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Worship: For Heaven’s Sake The brothers of Jesus had heard many alarming things about Jesus. The Pharisees had charged Jesus with casting out devils through the power of Satan. They knew it wasn’t true. But they had to protect their own reputations. The brothers of Jesus were so alarmed that they felt they had to persuade Jesus to behave Himself. (Read more below.)
Wellness: For Health’s Sake Pastor Flemons, a doctor of biblical wellness, discussed the dangers of using medicinal antibiotics and offered suggestions for using nature’s antibiotics. (Read more below.)
(NOTE: Before following any advice given here, please read our disclaimer on this page.)
Special Prayer was offered for a call-in listener: Norma Zayas (Clark) family. Please for the Zayas – Clark family during their time of bereavement. Norma’s mother-in-law has passed.
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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
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Words of Encouragement
Psalm 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
Luke 6:47-48 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
For Heaven’s Sake…
The brothers of Jesus decided to induce their mother, Mary, to help them convince Jesus of the error of His ways. They could not afford to be thought of as being in league with such behavior. So they set out with Mary to meet with Jesus.
For a second time, Jesus was charged with casting out devils through the prince of devils. He had healed a man possessed, blind and dumb. This time, Jesus had a lesson for the Pharisees that is still a critical lesson for everyone to really understand.
Saying that the work of the Holy Spirit is the work of Satan is to cut off oneself from the fountain of divine blessing.
“Those who had spoken against Jesus Himself, not discerning His divine character, might receive forgiveness; for through the Holy Spirit they might be brought to see their error and repent. Whatever the sin, if the soul repents and believes, the guilt is washed away in the blood of Christ; but he who rejects the work of the Holy Spirit is placing himself where repentance and faith cannot come to him. It is by the Spirit that God works upon the heart; when men willfully reject the Spirit, and declare It to be from Satan, they cut off the channel by which God can communicate with them. When the Spirit is finally rejected, there is no more that God can do for the soul. DA 321.3
“The Pharisees to whom Jesus spoke this warning did not themselves believe the charge they brought against Him. There was not one of those dignitaries but had felt drawn toward the Saviour. They had heard the Spirit’s voice in their own hearts declaring Him to be the Anointed of Israel, and urging them to confess themselves His disciples. In the light of His presence they had realized their unholiness, and had longed for a righteousness which they could not create. But after their rejection of Him it would be too humiliating to receive Him as the Messiah. Having set their feet in the path of unbelief, they were too proud to confess their error. And in order to avoid acknowledging the truth, they tried with desperate violence to dispute the Saviour’s teaching. The evidence of His power and mercy exasperated them. They could not prevent the Saviour from working miracles, they could not silence His teaching; but they did everything in their power to misrepresent Him and to falsify His words. Still the convicting Spirit of God followed them, and they had to build up many barriers in order to withstand its power. The mightiest agency that can be brought to bear upon the human heart was striving with them, but they would not yield. DA 322.1
“It is not God that blinds the eyes of men or hardens their hearts. He sends them light to correct their errors, and to lead them in safe paths; it is by the rejection of this light that the eyes are blinded and the heart hardened. Often the process is gradual, and almost imperceptible. Light comes to the soul through God’s word, through His servants, or by the direct agency of His Spirit; but when one ray of light is disregarded, there is a partial benumbing of the spiritual perceptions, and the second revealing of light is less clearly discerned. So the darkness increases, until it is night in the soul. Thus it had been with these Jewish leaders. They were convinced that a divine power attended Christ, but in order to resist the truth, they attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. In doing this they deliberately chose deception; they yielded themselves to Satan, and henceforth they were controlled by his power.” DA 322.2
So eager were the brothers of Jesus to be in good standing with the Pharisees that “they freely condemned that which they could not understand.” They made life for Jesus an added burden. Their words wounded His heart and tortured His sensitive nature. “Their reproaches probed Him to the quick, and His soul was wearied and distressed. They avowed faith in God, and thought they were vindicating God, when God was with them in the flesh, and they knew Him not.” (DA 326.3) “Often He could find relief only in being alone, and communing with His heavenly Father.” (DA 326.4)
“Those who accept Christ as their personal Saviour are [. . .] members of the heavenly family; He bids them call His Father their Father. They are His ‘little ones,’ dear to the heart of God, bound to Him by the most tender and abiding ties. He has toward them an exceeding tenderness, as far surpassing what our father or mother has felt toward us in our helplessness as the divine is above the human.” DA 327.2
The divine relationship that exists between Christ and those who are His establishes also a relationship between Christian brothers and sisters that surpass blood ties. And the world recognizes that we are Christians and family by our love.
(This study is based on Matthew 12:22-50; Mark 3:20-25; and chapter 33, “Who Are My Brethren?” in The Desire of Ages (DA), by Ellen G. White.)
For Health’s Sake. . .
As with all drugs, medicinal antibiotics have side effects. They may not manifest for years. But the immediate side effects have been discussed in a study, according to the medlineplus.gov article Pastor Flemons reviewed for this discussion.
It said that Johns Hopskins researchers studied the use of antibiotics in American hospitals and found that antibiotics are over-prescribed. Because doctors believe that the antibiotics are not harmful, they tend to prescribe the drugs when only a suspicion that they are necessary exists. They found that a full one-fifth of those who experienced side effects of antibiotics didn’t need them in the first place.
Side effects range from slight digestive problems within one month to a bacterial diarrhea called Clostridium difficile (“C diff”) that is not only drug-resistant but deadly. All patients received antibiotics over at least a 24-hour period. Some took the drug for more than 90 days.
The food industry uses the same type of antibiotic chemicals to prevent bacterial infection in the animals. The chemicals remain in the meat and dairy, while the products are being readied or stored at market for purchase. When meat and dairy products and their byproducts are consumed, so are the chemicals. By the time antibiotics are prescribed and used, they are powerless against bacteria, because consumers are now resistant to the antibiotics. Instead, only good bacteria is destroyed, says Pastor Flemons. As a result, the problem is only compounded.
It is better and safer to use nature’s antibiotics, like lemon or oil of oregano. Take an organic lemon, he says. Wash it real good. Blend the lemon with the peeling, and take it. Pastor Flemons also highly recommends the Rocket Fuel. The recipe is available on the website of Times of Refreshing.
Besides that, oil of oregano, he says, is extremely powerful. But because it easily burns the lips and mouth, Pastor Flemons suggests taking it this way. Nearly fill a teaspoon with coconut oil before adding one or two drops of the oil or oregano into the coconut oil. Then take it. This way, the oil of oregano is nearly tasteless. More importantly, it does not burn. Still, it is a powerfully effective antibiotic that has none of the negative side effects of medicinal antibiotics, which destroy good bacteria with the bad. Not only that, coconut oil alone is an antibiotic.
When medicinal antibiotics are used, Pastor Flemons says that it is advisable to take probiotics that are plant-based and dairy-free. Probiotics strengthen good bacteria. With the added good bacteria, the body is better positioned to successfully withstand the potential ill effects of the medicinal antibiotic.