GINGER IS STRONG MEDICINE
Ezekiel 47:12b
“. . . They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
Often naturally occurring medicines work better and more gently than man-made concoctions. Ginger has long been accepted as a natural treatment for nausea. Several modern studies have confirmed that ginger can even work better than modern nausea medicines such as Dramamine®.
The ginger we're talking about comes from the roots of tropical plants that grow two to four feet high. It was once used to calm bees so that honey could be harvested without incident. A 1988 study gave either ginger capsules or placebos to Dutch naval cadets. The study concluded that ginger proved to be "significantly beneficial" in reducing the incidence of seasickness. Two studies in the 1990's showed that ginger reduced nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy and some types of surgery. A Utah study compared the effectiveness of ginger versus Dramamine®. Students were rotated on a tilted chair for six minutes. None of those who had taken the Dramamine® made it through the six minutes. Half of the students who had taken ginger lasted the full six minutes. Researchers warn that you should check with your doctor before trying ginger since it does interact with some medications.
When God placed helpful natural medicines into His perfect creation, He was providing healing for us before we even needed it. This care shows that we have a loving Creator. His greatest gift to us is the spiritual healing of the forgiveness of sins that comes through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Lord, I thank You for all Your goodness to me both now and forever. Amen.
Ezekiel 47:12b
“. . . They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
Often naturally occurring medicines work better and more gently than man-made concoctions. Ginger has long been accepted as a natural treatment for nausea. Several modern studies have confirmed that ginger can even work better than modern nausea medicines such as Dramamine®.
The ginger we're talking about comes from the roots of tropical plants that grow two to four feet high. It was once used to calm bees so that honey could be harvested without incident. A 1988 study gave either ginger capsules or placebos to Dutch naval cadets. The study concluded that ginger proved to be "significantly beneficial" in reducing the incidence of seasickness. Two studies in the 1990's showed that ginger reduced nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy and some types of surgery. A Utah study compared the effectiveness of ginger versus Dramamine®. Students were rotated on a tilted chair for six minutes. None of those who had taken the Dramamine® made it through the six minutes. Half of the students who had taken ginger lasted the full six minutes. Researchers warn that you should check with your doctor before trying ginger since it does interact with some medications.
When God placed helpful natural medicines into His perfect creation, He was providing healing for us before we even needed it. This care shows that we have a loving Creator. His greatest gift to us is the spiritual healing of the forgiveness of sins that comes through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Lord, I thank You for all Your goodness to me both now and forever. Amen.
THERE IS NO GENETIC CODE FOR THE HUMAN SOUL
James 2:26
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
The $250 million Human Genome Project is attempting to map all the human genes. Their preliminary findings were released sometime in the year of 2000. Some observers have been saying that the human genome project will define what it means to be human.
Such talk, however, is based on evolution. We are not the sum of our DNA. It is well known, for example, that two people can inherit the same weakness for alcohol. One may become an alcoholic, while the other avoids alcohol for his entire life. This does not mean that mapping the human genetic code is inherently evil. Such knowledge can lead to precisely designed drugs that do what they are supposed to do without any side effects. It may also lead to better treatments for cancer, Alzheimer's and other diseases that can have a genetic cause.
At the same time, dangers are beginning to appear. For example, with the knowledge of which particular genetic information produces what disease, unborn babies could be screened and those who have a potential to develop unwanted health problems might be aborted. A British governmental agency has already recommended this course of action. Another danger is that children may be forced into certain careers simply based on their "genetic potential." One's genetic profile may even lead insurance companies to refuse coverage to people whose genes suggest the possibility of some future disease.
All our genetic information added together does not define who we are because we also have a soul that has no genetic code and only the knowledge of Jesus Christ can bring health to the human soul.
I thank You, Lord, for bringing health to my soul through forgiveness. Amen.
James 2:26
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
The $250 million Human Genome Project is attempting to map all the human genes. Their preliminary findings were released sometime in the year of 2000. Some observers have been saying that the human genome project will define what it means to be human.
Such talk, however, is based on evolution. We are not the sum of our DNA. It is well known, for example, that two people can inherit the same weakness for alcohol. One may become an alcoholic, while the other avoids alcohol for his entire life. This does not mean that mapping the human genetic code is inherently evil. Such knowledge can lead to precisely designed drugs that do what they are supposed to do without any side effects. It may also lead to better treatments for cancer, Alzheimer's and other diseases that can have a genetic cause.
At the same time, dangers are beginning to appear. For example, with the knowledge of which particular genetic information produces what disease, unborn babies could be screened and those who have a potential to develop unwanted health problems might be aborted. A British governmental agency has already recommended this course of action. Another danger is that children may be forced into certain careers simply based on their "genetic potential." One's genetic profile may even lead insurance companies to refuse coverage to people whose genes suggest the possibility of some future disease.
All our genetic information added together does not define who we are because we also have a soul that has no genetic code and only the knowledge of Jesus Christ can bring health to the human soul.
I thank You, Lord, for bringing health to my soul through forgiveness. Amen.
WERE DINOSAURS WARM BLOODED?
Psalm 147:2-3
"The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds."
Dinosaur fossil hunters and paleontologists have long debated whether dinosaurs were warm-blooded or cold-blooded. With reptile characteristics, it was expected that dinosaurs would be cold-blooded. Yet, some evidence indicated that they must have been warm-blooded. The problem is that their soft organs are almost never fossilized.
The words "almost never" are important. A dinosaur liver and diaphragm – the soft parts – were recently found fossilized. Fossilization of soft organs is a testimony to the rapidity with which the dinosaurs were encased in the mud that later hardened to rock. Now a fossilized dinosaur heart has been discovered in South Dakota within the chest cavity of a fossilized Thescelosaurus. Once researchers recognized that the stone within the chest cavity might be a heart, they x-rayed it. X-rays revealed a four-chambered heart with one aorta. Reptiles have two aortas. In other words, Thescelosaurus had a heart constructed like the hearts of warm-blooded animals. This kind of heart is more efficient in delivering oxygen to the body. This in turn supports a more active lifestyle and higher metabolic rates. Based on the structure of Thescelosaurus's heart, many scientists have concluded that it was indeed warm-blooded.
The same Creator who made the dinosaur's heart is able to heal our hearts when they are broken by sorrow. It is He Who heals our broken hearts through the forgiveness of sins that is found in Jesus Christ.
Thank You, Father, for bringing Your power into my life. Amen.
Psalm 147:2-3
"The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds."
Dinosaur fossil hunters and paleontologists have long debated whether dinosaurs were warm-blooded or cold-blooded. With reptile characteristics, it was expected that dinosaurs would be cold-blooded. Yet, some evidence indicated that they must have been warm-blooded. The problem is that their soft organs are almost never fossilized.
The words "almost never" are important. A dinosaur liver and diaphragm – the soft parts – were recently found fossilized. Fossilization of soft organs is a testimony to the rapidity with which the dinosaurs were encased in the mud that later hardened to rock. Now a fossilized dinosaur heart has been discovered in South Dakota within the chest cavity of a fossilized Thescelosaurus. Once researchers recognized that the stone within the chest cavity might be a heart, they x-rayed it. X-rays revealed a four-chambered heart with one aorta. Reptiles have two aortas. In other words, Thescelosaurus had a heart constructed like the hearts of warm-blooded animals. This kind of heart is more efficient in delivering oxygen to the body. This in turn supports a more active lifestyle and higher metabolic rates. Based on the structure of Thescelosaurus's heart, many scientists have concluded that it was indeed warm-blooded.
The same Creator who made the dinosaur's heart is able to heal our hearts when they are broken by sorrow. It is He Who heals our broken hearts through the forgiveness of sins that is found in Jesus Christ.
Thank You, Father, for bringing Your power into my life. Amen.
HOW THE AYE-AYE TAPS INTO LUNCH
Isaiah 45:18
“For thus says the LORD. Who formed the earth and made it. Who formed it to be inhabited: 'I am the LORD, and there is no other.”
The Aye-Aye is one of the strangest little monkeys on earth. Its peculiar features bear witness that it was specially designed and created to fill a unique niche in nature, not a chance development of evolution.
The Aye-Aye lives in Madagascar. This small creature has huge ears and an extra long middle finger. It crawls on trees, tapping on them to find grubs. The Aye-Aye's ears are so sensitive that it can tell if there is a grub hole hidden beneath the surface of the wood. Not only can the Aye-Aye sense a grub hole an inch within the wood, it can even tell if there is a grub on the hole. When the Aye-Aye senses a grub, it chews into the wood with forward curving, incisor teeth. However, the Aye-Aye doesn't have to worry about wearing its teeth down chewing on the tough wood. Its special incisor teeth are unique among primates. They continue to grow throughout the Aye-Aye's life, just like a rodent's teeth. Once down to the grub, it uses its elongated middle finger to fish the grub out for lunch. Researchers have noted that the Aye-Aye fills the same niche as the woodpecker in an environment where there are no woodpeckers.
The Aye-Aye has clearly been specially designed with unique features so that it can make its living in a niche that is unfilled in its own environment. Our Creator God not only made the earth to be inhabited, He designed His creatures to make a living within it.
I thank You, dear Father, for the unique richness of Your creation. Amen.
Isaiah 45:18
“For thus says the LORD. Who formed the earth and made it. Who formed it to be inhabited: 'I am the LORD, and there is no other.”
The Aye-Aye is one of the strangest little monkeys on earth. Its peculiar features bear witness that it was specially designed and created to fill a unique niche in nature, not a chance development of evolution.
The Aye-Aye lives in Madagascar. This small creature has huge ears and an extra long middle finger. It crawls on trees, tapping on them to find grubs. The Aye-Aye's ears are so sensitive that it can tell if there is a grub hole hidden beneath the surface of the wood. Not only can the Aye-Aye sense a grub hole an inch within the wood, it can even tell if there is a grub on the hole. When the Aye-Aye senses a grub, it chews into the wood with forward curving, incisor teeth. However, the Aye-Aye doesn't have to worry about wearing its teeth down chewing on the tough wood. Its special incisor teeth are unique among primates. They continue to grow throughout the Aye-Aye's life, just like a rodent's teeth. Once down to the grub, it uses its elongated middle finger to fish the grub out for lunch. Researchers have noted that the Aye-Aye fills the same niche as the woodpecker in an environment where there are no woodpeckers.
The Aye-Aye has clearly been specially designed with unique features so that it can make its living in a niche that is unfilled in its own environment. Our Creator God not only made the earth to be inhabited, He designed His creatures to make a living within it.
I thank You, dear Father, for the unique richness of Your creation. Amen.
WHO WAS FIRST TO NORTH AMERICA?
Genesis 1:28
“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth...”
The conventional understanding has always been that North America was populated by people who crossed from Asia to Alaska via the Bering Strait and then migrated down the West Coast. Eventually, some of them crossed as far as the eastern coasts of North and South America. Known as the Clovis culture, their descendants produced all the North and South American Indian tribes and nations. The Clovis sites that have been excavated so far have produced distinctive spear points that have become known as Clovis points.
That understanding has now been challenged by finds in Virginia. Signs of human habitation have been found at Cactus Hill, which is 45 miles south of Richmond. Researchers have dated the site to be fifty percent older than any known Clovis excavation. Stone points and blades have been found at Cactus Hill which show wear marks typical of hide scraping and butchering. The points and blades are unlike any known Clovis points. However, they do resemble western European blades and points from the same period. These facts have led some researchers to conclude that the site is evidence that ancient Europeans crossed the Atlantic Ocean to begin a settlement in North America. This was long, long before the time of the Vikings or Columbus.
When God made Adam and Eve, and again, after the Genesis Flood, God commanded human beings to "fill the earth." More and more we find evidences that early man obeyed this commandment.
Dear Father, help me to be a good steward of all You have given me. Amen.
Genesis 1:28
“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth...”
The conventional understanding has always been that North America was populated by people who crossed from Asia to Alaska via the Bering Strait and then migrated down the West Coast. Eventually, some of them crossed as far as the eastern coasts of North and South America. Known as the Clovis culture, their descendants produced all the North and South American Indian tribes and nations. The Clovis sites that have been excavated so far have produced distinctive spear points that have become known as Clovis points.
That understanding has now been challenged by finds in Virginia. Signs of human habitation have been found at Cactus Hill, which is 45 miles south of Richmond. Researchers have dated the site to be fifty percent older than any known Clovis excavation. Stone points and blades have been found at Cactus Hill which show wear marks typical of hide scraping and butchering. The points and blades are unlike any known Clovis points. However, they do resemble western European blades and points from the same period. These facts have led some researchers to conclude that the site is evidence that ancient Europeans crossed the Atlantic Ocean to begin a settlement in North America. This was long, long before the time of the Vikings or Columbus.
When God made Adam and Eve, and again, after the Genesis Flood, God commanded human beings to "fill the earth." More and more we find evidences that early man obeyed this commandment.
Dear Father, help me to be a good steward of all You have given me. Amen.
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