Healthy Minute- Virgin Coconut Oil

Virgin Coconut oil is an amazing product. People use it to help with weight loss, fibromyalgia, thyroid problems, skin conditions, etc. It is beneficial inside the body and out!
Virgin coconut oil has a very stable shelf life naturally, and it's composed of medium chain fatty acids. These fatty acids are considered saturated fats. Now, before you write this product off there are a few things you should know about saturated fat:
1) Saturated fatty acids make up at least 50% of cell membranes.
2) They play a huge role in the health of our bones.
3) They lower our chances of heart disease.
4) They can protect the liver and enhance the immune system.
5) They are the preferred food of the heart.
Virgin Coconut oil is an antimicrobial, so it helps your digestive tract keep in balance with it flora. It also fights against Candida (a serious yeast overgrowth in the body).
The best brand is Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. Their website has other products, as well as a recipe section.
The guy in the video is a little goofy, but he gives a few different ways to use the coconut oil. My favorite besides putting it in my coffee is using it as a hair oil. It works better than hot oil treatments, and gets rid of tangles better than conditioners!

The Price Of A Coconut (book review)

This book is about a young boy who got a coconut for Christmas. He really enjoyed it and every year he hoped he would get another one for Christmas.
This young man gives up a chance at a coconut when led by the Holy Spirit to buy a Bible instead. He then gave the Bible to a little boy who was in the town. This one act made it possible for many people to become saved and started his journey to becoming a missionary to the West Indies.
This story is about O. L. King and took place in the late 1800's, early 1900's. It is an autobiography which I dare you to read and not feel like you could be used of God in amazing ways if ony you submit to his leading!
Read the book here. Or buy from Rare Christian Books, 19275 Highway 28, Dixon, MO 65459, USA. Or, call (573) 336-7316

Funny Happenings- Job's Family

Some friend's of mine had an interesting devotional. As they finished reading Job, the son asked his father, "So, if Job had 7 sons and 3 daughters, and 7,000 sheep and 3,000 camels... Does that mean that his sons were like the sheep?"

The dad replied with a little twinkle in his eye and a smile on his lips, "Yep, they were slow and dumb and..."

But before he could finish his little joke, the son turns to his older sister, and with huge eyes and a very questionable look on his face, asks her, "How far can you spit?!?!"

Naaman And Elisha (video sermon)

Naaman the Syrian is like a modern Christian. Elisha tells him how to get cleansed of his sin by easily obeying. It almost didn't happen because of Naaman's pride. Afterwards, Naaman tries to pay for his cleansing, but Elisha refuses payment (because salvation is free to all who obey God and ask for it). But I think the thing that really stuck out to me was what happened after Naaman was healed.

Naaman was going back to Syria. He was Captain of the Syrian army, and along with that position came certain responsibilities. He was to worship the god of Syria with the King and he was to command the Syrian army in it's battles. Naaman wanted Elisha to pardon his obligations. He could have been a witness to all of Syria that there was a powerful God who could heal their diseases for free, and yet he wanted to worship in secret and keep his position.

As Christians, we should be willing to be a witness for Christ. We should leave the world behind (like Naaman should have left Syria), not make a life in it. We should give up our comforts and positions to obey God and spread the gospel to those who are lost, not worship in secret to secure our lifestyle.

This message gives Christians some things to think about. Are we secretly worshipping Christ while trying to hold onto what we desire from the world? Or are we willing to lay down our lives for the lost so that others can also become healed?

 

Believer's Heritage- John Williams

John Williams was a preacher in Massachusetts (1664-1729). He lost his wife and 2 children to an Indian raid on their small town during the French and Indian War. The death of his family wasn't the end of the misery this Puritan preacher endured.

He was a captive of the Indians for 8 weeks, and a captive of the French for 2 years. He and his remaining 5 children travelled with their captors thru harsh winter weather. Every night, John would wring the blood out of his socks.

The beauty in this story is in the heart of his captors. Slowly, his captors began to be influenced by God. They made him snowshoes. They fed him good food. They gave him and Bible, and never interrupted him when he read or prayed.

When they arrived at their destination in Canada, they were sold to the French. All that is, except his youngest daughter who ended up marrying an Indian and forgetting how to speak English. John tried many times after his release to redeem her, but the Indians would not let her go. He was told that the Indians would rather cut out their own hearts than part of their adoptive captives. Many of the younger captives were adopted into the tribe. You can read about her life in the book The Unredeemed Captive by John Demos. This book, however, is a novel and not a biography.

During his French captivity, the French tried to force the captives to convert to Catholicism. They separated families, deprived food, and even physically tormented them to try to achieve this goal. John remained strong and encouraged the other captives whenever possible.

After 3 years, he returned to Massachusetts as a hero. John Williams wrote about his ordeal in The Redeemed Captive Returning To Zion. He also published many sermons. His words "For some of us, moved with fear, set apart a day of prayer, to ask of God, either to spare, and save us from the hands of our enemies, or to prepare us to sanctify and honour him in what way soever he should come forth towards us" make me remember that our lives can bring glory to God no matter the circumstance if we just surrender ourselves to his will.

John spent the rest of his life as a minister in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and served as a commissioner to Canada for the return of English prisoners. He and the other surviving captives encouraged each other to keep going not only in life, but in service to The Lord Jesus Christ.

Three of his sons became ministers. And even the missionary Jonathan Edwards was influenced by reading his Uncle William's book.

 

Mediterranean Squash/ Zucchini recipe

8 sliced summer squash or zucchini
1 chopped onion
3 TBS olive oil
salt to taste
grated parmesean
Italian bread crumbs

Fry vegetables in olive oil until they look wilted. Remove from heat and salt. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and parmesean and let sit 5 minutes.

God Gives Grace (song)

A Builder Or A Wrecker (poem)

I watched them tearing a building down,
A gang of men in a busy town.
With a ho-heave-ho and lusty yell,
They swung a beam and a sidewall fell.
I asked the foreman, "Are these men skilled,
As the men you'd hire if you had to build?"
He gave me a laugh and said, "No indeed!
Just common labor is all I need.
I can easily wreck in a day or two
What builders have taken a year to do."
And I tho't to myself as I went my way,
Which of these two roles have I tried to play?
Am I a builder who works with care,
Measuring life by the rule and square?
Am I shaping my deeds by a well-made plan,
Patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a wrecker who walks the town,
Content with the labor of tearing down?
"O, Lord, let my life and my labors be

That which will build for eternity!"

-- Unknown

Treachery or Treason

If you read I Samuel 23, you may come across something that makes you wonder "why?".

The people of Keilah were being harassed by the Philistines. King Saul was reigning in Israel, but I guess he had better things do than help his people.

David was hiding from Saul, and he enquired of the Lord whether he should go down and smite the Philistines. God told David to go down.

I Samuel 23:5- So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

David came and saved these people from their oppressors, but guess who found out about it. Saul learned that David was in Keilah! The men of Keilah's welfare didn't matter to Saul. The only thing he cared about was the capture of David.

I Samuel 23:8- And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.

How awful! David was doing a good thing here. Sometimes the reward for our obedience to the Lord won't be what we were expecting! It costs a great deal to serve the Lord and to obey His will for our lives. There are many Christians who have lost their families in order to serve God. There are Christians who have had to give up a good paying job to obey God's leading. There are even Christians who lost country, and sometimes their lives, in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.

David was a rather wise man who knew that Saul was after him. He figured that Saul would hear of his deeds. So, he asked the Lord if Saul would come to Keilah for him, and whether the people of Keilah would deliver him to Saul.

I Samuel 23:12- Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up.

What! How could they? David was their hero! He was their Savior! Saul didn't save them! How could God allow this to happen to David when he was obeying what God told him to do?

There is something to be learned here. David is a great type of Christ. Saul is a type of the flesh in this passage. The people of Keilah were people who couldn't save themselves and needed someone to saved them. So David came down at the will of God and saved these people.

Why would they give up their savior? Well, there were two things they could do- Treachery or Treason. David may have been their savior, but Saul was their king! Even though they appreciated the savior; they would rather obey their king. People would rather commit treachery than treason!

Remember, though, that David obeyed God and God protected David. But, God also used this for his good (Romans 8:28).

I Samuel 23:3- And David's men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?

David's men were scared! They wanted to make sure before they went into this battle! Who were these men? This battle was the beginning of David's Mighty Men! You never have to fear doing something for God!

What can we learn from this?

First: God will protect you if you obey Him!

Next: Good men sometimes don't always stay good.

Lastly: Whoever is on the throne of your heart is who you will obey.

So, who is on the throne? Is it your job? Your bank account? Your spouse? Your family? Who controls your actions, your motivations, your desires? Will you obey your king by committing treachery against your Savior, Jesus Christ? It's not something that is easy to answer, and we all have to make the decision!