Letters From Grandpa #329

LETTERS FROM GRANDPA

• 329

Dearest grandchild,

Today’s letter will deal with your personal health. Those who obey our Heavenly Father are healthier than those who do not. Please consider: “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Cor. 6:18-20). According to Health Day News there are over 110 million people with STDs in the United States and 20 million more victims every year.

Doctors S.I. McMillen and David Stern have written a best selling book None of These Diseases. Over a million copies have been sold. The book is built around this verse from the Bible: “If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you” (Ex. 15:26).

The Hebrews had lived in Egypt for over 400 years. The Ebers Paprus is an Egyptian medical book dated at 1,500 B.C. This is precisely the era in which Moses led the people of God out of Egypt. The medical remedies recommended by Egyptian doctors at that time were themselves sources of infection and death. To remove a splinter, for example, they recommended a salve of worm blood and donkey dung. Other prescriptions involved “statue dust, beetle shells, mouse tails cat hair pig eyes dog toes, breast milk, human semen, eel eyes, and goose guts”. While “Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” (Acts 7:22) he wisely listened to God and not Egyptian doctors when it came to matters of health.

The book is 285 pages long and is filled with Biblical references to how the Bible promotes good health. We will list only a few of many illustrations found in the book:

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Leprosy is a horrible disease that has killed millions. As late as the 1700s an epidemic of leprosy raged in Norway. They erroneously assumed leprosy was hereditary and therefore had no fear of contact with lepers. In fact, lepers specialized in door to door sales. It was not until they went to the Bible and discovered that lepers were to be quarantined was the scourge brought under control (Lev. 13:46).

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In the 1800s one out of every six women died in childbirth in the best hospitals in Europe. The reason for this high mortality rate is that doctors began their day by performing autopsies and then, without even washing their hands, they proceeded to make pelvic examinations on expectant mothers. The Bible commands, however, that anyone who has touched a dead body is unclean for seven days (Nu. 19:11). Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis solved the problem by merely demanding that doctors wash their hands in a chlorine solution. They refused to do so and even had him fired. In fact, Dr. Semmelweis. was even sent to an insane asylum.

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Also in the 1800s thousands in England were dying of Cholera. The average life span of a poor man in those days was only 22 years. The problem was contamination from their sewage. Again, the Bible provided the answer. God commanded the Hebrews to go outside of the camp and dig a hole to relieve themselves. Then they were to take a shovel and cover up their excrement (Deut. 23:12,13). When they properly disposed of their sewage the plague was stopped.

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We now know that alcohol poisons every organ in our body. One in five alcoholics develops partial paralysis or permanent pain. Alcohol damages your nerves, liver, heart, and brain. Fetal alcohol syndrome also poisons unborn babies. Alcohol is a leading cause of impotence and is frequently involved in death on the highways. The Bible, of course, is filled with warnings against strong drink such as Proverbs 23:19-21; 29-34. It is always wise to obey God! •

It has long been accepted that it is wrong to smoke in a church house. Smokers therefore often stand on the front steps to light up. As we mentioned earlier, however, your body is the real temple of God, not a church building. We now know that smoking not only causes cancer, but also emphysema, heart trouble, and other health problems. Children can be poisoned inside of the womb if their mother smokes, and outside of the womb by second hand smoke.

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AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases kill millions. Take herpes, for example. During the sexual revolution of the 60’s genital herpes infections increased by 500,000 every year. Since there are over 100 strains of the disease someone coined the expression: “Love may last for only a night, but herpes is forever”.

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• Some consider Arteriosclerosis as public enemy
• 1. It kills 4 out of 10 Americans and robs society of $260 billion every year. The Bible not only recommends a healthy diet and exercise, but also provides help in the elimination of stress. Stress raises your cholesterol, insulin, and blood sugar levels, but the Bible promises “perfect peace” to those who trust in the Lord (Is. 26:3).

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Dr. McMillen tells of a doctor who lived in Barnesborough, PA 100 years ago. The doctor quit church, bashed religion, and physically abused his wife and children. He had one son whom he didn’t even name. At the age of eight the boy named himself Sim Isocrates. When his daughter Oneida became a Christian the father exploded in anger and said he never wanted to see her again. She left! At the age of 55 the unbelieving doctor became deathly ill and died. His Christian daughter, Oneida, lovingly cared for him during the last days of his life.

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When her younger brother, Sim, discovered that the source of her love was Jesus Christ he also became a Christian. He also wanted to be a doctor and paid his own way through college and medical school. Then he went to Africa as a missionary, built a hospital there, and discovered a cure for a fatal children’s disease named “noma”. He never took credit for his medical accomplishments and frequently would say: “I hate to think where I would be without Jesus”. His unbelieving father died at 55, but this Christian doctor lived well into his nineties. His name is Dr. S.I. McMillen and this information about his father is taken from the book he wrote: “None of These Diseases”.

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce