extremely easy and natural because they enjoyed the fullness of Holy Spirit and God’s unselfish agape love that dwelled in them. At the same time, they were free from any taint of the selfish and sinful nature or tendencies to disobey God’s commandments.

Unfortunately, the originator of selfishness – Lucifer – managed to deceive and infect our first parents with the principle of self-love. And, as a result of their rebellion against God, they had lost the indwelling Holy Spirit. In addition, they also lost the love of God they originally had in their hearts. And, as soon as they decided to believe Lucifer instead of God they chose the Lucifer’s way of life and for this reason, the God’s unselfish love which filled their hearts was now replaced with self-love. Without Holy Spirit and agape love, they became ‘darkness’ and their nature had become depraved and bent toward self and evil. And, because we all are just a multiplication of their degraded lives, we also are born as ‘darkness’: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8).

It means that we come to this world deprived of Holy Spirit and unselfish agape love, we are born with the indwelling ‘law of sin’ and natural egocentric propensities, which later tend to ruin our spiritual, mental, and physical health by forcing us to indulge appetite, to abuse our natural sexual desires, to choose a sedentary lifestyle, and to live an independent from God and thus stressful and full of fear and anxiety life.

If you can’t see any apples on an apple tree, does it mean that it is not an apple tree? Of course, it is an apple tree even though there are no apples on it. Fruits do not make apple trees they only prove or confirm what type of trees they are. Likewise, in our case, even if today we haven’t yet committed any sins, it doesn’t mean we are not sinners, because our sins don’t make us sinners. Our sins (bad fruits) only prove or confirm that we are corrupt by nature.

The good news

That was why, the loving God, who knew our horrible condition, and that we are powerless and unable to save ourselves and submit our lives to Him, sent His own Son to do on our behalf what we were unable to do for ourselves. For this reason, the only way to overcome our natural tendencies, achieve inward peace and get rid of our fears is through receiving the wonderful free gift of forgiveness, peace, and eternal life which comes from God and is freely offered to every one of us. This gift can be yours if you only understand your miserable sinful condition and accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour. As a result, you will experience the wonderful “peace which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). This is the only way to freedom from fear of death, fear of the unknown, of disease and other existential fears, which ruin your emotional health, cause hormonal imbalance leading to obesity, and through the means of free oxygen radicals lead also to cancer, heart attacks, strokes, fatigue, and many other health problems. The book “Steps to Christ” reveals this simple and only way of achieving the true inward peace, joy, and sense of safety with the following words:

“The same divine mind that is working upon the things of nature is speaking to the hearts of men and creating an inexpressible craving for something they have not. The things of the world cannot satisfy their longing. The Spirit of God is pleading with them to seek for those things that alone can give peace and rest. Through influences seen and unseen, our Saviour is constantly at work to attract the minds of men from the unsatisfying pleasures of sin to the infinite blessings that may be theirs in Him. To all these souls, who are vainly seeking to drink from the broken cisterns of this world, the divine message is addressed, ‘Let him that is thirsty come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely’ (Revelation 22:17). You who in heart long for something better than this world can give, recognize this longing as the voice of God to your soul. The more you struggle to escape, the more you realize your helplessness. Your motives are impure; your heart is unclean. You see that your life has been filled with selfishness and sin. You long to be forgiven, to be cleansed, to be set free. Harmony with God, likeness to Him – what can you do to obtain it? It is peace that you need -Heaven’s forgiveness and love in the soul. Money cannot buy it, intellect cannot procure it, wisdom cannot attain to it; you can never hope, by your own efforts, to secure it. But God offers it to you as a gift, ‘without money and without price’ (Isaiah 55:1). It is yours if you will but reach out your hand and grasp it. The Lord says, ‘Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool’ (Isaiah 1:18); ‘A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you’ (Ezekiel 36:26). You have confessed your sins, and in heart put them away. You have resolved to give yourself to God. Now go to Him, and ask that He will wash away your sins and give you a new heart. Then believe that He does this because He has promised. A life in Christ is a life of restfulness. There may be no ecstasy of feeling, but there should be an abiding, peaceful trust. Your hope is not in yourself; it is in Christ. Your weakness is united to His strength, your ignorance to His wisdom, your frailty to His enduring might. So you are not to look to yourself, not to let the mind dwell upon self, but look to Christ! Let the mind dwell upon His love, upon the beauty, the perfection, of His character… Looking to Christ you are safe”.

If you humbly comply with this simple God’s plan of salvation you will eventually become a born again person and experience the amazing love, peace, empowerment, and freedom which in turn will greatly improve your emotional, spiritual and even physical health and well-being. Here are some Bible verses which will give you a glimpse of what I am talking about:

“My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27);

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7);

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace (God’s power) in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1, 2);

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21);

“Even though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23);

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love” (2imothy 1:7).

“So we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us” (1John 4:16).

Salvation in Christ & His Human Nature

Fortunately, God who ‘is love’ (1John 4:16) in His mercy decided to give us a wonderful opportunity to regain what we have lost in Eden. He did it by giving us His own beloved Son who came to our sinful and ruled by God’s enemy world, assuming the same human nature which is the core of our sinfulness (Hebrews 2:16-17 ; 4:15). And, the fact that Jesus took the same nature we have (including the ‘law of sin’), gave Him legal right to become our great representative in the battle with sin and death.

That is also why Apostle Paul calls Christ the ‘last Adam’ (1Corinthians 15:45). Since the Hebrew word ‘Adam’ stands for ‘humankind’ it means that, like the first Adam, also Christ – the ‘second Adam’, was the head and representative of the whole humankind. It also means that we all were united with Christ, and that in a sense we were even in Him.

Thus, whatever the first and the second Adam (Christ) did we did it in them and we also bear the consequences of their accomplishments! Therefore, since the first Adam, who was ‘humankind’ and our first representative, sinned and had to die, we also are born condemned, suffer the consequences of his sin, and have to die.

Likewise, because Jesus Christ who assumed our representative fallen human nature came as the second Adam (second ‘humankind’), perfectly obeyed God’s holy law and finally died on the cross as our representative (as us), then we also did all this in Him and can now bear the consequences of his perfection and death in the form of freedom from condemnation and eternal death!

Ok, I know that in our modern western culture it is difficult to grasp this truth, but the fact that Jesus took our representative sinful nature and became the ‘second Adam’ (second humankind) actually and truly means that He became you and me! And this is exactly what some of the most renowned Christian theologians and writers such as Professor William Warren Prescott, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Anders Nygren, Jack Sequeira, Francis Nichol, Watchman Nee and others teach. Below you will find some short quotes in which they express this unique, most precious, and greatest idea:

“In taking Adam’s place Christ became the head of the human race, and died on the cross as its representative. Thus, in a sense, when He died the entire race died with Him. As He represented all men, so His death stood for the death of all. In Him all men died. This does not, however, mean universal salvation, for each individual sinner must accept the atonement provided by the Saviour in order to make it effective” (Francis Nichol, The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, comment to 2Cor 5. 14);

“Jesus Christ had exactly the same human nature that we bear, – nature of sin, nature in which we sin, nature, however, in which He did not sin. We were all in Jesus Christ. He was our representative; He became we. All humanity was brought together in Jesus Christ. He suffered on the cross, then, it was the whole family in Jesus Christ that was crucified” (William Warren Prescott, The Bible Echo, January 6, 1896).

“We have to remember that although our sinful acts may be forgiven and blotted out through the blood of Christ, but sinfulness (sinful nature) cannot be forgiven, it must die. God, for example, is able to forgive us our selfish acts; but He cannot forgive selfishness. It must be crucified, and this is why God included you and me in the cross of Christ. And just as we cannot obtain forgiveness from our sins unless we see Christ bearing all our sins on the cross, so likewise we cannot know deliverance from the power of sin unless we see Christ bearing us on the cross” (E. H. “Jack” Sequeira, Beyond Belief);

Also famous German martyr and young very talented theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who (at the age of 39) was killed by Hitler just before the end of the World War Two, seemed to have exactly the same understanding, which can be proved by the following quote from his book Life Together: “When God calls you, he calls you to die… God’s Son took on our nature, ourselves. Now we are in him. Where he is, there we are too, in the incarnation, on the Cross, and in his resurrection. We belong to him because we are in him. That is why the Scriptures call us the Body of Christ.”

The same amazing truth about our corporate union with Christ and our death in Him is also found in the writings by famous Chinese Christian preacher and martyr by the name Watchman Nee, who because of his faith in Jesus was kept by the communists in prison for 20 years, where he finally died in 1972. In the book Dying With the Lord he wrote:
“Christ died in my stead, but He bore me with Him to the Cross, so that when He died I died. Let me tell you, you have died! You are done with! You are ruled out! The self you loathe was on the Cross in Christ! And ‘he that is dead is freed from sin’ (Romans 6:7). This is the Gospel for Christians.”

The Bible many times tells us that by taking our representative corporate sinful human nature Jesus identified Himself with us and thus when He died then we died and were already punished in Him too:

“I have been crucified with Christ, therefore, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20);

“Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with” (Romans 6:6);

“Now, if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him” (Romans 6:8);

“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3);

“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died” (2Corinthians 5:14 ).

Our victory and death in Christ

Since Jesus identified Himself with you, me, and whole humanity He became representative of all of us! Therefore, according to the Bible, whatever Jesus did and accomplished in the holy history of His life and death, we did it in Him too! That is also why so many times in the New Testament apostle Paul uses the famous expression ‘in Christ’.

For example, have you noticed that whenever our national football team wins a match then all the football fans in the country get excited and say, ‘we won’! Why do they say ‘we won’, in spite of the fact that they did not physically participate in the match? Or, why are we so proud, touched and often have tears in our eyes when we listen to our national anthem and see athletes represented our country standing on the highest step of the podium with gold Olympic medal on their chest? We are proud, touched, and have tears of joy in your eyes, and we have the right to say ‘we won’, simply because those athletes or football players represent our country, the whole nation, and all of us! Their victory, therefore, is our victory!

Likewise, when Jesus came into this scary and ruled by the angry and powerful prince of darkness world, He came in our weak human nature as the representative of all sinful human beings. He came to play the match with Satan and his team – sin and death. And although Christ himself was God, yet He never used His divine power to win the match and to overcome sin in our sinful nature (Philippians 2:6-8). The only weapon He used was the same one that is available to all of us, which was the power of Holy Spirit He could receive through studying the Word of God, fervent prayers, and communion with His Father.

Yet, in spite of the immense risk He took, and although He “has been tempted in every way, just as we are” (Hebrews 4:15) in the very same nature we are tempted and lost the battle so many times, He perfectly overcame the indwelling ‘law of sin’ and its powerful egocentric tendencies on our behalf. Thus, by perfectly overcoming sin as our representative the Saviour scored the first life-giving goal against Satan and his team on our behalf. But, in order to legally save us He also had to go through the horrible experience of the second death and overcome it too. And, He did it by taking our representative sinful nature (including the law of sin and death) to the cross where it was condemned by God and destroyed forever (Romans 8:3).

The Cross of Christ

But, please remember that in order to legally save you Jesus had to go through an indescribable sufferings and the horrible experience of the second or eternal death! There was no other way to save you because since you are already a sinner the holy and changeless law of God demanded eternal death from you. And the shocking truth is that this price you have already paid in Jesus two thousand years ago on the cross as God put you in Him by the fact that He was willing to take your condemned sinful nature which is the core of our sinfulness and which had to be annihilated forever. And, the Word of God confirms this truth by saying that Christ became a curse for us:

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us, as it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Galatians 3.13).

It means that while hanging on the cross Jesus had to feel like a condemned, cursed, and dying forever sinner. The careful analysis of all the Bible verses dealing with the plan of salvation leads to the conclusion that in order to save us the Son of God was willing to say goodbye to His eternal life so that we could live forever. And, the fact that He did it, is the most magnificent truth of the Bible the prince of darkness does his best to hide because he knows that those who learn it are often so impressed by this amazing love that they are willing to give their whole hearts to God and are never the same again.

In the book of Revelation (20:6) Apostle John wrote that “blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him.”
If you believe in Christ and accept God’s free gift of salvation then it is not the first and common death people are dying now but the second or eternal death which ‘has no power over you’. And if Jesus saved you from the second and eternal death then which death He was experiencing on the cross in order to save you? Do Christians die with the first death? Yes they do. So from which death Jesus saved those who accept Him as their Saviour? He saved us from the second or the eternal death, which of course means that He decided to say goodbye to life forever so that we could live!

I myself was amazed when I first discovered this glorious truth reading the following beautiful passage from the book Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White:

“Satan with his fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race.”

The wonderful good news is, however, that our Lord, in spite of unbelievable sufferings and anguish, still as our representative, stayed on the cross until He died as a result of a broken heart. But Satan was not able to keep Him in the grave, as Jesus overcame death and resurrected with the new and glorious humanity which will sit with Him on the throne and rule over the whole universe forever (Revelation 22:5).

By putting our representative corporate sinful humanity to eternal death on the cross and resurrecting in the new and glorious humanity Jesus scored the second goal for us and against Satan and his team! Thus, He has won the whole match 2 : 0! And, because He did it as our representative and because He was us and we were in Him, it means that His victory is our victory, and His death was our death in Him! So, knowing all this, now we can rejoice and shout, “we won!”

Only true believers will eventually enjoy salvation

But, does the fact that the whole world was included in Christ and therefore we were all saved in Him on the cross mean that every sinner will be eventually saved? No, because this salvation in Christ is a gift, and as it is with any gift, in order to make this salvation effective we still have to accept it. Let us say I have a birthday today and I also have a rich, good and loving father, who in spite of the fact that I was a prodigal son, he forgave me, paid all my huge debts, and in addition bought for me a new house by the sea, a brand new car, and some other wonderful gifts. Everything is already paid, it is a true fact, and it is waiting for me. But, in order to enjoy it I still have to do something? I have to accept it. Do I have a choice? Can I reject it? Yes I can, because my father loves me and he wouldn’t force me to accept his gift.

Likewise, because salvation is also a gift, then in spite of the fact that our huge debt is already paid, and even though the gift of salvation is already prepared for all of us in Christ and waiting for us since 31 AD, we still have to accept it through true faith in order to enjoy it and make it effective in our lives.

But, again you may say, “But, there are millions of so-called Christian who are hypocrites, who only say they believe in Jesus and accepted the gift of salvation, but their lives are not changed. Do you mean they also will be saved?” And the answer is again, No! No, because Christian actors or Christian pretenders, although they were also included in the cross of Christ and saved by God in Jesus, won’t be actually saved, simply because only genuine faith and acceptance of God’s gift will eventually make the salvation effective.

In fact, it is not so difficult to know whether someone is a true or false believer because genuine faith always results in the new birth and brings the fruits of the Holy Spirit such as especially God’s unselfish agape love (Galatians 5:22-23). True faith and acceptance of God’s gift always opens the door for Holy Spirit to dwell in all true believers empowering them and gradually transforming their characters, and changing their attitudes, lifestyles, and life priorities.

Dealing with believer’s imperfections and discouragements

So, let us say that you have already accepted this amazing God’s gift of salvation and the history you have in Jesus with true faith, and that you ‘have passed from death to life’ and are saved now. But, unfortunately, as you rejoice and continue to live your daily Christian life, you notice that in practice your life is not yet holy and that you still disobey God from time to time. As a result you get discouraged and start to doubt that your conversion and faith is genuine.

In this case, what you need to know is that although your faith is true and even though you are a really converted person, it doesn’t mean that you will never sin. This is so because the Holy Spirit’s work of renewing and transforming your character is an ongoing, constant, continual, and progressive process which will last until your death or the second coming of Jesus.

Of course, Holy Spirit is able to change us immediately but according to God’s wise plan, the effectiveness of the transforming work of Holy Spirit in us depends on the strength and stability of our faith.

Unfortunately, our faith is not a law, it is not yet constant or stable. And that is why from time to time, especially when we go through painful experiences and get discouraged, the enemy of souls manages to weaken your faith and as a result you may fall again. This, however, doesn’t mean you become unsaved again! No, because the Bible says that we have already died with Jesus and were punished for all our sins (including the future ones). It means that if you truly accepted your salvation history you have in Christ, then you have been freed from the law (Romans 7:6). The law, therefore, doesn’t have power over you anymore, it can’t condemn you, punish you, nor tell you that the wages for your new sins is death! (Romans, 7:6; 8:1).

This fact, however, doesn’t mean that the law was nailed to the cross. No! The law is as holy as God is and it is immortal and therefore it couldn’t die! (Matthew 5:17-20 ; Romans 7:12 , 14). God suffers every time we disobey His holy law. And it is still His greatest desire that you submit your mind to Holy Spirit and through His power stop braking God’s ten holy Commandments!

But in order to achieve this goal first you need to understand and accept the wonderful freedom God already granted you in Christ! It wasn’t the law but you who was nailed with Jesus to the cross! (Romans 7:4). And for this very reason, because you died and was already punished according to the demands of this law for all your sins (including future ones), the law doesn’t have any reason now to bug you anymore! No law attempts to punish again a criminal who was already punished!

Apart from that, because through our death with Christ we had the legal right to divorce the law (Romans 7:1-4), who was our first ‘husband’, so now we are married to Jesus! And, what is marriage? Marriage is a union of two people who become one. It means that now we are in Jesus and He is in us. We are one with Him, and He is our holiness and our perfection!:
“But by God’s doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and holiness, and redemption” (1Corinthians 1:30).

For this reason, whenever the holy law looks at us it sees Christ in us and it sees us in Christ, and can’t condemn us anymore (Romans 8:1 ) as our Lord is always perfect, holy, and righteous in us and we are regarded as holy in Him!:
“If you accept Christ as your Saviour, then, sinful as your life may have been, you are accounted righteous. Christ’s character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned!” (Steps to Christ, The Test of Discipleship, p 62).

Let us say I am a converted Christian, but I haven’t yet learned to live by the Spirit continuously. And, even though I don’t want to sin and I gave my heart to Jesus, sometimes, especially when I go through some difficulties I get discouraged and I sin. Am I still under God’s grace after I sin? Or, as soon as I sin God puts me under the law and condemnation again, which means I am once more unsaved until I confess my sin? Do I remain saved in spite of my occasional sins, or any time I commit a new sin God allows the law to keep condemning me again until I truly confess it?

Unfortunately, the idea according to which true believers become condemned and unsaved again whenever they commit new sins until they confess them, has robbed many sincere believers of joy, peace, and assurance of salvation. But please do not misunderstand me, because I am not talking about unconverted actors, legalists, cheap grace type of Christians, fake believers, or those who keep on sinning against Holy Spirit. I am talking about a genuine and born again Christians who gave their hearts to God, but who sometimes sin as a result of difficulties, discouragement and temporarily weakened or wavering faith. Such Christians, even when they occasionally sin, they constantly stay under the umbrella of Christ righteousness, and nothing, including, devil, sin, nor second death can touch them! And, because of this they can enjoy constant peace with God, and have proper motivation to serve Him and confess their sins. They never do it because they are afraid to die, but because God’s goodness (God’s love) leads them to repentance (Romans 2.4).

By the way, this wonderful freedom we have in Christ was the only way God could deprive us of our selfish motivation in confessing our sins. If we do not experience this freedom we always tend to confess our wrongdoings out of fear of punishment or desire for reward, and this kind of confession can’t be accepted by God.

Have you ever heard about a mother who whenever her small child, who is learning to walk, falls gets angry and says: “I have enough of you falling every time you try to walk! Get out of my house!” No normal mother would treat her learning to walk child in this way, so how can we think that God whose love is much superior to any mother’s love, rejects and condemns us every time we fall while learning to walk by the Spirit? God knows that by nature we are accustomed to sin and that now we need time to exercise and develop our faith, and learn to trust and submit our will and mind to the Holy Spirit. For this reason our loving God is patient and waits in hope that we will keep on making progress in developing our faith and trust in His transforming power.

Cheap grace

The problem, however, starts when we – the disciples of Jesus – are learning to live by the Spirit and obey God’s holy commandments for ten, twenty, thirty or fifty years never making any progress and still keep on remaining only babies in Christ who continue coming to God with tears asking Him to change diapers or nappies again and again! Would you like changing nappies of a child for 20, 30, or 50 years? So, let us not use this wonderful truth of salvation in Christ to cover our unbelief, to condone repeating same sins or excuse our carelessness and unwillingness to strengthen our faith through prayers, communion with God, and studying His Word!

The wonderful good news according to which salvation is a free gift doesn’t mean that because as believers we are now being constantly covered by Christ’s holiness and therefore, the law can’t condemn us any longer (Romans 6:14 ; 7:6 ; 8:1) we can feel free to live according to the desires of our sinful natures.

One of the Bible commentaries says that if we, as Christians, feel at ease under sin, it means that the spirit which is in us does not come from the Holy Spirit! Such careless attitude only proves that this person hasn’t even yet accepted God’s gift of salvation, hasn’t yet experienced the new birth, and therefore is still deprived of the inward presence of Holy Spirit and agape love.

Nevertheless, whatever problems we experience as Christians, it is never God’s fault, but they are always the result of our unbelief, negligence or carelessness.

Salvation through faith alone

The Word of God makes it clear that all sinful human beings including you and me were already saved by God in Jesus two thousand years ago! It means that our salvation is an already accomplished and finished historic fact! We can’t improve on it and we can’t add anything to it. What we can do is to accept it through sincere faith and say “thank you Lord”. There are many Bible texts which prove that our salvation already took place on the cross and that it is a free gift from God waiting for every sinner to accept it through faith and enjoy:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16);

“For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s gift, so that no one can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8-9);

“God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses (sins) to them” (2Corinthians 5:19);

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, will not be condemned; and he has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24).

Unfortunately, those who are not acquainted with this truth, think that in order to be saved they first have to confess their sins, repent, turn from them, be good, and then if they also truly believe in Jesus they can be saved. But, if that is true then salvation wouldn’t be a free God’s gift anymore but it could be achieved by our own efforts, and our repentance. Such concept, however, according to the Bible, would be a heresy.

Because of this we need to answer the question, what according to God’s concept of salvation comes first, repentance or salvation?

According to apostle Paul not repentance but salvation comes first as he wrote that two thousand years ago, whether anybody repents or not, God already “was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses (sins) to them”! (2Corinthians 5:19).

It means that God already in His Son saved the whole world and forgave sins of all sinners, not only past but also present and future ones! There is no text in the Bible which says that through the cross of Christ God forgave us only our past sins or the sins we committed before our conversion. That is why in Romans 2:4 Paul made it clear that it is “the goodness of God which leads us to repentance”. So, it is not our repentance that is supposed to lead us to God’s goodness, acceptance, and forgiveness, but it is God’s goodness, His great love revealed in saving us sinners through Jesus which comes first and then when we experience this love it leads us to repentance!

There is a famous and true story about a stubborn slave who was bought at an auction by a rich man. Before and even after the slave was bought he kept on saying that he wouldn’t work for anyone. But as soon as the rich farmer who bought that stubborn slave told him that he paid for him not to force him to work for others but in order to set him free, then the same unwilling to work for others slave knelt down and said: ‘Sir, I will serve you for all my life!”

Likewise, also God deals with us in exactly the same way. He knew that by nature we tend to be proud, stubborn, self-righteous, and unwilling or even unable to live according to the principle of His self-sacrificing love. For this reason, therefore, He first paid for us with the precious blood of His Son (1Peter 1:18-19) and set us free from under the law (Romans 7:6) and condemnation (Romans 8:1). And only then, when we see this great love, we are touched, and with tears in our eyes we are willing to confess our sins and want to serve this wonderful God forever!

Besides, what is very important to God, now being saved we don’t want to serve Him and confess our sins out of fear anymore or in order to be saved, but because we have experienced His love and goodness. It means that now we are finally able to repeat the words of apostle Paul: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21); “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).

That is also the only way to the new birth experience, and true freedom from slavery to sin. If we first accept the historic fact of our salvation in Christ through genuine faith, then we experience the new birth, which means that since that time on Holy Spirit should dwell in us. And, although it doesn’t mean we are already free from our egocentric and corrupt nature, yet now the indwelling Holy Spirit can empower us, and enable us to control our old corrupt law of sin.

Living by the Spirit

The greatest desire of all converted and true believers who are already saved, forgiven, and who enjoy the constant and wonderful peace with God through faith in Jesus is now to stop sinning and hurting God with their misbehaviour, sins, and occasional signs of selfishness. They don’t want to do it anymore because they now love their wonderful God and know that He hates sin and suffers whenever they break His commandments. They don’t want to live this holy life in order to save themselves through it because they know they were already saved in Jesus on the cross and they accepted this gift which was waiting for them in God’s treasure house for over two thousand years. They desire to “follow the Lamb wherever He goes” out of love and appreciation, and also because now Holy Spirit, who dwells in them, creates in them this desire.

The problem, however, is that apart from the Holy Spirit they still possess the fallen nature including the law of sin or the principle of selfishness from which they will be set free only at the second coming of Jesus.

Unfortunately, many Christians, often make a painful mistake, and instead of submitting their minds to Holy Spirit and relying on His strength, they attempt to cope with this still existing in them law of sin using only their will power. And, whenever they try to live a holy life apart from Holy Spirit and through their own efforts sooner or later they go through the same painful experience apostle Paul described in Romans 7:15-25 . Pretending to be a Christian who didn’t yet understand the gospel formula of victorious life Paul wrote there that although he wanted to live a holy life yet he was not able to accomplish this goal because of the indwelling law of sin:

“For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? But, thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself (autos ego) serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin”.

When we read this passage we get the impression that according to Paul it was impossible for a Christian to live by the Spirit (to stop sinning). But, on the other hand, we know he couldn’t mean that as it would contradict his teaching concerning Christian obedience found in many other places. So what did he mean here in Romans 7:15-25 ?

When we read this part carefully and in the context, we realize that Paul only meant here that any sinful human being, including even a converted Christian, is not able to overcome the law of sin whenever he tries to do it apart from Holy Spirit, using only his will power. In other places of the New Testament, whenever Paul talks about Christian obedience to God he always vindicates the work of the Holy Spirit in believers, but here he never mentions even one word about Holy Spirit, although he speaks about Christian life! It is obvious, therefore, that he is talking about our own efforts to live a holy life without relying on the power of the Holy Spirit.

It has to be exactly what he meant because in the very next chapter of the same book of Romans he tells us a totally different story saying that, ”if by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the body, we will live” (Romans 8:13 ). Suddenly, what was impossible in Romans 7 becomes possible in Romans 8! Why? Because the Christian in Romans 7 tried to accomplish the victory in his own strength, but in Romans 8 he is suddenly victorious because now he does the same by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, or as a result of living by the Spirit!

This, however, means that if we want to stop hurting God, and start making fast progress in our attempts to live a holy life, we have to understand what does Paul’s expression “living by the Spirit” mean, and how to put it into practice. In Galatians 5:16 Paul tells us, “Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature”. He clearly states here that if we only learn to live by the indwelling Holy Spirit then we will be able to stop sinning! That is indeed a very good news, but in order to understand it we have to find out what this “living by the Spirit” is all about.

Through what part of the body does our sinful nature or the Spirit control us? The answer to this important question is found in Romans 8:5 :
“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires”.

It is your mind which is the battleground of constant war between the Spirit and your sinful nature (the law of sin in you)! The law of sin forces you to submit your mind to it and the Spirit is asking you to submit your mind to Him. So, what does the living by the Spirit mean according to this verse? It means to surrender our will to the Holy Spirit! It means to allow Holy Spirit to take over your mind and control your thoughts, your emotions and feelings! That is why it is so important to never rely on our own strength but every day in prayers we should surrender our minds and lives to Jesus asking for Holy Spirit to rule in us and control our thoughts! And, whenever you do it, thank God immediately for answering your prayer because it is according to His will and because He promised this to all who believe! This is, by the way, what does to ‘live by faith’ mean, and it is also the key to the victorious life.

But, first of all, please make sure that you are a truly converted believer as only such person is able to learn how to live by the Spirit, simply because, as it was previously explained, only those who truly accepted the gift of salvation, and as a result became born from the Spirit can enjoy the presence of the Third Person of the Godhead in them. How can we learn to live by someone who is still not even present in our life?

Now, if you are a really converted believer, the next truth you need to know is the fact that the Holy Spirit who dwells in you is much stronger than even the law of sin, which is also in you and which evil powers used to tempt you and knocked you down so many times in your former life! Holy Spirit already proved His superiority over the law of sin in the life of Christ who in spite of fighting against the same power never sinned, and never became selfish even in His mind. Our Lord gained total victory over the law of sin because throughout all His life His faith was unchangingly strong and because He always kept submitting His mind to the Holy Spirit who dwelled in Him.

However, if our Lord was able to live perfectly victorious life in the same nature we have, then we need to answer the question, why we don’t follow His example, in spite of the fact that the same power of Holy Spirit is available to us too? Why do we sometimes cease to live by the Spirit and instead of submitting our minds to the Holy Spirit we again, from time to time, submit our minds to our sinful natures? Why unlike Jesus we are not continuously living by the Spirit?

It is not so difficult to understand it when we take into consideration the fact that the law of sin which is in us we have by nature, and it is a constant force living in us and pulling us toward sin, but the law of the Spirit is a gift we have by faith. It means that the working of Holy Spirit in us depends on what? On our faith! But, is our faith always strong and stable? Unfortunately not, or not yet. Sometimes it gets weak, especially when like the disciples of Jesus in Gethsemane, we fall into spiritual sleep instead of watching and enjoying the living communion with God and Jesus who is our only source of spiritual strength and without whom we ‘can do nothing’ (John 15:5 ).

And, whenever we neglect to charge our spiritual batteries, and thus becoming unprepared to meet temptations, and difficulties or problems, we easily get discouraged. As a result our faith is weakened and we fall. For this reason, living by the Spirit is not only synonymous with submission of our mind to the Holy Spirit but it also means to live by faith! It is so because the working and effectiveness of Holy Spirit in us depends on our faith or our ability to accept His supervision.

That is why Paul tells us that “the just shall live by faith” (Romans 3:17 ). It means that those who are already justified by faith in Jesus and are regarded as just and saved, do not try now to live a holy life by their own strength, but instead they claim God’s promises of transforming their characters through the Holy Spirit. They believe in fulfilment of these promises with all their hearts, and already praise God for fulfilling them even before they see any evidence in their own lives! That is what does to live by faith mean.

Strengthening our faith

However, in order to be able to live like that, we need a strong and stable faith, the same faith our Lord had, and through which He overcame sin in our nature and in spite of powerful Satan’s temptations. For this reason Paul prompts us to „fight the good fight of the faith” (1Timothy 6:12 ). We need to exercise our faith, to take care of it, to use every provided by God opportunity to strengthen it by prayers, studying the Bible, participation in worship services, and prayer meetings, through sharing this wonderful good news of salvation in Jesus with other lost sinners, etc.

It is extremely important because, although this faith doesn’t save us, yet any gift or value we have from God as Christians we have it through faith. It means that as soon as we lose our faith we lose all God’s gifts too, including salvation. So, let us be wise, sober, watchful, and keep on ”fighting the good fight of faith”, remembering that according to Hebrews 6:4-6 we can always lose it, even though now we may be converted and feel strong in faith.

Also the book Steps to Christ warns us against spiritual carelessness and negligence of exercising our faith and gaining spiritual and moral strength through our daily communion with God:
“When Christ took human nature upon Him, He bound humanity to Himself by a tie of love that can never be broken by any power save the choice of man himself. Satan will constantly present allurements to induce us to break this tie – to choose to separate ourselves from Christ. Here is where we need to watch, to strive, to pray, that nothing may entice us to choose another master; for we are always free to do this” (Steps to Christ, 72).

When I was about 13 or 14-year-old boy, during one hot summer holiday I went to visit one of my sisters. Her husband was at that time one of the best goalkeepers in Poland and he actually played in Polish national football team. So, because he had a lot of money he gave me a pair of Adidas trainers as a gift. And I have to tell you that at that time Poland was under communism so only rich people could afford Adidas trainers. Besides, I myself loved football, so to me, it was a wonderful gift. I didn’t have to earn it, and even if I wanted I wasn’t able to pay for it as it was too expensive, and I didn’t even have any money. It was just a totally free gift. So, all I had to do in order to enjoy the gift was to accept it and say ‘thank you’. But! There was one more condition I had to fulfil in order to enjoy the gift permanently. I had to guard and protect it against thieves. And I tell you, there were many of them in communist Poland at that time. Being aware of that danger, the very next and hot summer day I put on my precious Adidas trainers and proudly went to a local swimming pool. As soon as I arrived, I took off the trainers and jumped into the water. And in spite of the fact that I was underwater for a very short time, yet as soon as I got out of the water I was horrified. My costly free gift was gone! I was looking for it in a panic trying very hard to find it with fear in my eyes but in vain. It was irretrievably lost and stolen by a cunning thief who probably followed me waiting until I left my trainers unwatched. As a result, I had to leave the swimming pool barefoot and very depressed. I am sure nowadays it is possible to find quite good and still usable shoes in local rubbish bins, but at that time in the very poor communism Poland all I could find was a pair of dirty, full of holes, very worn out, and way too big pair of old ugly shoes. I wasn’t very happy to publicly present myself wearing such footwear but had no choice as the pavement was too hot to walk barefoot, so finally I put on those filthy shoes and forced myself to slowly walk back home gloomy, depressed, and ashamed.

Our salvation from sin and eternal death is also a free gift which was already paid for and prepared for every hopeless and poor sinner two thousand years ago. It was also impossible for us to earn it because in order to buy it we would have to pay with perfect holiness and eternal death. For this reason, God already paid for it with the perfection and the precious blood (death) of His only Son. It is already done and because it is a totally free gift from our loving God, everything you can do is to accept it with a grateful heart. But! If you already accepted this most precious free gift there is still one more condition you have to meet in order to permanently enjoy it. Because you still live in the territory ruled by a most crafty and furious thief ever known you have to carefully guard, watch, and protect your gift and “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12 ). Why do you need to protect and to guard the salvation you already have in Christ? You need to guard it because you have it through faith. And can you lose your faith? O yes, you can! I myself know people who used to be Christians and even enjoyed salvation they received from God as a gift but in their carelessness they allowed their enemy to ruin their faith and steal their precious gift of eternal life. Satan was so successful in depriving them of faith that now most of them don’t even believe anymore that God exists. Like Esau who sold his birthright for a bowl of soup, they allowed the thief to steal their salvation and peace through their constant spiritual negligence. For this reason, and because you have the gift of everlasting life through faith you need to keep your faith as strong as possible. Be wise then and every day empower your faith through studying God’s Word, prayers, worshipping God, sharing faith with other believers, witnessing God’s great love, and constantly looking at Jesus.

Living in enemy territory

There is another important thing you need to understand if you already are or will become in the future a born again believer and follower of Christ. You need to keep in mind that spiritually you are no longer now a citizen of this world but you are a citizen of the Heavenly Kingdom (John 15:18-19). It means that you openly turned against the dominion of Satan’s sick ego.

Unfortunately, in spite of the fact, you will still have to live for a time in this sin-polluted and ruled by this selfish tyrant world. And, because you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour Satan and his evil angels will do their best to use any opportunity to make your life miserable in order to discourage you by tempting you to believe that God doesn’t love you anymore nor care for you. In this way the devil wants to ruin your faith, because by it you are saved, and because without this faith you won’t be able to live a new life.

Most of the time you will go through such difficulties, trials, and suffering as a result of your own carelessness and negligence of prayer and communion with your Lord, but sometimes God Himself will allow your enemy to tempt you and trouble you with difficulties and painful situations simply because it is through sufferings that God can develop your patience and faith in Him in spite of problems (Romans 5:3; James 1:3 ).

Apart from that, in this way, God also wants you to have a privilege to ‘participate in sufferings of your Saviour’: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10 ).

Yes, even as a true Christian you may and will experience temporary sufferings, but never give up on Jesus in spite of anything! Never become foolish enough to leave the One who is the only source of true peace, joy, and unimaginably beautiful and breath-taking eternal life, because as soon as you deliberately, wilfully, persistently and ultimately say ‘no’ to Christ, then there is another power which is eagerly waiting for the opportunity to enter you and control your mind, emotions, and your whole life (Matthew 12:45 ).

You will deceive yourself if you will ever think you can be your own master and live a totally independent life in this world. The truth is that you can either belong to Jesus or the devil, and there is no other option.

Recently I’ve read an interesting story which took place during the Civil War. It says about a certain fellow who decided to remain neutral and didn’t want to choose sides and fully join either of the two opposite armies. So in order to achieve his goal and reflect his point of view he put on grey pants and a blue shirt. As a result, both sides regarded him as a traitor or enemy and started to shoot at him.

If you reject God’s gift of freedom from condemnation and eternal death through Christ and refuse Jesus to be your Saviour and Lord, then God can’t save nor protect you anymore. At the same time, by doing this you may make devil satisfied for a time, and he may leave you alone. But, because he has fallen into his own trap of self-dependence and selfishness and as a result became a perfectly heartless, unpredictable, unreliable, cunning, brutal, insensitive, and cold-blooded murderer and sadist, he will not live you alone permanently. Sooner or later he will come to you again, enter and possess you together with other evil spirits (Matthew 12:45 ) thus making you his own slave and forcing you to fulfil his own selfish purposes. And, as soon as he uses and exploits you, and sees you are useless, he will do to you the same he did to Judas or millions of other poor sinful human beings who carelessly sold their souls to him for momentary and perishable fame, riches, popularity, and sensual pleasures.

So, please keep in mind that living in enemy territory you may experience many moments of moral and spiritual trials involving sufferings, all the more since your ‘fight of faith’ against the indwelling law of sin will continue until the glories time when our Lord returns (Matthew 24:30) and set you free from your sinful nature forever.

But until then you have been given a privilege to ‘share in Christ’s sufferings’ from time to time and to wrestle for Him out of love while being tempted and refusing to satisfy the desires of your ego through the power of Holy Spirit and through faith:
“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:16-17 ″;
“For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too” (2 Corinthians 1:5 ).

The love of God

Out of love and pity, the Son of God decided to suffer for you and take a great risk of even losing His eternal divine life when he assumed your and mine horrible representative sinful human nature in which we were so easily defeated by Satan so many times. If Jesus yielded to Satan’s temptations and only one time said ‘yes’ to the egocentric tendencies of our nature He bore, even if He allowed a one tiny unclean or selfish thought to conceive in His mind, He Himself would become eternally lost! And because He was our representative, His defeat would be also ours. But because He knew that without His perfect victory over our sinful nature He took we would be eternally lost, He took the risk and kept suffering for us every day being tempted in our fallen nature by the prince of darkness and the demonic forces:
“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:7-9 ).

The book Desire of Ages reveals this truth in the following and beautiful way:
“Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life. Satan in heaven had hated Christ for His position in the courts of God. He hated Him the more when he himself was dethroned. He hated Him who pledged Himself to redeem a race of sinners. Yet into the world where Satan claimed dominion God permitted His Son to come, a helpless babe, subject to the weakness of humanity. He permitted Him to meet life’s peril in common with every human soul, to fight the battle as every child of humanity must fight it, at the risk of failure and eternal loss. The heart of the human father yearns over his son. He looks into the face of his little child, and trembles at the thought of life’s peril. He longs to shield his dear one from Satan’s power, to hold him back from temptation and conflict. To meet a bitterer conflict and a more fearful risk, God gave His only Son that the path of life might be made sure for our little ones. Herein is love. Wonder, O heavens! And be astonished, O earth! (…) Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing (Revelation 5:12 )” (Desire of Ages, 49, 131).

But Jesus, by struggling against our representative corrupt nature and its inherent law of sin not only took the risk of losing His eternity, but He actually decided to ‘become a curse’ for you and me (Galatians 3:13 ), experiencing the second death and separation from His Father on the cross, and as a result, He died of a broken heart.

He loved His Father so much that when hanging on the cross with the burden of our cursed representative egocentric nature and all our sins He sensed that His Father departed from Him He experienced such awful and unbearable anguish and psychological torment that His heart broke. That was why Jesus died after only six hours of hanging on the cross while normally those who were crucified died after three to even seven whole days:

“It was not the spear thrust, it was not the pain of the cross that caused the death of Jesus. That cry, uttered ‘with a loud voice’ (Matt. 27:50; Luke 23:46 ), at the moment of death, and the stream of blood and water that flowed from His side, declared that He died of a broken heart. His heart was broken by mental anguish. He was slain by the sin of the world” (Desire of Ages, 772).

Some time ago I was listening to a sermon by Pastor Kenneth Cox who said that when he was on a trip to Jerusalem certain Jewish guide took him down to a cave which was exactly below the place where the temple was situated in Jerusalem. Today a Muslim mosque is standing there. And while they were in that cave the guide showed the pastor a long and deep crack going through the whole length of the rock on the top. And, he asked the pastor whether he knew what caused that crack. The pastor didn’t know so the guide told him that the crack was caused by an earthquake. And then he added something very interesting. He said that in Jerusalem there was only one earthquake reported in the history and this earthquake took place in the spring of 31 AD!

According to the Word of God, exactly in the spring of 31 AD, while hanging on the cursed cross Jesus Christ cried out, “It is finished!”, and died out of a broken heart. At the same time, the Bible says that an earthquake took place in Jerusalem and that the rocks were split:

“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised” (Matthew 27:50-52).

Jesus Christ is a real Person. He truly came to this sin-polluted dark world and was willing to suffer in our nature and become a curse for you, me, and for all lost sinful human beings. And it is so sad that although we know all this, yet we are still so often and so easily defeated in our battle against sin because we are not willing to accept God’s given privilege to participate in Christ’s sufferings. We refuse to suffer a little bit for Him being tempted because we don’t want sacrifice anything for God in the battle. Yes, we want to be victorious and overcome sin and we desire to master our corrupt nature, but we want it only if it comes easily and without any suffering. We are not willing to suffer for Christ even though the suffering we experience sometimes are so insignificant in compression with what our Lord went through for us. In this way, we demonstrate that we are not willing to give our hearts to Jesus, and this sad fact should inspire us to answer the following vital question:

“Do you feel that it is too great a sacrifice to yield all to Christ? Ask yourself the question, what has Christ given for me? The Son of God gave all – life and love and suffering – for our redemption. And can it be that we, the unworthy objects of so great love, will withhold our hearts from Him? He became sin for the race! But what do we give up, when we give all? A sin-polluted heart, for Jesus to purify, to cleanse by His own blood, and to save by His matchless love! And yet men think it hard to give up all! I am ashamed to hear it spoken of, ashamed to write it” (Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ).

Final word

Nevertheless, I hope that this glorious truth according to which by assuming your nature Christ took the real risk of losing His eternal life, as well as the mind-boggling fact that He decided to say goodbye to His eternal life for you, and finally that He was also willing to suffer for you so much that He died of a broken heart so that you could enjoy the wonderful eternal life, will be enough to inspire you to kneel down, give your whole heart to Him, and be more than willing to suffer for Him either being tempted and refusing to sin or going through difficulties and painful experiences you will encounter in your daily walk with Christ.

In summary, let me remind you once again, that in order to be victorious, first you need to truly accept Jesus as your only Saviour, and then submit your mind to the Holy Spirit every day in prayer, asking Him to take over and control your mind, your emotions and feelings. This is the only way to victory over our bad habits, addictions, stimulants, junk food, overeating, sedentary lifestyle, sexual abuse, and any other possible harmful, deep-rooted, and degrading weaknesses and aspects of our life.

Unfortunately, not too many lost people in this modern secular, deceived, lullabied, or hypnotized by evil forces world decide to choose this wonderful God’s way to freedom. I hope you won’t join the great majority of the careless crowd who choose the broad and comfortable way which ends up in everlasting death, but that instead, you will make a wise choice and at least give God a chance because nobody can be saved and delivered from the power of evil, sin, and death apart from Christ:

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Mat 7:13);

“You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (John 15:1-7 );

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20 ).

Finally, if you want to know more about this God’s wonderful plan of salvation as well as other great spiritual truths, please study the Word of God, always humbly asking for Holy Spirit to ‘guide you into all truth’. And if you need reliable aids and commentaries capable of helping you to understand the Bible better, I recommend to you especially, available online, books by Ellen G. White such as Steps to Christ, Desire of Ages, and Great Controversy, in which the whole plan of salvation is beautifully and faithfully presented including the prophetic events associated with the glorious return of our Lord.

Another excellent help and guide in your journey through God’s amazing good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ will be the writings, lectures, and sermons by my favourite preacher and theologian – Pastor E.H. Jack Sequeira, which you will find on YouTube and on his website: www.jacksequeira.org/jacklist.htm

“For this reason I kneel before the Father and pray … so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:14 – 19 ).

 

CONTENT

– NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS

Why We Need Nutritional Supplements

The Best Multivitamin & Mineral Supplement

Key Vitamins & Minerals

Most Powerful Antioxidants

– NATURAL REMEDIES

Most Effective Herbs

Activated Charcoal

Medicinal Clay

Other Remedies

External Remedies

Effective Water Treatments

– HEALING DIET

Super Foods

Recommended Foods

Eat Less or Avoid

Other Dietary Principles

Truth about Dairy

Bitter Truth about Chocolate

Truth about Caffeine

Truth about Meat

– HEALING RECIPES

Breakfast

Main Dishes

Desserts

Soups

Spreads

Salads

– HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Exercise

Rest & Sleep

Best Water to Drink

Sunlight

Contact with Nature

Other Principles

– MIND CURE

Humour & Laughter

Placebo Effect

Negative Thoughts Empower Addictions

Spending More Time in Nature and Exposing Body to the Sun Helps Being Positive

Power of Imagination

Why Imagination, Mental Attitudes and Emotions Can Influence the Body

Mind & Autoimmune Diseases

Recovery through Imagination

Fear & Bad Attitude Negatively Influence the Physiology of Human Body

Fear & Hematohidrosis

Christ & Hematohidrosis

Find Time to Enjoy Beauty & Always Express Good Emotions

Hatred & Unforgiveness – An Underlying Cause of Many Health Problems

The Way We Think Is Highly Tuneable

Do Not Neglect the Spiritual Aspect of Health

Loneliness vs Friendship with Higher Power

The Most Effective Way to Freedom from Negative Emotions

If He Cares About a Sparrow He Cares About You

Every Day Claim God’s Promises

Moral & Spiritual Strength

– CHILD HEALTH

Key Health Concerns Affecting Children

Why It Hasn’t Improved?

Key Nutrients Children Need Due to Deficiencies

Most Important Nutritional Considerations for Children

Nutritional Supplements for Children

– ALPHABETIC LIST OF HEALTH CONDITIONS WITH RECOMMENDED REMEDIES

– DANGEROUS HEALING METHODS BASED ON SPIRITISM

Healing in Charismatic Movement

New Age Medicine

Homeopathy

– ELLEN WHITE & HEALTH MESSAGE

– GOSPEL OF FREEDOM

 

Any information or product suggested on this website is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition. Never disregard medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. Consult your primary healthcare physician before using any supplements or making any changes to your regime.