INTRODUCTION

Jesus did His part and I did mine!

Praise the Lord! On March 10th, 2009, following a biopsy of my prostate, I was told I had cancer. On April 14, 2010, following another biopsy, I was told that there is no evidence of cancer in my prostate or anywhere else (CT scan, bone scan). I have had no medical treatment (medicine, radiation, chemo or surgery) choosing to treat with only a diet change that consisted of no meat, diary, sugar or bread. I pass this information on, not to tell you what to do...but to give my testimony about the success, victory, healing and guidance I have received from God through His Son Christ Jesus. I will never encourage someone not to have medical treatment, but a change in diet will also help speed up your recovery.  I had cancer in two of twelve cuts of my prostate, my cousin-in-law Jack had 10 out of 12 that were cancer, Cousin Jack had his prostate removed and rightfully so. 

We have approximately 10,000 taste buds in our mouth that are primarily on the tongue and to a lesser extent on our cheeks, throat and the roof of the mouth. I have changed the way I taste by changing to an alkaline diet, because I no longer can drink soda water and eat things with vinegar and sugary desserts because they burn my throat. Dead bread has no flavor and greasy meat has no appeal and things like macaroni and cheese and pizza and hamburgers and hot dogs and French fries are unthinkable.

I was at Sweet Tomatoes, my favorite restaurant, with a friend last Sunday (8-21-2010) and I fixed my usual salad with my usual 10 vegetables and added olive oil, ground pepper, sea salt and lemon and it was the most delicious meal I have ever eaten, because I have re-trained my taste buds. My guacamole that I make out of my life saving avocado is now my meat and spelt bread is delicious and my “Popeye soup” is perfect. Cold fruit with coconut oil and honey with nuts is now my breakfast of choice, because my taste buds are re-trained and my attitude toward what is healthy for my temple has changed. I want to be healthy to serve God to the fullest and stay out of the medical system as much as possible. God has a plan and a purpose for each and every one us and we don’t need to be sick and/or overweight.

First Peter 5:6-9, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

What I would love to see people do is practice preventative eating. By eating healthy we can stay healthy and help out the overburdened medical system. If God made it feel free to eat it. If man made it, either choose not to eat it at all or restrict these foods severely. Your body will thank you for adhering to these simple guidelines. Please think on these things as I have shared them in love and I will be more than happy to answer any question you may have.

Bill McCracken   

whmccra@sbcglobal.net     www.starterkitbyjesus.com

713-9271215 (Cell) 832-2518013 (Home)

 

"Go Ye into All the World and Preach the Gospel"

 

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time:” First Peter 5:6

 

I KNOW WE WERE HEALED BY THE STRIPES OF JESUS 2,000 YEARS AGO, SO WHY DO GOD’S PEOPLE GET SICK?

 

First Peter 2:24, "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." 

Matthew 8:17, "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."

 

“And they overcame him [satan]

by the blood of the Lamb [Jesus]

and by the word of their testimony;”

Revelation 12:11

My testimony to the healing power of God

  

Penned By Bill McCracken By The Inspiration of God!

 

CONTENTS

Second Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

SECTION ONE-DIVINE PHYSICAL HEALTH-HEALED BY THE STRIPES OF JESUS

We are spiritual beings in a body of flesh

Born Again

The Holy Spirit is our helper

God has already established healing for us through His Son Christ Jesus

Jesus-the Son of God-the Word of God

Confess the Word of God unto salvation

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked

 

What is a fiery dart?

 

The spiritual battle for our flesh

 

The helmet of healing acquired through the armor of God

 

Dodie Osteen’s wrestling match

 

Damned

 

The parable of the Sower

 

Healing illustrated through the parable of the Sower

The wheat and the tares-believers and non-believers

Communion

The curse is broken

Stress

Forgiveness

Healing after you have done all you know to do

Walking through the valley

My spiritual warriors that helped me through my valley

SECTION TWO: I KNOW WE WERE HEALED BY THE STRIPES OF JESUS 2,000 YEARS AGO, SO WHY DO GOD’S PEOPLE GET SICK?

How food affects our health

Daniel’s diet

My journey to learning how what I eat and drink affects my health

Is it acid or alkaline?

Acid-alkaline food chart

Equipment

How to transition from the Standard American Diet (SAD) to a healthy alkaline diet to maintain your health

My diet after my cancer diagnosis

My diet after I was cancer free

Food Combining

Toxins

Fasting should only be done when you are healthy

Miscellaneous aches and pains

Sin is a toxic or acidic obstacle to healing-Works of the flesh

Fruit of the Spirit

MY PRAYER FOR YOU!

Dear Heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus Christ, putting satan and his demons aside, I ask that you give the readers of these pages wisdom to see clearly and really understand who Christ is and all He has done for them. I pray that their hearts will be flooded with light, so that they can see something of the future you have called them to share. Let them realize that you have been made rich, because we who are Christ’s have been given to you. I pray that they will begin to understand how incredibly great your power is to help those that believe you. It is that same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at your right hand in Heaven, far, far above any other king or ruler or dictator or leader or satan.

I pray, Heavenly Father that you will give them the mighty inner strengthening of your Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in their hearts, living within them as they trust in Him. May their roots go down deep into the soil of your marvelous love, and may they be able to feel and understand, as all your children should, how long, how wide, how deep and how high your love really is and to experience this love for themselves though it is so great that they will never see the end of it or know or understand it. And so at last they will be filled up with God Himself. Now glory be to God, Who by His mighty power at work within us, is able to do far more than we would dare to even ask or even dream of. Amen.

 

SECTION ONE-DIVINE PHYSICAL HEALTH-HEALED BY THE STRIPES OF JESUS

WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS IN A BODY OF FLESH

In Genesis 1:26 & 27, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness;,,,,So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” What is the real image of God, the God that gave His only begotten Son so that we could be set free from our sins? John 4:24 says, “God is a Spirit.” Colossians 1:15 says, that Jesus is the image of the invisible God and as long as we are in this realm He is an invisible God. Deuteronomy 33:27 and many other scriptures tell us that God is eternal or immortal, “The eternal God is thy refuge.” God is an invisible, immortal Spirit and since God created us in His image we are invisible, immortal spirits also. First Timothy 1:17, “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen” John 4:23-24, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

When we combine Genesis 1:26 & 27 with Genesis 2:7 it completes the picture. “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.” Until that day man was a spirit creature. We were created invisible, immortal spirits in the image of God, who is also an invisible, immortal Spirit, and then placed into a body of flesh so we could become a living human being with a body and a unique personality that sets us apart from each other not only physically, but spiritually.

First Corinthians 15:44 says, “There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” Second Corinthians 5:6-8, “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight :) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

Our spirit being, regardless of gender, race, nationality or social status, is one with Christ Jesus when we are baptized into Christ, Galatians 3:26-28, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” 

God wants the flesh we are living in to be healthy, wealthy and wise and He has no desire for us to be sick and has provided for our health, because we are the temple of the Holy Ghost and if we are sick, He may as well be sick. He can't get as much work done if we can't get Him where He needs to go and we have a lot of work to do and we don't have time to be sick. Ephesians 2:21-22, “In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord. In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” First Corinthians 3:16, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you.”

Life is a spiritual journey. From the minute we enter our mother’s womb until our spirit being returns to God we are on a spiritual journey and that spiritual being in a body of flesh can’t get anything done if that flesh is not healthy, wealthy and wise. Third John 2, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers.” To have a prosperous soul we need to understand God’s Word and remember, Second Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”       

BORN AGAIN

Our spirit being is locked in our body of flesh and can not take authority over our flesh until we are born again of the Holy Spirit of God. John 3:1-8, “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with Him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

Jesus was telling Nicodemus that he must be born again to see and enter the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus didn't understand this and in verse four he says, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” The word Jesus was using that was translated “born” is from the Greek word “gennao” and it means, “to procreate (properly of the father, but by extension of the mother); figuratively to regenerate:-bear, beget, be born, bring forth, conceive, be delivered of, gender, make, spring.”

It was a single word that contained the three-fold process of the natural physical birth, conception, development, and delivery. To Nicodemus Jesus was literally saying that he had to be physically born again and in verses 5 and 6 Jesus explains, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Jesus was telling Nicodemus that we all have to be born of the flesh, or a natural birth, plus we all must be born of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, or a spiritual birth.             

On October the 18th, 1983, at 3 pm as I stood in front of a sink at my place of employment in the laboratory of the Exxon refinery in Baytown, Texas I determined in my heart to do things God's way and at that instant I was born again. I repented of my past life and became God’s child. Acts 20:21, “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” At this point God could now begin to show me His Kingdom and renew my mind. Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” And what is the will of God concerning healing and I know a lot, a lot of Christians that are in the snare of the devil concerning healing and especially diet.

We are going to use Second Timothy 2:24-26 to illustrate how a born again child of God can still be in the snare of the devil in any area that his mind has not been renewed, “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him [satan] at his will.”

If you are not born again you will not be able to understand God’s will in the area of diet and health, so you need to be sure you have determined to do things God’s way and made Jesus, the Word of God, your Lord and savior to be able to understand what is written on these pages. And if you are born again and are in the snare of the devil in the area of health may you come to acknowledge the truth while you are reading these pages and be set free from a man-made diet. Second Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS OUR HELPER

When I determined to do things God’s way on October 18, 1983 at 3 PM and was born of the Spirit, born again, I thank God that, as a new born child of God, I was privileged to attend Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas when John Osteen was the pastor. Brother Osteen would take a month and teach on nothing but “the baptism of the Holy Spirit.” I received the Holy Spirit on November 26, 1983 at a meeting in the old Houston Coliseum that Lakewood Church sponsored and spoke in a language I didn’t understand in my car on the way home after the meeting. The baptism of the Holy Spirit has scriptural basis in the book of Acts. In Acts 2:38, Peter said by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, “Then Peter said unto them, REPENT, and be BAPTIZED every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the HOLY GHOST.” To repent is just simply to determine to do things God’s way and be born again and if you have determined to do things God’s way receiving the Holy Spirit as shown in the book of Acts will not be a problem.

In John 14:16-18, Jesus said, “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another comforter, that He may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.”                                                                                                                                                                                John 14:26, Jesus talking, “But the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my Name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

John 16:13, “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.” Acts 1:2, “Until the day in which He [Jesus] was taken up, after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen:” like He did with Peter in Acts 2:14-39.

Acts 1:4-5, “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”

The Holy Ghost is the Comforter and Teacher that abides with us forever and is the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of God, that cannot be received by anyone but a child of God, someone who has determined to do things God's way. The Holy Ghost will teach us all things and bring everything Jesus has said to us to our remembrance and the more we read our Bible, the more He will have to bring to our remembrance. He will show us things to come and speak that He hears and allow us to have spiritual discernment to understand the mind of the Lord and we will be able to discern between satan’s fiery darts and the voice of the Holy Spirit. When I was first born again I would be upset about something and it just seemed the more I fussed the calmer I would get on the inside and I understood that the Holy Ghost is truly a Comforter and there is no way I could have conquered cancer without the gentle guidance of the Holy Spirit.    

Romans 8:26-28, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities [weaknesses]; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession FOR US with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” It is God’s will that you be healthy, wealthy and wise.

How does the Holy Spirit pray for us? In Acts chapter 10 the Word tells us that a very devout Italian man named Cornelius was told by an angel in a vision to send for Peter and that Peter would tell him what to do. Cornelius sent for Peter and when Peter arrived at Cornelius’ house he found many that were come together.

In Acts 10:38-48, Peter tells them, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and showed Him openly; Not to all people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with Him after He rose from the dead.

And He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead. To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His Name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins.

While Peter yet spake these words the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision [the Jews] which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because on the gentiles [anybody that wasn't a Jew] also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the Name of the Lord.”

Many times I have not known how to pray and the Holy Spirit will prompt me to “pray in the spirit.” Paul wrote in First Corinthians 14:14-15, “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also;” I would pray with the same language that I prayed with in my car on November 26, 1983.

One of my favorite scriptures is First Peter 5:6-11, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

If I had not been baptized with the Holy Spirit when I was battling cancer I would never have been able to defeat the fiery darts of the wicked and know what to do. He is truly our Comforter if we will slow down and listen as we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and He will bring the Word of God to our remembrance. He spoke to my spirit one day and said “You will live and not die and declare the works of the Lord.” This scripture is in Psalm 118:17 where the psalmist declares “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.” but God said to me “You will live and not die and declare the works of the Lord.” He said it, I didn’t. Almost immediately I heard a voice speak to me and say “Danny had that on his refrigerator.”

Danny was Danny Carter a precious man of God that ministered in prison for 25 years that I met ministering in prison. I ministered with him for about a year and always picked him up and took him to prison and took him back home after the service. Danny began to lose weight and over the course of a year or so he got sicker and sicker and died. When I heard the “other” voice (satan) I immediately told him “I don’t know about that, but talk to God not me, I didn’t say it, He did.” Jude 9, “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”

Matthew 3:13-17, “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered Him. And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: And lo a voice from Heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

We must learn to speak the Word of God in whatever situation we are battling through just like Jesus did in Luke 4:1-14 after He had received the Holy Spirit.

“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days did He eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered.

And the devil said unto Him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God. [This is Deuteronomy 8:3]

And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, showed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto Him, All this power will I give thee; and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thou God, and Him only shalt thou serve. [This is Deuteronomy 6:13 and 10:20] 

And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him. If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. [This is Psalms 91:11-12] And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. [This is Deuteronomy 6:16]

And when the devil had ended all temptations he departed Him for a season. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee.”

WISDOM

Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 that you had to be born again to see and enter the Kingdom of God. There is no way God could have shown me His Kingdom and I understand it and function within it, without being born again and that is why Nicodemus did not understand and the world won't listen to us, they have never determined to do things God’s way and been born again.

John 3:9-12, “Nicodemus answered and said unto Him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily I say unto thee, we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?”

First Corinthians 1:30, “But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom.”  Wisdom is what Nicodemus needed and is how I could begin to read my Bible and begin to be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Colossians 1:9, “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in all good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.” James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth [rebukes] not; and it shall be given him.” Don't be afraid to ask for wisdom, because God's way is the best way and might not be what we want to hear, but it is still the best way.

God has blessed us with an excellent medical system, but only because we don’t realize that we were healed by the stripes of Jesus 2,000 years ago and that we are in a spiritual battle for our health through our diets. Thank God that I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, because I immediately went to God and asked Him for wisdom in my diet and what I drink The medical system is a very expensive system and if a doctor makes a wrong diagnosis or prescribes unneeded medication to an individual they can be in a lot of trouble. God can use the medical system, but if we don't pray and bind the devil when our loved ones get into this system and away from God's perfect system, healed by the stripes of Jesus, satan can easily use it to steal, kill and or destroy. Medications sometimes have side effects that will further endanger someone’s health. I knew a co-worker once that took one medication to thin his blood and another to make it thicker. My dad was on fourteen different medications when he died. We have come a long way from using leeches in barbershops to treat people like they did years ago, BUT God’s system is still the best no matter what the world has to offer. I'll hang in there with Doctor Jesus. I don't have to wait, He makes house calls and He paid the bill 2,000 years ago at Calvary.

Unforgiveness, health and finances are three of satan's favorite areas to attack God's people. If he can get us to go along with his program instead of God's perfect program, he can keep us from serving God to the fullest. We must learn to know that God has provided for our health in His Word so we can recognize an attack of the enemy and not waste time praying for it, because a lot of the things we pray for have already been provided in our covenant that God made with us when He gave His only begotten Son for us. Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” This is generally a scripture that is applied to material needs, but it says all your need and we don’t need to be sick. Third John 2, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers.”

JESUS-THE SON OF GOD-THE WORD OF GOD

People used to ask me if I had Jesus in my heart and if Jesus was my Lord. Of course, I would always say yes, but I really didn’t know what they were talking about until one day I was reading Revelation 19, verses 11-16 and the Holy Ghost showed me something that changed the way I read the Bible. John is describing what he is seeing. “And I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns, and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: And His Name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in Heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: And He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

I suddenly realized that my Lord was literally The Word of God almost three years after I had repented and been born again. Up until that day I would tell people that I had Jesus in my heart and that Jesus was my Lord, but I really didn't know what it meant. When I realized who Jesus is, the Word of God, the Bible took on a new importance and became a solution to anything as long as I would believe. John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son [Jesus], that whosoever believeth in Him [The Word of God] should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” Sometimes we will read something in the Word and then feel condemned. The Word of God was not given to us to condemn us but to save us and we are to speak the Word exactly like Jesus did in Luke 4:1-14 when we come under attack.

GOD HAS ALREADY ESTABLISHED HEALING FOR US THROUGH HIS SON

CHRIST JESUS!

I was reading my Bible one day and read a scripture on healing that I had heard many times, but this day it took on a new meaning and went from intellectual or head knowledge to real saving or heart knowledge. First Peter 2:24, speaking of Jesus, “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” I had always read this as “we are” instead of in the past tense “were.” I suddenly realized that when Jesus was striped 2,000 years ago I was healed. He took not only my sins but also my sicknesses. Hallelujah! Anytime we begin to show symptoms of illness and the thoughts of “you are getting sick”, “cancer”, everybody else has it” “that illness is in your genes.” and so forth begin we need to remember that we were healed 2,000 years ago and immediately go to God and ask for wisdom according to James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” as to why we are having symptoms that are contrary to His Word. It could be anything from an attack of the enemy to diet or stress.

Stress is always an attack of the enemy and we must remember Second Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear [stress]; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” And that God wants us to prosper and be in health as we learn what God’s Word says about what we are believing Him for as we study His Word and learn all the benefits that He has provided for us through the works of The Cross. Third John 2, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers.” Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” And we don’t need to be sick! 

Deuteronomy 34:5-7, “So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.” Moses was in perfect health when he died at the age of 120 because he obeyed Exodus 23:25, God speaking, “And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness from the midst of thee.” He also ate what God provided for him, manna, and walked a lot. Compare that to Asa King of Judah in Second Chronicles 16:12-13, “And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.” This doesn’t mean to not seek physicians, but always seek the Lord.

Hebrews 8:6-7, “But now has He [Jesus] obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place had been sought for the second.” If God told His people in the old testament, who were under the old covenant, that He would take sickness away from the midst of them, and then tells us in the New Testament, which is the New Covenant, that it is a better covenant, then we can rest assured that He has also taken sickness from the midst of us. Don’t judge the Word of God on what you might see or feel. Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”

The healings that Jesus did in the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, are so numerous that I am going to suggest that you read them for yourself. Here is one, Matthew 8:14-17, “And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. And He touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose and ministered unto them. When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His Word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.”

The book of Isaiah or Esaias, was written during Isaiah's lifetime between 740 B.C. and 681 B.C. Isaiah, 53:4-5, “Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” God prophesied through Isaiah that Jesus was going to be striped so we could be healed approximately 700 years before it happened and it was fulfilled throughout the four gospels and when Jesus was striped by Pilate in Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15 and John 19:1, “Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged Him” Scourged means to whip or flog. “Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses” means the same thing as “by His stripes ye were healed.” Infirmities is “astheneia”, feebleness of body or mind; by implication malady; moral frailty:-disease, infirmity, sickness, weakness.

CONFESS THE WORD OF GOD UNTO SALVATION

I could then take Romans 10:9-11, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.”, and use this scripture to claim God’s promises in His Word. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Word of God and shalt believe it in thine heart for with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

We can use this scripture to claim God’s promises in His Word. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth that you were healed by the stripes of Jesus 2,000 years ago and shalt believe it in thine heart, for with the mouth confession is made unto salvation for healing or whatever. The Biblical definition of  salvation is the Greek word's “soteria” and “soterion.” The combination of the meanings is rescue or safety (physically or morally):-deliver, health, salvation, save, saving. Defender or by implication defense:-salvation. We will discuss believe it in thine heart in Dodie’s wrestling match.

Genesis 17:1-7, “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.”

God spoke to Abram, before He renamed him Abraham, father of many nations, in Genesis 15 and showed him the stars in the Heavens and told him that so Abram's seed shall be. When God changed Abram’s name He was changing his name to Abraham-father of nations. I was reading in Charles Capps book, “Faith and Confession” that every time someone called Abraham’s name that he was actually calling him “father of nations.” The more Abraham heard that he was the “father of nations” the more he believed that he was the “father of nations.” He related this to how we are to use God’s Word and speak it until we believe what His Word says about us. By His stripes I was healed, by His stripes I was healed, by His stripes I was healed over and over until we get it down in our spirit along with, Matthew 8:17, “Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” and Exodus 23:25, God speaking, “And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness from the midst of thee.” Psalm 103:1-5, “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me bless His Holy Name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Second Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh; (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal; but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds ;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into the obedience of Christ.

If you are sick or are having symptoms of illness don’t ever let thoughts that God is mad at you or is trying to punish you or teach you a lesson enter your mind. God does not use illness to chastise or purge. He can use this to purge or renew our minds, but He will never create it. Hang in there until we get through the entire teaching and never settle for anything but God's best. When we begin to have symptoms of an illness we need to learn to say, “Why God, why?”, and He will always answer our questions. James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth [rebukes, turns away] not: and it shall be given him.” Don't be afraid to ask for wisdom, God's way is always the best way and illness is always the works of the devil with a devil-made label, but it is still the works of the devil.

Whenever we get symptoms of sickness, or are having problems, we seem to have a tendency to forget what God has provided for us in His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. We get to looking at what is happening to the people around us and forget what the Word of God says. Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” We must learn not to look at circumstances, symptoms, doctor's reports or other people's circumstances, symptoms or doctor's report. The definition of faith is, Hebrews 11:1-3, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen. For by it [faith] the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Go by God's Word not what you see or hear or feel that is contrary to God's Word to frame your healing and always remember that “by His stripes ye were healed.”

ABOVE ALL, TAKING THE SHIELD OF FAITH, WHEREWITH YE SHALL BE ABLE TO QUENCH ALL THE FIERY DARTS OF THE WICKED

    You will learn that all of your thoughts are not your thoughts and we must be sure our thoughts are established on the Word of God. Second Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” Mark 11:22-26, “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in Heaven forgive your trespasses.”

I threw in the forgiveness part because having animosity toward others can be a hindrance to healing and is very toxic to our systems. We can’t even digest food correctly when we are upset with someone. The reason we don’t forgive and doubt in our hearts pertaining to healing and accept satan’s suggestions on diet is the fiery darts of the wicked. What is a fiery dart?

WHAT IS A FIERY DART?

I can remember when I was first born again and had just started to read my Bible for the first time and I would get to the parts about the virgin birth and the resurrection and I would feel a twinge of doubt that I had never realized was there before. Remember that the shield of faith is to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. What's a fiery dart? A fiery dart is a twinge of doubt that you might feel when you read about the virgin birth or the resurrection. I had never had doubts about the virgin birth or the resurrection before I was born again because satan could have cared less what I believed before I was born again.

Can satan also influence our eating habits? Have you ever eaten things that you know that you shouldn’t but ate them anyway? Why do we eat at scheduled times of the day and are thoroughly convinced that we should eat three times a day at a certain time and have snacks in the morning, afternoon and before bed time? Why have we been brainwashed into eating processed, devitalized, and dead food and drinking acidic liquids through magazine, newspaper, T.V. billboards and radio advertising? Why do we think we can break the nutritional laws of nature? We has been brainwashed into eating the processed, devitalized, and dead food and drinks of civilization which has propelled us into such a pitiful physical condition.

I use the story in the Bible in Luke 4:9-12, “And he (satan) brought Him (Jesus) to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. [This is Psalms 91:11-12] And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. [This is Deuteronomy 6:16]” as a comparison of the way the average Christian that  eats the SAD or standard American diet thinks because the Word says they are healed by the stripes of Jesus they aren’t going to get sick if they stand on God’s Word. And then when they get sick they ask Jesus to heal them when He healed us 2,000 years ago when He was striped and said “It is finished.” He has done His part now we need to do ours and eat and drink healthy.

The word fiery in the Greek is “puroo”, to kindle, to be ignited, glow, to be inflamed (with anger, grief, lust):-burn, fiery, be on fire, try. Dart is “belos”, a missile, spear or arrow-dart. A fiery dart is fired to try to inflame us with anger, grief or lust. We are going to have to learn how to deal with satan and his evil angels because we are stuck with them until we get to Heaven and we are to give them no love or fear, only the Word of God.

Looking into the spirit world lets try to envision the wicked firing a fiery dart and creating doubt in our hearts. What do they use? A bow and arrow, slingshot, pistol? Seems like a shotgun sometimes. Second Corinthians 10:5, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exaleth itself against the knowledge of God. And bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” The wicked will fire a fiery dart into your mind in the form of a thought that will be against the knowledge, or Word, of God or nutritional laws and we are to bring these thoughts into captivity exactly like Jesus did in Luke 4:9-12.

Once you obtain real saving, born again faith in any area you must contend or wrestle to maintain your faith, Matthew 12:37, “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” and Jude 3, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful of me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but,,,,spiritual wickedness in high places.” When we have negative thoughts contrary to the Word of God or what we are standing for or having faith for we must recognize that we are contending in a wrestling match and stand and speak God’s Word.

THE SPIRITUAL BATTLE FOR OUR FLESH

John 10:10, Jesus speaking, “The thief [satan] cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Mark 16:15-18, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” The word serpents in Mark 16:18 is the Greek word “ophis” and is derived from the Greek word “optomai”, which has to do with the ability to see. The definition of “ophis” is “probably from 'optomai' (through the idea of sharpness of vision); a snake, figuratively (as a type of sly cunning) an artful malicious person, especially satan:-serpent. Jesus was telling us that we shall take up or destroy and be able to see devil's strongholds. We can't destroy the devil's strongholds if we can't recognize them. Its okay, everybody gets sick! Let's see if we can take up the devil's stronghold that he has over the saints of God in the area of whether or not God has provided Divine health for His children through the stripes of His Son Jesus.

Second Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh; (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal; but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into the obedience of Christ.

Ephesians 6:10-18, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"

Why is it so hard for us to believe that Jesus took away our sins, but not our sicknesses? Could it be we need to remember Matthew 8:17, “Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” and Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but,,,,spiritual wickedness in high places.” We need to know what God’s Word says about healing to be able to win the wrestling match when we get symptoms of illness. When I had cancer I used my shield of faith constantly to ward off the fiery darts of the wicked that bombarded my mind with thoughts contrary to the Word of God. Once we have the Word of God firmly established in our mind we can then put on the helmet of salvation and guard our minds from the wiles of the wicked and begin to do what we need to do to assure our healing. Jesus said in John 19:30, “It is finished:” and if He said it is finished it is finished and quit asking Him to heal you when He healed you 2,000 years ago and take the initiative and ask Him why you are sick contrary to His Word. He will lead you to the truth.

Salvation is the Greek word's “soteria” and “soterion.” The combination of the definitions is rescue or safety (physically or morally): deliver, health, salvation, save, saving. Defender or by implication defense:-salvation. The Helmet of Salvation is anything you believe God for and is much more than being born again and we need the Helmet of Salvation in the area of Divine physical health. By His stripes you were healed.

THE HELMET OF HEALING ACQUIRED THROUGH THE ARMOR OF GOD

I heard a sermon by John Osteen in July of 1983 that God used to bring me closer to Him and it was my first teaching on the armor of God. I felt defenseless and was very happy to learn that God provides armor for His people. The reason we have God's armor is so we can withstand in the evil day. I don't know about you but I have tried to withstand in the evil day without God's armor and I quickly learned that I needed all of God's armor to withstand in the evil day and anytime I feel sick I consider that the evil day.

The Greek word for wiles is “methodeia.” Looks like that is where our word method comes from doesn't it. When I was in the army they talked about doing things S.O.P. This meant to do things by a standard operating procedure. satan has a plan to steal, kill and/or destroy in every Christian’s life. John 10:10, Jesus speaking, “The thief [satan] cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The quicker we learn to recognize satan’s s.o.p. the quicker we can learn to take our S.O.P., the Word of God, and defeat him.

It is much easier to learn the truth and stay out of trouble, than to get into trouble and then begin to learn the truth. I have an easier time staying well than getting well and I am also much easier to teach when I am not in trouble, but I have learned a lot when I have been backed into a corner. I feel from personal experience that we have a one year “amnesty” or “truce” after we are born again that God has given us to learn the great redemptive truths of God. I am being allowed to write this to help people either stay out of trouble or get out of and stay out of trouble so that we can do God’s will for our  lives and be prepared for the evil day and help change this world and set the captives free by fulfilling God’s plan and purpose for our lives. Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

There are seven pieces or stages to the armor of God:

· One-The belt of truth.

· Two-The breastplate of righteousness.

· Three-The gospel of peace.

· Four-The shield of faith.

· Five-The helmet of salvation.

· Six-The Sword of the Spirit or the Word of God.

· Seven-Prayer.

You will find out as we study the armor that God is a God of order and our armor is in that order for a reason.

John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” that we were healed 2000 years ago by the stripes of Jesus and He came and took our sins and sicknesses. Once we have our loins girded about with truth then we need to realize we have “rightstanding” with God. satan will try to make us believe that we deserve to be sick or are paying for our past sins or, even worse, that God is punishing us for something we have done by allowing us to be sick.  Don’t think you are Job and satan has talked God into allowing you to be sick to test you. Job was under the “old” covenant and wasn’t able to recognize the works of the devil and take authority over the devil in the Name of Jesus and stand on God’s Word. Job was written to teach us not to question God, but we can ask Him questions.

In First Peter 2:24 where God is telling us that we were healed by the stripes of Jesus, the whole verse is “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” This is the righteousness that we obtained when Jesus took our sins away on the cross and made us dead to sin. In First Peter 2:24 God is reminding us that we have been made the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus just before He tells us that we are healed by the stripes of His only begotten Son.

Philippians 3:9, “And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” Second Corinthians 5:21, “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” Colossians 1:12-14, “Giving thanks unto the Father, which has made us meet [qualified] to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” And sickness is darkness.

We have the breastplate of righteousness so that satan can't come and try to condemn us and make us feel guilty, unworthy to be blessed of God. God has said in Hebrews 10:17, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” Murderers, thieves, adulterers, fornicators, idolaters, effeminate, drunkards, extortioners, etc., etc. are all forgiven. We don't have to pay the price for our sins, our Lord and savior Jesus Christ already has on the Cross at Calvary 2,000 years ago. Always remember First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” and James 5:14-16, “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” God has us covered with His Word.

We have truth so the devil can't steal, kill, or destroy in our lives. We have the breastplate of righteousness so the devil can't condemn us with his lies that are contrary to God's Word so that we can have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Romans 10:13-15, “For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.” When we volunteer at church or teach a class or preach or go on our jobs or to the stores or malls or restaurants or hospitals or jails or prisons or nursing homes or wherever, and share the good news of the gospel of peace with God we have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. God wants us to share the gospel with others to get our eyes off of our problems and on to the problems of others.  

We have truth so the devil can't steal, kill, or destroy in our lives. We have the breastplate of righteousness so the devil can't condemn us with his lies that are contrary to God's Word. We have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace with God so that we can share the gospel with others and not be concerned about only ourselves and now we need the shield of faith to keep us from doubting and quench the fiery darts or lies of the devil. Doubt your doubts! Don't doubt the Word of God. Doubt never healed anyone. Ephesians 6:16, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” 

Hebrews 11:1-3, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen. For by it [faith] the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Go by God's Word to frame your healing and not the medical report or medical statistics or what you see or hear or feel that is contrary to God's Word. Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”

We have truth so the devil can't steal, kill, or destroy in our lives. We have the breastplate of righteousness so the devil can't condemn us with his lies that are contrary to God's Word. We have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace with God so that we can share the gospel with others and not be concerned about only ourselves. We have the shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked that are contrary to God's Word about healing or whatever so that we can put on the Helmet of Salvation of healing or whatever and take up the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and speak to the spirits behind our problem in the area of healing or whatever and then develop a Word-based prayer life so that we will keep our eyes on Heavenly things and not things of this world and pray for the healing or whatever of others. When we pray in the Spirit we could be praying for ourselves, family, friends, church, pastor or whomever anywhere in the world or for someone in outer space. We never know what God has us praying about or for whom He has us praying.

DODIE OSTEEN’S WRESTLING MATCH

Let's look at the healing testimony of Dodie Osteen, widow of the late Pastor John Osteen of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas and use it to learn how the devil works to convince a born again, Holy Ghost person that they are sick contrary to God's Word. Luke 6:17-18, “And He [Jesus] came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of His disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases; And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.” This word healed, “therapeuo”, meant to relieve of. Vexed, “ochleo”, means to mob, harass, to torment, to afflict, to wear down with toil. They were vexed with unclean spirits and Jesus healed them of their diseases.

Dodie was diagnosed as having metastatic cancer of the liver in late 1981 and when she first got sick she went in the hospital and they told her she only had a few weeks to live. She was at the point I was at when I was diagnosed with cancer and finally decided to let God take over, there was nowhere else to go, so she told them she wanted to go home. She and her husband began to search the scriptures and seek God for the answer to her problem. She prayed and meditated on the Word and had a list of forty scriptures she would say everyday and I am sure there were days when she said them more than once and I understand she still says them. She has a “feisty” spirit and decided not to give up. Dodie said that she still had children at home and knew God wasn't through using her. She stood on many scriptures, but one is Isaiah 43:25-26, God speaking through Isaiah, “I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified. ”

On pages 24-26 of her book “Healed of Cancer”, which can be ordered online at Lakewood.cc or joelosteen.com or by calling 888-870-7322 or 713-635-4154 for $2.00 plus shipping, she tells a story of the battle that was going on in her mind and one of the scriptures she was standing on was Hebrews 10:23, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for He is faithful that promised.” Dodie was having a discussion with her husband John one day and she told him, “John, what is wrong with me? I feel so condemned because I am wavering.” John knew just what to say and he asked, “Dodie, are you wavering in your heart?” Dodie said, “No. I know God’s Word wouldn’t lie to me, it is true.” “Then where are you wavering?” She said she was wavering in her head. John said, “Well, don’t you see? That’s the difference. You are not wavering in your heart, because you know God’s Word is true. There is no need for you to be condemned. Your heart is established. Resist the thoughts from the devil and he will flee from you.”

Dodie further stated, “That helped me so much! I had confidence in my heart, but the devil was using my thoughts to cause me to doubt. I had faith in my heart, but doubt in my mind.” James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Remember the mustard seed. Matthew 17:20, “For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove: and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Remember the mustard seed. Matthew 17:20, “For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove: and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

Sometimes the devil will start harassing me and God will tell me to just ignore him. When you know what the Word of God, Jesus, says about your situation don't waste your time arguing with the devil. The reason we come against our situation with the Word of God is so that we can get it down in our hearts. The devil knows what it says. Once he realizes that we know what it says and are going to hold fast to our faith, or the Word, without wavering, he is gone. Whipped! Defeated! Once he realized Dodie had caught on the “cancer”, or any other label the devil wanted to put on it, had to go.

Luke 13:10-17, “And He [Jesus] was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And He laid hands on her: and immediately she was made straight and glorified God.

And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.

The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom satan, satan, satan, satan, satan, satan, satan  hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed this bond on the Sabbath day? And when He had said these things, all His adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.”

Dodie wasn't battling “cancer”, she was battling the enemy in her mind, satan, evil spirits that were trying to kill her. We must always remember that we were, were, were, were, were, were, were healed by the stripes of Jesus. Anytime we get symptoms we must rebuke them and ask God to forgive us for allowing satan to have ground in our bodies, and then ask Him to show us how we gave up that ground so that we don't give it up again. What Dodie was doing was retaking ground that she had given satan earlier when she was being vexed. The story of the woman in Luke 13 is an excellent illustration of loosing something on earth and then it will be loosed in the Heavens. Dodie was loosed from the spirit of infirmity called “cancer.” Jesus gave us the same authority He used to loose the spirit of infirmity that had bound the woman in Luke 13:10-17 in Mark 16:17, “In my Name [Jesus] shall they cast out devils.” and Matthew 18:18, “and whatsoever ye shall loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven.”

Dodie wrote in her book that in October of 1981 her and her husband were at a celebration at Oral Roberts University and she began to feel a bit fuzzy in her mind and had chills and a fever. These symptoms got progressively worse over the next three weeks and she says that the symptoms will come now and she will tell them to go in the Name of Jesus. If she had done that when the attack or symptoms first manifested themselves she would not have had to go through what she went through and, of course, we also wouldn't have her testimony and I wouldn't be writing this. Thank you Dodie for standing strong and not taking the easy way out and going to Heaven to be with Jesus before your appointed time.

Dodie is now taking authority over the unclean spirits just as Luke 11:24-26 tells us, “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

DAMNED

Mark 16:15-18, “And He [Jesus] said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my Name [Jesus] shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Let’s look at, “he who believeth not shall be damned.” Unfortunately you can be a child of God and still believe not and be damned. Second Timothy 2:24-26, “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him [satan] at his will.” Can a servant of the Lord oppose themselves in the area of healing and diet? Let's endeavor to learn all we can about what God's Word says about healing so when we get sick we can seek Him with all our hearts and say “Why God, why” and He will always lead you to the truth so we can not be damned in the area of our health.

Damned is the Greek word “katakrino”, to judge against, i.e. sentence:-condemn, damn. Through his fiery darts satan will try to convince us that it is God that is going to damn us for our unbelief when he is trying to make us have a negative confession and it will be our own words that will condemn or damn us to not be able to obtain from the Word of God any promise that we find in the Bible. Stand your ground when you know what the Word says about your situation and even if a negative confession comes out of your mouth, ask God to forgive you and He will because He understands our battle.

Matthew 12:35-37, “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” We are healed by the stripes of Jesus and He bore our sins and infirmities and sickness so we don’t have to so we can be set free to serve Him and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ-the Son of God-the Word of God.

THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER

Mark 14-20, “And He said unto them, Know ye not this parable? And how then will ye know all parables? The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.

And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.”

There are four stages of spiritual awareness in the parable of the sower. We see in verse fourteen that the sower soweth the Word. The sower can be any medium that God chooses to show you the truth of His Word such as, the Bible, a preacher, a family member, a friend, a co-worker, a donkey [Numbers 22:21-35], me, you, etc.

Stage one is found in verse 15, “And these are they by the wayside, where the Word is sown; but when they have heard, satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the Word that was sown in their hearts.”

Stage two, verses 16 & 17, “And these are they likewise which are sown on stoney ground; who, when they have heard the Word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the Word's sake, immediately they are offended.”

Stage three, verses 18 & 19, “And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the Word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in, choke the Word, and it becometh unfruitful.”

Stage four, verse 20, “And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the Word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.”

HEALING ILLUSTRATED THROUGH THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER

Earlier we broke the parable of the Sower down into the four stages of faith. Using Mark 4:14-20, stage one, verse 15, “And these are they by the wayside, where the Word is sown; but when they have heard, satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the Word that was sown in their hearts.” This is intellectual faith or head knowledge.

Stage two, verses 16 and 17, “And these are they likewise which are sown on stoney ground; who, when they have heard the Word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the Word's sake, immediately they are offended.” This is temporary faith or knowledge.

Stage three, verses 18 and 19, “And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the Word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in, choke the Word, and it becometh unfruitful.” This is dead faith.”

Stage four, verse 20, “And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the Word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.” This is real saving faith or heart knowledge.

We can take the parable of the Sower and use it as a guideline for determining salvation in anything spiritual that we are believing God for, such as, being born again, healing, tithing, finances, our ministries, our marriages, being blessed with a spouse, the salvation of our children or a spouse, or anything you are seeking God to do for you. All we have to do is look at the parable of the Sower and be honest with ourselves. Most of us get hung up in the third stage where the cares, riches and pleasures of this life choke the Word and it becomes unfruitful. We must always start with intellectual faith and then it will hopefully go straight to real-saving faith and, if not, then it will be either temporary or dead faith. Even if we are in the dead faith stage that is when we need to battle and overcome and convert our intellectual, temporary or dead faith in to real-saving faith.

Many times I have heard excellent teachings on healing and then would be amazed at the number of people that would come down for prayer for healing, but would be back in the prayer line the next time the church doors were open. They heard the Word, but satan came immediately to steal the Word out of their hearts. I am sure many of these people received their healing with gladness, but then satan came and began to  convince them they weren't healed. These people had intellectual knowledge of healing and then were robbed of their temporary healing by persecution or affliction when the symptoms came back because they didn’t know that the devil always comes to steal the Word out of our hearts. They needed to be full of the truth about healing so they could stand on the Word of God. This is stages one and two, intellectual and temporary healing. Doubt your doubts, but never doubt The Word of God! It is okay to ask God questions, but never question His Word.

I am going to illustrate real-saving or heart faith to be healed before dead faith so that you can better understand the difference between the two. I was at my home church, Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, one night right after I was born again and a man came to the front of the church for prayer that was scheduled to undergo his fourth or fifth back operation. Pastor John Osteen asked him if he was baptized in the Holy Ghost and he said he wasn't. Pastor Osteen laid hands on him just like in the book of Acts and he began to speak in his other language that God gave him. Acts 19:6, “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them: and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.”

Pastor Osteen had him sit in a chair and put his hips back as far as he could. He then checked the length of the man's legs and discovered that one was shorter than the other and prayed and asked God to make them both the same length. I saw this happen many times while I was at this church and you can actually see the shorter leg grow out and match up with the other leg. God has allowed me to do this and I know it is real.

Pastor Osteen then had the man stand up and he rebuked a spirit of fear and told him to bend over and touch his toes. He not only bent over and touched his toes, but he jumped up and down and began to do flips and took off running around the church. Doubting Bill, that's me, said to himself, “I bet they paid him to do that and he probably came in from out of town and we will never see him again.”

To my surprise, I began to see the man at church all the time. About two months later God wanted to remove my doubts, so He had me sit behind the man in church. He reached under his seat to get his Bible when the teaching started and his shirt came up and I could see his lower back and it looked like a road map. If my back had been cut on as much as his had, I would have had to know I was healed to do what he did. This was real saving faith, the fourth stage of the parable of the sower. I have often wondered when he first spoke in his other language if the Holy Ghost didn't have him praising and thanking God for healing his back. You need the Holy Ghost and to always thank God that He has provided for our healing through His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

I was in another service not long after this and a lady from Tennessee came for prayer for healing of her back that was scheduled for a back operation in the Houston Medical Center. She had to have intellectual knowledge of healing or she wouldn't have been in church for prayer. Pastor Osteen had her sit down in a chair and put her hips all the way back and he measured her legs and asked God to make them the same length. He then rebuked a spirit of fear and told her to jump up and bend over and touch her toes. When Pastor Osteen took her by the hands and told her to jump up she just looked at him and said, “But the doctor said.”

Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” She had chosen to listen to the doctors’ report instead of the Word of God and was in the third stage of the parable of the sower or dead faith.

Mark 16:15-16, “And He [Jesus] said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

In verse 16 it says that they who believe not shall be damned. This woman didn't believe in God's healing, only that God will sustain us through illnesses and help us suffer and guide the doctor's and He does and will continue to do so, but that is not His perfect will, because we don't have time to be sick and hospitalized. The point here is that she was damned because she believed not as opposed to the man who trusted God and received the Holy Spirit by speaking in another language and ended up doing flips and running through the church because he believed and put his trust in God.

When someone is healed through the medical system they naturally want to praise the medical system for their healing. They have found faith in the medical system. Whatever works. God has had a hand in many of the advances in the medical field only because He has had to due to a lack of faith and understanding of His Word pertaining to healing and the battle for our health. Always pray and take authority over the devil and ask God to give the doctors, nurses, anesthesiologist, billing department and whoever wisdom, clarity of mind and skills they don’t know they have when you or a loved one, or friends or whomever are hospitalized. 

THE WHEAT AND THE TARES-BELIEVERS AND NON-BELIEVERS

I have learned that sometimes we are going to be surrounded by people that we really don't know where they are with Jesus and if we look at what they are saying or what is happening to them, good or bad, and get our eyes off of Jesus-The Word of God-we will expect to have happen to us what is happening to them-good or bad. Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” Very few children of God believe that First Peter 2:24, speaking of Jesus, “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” means we were healed 2,000 years ago. They believe it means He will heal us in His timing. His timing was 2,000 years ago.We need to quit asking Him to heal us and ask Him to give us wisdom and guidance to get well because we are already healed. “It is finished!”

Matthew 13:24-30, “The Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in His field. But while men slept, His enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto Him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto Him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But He said, Nay; lest while you gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into My barn.”

In Matthew 13:37-43 Jesus explains the parable of the wheat and tares, “He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” We have to live for God and have faith to trust Him now, so we aren't concerned with the end of the world, but the point here is that we, as born again children of God, are surrounded by either the children of the devil or believers that are residing in unbelief and we are not to look to them for our faith, but to the Word of God. Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

COMMUNION

To further illustrate the effect of the tares amongst the wheat in regard to healing let's look at First Corinthians 11:23-32, “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread: And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come.

Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”

In the parable of the Sower we learned that three out of four of the people in the parable of the Sower never determined to do things God’s way and been born again and don't know Jesus, but are sitting in a church acting like they do and not remembering the broken body, the shed blood of the New Testament and the death of Jesus until He comes. That is why we are seeing a lot of weak and sickly people in church and some are even dying because they are abiding in unbelief and then the born again believer sees these getting sick and they consequently don't believe God's Word in Second Peter 2:24 that by His stripes ye were healed. We must always look at God's Word and not what we see. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen”, Hebrews 11:1. Confess that you are healed just like Jesus did when the devil tempted Him, IT IS WRITTEN! Fight saints, fight!

I was in church taking communion one Sunday and was aware of this scripture of not eating and drinking unworthily. I took the cup and then put it back untouched because I felt unworthy to drink and eat of the cup of communion, but that is not what this scripture is saying. I could have drunk the cup and ate the bread. I was in darkness at this time because of the failure of my marriage and I was very actively examining and judging myself and I was also very actively being chastened of the Lord.

Another time I was in church and we were having communion and I had sinned, what I consider, big time the day before and as we read Matthew 26:26-28, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”, communion took on a new meaning as I was actually remembering that He shed His blood for the remission of my sins and I was forgiven of the sin I had committed. When we broke the bread and ate it and then drank the symbolic blood I was never more aware of His forgiveness than I was at that point and from that day on communion has been a continuation of baptism. Acts 2:38, “be baptized everyone of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins”

Revelation 1:5-6, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

THE CURSE IS BROKEN

What is known as “the curse” on children has scriptural basis in Exodus 20:5, “for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.” I was cleaning my bathroom one-day, the commode to be exact, and I asked the Lord how He could stand to put a curse on little children. He was very quick to reply, “I don't put the curse on them their parents do.” I know the scripture says fathers, but He said parents because we are all one under the New Covenant. Galatians 3:26-28, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Every Word of God is for anyone anywhere on the face of the earth.

Exodus 15:26, “And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.”

We need to understand that God does not put diseases on His children under the New and better Covenant. We are healed by the stripes of Jesus and we are blessed by the blessing of Abraham by faith when we are born again and become a child of God and are no longer under the curse of the law or the old covenant. We have a new covenant based on better promises. Hebrews 8:6-7, “But now has He [Jesus] obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

Galatians 3:6-14, “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith [That is us], the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen [That is us] through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith [That is us] are blessed with faithful Abraham.

For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith [That is us].

And the law is not of faith: but, the man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” I was redeemed from the curse of Exodus 20:5 and the law when I was born again, but I still had to learn God's ways and to be purged of my old sinful nature. Don’t let satan convince you that you are cursed when you begin to feel sick or experience symptoms because we are blessed and can not be cursed. Psalm 34:8, “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.” And if you get sick remember you are blessed and can not be cursed and ask Him to show you why you are sick. If you are not born again you are under the curse, so be sure you have determined to do things God’s way and made Jesus, the Word of God, your Lord and savior.

STRESS

My heart started bouncing around and acting silly one evening and I asked the Lord, “What is that?” and He answered and said, “Stress.” Stress is caused by worrying or being fearful about something and we are commanded in First Peter 5:6-9, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. Casting all your care upon Him; For He careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” And fear is covered by Second Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear [stress]; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

We must learn to go to God and say, “Father in the Name of Jesus, your Word says you have not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind and this worrying that is causing me to be stressful must go in the Name of Jesus as I humble myself under your mighty hand and cast my cares on you and bind and loose the spirit of fear that is not of you in the Name of Jesus according to Matthew 18:18, “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven.”

Second Corinthians 1:14, speaking of angels, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” When I have a relative, friend or anybody that is displaying signs of sickness or even are hospitalized I always go to these scriptures and bind the devil and loose angels to go forth and work in their behalf. But,,,it is always best to teach people the truth on healing through the eyes of the Bible so they can stay well and not have to fight off sickness or be hospitalized.

Don't forget to pray in tongues over the situation according to Romans 8:26-27, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities [weaknesses]; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession FOR US with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” Allowing the Holy Spirit to pray is a great stress reducer.

HEALING AFTER YOU HAVE DONE ALL YOU KNOW TO DO

Mark 5:25-34,  “And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched His garment. For she said, If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue had gone out of Him, turned Him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? And His disciples said unto Him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth. And He said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.”

James 5:14-16, “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” This scripture is exactly the same principle as First John 1:9, confessed, forgiven and healed or cleansed from all unrighteousness.

Mark 16:15-18, “And He [Jesus] said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my Name [Jesus] shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

Anytime I begin to get symptoms I immediately say to Him, “Dear Heavenly Father in the Name of Jesus, I ask you to forgive me of anything I might have done to give satan ground to make me sick or to have symptoms of sickness.” I then ask Him to help me to have wisdom not to give satan the same ground again.

The Lord once had me visit someone that was in the hospital and his wife asked me to go in and visit with him and pray. I went in with a co-worker that I knew, but he wasn’t a practicing Christian, just a head knowledge believer. The man was in a coma and was unable to communicate. The Holy Spirit had me lay hands on the man and pray in the spirit, because I didn’t know how to pray. I wasn’t a doctor and didn’t know what was wrong with him. The man recovered and the last I heard he was retired and living on his place in the country with his wife. I kept in touch for about five years and he was doing fine. We must learn to allow the Holy Spirit to pray for us because He knows exactly what our need is and will pray in the perfect will of God.

I dislike being overweight and I look better, breathe better, feel better, act better, am more active and can wear all my clothes when I am not overweight. Don't let satan talk you into being sick when you are overweight when you are healed by the stripes of Jesus. Once I was concerned because I was about 20 pounds heavier than I know I should be from eating tortilla chips. I was praying and I asked God to forgive me for being overweight and to help me get to a place in my life where I can go on a nice long fast and clean out my system and lose weight. I didn't want to get sick because I was overweight. The Holy Ghost spoke to me and said, “You are still healed by the stripes of Jesus.” Anytime we begin to get symptoms we are still healed by the stripes of Jesus and we must immediately go to God and ask Him to forgive us for anything we might have done to give satan ground in the area of our physical health. We must then ask Him to show us what we have done to give satan ground and help us overcome temptation and deception and the wiles of the devil in the area of our health. Stand on James 5:14-16 and confess. He will forgive you and then do your part and begin to eat a good Godly diet and drink non-acidic drinks.

I heard a preacher say one time that he was scheduled for heart surgery and God healed him and told him to take care of himself and he didn't, and ten years later he had to have open-heart surgery. “By His stripes ye were healed” didn't change and there are no footnotes to First Peter 2:24, he was just as healed the second time as he was the first time. He needed to ask for forgiveness, wisdom and strength to keep from giving the devil ground again through his diet. It would be the same principle as First John 1:9 and James 5:14-16, we confess, God forgives and God through the Holy Ghost cleanses or delivers us from eating unneeded and unhealthy food. Joel 3:10 says, “Let the weak say I am strong.”

I have had people tell me that the reason they were hospitalized was because there was someone in the hospital God wanted them to pray for. They imply that God will use sickness to get us to go to the hospital to pray for someone. God is a very intelligent, loving God and He can guide us to where He wants us if we stay sensitive to the urging of the Holy Spirit. God can use these circumstances to do good, but He would never create them to do good. Acts 13:1-4, “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost,” I want to be sent forth by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God and not be hospitalized.

When we have done our best, what we know to do, God will do the rest. When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer I immediately began to do everything I knew to do to restore my health, because I knew I was healed 2,000 years ago by the stripes of Jesus. God spoke to me through the Holy Spirit about four months after my diagnosis and said, “You don’t have cancer.”

FORGIVENESS

Not forgiving others for past hurts can create a toxic environment in our bodies or the temple of God. It is imperative that we recognize our spiritual battle because when we forgive someone satan is always going to try to make us think we haven’t forgiven them through his fiery darts, but we are to take our shield of faith and resist with the knowledge that we have forgiven.

Matthew 19:21-22, “Then came Peter to Him [Jesus], and said, Lord how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times: but until seventy times seven.” Always remember Matthew 6:14-15, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive men not their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” This is why knowledge of the spiritual battle is so important, because if we don’t have knowledge of satan and his devices we will think we haven’t forgiven and then satan will try to convince us that God hasn’t forgiven us. Say this simple prayer based on First Peter 5:6-9, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” when the wicked come and try to convince you that you haven’t forgiven someone. “Father, in the Name of Jesus I have forgiven whomever and these thoughts are the enemy trying to “mess me up” and remind me of what whomever did and they are not my thoughts and I resist and cast these thoughts on you as I humble myself under your mighty hand. If the enemy returns with these thoughts I will tell him to talk to you, because I have given the situation to you and I will not take it back. Thank you Father that I have forgiven and I am forgiven.” Matthew 19 covers Christians and Matthew six covers everyone else.

Ephesians 4:32 and 5:1-2, “And be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ sake has forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children: And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”

The definition of charity in Strong’s Greek dictionary is “agape” affection or benevolence, helping others, love. First Corinthians 13:1-7, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,  Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”

Colossians 3:12-25, “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. Servants [employees], obey in all things your masters [employer] according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men: Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done; and there is no respect of persons.”

WALKING THROUGH THE VALLEY

Life is a spiritual journey. Some people would call it a spiritual battle, struggle, warfare, path, valley or whatever, but the truth is we will battle, struggle, wage warfare along our path and occasionally there will be valleys that we pass through on the way to the mountain top. The reason we go through valleys is that once we reach our mountain top we can go back into the valley of others and help them come through their valley and be victorious and reach their mountain top. Be sure and stay rooted and grounded in Jesus and don’t get stuck in someone else’s valley with them. Live on your mountain top and visit the valley to encourage and support them.

Psalm 23:4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”

On July 29, 2009 I had the privilege of listening to a teaching by Lisa Osteen Comes title “Is There Any Noise In Your Valley?” She used Psalm 23:4-6 and used the point that you don’t have to be afraid in the valley because God is with you. The “shadow of death” is just a shadow, it is not real. The devil, your one and only enemy in this world, will try to make you think you are alone in the valley, but God is with you and will comfort you, anoint you and His goodness and mercy will be with you in the valley and you will come out victorious and dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Lisa asked the question, “What are you saying in your valley?” She stated that God doesn’t want to hear the voice of doubt, He doesn’t want to hear you griping and complaining. He wants to hear you pray in the valley. He wants to hear you praise Him in the valley and God wants to hear you resist the enemy in the valley. The more we allow the enemy to walk through the valley with us, the longer we will be in the valley. We need the Holy Spirit to walk the valley with us. We need to quote the Word of God in the valley. If you have Stephen Ministers in your church they will walk through the valley with you until you reach the mountaintop.

MY SPIRITUAL WARRIORS THAT HELPED ME THROUGH MY VALLEY

When I was told on March 10th, 2009 that I had cancer I immediately went to Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas to the Telephone Prayer Partners. I requested that they not pray for my healing, but that I would stand strong on God’s Word that by His stripes I was healed and that He came to take my sins and sicknesses and that I would do my part as He guided me through to restoring my healing that He suffered for 2,000 years ago. I then went to Renee Branson, a long time staff member at Lakewood and a powerful anointed teacher of the Word of God, and she prayed for me and told me about “The Light of God’s Word” and how it will shine in darkness and drive the darkness (cancer) out of our body. She blessed me with two of the most tremendous teachings I have ever heard, “The Light and the Glory” and “Dominion Over Death” that are available from her ministry at Mountain Top Ministries, P.O. Box 23123, Houston, TX 77228. I listened to them many times and almost on a daily basis when symptoms would appear I would speak the light of God’s Word, “By His Stripes I am healed” to my prostate, and all my other body parts as I went through the “detox” phase of my restoration, to drive out the darkness and/or cancer or acid or toxins and the fiery darts of the wicked that were battling me in my mind.

I then went to Sarah Mathia and asked her to add me to her prayer list that I would stand strong. The beauty of Lakewood Church is the wonderful people that are there that are faithful to pray and petition God when you ask them to. Not only the staff, but we have Prayer partners, Stephen Ministers, Greeters, Ushers, Kids Life workers, etc. and members that are willing and ready to pray. I probably had hundreds praying for me and when the Word says in Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” and in First Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” you need all the help you can get.

I also had my favorite scriptures that the Lord gave me when one of our Stephen Ministers e-mailed a group of us and asked for prayer for a stressful situation she was going through. The Holy Spirit immediately put together the following scriptures;

Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God!

First Peter 5:6-9, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

Be strong in the Lord.

Isaiah 40:28-31,"Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding.  He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.  Even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint".

Be sure your armor is in place.

Ephesians 6:10-18, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"

No weapon formed against you will prosper. 

Isaiah 54:14-17, "In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD."

God Has Not Given Us a Spirit of Fear

Second Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

The main scripture was First Peter 5:6-9 as I constantly turned to God and humbled myself under His mighty hand. We must learn to speak the Word of God in whatever situation we are battling through just like Jesus did in Luke 4:1-14. It is all about being positive when we speak to God and He loves to hear His Word when we talk to Him. He doesn’t want us gripping and complaining and talking about what people say about us, but what He says about us. He wanted to hear me thank Him that by the stripes of His precious Son Jesus I was healed and He sent His Son to take away my sins and sicknesses and give me eternal life and by the Blood of Jesus my sins are washed away. He wanted to hear that I knew He has a plan and purpose for my life and that plan and purpose will be fulfilled and the gates of hell will not prevail against that plan. During Lisa Osteen Comes sermon on July 29, 2009 she said, “Can you hear the doctor saying there is no cancer in your body.” I gave her my best amen.

And, of course, I can’t talk about the ministry of Joel Osteen and the anointed music ministry of Lakewood Church enough. I would be trying my best to keep the noise in my valley positive and it was a tremendous blessing to be able to go to church and get “pumped up” by the music and Joel’s teaching and Victoria Osteen’s exhortations. Lakewood has so many talented, faithful people that you can depend on. I can truly say I would not be here without the weekly teachings of Joel Osteen.

I also listened to a CD by Michael W. Smith titled “A New Hallelujah” that God used to minister to me. I was at Lakewood when he recorded the CD on June 20, 2008. I was an usher. Music has become one of satan’s greatest tools and as we strive to fulfill God’s plan and purpose for our lives we must be very selective as to what we choose to read and listen to program our minds. I don't know if it is angels or the Holy Spirit or whatever, but whenever I am battling I have always had songs that would begin to minister to me and they are always positive and up-lifting and encourage my heart so I can be positive. Zephaniah 3:17, “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing.” Faith cometh by hearing what ever we choose to listen to or read. Over and over I have been blessed to hear Lisa Osteen Comes sermon and Michael W. Smith’s music being spoken or sung to me. “What is the noise in your valley?” “I don’t want to hear griping and complaining, I want to hear you talk about Me. I want to hear you pray in the valley, I want to hear you praise Me in the valley.” “Help is on the way, I will never leave you nor forsake you, be strong, help is on the way.” And “Abba Father, I’m deep in love with You, Lord. My heart it beats for You, Precious Jesus, I’m deep in love with You.” I must have listened to these CD’s hundreds of times since I have been battling cancer and now trying to get this written and published.

SECTION TWO: I KNOW WE WERE HEALED BY THE STRIPES OF JESUS 2,000 YEARS AGO, SO WHY DO GOD’S PEOPLE GET SICK?

HOW FOOD AFFECTS OUR HEALTH

Now that you know without a doubt that you were healed by the stripes of Jesus 2,000 years ago as First Peter 2:24 tells us and that Jesus came to take our sins and sicknesses like Matthew 8:17 says and you know that the devil is constantly trying to convince us otherwise through his fiery darts by interjecting thoughts into our minds contrary to God’s Word that we are to bring into the obedience of First Peter 2:24 and Matthew 8:17, now, we are ready for section two where we will learn how to restore and/or maintain our Divine, God-given health by learning how the food we eat and the drinks we drink affect our health. I will guarantee, guarantee and guarantee that the fiery darts of the wicked will start flying as you begin to read and begin to battle, struggle, and wage warfare along your path to a good diet (What a person or animal usually eats and drinks on a daily basis).

On pages 55 and 56 of “The Miracle of Fasting” Doctor Paul Bragg states, “I want it definitely understood that man can not break a natural law. He breaks himself while attempting to break the natural law. Can man break the law of gravity? Can man jump off a 25 story building and live? (Remember Jesus in Luke 4:9-12) Of course he cannot. This applies also to the nutritional laws of nature. Man has been brainwashed into eating the processed, devitalized, and dead food (and drinks) of civilization which has propelled him into such a pitiful physical condition. Man is so gullible to the false propaganda (fiery darts of the wicked) that is passed out to him by the big “special interests” describing what healthy and long-lived people we are.

Sickness is costly. Who spends more money in the pursuit of health than any other nation in the whole wide world? We do! Which nation has more “drives” to collect funds to fight the many diseases that plague our population? We do! Who has more convalescent homes, clinics, and sanatoriums than any other country in the world? We do! What nation spends the most money on magazine, newspaper, T.V. and radio advertising on “do-it-yourself” over the counter drug medication? We do! What nation takes the most aspirin and other so-called painkillers? We do!” (We have also been brainwashed into eating the processed, devitalized, and dead food and drinking acidic liquids through magazine, newspaper, T.V., radio advertising and now online ads.)

I use the story in the Bible in Luke 4:9-12, “And he (satan) brought Him (Jesus) to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. [This is Psalms 91:11-12] And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. [This is Deuteronomy 6:16]” as a comparison of the way the average Christian that  eats the SAD or standard American diet thinks because the Word says they are healed by the stripes of Jesus they aren’t going to get sick if they stand on God’s Word. And then when they get sick they ask Jesus to heal them when He healed us 2,000 years ago when He was striped and said “It is finished.” He has done His part and now we need to do ours and eat and drink healthy.

I don’t spend a lot of time reading a newspaper, but I was stuck somewhere and bored so I read the comics and one of them was Hagar the Horrible. He was at a pub drinking with a buddy and he told his buddy, “My doctor said I had to switch from beer and fatty foods to a diet of vegetables and garden salads.” His buddy said, “Wow! What did you do?” Hagar answered with, “I switched doctors.” Our Doctor is wisdom and we are commanded in our covenant to obey and seek wisdom in everything we do, so there will be no switching doctors for the children of the Most High Doctor and let us see what kind of table He would prepare for us in the presence of our enemies.

We need to take responsibility for our own health that He provided for us at the Cross. Matthew 8:17, "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." Jesus came to take our sins and our sicknesses and when we get sick we need to look to Him to guide us back to health just like we repent of our sins and allow Him to renew our minds in the area of sin we can also allow Him to renew our minds in the way God intends for us to eat. What I would love to see people do is practice preventative eating. By eating healthy we can stay healthy and help out and stay out of the overburdened medical system. If God made it feel free to eat it, if man made it, either choose not to eat it at all or restrict these foods severely. It is amazing how much better you feel when you don’t eat a bunch of man-made junk and our meats are 99.9 percent man-made junk. Keep it simple saints.

Pediatric researchers acknowledge that there is an epidemic of childhood obesity in our country and some 8-year-olds are now using cholesterol-reducing drugs known as statins. Eight year olds? Some of the side effects of statins are muscle pain, liver damage, digestive problems, rash or flushing and neurological side effects according to the Mayo Clinic. Diabetes is running rampant in the United States. By government estimation 23.6 million people of all ages, 7.8% of the population, had diabetes in 2007. And, there are 57 million Americans with pre-diabetes. Why, God why? Can our dietary habits be influenced by the fiery darts of the wicked? Are we in a wrestling match for our health? Diabetes in the past has not generally been diagnosed in an individual before they were in their 50’s or 60’s, but now they are seeing a dramatic increase among individuals in their 20s and 30s and juvenile diabetes.

Did God invent soda water, hamburgers and French fries? Here are the ingredients for preparing fries just like one of our large chain restaurants prepares theirs: 2 large Idaho russet potatoes, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons corn syrup, 1½-2 cups hot water, 6 cups Crisco® shortening, 1/4 cup beef lard (or save the fat from previously cooked burgers), salt. Cut up the potatoes and soak them in the hot water, sugar and corn syrup for thirty minutes before you fry them in the shortening and lard. Sugar, sugar and more sugar. Sugar was a luxury that only the rich could afford until the explorers from Europe discovered the Western Hemisphere and planted sugar and realized that it grew well in tropical climates of the Caribbean. Now almost everything we eat contains sugar or starch. Here are some facts about Americans' infatuation (or deception) with sugar and syrup:

“In 1967, Americans ate 114 pounds of sugar and sweeteners a year per capita, nearly all of it as either raw or refined sugar. In 2003, each person consumed about 142 pounds of sugar per year. Since high-fructose corn syrup was developed more than 30 years ago, consumption of the sweetener, which flavors everything from soda pop to ranch dressing, has skyrocketed. Now Americans down about 61 pounds a year each [of high fructose corn syrup]. Since 1950, soft-drink consumption per capita has quadrupled, from about 11 gallons per year to about 46 gallons in 2003--nearly a gallon a week per person. With all that sugar-eating, it's no wonder people don't have much room for their vegetables. In 2003, Americans consumed, on average, a dismal 8.3 pounds of broccoli and just over 25 pounds of dark lettuces (the kinds that are really good for you).” This story appeared in the March 28, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.

One of the reasons I like to stay with natural food with spices for ingredients instead of sugar or sugar substitutes, is reading the ingredients on canned and packaged food is complicated. Sugar substitutes abound, but they are all acidic in our bodies and that includes natural or organic sugars. Here is a website that has and explains almost every ingredient you can think of http://www.upcfoodsearch.com

I saw an advertisement for a new television show in Houston that will premiere on August 5, 2010. The show is called “Salud Vital” in Spanish and means “Vital Health” in English. The show was created to address the problem of overweight and obesity in the Latino population. The ad says that Dr. Barry Winston, a private practitioner for 35 years, became alarmed at the prevalence of overweight and obese Latino patients he was seeing. The ad says that 73% of the Latino population is affected. 73%? Wow, that is a lot of people and they state that 35% of Latino high school students are overweight or obese. The show is a first and has been created to address the problem in the Houston area. Mexican food used to be one of my weaknesses. Tamales, enchiladas, tacos, refried beans, tortillas and cheese, cheese and more cheese. In my thirties I used to order the combination plate at Mexican restaurants and also fried seafood platters. We must learn to eat to live and not live to eat.

You don’t have to wait to be diagnosed with cancer to rid your body of the potential for cancer or one of the other deadly or debilitating diseases or just allergies or sinus infections or colds or whatever that can be controlled through a proper diet. As I said earlier, diabetes can and has been completely reversed through a proper diet and if diabetes can be reversed and I reversed cancer you know allergies or sinus infections or colds or whatever can be reversed.

There is a very interesting DVD available from www.rdnmovement.com showing the struggles of six people with type one and two diabetes going through the struggle to change their way of eating that I highly recommend. You can buy the “Simply Raw-Reversing Diabetes in Thirty Days” DVD for 29.95 or a 3 DVD set of the “Reversing Diabetes Now” plus “Simply Raw” and “The Ultimate Encyclopedia of the Raw Food Lifestyle” for 49.90. “There Is A Cure for Diabetes” by Gabriel Cousens, MD which he states is “The Tree of Life 21-Day+ Program to liberate ourselves from the cultural, nutritional, and personal habits that contribute to the manifestation of diabetes is to not only to heal ourselves and realize better health than persons who are not diabetic, but it is an act of love that contributes to a multi-level positive transformation of society.” Is also available for 19.95 on the same website and is 400 pages long and definitely covers everything you ever wanted to know about diabetes, but were afraid to ask. And, I will state again, that if the program will reverse diabetes it will reverse any other condition you may be suffering from.

When I was 34 years old I began to feel tired and had frequent headaches and a chest pain when I was indulging in one of my favorite activities. I was sitting on the couch one afternoon and decided to go for a run. I had on street shoes and just took off running. Sore is not a word that describes how my leg muscles reacted to my efforts to run a mile. It took me a month to be able to run a mile, but I made it. I got up to where I could run three miles a day and then six miles every other day, plus I was doing weight training and watching my calorie intake. If I would have kept up this routine I probably wouldn’t be writing this and it is impractical, to say the least, to think that the average person can run three miles a day and go to the gym. (Well trained athletes still are afflicted with conditions that we don’t understand how someone that appears to be that healthy could be diagnosed with or die of anything) What can we do on a daily basis that will not take a large amount of time and energy to maintain our health? Let’s look at Daniel’s diet from the Bible. People usually call this a Daniel fast. As we study his diet we will see that he ate pulse daily for three years. It was not a fast, but his diet. (What a person or animal usually eats and drinks on a daily basis.)

DANIEL’S DIET

Daniel chapter one, “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? Then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king. Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king’s meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.

As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in (three years), then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.”

What is pulse? Definition from the internet: Pulse, {zer?im,} denotes all leguminous plants, which are not reaped but pulled or plucked; Definition from Webster’s: The edible seeds of peas, beans, lentils, and similar plants having pods. Any member of the legume family. Definition from Strong’s Concordance: Something sown: a vegetable (as food). From what I have learned it sounds like they ate vegetables and sprouted grains. I have found bread and tortillas that are made from sprouted grains. They are called Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain bread and tortillas “Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof.” Fitches is spelt. I feel satisfied when I eat Ezekiel 4:9 products, not bloated or stuffed. I also feel satisfied if I have a meal that consist of vegetables and bean based soups. I will include a chart of alkaline and acidic foods shortly.

MY JOURNEY TO LEARNING HOW WHAT I EAT AND DRINK AFFECT MY HEALTH

I have always been interested in diet and exercise and I thought I knew what I should be eating from reading Nathan Pritkins books and “The Miracle of Fasting” by Paul Bragg in the seventies and eighties, but I would still gain weight and as I got older my weight increased from 178 in my thirties and forties to 188 in my early fifties and 198 in my late fifties and 208 in my early sixties. I never seemed to be able to get below 198. In 2003 I started an extensive exercise program and was amazed at how a sixty-three year old man’s body could respond and add muscle, but I still couldn’t lose weight. (I am now between 175 and 180 and can walk four miles in the heat of the day and take a thirty-five pound weight in each hand and do dumbbell flyes, curl a fifty pound barbell and take the same fifty pound barbell and lift it off the floor and over my head for 3 sets of 10 and I eat fish once a week, maybe.)

My journey to learning how foods react in my body and affect my health began at Ralphena Dodson's birthday party in 2006 when someone told the group they should check the PH of their urine every morning and Ralphena stated that the PH of a soda water, regular or diet, was 2.5. I went on the internet the next day and did a search on body PH and found tons of information. As I searched on the internet I kept hearing about Robert O. Young and the “PH Miracle.” I bought his book “PH Miracle for Weight Loss” as I was about 25 to 30 pounds overweight (203 to 208) and was physically active and thought I was eating healthy. I purchased a home test PH kit from http://www.feelgoodfood.com/feel-good-food-product-home-test-pH-kit.php?pc=1 and quickly discovered that the PH of my urine should be around 7.0. Since I was drinking four 44 ounce fountain diet soda waters everyday mine was about 5.2. If you are in the 6.5 to 7.5 range that is ideal, but if you are lower you are acidic and if you are above 7.5 your body is fighting to rid itself of the excess acid in your system and that is when you need to help by cutting back on the amount of acid you are putting in your body or relax and let your body detox.

Dr. Young has other books, “PH Miracle” which is a book his other books refer back to and some children’s books called “Doc Broc Rocks” and his wife Shelley's recipe books. He also has a website www.phmiracleliving.com and his blog of his articles of health are excellent. On the first page of his articles of health he states, “Articles of Health are the writings of Robert O. Young D.Sc., Ph.D., based upon his theory that the human organism is alkaline by design and acidic by function. He suggests that there is only one sickness and one disease which is caused by an over acidification of the blood and then tissues due to an inverted way of living, eating (drinking) and thinking. There is no way to have health and acidity -- health and alkalinity is the way!”

One of the things in “PH Miracle for Weight Loss” is “live blood analysis.” Dr. Young takes a drop of someone’s blood and puts it under a microscope and can determine if they are acidic or alkaline by the shape of their blood cells. He shows pictures of blood that he has taken when they were on an acidic man-made diet and then compares the pictures of the blood after they have been on a natural alkaline diet. The blood of people with acidic or unhealthy blood is bunched up and looks like wiggle worms. In the healthy alkaline blood sample the cells are round and separated. Dr. Young says he has done 10’s of thousands of the live blood analysis and has learned to recognize signs of specific conditions and can definitely tell you what you have been eating. They can all be corrected with an alkaline diet.

Jane Clayson Johnson, a television personality, formerly of the “Early Show,” went to Dr. Young because she had serious digestive problems and said Dr. Young looked at her blood and told her everything that was wrong with her before she could tell him. She began to follow the alkaline diet first by drinking high PH water with Dr. Young’s “super greens” and turned her serious digestive problems around. I have had a “live blood analysis” and found it to be informative, but since it was June 5, 2010 right in the middle of my detox it didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. I was bunched up and had wiggle worms and will have another “live blood analysis”as soon as possible.

For the next three years I began to experiment with becoming “alkaline.” I sent off and got an oxygenation system that is designed to ionize and alkalize water by spinning and adding certain minerals. I then started experimenting with finding water that I could alkalize without spinning it first. I bought several different waters and checked the PH and found out that bottled water can be acidic. I learned from Dr. Young’s books that you can add baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, to your drinking water and raise the PH to an acceptable level. Go easy on the baking soda as it will affect the taste of the water. Check the PH as you add the baking soda and get the water between 8 or 9. I finally found water that I could easily alkalize when my local Whole Foods began selling their “Electrolyte Enhanced Water.” It only takes a very small amount of baking soda in a 1.5 liter bottle to raise the PH to 8 or above.

I only drink the water with mineral salts now, but in the beginning of my journey I experimented with different kinds of green powders to add to my water. The greens are a blend of organic grasses, vegetables, sprouted grains, leaves and high frequency minerals which alkalize, energize and nourish cells as they balance the body’s pH level. I started out with greens from different sources (Usually the cheapest), but ended up deciding to use Dr. Young’s “Innerlight Super Greens.” They contain: Kamut Grass, Barley Grass, Lemon Grass, Shavegrass, Wheat Grass, Alfalfa Leaf, Dandelion Leaf, Bilberry Leaf, Black Walnut Leaf, Blackberry Leaf, Plantain Leaf, Red Raspberry Leaf, Blueberry Leaf, Boldo Leaf, Goldenseal Leaf, Papaya Leaf, Strawberry Leaf, Lecithin, Avocado, Slippery Elm Bark, Marshmallow Root, Pau d’Arco, Cornsilk, Rosemary, Betatene, Rose Hip, Echinacea Purp Tops, Dog Grass, Meadowsweet, Aloe Whole Leaf Conc., Oat Grass, Soy Sprout Con., Kale, Spinach, Okra, Cabbage, Celery, Parsley Leaf, Broccoli, Watercress, Alfalfa Juice Conc., Tumuric, Tomato, Peppermint Leaf, Spearmint Leaf, Wintergreen Leaf, Sage, Thyme, Rosemary Leaf,  and a Mineral Complex.

I later switched to Dr. Young’s “Doc Broc Power Plants’ which contain: Avocado, Cucumber, Tomato, Lemon, Lime, Broccoli Sprouts, Spinach, Celery, Parsley, Cabbage, Collard Greens, Okra, Kale, Soy Sprouts, Lemon Grass, Wheat Grass, Barley Grass, Shave Grass, Oat Grass, and Couch Grass. I switched because they are cheaper. I made up the greens in a 1.5 liter bottle of the “Electrolyte Enhanced Water” and just enough baking soda to take the PH to 8 or 9 and add 4 drops of liquid stevia with no alcohol and one and a half teaspoons of green powder. I have quit using them because the greens don’t fully dissolve and when I do a cleanse most of what comes out appears to be undissolved greens.

Unfortunately from 2006 until I was diagnosed with prostate cancer I did not strictly follow an alkaline eating plan. The word diet has become a cuss word in our society, but I now chose as my everyday diet (What a person or animal usually eats and drinks on a daily basis) an alkaline diet.

IS IT ACID OR ALKALINE?

We need a 70 percent alkaline and 30 percent acidic diet when we are healthy. When I was diagnosed with cancer I needed to be almost 100 percent alkaline until my body healed itself. All food digested in our bodies metabolizes, or burns, down to an ash residue. This ash residue can be neutral, acidic, or alkaline. One of the first things I needed to know is which foods are acidic and which are base or alkaline. Alkaline is good and acidic is bad because they create toxins in your body. The human body is designed to battle to maintain a blood PH of 7.35. When we chose to eat a diet that is high in acidic foods our bodies begin to do everything it can to maintain a blood PH of 7.35. The body will store excess acid as fat. I have come to realize that the roll around my mid section is the body’s way of trying to protect me from the excess acid in my body. Fat is designed to save our lives, so in the future when you see that roll thank God that the acid isn’t somewhere else causing damage to your body, but you still need to get rid of the roll.

Our bodies will also take calcium from our bones to neutralize the excess acid in our bodies. From what I have read a high animal protein diet, including diary, (although vegetarians can definitely have a diet that is predominately acidic by eating white flour, sugar, vinegar, acidic salad dressings and drinks, etc.) creates excess acid in the blood and the body leaches calcium from our bones to neutralize the acid causing the bones to weaken which is the main cause of osteoporosis. Calcium content per 4 ounces of food: Sesame seeds with hulls-1,160 mg. (11.5 ounces per day is 100 percent of the daily value we need), collard greens-250 mg., kale-249 mg., turnip greens-246 mg., almond-234 mg., collard stems-203 mg., brazil nut-186 mg. and I bet Swiss chard is okay and many others that can be researched on the internet at http://whfoods.org  or www.nutritiondata.com or in the “PH Miracle.” Be careful of whfoods he is not alkaline,

So that we don’t need to eat an excess of animal protein, here is an article explaining that vegetables are complete proteins and our daily protein needs, which is about 2.5 to 10 percent from calories. http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/protein.html

The percentage of protein from calories is high in most green vegetables: Kale-60%, Brussels sprouts-49%, collard greens-48%, broccoli-49%, spinach-49%, green leaf lettuce-42% alfalfa sprouts-40%, avocado is 22%, lentils-30%, mung sprouts-38%, tofu-43%, (Beware of tofu made from genetically modified soybeans. It is best to avoid genetically modified foods because of the uncertainty of their effect on the body. Generally an alkaline diet will be gmo free. Avoid corn and check that the soybeans are not gmo. Soy sprouts will be safe and you can grow your own.) Almonds-19%, sunflower seeds-24% and many others that you can check on the internet at  http://whfoods.org/ or  www.nutritiondata.com or buy the “PH Miracle.”

I recently meet a man from Louisiana that told me a story about his grandmother that passed away at 104 ½. He said she had breast cancer at 68 and started eating nothing but greens, collard, mustard and turnip, and lived to be 104 ½. He said she ate a piece of fish every now and then. She evidently was getting all the nutrients she needed from the greens because he said she worked in her garden and drove until shortly before she passed away.

As I read Dr. Young's books I was amazed to find out how many things we eat everyday that are acidic to our bodies. Sugar, sweeteners, white flour, white rice, potatoes when you are battling to alkalize, corn, peanuts, mushrooms, dairy (You can use almond milk and I am learning to make my own), processed salt (Use Sea Salt or Real Salt), oils (Except olive, flax seed, grape seed and the special blends like Udo's and Essential Balance), meat, eggs, stored grains (I use Ezekiel 4:9 breads and generally eat sprouted tortillas as my bread substitute), yeast, spirinula, algae supplements, fermented products, alcohol, microwaved food, artificial sweeteners, almost every thing we drink, soda water, coffee, alcoholic beverages and some bottled waters.

I drink Electron Enhanced Water from Whole Foods because it is one of the few waters I have found that I could easily raise the PH to an 8 or 9 with a small amount of baking soda, but the best thing to do is buy a water ionizer. They cost anywhere from 1200 to 4,000 dollars.  A water ionizer is hooked up to the tap water coming into your home and then the water is filtered by an ultra-fine Biostone filter that will take out all the bad stuff and leave the minerals that are good for us. The water then goes through an ionization chamber. It is here that a low voltage electrical charge is passed through the water and the negative and positive charged waters are separated and alkaline water comes out one spout and acidic water comes out the other spout. From the internet I determined that what separates a good and bad water ionizer is the PH level AND the ORP number. A positive ORP number is bad and a negative ORP number is good. ORP stands for Oxidation/Reduction Potential. A negative ORP means that the water has anti-oxidation potential and acts as an anti-oxidant.  Look for a water ionizer that produces high PH water and a negative ORP that you can actually go to the sink and fill your glass with water that you don't have to run to the store and buy or wait for it to come in the mail.

I have an acquaintance at church I have known for several years and he and I had discussed the alkaline diet and “The PH Miracle” on several occasions. I hadn’t seen him in a while and we ran into each other at church one day and he had gone from “pleasantly plump” to no stomach and was probably about fifty pounds lighter. He told me he had gotten a water ionizer that cost 4,000 dollars and had changed his diet, but he said the water ionizer helped him switch to an alkaline diet more than anything else. Buying a water ionizer is a great first step toward becoming alkaline and if you can afford it or if you can’t afford it do your best to purchase a water ionizer. Remember, if the wide screen or stove went out you would find a way.

ACID-ALKALINE FOOD CHART

In the following chart each food is assigned a number which represents its approximate relative potential of acidity (-) or alkalinity (+) present in one ounce of food. The higher the positive (+) number, the better it is for you to eat. These charts come in handy when trying to decide if certain foods are acidic to your system. Note: I don’t know why they didn’t include kale, collard greens and all types of chard, but they are some of the healthiest food on the planet and are very easily juiced when added in to recipes for the Vita-Mix and the juicer.

Healthy Alkaline Foods
- Eat lots of them!

Vegetables
Alfalfa Grass +29.3
Asparagus +1.3
Barley Grass +28.1
Brussels Sprouts +0.5
Cabbage Lettuce, Fresh +14.1
Cauliflower +3.1
Cayenne Pepper +18.8
Celery +13.3
Chives +8.3
Comfrey +1.5
Cucumber, Fresh +31.5
Dandelion +22.7
Dog Grass +22.6
Endive, Fresh +14.5
French Cut Green Beans +11.2
Garlic +13.2
Green Cabbage December Harvest +4.0
Green Cabbage, March Harvest +2.0
Kamut Grass +27.6
Lamb's Lettuce +4.8
Leeks (Bulbs) +7.2
Lettuce +2.2
Onion +3.0
Peas, Fresh +5.1
Peas, Ripe +0.5
Red Cabbage +6.3
Rhubarb Stalks +6.3
Savoy Cabbage +4.5
Shave Grass +21.7
Sorrel +11.5
Soy Sprouts +29.5
Spinach (Other Than March) +13.1
Spinach, March Harvest +8.0
Sprouted Chia Seeds +28.5
Sprouted Radish Seeds +28.4
Straw Grass +21.4
Watercress +7.7
Wheat Grass +33.8
White Cabbage +3.3
Zucchini +5.7

Root Vegetables
Beet +11.3
Carrot +9.5
Horseradish +6.8
Kohlrabi +5.1
Potatoes +2.0
Red Radish +16.7
Rutabaga +3.1
Summer Black Radish +39.4
Turnip +8.0
White Radish (Spring) +3.1

Fruits
Avocado (Protein) +15.6
Fresh Lemon +9.9
Limes +8.2
Tomato +13.6

Non-Stored Organic Grains And Legumes
Buckwheat Groats +0.5 
Granulated Soy (Cooked Ground Soy Beans) +12.8
Lentils +0.6
Lima Beans +12.0
Soy Flour +2.5
Soy Lecithin (Pure) +38.0
Soy Nuts (soaked Soy Beans, Then Air Dried) +26.5
Soybeans, Fresh +12.0
Spelt +0.5
Tofu +3.2
White Beans (Navy Beans) +12.1

Nuts
Almonds +3.6
Brazil Nuts +0.5

Seeds
Caraway Seeds +2.3
Cumin Seeds +1.1
Fennel Seeds +1.3
Flax Seeds +1.3
Pumpkin Seeds +5.6
Sesame Seeds +0.5
Sunflower Seeds +5.4
Wheat Kernel +11.4

Fats (Fresh, Cold-Pressed Oils)
Borage Oil +3.2
Evening Primrose Oil +4.1
Flax Seed Oil +3.5
Marine Lipids +4.7
Olive Oil +1.0

Foods you should only
consume moderately

Fruits
(In Season, For Cleansing Only Or With Moderation)
Apricot -9.5
Banana, Ripe -10.1
Banana, Unripe +4.8
Black Currant -6.1
Blueberry -5.3
Cantaloupe -2.5
Cherry, Sour +3.5
Cherry, Sweet -3.6
Coconut, Fresh +0.5
Cranberry -7.0
Currant -8.2
Date -4.7
Fig Juice Powder -2.4
Gooseberry, Ripe -7.7
Grape, Ripe -7.6
Grapefruit -1.7
Italian Plum -4.9
Mandarin Orange -11.5
Mango -8.7
Orange -9.2
Papaya -9.4
Peach -9.7
Pear -9.9
Pineapple -12.6
Raspberry -5.1
Red Currant -2.4
Rose Hips -15.5
Strawberry -5.4
Tangerine -8.5
Watermelon -1.0
Yellow Plum -4.9


 

Non-Stored Grains
Brown Rice -12.5
Wheat -10.1


 

Nuts
Hazelnuts -2.0
Macadamia Nuts -3.2
Walnuts -8.0


 

Fish
Fresh Water Fish -11.8


 

Fats
Coconut Milk -1.5
Sunflower Oil -6.7

Unhealthy Acidic Foods
- Try to avoid them!

Meat, Poultry, And Fish
Beef -34.5
Chicken (to -22) -18.0
Eggs (to -22)
Liver -3.0
Ocean Fish -20.0
Organ Meats -3.0
Oysters -5.0
Pork -38.0
Veal -35.0


 

Milk And Milk Products
Buttermilk +1.3
Cream -3.9
Hard Cheese -18.1
Homogenized Milk -1.0
Quark -17.3


 

Bread, Biscuits (Stored Grains/Risen Dough)
Rye Bread -2.5
White Biscuit -6.5
White Bread -10.0
Whole-Grain Bread -4.5
Whole-Meal Bread -6.5


 

Nuts
Cashews -9.3
Peanuts -12.8
Pistachios -16.6


 

Fats
Butter -3.9
Corn Oil -6.5
Margarine -7.5


 

Sweets
Artificial Sweeteners -26.5
Barley Malt Syrup -9.3
Beet Sugar -15.1
Brown Rice Syrup -8.7
Chocolate -24.6
Dr. Bronner's Barley
Dried Sugar Cane Juice -18.0
Fructose -9.5
Honey -7.6
Malt Sweetener -9.8
Milk Sugar -9.4
Molasses -14.6
Turbinado Sugar -9.5
White Sugar -17.6

Condiments
Ketchup -12.4
Mayonnaise -12.5
Mustard -19.2
Soy Sauce -36.2
Vinegar -39.4


 

Beverages
Beer -26.8
Coffee -25.1
Fruit Juice Sweetened
Fruit Juice, Packaged, Natural -8.7
Liquor -38.7
Tea (Black) -27.1
Wine -16.4


 

Miscellaneous
Canned Foods
Microwaved Foods
The processed, devitalized, and dead food and drinks of civilization which has propelled humanity into such a pitiful physical condition. Processed (Man Made) Foods are all acidic.

EQUIPMENT

1.Books-“PH Miracle” by Robert O. Young. He has other books, but this is his first and his other books refer you back to this one. He and Shelley have just come out with a revised updated version that came out on July 2, 2010. "PH Miracle for Weight Loss" has the information on live blood analysis and it is good to have both, but "PH Miracle" is the first of the series. You can get the principle and purpose of alkalizing from this book. There is also "PH Miracle for Diabetes" that I gave to a friend that is battling diabetes. Dr Young’s wife, Shelley, does the cookbooks and she has two that can be bought on their website. "The Miracle of Fasting" by Paul C. Bragg and Patricia Bragg. This book is loaded with plain old common sense and if you never fast you should still read it. BUT, he wasn't educated in the acid/alkaline diet and he thought the urine should be acidic and even suggested drinking a drink made from distilled water and vinegar. Vinegar has a PH of -39.4. That is why his urine was acidic. Definition of vinegar from Wikepedia “Vinegar is an acidic liquid produced from the fermentation of ethanol in a process that yields its key ingredient, acetic acid (ethanoic acid). It also may come in a diluted form. The acetic acid concentration typically ranges from 4% to 8% by volume for table vinegar and up to 18% for pickling. Natural vinegars also contain small amounts of tartaric acid, citric acid, and other acids.” For those of you that like to make different dishes, I like to keep it simple, “The Complete Book of Raw Food”  compiled by Julie Rodwell has 375 recipes but be careful, they are not all alkaline. “12 Steps to Raw Foods” by Victoria Boutenko-Be careful she uses a lot of fruit in her smoothies and she is not educated in the alkaline diet, BUT she is educated in the raw food lifestyle and used it to reverse her husbands thyroid condition, her son’s diabetes and her daughter’s asthma and allergies. “The Acid Alkaline Food Guide” by Dr. Susan E. Brown and Larry Trivieri, Jr. To be really educated buy and read them all.

2.A water Ionizer-I debated whether or not to put this before books because you already have this book, but I highly recommend a water ionizer. I don’t have one yet, but help is on the way. We discussed water ionization and its anti-oxidation capabilities earlier and http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/water-quality.htm dis-cusses ionized water in tremendous detail. Here is an example, “We Americans pitch 38 billion water bottles a year into landfills -- in excess of $1 billion worth of plastic. And 24% of the bottled water we buy is tap water repackaged by (Two leading soft drink companies). (Bottled water: A river of money). There is a perception among many people that bottled water is somehow more healthy or pure than water from their tap. This is simply an illusion of marketing. A four-year study by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), released in 1999, found that one-fifth of the sampled bottled waters contained known neurotoxins and carcinogens such as styrene, toluene and xylene. Another NRDC study found that, out of 103 brands of bottled water, one-third contained traces of arsenic and E. coli. This means that out of a sample of 1,000 bottles sold in the U.S., at least 300 would have some level of chemical contamination. ”Here is a video that is on their website and explains how the water ionizer works that I will feel comfortable buying. http://www.ionways.com//resources_videos_2.aspx Dr. Young also has water ionizers http://www.phmiracleliving.com/c-27-alkaline-water-and-ionizers.aspx Do a search on the internet on water ionizer and pick the one that has the best reviews and you can afford.

3.Vita-Mix Total Nutrition Center is a high powered blender. It will blend anything into liquid except rubber bands. (I accidentally tried) There is no pulp to discard and the clean-up takes about 3 minutes max. There are many recipes out there on the internet for healthy smoothies. Refer to the acid-alkaline food chart to put together an alkaline smoothie that is nutritious and tasty. Always include a green and cucumber and check the PH of the fruit as most have high sugar content. I am a spice person, so I don’t have to have sugar to make my food taste appealing. Shelley Young’s book “Back to the House of Health” has tons of fruit free and sugar free recipes, but she is female and likes to prepare warm food and it is easier for me to throw all the ingredients in the Vita Mix with the correct spices and make a soup out of it without cooking and the clean up connected with cooking and spoon and drink my way to health. The recipe for “Popeye Soup” in the section, “My Diet After My Cancer Diagnosis,” is a good example. Here is the link to Vita-Mix http://www.vitamix.com/index.asp

4.Cuisinart Pro Custom 11 Food Processor-If you live somewhere where there are no restaurants that have a good salad bar this is a must to chop, slice and shred your veggies and nuts. I make a nut combination to add to my Ezekiel 4:9 cereal or just fruit out of almonds, macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts and walnuts and add agave nectar, coconut oil, blueberries, occasionally banana and then use unsweetened almond milk. I am going to start to use the vita-mix to make my own almond milk.

5.Green Star Twin Gear Juice Extractor-Literally is a life saver when you have a condition such as cancer like I did and becomes very easy to use after you have used it for awhile. If you have a good sturdy low table or a sink that it will fit in it is best to be above the juicer when you are feeding veggies into it. If you are juicing a lot of different veggies like I did make sure you clean or change out the filter (It has two) occasionally while juicing high fiber veggies. I use this to make nut butter. I make nut butter by processing almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts and sesame seeds with the hulls included for the high calcium content at the same time and add flaxseed powder, flaxseed oil, coconut oil and honey. I then have it on Ezekiel 4:9 tortillas and spelt bread. Here is a juicer comparison site http://www.bestjuicers.com/juicercomparisons.html

6.Grow your own sprouts-I am sure I can find sprouting devices in Houston, but I have just never looked. I go to http://www.sproutpeople.com/index.html and they seem to be knowledgeable and they keep it simple. I have an Easy Sprout and I am going to purchase a Sprout Master. I also have what is called an EasyGreen Automatic Sprouter and as it implies it is automatic except for making sure the water reservoir has water in it and you can purchase a device that hooks up to the kitchen sink and it will even do that for you. BUT, I have found to prevent mold you need to add 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide to the water, but the sprouter is expensive and I own one because I got it in a package deal with the Green Star Juicier. I have failed to make it work because I just found out about adding the hydrogen peroxide. It is on my schedule. Here is a link to sprouter reviews http://www.naturalnews.com/021475.html

HOW TO TRANSITION FROM THE STANDARD AMERICAN DIET (SAD) TO A HEALTHY ALKALINE DIET TO MAINTAIN YOUR HEALTH

The most difficult thing in transitioning is not retraining the mind, because a lot of us know what we should do, but it is changing the way we taste food. I know people that are repulsed at eating God made food. If it is not processed, man-made food they don’t want it. How can someone that would starve if they were taken back and placed in the Garden of Eden transition to a God-made diet (What a person or animal usually eats and drinks on a daily basis)?

Proverbs 18:21-22, “A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” A precious child of God named Gloria Smith told me that the Lord spoke to her concerning this scripture in regard to diet. This is a scripture that usually is used to teach about making a positive confession and that is true, but He was teaching Gloria about what we eat can give us life or death. We have approximately 10,000 taste buds in our mouth that are primarily on the tongue and to a lesser extent on our cheeks, throat and the roof of the mouth. I have changed the way I taste by changing to an alkaline diet, because I no longer can drink soda water and eat things with vinegar and sugary desserts because they burn my throat. Dead bread has no flavor and greasy meat has no appeal and things like macaroni and cheese and pizza and hamburgers and hot dogs and French fries are unthinkable.
     I was at Sweet Tomatoes, my favorite restaurant, with a friend last Sunday (8-21-2010) and I fixed my usual salad with my usual 15 vegetables and added olive oil, ground pepper, sea salt and lemon and it was the most delicious meal I have ever eaten, because I have re-trained my taste buds. My guacamole that I make out of my life saving avocado is now my meat and spelt bread is delicious and my “Popeye soup” is perfect. Cold fruit with coconut oil and honey with nuts is now my breakfast of choice, because my taste buds are re-trained and my attitude toward what is healthy for my temple has changed. I want to be healthy to serve God to the fullest and stay out of the medical system as much as possible. God has a plan and a purpose for each and every one us and we don’t need to be sick and/or overweight.

Every book I have read on the alkaline diet has a transition plan. Dr. Young’s is a seven step plan: 1. Hydrate-drink lots of, one liter per 30 pounds of body weight, alkalizing water. 2. Eat right for your life which is a 12 step plan in itself. 3. Exercise. 4. Take your supplements-which are green drink, healthy fats, soy sprouts or soy sprout powder, ph drops, garcinia cambogia/HCA, chromium, tyrosine and clay. 5. Prepare your emotional environment, which is very important. I have my list of daily scriptures, but anything to introduce positive thoughts into your mind. 6. Set goals and write them down. (I have found as you begin to eat an alkaline diet that you will naturally attain your goals. It just happens.) 7. Cleanse your body from the inside out. Very important and we will discuss in toxins.

My steps to transitioning to having taste buds that can actually taste and appreciate God-made food and have an immune system that is alkaline so that it can fight off diseases and produce good, healthy blood cells:

1. Education about how foods affect our health. The books in the “Equipment” section are an excellent place to start. I go on the internet when I have a question and Google my question and go from there. Last night I searched “Plant sources of protein.” I got tons of answers, but you will find that there are a lot of people that make money in the “eat healthy” business. And some of them get very elaborate with conferences and getting herbs from faraway places, etc. Herbs are good and are excellent to aid in removing toxins from the body, but I like to keep it simple because I want the average person to be able to become alkaline and fight off the many illnesses we seem to be bombarded by everyday. If you are on a limited budget start with Shelley Young’s cookbooks.

2. Drinking lots of alkaline water with as high a PH as possible. I make my water to a PH of about 8-9. They have the water ionizers that produce water with a PH of 8-9 and that is the best way to go if you can afford it, but you can always add just enough baking soda to a good water and make your own. Once again I use Electron Enhanced Water from Whole Foods because it is one of the few waters I have found that I could easily raise the PH to an 8 or 9 with a small amount of baking soda.

3. Make a list of your fifteen favorite drinks and food, such as:
1. Coffee
2. Chocolate
3. Soda water
4. French fries
5. Hamburgers, chicken burgers or whatever burgers
6. Fried chicken
7. Cookies, doughnuts, pies, cakes, brownies, etc.
8. Lunch meat. I call it man made meat.
9. Pork and beef
10. Purchased smoothies, because of the added sugar.
11. Purchased fruit drinks
12. Milkshakes and ice cream
13. Pizza
14. Pasta-Macaroni and cheese-America’s health food-It has bread and cheese!
15. Cashews, peanuts and pistachios

Put your favorite at the top and list them in that order and then begin to cut out number 15 first and work your way to the top.

4. Find places to eat out that have healthy choices. Transitioning is so much easier when you have a restaurant that serves an abundance of vegetables like I do. My girls at my favorite restaurant, “Sweet Tomatoes”, Lauren, Daisy, Terry and Jamie know my name and I brag about my “Sweet Tomatoes” every chance I get. I can fix a salad with 17 different veggies, romaine lettuce, field greens, spinach, cabbage, beets, green squash, celery, radish, carrot, cauliflower, green bell pepper, yellow squash, jicima, cucumbers, tomatoes, broccoli, scallions, and I use olive oil, ground pepper, sea salt and sometimes lemon for my dressing. Avoid the mayonnaise based and vinegar based dressings as they void out the alkaline effects of the salad. Sorry to be a party pooper, but you can learn to live without acidic dressings. I have! They have many alkaline recipes for salad dressing in Shelley Young’s cookbooks.

Alkalizing Citrus Salad Dressing:
Ingredients for the Dressing:
1/3 cup fresh lemon and / or lime juice
3/4 cup cold pressed olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp ground oregano
¼ tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried basil
½ tsp ground cumin
1 dash of sea salt and cayenne pepper
Directions: Put all ingredients in a blender and mix until all ingredients are well emulsified. Season again if desired.
Tip: If you prefer a thicker dressing, you can also add 1 tbsp. of flaxseeds before blending. And there are many, many, many others out there for your dining pleasure. Do a search on alkaline salad dressing.

Sweet Tomatoes has a few soups that are good for you, but you have to watch for added sugar. When I eat an abundance of vegetables my cravings for things I shouldn’t eat are non-existent, such as, meat, dairy, sugar and white flour. (When the thought of protein and calcium enter your mind, think gorilla and elephant and what they eat and they don’t eat sugar, meat, dairy and white flour) I eat salmon about every two weeks. I have grass-fed beef in my freezer, but I haven’t yet decided to use it. If I do I will check my PH on a regular basis to be sure it stays alkaline. The grass fed people swear that it is what people ate before they started feeding grain and steroids and hormones to cattle and we didn’t have all the health problems we have now.

5. Accumulating the equipment that was listed earlier is not as expensive as it may seem. If you can afford a water ionizer go on the internet and research and get one as soon as possible. Cut out some of the unnecessary food items on the list you are going to make and it won’t be that difficult. The books are the first thing you need and I would encourage anyone that has a condition to buy Shelley Young’s 2000 edition cookbook first if you can’t afford to buy all of them. Second is to find a way to get a Vita-Mix. I wish they didn’t cost so much, but if we will look at what we buy at the grocery store and quit buying processed food and acidic drinks and start buying natural, living God made whole food we could probably afford to buy a Vita-Mix. If the wide screen went out you would find a way. You can put a whole apple in the Vita-Mix and it will pulverize it and the clean-up is so easy. Somebody said apple seeds may have cyanide so I started cutting out the seeds. The point is it will liquefy almost anything.
 

The Cuisinart Pro Custom 11 Food Processor and the Green Star Twin Gear Juice Extractor are two pieces of equipment you definitely want to accumulate, but in an emergency a good knife will do and a hand nut chopper. The juicier is the best I could afford and it is 450 dollars and will juice wheatgrass, but there are cheaper and more expensive and possibly better juicers out there. Go online and check the reviews. I have seen a couple for under 400 dollars that look extremely simple to use. Many people use the Vita-Mix as a juicer and there is no pulp to discard. You drink the whole vegetable and fruit. It is extremely easy to make nut butter with the Green Star and it doesn’t heat the nuts or the vegetables.
    6. I think we thoroughly covered the emotional environment in the first section, but always remember to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God; stand firm on the Word of God and no weapon formed against you will prosper and remember, God has not give us a spirit of fear. I could always go to church and be encouraged, but I am single and only go to church on Saturdays and Sundays so I needed to encourage myself through the Word, Christian music and Holy Ghost filled preaching that was positive and gave me hope like Joel Osteen’s messages. I learned early in my walk with Jesus that when you feel discouraged, go find someone to encourage and when you need prayer, pray for somebody. Being a part of the Stephen Ministry at Lakewood Church was very instrumental in my healing.

7.Supplements are tricky. The supplements I take are TriVita’s Vita Daily AM and PM and Sublingual B-12, Purity Products advanced D, Nature’s Way Primadophilus Optima, a probiotic that Dr. Young doesn’t recommend, and from the Vitamin Shoppe: Niacin, Chromium and a magnesium and potassium mix and recently I have added for the B vitamins, Irwin Naturals “Triple-Boost Caffeine-Free Energy.” Go to http://whfoods.org/ or www.nutritiondata.com and you will find that anything God made is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals and I am convinced that if we are eating a God-based, natural, non man made, diet we are going to get plenty of vitamins and minerals. I did a search on food sources of potassium and found that Swiss chard, spinach, avocado and lima beans and lentils are an excellent source, but don’t combine beans and greens unless you are staying home alone. I personally like the Daniel diet and I am going to experiment with eating grass fed beef and wild salmon once a week and check my urine PH and see if I can stay alkaline. And if not I will stick with a strict God made diet and as someone told me, "God made cows." but He didn't fill them full of steroids, hormones and grain, He fed them grass. I tried some of the grass fed beef and my PH dropped to a 5.2 but since I am on an alkaline diet except for one meal a week my PH quickly returned to 7.6. Four ounces of calves’ liver has 690% of the daily value for B12.

8. And, if possible, exercise and/or sweat. The reason I don’t elaborate on exercise is because of those people that are too ill to exercise until they can restore their system to a healthy enough state to exercise. I walk and go to the gym and do weight bearing exercise and the steam room and spa. If you can only go to the gym and walk a treadmill and/or sit in the sauna and spa that would be great. After you are healthier you can work out an exercise plan. Exercise is a great way to sweat and release toxins. I belong to 24 hour fitness and that makes it easy.

9. Fast-I don’t recommend fasting more that one to three days to anyone that is not healthy. The body releases a lot of toxins during a fast and you need to be careful. Matthew 6:16, “Moreover when (not if) ye fast. I am currently (July 01, 2010) on a ten day fast and I will give an account of my fast in the section “Fasting should only be done when you are healthy.” I have reread “The Miracle of Fasting” and I feel as if someone should use it for a guide to fasting, but he is too lenient in other people’s diets. His personal diet is very strict and I like his plan to fast 10 days 4 times a year and once a week. That is 44 days of weekly fast and 40 days of quarterly fasting. I am going to try my best and with the Holy Ghost urging me on I am going to do it. Dr. Bragg also stated that the PH of the urine should be acidic and he recommends a 6 ounce glass of water with two teaspoons of vinegar to keep it acidic. The vinegar is what makes the urine acidic. Stick with “The PH Miracle” and avoid vinegar, but use his book for fasting when you are healthy.

MY DIET AFTER MY CANCER DIAGNOSIS

The first month or so after my cancer diagnosis on March 10, 2009 following a biopsy I ate “Popeye Soup” and drank my “greens” which was made from Dr. Young’s “Innerlight Super Greens.” They contain: Kamut Grass, Barley Grass, Lemon Grass, Shavegrass, Wheat Grass, Alfalfa Leaf, Dandelion Leaf, Bilberry Leaf, Black Walnut Leaf, Blackberry Leaf, Plantain Leaf, Red Raspberry Leaf, Blueberry Leaf, Boldo Leaf, Goldenseal Leaf, Papaya Leaf, Strawberry Leaf, Lecithin, Avocado, Slippery Elm Bark, Marshmallow Root, Pau d’Arco, Cornsilk, Rosemary, Betatene, Rose Hip, Echinacea Purp Tops, Dog Grass, Meadowsweet, Aloe Whole Leaf Conc., Oat Grass, Soy Sprout Con., Kale, Spinach, Okra, Cabbage, Celery, Parsley Leaf, Broccoli, Watercress, Alfalfa Juice Conc., Tumuric, Tomato, Peppermint Leaf, Spearmint Leaf, Winter-green Leaf, Sage, Thyme, Rosemary Leaf, and a Mineral Complex. I make it in a 1.5 liter bottle of Whole Foods Electron Enhanced water with enough baking soda to raise the PH to between 8 and 9, 4 drops of liquid non-alcohol stevia and one and a half scoops or teaspoons of the powdered greens.

Popeye Soup to serve four is:

1 avocado
1 cup water or veggie stock
2 cucumbers
1 cup raw spinach (I also put in collard greens or kale of chard for more protein and calcium)
1/3 red bell pepper
2 green onions
1 clove garlic
1/2 - 1 tsp: Garam Masala and Curry and Spice Hunters Zip Blend
Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or Real Salt to taste
Lime or lemon juice, to taste
     In a blender (I use a Vita-mix), add avocado and the water or vegetable stock and spices, lemon and aminos and blend, then add the rest of the ingredients and blend. Thin with more water if necessary.

Shelly Young’s book, “Back to the House of Health,” has what she calls foundational recipes that are 100% alkaline. She cooks and or heats some of the ingredients, but I am male and would much rather put the ingredients in a Vita-Mix and be done with it and drink or spoon my way back to health.

The Lord didn’t want me bored on my journey so we did various things to change and vary the diet as we went along to being alkaline and staying alkaline. He blessed me with a Green Star twin gear juicer. We juiced a combination of wheatgrass, celery, carrots, cucumber, spinach, kale, collard greens, green onions, tomato, bell peppers, any sprout, garlic and apple (Although I didn't use apple, but it can add sweetness to the juice since it has a high sugar content, but since it has a high sugar content it is best to avoid sugar in any form until you hear the doctor say, "You are cancer free!") and a very small amount of jalapeño. Careful on the jalapeño and don't juice the seeds.

I also drank wheatgrass from Jamba Juice and Floressence, a detox herbal mix you can buy from Whole Foods. Some wheatgrass tastes like a fresh cut lawn smells, but the wheatgrass from Jamba Juice is sweet and tasty. I did my own with the Green Star juicer the Lord provided for me and always had to pray and thank God that it was better than being operated on or radiation treatments or chemotherapy or medication as I raised the glass to God and drank the life giving nectar.

After about two months I added my own personal guacamole dip which is: One avocado, juice of a lemon to taste, pico de gallo, sea salt to taste and Spice Hunter Zip blend or any Mexican spice blend to taste. Enough for me, but would probably be enough for two. I eat this with Ezekiel 4:9 tortillas.

MY DIET AFTER I WAS CANCER FREE

After the Holy Spirit let me know I no longer had cancer I ate at “Sweet Tomatoes” (My favorite place to eat) where I can put about 17 different veggies (Romaine lettuce, field greens, spinach, cabbage, beets, zucchini, celery, radish, carrot, cauliflower, green bell pepper, yellow squash, jicima, cucumbers, tomatoes, broccoli, scallions, and I use olive oil, ground pepper, sea salt and sometimes lemon for my dressing) on my plate and lately I have been adding my guacamole dip to the salad. They have a few soups that are good for you, but you have to watch for added sugar. My favorite soup after Popeye Soup is Amy’s Organic Lentil Soup that I gently heat on the stove. The ingredients are: filtered water, organic lentils, celery, carrots, onions, potatoes, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and spices that are 100% pure with no hidden ingredients. I have started experimenting with my “Popeye Soup” and have cut out green onions, garlic, the spices and the aminos and added a tomato and carrot.  Something was burning my throat and I will add each ingredient back in until I determine what was burning my throat.

And, of course, I drink as much Whole Foods Electron Enhanced water with enough baking soda to raise the PH to between 8 and 9 as I could hold. With the combination of everything I very rarely have a craving for anything sweet or unhealthy and I think the water is very important to curb cravings and is where everyone should start.

Almonds are good and I use homemade nut butter on Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain bread or tortillas for a snack or a meal. I have found that it is easier to make your own nut butter with the Green Star Twin Gear Juicer. I make nut butter by processing almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts and sesame seeds with the hulls included for the high calcium content at the same time and add flaxseed powder, flaxseed oil, coconut oil and honey. I then have it on Ezekiel 4:9 tortillas and spelt bread.

For breakfast I will have Ezekiel 4:9 cereal with my home-made nut mix. I make a make a nut combination to add to my Ezekiel 4:9 cereal out of almonds, macadamia nuts, brazil nuts and walnuts and add agave nectar, coconut oil, blueberries, occasionally banana and then use unsweetened almond milk. I am going to start to use the vita-mix to make my own almond milk. I have been eating fruit in the morning, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and also mango, kiwi, apricot and occasionally plum and apple. I don’t eat all of them at once, but a mixture and with the berries I add coconut oil, honey and the nut mix. The cold fruit makes the coconut oil harden and you have a crunchy snack.

I go out to eat after church on Sunday and if we go somewhere I can’t eat, I just get a salad and fellowship and go eat afterwards. I like to have salmon with steamed broccoli and salad about twice a month. I need to make or purchase an alkaline salad dressing and take it with me. I only eat fish when I feel led of the Holy Spirit. Acts 16:6-7, says that Paul and Timotheus were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia. “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, after they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.”

The children’s version of "Popeye Soup" is to include carrot and tomato and red delicious apple and leave out garlic and green onion and the spices)

FOOD COMBINING

I recently read on the internet that Americans spend 2 billion dollars per year on antacids (Help us Jesus!) and that is strictly because we don’t know how to properly combine our food. I read Harvey and Marilyn Diamond’s book “Fit For Life” sometime in the mid-eighties and I first heard of “food Combining” from their book. What I remember is don’t combine meat and a starch, fruit should be eaten alone and you can eat bread with vegetable and potato, but don’t eat meat with bread and potato. But, since I am on an alkaline diet (what a person or animal usually eats and drinks on a daily basis) I really don’t have a problem with food combining except to eat fruit 2 hours before I eat anything else. Can you see where the SAD is a food combining mess? Hamburgers by themselves are not combined correctly and then throw in an order of fries and it gets worse. We have all ordered steak and potatoes and on my every week or two salmon order I enjoy broccoli and mashed potatoes, but I don’t eat the bread and I am a food combining king the rest of the time. Once again go on the internet and do a search on “food combining.”

TOXINS

As my body began to heal I didn't feel like I was healing because my body was fighting off toxins. For the last year I have had pain from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet of this healed by the stripes of Jesus body. As my body cleansed itself of toxins the pain moved from my neck to my lungs to my kidneys to my lower back to my knee and then my feet began to stink. Toxins stink, but praise the Lord they didn’t come to stay they came to pass out of my body as my temple purged itself through proper diet.

The best way to release toxins is by following the liquid feast in Shelley Young's book "Back to the House of Health" that I was on after I was diagnosed with cancer using the “Green Powder Drink” and “Popeye Soup” and the juicing of the powerful combination of vegetables I told you about earlier. Releasing toxins too fast can be dangerous if you are not in reasonably good health.

One of the best things to do to gently release toxins is to drink wheatgrass from Jamba Juice and Floressence, a detox herbal mix you can buy from Whole Foods. Some wheatgrass tastes like a fresh cut lawn smells, but the wheatgrass from Jamba Juice is sweet and tasty. I did my own with the Green Star juicer the Lord provided for me and always had to pray and thank God that it was better than being operated on or radiation treatments or chemotherapy or medication as I raised the glass to God and drank the life giving nectar.

I once had a three or four year old tell me I had lipstick on. I have red lips and I have been told that is a sign that the colon is clean and healthy. We have twenty feet of small intestine and five feet of large intestine. The small intestine is where digestion occurs and the large intestine absorbs water and the excretion of solid waste material. I feel that the alkaline diet is an excellent cleanse for the intestines and particularly what I did after my cancer diagnosis. You aren’t weak from a lack of food, but you will have regular bowel movements and you need to know where the facilities are located.

I added montmorillonite clay to my green powder drink after my diagnosis for about six months and then one day my colon cleansed itself. Fortunately it was a Friday evening and I spent the weekend having an unannounced cleanse. I even missed church Sunday, but I went Saturday night. I slept a lot and released a lot of weird looking stuff that we won’t discuss. God is good. Pray about using clay, but it worked for me and it is discussed thoroughly in Dr. Young's books. I used Now brand and you can buy a 5 pound jar for 35 dollars on the internet.

And, if possible, exercise and/or sweat. The reason I don’t elaborate on exercise is be-cause of those people that are too ill to exercise until they can restore their system to a healthy enough state to exercise. I walk and go to the gym and do weight bearing exercise and the steam room and spa. If you can only go to the gym and walk a treadmill and/or sit in the sauna and spa that would be great. After you are healthier you can work out an exercise plan. Exercise is a great way to sweat and release toxins.

I have fasted on water with lemon and honey several times in the past and it is amazing how our bodies rejuvenate themselves as we fast and pray. BUT, as we get older and particularly when we have allowed our bodies to become polluted with toxins we must be careful that we don’t flush toxins out of our body too rapidly. The green drink and Popeye Soup God has lead me to do still flushes toxins out of my body, but at a much slower pace so as to not endanger my health even further and when I have detoxed I can fine tune by doing a fast.

FASTING SHOULD ONLY BE DONE WHEN YOU ARE HEALTHY

The book on fasting I use is “The Miracle of Fasting,” by Paul & Patricia Bragg. It can be ordered from Health Science, Box 7, Santa Barbara, CA 93102 for nine dollars and ninety-five cents plus shipping and handling. You can also order by dialing 1-800-4461990 or through their website at http://www.bragg.com. They use Three John two in a fish as their symbol on the back of the book. “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thou soul prospereth.” Even as we catch on and become aware of how God wants us to live and that He is interested in our diets. He wants to be involved in all aspects of our lives because He loves us and wants the best for us and remember; if we are sick He may as well be sick, because He can’t get as much work done through us when we are sick.

(I like this so much I am going to include it again) On pages 55 and 56 of “The Miracle of Fasting” Doctor Paul Bragg states, “I want it definitely understood that man can not break a natural law. He breaks himself while attempting to break the natural law. Can man break the law of gravity? Can man jump off a 25 story building and live? (Remember Jesus in Luke 4:9-12) Of course he cannot. This applies also to the nutritional laws of nature. Man has been brainwashed into eating the processed, devitalized, and dead food of civilization which has propelled him into such a pitiful physical condition. (And the drinks) Man is so gullible to the false propaganda (fiery darts of the wicked) that is passed out to him by the big “special interests” describing what healthy and long-lived people we are.

Sickness is costly. Who spends more money in the pursuit of health than any other nation in the whole wide world? We do! Which nation has more “drives” to collect funds to fight the many diseases that plague our population? We do! Who has more convalescent homes, clinics, and sanatoriums than any other country in the world? We do! What nation spends the most money on magazine, newspaper, T.V. and radio advertising on “do-it-yourself” over the counter drug medication? We do! What nation takes the most aspirin and other so-called painkillers? We do!” (We have also been brainwashed into eating processed, devitalized, and dead food and drinking acidic liquids through magazine, newspaper, T.V. and radio advertising.)

Matthew 6:16-18, “Moreover when (not if) ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

Once again we will use our Lord as our example. Luke 4:2, “Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days did He eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered.” I have gone on fasts before and thought about food, but was never really hungry until after the fast. Any time I go on a fast and am real hungry God has not called me to fast I have decided to fast and I have learned to just go ahead and eat, God will let me know when He is ready for me to fast. Once He calls you to a fast don't hesitate, because He will see you through. Rarely will He call someone to a forty day fast and I believe He used forty days as an extreme just to show us that our little one, three, seven, ten, fourteen or whatever day’s length fast is easy compared to what Jesus did. While you are fasting just think about what He endured.

Fasting, to me, always has a two-fold purpose. The number one is spiritual because you are always fasting to break a spiritual stronghold and you may or may not know what it is. The other reason to fast is to allow your body to what I call, catch up. The body has a filter system that gets overtaxed as we stuff it full of unneeded and unhealthy food over the years. When we are young we can generally stuff ourselves until the filtration system gets plugged and if we never allow it to “catch up” it will stay plugged. The only way to unplug the filtration system is by fasting or when you get ill and then the system will cleanse itself. I have also gone on an extensive exercise program that included running six miles and cleaned out my system. Unfortunately most of us choose to diet and the digestive system never gets to rest and clean or purge itself and I always know that God has me fasting for a reason. The last time I fasted I couldn't believe the divers temptations, visions of tacos, because the devil doesn't like you to fast. Read the book of Acts and see how much they fasted.

A neighbor of mine recently had an operation to clean out the arteries in his legs and they actually went in and removed the arteries from his legs, turned them wrong side out and put them back in his legs. It worked and he is doing fine. I was visiting him during his recovery period and as we talked the Holy Ghost spoke to me and let me know that fasting (Or greens and Popeye Soup and avocado) would have prevented my neighbor from having to go through what he went through.
 

King James Version

Living Bible Version

First Corinthians 6:12-13,

12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them.

 

First Corinthians 6:12-13,

12 I can do anything I want to if Christ has not said no, but some of these things aren't good for me. Even if I am allowed to do them, I'll refuse to if I think they might get such a grip on me that I can't easily stop if I want to.13 For instance, take the matter of eating. God has given us an appetite for food and stomachs to digest it. But that doesn't mean we should eat more than we need. Don't think of eating as important, because someday God will do away with both stomachs and food.”

First Corinthians 10:31, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

I was beginning to have signs of a sinus infection once and I went on a fast and the symptoms almost immediately ceased. I have been fasting off and on for several years and have learned that God always has a purpose for our fast. He said in Matthew 6:16, “Moreover when ye fast” not if ye fast. When we go on a God-called fast sometimes we know for sure what we are fasting for, but many times God has a reason for your fast that you won’t be aware of. One of the tremendous benefits of fasting is allowing your body to get rid of toxins we acquire along the way in this polluted world in which we live.  I went on my first long fast in May of 1987 and fasted for 21 days and I lost 25 pounds but I always gain it back. Whenever I begin to gain weight I know that I must be being fattened up for a fast. I have fasted for as long as 14 days on my job and no one knew it because I kept my mouth shut. I am looking forward to going on a good long fast, because I need to hear from God and cleanse the temple and let God do whatever in the spiritual realm.

I was fasting from January first, 1991 to January fifteenth, 1991 and the war in Kuwait, Operation Desert Storm, broke out the day I broke my fast. During this fast, I was in church and every time we would have praise and worship my back would stiffen. The Sunday before I broke the fast I sat down and for the first time in a long time my back didn't hurt.

From May 18, 1996 to May 26, 1996, I fasted. God knew I needed to fast because I woke up the morning of the 18th and my left testicle was swollen. This is a condition called hydrocele and God knew about it and the fast cleared it up in about four days and from reading about it on the internet it usually takes surgery or a painful procedure to draw off fluid with a needle. Thank you Father!!! I tried to make Brother Pittman the focal point of my fast. My physical condition was not good during the fast because of all the toxins I had allowed to accumulate in my body during the two years since I last fasted. In the reference book I use for fasting, it says if your tongue turns white during the fast that is an indication of the amount of toxins in your system. For the first time I can remember my tongue was white during a fast.

It is the morning of June 28, 2010 and I have been called to fast. I will keep an account of how I feel and how my body reacts. I have a job that I work from 4:30 PM to midnight and it is not a physical job, I just watch and wait. I weigh 185 and in the past I have lost about a pound per day. I feel as if I am being called to a 14 day fast so that would be 171 after 14 days. I feel as if I am to drink wheatgrass and drink Floressence, a detox herbal mix during the fast.

Day two-June 29-I am sleeping a bunch, which is good and I feel good and know from past experience that God is doing a work in my temple. I had headaches all night and resisted taking anacin which is loaded with caffeine. I need to drink more water and I am heading to the store now to stock up before I go to work. On my job I probably walk about a mile and a half every night. This is good, because I have found that activity helps rid your body of toxins. I weigh 182 today and lost three pounds on day one. I hope that slows down, but I know that He is in charge and I will break the fast exactly when He wants me to. Went to Jamba Juice and got a 2 ounce wheatgrass on the way to work. I had a bowel movement about two hours later.

Day three-June 30-I am still sleeping about ten hours. I weigh 179 and in my opinion I am losing weight too fast. We will see where that goes and I will drink more water. My urine PH is 5.2 which is good because my body is releasing toxins. The goal is to become alkaline, 7.0 to 7.5, while I am fasting and that will tell me the toxins are out of my body. I have just gone to Jamba Juice and had a 2 ounce wheatgrass and will have another later this evening. I also went to Vitamin Shoppe and bought the FlorEssence Herbal Tea that I will take at 12 noon and 10 PM and the wheatgrass at 8 AM and 4PM. I had a good day at work and made my rounds.

Day four-Got up at 8am and made some phone calls and weighed and I weigh 178. That is normal as you should lose about a pound a day. I feel as if the Holy Spirit is telling me that this is a ten day fast and will be broken on Wednesday, July 7th. He is always doing something in the spiritual realm when you fast, but the beauty of fasting is that it allows your body to cleanse itself. I still have prostatitis, inflammation of the prostate, and He is taking care of that through the fast. We need to get the PSA, Prostate-specific antigen, number down to an acceptable level. The PSA test is a test that is unique to men that shows problems in the prostate and is used as indicator for the potential for cancer in the prostate. It doesn't mean you have prostate cancer when you have a high number, but when you see the number begin to increase it is time to change your diet and seek God with all your heart and ask Him to give you wisdom to get your PSA number to an acceptable level. Your normal PSA should be between 0-4 and when it hits 3 it is time for us to seek God. My last PSA test in April, 2010 was 8.2 and I didn't have cancer, but when it was 6.8 I did. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. My PH this morning is 5.8.

Day five- I got home from work and can’t sleep. I don’t know if that is the wheatgrass at 10:30 PM or what, but I can’t sleep. It is now 3:30 AM and I could not sleep until 4 AM. I don’t like that. I got up at noon and my PH is 6.0. I bought a two ounce shot of wheatgrass on the way to work and had two bowel movements in the evening. It had to be the wheatgrass, because I have fasted for 27 days before without a bowel movement. It was a good cleanse.

Day six-I slept 12 or 13 hours and that is good, because it allows your body to detox while you sleep. My PH is 6.0 and I weigh 174. Doesn’t look like I will make church tomorrow. This is a “let the weak say they are strong” day, which means that my body is getting rid of tox-ins at a rapid pace. I did the FlorEssence today, but not the wheatgrass. My stomach had too much acid or toxins in it.

Day Seven-July 4th, 2010-I have never had a fast like this one. I guess it is because of my age, I will be 70 in two weeks, or the amount of toxins or acid that has accumulated in my body, or because I haven’t fasted on a regular basis in the last 14 years. I have done 27, 21, 14, 7 and 3 day fast several times in the past and have never slept this much. I have even worked and fasted for 14 days around people I had known for years and they never said a word. I went to sleep last night at one AM and have just forced myself out of bed at 3 PM. I weigh 173 and my PH is 6.0. My stomach feels fine as the toxins/acid were flushed out last night. I have started sprouting broccoli sprouts. I almost forgot I had the sprouting equipment, but God hadn’t.

Day eight-What a day yesterday. That was a battle as I released tons of toxins, but we did a lot of work on the book. Luke 4:2, “Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days did He eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered.” I am feeling hungry, but I want to be sure that the Lord wants me to break the fast and it isn’t my flesh, but since I haven’t eaten in eight days and the temperature is going to be in the nineties today and I will be outside for the next 8 hours maybe He thinks I had better eat. I weigh 172 and my PH is still 6.0.

  MISCELLANEOUS ACHES AND PAINS

Anytime I begin to get symptoms of an illness I always ask the Holy Ghost and He will always tell me why and I then bind the devil in the Name of Jesus as the Holy Ghost directs. It is generally diet or stress and recently He has been urging me to exercise. When He got me my job after I had finished getting the core of this down on paper the first time, I began to have lower back pain and diarrhea almost immediately. It was stress from not really wanting to be there, but I had learned to recognize this, so I got control of it rather quickly.

Another time I was experiencing lower back pain and very sarcastically mentioned to God that by His stripes I was healed and he said shoes. A few days later I was barely able to get my socks on and He told me shoes again. The next time I started gripping about my back hurting and being healed the Holy Ghost said, “Shoes, shoes, shoes, shoes!” I have to wear shoes with a heel and as soon as I got a different type of shoe my back cleared up.

Once my back started hurting and I had to go on an exercise program to strengthen my stomach muscles and it cleared up and was doing real good until about six months into the program my back started hurting and I discovered I needed to stretch after I exercise. We have a tendency to always think back pain is a spinal problem. I have stretched many times and been completely pain free when I get through. These are gentle stretches. But, of course, be careful, and see a doctor if you aren't comfortable with doing anything without your doctors approval. You don't want to risk further injury.

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Here is the stretching program that works for me:

Enter AI stretching. In AI stretching, you hold each position for only 1½ to 2 seconds. Then you return to the starting position and relax. After resting for 2 seconds, you ease into the stretch again. Beyond the 2-second limitation, AI stretching differs from static stretching in another important respect: AI stretches are "assisted" in two ways. First, you contract the opposing muscle group to help move the stretched area into position. Second, while continuing the contraction, you use a rope or your own hands to gently enhance the stretch.

Don't tug, however. The cardinal rule of stretching remains unchanged: Don't ever force yourself beyond the point of light irritation. Stretching is never an instant solution to an injury problem, so take your time. The best results come from consistent, gentle stretching.

Keith Brantly (Whoever that is) says he used to consider stretching a waste. It still doesn't rank as one of his favorite activities. But he has stuck to his AI stretching program because it works (witness his longevity in the sport and his PR in last November's New York City Marathon). A number of other top runners have discovered the same:

AI stretching can work for you, too. Try incorporating the stretches in these pages into your training program. They have been selected because they are the stretches most likely to help runners increase flexibility and prevent injuries.

The Stretches:

Follow these steps in performing each stretch:

•Contract the muscle group opposite the area you're stretching.

•Bring each stretch to the point of light irritation.

•Hold for 2 seconds. Return to your starting position and relax for 2 seconds. Repeat the stretch.

1. Hamstring (rear thigh):

Lie on back with right leg bent. Wrap rope around arch of left foot, lock knee and lift straight leg upward, contracting the quads (muscles on the front of the thigh) while you gently assist with rope. Return leg to floor and repeat. Then perform same stretch on opposite side.

2. Adductor (inner thigh/groin):

Lie on back with legs extended and wrap rope around arch of left foot, then bring the two lengths of rope together and wrap around inside and back of ankle. Point left foot inward and lift leg to the side by contracting outer-thigh and hip muscles. Assist with rope, pulling toward shoulder. Return to original position and repeat. Perform same stretch on opposite side.

3. Abductor (outer thigh/hip):

Lie on back with legs extended. Wrap rope around arch of right foot, then bring the two lengths of rope together around outside and back of ankle. Point toes of both feet to the right. Bring right leg across opposite leg by contracting inner-thigh muscles. Assist with rope. Return to original position and repeat. Perform same stretch on opposite side.

4. Quadriceps (front thigh):

Lie on left side and bring both knees to chest; with left hand, grasp left foot from the outside. With right hand, grasp right ankle and extend right thigh back by contracting gluteus (buttocks) and hamstring muscles and assisting with hand; heel should press into buttocks. Return right thigh up to chest and repeat. Perform same stretch on opposite side.

5. Hip and Gluteus (buttocks):

Lie on back with right leg extended and pointed inward to stabilize hips. Bend left knee and contract abdominal muscles to lift knee toward the opposite shoulder. Assist with hands on shin and outer thigh. Return to original position and repeat. Perform same stretch on opposite side.

6. Piriformis (deep buttock):

Lie on back with left leg fully extended and left foot pointed to the right. Wrap rope around arch of right foot, and then bring the two lengths of rope together around outside and back of ankle. With knee locked, contract quad, upper-hip, upper-thigh and abdominal muscles to (1) lift leg up toward chest then (2) bring leg across the hips. Repeat both steps. Perform same stretch on opposite side.

7. Lower Back:

Sit with knees bent, legs wide apart and feet flat on the floor and pointing straight ahead. Tuck chin to chest and contract abdominal muscles to bend body toward floor. Assist by placing hands on shins or ankles and pulling forward. Return to original position and repeat.

8. Lower and Midback:

Sit with knees apart and bent 90 degrees and hands clasped behind head. Tuck chin to chest; contract abdominal muscles to twist trunk as far as possible to the left side and dip right shoulder between legs. Return to original position and repeat. Perform same stretch on opposite side.

9. Soleus (lower and deep calf):

Sit with right leg fully extended and left knee bent 90 degrees. Wrap hands around ball of foot. Lift toes toward body by contracting shin muscles and assisting with pull from hands. Repeat. Perform same stretch on opposite side.

10. Achilles Tendon (rear ankle):

Variation of soleus stretch. Sit with right leg extended. Bend left leg, bringing heel to buttocks, and wrap hands around ball of foot. Contract shin muscles to lift toes; assist with hands pulling upward on ball of foot. Repeat. Perform same stretch on opposite side.

11. Gastrocnemius (upper calf):

Sit with legs fully extended and about 6 inches apart. Double up rope and wrap around ball of left foot. Lock left knee and pull toes toward you by contracting shin muscles. Assist with rope. For a deeper stretch, lean forward and allow foot to come off floor when pulled. Repeat. Perform same stretch on opposite side.

For best results, build up to two sets of 8 to 12 repetitions of each of the stretches, and perform them in the order shown. Exhale during the stretch phase, and inhale during the relaxation phase. Perform AI stretching before and after a run. If time is limited, just do one set of stretches after your run, with fewer repetitions; but even when you shorten the routine, always keep in mind good form, and do the stretches in the correct order.

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I have found over the years that stress can create tension in our bodies and the muscles in our neck and back and legs can tighten up and these stretches are an excellent way to loosen up the muscles and then:

Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God!

First Peter 5:6-9, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

Be strong in the Lord.

Isaiah 40:28-31, "Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of His understanding.  He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength.  Even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint".

Be sure your armor is in place.

Ephesians 6:10-18, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"

No weapon formed against you will prosper. 

Isaiah 54:14-17, "In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD."

God Has Not Given Us a Spirit of Fear

            Second Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

The main scripture is First Peter 5:6-9 as I constantly turn to God and humble myself under His mighty hand.

One morning I had gotten up and showered and, since I was running late, I didn't have time to dry my hair. My car didn't have a heater and it was forty degrees and as I drove along, toweling my hair dry, I began to feel symptoms of a cold coming on and I immediately asked God to forgive me for giving satan ground. I didn't even think about it I just did it and like a fog will roll in and a fog will roll out the symptoms began to clear up and by the time I got home that day they were all gone. Confessed, forgiven and healed like in James 5.

The last time I was sick with diarrhea and nausea the Holy Spirit kept saying, “You are under attack.” I needed to fast and pray and resist the devil and he would flee in the Name of Jesus. I didn’t, so I ended up going to the doctor and getting pills and spending 200 dollars when I should have prayed in the spirit and waited on God.

I used to have problems with sinus infections. I had stopped one day to put drops in my nose and I was complaining that I was sure that God's people in the desert with Him didn't need nose drops. The Holy Ghost quickly replied and said, “They weren't on the same diet you are on.” I would always ask God why my sinuses were hurting and He would tell me diet and I haven’t had a sinus infection in 20 years.

Anytime I begin to get symptoms of an illness I always ask the Holy Ghost and He will always tell me why and I then bind the devil in the Name of Jesus as the Holy Ghost directs. It is generally diet or stress and recently He has been urging me to exercise. During my fast from May 18 to May 26 I could really see how many toxins I had allowed to accumulate in my body and pollute the temple of God. Colds and sinus infections are signs that we need to cleanse the temple. Jesus said in Matthew 6:16, “Moreover when ye fast.” He didn't say if ye fast, He said when ye fast. The physical benefits of fasting are just a reward of being obedient to the urging of the Holy Ghost to fast and pray.

Matthew 12:22, “Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.”

The devil loves to have people drive on my side of the road. He is constantly looking for an opening to steal or destroy our health and I can’t think of anything worse than someone that is trusting God for an abundant life that suddenly finds themselves disabled or in the hospital or both. We must realize that satan is constantly looking for an opening to steal, and to kill, and to destroy, but we don’t need to run around in fear, we only need to be aware of this fact and watch and pray and trust God with all our hearts and be aware of and thankful for His protection.

Hebrews 1:14, speaking of angels, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” Thank you Father for your protection through your Word and your Word says we are healed by the stripes of your only begotten Son, Jesus! John 10:10, Jesus speaking, “The thief [satan] cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they may have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” First John 3:8, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

SIN IS A TOXIC OR ACIDIC OBSTACLE TO HEALING

WORKS OF THE FLESH

Whenever I yield to the temptations of the devil, or my flesh, it is always easier for satan to come with his fiery darts and try to convince me that the reason I feel sick is because I have either given him ground or God is punishing me for something I have done. During my periods of temptation or purging or going through the fire or even now I can always ask God to forgive me my iniquities and be healed. Anytime I begin to get symptoms I immediately say to Him, “Dear Heavenly Father in the Name of Jesus, I ask you to forgive me of anything I might have done to give satan ground to make me sick or to have symptoms of sickness.” I then ask Him to help me to have wisdom not to give satan the same ground again. He almost always will tell me that it is diet or stress and since sin and worrying are stressful and sin intensifies the worrying and opens the door to have the demons come in with their fiery darts of unworthiness we must avoid the works of the flesh and worrying as much as possible. I then bind the devil in the Name of Jesus and accept God’s forgiveness.

Galatians 5:13-26 is written to the church at Galatia and was written to Christians. If Christians didn’t have to overcome the works of the flesh God would have never had Paul write this epistle to them, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh [the devil] are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The definitions of the works of the flesh with the corresponding Strong’s numbers:

·Manifest-5318-appear, known, manifest, open(ly), outward(ly).

·Adultery-Webster’s Dictionary-Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than their spouse.

·Fornication-4202 & 4203-Harlotry (including adultery and incest) idolatry-to act the harlot-indulge unlawful lust of either sex or (figuratively) practice idolatry-commit fornication.

·Uncleanness-167 Impurity-physically or morally. From 169-impure, lewd or specifically demonic- foul, unclean

·Lasciviousness-766 Licentiousness [Webster’s-Lacking legal or moral restraints-especially disregarding sexual restraints] (sometimes including other vices) filthy, wantonness.

·Idolatry-1495-Image worship [Can be anything-person, place or thing-Stock Market, money, church, oral sex-You make a list].

·Witchcraft-5331-magic, sorcery.

·Hatred-2189-Hostility-by implication a reason for hostility, enmity, hatred.

·Variance-2054-A quarrel-wrangling-contention, debate, strife.

·Emulation(s)-3863-Provoke to jealousy-2205-envy, fervent mind, indignation, jealousy.

·Wrath-2372-Fierceness, indignation, passion (as if breathing hard)

·Strife-2052-contention(ous)-to stimulate (especially to anger), provoke.

·Seditions-1370-Disunion, dissension, division

·Heresies-139-To take for oneself; to prefer. [Close to sedition, but different in preferring one person over another-causing a division or dissension].

·Envyings-5355-Akin to the base of 5351-to spoil, ruin, deprave, corrupt, defile, destroy-ill will (as detraction) i.e. jealousy, (spite), envy.

·Murders-5408-(To slay); murder; + be slain with, slaughter.

·Drunkenness-3178 An intoxicate, i.e. (by implication) intoxication.

·Revelings-2970-from 2749; carousal (as if letting loose):-reveling, rioting.

If you recognize any of these to be a problem in your life, remember that you are under attack from the enemy, but God has us covered with First John 1:8-10, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” and then pray and ask Him to help you to overcome the works of the flesh and let the fruit of the Spirit rule in your life.

First Peter 5:6-11, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” 

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”

The definitions of the fruit of the spirit with the corresponding Strong’s numbers:

· Love-26-Agape-Affection or benevolence; a love-feast-(feast of) charity (charitably), dear, love.

· Joy-5479-Cheerfulness, i.e. calm delight:-gladness, greatly, (be exceeding) joyful, joyfully, joyfulness, joyous).

·Peace-1515-(to join) by implication prosperity:-one, peace, quietness, rest, plus set at one again.

·Longsuffering-3115-from 3116-with long (enduring) temper, i.e. leniently:-patiently, longanimity, i.e. forbearance, fortitude:-longsuffering, patience.

·Gentleness-5544-Usefulness, i.e. moral excellence (in character or demeanor) gentleness, goodness, kindness.

·Goodness-17-A well doer, i.e., virtue-well-doing.

·Faith-4102-Moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance on Christ for salvation [deliverance]; By extension the system of religious truth itself:-assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

·Meekness-4236 Gentleness; by implication humility;-Meekness.

·Temperance-1466-from 1468-Strong in a thing (masterful) i.e. self-controlled (in appetite, etcetera) /self-control.

To maintain the “fruit of the Spirit” we need to stay close to God and do what we learned earlier in the topic “the helmet of healing acquired through the armor of God:” We have truth so the devil can't steal, kill, or destroy in our lives. We have the breastplate of righteousness so the devil can't condemn us with his lies that are contrary to God's Word. We have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace with God so that we can tell others and not be concerned about only ourselves. We have the shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked that are contrary to God's Word about healing or whatever so that we can put on the Helmet of Salvation of healing or whatever and take up the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and speak to the spirits behind our problem in the area of healing or whatever and then develop a Word-based prayer life so that we will keep our eyes on Heavenly things and not things of this world and pray for the healing or whatever of others.

Philippians 4:6-7, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Living Bible, “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank Him for your answers. If you do this you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.” PRAY IN THE SPIRIT DAILY AND REMEMBER, WE DON’T NEED TO BE SICK!!!!

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