There are three powers that stand at the helm of our decisions in life:

   1. Strength of body

   2. Strength of mind

   3. Strength of character

            If each area of our lives is skillfully educated, many foolish decisions can be avoided: decisions that lead to the emotional pain of regret.  Our conscience is best educated by strengthening our integrity to our inborn sense of right and wrong, for to go against our conscience on our moral convictions produces a tormenting effect on the mind.  And by repeatedly denying the convictions of conscience this weakens both our ability to make wise decisions and the willpower to persevere in holding to our decisions.

            This Bible study will address how to fortify these three areas, that the decisions we make will produce our best legacy.

1.  What is the foundation for our success in life? 

Matthew 7:24,25  Therefore whosoever __________ these sayings of mine, and ______  ______, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded on the rock.

Micah 6:8  He hath shewed thee, 0 man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but _____  _____  ___________, and _____  _________  ____________, and _____  ________  _____________ with thy God?

        Success is guaranteed by believing the above admonitions.   And by prayerfully honoring “the Word” the fruits of civility and wisdom will naturally come.  Everyone who stands under its banner will experience the benefits that are promised, even to receive the supreme reward of everlasting life with Jesus Christ.  

2.  Is pride a threat to my spiritual growth as I read the

      Bible?

Matthew 18:3,4 …And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ____  ____  ___________, and become ____  _________  ____________, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of souls and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is ___  _____________  ____  _____  _____________  _____  _________  ____  _____  _________.

            Prayer is needed before any study, that humility be maintained.

3.  What is the best way to reverse the damage done to our

      minds and bodies?

Genesis 1:29  And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; _____  ______  _____  ________  _____  ______  _________.

         The original diet established in the beginning was a plant-based diet.  Studies have shown that greater strength, endurance, longer life, and far less susceptibility to disease are achieved by a vegetarian diet.  Even the tooth decaying plaque on teeth is virtually nonexistent in those who abstain from dairy products.  This is due to the superior nutrition that is gained from combinations of fruits, nuts, vegetables, and grains.  Science agrees that the shapes of human teeth are not suited for a carnivorous diet but a vegetarian diet.  Although many populated areas are unable to maintain a vegetarian diet (those northern and arid regions where the supplement of meat is necessary to sustain life), the best available diet should always be chosen.  All would agree that if hamburgers are your only diet your strength of body, intellect and willpower would be greatly weakened. 

         Scripture teaches, “the blood is the life” (Deut. 12:23). Therefore the quality or purity of the blood determines the quality of life.  Impure blood will harm the quality of the life.  This is why physical addictions are so damaging, from cigarettes to pharmaceutical drugs, because accumulating any toxin in our system creates adverse effects on our wellbeing, and ultimately will affect our reasoning powers and decision making process (the means by which GOD speaks to our minds and hearts). The decisions of the present greatly influence the rewards in our future.

Daniel 1:8,12,15,17,20  But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.…[v.12] Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse [a vegetarian diet of nuts, fruits, vegetables and grains] to eat, and water to drink...[v.15] And at the end of ten days _______  ________________  ____________  __________  _____  __________ than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat....[v.17] As for these four children, God gave them _______________  _____  _______  ____  _____  ______________  ______  ___________: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams....[v.20] And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them _____  ________  __________ than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.

         Today's philosophy and lifestyle are hostile to the laws of health. This is because the animal-based diet has become dominant over plant-based foods.  The literal rampage of disease that exists today did not exist in the 19th Century.  This increase in the rates of disease came when society abandoned the primarily plant-based diet and turned to a primarily animal-based diet.  Every nation of earth can trace its exponential rise in disease to the increase of meat consumption.  And common sense dictates that whatever antibiotics, growth hormones and diseases are found in the blood and meat of these animals they are absorbed into our blood and tissues, thereby putting a strain on our immune system and vital organs.  It is estimated that over 80% of our immune system is in the intestine.  Therefore, the quality of food entering this vital organ determines the overall health of the body.  The end result of our meat based diet overtaxing the immune system is a variety of mental and physical illnesses, which dominate our society today, affecting everything from one's physical strength to one's sense of morality. There are many ways to provoke harmful results in both the body’s physiology and the mind’s moral inclinations through the avenue of diet alone.

The Bible provides common sense ways to build our body-strength and emotional stability, which in turn will bless our intellect and willpower to achieve our best legacy.  These benefits are through diet, rest, exercise, water sunlight and fresh air.  To not develop the use of these benefits will hinder both our health and our judgment.

4. Why have men resorted to poisonous chemical fertilizers

     and pesticides, thus reducing our food’s nutrition and

     threatening the fragile balance of nature?

I Timothy 6:10  ______  ______  ________  _____  ___________  _____  ______  ________  _____  ______  ________: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Leviticus 25:3-5 Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof, [v.4] But _____  ______  ____________  ________  _______  _____  ____  ___________  _____  _________  ______  ______  _______,  ____  ___________  ______  ______  ________: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. [v.5] That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is ____  ________  _____  ________  _______  ______  ________.

         Every harm we see in life is simply because man’s judgment has continuously overruled GOD’S Word.  But the decisions of farmers are not the sole contributor to this erosion of our food’s nutrition.  Everything from people's cultivated tastes and government regulations to the recommendations of the scientific community and the profiteering corporations (who systematically exterminate the biodiversity that sustains life itself): all of these factors play a role where we find ourselves today with every harmful result.

         The amount of nutrients in today's industrial agriculture is inferior when compared to organic farming, which does not use artificial fertilizers.  This is verified by the fact that the amount of nutrition found in a given crop is determined by the amount of living organisms contained in the soil.  And the fact remains that artificially fertilizing the soil kills the life in the soil.  But it is the life that provides the superior nutrition, providing the healthiest life for man. One of many examples: a cup of spinach in the 19th Century contained 250 milligrams of iron.  One cup of spinach today contains less than 5!  Today we live in a very malnourished society and this accounts for the insatiable appetites, creating obesity, disease, and emotional instability.  Many are incapable of living a rational life based on their diet alone.  This is how dangerous to the soul a malnourished diet is! 

In every conceivable way man has altered natural food sources to such extremes that the majority of popular food combinations are harmful to our health.  One example: “enriched” bread.  The bread maker refines (or strips away) the most nutritious components from the grain, leaving its nearly nutrition-less base.  The refined grain is then enriched with man's calculated amounts of isolated nutrients.  But the human body was designed at creation to be most efficient in digesting naturally raw food sources with little or no processing.  Men of science are just now learning the vast complexity of nutrition where a simple apple holds an estimated 12,000 micronutrients.  Without these micronutrients to accompany the primary vitamins and minerals our body’s nutrition is inadequate, and thus, the body suffers a slow starvation.  This is why we have seen vitamin companies putting 1000% RDA of certain nutrients in their pills, simply due to the fact that the body passes the great majority of it through the liver and kidneys, thereby needlessly overtaxing them. 

         Whatever body system is overtaxed, whether it be the stomach, intestine, lungs, liver, or kidneys; even the brain: any assault on the organs, inhibiting their intended function, will deplete the inborn strength of that organ and will lead to it's premature failure.  This explains the huge number of organ transplants we see every year. The wisdom of the 4^th century B.C. holds true to this day: “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine thy food.”—Hippocrates (c.460–c.370 BC)

         In review, the Bible teaches that the motor-efficiency of the human body and the strength of its immune system are determined by the quality of the blood.  The quality of the blood is determined by the quality of the environment: air, water, diet, sunlight, exercise and rest.  To walk in a path that honors the Creator’s established laws, both moral and physical is the noblest work that can be accomplished in this world, for it always fortifies life; it never deprives it.