Reading

Rom 4:1  What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?

Rom 4:2  For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

Rom 4:3  For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Rom 4:4  Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

Rom 4:5  But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Rom 4:6  Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

Rom 4:7  Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

Rom 4:8  Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Rom 4:9  Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.

Rom 4:10  How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

Rom 4:11  And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:

Rom 4:12  And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yetuncircumcised.

The Promise Realized Through Faith

Rom 4:13  For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Rom 4:14  For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:

Rom 4:15  Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

Rom 4:16  Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

Rom 4:17  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

Rom 4:18  Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

Rom 4:19  And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:

Rom 4:20  He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

Rom 4:21  And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

Rom 4:22  And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

Rom 4:23  Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

Rom 4:24  But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

Rom 4:25  Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Reading

Today we are reading from Proverbs.

Pro 4:10  Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.

Pro 4:11  I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in paths of uprightness.

Pro 4:12  When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

Pro 4:13  Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.

Pro 4:14  Enter not into the path of the wicked, and walk not in the way of evil men.

Pro 4:15  Avoid it, pass not by it; turn from it, and pass on.

Pro 4:16  For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

Pro 4:17  For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

Pro 4:18  But the path of the righteous is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

Pro 4:19  The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

Confusing Finds

So, I was in the grocery store with my mom and saw two headlines on two different magazines. “ Eat More Carbs —> lose 5x faster” read the first one. The second one said, “Lose 50 Lbs by eating more fat!”

The first one was all about how eating grains, root veggies, legumes, foods we crave anyway, can help us to lose weight. The second one talked about eating full fat cheese, nuts, nut butter, olive oil, riche spreads and sauces and limiting the carbs being the secret to weight loss.

Can they both be right or is only one the best way?

I bought both magazines and took a look at the articles. Based on the stuff I have learned and many doctors in the whole plant food community, there is some truth to both of them, but one of them is closer to the truth.

Coming at it from a Biblical standpoint, God gave us plant foods in the beginning for food. It was only after the flood, when there was a lack of plant foods, that He permitted animal flesh as part of the diet. As we are coming down to the end of time however, animal foods have become more diseased and since we have plenty of plant foods around the world, most people have no need to get any their nutrients from animal products. The best source of nutrition is from the plant eaten as close to its original form as possible.

One of my pet peeves about nutrition in the modern world, particularly in developed countries like the United States is the concern over parts of food. For instance, the two articles I mentioned are concerned about one part of the food, when plant foods actually contain the right amounts of all of the parts.

The first article, covers carbohydrates. A lot of people are under the impression that Carbs are the culprit when talking about weight. This is true to an extent, when looking at processed carbs, like refined sugars, refined grains, etc. What tends to get ignored, in the worry about high carb or low carb diets, is that all plant foods have carbohydrates in them, just in varying quantities. Carbohydrates are the fuel for all cells in plants and animals, so to completely get rid of them, can be detrimental in the long run.

The second article is concerned about eating more fat, and touches on processed carbohydrates as the culprit for gaining weight.

I am going to write a series of articles on different health problems and how the different components of food affect them, but for now, I’ll just say that Carbs and Fat and even Protein are all important. When taken out of their natural God made packages, separated from fiber, and taken in refined forms, they can cause many problems, even death. However, when taken in their natural form as God created them, they can give health to the body and even prolong life.

The article that came closest to the way God created food, was the one on Carbohydrates and losing weight. Some of the main points were: Eating foods in season like winter carbs such as beans, root veges, and whole grains boosts your immunity improves your mood and increases energy. The key is an emphasis on carbs that have lots of soluble fiber which feed the good gut bacteria that can help with fat burning. Another point was eating healthy fats, like avocados to provide vitamins and a antioxidants.

Anyway, this was just some of the thoughts that came to mind. In the comments below, feel free to ask any questions, and let me know also what kinds of health things you would like to read about.
If you want to know more about losing weight on a vegan diet here is a blog post on that. http://www.youngandraw.com/vegan-and-overweight-what-gives/?inf_contact_key=380883374ab61fe2601fbc3d22a643c015b6991dc891c346f930fa22948c8cbe

 Some Sources of Information:

1. Www.forksoverknives.com
2. Genesis 1:29 and 9:3
3. Woman’s World and First for Women, February, 2018