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
LESSON TWENTY-THREE - ILLEGAL DRUG USE1- In this lesson we are going to talk about a subject that is causing a great deal of concern on the part of adults these days because it is becoming a truly frightening problem. We are going to talk about the use of drugs. 2- Both youth and adults need to understand the dangers of and the nature of various drugs. No child is safe from the pusher of drugs these days. Classmates at school may be secretly urging him to try them "just this once!" "It won't hurt you!" And no parent here need think that your child is immune. The pressure of associates is very strong when one is young. 3- What are drugs? Drugs are chemical substances that affect the central nervous system. Generally speaking, they fall into three classes in their effects. There are drugs that stimulate; these are called stimulants. There are drugs that depress; we call these depressants. There are drugs that distort messages from the brain, or make up false messages to the brain; these are known as hallucinogens. 4- It is the illegal use of drugs is of great concern to thinking people all over the world, and we hear a great deal about LS.D., Marijuana, heroin, opium and others. Here in our country, many people are enslaved by drugs and do not even realize what is happening to them. 5- Sometimes a person wants to study extra late, so he takes a pill to help him to stay awake and be alert. Some people are high-strung and nervous, so they take pills to calm themselves down. Some people have trouble going to sleep, so they take sleeping pills. Some people take pills so they will not feel pain. All these pills affect the brain and the nervous system. Now it is being discovered that the continued use of many of these seemingly simple things can have far-reaching effects both on the physical and mental characteristics of the users. 6- Mrs. Sharma's husband was a man whose business caused him to travel very much. Because Mrs. Sharma felt increasingly nervous when her husband was away her doctor gave her some sleeping pills. They were called Barbiturates. One night when particularly sleepless, Mrs. Sharma took two extra pills. From then on she did not remember what had happened. Under the influence of what is termed "automatism" she unconsciously began to swallow one pill after another until she had swallowed all the pills the doctor had prescribed for a three week's supply. Fortunately, Mrs. Sharma's life was saved by fast medical help and care. But every year many thousands of people die from accidentally taking too many sleeping pills. 7- Very often people who become accustomed to taking amphetamines or "pep" pills to increase their sense of "feeling good" find that after a while it does not work, even when taken in large quantities. So, the person moves on to a stronger drug, and he may easily find himself "hooked." 8- But you should not think of drugs in those somewhat extreme terms alone. Actually, many people are caught on drugs who do not even suspect such a thing. For example, how many of you smoke tobacco? How many of you drink tea or coffee? Tobacco has powerful drugs that first stimulate and then depress the central nervous system, so that one cigarette calls for another. 9- Tobacco, tea, coffee, and cola drinks also contain stimulants upon which you can come to depend much more than you realize. They may make you feel less tired and more alert, but actually, among many other undesirable effects, they irritate your nerves and your stomach, and they affect your heart and blood pressure. 10- You see, drugs do not cure! They only change the symptoms. A cup of coffee in the morning does not actually soothe your nerves. It really acts like a whip to a tired horse making it run even though it does not feel like doing so. 11- Several years ago a Swiss scientist wanted to study the life cycle of a certain kind of spider that lives on the Eastern Coast of the United States. As he studied these spiders he found that they built their webs in the early morning hours; between 1 o'clock and 3 o'clock. He was telling a friend of his about this and wished he could cause the spiders to build their webs earlier in the evening. The friend, who was also a scientist, suggested giving a spider a little caffeine from coffee to see if this would give the spiders extra pep and enthusiasm. They calculated how much the spider should get if he drank 2 cups of coffee. Ordinarily, the spiders built perfect webs. These spiders are very large, measuring about 4 inches across and the webs are large -as big as 3 or 4 feet across. The webs are very symmetrical and beautiful. 12- After the spider was given the caffeine it was full of pep all right; but it could not build a decent web! Its nerves were so affected that its web came out a mess, much to the surprise of both the scientists. It took the spider more than 24 hours to come back to normal and be able to build a proper web. Caffeine affects the nervous system and the results of the web show it. Yes, people who depend on drugs, give themselves a health handicap. 13- Actually, no one should take any kind of drug unless it is specifically prescribed by a doctor for a specific time and purpose. Even such a seemingly harmless thing as aspirin may not be as harmless as you think. Many people get into the habit of taking aspirin almost as if they were candy. But too much aspirin can damage bones and cause iron-deficiencyanemia. It can damage your kidneys and the lining of your stomach. 14- If you are having tired feelings, find out why, do not cover them up with drugs. If you are high-strung and nervous, find out why, do not lean on drugs to calm you down. If you are having difficulty sleeping, find out why, do not depend on drugs for sleep. In other words, do not look to drugs as an escape from uncomfortable situations and problems. They are not the answer. 15- Do you know that the number of suicides rises every year? We live in a world of confusion and mounting pressures. We need some kind of assurance. Looking ahead, the picture is not so very hopeful. Many people wish they could be sure of a happier world beyond, but they dread death because they fear the burning fires of hell or the tortures of purgatory. Can we be sure of anything? We have loved ones who have passed beyond the problems and troubles of this life. But what is their actual state now? Would you like to know the answers to some of these things? 16- The Bible says, "Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Romans 5:12. Everybody is a victim of death. Death has become the lot of men. In our topic now, we shall consider different aspects of this death. 17- What happens to a man when he dies? Do the dead know anything? Does he go to heaven or hell or limbo or purgatory? If a man dies, will he live again? Let the Bible give us the answer to these very puzzling questions. 18- "For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward for the memory of them is forgotten. Also, their love, and their hatred and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun." Ecclesiastes 9:5,6. This text explains very clearly that the dead know not anything. 19- The dead cannot do anything. 'Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou guest." Ecclesiastes 9:10. King David under the inspiration of God said; "For in death there is no remembrance of Thee; in the grave who shall give Thee thanks? Psalm 6:6. 20- Dead people cannot pray, neither can they think anything. "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish:' Psalm 146, 4. Job says, "So man dieth and wasteth away: yea man giveth up the ghost and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: so man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." "0 that thou wouldst hide me in the grave.” Job 14:10-13. 21- After death man stays in the grave or becomes dust of the earth. Solomon says, "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: As the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth" Ecclesiastes 3:19-21. 22- So at death everybody goes to the grave and they turn to dust. They sleep in the grave, as it were, until Jesus comes and awakes them. If the righteous people after death go straight to heaven and the wicked to hell, then there is no need for Jesus to come back to take them to heaven. 23- Jesus comes to this earth only after the judgment is over. Before the judgment how can anyone be condemned or be rewarded? Jesus through His prophet said, "Behold I come quickly and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Revelation 22:12. The dead are all asleep. Of the death of Lazarus, Jesus said the same thing. "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep." John 11:11. Jesus called Lazarus from the grave and not from heaven or any other place. Lazarus came out of the same grave where he was buried. 24- Jesus said, "Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice. And shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation." John 5:38, 29. "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the Patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried and his sepulcher is with us unto this day." Acts 2:29. 25- "The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Genesis 2:7. Please note it was the union of dust with the breath of life that brought into existence a living soul. 26- The doctrine that man never dies originated with Satan in the garden of Eden when he said to Eve, "Ye shall not surely die." Genesis 3:3. It is this falsehood that has deceived the world today and people talk of the soul that cannot die. 27- In fact, Jesus Himself said, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" Matthew 10:28. Job 4:17 reads, "Shall mortal man be more just than God?" Man is mortal. God alone is immortal. "Who only hath immortality…" 1 Timothy 6:16. 28- Immortality is a promised gift to the righteous at the second advent of Jesus Christ. "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." 1 Corinthians 15:53. 29- May the lord bless us so that at His appearing we may have the privilege of putting on immortality. Now is the time to meet the conditions for an immortal and eternal fife. May He guide us to be aware of Satan's lies and evil devices. Here are additional passages of Scripture on the topic of death and eternal life: "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence."-Psalm 115:17. "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."-1 John 5:12. "He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."-John 3:36. "To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality."-Romans 2:7. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."-Romans 6:23. LESSON TWENTY-FOUR - FIRE WATER1- The story is told that one day Satan gathered the fallen angels together to devise the surest possible way to destroy the human family. They thought of one plan after another and finally Satan himself thought of a plan—a cruel, mean trick really. He would take something very good that God had made for the health and happiness of man and would turn it into something else that would make a complete fool and terrible spectacle out of man who was originally created in the image of God. It would destroy him-body, soul, and spirit. It would deceive him by offering a way to forget his troubles, while actually it would increase his troubles and misery many times over. What was this plan? The plan was to take such wonderful foods as grapes, wheat, rice, barley, corn and other things given by God as food and convert them into poisons. They would become various forms of alcohol. Sad to say, this devilish trick has been working for thousands of years. 2- I do not know how well you are acquainted with the real facts. But I can tell you that I am, and I want you to consider some with me for a few minutes. (1) Alcohol is responsible for a large percent of separation and divorces that. break up the homes of our country. How better can the devil destroy a nation? (2) Alcohol is responsible for a shocking percentage of insanity and we tax-payers care for many of these people. (3) Alcohol is responsible for a large percentage of poverty and again, we tax-payers carry the burden. (4) Alcohol is responsible for the larger share of crime. And who supports the jails and penitentiaries? The Taxpayer, of course. (5) Alcohol is responsible for more than half of the fatal traffic accidents. Who pays the police force and the traffic controllers? You know the answer. (6) Alcohol is responsible for a terrible percentage of child misery. What better way can you think of to destroy the future leaders and citizens of our country before they even attain to adulthood? And this is just part of the picture. I have not mentioned the higher—much higher—death rates and disease rates that alcohol is responsible for. 3- Now, let us take a little closer look at this demoninspired trick of the devil. Alcohol is absorbed directly into the blood stream from the stomach and intestines without being changed. About 30 seconds after a drink, alcohol can be found in the brain. Its effects are rapid and widespread, and the first part of the brain to suffer is the part that makes the difference between you and an animal-this frontal part of your brain which is your control tower and where lies your judgment-your morals, your emotions, your ability to make plans and decisions and to evaluate the information your senses feed into your brain. It is the most important and priceless part of your body, for only through it can God speak to you and can you speak to God. 4- Even one drink affects the reaction and coordination time of your brain. The brakes of your mind and morals begin to get soft. 5- Many people have the idea that alcohol stimulates them. Actually, just the opposite is the case. Alcohol depresses the brain first of all—the loud laughing and talking you may hear from the person drinking is just proof that the brakes are not working as they should 6- As more alcohol is consumed, the other parts of your brain are put to sleep so that even walking becomes difficult, and if a person continues too far, breathing will stop. Usually the individual becomes unconscious before that fatality happens, and he does not drink quite enough to kill himself off. 7- Alcohol irritates the mucous membranes of the stomach and causes many gastro-intestinal problems. Its destructive effects on the liver are well known. Alcohol increases the breathing and heart rate at first; more alcohol slows them. Because it dilates or enlarges the blood vessels of the skin it may give a sensation of warmth when actually the person may be cold. 8- In the blood, even a very small amount of alcohol will cause the blood cells to become sticky and clump together. This produces a blockage and prevents the oxygen from reaching the tissues as it should. Lack of oxygen results in the death of tissues. Most tissues can replace themselves but this is not so with the brain cells. Once they are destroyed they never build back. Their loss is permanent. 9- When more alcohol is consumed, the capillaries of the brain may actually rupture or burst and cause many small brain hemorrhages. But whether or not this happens, every time alcohol is consumed there is some degree of brain cell destruction. Personally, I cannot afford to lose even one of my brain cells, and I doubt that you can either! 10- Alcohol is often defended as having some food value. It is true that there are calories in alcohol, but the fact is that they are empty calories that rob the body of the vitamins and minerals that the body needs. Drinking can create real deficiency problems. 11- Solomon wrote, 'Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." Proverbs 20:1. No Christian wants to be deceived. Therefore, I warn and urge each one of you to stop and think before you take a drink of any alcoholic beverage. Millions have been deceived in the past and their lives ruined. Right now the devil is not only deceiving people through drink, he is also involved in a mean trick of communication. 12- There are many who believe they are able to talk with their dead loved ones either directly or through a special medium. I want you, friends, to know I am deeply concerned about this for I believe it is "The Devil's Meanest Trick." In this famous painting by English Artist, Millain, a young man has been reading the love letters his bride wrote to him before their wedding. Unfortunately, shortly after the wedding, she died. Here she is represented as appearing in spirit form as he reads those letters, and he cries out to her, "speak, speak." Many people believe this is actually possible. 13- The foundational belief of spiritism is that the spirits of the dead can return to communicate with the living. We turn to the Bible to see what God says about this, as only the one who created man in the first place knows all the possibilities of man. 14- We read, "Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun." "He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more." Job 7:10. 15- God's word condemns the effort to communicate with spirits of the dead as sinful and dangerous. "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 19:31. 16- "There shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God." Deuteronomy 18:9-13. 17- Satan and his evil angels are the spirits of spiritism that pretend to be the spirits of the dead. 18- The Bible continues saying, "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. 19- So, Satan is not alone in this great deception. He has with him the help of thousands and thousands of evil angels who have fallen with him to this earth. We are to be aware of those spirits which become very "familiar”. 20- Satan's first lie was told through a medium (the serpent). He denied the Word of God and declared that those who disobey God (and die as a result) will know more than they knew before. Spiritualism continues to propagate this falsehood. 21- Satan's evil angels are called demons or devils in the Bible. They opposed the work of Christ when He was on earth. Once Jesus was walking through the country of the Gadarenes and a man coming out of the tombs met Him. His dwelling was among the tombs; "and no man could bind him, no, not with chains. Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces, neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying and cutting himself with stones." Mark 5:1-5. When Jesus asked him, "what is thy name?" He answered, "My name is Legion: for we are many." Mark 5:9. "And behold they cried out saying, what have we to do with thee, Jesus thou Son of God? Art thou come to torment us before the time?" Matthew 8:29. 22- As it was during the time of Christ, even so but with a greater manifestation will be the revival of spiritualism in the last days, for we read: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and the doctrines of devils." 1 Timothy 4:1. 23- Christ Himself prophesied about this and warned us against such a thing. "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ or there, believe it not." "For there shall arise false christs and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders, insomuch, that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." Matthew 24:23-24. 24- "And he doeth great wonders so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men." Revelation 13:13. "Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved:" 2 Thessalonians 2:9,10. 25- God does not like spiritualism. The lake of fire will put an end to its originator as well as to the followers: "But the fearful, and unbelieving and the abominable, and murderers and whoremongers, and sorcerers and idolators and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death." Revelation 21:8. 26 Before it is too late, Christ is inviting us to put our trust in Him. He wants us to be saved from this great deception. No amount of lies can ever save us from the penalty of sin. "For the wages of sin is death." It is only Jesus who can save us from sin and its penalty if we only accept Him as our personal Saviour because He died in our stead. All that we have to do is to accept His sacrifice believing and trusting that He has done this for us on the cross of Calvary. Are we willing to accept His sacrifice for us now? Here is additional information about Satan and Spiritualism: "And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?"-Isaiah 8:19. "And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers."-Malachi 3:5. "Therefore hearken not ye to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, . . for they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land."-Jeremiah 27:9-10 |
