As you read these words, your chest is softly, rhythmically, and automatically rising and falling as air enters into and exits your lungs. You probably weren’t even consciously aware of this until I called your attention to it. Yet without this intake of air, which contains a percentage of oxygen, your physical life would come to an abrupt end.
In the Bible we read these words in Genesis 2:7 concerning the creation of man:
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the BREATH OF LIFE: and man became a living soul.”Clearly, God used two separate and distinct steps in the creation of man. First, He formed man of “the dust of the ground”. At death, when a body is placed in the ground, it eventually decomposes to the same ingredients from which man was originally formed — mineral ash or “dust of the ground”. At creation, after step one in the creation of man, God had nothing but a dead, lifeless body to work with – similar to what we see when we visit a funeral home and look into that open casket at that lifeless body. We do see a body, but it is motionless, it is devoid of LIFE!
The Difference Between Life and Death
Answering that question brings us to the most basic and important substance in man’s body, the substance so necessary that life without it cannot be sustained; an ingredient of such monumental importance that without it, life is absolutely impossible — OXYGEN. After God had formed the physical body of that first man from the “dust of the ground”, the Bible says He breathed into that dead and lifeless body He had just formed the “breath of life" and that dead and lifeless body sprang to life! Well, just as oxygen was an absolute necessity to produce life in the body of Adam, it is that same oxygen that is imperative to sustain life in our bodies in the present day. Every physical body that came into this world during the past 6,000 years has required oxygen for the sustaining of its life. At birth, a child's very first and most immediate need if life is to continue is – you guessed it – oxygen! The very same oxygen God breathed into Adam that made it possible for his body to become alive! Breathing in oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide continues from birth throughout life, and most of the time we're not even aware of it. Yet, if our oxygen supply were to be cut off for only a few seconds, we would quickly become acutely aware of our need for oxygen; without oxygen, death soon follows. If a person finds themselves in a smoke-filled room, they will automatically and very urgently seek fresh air as the body expresses an urgent need for oxygen — if the lungs cannot obtain fresh air containing oxygen fairly quickly, the body soon suffocates and death quickly follows. Why? – Because the oxygen supply has been shut off. How Smoking Affects Oxygen Intake Smoking slowly but surely cuts off a person’s oxygen intake as the tars in the smoke slowly build up on the lining of the lungs. After a person has smoked for a period of time, their lungs take on the appearance of the inside of a wood stove chimney that is lined with black, sticky creosote. This coating of the lungs with these tars restricts the intake of oxygen and the person slowly but surely suffocates the body’s cells, depriving them of their most important need – oxygen! And if that isn’t bad enough, tobacco smoke also contains carbon monoxide, the same deadly substance found in automobile exhaust. The carbon monoxide in the cigarette smoke combines with the hemoglobin in the blood and reduces its oxygen carrying capacity. This decrease in oxygen causes the heart to pump faster to try and make up for the deficiency, constricts blood vessels, thus creating poor circulation and there is much more. If you are a smoker and love life, please STOP smoking right now! And yes, you can stop smoking if you really want to. Thousands of other people are quitting every day. The Bible says “I can do ALL things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Galatians 4:13). That verse doesn’t mean God will intercede and do it for you by simply asking Him to do so in prayer. If you desire the victory you must do more than pray – you must take note of the first three words of that verse, take them to heart, and apply them. When the bible says “I can do . . .” it means that you must participate if you want the victory. In other words, God is not going to do it for you. If you want the victory over smoking you must determine in your heart that you desperately want to quit. If you will do your part, then God will do his part in strengthening you so you can achieve the victory.We Have Almost Complete Control Over Our Health
The quality of the air we breathe along with the quality of the foods we supply the body with, along with the adequacy and efficiency of the body’s waste disposal system, determines the quality of the over one hundred trillion cells that comprise our body, but it also determines our health, and length of life. While it is true “. . . . it is appointed unto men once to die . . . .” (Hebrews 9:27), it is not true that God is saying here that God has pre-determined a time for each individual person to die. Rather all it is saying is that every human must die at some point. The only exception to this earthly death is for those who happen to still be alive on planet earth when Jesus returns. When Jesus returns for His own, the Bible tells us “the dead in Christ will rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (I Thessalonians 4:16) So, in reality, most of the time we have complete control over how long we will live on planet earth (barring accident), and how healthy we will be during this earthly journey. Few people realize that they have almost complete control over whether they get sick or not, how healthy they will be, and how long they will live.Is Sickness Necessary?
Sickness in the body can take many forms. Most people think of cancer, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, arthritis, the flu, colds, headaches, pimples, etc., as problems that are normal and unavoidable. People with these physical and even emotional problems have been programmed to believe that these problems were because of some bug, germ or virus that had invaded their body. Or that their problem was inherited, or fate, or it was “God’s will”, or, or, or... My friend, except on rare occasions, none of these are the real cause of the physical or psychological problems being experienced. Sickness, in whatever form it manifests, is almost always the result of failing to provide our cells with proper building materials and/or failing to adequately remove the toxic wastes from our body. Sadly, our society has been programmed into thinking we can put any old garbage we want into our bodies, abuse our bodies, neglect our bodies and then when our bodies break down, all we have to do is run to a doctor who will give us a pill and in a few days everything will be all right. My friend, it just doesn’t work that way and man is realizing this truth a little more with each passing day. Sadly, the majority of people think that if they have health insurance, that is the most important thing. But health insurance has nothing to do with health! Health insurance has nothing to do about your being healthy. Doctors do not have the answers to the physical problems people experience; nor do health insurance, government programs, the Affordable Care Act, or all the money in the world! Only we each as individuals have that power. If we want to experience life here on earth to the fullest and as God intended, we must each one of us, take control of our own health, and observe God’s natural laws. When these natural and biblical laws are observed, sickness rarely manifests! When these laws are violated we can expect sickness. It is the natural law of sowing and reaping! Whenever we start to experience a physical breakdown, such as a cold, sore throat, upset stomach, pimples, headaches or something more serious like cardiovascular problems, heart attack, stroke, arthritis, diabetes or cancer, we need to ask the question: “What did I do or fail to do that caused this problem to develop? Which of God’s Natural Laws did I violate? What did I do to help cause this problem?” Fortunately, in most instances, when we eliminate the CAUSE of the physical or psychological problem, and give the body the proper fuel in the form of oxygen and nutrients, healing will usually follow naturally and usually quite quickly.Why Oxygen Is So Important
In my first book, “Why Christians Get Sick”, I list “God’s Seven Natural Laws” for wellness. In that list I make this statement: “The greatest need of the body is ‘pure air’”. Before we close this article let’s look at some additional facts about oxygen:- The quality of the air (its purity) we breathe affects the quality and length of the life we live. Breathing good clean air increases the quality and length of our life! Breathing unclean air decreases the quality and length of our life!
- Increase the supply of oxygen to the brain (through exercise, deep breathing, and raw foods) will cause mental abilities to increase and the brain to become more alive and alert. Decrease the supply of oxygen to the brain (through smoking, air pollution, a sedentary lifestyle and a cooked food diet) and the brain’s mental abilities decrease and become sluggish. Cut off the oxygen to the brain for only a few moments (as during a stroke) and parts of the brain will die. Decrease the oxygen containing blood supply to the heart and a heart attack results, and if totally shut off to the heart or brain the person will die.
- Increase the supply of oxygen to the body’s cells and the body becomes full of energy and life! Decrease the supply of oxygen to the cells and the body fails to provide the energy necessary to perform properly, and we feel tired, sluggish and listless.
- An increase in the supply of oxygen to the brain’s cells helps us mentally and emotionally, and we become happy and optimistic! Decrease the supply of oxygen to the body’s cells and we become discouraged, depressed and pessimistic!
- Increase the supply of oxygen to the body’s cells and sickness has difficulty obtaining a foothold! Decrease the supply of oxygen to the body’s cells and it provides the feeding/breeding ground for sickness. Sickness and disease have great difficulty surviving in a well oxygenated atmosphere, but proliferate in an atmosphere deficient of oxygen.
Next week, the good Lord willing and if the creeks don’t rise too high we will return with another exciting issue of the Hallelujah Acres Health Tip. Trust you will join us and that you will share these Health Tips with friends and loved ones.