He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; {15} And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart. (Psalms 104:14-15 KJV)

Psalm 114 is the great hymn-form of the Genesis 2 account of creation. Its poetry refers back to the very beginning of time and demonstrates God's intention for creation. The 104th is a song of David; scholars date it back to the 6th or 7th century BC. From all indications, it is a synthesis of God's inspiration, David's own musings, and Pharoah Akhenaton's "Hymn to the Sun," with which it shares many striking similarities. If Psalm 104 did originally come from Akhenaton, then it may date as early as the 14th century, making it nearly 3,500 years old! Therefore the Psalm relates thinking that is ancient, predating all other Bible books. Because it is in the Bible, we believe it is also inspired.

In verses 14 and 15 of this ancient hymn, four staple blessings are listed - wine, olive oil, bread, and the overarching staple, herbs. God has given these blessings to humankind so that we might be enriched, strengthened, gladdened, and full of praise to God. God intended these creations to be keys to better health and healing among his people, a fact that medical and nutritional science is proving to be true.

HERBS (VEGETATION)

Vegetation is the blessing from which the other three originate. Plants were not only meant for cattle, but also as the exclusive food for humanity. God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." (Genesis 1:29) I'm not specifically making a case for vegetarianism, but -- there it is.

In the New Jerusalem of the resurrection there will be no meat eating. People will eat plants and be healed by plants. "By the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed...the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine." (Ezekiel 47:12)

Christians these days concerned with health realize that lowering their consumption of animal fats, increasing their consumption of vegetables, and using herbs as medicine is a righteous and effective way to go in maintaining better health and achieving physical wholeness.

Eat Your Vegetables!

The Framingham Heart Study involves 832 men ages 45 - 65 with no cardiovascular disease. Beginning in 1966, these subjects were monitored for 22 years for episodes of stroke. There were 97 stroke-related incidents. Researchers found "a substantial decrease in stroke risk among those who consumed higher quantities of fruits and vegetables." For each half-cup serving of fruits or vegetables, researchers found a 22% decrease in stroke risk. (The average daily serving for the group was about 2.5 cups.)

The use of soy protein has been found to lower cholesterol. 1.5 ounces daily can cut cholesterol by as much as 9.3%. For people with high levels, this decrease can be as much as 20%. Dr. James Anderson of Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Lexington says, "This could have a huge impact on American public health." Soy protein might also have beneficial effect against cancer and osteoporosis.

"Magic Bullets"

Currently, 1/4 of all prescription drugs originate in plants. Botanist Mike Balick of the Garden's Institute of Economic Botany leads 24 experts in the study of the healing properties of plants in hopes of discovering the "magic bullet" cure for AIDS, diabetes, or other "incurables." The institute catalogues and tests plants from all over the world, including the Amazon Rain Forest, Indonesia, and the Virgin Islands.

Herbal medicine sales accounted for $1.4 billion dollars in 1994. I understand "herbs" to include vitamins. Today, the healing essences of herbs may be taken in the convenient tablet form as needed. There are several vitamins that have been recently discovered to have incredible abilities in repairing damage at the cellular level. Vitamins A, C, and E and the nutrient Selenium, called "antioxidants," help the body to rid itself of the primary agents in cell damage and aging, called "free radicals."

The use of antioxidants can help reverse the effects of aging and disease by measurably supporting the immune system. Antioxidants are useful for frequent respiratory illnesses, certain types of cancers and cardio-pulmonary diseases, hair loss, and who knows what else. But an antioxidant "shotgun" must be taken in sufficient dosages and with regularity. You cannot get enough from your food! Also, many brand name vitamins do not contain enough for full benefit (namely, One-a-Day and Centrum)!

More expensive does not mean better! I take 50,000 IU of Vitamin A (from Beta Carotene), 2,000 mg Vitamin C, 400 IU Vitamin E, and 100 mcg of Selenium daily. I get this dosage from two tablets. In addition, I take an inexpensive multiple vitamin as well, and sometimes more E or C.

All my life I have been sick with colds, bronchitis, and pneumonia. After another terrible bout with "flu" in 1990, I began to take this vitamin concoction daily. I did not catch another cold or any other such illness for five years - a miracle for me! I ran out of antioxidants in February 1995 and decided to wait two weeks until payday to get more. The "flu" came through again and I had it for three weeks. I learned not to run out again!

In addition to vitamins, there are a number of supplements that are very useful in maintaining good health. The second greatest killer of men is colon cancer. Doctors say it can be avoided entirely by cutting down on fats and making sure there is sufficient fiber in the diet. The only way to make sure is to supplement the diet with psyllium husk or some other type that mixes with water. Oat bran cereal in the morning is not enough, especially if you are prone to colon problems.

It is incredible what healing medications are being found today in herbs! As acceptance of herbal cures gains acceptance, we can expect miracle cure after miracle cure coming from the Amazon rain forest and other such places. Even brand-name drug companies are getting into the herb act by producing their own high-priced "brand name" vitamins.

But vitamins do not need to be expensive, either. One company that I discovered that has everything in the way of nutrition is Vitamin Power. Their prices are about the lowest I've seen and the quality is great. To get the low price, you must become a distributor, which means just signing your name. A Theragram clone is only $4 for 100 tablets. Vitamin Power may be reached at 1-800-645-6567.

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? {17} If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

The body becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit when one is baptized in the Spirit. This defilement spoken of in scripture is primarily spiritual, but spiritual defilement may come through physical means. (For example, adultery destroys both body and spirit.) One who is full of the Spirit must strive with utmost care as not to defile the body. This is no easy job, but on must continue to strive.

It is through the body that the elements of the Eucharist - the by-products of plants - become transformed into the blood and body of Christ. Hands are laid on these elements by the Spirit-filled believer, and words are spoken in blessing to God for them. They are then eaten - consumed. All of these actions are of the body, or bodies, for when two or three are gathered, "I am in their midst." The body and blood of Christ, made so by the workings of the Holy Spirit through his temple, the human body, return to the temple and become incorporated in the temple. "Blessed is the lion that the human will eat, so that the lion becomes human" (Gospel of Thomas 7). The temples of the Holy Ghost are, in turn, the Body of Christ. "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one" (John 17:23a).

Plants have the God-given capacity to heal on their own. But when transformed into sacramental mysteries, plants as bread, wine, and oil attain transformative properties. One can receive greater grace for healing and deliverance when plants as communion elements, nutritional supplements, or vitamins are blessed and consumed with expectant hearts and minds. "And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them" (Acts 3:5).

In Jesus' time it was not consumed in quantity (this is true for many countries today also). Meat eating, because of meat's scarcity, was no detriment to health as it is today.

But meat was plentiful at Passover. (Lamb is the cleanest of all the red meats consumed.) And there was plenty of meat when the Mystery Religions of Galilee had their sacrificial barbecues. (Especially pig meat, the most unclean of all meats consumed.) These pagan barbecues served the same function as church socials do today: "If you can get people to come to eat, you might be able to get them to church" (or to the temple of idol worship). That is why the John of Revelation condemns meats sacrificed to idols twice; perhaps not because the meat was necessarily bad (except the unclean), but because the believer had to go into the temple of idols to eat it. (Perhaps the meat itself was demon possessed; the demon might then lose its home to a knife and fork, and go looking for another place to live, like in the believer's liver, causing cancer.)

"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath" (Colossians 2:16). Vegetarian groups can lead a believer into incredible religious bondage. On the other hand, just because the sheet full of meat came down from Heaven in Peter's dream, one shouldn’t just eat meat, meat, meat. Any health practitioner will advise you to limit red meat to a few times a week, eat no pork, and eat more fish.

WINE

Use this one for wine - 1 Corinthians 8:10

For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; Colossians 2:16

Wine and Today's Health

There are many studies that prove the health benefits of mild to moderate wine drinking. Among them:

Heart Disease - - "If the entire U.S. population stopped drinking, there would be an additional 81,000 deaths due to heart disease each year" (JAMA 1994).

The French are 25% less likely to die than Americans from heart disease, despite a fat-rich diet. The reason? The "legendary quantities" of red wine drunk from childhood at meals.

University of Wisconsin researchers verified the benefit of one or two glasses of red wine per day in 1994. The beneficial substances, flavinoids, are found in the skins, stems and seeds of grapes. The darker the wine, the more flavinoids are present. Flavinoids help prevent arterial clotting.

Risk of Dying - Copenhagen - The Institute of Preventative Medicine followed 13,000 men and women for over ten years. Those who drank three to five glasses of wine daily proved to have half the risk of dying during the study period.

Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital found that moderate drinkers (two to five glasses of wine per day) had the lowest death rate over a two-year period, particularly from heart disease.

Stroke - Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland, California studied 130,000 men and women over three years to find that those who averaged two glasses of wine per day were 40% less likely to be hospitalized for stroke than non-drinkers. Moderate drinkers also had the lowest death rates.

A Harvard University study found that men who had two or more drinks per day had manufactured more blood clot dissolving enzymes than non-drinkers.

Respiratory Viruses - In a study of 400 healthy men and women exposed to respiratory viruses at Carnegie-Mellon University (Pittsburgh), those non-smokers who had two or more drinks per day were 85% less likely to get sick than non-drinkers. Dr. Sheldon Cohen, who led the study, states, "It may be that if you drink on a day you are exposed to a cold virus, the alcohol alters the virus's ability to replicate in the body."

Type II Diabetes - Dr. Rimm of Kaiser Permanente Medical Center writes that "alcohol slows the absorption of food, so if you drink with meals, you're less likely to end up with a sudden rush of sugar into the bloodstream that the body can't handle."

Why Wine?

Cardiologist Dr. Arthur Klatsky has found that, though any kind of alcoholic beverage can raise HDL's (good cholesterol), wine grapes contain antioxidants that seem to prevent blood clots and arterial clogging. In addition, wine contains the chemical resveratrol, which lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol. More antioxidants and resveratrol is found in red wines, since red is made from the entire grape, skin and all.

Caution!

Wine out of moderation is a mocker! In large amounts, the alcohol in the wine may damage the liver and heart, raise blood pressure, and increase the risk of certain cancers. Drinking more than a glass a day may be hazardous to pregnant women. Binging on Saturday night is not healthy, since wine's beneficial effects only last 24 - 48 hours. People who have alcoholism in their history or family, or people who do not drink wine for a good reason should not start! But for people who can trust God and themselves, and who may be susceptible to heart disease, diabetes, or stroke, might lessen their susceptibility by partaking of one of God's staple blessings - wine.

Juices

 Most of the information of wine and health comes from American Health, January, 1996, pp. 61-62,97.

The discovery of flavinoids in wine at the University of Wisconsin is reported in Reader's Digest, July 1995, p. 100.

104th is a song of David; Scholars date it back to the 6th or