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Worship: For Heaven’s Sake Jesus and His disciples ministered to the needs of so many people that they hardly rested or took the time to eat. (Read more below.)
Wellness: For Health’s Sake Pastor Flemons, a doctor of biblical wellness, continued discussing the REFRESHING Way lifestyle and its therapeutic value in protecting the endocrine system. He focused on self-control and how it protects vital force. (Read more below.)
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FaceBook – Here’s Your “You Need a Vacation” Scripture (Come Rest Awhile)
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TOPICS THIS WEEK – June 18 – June 24
Worship Sunday – Who Are My Brethren? – Monday – The Invitation; Tuesday – Peace, Be Still; Wednesday – The Touch of Faith; Thursday – The First Evangelists; Friday – Come Rest Awhile; Saturday, the Sabbath – Give Ye Them to Eat [All topics per Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White.]
Wellness Sunday – US Hospitals Still Using Too Many Antibiotics; Monday – Stop Stressing Jesus Out; Tuesday – How Diet Affects the Endocrine System; Wednesday – Fresh Air, Rest and the Endocrine System; Thursday – Exercise and the Endocrine System; Friday – Self-Control and the Endocrine System
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Words of Encouragement
1 John 1:1-3 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
1 John 3:2-3 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
For Heaven’s Sake…
“The people were thronging after Christ, anxious to be healed, and eager to listen to His words. Many felt drawn to Him; for He seemed to them to be the fountain of all blessings. . . . DA 359.3
“But now Christ longed for retirement, that He might be with His disciples; for He had much to say to them. In their work they had passed through the test of conflict, and had encountered opposition in various forms. Hitherto they had consulted Christ in everything; but for some time they had been alone, and at times they had been much troubled to know what to do. They had found much encouragement in their work; for Christ did not send them away without His Spirit, and by faith in Him they worked many miracles; but they needed now to feed on the Bread of Life. They needed to go to a place of retirement, where they could hold communion with Jesus and receive instruction for future work. DA 360.1
“‘And He said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile.’ Christ is full of tenderness and compassion for all in His service. He would show His disciples that God does not require sacrifice, but mercy. They had been putting their whole souls into labor for the people, and this was exhausting their physical and mental strength. It was their duty to rest. DA 360.3
“As the disciples had seen the success of their labors, they were in danger of taking credit to themselves, in danger of cherishing spiritual pride, and thus falling under Satan’s temptations. A great work was before them, and first of all they must learn that their strength was not in self, but in God. Like Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, like David among the hills of Judea, or Elijah by the brook Cherith, the disciples needed to come apart from the scenes of their busy activity, to commune with Christ, with nature, and with their own hearts. DA 360.3
“Near Bethsaida, at the northern end of the lake, was a lonely region, now beautiful with the fresh green of spring, that offered a welcome retreat to Jesus and His disciples. For this place they set out, going in their boat across the water. Here they would be away from the thoroughfares of travel, and the bustle and agitation of the city. The scenes of nature were in themselves a rest, a change grateful to the senses. Here they could listen to the words of Christ without hearing the angry interruptions, the retorts and accusations of the scribes and Pharisees. Here they could enjoy a short season of precious fellowship in the society of their Lord. DA 361.2
“The rest which Christ and His disciples took was not self-indulgent rest. The time they spent in retirement was not devoted to pleasure seeking. They talked together regarding the work of God, and the possibility of bringing greater efficiency to the work. The disciples had been with Christ, and could understand Him; to them He need not talk in parables. He corrected their errors, and made plain to them the right way of approaching the people. He opened more fully to them the precious treasures of divine truth. They were vitalized by divine power, and inspired with hope and courage. DA 361.3
“Though Jesus could work miracles, and had empowered His disciples to work miracles, He directed His worn servants to go apart into the country and rest. When He said that the harvest was great, and the laborers were few, He did not urge upon His disciples the necessity of ceaseless toil, but said, ‘Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.’ Matt. 9:38. God has appointed to every man his work, according to his ability (Eph. 4:11-13), and He would not have a few weighted with responsibilities while others have no burden, no travail of soul. DA 361.4
“Christ’s words of compassion are spoken to His workers today just as surely as they were spoken to His disciples. “Come ye yourselves apart, . . . and rest awhile,” He says to those who are worn and weary. It is not wise to be always under the strain of work and excitement, even in ministering to men’s spiritual needs; for in this way personal piety is neglected, and the powers of mind and soul and body are overtaxed. Self-denial is required of the disciples of Christ, and sacrifices must be made; but care must also be exercised lest through their overzeal Satan take advantage of the weakness of humanity, and the work of God be marred. DA 362.1
“No other life was ever so crowded with labor and responsibility as was that of Jesus; yet how often He was found in prayer! How constant was His communion with God! Again and again in the history of His earthly life are found records such as these: ‘Rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.’ ‘Great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. And He withdrew Himself into the wilderness, and prayed.’ ‘And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.’ Mark 1:35; Luke 5:15, 16; 6:12. DA 362.3
“In a life wholly devoted to the good of others, the Saviour found it necessary to withdraw from the thoroughfares of travel and from the throng that followed Him day after day. He must turn aside from a life of ceaseless activity and contact with human needs, to seek retirement and unbroken communion with His Father. As one with us, a sharer in our needs and weaknesses, He was wholly dependent upon God, and in the secret place of prayer He sought divine strength, that He might go forth braced for duty and trial. In a world of sin Jesus endured struggles and torture of soul. In communion with God He could unburden the sorrows that were crushing Him. Here He found comfort and joy. DA 362.4
(This study is based on Matthew 14:1, 2, 12, 13; Mark 6:30-32; Luke 9:7-10; and chapter 38, “Come Rest Awhile” in The Desire of Ages (DA), by Ellen G. White.)
For Health’s Sake. . .
Vital force is the electrical energy of the nervous system that composes life. It is life. When your God-given vital force is used up, you die.
Great care, therefore, should be taken to preserve it. If it is abused through excesses or reckless use, it suffers. Tomorrow’s life energy is borrowed just to live for today. Living on borrowed capital today robs life from future demands. It will finally fail. This is why it is possible to die before your time or before the time God had intended. He has granted to us vital force–life. It is up to us to use the manual of life–the Bible–to best preserve it.
That is where self-control or temperance comes in. It is abstaining from all things harmful and doing only in moderation those things that are good. For instance, work or labor is good, but not constant work with no rest. That destroys the body. Sex within a marriage is good, but not without adequate periods of abstinence for the body to recover. Likewise, eating healthy food is good. But eating healthy food is unhealthy when it is eaten all day long without the required digestive time of five hours between meals. That is overeating. It is gluttony.
Several Bible texts associate gluttony with drunkenness. Drinking alcohol raises the blood sugar too high and places a burden on the thyroid gland. The metabolism is changed. The pituitary gland is thrown off. The adrenal glands are overworked.
Isaiah 65:8 is clear that the wine good for consumption is that which is still in its cluster. Grapes are found in clusters. Its juice is that recommended for the stomach in 1 Timothy 5:23, “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.” Otherwise, when it is fermented, stay away from it. In fact, King Solomon describes the drunkenness that results from its use. (See Proverbs 23:29-35.) It brings sadness and sorrow. It causes arguments and foolish babbling and red eyes. It causes you to gaze long at strange women and say perverse things. Even when you lie down, you feel as unsteady as the sea. When you sleep it off, you are driven to go back for more. Self-control is weakened or lost.
Similarly smoking wreaks havoc to the system. It is an addiction that irritates the adrenal glands. It causes nervousness, even when it seems to mask the nervous energy immediately after use. The seeming calm is only very temporary. Then the shakes begin again. Still, the smoker keeps smoking, until maybe the body is so broken that breathing becomes life’s greatest challenge with lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), or emphysema. Long before it gets to that point, however, it may be helpful to know that “one component of tobacco smoke is cyanide, which is converted into thiocyanate, which acts as an anti-thyroid agent, directly inhibiting iodide uptake and hormone synthesis.” VeryWell.com has an article that discusses the relationship between smoking and thyroid disease.
“The REFRESHING Way lifestyle helps us be free from most of our diseases,” says Pastor Flemons. And one vital part of the REFRESHING Way lifestyle is exercising self-control. The R is relying on God. The E is eat healthy. The F is fresh air. The second R is rest. The second E is exercise. The S is self-control. The H is H2O, water. The I is in the sun. The N is never giving up. And the G is giving to others.