BETTER HEALTH — MADE SIMPLE !

Thirty-four Steps to Happier Living – A Complete Online Health Course!

Published by TRAIL GUIDES - Altamont, TN 37301 USA

Road maps for pilgrims traveling home

LESSONS 1 - 2

LESSON ONE - FOUR-SIDED MEN

1- I am sure you will agree it is very apparent to any thinking person that our world is in trouble today. Millions are suffering from starvation and poor nutrition in every form. Population explosion is a great cause of concern. Our water is polluted. In the large cities, our air is very badly polluted. Even though modem science is finding many ways to treat disease, still there are more and more diseases to treat!

2- What we need is a program that will insure good health. We need a sense of security. We want happiness. As you read the lessons. you are going to discover that it is pos­sible to have the essential things. You can have better health. You can find security. You can find happiness.

3- I invite you to begin to get better acquainted with yourself. Just what is a person? What makes you the person you are?

4- First of all you are a body. You do not just have a body, you are one. There are no thoughts, no actions, no works, no love, no worship—nothing is possible—without a body. We usually think of the body as the physical part of us. We eat and our food is digested. We work and use our muscles, and those muscles become tired. We bathe, dress, brush our teeth, comb our hair, and make ourselves look as attractive as possible. We do not like our bodies to become sick, for then we feel very miserable.

5- But your body is just one part of you. There is another important part. It is your mind. We have the ability to reason. When your body tells you it is tired, you know that you must sleep. When it tells you that you are hungry, you know that it is time to eat. When you have a problem you can think it through. Because you have a brain, you can plan. You can plan your activities for each day, and you look ahead and plan for the future. Because you are able to reason and plan, and because you are a body, you are able to act. Your plans are not mere dreams that burst like bubbles! And you read the important instruction given here. As you read, you will learn how to make your plans and dreams such that they can come true. God has plans for you too—and dreams and ideals. "Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God's ideal for His children—God-likeness is the goal to be reached.

6- But the body and the mind do not make up the total of your experiences in life. You are in contact with people. This involves your social life. Life would not be complete without your family, your relatives, your friends and your neighbors. You were not meant to live like a lonely island out in the sea. You were meant to share the experiences of life with others.

7- Is the physical, mental, and social all there is to your life? No, you say, I have my personal faith. I have my spiritual or religious phase of my life. I agree with you. Sometimes we who are concerned with health overlook this very important part of life. "The body is more that meat. The body is more than raiment." It is these various parts of your nature that help you to reach your goals in life. Whatever your goal is in life, you need to understand how to have good relationships with other people. You need to have a meaningful faith and relationship with God.

8- There is much helpful information on each of these four areas of concern to mankind. You will receive this vital help concerning life at its best through balanced living as you read this complete series of studies.

9- In this lesson, I want you to realize that health is much more than the absence of disease. Health is having a fine sense of well-being without having to resort to the use of drugs or other harmful substances which often destroy mind as well as body. It is not dependent on a shelf full of medicines, or on some sort of magic injections.

10- Most discomfort and ill health is related to the violation of the laws governing the basic needs we have mentioned, and good health may be had by our desire to obey these laws. This was shown in the life of Daniel and his three friends. Because of their obedience to the physical, mental, social and spiritual laws of the body, they were found to be in ten times better physical, mental, social and spiritual condition and more advanced than the other students. For a few minutes let us note briefly the life building forces we all enjoy every day. Perhaps you have not thought very much about your dependence upon such important things as the sun. Yet all life in this world—including yours—is dependent upon the sun. You cannot have good health without sunshine.

11- The life-giving oxygen in the fresh air you breathe is an absolute essential to your health. Without air you would be dead in a few minutes. Of course we do not just sit in the air and sunshine. For good health, we move, we work, we exercise, or the body weakens, muscles become soft and disease more easily invades the body. But with sunlight, fresh air, and exercise we must also include rest and periods of relaxation to give the body a chance to rebuild energy and make necessary repairs.

12- Another frequently overlooked factor in good health is water. Your body requires at least 6 to 8 glasses of water each day in order to function at its best. You noticed I said water—not coffee, tea, sweetened soft drinks, beer or liquor! Water is the best for cleansing and purifying the body both inside and out.

13- Could you imagine life without food? The condition of your health is very closely related to the food you eat. For the strength of mind and body we must have nourishing, well prepared food, eaten in proper quantities and at proper times. In future lessons in this series, we shall study this matter more in detail, so do not miss a single lesson.

14- For physical health what will you include in your daily program? Here they are: sunlight, fresh air, food, clean water, exercise, rest, temperance and trust in Divine Power.

15- But remember, physical health is just one part of you. What I wish to emphasize is that health has many sides and many components, and that each is dependent upon others. All must be included if your life is to be in proper balance.

16- We cannot say "I am not sick. I have no obvious disease nor sores, therefore I am well-balanced." Neither is it enough to say that we are mentally alert, even though that is very important. We must also have social concern for our fellow human beings. We must also have a personal faith. It is only when we have these ingredients in proper balance that we can achieve the important goals and find life at its best—abundant life.

17- When this world was first made, it was God's intention that all men should always be happy, healthy and completely balanced. For a few minutes let us see how man came to be living on this world. He commanded the atoms of which the world was made, to come together in their proper place, and they obeyed Him. At that time there was no light here. The world was in darkness. God caused the light to shine upon the world He had just made. Since that time a dark part and a light part have always made a complete day.

18- When the world was first made the water was all mixed up with the earth like mud. There was no clean water and there was no dry land. On the second day God made the air around the world and some of the water of the earth He caused to rise above the air. So today, we still see clouds holding rain high in the sky.

19- On the third day God caused the waters on the earth to separate from the earth. He gathered the waters together and the dry land appeared. Then God caused trees and plants with all kinds of flowers and fruits to spring up from the earth and to cover the dry land with beauty. These would also furnish food and shelter for the animals, birds and man.

20- On the fourth day God made two great lights which He set in the heavens. We call the greater light the sun. God made it to rule the light part of the day. The sun is about 93 million miles distance from the earth. It is much larger than the earth. The earth continually rotates around the sun. God made the sun to send heat and light to the world.. The lesser light He called the moon, It is smaller than the earth and has no light of its own. It reflects the light of the sun. It is not very far away from the earth; only 238 thousand miles. The moon revolves around the earth once in every twenty-eight days. God said these two light were to be for signs and seasons. The same God who made this world and the sun and the moon also made all the stars, which we can see up in the heavens on a clear night. Man cannot possibly count all the stars. Long ago a wise man wrote: "Because God is great in power, none of the stars fall." He upholds them all. They all show how great and powerful and wonderful is God, their Creator.

21- After God had gathered the waters into seas and made the dry land appear, after He had made the plants and made the sun and moon to shine, He wanted other things. On the fifth day He made all kinds of birds to fly in the air, and to live on the ground and in the water. Some were very large and others were very small. He also made the fish on the same day. Some fish were very large and others were very small. There are fish that live in rivers and others that live in oceans. They were all made on the same day.

22- On the sixth day God made different kinds of animals. Tigers, elephants, cows, horses, dogs, cats, and all the many different kinds of animals were made on the sixth day, and then God also made man.

23- Man was a very special part of creation. He was different from all the other animals. He stood up straight. He also had a different kind of brain. He could know right from wrong. God made man to be the ruler over all the world and everything in it. It was man's responsibilities to care for all the animals and birds and fish and plants that lived in the earth.

24- But man was all by himself and God saw that it was not good for man to be alone so He made a woman to be the man's wife. These two were the first parents: the parents of all the people who have lived on the earth since then.

25- You may wonder why man is not now the ruler of all the things in this earth. Why do animals fear man? Why do people get sick and die? In the next lecture we shall discuss these questions, because they are vital to every person's happiness and fullness of life.

Here is additional information about the Creation of this world:

The story of how this world was made, is explained in the first two chapters of the Bible: Genesis 1 and 2. Here are some other Bible verses about how it took place:

"By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. . For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." Psalm 33:6-9.

"For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited." Isaiah 45:18.

"For by Him [Jesus, God's Son] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him." -Colossians 1:16. (Also John 1:3, Hebrews 1:1-2, Ephesians 2:10.)

"The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens."-Jeremiah 10:11-16. (Acts 17:22-29, Isa. 40:25-29.)

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork." -Psalm 19:1. (Psalm 8:4-6, Hebrews 1:3, Romans 1:20, Psalm 95:6, Revelation 4:11.)

"For God so loved the world that He gave."-John 3.16.

LESSON TWO – OVERPOWERING GERMS

1- We saw in our last lesson that man is a four dimensional being. Do you remember what the dimensions are? They are the physical, mental, social, and spiritual. Your body does not have compartments in which these are divided. These are all interrelated to make you a complete person. And your physical life is the foundation of your mental, social and spiritual life. In other words, you cannot have a mind without a body. You cannot have a social life without a body and mind. You cannot have a spiritual life without a body and mind. So the importance of keeping your body in good health cannot be too strongly stressed if you want to think right, worship right, and live at peace with God and man.

2- Now we are going to find some answers to a question that is often asked: "From where does sickness and disease come?" Perhaps you remember the time when you woke up feeling rather tired and dizzy. Soon you realized that you had a fever, and you decided that you had better stay in bed. What happened inside your body to cause your illness? You may have known of people who appeared to be strong and healthy but who suddenly became very ill. Why? Perhaps a child develops a runny nose and a slight cough for a few days, Then, suddenly, the child becomes very ill with a high fever and vomiting. Why?

3- The cause of most illness can be traced to the breaking of the laws of nature. Along with this, there are many germs that we should be careful of. Most germs are invisible, but God has provided us with ways to avoid sickness, and we can be thankful for this.

4- Do you know how quickly germs can multiply? It takes one germ about fifteen minutes to divide and make two germs just like itself. With each new germ dividing into two more germs in this manner, that first germ can become over two million germs in just six hours. No wonder a famous physician once remarked that it is a miracle that we are not all dead from these invisible enemies. Now comes the important question. How can we fight germs? What can be done to prevent health-destroying invasion of germs?

5- There are two very important things which can be done. Both of these have to do with recognizing and obeying the laws of health. First of all, you can help to control the number of germs that get into your body by obeying the rules of keeping clean, and simple first-aid. For example, all wounds should be treated immediately, because you can be absolutely sure some germs will enter any wound.

6- In many areas of the world, drinking water should be boiled unless it is known to be safe and free from germs, and all fruit and vegetables that are eaten raw should be thoroughly washed with soap and rinsed well with clean, clear water before they are eaten. Your hands should always be washed with soap before you eat. Dishes should always be clean. Since insects carry germs, our food should be protected from flies and cockroaches and such pests as mice and rats. All garbage should be buried or burned. Carefully follow all rules for cleanliness and sanitation. Beside these, there are many other things you can do to keep well.

7- You must also learn to keep a high body resistance. You see, your body is constantly on guard for a fight against germs. We speak of this as resistance against disease. A high rate of resistance means good health. A low resistance means that we are easily attacked by infection. You can help keep your body in a state of good resistance against germs by obeying the laws of health that we mentioned in the last lesson—getting sunlight, fresh air, exercise, rest, the use of dean water, proper diet, abstemiousness (temperance), and trust in divine power. We shall be learning more about these laws in coming lessons.

8- When harmful bacteria or germs enter the body, they are met by bacteria fighters which immediately go to work. With the common cold, extra mucous is formed for the purpose of washing out the bacteria. You can see why you should be careful to blow your nose and wash your hands when you have a respiratory infection. Germs from a sneeze travel up to fifteen feet. Cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough.

9- When harmful germs invade our digestive tract, the acids in the stomach help to kill them. Sometimes the germs get into the intestinal tract. It is important to keep flies away from both feces and food. You should always keep food covered from flies and dust. Always wash your hands after relieving yourself.

10- Other important fighters against germs are the antibodies which your body manufactures. No doubt you have noticed that certain diseases rarely attack with success more than once. This is because our bodies build up antibodies and the next time those germs enter, the antibodies are ready to attack and destroy them.

11- You should remember that a fever is not sickness. Fever is a sign that the body is fighting the invisible enemy. Let us say a germ invasion or infection has started in the body. Immediately signals are sent out that the body must fight. The sweat glands of the skin are closed and the blood is driven deeper into the body. The blood makes more white blood cells which are the germ killers of the body. After a fever, the sweat glands release their fluid through open pores, and the heat is lost in perspiration.

12- If you could look into the inner part of your bones you would find different kinds of blood cells being made. One kind are those policemen of the body-soldiers who fight the invaders. They are the white blood cells we have mentioned, and are able to pass in and out of the thin walls of the blood vessels. Let us consider an example of how these policemen of the body work. Now let us say that you are working one day, handling a piece of wood, and you accidentally get a sliver in your finger. If you are a wise person, you will immediately remove the splinter and you will clean and disinfect the place where it went in. But no matter how quickly you do that, you can be sure of one thing—there were some germs on that splinter, and some of them went into your skin. Those germs are quicker that you are. So, now what happens? The moment that splinter went into your skin, the white blood cells from blood vessels nearby hurry to the site of invasion and damage. They come from all around and literally surround and over­power the germ.

13- Many of the white cells may give their lives in the battle. You have had infections in which pus has formed. That pus is actually millions of dead white cells that fought your infection. The white cells not only surround and destroy the germs they also keep working to clean the wound and help it heal. You can see that God has given us a wonderful defense system. How do these white cells know to hurry to the exact spot where they are needed? What tells them? The greatest scientist cannot tell the answers to some of these marvels. But we know the answer is with God who planned every part of these wonderful bodies of ours.

14- My friends, there is a cause for sickness. Pain, suffering, disease and death do not just happen by chance. Is God responsible for suffering, sickness, and death?

15- Let us go to God's great book, the Holy Bible, to find the answer to our question of why people suffer and die. The answer to man's question about how this world came into existence, where man came from, what is life, and why we get sick, or grow old and die, can be found in the Bible.

16- When God finished making the world, He looked at the birds and fish and animals and the two people He had made and He said that it was very good. It was His intention that they should always be healthy and happy and never die. As the splinter opened a way for germs to enter the body and bring sickness and death, so sin came into this world, bringing with it sickness sorrow, disease and death. The wages, or natural result of sin, is death. Life comes from God. Death comes from sin.

17- Sin is anything contrary to the principles of Life. When God made man and woman, He loved them and He wanted them to love Him. In the garden where He had placed them, He put a tree and told them not to touch it nor eat the fruit of it. He said they would die if they ate the fruit. This was a test for them to find out whether they really believed God and loved Him. If they ate of the fruit, it would show that they did not really believe Him nor love Him.

18- When God was making the angels, who are His personal messengers, He made one to be a leading angel. His name was Lucifer. Later this angel became proud of his great beauty and wisdom, and forgot that God had given these to him. He wanted to be like God. He wanted to rule the universe. He thought there was some secret power inside himself that would enable him to do this. He talked to the other angels and got some of them to follow him. Then there was war in Heaven, the home of God and the angels. Lucifer and the angels who followed him were cast out of Heaven.

19- Lucifer came to this world to persuade Adam and Eve to follow him. If he could get them to obey him, instead of God, they would become his followers and his servants, then this world would become his kingdom. We read this in Genesis 3. The only way he could tempt the man and the woman was concerning the tree. One day, when the woman wandered away from her husband, Lucifer waited near the tree. He did not show himself, but he tricked the woman into believing that a beautiful snake in the tree was talking.

20- "Did God say you should not eat of all the trees in the Garden?" the snake seemed to ask. "We may eat of all the trees, except this one," the woman replied. "If we eat of it, we shall die." The woman had never seen anything die, so she did not know what death was. Then Lucifer told the first lie. He said, "You will not surely die."

21- The woman believed Lucifer instead of believing God. She took some of the fruit and she ate it. Then she took some to her husband who also ate. So they both became the servants of Lucifer and rebelled against God. This was the first sin in the earth.

22- Sin always brings fear. Adam and Eve began to be afraid of God because they had disobeyed Him. Before they had disobeyed Him, beautiful light shone from their bodies, but after their disobedience the light left them. In their naked condition they were afraid to see God, so they tried to make some clothing for themselves. They tried to cover themselves with some large soft fig leaves.

23- When God visited Adam and Eve in the evening, as He usually did, they were afraid so they hid themselves. When God called them, they came to Him fearfully. They were a­fraid they would die right then. They would have died at once had God not loved them so much that He made a plan whereby sin could be taken from them, so they would no longer be rebels with Lucifer, who was now called Satan. God did not explain all His plans to Adam and Eve but He told them a little. He told them that from among the people who would later be born into this world would come one who would crush Satan and put an end to his wicked rulership of the earth.

24- Because Adam and Eve had obeyed Satan and thus allowed him to become ruler of this world in their place, God could not allow them to continue living in His beautiful garden, so they had to leave it. They had to go out into the world to till the soil in order to get their food.

25- Before He sent them away, God taught them through something special, how they could expect some time in the future to lose all their sin, and to become once more perfect in character so that they could live in the garden.

26- In the next lesson, we shall show you the service which God gave to them, which brought to them the hope of a future eternal life of health and happiness. And this hope was not only for them. It is for us too.

"Thou [Lucifer] wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." -Ezekiel 28:15.

"Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness." Ezekiel 28:17.

"Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north .. I will be like the Most High"- Isaiah 14:13-14.

Lucifer, in rebelling against God and His holy Law, became Satan the adversary. After leading many other angels into rebellion (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6) he was cast out of heaven with a third of the angels (Revelation 12:4).

"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."-Revelation 12:7-9.

CONTINUE- LESSONS 3-4

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