Re-Creation: The Rebirth

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Jesus, from John chapter 3

In the first foundational article we looked at the physical creation, and showed how the creation is wearing out. The physical world is decaying and passing away, heading towards a day of final destruction when God will create a new earth. We touched on the fact that while our bodies are decaying, that our spirits can be “re-created” or regenerated. This article will cover the foundation of this regeneration and “rebirth”, which is essential to experiencing true health.

The Spiritual Life

One of the biggest problems with healthcare or health management today is the denial of the spiritual life, and acknowledging the fact that we are primarily spiritual beings. The emphasis on health and healing is almost 100% physical.

God created man in His own image, and the physical bodies He created were created out of the elements of the earth, the physical world. Into these physical bodies He put a living spirit.

Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7

It is said that if one were to add up the value of all the physical elements that make up our physical bodies, that they are not worth much – probably just a few dollars. But obviously there is much more to us than the sum of our physical parts. We have a non-physical part to our existence, which is foolish to ignore.

Western culture today, probably more than any other period of human history, completely exalts the physical world and ignores or even denies the spiritual realm. The culture is built upon the foundation of evolution, and the worship of science as the embodiment of all truth. “Truth” is considered only that which is physical and can be observed by scientific methods.

The Bible clearly teaches that there is a spiritual world in addition to the physical creation. There are also other spirit beings in this world such as angels and demons. The record of the life of Jesus shows a constant intersecting of the physical world with the spiritual world, recording instances where Jesus defied the physical laws of nature by doing things such as walking on top of water, changing water into wine, or healing diseases, for example, and even raising physically dead bodies back to life. Those who worship the scientific method as the only valid means of determining truth will reject anything that cannot be proven in the physical realm. Most people intuitively know that the spiritual realm exists, because they have experienced it in some way or form. Experience can be just as valid for determining truth as any other means of discovery, “scientific” or not.

One of my favorite stories in the gospels is in John chapter nine. Jesus and his disciples encounter a man who was born blind. Jesus’ Jewish disciples did not have a western view of life built upon a foundation of evolution that saw all truth as being part of the physical world, so as they debated what the cause of this man’s blindness was, they didn’t even think about things such as neural pathways, cataracts, damaged corneas, etc. They saw his condition as a spiritual condition and began to debate whose sin had caused it to happen. Jesus responded: “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” He then proceeded to heal the man of his blindness, displaying the truth that the spiritual kingdom of “light” that He was operating in had power over the physical world.

The story that follows is very interesting, because the leaders of that culture did not accept the man’s story as to how he gained his sight. When told that Jesus had given him his sight, they ridiculed him. The formerly blind man knew from experience the truth: He answered, "Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." But they would simply not accept it because his explanation did not fit in with their view of truth – specifically that Jesus had the power to perform an act such as this. They too thought that sicknesses were judgments of sin, and in their minds and to their understanding of the truth, Jesus was a sinner also, and incapable of performing such an act that only God could do. But the formerly born-blind man was not constrained to their views of the truth, because his experience over-rode their preconceived ideas. His experience was a valid method of discovering the truth, even though others did not accept his reasoning. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. (John 9:25)

When things like this happen today, they are equally rejected as false by the popular culture, but for different reasons. While the Jews of Jesus’ day believed in the spiritual realm, they did not accept Jesus as the ruler of the spiritual realm. Their views of the coming Jewish Messiah were one of a king who would overthrow the oppressive Roman government and setup a physical kingdom, not a spiritual one. Plus, Jesus threatened their power base and challenged their influence in the culture. Today, experiences like this are rejected because of a denial that the spiritual realm can interfere with the physical world (or that it even exists at all.) The superiority of the spiritual realm of Jesus also threatens the establishment and power base of western culture: medicine and science.

The Two Kingdoms

The Bible clearly teaches us that there are two spiritual kingdoms in the world today: the kingdom of Satan, sometimes referred to as the “domain of darkness” or the “ruler of this world,” and the kingdom of Christ, which is also referred to as the kingdom of Heaven, the kingdom of God, or just simply “the light.” As we see above in the quote from Jesus in John chapter nine, Jesus declared Himself to be the “light” in the world, which invades and overcomes the kingdom of darkness. This is also written in the first chapter of John, where Jesus is referred to as the “Word”: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Jesus created the world in the beginning, and then entered the flow of human history by taking on the form of a human being and being born as a baby. He had no physical father, because Mary, his physical birth-mother, became pregnant as a virgin by means of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus became a man and began His ministry, He had a purer relationship to the spiritual world while existing in a human body in the physical world, than any other human being that ever walked on the earth. He was not only a part of the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of light, He was the ruler of that kingdom, and nothing in Satan’s domain or the kingdom of darkness could stand in his way. Light drives out darkness. When the two meet, light always prevails. John continues in the first chapter:

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The gospels do record one physical encounter between Jesus and Satan, right before Jesus began His public ministry:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, "'He will command his angels concerning you,' and "'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to Jesus. (Matthew 4:1-11)

Satan apparently knew that Jesus was a threat to his kingdom, and so he approached Jesus at a time when He was physically at His weakest. He tried three different temptations to get Jesus to join his kingdom, but Jesus had no interest whatsoever. He knew He was the ruler of the spiritual world and that Satan’s defeat was drawing near. When Satan made a mock offer to let Jesus rule in his kingdom, Jesus commanded him to leave.

Later on in His ministry, Jesus explained that His voluntary, sacrificial death on the cross would break the power of Satan and his kingdom:

"Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. The crowd then answered Him, "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?" So Jesus said to them, "For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light." (John 12:31-36)

Even though Jesus, while still in his earthly body, was more powerful than Satan and the Jewish rulers who wanted to kill Him because of the threat He was to them, He voluntarily laid down His life to break the power of sin and death, the spiritual powers of the physical world, where Satan was the ruler.

"For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father." (John 10:17-18)

And Jesus said to him, "Friend, do what you have come for." Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him. And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?" (Matthew 26:50-54)

Jesus was crucified on the cross, and then walked out of grave three days later to prove He had power over the ruler of this world, and that He was more powerful than sin and death, which is causing the physical world to decay and wear out. Jesus won. Physical death is a result of a spiritual problem, sin. “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23) Jesus had a perfect Spirit and never sinned, so death could not keep Him in the grave. The sin of the human race, passed on to us through Adam, never passed on to Jesus because He had no human father. He then took on a new resurrected, heavenly body which is “imperishable.”

Unfortunately, all of us who are born to human fathers and mothers do inherit the sin of the human race, and automatically become part of the kingdom of this world, which in the physical realm is decaying and wearing out. While Jesus broke the power of the ruler of the kingdom of darkness, he is still here and will remain here until the end times when the physical creation is destroyed and replaced with a new one. There will be no place for Satan in this new world, where Jesus will rule in a new physical kingdom.

But the good news for us today is that even though we must continue living in the physical world that is decaying and wearing out until we die a physical death, we can now enter into the kingdom of light in the spiritual realm where Jesus is already ruling. We do this through regeneration, by being re-born spiritually.

Rebirth and Entering the Kingdom of Light

In John chapter three we have the story of Nicodemus, a member of the religious ruling class who was not antagonistic towards Jesus. He realized that Jesus had a special relationship with God, because of the miracles Jesus was performing in overcoming the physical realm with spiritual power, mainly through healing diseases.

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:1-8)

Even though Nicodemus was educated in the Old Testament and a teacher of Israel, he had a hard time understanding the spiritual rebirth Jesus was talking about. The way they had interpreted the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah (the king of the Jews who was to come from the line of David), they were expecting a king who would come and restore the physical kingdom of Israel to the glory years they had enjoyed under David and Solomon - someone who would overthrow the tyranny of the Roman government. Jesus just didn’t fit their preconceived ideas about the Messiah.

Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." (John 3:9-21)

This discourse between Jesus and Nicodemus contains some of the most quoted verses in the Bible, because they so clearly explain the essence of the “good news” or “gospel” message. Nicodemus, while still fearful of his fellow ruling class Pharisees apparently, at least came to Jesus in honesty and without trying to promote his own agenda. He was confused, and Jesus took time to explain things to him as clearly as possible. What a blessing that this discourse was recorded for us to read! The main points are:

1. God loved the people of the world in their sinful state, and instead of judging them and giving them what they deserve, instead sent Jesus into the world to save them from the natural outcome of their sinful state.

2. This kingdom that Jesus established on earth, which is an extension of what exists in heaven, is spiritual in nature (at this present time), and one has to be born again spiritually to enter into this kingdom.

3. This kingdom is the kingdom of light, and those who choose to remain in the kingdom of darkness will hate the light, because the light clearly shows what they are like. Those who accept Jesus as the Messiah/savior of this kingdom will be saved from the natural outcome of sin, which is death and judgment, and will be able to enter this kingdom simply by their belief in and acceptance of Jesus, which will result in their re-birth spiritually.

The ruling religious class of Jesus’ day in general rejected Him as their Messiah/savior, because they enjoyed their power and chose to walk in the kingdom of darkness instead. There were exceptions of course, like Nicodemus, who saw the truth and changed their thinking (called “repentance” in Biblical language). Most of the people who accepted Jesus as their Messiah/savior were those like the man born blind in John chapter nine – people whom society had passed by and were basically hopeless and abandoned by the ruling class, and had come to Jesus in hope and faith and seen first hand what happens when the kingdom of light crosses over to the kingdom of darkness. Physical healing from sicknesses was more often than not the physical outcome of that encounter in the spiritual realm.

As we mentioned above, there are only two kingdoms in the world today. Everyone walking on the earth is in one of these two kingdoms. Everyone is either walking in the darkness, or walking in the light. The kingdom we are physically born into by default is the kingdom of darkness. To enter the kingdom of light takes a rebirth spiritually.

So this is where true health begins! It begins by being re-created through the rebirth experience in the spiritual realm, and beginning to walk in the light, rather than the darkness. It begins by accepting Jesus as your savior - your personal Messiah! He is your true hero, and the only one worth pledging total allegiance to!

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)

We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:18-20)

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of God’s anger, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:1-9)

Believing in and accepting Jesus is the way to spiritual rebirth, and becoming a new person so filled with God’s love, that nothing is ever the same again. It is definitely the first step in renewing your spiritual life and gaining health.

Christ himself carried our sins in his body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. It is by his wounds that you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

Trying to obtain health and healing without this foundation is to limit yourself to options that only exist in the physical realm. You may obtain some benefit, but it is only temporary because the body is getting older, and is in the process of decay. Only the spirit can be renewed, and re-created.

So once we are reborn spiritually and begin walking in the kingdom of light, what benefits do we have?? MANY!!! So many, that it will have to be the topic of a future article. But with these two foundational articles (this on on the rebirth and Foundations for Life: What’s Yours?), along with my own personal testimony as to how this worked in my own life, you now have enough information to accept Jesus into your life and become born again spiritually, and begin your walk in the kingdom of light. Just getting started will have a tremendous impact on your health, and then the Holy Spirit will be active in your life creating you into a new person and leading you into all sorts of truths that will result in health and well being for you and the people around you, as you come to experience God’s incredible love for yourself first-hand, through your own personal encounter with Jesus. So what are you waiting for? It is a FREE gift, and worth more than anything you can purchase here on earth from those who would claim to have something to offer you, including health. True health cannot be purchased. It is something Jesus offers to you for FREE, because He already bought it by spilling his blood on the cross to defeat the power of sin and death, and now He offers you the FREE gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Accept this FREE offer today, while it is still valid!! This offer expires upon your physical death, or the day Jesus returns to destroy the earth and create a new one. And no one knows when that will happen...

Foundations for Life: What's Yours?

Our basic understanding of life and the world around us affects our way of thinking and ultimately our health – physical as well as spiritual health. Where we came from and what our ultimate destiny will be affects the way we view everything in life that happens to us, and the choices we make. Even if someone does not give much thought to their origin or destiny, and just simply “follows the crowd” each day, they are living their lives and making choices each day based on a belief system that views our origin and destiny in a specific way. How a person reacts when they get sick, for example, is a reflection on this belief system of origins and destiny, whether the person consciously adopted the belief system themselves based on reason, or whether they just followed the examples of others in their culture and environment.

Evolution is the dominant belief system forced upon us today

In the realm of government-funded public education and government-funded academia, the belief in evolution is the dominant belief system taught to America’s children and youth today. Every tax-paying American is forced to support this belief system through the funding of evolution-based education. It is also promoted in the nation’s government-funded museums, parks, and other institutions.

Yet, the vast majority of Americans choose to believe in some form of creation. You can see the results of the Gallup organizations polling of the American public on this matter, for example, here: http://www.religioustolerance.org/ev_publi.htm So for the vast majority of Americans who have chosen to believe in creation instead of evolution, their right of choice is violated every time they enter a public funded park or museum or send their children to a public funded educational institution and evolution is presented as fact, and as the only way of viewing history and origins.

My own children are home-educated and therefore have not been subject to forced-evolution teaching through a school system. However, when we travel as a family and visit places like national parks, and take time to read about wildlife and geological sites at these places, or watch films or listen to tour guides in such places, we are subject to the evolutionary viewpoint, and at our expense! If we want to visit any of these national or state natural treasures, we don’t have any choice but to pay the price of admission and support their evolutionary education if we want to see them (our tax dollars also support it). Even when we take in tours at places that are run by private non-profit groups, these groups generally receive a huge part of their budget from government funds such as grants, and they have no choice but to present the evolutionary viewpoint to continue receiving their government funding.

As I have stated in other places, there are plenty of resources to look at the scientific debate regarding creation versus evolution. What I want to do for the rest of this article is simply show how these two belief systems are vastly different in terms of how we think and act each day in our environment and culture, and then show in future articles how a foundation based on creation is the healthiest choice we can make.

So here is the premise: Our basic understanding of life and the world around us affects our way of thinking and ultimately our health. A view of life built upon the foundation of evolution leads to false ideas, poor choices, and ill health. A view of life based on creation and God’s continuous interaction with His creation leads to correct choices and good health. A structure built upon a faulty foundation will eventually fail, while a system built upon a strong foundation will stand firm. (Matt. 7:24-27)

The Creation Foundation

As always, we turn to the Bible, the best-selling book of all time, to guide is in understanding our origins and our place in life. As a record of God’s revelation to man, here we find out the most important questions of life answered, such as who are we, and where did we come from?

1. God Created Everything

That God created the heavens and earth (e.g. universe) is clearly stated in both the Old Testament and New Testaments. Genesis 1:1 states: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The New Testament further explains that it was Jesus, in his pre-incarnate state (before he came to earth to be born a man) who created everything.

In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. John 1:1-3

For by Him (Jesus) all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. Colossians 1:16

2. God created each one of us personally, and we are made in God’s image.

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Psalm 139:15-18

3. While everything was originally created perfect, sin has marred creation, and the creation is suffering decay today. (See Genesis 3)

For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8:19-23)

When Adam and Eve sinned, their sin began the process of physical death in their bodies. They still lived over 900 years, but they eventually died a physical death. The creation also suffered, as the passage in Romans above explains. Today, we really don’t know what the plant and animal life was like in the days of Adam and Eve before the Fall, before sin entered the world. In the days of Noah, sin had become so bad that God wiped out all life in the world through the flood, preserving only those who were on the ark. When Noah’s family and the animals left the ark, the world was apparently a very different place. The entire ecosystem was changed. Man’s life span grew shorter and shorter.

The Bible clearly teaches that the creation is wearing out, just like our clothes wear out over time.

Of old You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. Psalm 102:25-26

He also said, "You, Lord, in the beginning created the earth, and with your own hands you made the heavens. They will disappear, but you will remain; they will all wear out like clothes. You will fold them up like a coat, and they will be changed like clothes. But you are always the same, and your life never ends." Hebrews 1:10-12

One of the results of sin is that man has to work hard to produce food because of the curse on the ground.

And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Genesis 3:17-19

4. Jesus is active in His creation keeping everything working, upholding all things by his power, until the culmination of history when the present earth and heavens will be destroyed.

He (Jesus) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. Hebrews 1:3

And He (Jesus) is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:16

First of all, you must understand that in the last days some people will appear whose lives are controlled by their own lusts. They will make fun of you and will ask, "He promised to come, didn't he? Where is he? Our ancestors have already died, but everything is still the same as it was since the creation of the world!" They purposely ignore the fact that long ago God gave a command, and the heavens and earth were created. The earth was formed out of water and by water, and it was also by water, the water of the flood, that the old world was destroyed. But the heavens and the earth that now exist are being preserved by the same command of God, in order to be destroyed by fire. They are being kept for the day when godless people will be judged and destroyed. But do not forget one thing, my dear friends! There is no difference in the Lord's sight between one day and a thousand years; to him the two are the same. The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins. But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that Day the heavens will disappear with a shrill noise, the heavenly bodies will burn up and be destroyed, and the earth with everything in it will vanish. Since all these things will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people should you be? Your lives should be holy and dedicated to God, as you wait for the Day of God and do your best to make it come soon---the Day when the heavens will burn up and be destroyed, and the heavenly bodies will be melted by the heat. But we wait for what God has promised: new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will be at home. 2 Peter 3:3-13

So to summarize the creation foundation to life, the physical world is decaying and passing away, heading towards a day of final destruction when God will create a new earth. The height of physical achievement by man lies in the past, not the future. Before the Flood, man had a life span of almost a thousand years! Today it is rare for someone to live even 100 years. The best years in human history were in the past. Without God holding everything together, this world would probably completely fall apart very quickly. He will be the one to destroy it and create a new physical world.

The good news is that we can be re-created now in our spirit, even though our outer body is decaying. The apostle Paul said “For this reason we never become discouraged. Even though our physical being is gradually decaying, yet our spiritual being is renewed day after day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16) This regeneration happens when we are born again spiritually through faith in Jesus.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:3-9

When we experience this rebirth in Christ, and the resulting spiritual renewal, it also has a positive effect on our physical bodies.

If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:10-11

Sadly, we live in a culture today that concentrates only on the physical part of man, the body, and not the spirit. We exalt the physical realm and usually ignore the spiritual realm altogether, because of the belief in evolution.

The Evolution Foundation

I am certainly not an expert in evolutionary theory. I am sure there are very many different variations of this belief system. I mainly present it here simplistically to show how it contradicts the belief in creation, and the way we approach life.

1. Man has evolved from lower life forms, via natural processes over millions or billions of years.

A. Some will have God or a “god” starting the process. (Deism/big bang theory, etc.) But they do not see God active in creation after the beginning.

B. Some reject any personal higher life form, and see intelligent life in the physical universe itself.

2. Man has evolved to the highest, most intelligent life form in the plant/animal kingdom. Man is usually not seen as morally any different from other life forms. A higher life form than man is denied, as is the spiritual realm, since it is outside the observation of “science.”

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Romans 1:19-23

3. Man through his intelligence can now guide the evolutionary process to greater heights of achievement. Things are continuing to evolve. The past is “primitive.” Man used to be “brutish.” Our technology has made us the most advanced society in the history of man. Our best years lie in the future.

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness," and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." I Corinthians 3:18-20

4. Man can achieve immortality (and other things) through science and his own evolving intelligence. Disease, for example, will one day be eradicated through the achievements of the science and technology of man.

So to summarize the evolution foundation to life, man has evolved from lower life forms and is now more advanced than at any other time in human history. If you exist today it is because you are “lucky” and your ancestors advanced in the evolutionary process because they were the strongest of their species (survival of the fittest). Those with superior intelligence are controlling the advancement of man through science and technology, and our best years are still ahead.

In Summary

While the majority of the American people today believe in creation, we live in a culture that is built upon the foundation of evolution. From our health care system, to the way we produce food, to many other areas of our lives, the evolution foundation prevails. Our health care system treats only the physical man, with the belief system that technology and science can solve all our health problems. Our approach to food production is purely evolutionary, with the “Star Trek” mentality that some day all we have to do is push a button to “replicate” food because our technology will be so advanced. The past is viewed as primitive, with the result that traditional skills are dying out in favor of industrialized food. The physical is exalted over the spiritual, which is either marginalized or denied altogether.

So how long can our culture survive built upon a foundation like the one we have today? Are we really all that advanced in our science and technology, or are we a fragile society dependent on fragile systems and networks that could come crashing down at any time? Are we truly becoming healthier? Is our food better today than in the past?

More to come….

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How I Found Peace with God

I was driving down a rural highway in north central Wisconsin that Autumn night in 1977, thoughts running wildly through my mind. "Why wasn't I dead?" I thought unbelievingly. I had fully intended to overdose on drugs and end my life just hours before. But after swallowing some one hundred assorted pills that I thought were pretty potent, I woke up surprised not only to find myself alive, but my head clear also. Didn't even catch a buzz!

As a senior in high school, I was hanging around with the wrong crowd, and heavily into the drug culture. My parents being divorced when I was young, I had tried living with both sets of parents and couldn't get along with either one. I didn't strike it off too well with girls either, so with one failed relationship after another, I had decided that death was preferable to life, thinking that somehow it would be a gateway to a better life.

But now I was confused, off balance. Overdosing on drugs seemed like the easiest most painless way of ending my life, and when I decided to finally go through with it, there was no turning back. The thought never occurred to me that I would not succeed. So there I was back in my car driving down a rural highway pondering what to do next. I remembered a junior high teacher once reading an article to our class about a guy who killed himself instantly by driving his car 55 mph into a telephone pole. That was it! It would be instantaneous; painless.

There was one problem, however. As I drove down this unfamiliar rural road somewhere north of Appleton (about 2 hours north of my home in Milwaukee), there were drainage ditches between the edge of the road and where the telephone poles were. I feared my car would never make it over the ditch.

Finally the road led through a small country town consisting of not much more than a bar and grocery store. But it was lit up with a few light poles on the gravel shoulder of the main highway. This was it. I backed the car up several hundred yards, and then floored it, racing towards one of the light poles. A glance at the speedometer read 85 mph just before impact. And then total darkness…… for maybe 10-15 seconds.

The sound of my car horn blaring woke me up…. again. Again I had failed. With nothing better to do, I decided to try and crawl out of the wreckage. The car was now upside down, but my driver-side window was missing, so I began to climb out. The people who were in the bar across the street rushed over and helped me the rest of the way out. One guy exclaimed to his buddies, "Wow! Check it out! He knocked down the light pole!" It was probably the most excitement that little town had seen in years. They called an ambulance and took me to a nearby hospital.

At the hospital they did some routine checks on me, but other than a few bruises, I had driven my car into a light pole 85 mph and walked away from it. The police were able to contact my father through my licenses plates. I was kept in the hospital overnight for observations, mostly out of concern for the drugs I had taken.

So I laid there in the hospital bed staring at the ceiling and wondering why I was alive. The thought had never occurred to me that I would not succeed in ending my life. Then it hit me. I did not have control over my own life. God did. It was not mine to take. This was not some tremendous revelation or anything like that, it was just something I had learned that day through practical experience. And it gave me comfort. I felt as if God was saying to me: "I have a purpose for your life, just wait." From that night on I never again had the desire to take my own life.

The next day confirmed my suspicions that God had been in control the whole time. First the sheriff's report from the "accident" came in. I learned that my car had gone right through the light pole shearing it out of the ground, and then continued up the road, veered off into a drainage ditch, hit a culvert that went underneath a driveway which upended the car and flipped it over three times finally coming to rest upside down. Wow! And I walked away from that! But wait, it gets better….

My dad says to me, "Let's go to the crash site on the way home." Ok I thought, why not? As we drive down the rural highway heading north out of Appleton, we come to the small town where I crashed the car. The name of the town: Freedom. We drive over to the place where the car finally came to rest: right in front of a big country church. As I look at that church and reflect on God's control over my life, my Dad says to me: "Hey, look at the name of that bar across the street." I turn around and look at it: The Crash Inn. My Dad chuckles, and I feel like I'm in the twilight zone or something.

It's time to drive back to Milwaukee, but we decide to stop at the junk yard where they hauled my car. We ask the guy where the Torino is that they brought in this morning. The guy takes us to the car. He looks at the car, looks at me, and then asks, "Were you driving that car??" I nod in affirmant. The guy shakes his head in disbelief. "You see that car over there?" he says, pointing to a large wrecked car, "It's not half as smashed up as yours, but the guy driving that car didn't make it."

We walk over to what used to be my car. Totally demolished. The engine was pushed off its block, and half of it was in the passenger side front seat. The car basically crumpled when it took out the light pole. The guy said he couldn't even tow it, because the wheels and axles were bent. He had to use a flat-bed truck and lift it up there with a crane. After hauling it to the junk yard, he had to return a second time to pick up all the pieces. But the driver seat was still in tact. It was almost as if a protective bubble had been placed around it. I left there feeling like my life was worth something to God, and that he had me on this earth for some reason.

Going back to school, my whole outlook on life changed. I now had hope, believing that God had some purpose for my life. I had been brought up in church, and had been taught the Bible and the creeds of my Protestant denomination, but my faith was very "creedal" also: it didn't have much of an impact on my day to day life. So I went back to my old friends and my partying way of life.

But my attitude in school changed. I was enrolled in a specialty program in my senior year of high school majoring in business and marketing. With my new found self confidence, I excelled in the program, especially in demonstrating sales abilities. I won some awards in some city and state wide competitions, and purposed to graduate from high school and make a lot of money in sales. After graduating from high school, I quickly got certified and began to sell accident and health insurance door-to-door. I was doing great, and even sold a policy my first day on the field. But there was something missing, and I often felt guilty having "conned" someone to buy a policy that they probably didn't need and wasn't quite what they expected it to be.

So I got a job in a factory working a graveyard shift from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. three days on and three days off. It was a good hourly rate, and a lot of my buddies from high school were working there. It was boring work, and we all "got high" to help us make it through the long shifts. But I always saw it as temporary work, until I found a good sales job that I really liked. It allowed me some financial freedom, and I was able to rent a condominium with another friend. I was also able to buy a nice sports car. Life was great in many ways, I could now party as much as I wanted. But I was still empty and unsatisfied with my life. I knew there had to be more, and I just thought that if I could get a good job with the potential to advance in a career, that I would be happy.

After about a year out of high school and having worked at the factory for several months, I decided to get back into sales. This time I got a job selling educational books. It seemed like a more "worthy" product to be selling. But something inside of me said that I would not be happy doing this either if I didn't have God's blessing. So facing discouragement again, and having no where to go but forward, because I had already tried running away from my problems, and I had already tried exiting life and God wouldn't let me, I decided to try not getting high for a few days and just read the Bible, to try and understand what God's will was for my life.

This was July of 1979, and at that point I had been getting high on drugs every day for almost 4 years straight. As I read the Bible, and I don't even remember what exactly I was reading, I became acutely aware of my sins. I had always considered myself a Christian, and a good person. Even though I got high on drugs, I was no junkie. I rationalized my behavior as being no different than the casual social drinker of alcohol. It was just that one was legal and the other wasn't. But I thought the laws were wrong, not me.

But now two major sins in my life were staring me right in the face: one was my drug usage, and the other one was planning my life without considering what God wanted me to do with my life. Without even really understanding what the word "repentance" means, I saw myself in a different light, and knew that my sins were keeping me from knowing God's will. I immediately confessed my sins to God, and told him that I was not going to make any more decisions about my life until He told me what He wanted me to do.

What happened next is truly the miracle in my life, and words cannot come close to describing the inner transformation that occurred in me that summer day in 1979. First of all, a joy and peace flooded my being, such that I had never known could even exist in this life. It was the ultimate high, and it was from the Holy Spirit. It was so wonderful, that I took all my paraphernalia that I used to smoke pot and threw it into the dumpster outside our building. What I had found was so much better than drugs, that I never had a desire to get high on drugs again. I had finally walked out of the darkness and into the light. Jesus was the light, and I was now viewing things in the world in a completely new light. "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness." Jesus, John 8:12

Secondly, the words in the Bible now came alive. It was as if God was speaking directly to me through them, and indeed He was. The facts I had studied for years as a kid growing up in church now became part of a vibrant relationship with the living God, and with the Savior of the world Jesus Christ. Having never doubted the facts of Jesus life, death, and resurrection, they now came alive with fresh meaning. I read the entire New Testament in about two weeks: I just couldn't get enough of it. When I read verses like Romans 5:7-8 "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us," I would just fall down and weep over the incredible love God was showing me through Christ.

I now knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God had saved me, not just from a suicide attempt, but He had truly saved me from my sins, and that I was now going to be with Him in eternity: "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

Since I had dedicated my life to God, I decided to go back to school and study the Bible. I studied the Bible for a number of years, and then served in full-time ministries in various parts of the world. But I have also learned that one does not have to be professional Christian minister to be serving God. You can serve God as a minister wherever you are in many different ways. Today my business is providing healthy food, and I seek to serve God in that task to the best of my ability. The Bible says, and modern studies even confirm, that a "joyful heart is good medicine." The Bible has much to say about good health, and most of it is not related to our physical bodies. Our spiritual and emotional state has more to do with our health than our modern rationalistic society and medical system would care to admit. So if you are seeking better health, don't just look at your physical symptoms. Look to the Great Physician, and healer of your soul, and give your heart to Christ for true peace with God. Then you will discover true health and life! Any health product, medicine, or natural cures are worthless if you don't know God and His incredible love for you, and understand His will for your life. They only deal with your physical body, and not your spiritual need to be at peace with God. The best part is that His offer of eternal life is free for you, because he already paid the price of your sins through the blood of his Son. Discover God's incredible love for you today! He created you as a special person, to know His love for you and to have you share His love with others. I pray for you reading this right now, "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17-19

Peace!

Brian Shilhavy

Welcome to Created4Health!

You were created for a purpose!

O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! - King David in Psalm 139

Created4Health.org is committed to communicating the truth that we are created by God, in His image, and that His intention for our lives is to live in health. What a wonderful truth that God has personally created me for a purpose, and is interested in every single day of my life! The above quote by Kind David is one of the most eloquent statements of that truth.

So what is "health?" It is a common word in the English language, but its exact meaning can be a bit difficult to pin down. Ask 10 different people on the street what they think "health" means, and you will probably get 10 different answers. Often we can define a word by stating its opposite. The opposite of health would be "sick" or "sickness." This word is probably more easily defined, and most would define it in terms of diseases and physical maladies.

But is health simply the absence of physical sickness? The history of man as unfolded in the pages of the Bible, the best selling book of all time, sees health and sickness as primarily spiritual issues - as opposed to primarily physical health, as our modern culture does. Health in Biblical culture is measured by man's relationship to his Creator. You very seldom see people in Biblical times going to doctors to purchase "health", and in the few instances where they do, the result is often disastrous. (See 2 Chronicles 16:12-13 and Mark 5:25-26 for examples.) Instead, you see people who had a relationship with God and believed in Him as their Creator turn to spiritual leaders for guidance in health. In the Old Testament times you would go to the priests if you were sick, and in the New Testament we have story after story of people seeking out Jesus and His disciples in their sickness and being healed: "Jesus....healed them all." (Matthew 12:15).

Have times really changed today? Has science and technology along with the modern-day medical system replaced our need to know God and seek Him out to achieve health? Few would agree today that our current medical system solves all our health needs. Many may turn to God when all else fails, in desperation, especially when the medical system has no answers for us and we don't know where else to look.

Well I am here to proclaim that God is just as interested in giving you true health today as He has been at any other point in history. In fact, His power to help us reach our true purpose in life is more available today than it ever has been! You don't need to wait until you are in a desperate crisis to cry out to God. You can start your journey to healthy living right now! Join me in my blog as we explore the wonderful truths of God's incredible love for us, and His desire to see us obtain a healthy life.

Brian Shilhavy