Quote of the Day

"It was not easy for Jesus to be our friend.  Friendship is sometimes very costly.  His reputation went, and then His life.  But He never flinched.  He was thinking of us.  Our need controlled Him.  There were two controlling words in our Lord Jesus' life -- passion and compassion.  He had a passion for His Father.  He had compassion for us. 

...Friendship is mutual.  And now this Friend of ours is in need...  And this seems a startling thing to say.  You may think I am indulging some rhetorical figure of speech merely.  He, the Lord Jesus, in need!  He is now seated at the Father's right hand in glory.  He is 'far above all rule and authority and power and dominion.'  He is the sovereign ruler or our world.  How can it be said, with any soberness of practical meaning, that He is in need, and in desperate need?  Yet, let me repeat very quietly, that it is even so.

He needs our co-operation.  He needs the human means through which to work out His plans.  The power of God has always flowed through human channels.  And His plans have waited, have been delayed because He has not always been able to find men willing to let Him use them as He will.  This is the only explanation of the long , weary waiting of the earth for His promised Kingdom."

~  S.D. Gordon     (Quiet Talks on Following the Christ, 171-172)

A Christian's Duty

Political/World Issues 

I would like to share with you something that guest writer --  Chris Hutto  posted recently on his Google + page.  I hope that it is encouraging and convicting.  Please share your thoughts and comments (whether positive or negative)!

A Christian's Duty 

Is it the Christian's duty to speak out for the unborn children? I believe it is. What should our response be to the 3,500 children being murdered everyday in the U.S. alone? The Bible actually gives us a pretty clear answer.

Proverbs 24:11-12 states it very bluntly:

 “If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?” 

It is our duty to “deliver them that are drawn unto death and those that are ready to be slain.” And God is the Judge of those actions and will “render to every man according to his works.” The Lord sees the innocent babies that are sacrificed on the alter of convenience and God sees what you and I are doing about it.
    

God cherishes children and teaches us to as well. 

“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” 

Proverbs 127:3 tells us that the unborn children in a mother's womb is God's reward to us.

 Psalm 139:13-14 says, “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” 

God is the author of life. He created each human being inside of their mother. Abortion interrupts the perfect hand of God right in the middle of his precious sculpting. Before He had time to complete His miraculous work the baby is torn to pieces by the cruel hand of man.

The womb should be the safest place for a child and yet it has become a place of imminent death; a precarious balance between convenience and guilt. This is a battle between life and death. This battle is not carnal but spiritual. And it must be fought with spiritual weapons for they are mighty through God. Often that means standing with the unborn, drawing them from destruction. We must be the voice for the dumb. We must have a “readiness to revenge all disobedience” by bringing into “captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” Our minds need to be reprogrammed to seeing things the way Christ does. Every life is precious. If you believe that you will do something about it.

      

Most Christians are like the people that James was addressing in chapter 5. 

“Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.” 

We live in a day of slaughter. It is as real as the Jewish Holocaust but abortion is happening under our watch. We nourish our hearts with pleasure while thousands of lives are denied birth. Am I trying to make you feel guilty? No. But maybe the cries of the thousands of innocents already has. You may be thinking, “but I am pro-life!” Where is the proof? Where is the action?
     

Does belief negate our responsibility to action? As Christians we focus a lot on our belief system. We love the words “trust” and “believe.” But what about the word “work?” Belief is essential but it doesn’t stop there.

 James 1:22 says, “But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” 

Verse 25 of the same chapter says, “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” 

Many are afraid of the word “work” because so many professing Christians have highjacked the term and have made it a part of salvation and sanctification. We know that salvation comes by grace through faith. But the Bible does have a lot to say about working our salvation outwardly. The work is evidence that we have faith. As a Christian our belief must turn to action. What good is a belief if it is not practiced?

 I have to clarify a few things because I'm sure that a few thoughts have come into your head as you read this. I am not saying that good works are part of salvation because our righteousness is as filthy rags. I am not saying that we need to work for the Lord to please Him because as a child of God I am already excepted. I am not condemning Christians for inaction but extorting them to action. I am not advocating that we need to get out there and do His work in our own strength because without Him I can do nothing. But what I am saying is that,

  

“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27. 

That verse explains the reality of Christ's love flowing out of us.
 What is the great commandment? According to Jesus in Matthew 22:36-40 it is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” 

So first we love the Lord and out of that love for Him we can love our neighbor. Who is our neighbor? A certain lawyer in Luke 10 asked Jesus that very question and He answered with the parable we call the good Samaritan. Without going into the whole story it can be summarized in a few sentences. A man on his way to Jericho was attacked by thieves and was robbed and beaten and left on the side of the road to die. A priest came by but instead of helping the dying man just went on his way. A Levite also passed by but ignored the man as well. Finally a Samaritan, who normally hate the Jews, came by and had compassion on the man and helped him. Isn't that a perfect picture of the thousands of babies being murdered by abortion every single day? The worlds babies are robbed of their humanity and cast aside. The religious people, Christians today, often pass by without saying a word, let alone do something for them. The Christians that have a love for Christ and for our neighbor will be like the good Samaritan, though hated by the majority, and help the unborn children.

     

James 2:8-10 says, “ If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” 

Christians should not be partial to one human being over another. We will defend other nationalities against racism and the Jews against antisemitism but why wont we defend the unborn children against ageism? And I am not talking about holding a belief in equal rights. Wilberforce helped abolished slavery in England through action. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in action. The founding fathers of the U.S. Constitution believed in action. The Apostles believed in action. Where would we be today if everyone just kept their beliefs to themselves?

Baby at 24 weeks 

James 2:14-17 is a good example of this. “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled: notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead being alone.”
    

What do our words mean if no action follows? Nothing. They say actions speak louder than words. Not everyone has to speak out for the unborn in the same way but I am proposing that every Christian should have a part. The unborn cannot defend themselves. Who will if not for us? They are our neighbors. They are precious in God's sight. They are without a voice.
     

I was reading in Proverbs 31 and found something very interesting. Proverbs 31 was written to a king named Lemuel. It is written to him by his mother. First she instructs him in what a king should and shouldn't do. Then later on she explains what a virtuous woman looks like but right in the middle of those verses there are two that stood out to me. 

“Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”

 She tells him that he must open his mouth in defense of those that are dumb and headed to destruction and to judge righteously. The reason that I found it so interesting is that I believe this command was both the king (government) and part of the virtuous woman's description. It is something that the government should be doing; protecting its weakest citizens. But when they fail to do their God given job it is up to the people and mothers especially to speak out for the unborn.
In a hundred years from now how will American's see the Christians of 2014? Will they see them standing in opposition to the evil of our age or will they see a people who give lip service to God and fail to love their neighbor as themselves? The answer is up to us. The answer is up to you Christian.

Quote of the Day

"The hidden life, a life whose days are spent in communion with God in trying to reach the Source of power is the life that moves the world." 

Is a Gluten-Free Diet Healthy?

Health and Beauty 

Is a Gluten-Free Diet Healthy?

Is Gluten Free Healthy?

You've most likely either heard of the gluten-free trend, are gluten-free yourself or many of your girl friends are. To be gluten-free means we have to avoid all wheat, rye, barley and even oat products. In other words: no pizza, no bread, no pasta and no granola to name just a few. Why would we do that? Is a gluten-free diet healthy? To answer that question we really need to look deeper into the issue.

What is Gluten?

Gluten is the general term to describe the protein in grains; especially prevalent in wheat, barley and rye. It is what gives elasticity to dough. It's yummy, and actually a healthy protein. Then why avoid it? Because many people feel so much better when they stay away from gluten. Others actually cannot eat it without severe reactions. Why is there an intolerance to gluten?

Why would I react to Gluten?

Some people are born with Celiac disease. Others, like myself, suddenly find themselves intolerant to gluten after years of eating gluten without a problem. Here are some of the reasons why we would react to gluten:

1. Our Genetic predisposition is a cause of allergies.

2. An unhealthy diet is also a reason. A poor diet that lacks healthy animal fats during childhood can cause weak intestinal walls (or “leaky gut syndrome”). Leaky gut syndrome is where partially digested food passes into the blood stream.

3. Also, sugar and refined carbohydrates in the gut can stimulate an overgrowth of candida albicans. Candida is a natural fungi that breaks down “dead” foods. With a diet that includes an over-consumption of dead foods, (like sugar and refined carbohydrates), candida multiply uncontrollably. Heavily yeasted foods can also encourage an unhealthy multiplication of candida. The yeasts will actually change form, attach and grow into the intestine, causing holes where undigested foods and toxins can enter the bloodstream. These toxins also produce candida and trigger allergic reactions.

4. Lastly, food allergies can be caused by a tendency to eat from just a few food families. Out of 4,000 edible plant species only three of them provide 60% of the worlds food. (57***) For some of us westerners, we mostly eat carbohydrates, a little meat, and even less veggies.

Not only is this kind of diet lacking in nutrients, but it also exhausts our supply of enzymes which are continuously used to digest such foods. It is an enzyme (called amylace) that actually breaks down carbohydrates into simple sugars. The pancreas and salivary glands are what produces amylase. Because our food is grown in mineral deficient fields, picked under ripe, transported and stored for several days before it reaches us, our food is compromised and the result: enzyme deficiency. Because of this deficiency our body reacts in various ways. Including celiac disease, inflammation, chronic allergies, irritable bowel syndrome and chronic fatigue.

This is why we can eat what we believe to be “healthy” (staying away from the “bad refined stuff”) and still react negatively to our “healthy” food.

Best thing to do is cut out the foods that are causing the reactions, eat your own or locally grown foods, stop consuming “dead” foods, take enzymes with meals and consider doing a candida yeast cleanse.

So am I just intolerant or do I have an allergy?

Difference between Allergy and Intolerance

Allergy

a damaging immune response by the body to a substance, especially a pollen, fur, a particular food, or dust, to which it has become hypersensitive.

Intolerance

an inability to eat food or take a drug without adverse side effects

Most prevalent allergies are milk and grain products, namely casein and gluten. Casein and gluten are both proteins, and are two of the hardest proteins to digest.

Traditional cultures normally sprouted or soaked their grains and cultured or fermented their dairy products.

“Gluten intolerance is associated with a family history of alcoholism, arthritis, Down's symdrome, and mental disorders such as schizophrenia and dementia. Gluten intolerance has been linked with vitamin B6 deficiency. People with poor adrenal function are often unable to tolerate carbohydrates in any form.” (56***)

Rashes, fatigue, insomnia, headaches, joint pain and hoarseness are all warning signals from our body, telling us that we are allergic to a food.

What is the Difference between Celiac and Gluten Sensitivity?

Celiac disease is a true allergic reaction to gluten. Gluten in a person with celiac disease results in an attack on it's own tissue. Intestinal damage then occurs. And is thus an autoimmune disorder.

Autoimmune

of or relating to disease caused by antibodies or lymphocytes produced against substances naturally present in the body.

An autoimmune disease is when the body mistakenly makes antibodies against itself, treating healthy organs and tissues like foreign invades.

An intolerance is not an autoimmune disorder.

Gluten intolerance, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, is an innate immune response.

In other words a natural response to intestinal issues. It is less serious than celiac disease with little intestinal damage and even though people who are gluten intolerant cannot consume gluten they will not show positive on a celiac disease test. Gluten intolerance also does not result in “leaky gut syndrome” like celiac disease. Gluten intolerance is different than an allergy because allergies are associated with IgE assays. People with gluten intolerance show negative on wheat allergy tests.*

“Researches have concluded that celiac disease and gluten sensitivity are 'different clinical entities' marked by unique immune responses.” **

So....is a Gluten-free Diet Healthy?

Firstly, I'd like to point out that going gluten-free is really a poor method to lose weight. I know of some people who have lost weight going gluten-free because they cut out their major carbohydrate intake. But normally people will just replace their gluten products with gluten-free products. Packaged gluten-free products are not healthier than whole-grain products. Going gluten-free is not a healthy diet. Replacing your gluten carbs with gluten-free carbs will not make you lose weight.

Going gluten-free can be a healthy diet. But this requires baking things from scratch with soaked or fermented wheat alternatives, or replacing the bread/noodle/crust with a vegetable. I know someone that uses eggpant as their pizza crust. I often shred squash into “noodles” as my pasta alternative. But beware, you can be just as unhealthy buying gluten-free packaged products as when you were on gluten. Many gluten-free treats are actually even unhealthier because the producers are trying to mask the dry unstickiness of their gluten-free product with sugar. Just read the labels.

The only reason a person should go gluten-free is if they are intolerant to gluten or have celiac disease. A better way to lose weight would be to start completely avoiding unhealthy refined carbohydrates, keeping your healthy carbohydrates to a balance and exercise. Gluten-free is not the answer to weight loss.

So naturally people ask, is a whole-grain diet healthy then?

Is a Whole Grains Diet Healthy?

Whole grains are much more healthy than refined, bleached, highly processed, dead grains. The thing to keep in mind is that our forefathers ate their grains soaked or fermented. Nourishing Traditions points to India's fermented rice and lentil dishes, Africa's soaked corn soups and stews, and their fermented millet porridge; Oriental and Latin America's fermented rice dishes, Ethiopian fermented injera bread, Mexico's corn cakes, Europe's fermented starters for breads and American sourdough breads and pancakes and biscuits. (***452).

The unfortunate thing about advising a whole grain diet is the fact that many forget that these grains are, yes much more healthy, but also very hard to digest. All grains contain an organic acid called “phytic acid” in the outer shell. Without soaking, or sprouting , this acid can block absorption of many minerals (such as calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc) in the intestinal tract. A diet high in whole grains without fermentation can easily lead to serious mineral deficiencies, bone loss, and irritable bowel syndrome. Soaking allows enzymes to break down and neutralize the phytic acid as well as enzyme inhibitors.

Protein in grain (namely gluten) is difficult to digest. A high diet in whole grains is an enormous strain on the digestive system. When this system is overtaxed the result is allergies, celiac disease, chronic indigestion and candida overgrowth. Unlike animals, we don't possess four stomachs to break proteins down. Our healthy whole grains must be fermented.

Summary

Going gluten-free is a necessary health choice for some people. Yet a gluten-free diet is not a great way to lose weight and actually can be just as unhealthy as a diet with gluten. Gluten is a healthy protein, but hard to digest. All our grains, whether they include gluten or not, are easier on the digestive system when soaked as they were traditionally.

Celiac Disease is an allergy and an autoimmune disorder. Gluten sensitivity is an intolerance.

Not everyone needs to be gluten-free, but if necessary, it can be done in a healthy way.

Resources

**www.celiaccentral.org/research

*www.celiaccentral.org

***Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon, 1999 Washington DC: NewTrends Publishing Inc., 2001.Print.

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