Worship: For Heaven’s Sake Isaac and Rebekah gave birth to Jacob and Esau: twins. The twins struggled in the womb, representing that Jacob and Esau would become the head of two mighty nations. The younger Jacob, however, would have the preeminence. He signified it by grasping the heel of his elder brother at birth. (Read Genesis 24:21-23.) Esau, being the elder brother, naturally inherited the rights of the firstborn. The birthright, as it was called, gave Esau the best of what his father Isaac possessed, even a double portion. But Esau despised his birthright. (Read more below.)
Wellness: For Health’s Sake Pastor Flemons, a doctor of biblical wellness, discussed the second law of health in the REFRESHING Way lifestyle as it relates to the health of the digestive system. We are what we eat. It is true. (Read more below.)
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TOPICS THIS WEEK
Worship: January 15 – The Marriage of Isaac; January 16 – Jacob and Esau; January 17 – Jacob’s Flight and Exile; January 18 – The Night of Wrestling; January 19 – The Return to Canaan; January 20 – Joseph in Egypt; January 21 – Joseph and His Brothers [All topics per Patriarchs and Prophets by Ellen G. White]
Wellness: THE REFRESHING WAY LIFESTYLE FOR THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM January 15 – 21
NEXT RETREAT: February 20-March 9, 2017.
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Words of Encouragement
Genesis 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
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For Heaven’s Sake…
Esau so despised his birthright that he sold it to Jacob for a pot of lentils. Immediately, he felt relief with a sense of freedom to do whatever he was inclined. The birthright had come with too many restrictions and responsibilities for him.
Both Jacob and Esau had been “taught to regard the birthright as a matter of great importance, for it included not only an inheritance of worldly wealth but spiritual pre-eminence. He who received it was to be the priest of his family, and in the line of his posterity the Redeemer of the world would come. On the other hand, there were obligations resting upon the possessor of the birthright. He who should inherit its blessings must devote his life to the service of God. Like Abraham, he must be obedient to the divine requirements. In marriage, in his family relations, in public life, he must consult the will of God.” (PP 177.3)
Esau was wholly unfit for the demands of the birthright, and he refused to be molded for its inheritance. Jacob was also unconverted. But he understood both the privileges and responsibilities that came with the birthright. And, he longed for it.
“Esau had no love for devotion, no inclination to a religious life. The requirements that accompanied the spiritual birthright were an unwelcome and even hateful restraint to him. The law of God, which was the condition of the divine covenant with Abraham, was regarded by Esau as a yoke of bondage. Bent on self-indulgence, he desired nothing so much as liberty to do as he pleased. To him power and riches, feasting and reveling, were happiness. He gloried in the unrestrained freedom of his wild, roving life. Rebekah remembered the words of the angel, and she read with clearer insight than did her husband the character of their sons. She was convinced that the heritage of divine promise was intended for Jacob. She repeated to Isaac the angel’s words; but the father’s affections were centered upon the elder son, and he was unshaken in his purpose.PP 178.1
“Jacob had learned from his mother of the divine intimation that the birthright should fall to him, and he was filled with an unspeakable desire for the privileges which it would confer. It was not the possession of his father’s wealth that he craved; the spiritual birthright was the object of his longing. To commune with God as did righteous Abraham, to offer the sacrifice of atonement for his family, to be the progenitor of the chosen people and of the promised Messiah, and to inherit the immortal possessions embraced in the blessings of the covenant—here were the privileges and honors that kindled his most ardent desires. His mind was ever reaching forward to the future, and seeking to grasp its unseen blessings.PP 178″
This Jacob did. He grasped the birthright with the deceptive strategy suggested by his mother. To his blind and aged and dying father, Jacob pretended to be his brother. Isaac pronounced the irrevocable birthright to the younger son. From that very hour, trouble began for Jacob, who had to escape for his life. Esau, although already sold out to the heathen lifestyle, was enraged. Jacob had regrettably obeyed his mother’s sinful suggestion, rather than trust God to somehow deliver the birthright to him. Jacob never saw his parents again.
“Because of his indifference to the divine blessings and requirements, Esau is called in Scripture “a profane person.” Verse 16. He represents those who lightly value the redemption purchased for them by Christ, and are ready to sacrifice their heirship to heaven for the perishable things of earth. Multitudes live for the present, with no thought or care for the future. Like Esau they cry, “Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.” 1 Corinthians 15:32. They are controlled by inclination; and rather than practice self-denial, they will forgo the most valuable considerations. If one must be relinquished, the gratification of a depraved appetite or the heavenly blessings promised only to the self-denying and God-fearing, the claims of appetite prevail, and God and heaven are virtually despised. How many, even of professed Christians, cling to indulgences that are injurious to health and that benumb the sensibilities of the soul. When the duty is presented of cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, they are offended. They see that they cannot retain these hurtful gratifications and yet secure heaven, and they conclude that since the way to eternal life is so strait, they will no longer walk therein.PP 181.3
“Multitudes are selling their birthright for sensual indulgence. Health is sacrificed, the mental faculties are enfeebled, and heaven is forfeited; and all for a mere temporary pleasure—an indulgence at once both weakening and debasing in its character. As Esau awoke to see the folly of his rash exchange when it was too late to recover his loss, so it will be in the day of God with those who have bartered their heirship to heaven for selfish gratifications.PP 182.1″ (Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, selected paragraphs, pp 177.3 – 182.1)
(Read Genesis 25:19-24; and chapter 27. Also read the chapter “Jacob and Esau” in Patriarchs and Prophets by Ellen G. White.)
For Health’s Sake…
Eating healthy is not all about the food we eat, though, says Pastor Flemons. It is also about how we eat food that is important. We must masticate our food until the food is liquid. In this way, you drink your food and better prepare the foods for proper digestion. Inadequately chewed chunks of food dumped into the system for digestion is harmful to the delicate lining of the digestive tract and creates a burden for the stomach. Chewing thoroughly is a must.
Eating the flesh of dead animals as food also causes a burden on the digestive system. The concentrated protein of animals is harder to digest. The stomach has to increase the digestive acids to accomplish the feat. The extra acids negatively affect the stomach lining, causing gastritis, ulcers and acid reflux.
Eating refined foods, like sugar, white flour and white flour products, causes constipation, which is the mother of all diseases. Because refined foods don’t have fiber, the inner walls of the colon cannot be stimulated for peristalsis or movement of the bowels. With the inactivity, therefore, the walls of the colon become weakened and susceptible to diverticulitis.
Also because the waste just sits in the colon for an extended period, the whole transit time is slowed and foods remain also in the stomach too long. Again, this leads to gastritis, ulcers and acid reflux. In addition, constipation sets the stage for colorectal cancers and inflammatory bowel disease.
It is best to eat nuts, grains, fruits, and vegetables: the diet of the Bible. They contain all the essential nutrients the body requires, including protein and fat and vitamins and minerals. They are higher in fiber, which promotes normal peristalsis. A good diet also strengthens the immune system. Autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, are the result of a weak and confused immune system, which attacks itself.
Refined foods contain too much starch and simple sugars, which overburdens the pancreas. Protoenzymes are overly produced to digest the excessive simple sugars. They do not move into the small intestine quickly enough before becoming activated. Once activated, they begin digesting the pancreas itself.
Also, eating too much sugary foods create an alcoholic environment in the digestive tract. The fermentation causes the liver to become cirrhotic. Too much sugar can cause liver cirrhosis in people who do not drink alcohol.
Eating healthy promotes a healthy digestive system and helps avoid acid and inflammatory issues of the bowels and cancers.