Explore Holistic Health Through Faith: The Christian Natural Health Podcast
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Information Theory Negates the Possibility of DNA's Evolution
In the 1940s, as digital communications ramped up, Claude Shannon codified basic concepts of how to send and receive information along digital channels. His abstract model of communication goes like this: the message source creates a message in an encoding language, transmits the message, and then on the other end it is decoded by the message receiver.If there is a message with any coherence to it, there must be a message source.DNA is an extraordinarily coherent message. It's encoded in nucleotide bases, decoded by first RNA and then transcribed into proteins, which then fold in 3-D shapes that determine their functionality based on the chemistry of the protein sequence.A classic argument is the infinite monkey theorem: this is the idea that if you gave a monkey a typewriter, given infinite time, he might at least once by happenstance write Shakespeare's MacBeth (or War and Peace, or pick your favorite work of literature). Of course, one major problem is that no one argues that there was infinite time--most secular scientists believe the earth is a mere 4 billion years old. The probability of any combination of events occurring in sequence with one another requires multiplying the probability of each individual event--say, a correct first letter out of 26, times the probability of a correct second letter out of 26, times the probability of a correct third letter out of 26, and so on. The probability thus shrinks exponentially. Hamlet is around 130,000 letters. The probability of a monkey typing all 130,000 letters in the correct sequence is thus 1 part in 3.4 × 10^183,946.To put that in context, there are only 7 x 10^27 atoms in the entire universe, and 10^80 protons (since atoms are made of both protons and neutrons bound together in the nucleus). Even if every one of those protons was a monkey who had been typing at random continuously from the estimated time of the Big Bang (usually supposed to be some 13.7 billion years ago), it would still be statistically impossible for one of those protonic monkeys to accidentally produce Shakespeare's Hamlet. In order to have even a one in a trillion probability, we'd have to introduce the multiverse once again--there would need to be 10^360,641 universes, each filled with protonic monkeys typing at random for 13.7 billion years (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_monkey_theorem#cite_note-10).So for all intents and purposes, the supposition of the Information Theorem is absolutely correct. If there is a coherent message, there must have been a mind to generate it. Information doesn't come from nothing. It cannot.Click here for the next in the apologetics series: The So-Called 'Missing Links' in the Fossil Record

Stress Management- Dr Haley Perlus
Dr. Haley Perlus knows what it takes to overcome barriers and achieve peak performance. As an elite alpine ski racer, she competed and trained with the best in the world, pushing herself to the limits time and time again. Now, with a PhD in sport psychology, Haley continues to push boundaries and drive peak performance, helping athletes and Fortune 100 executives reach their goals. Haley works with individuals and teams to manage and expand their energy capacity while increasing resilience, focus and drive. Dr. Perlus is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, professor, author and consultant to Division I athletes. She has spoken at many events some of which include VISTAGE, Tec Canada, Elite Fitness and Performance Summit and Trilogy Athletes. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado lecturing on applied sport and exercise psychology at the graduate level. She has authored several books including The Ultimate Achievement Journal and The Inside Drive and her articles have been featured in publications such as Thrive Magazine, Fitness Magazine, IDEA Fitness Journal, EpicTimes, Telluride Inside, MyVega and BeachBody®. Dr. Perlus earned her PhD at the University of Northern Colorado with an emphasis on social psychology of sport and physical activity, her MS at the University of Florida in sport pedagogy and her bachelor’s degree at the University of Western Ontario in kinesiology. Haley loves both water and snow skiing, and hiking. Her favorite meal is anything that requires only chopping or blending.To learn more about Dr Perlus, see www.drhaleyperlus.com

Irreducible Complexity
An age-old objection to the concept of evolution is that of the blind watchmaker, and it goes like this. If a man were to find a working watch in an apparently abandoned place, far from civilization, which would be more probable: that the elements all happened to combine perfectly in the wind and heat and rain, such that a watch resulted by mere happenstance--or that another individual who had purchased the watch from an intelligent designer had been in that same place before, and had simply lost it?
It's popularly believed that this argument has been discredited, but I've yet to hear the actual counter-argument to refute it.Darwin himself wrote of his theory of evolution, "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down." In other words, any organism, or component of an organism, that was irreducibly complex would discredit his theory. He could say this in his day, because at the time, biochemistry was entirely unknown. Author Michael Behe wrote in "Darwin's Black Box" that it was once believed that insects arose spontaneously from dung and spoiled food, because if left to themselves for any length of time, one might go away, return, and find organic material infested with them. When small organisms were assumed to be very simple, this seemed believable. Now we know better. Even the simplest cell is unbelievably complex--akin to an incredibly efficient city in which each citizen knows and performs his job. These jobs include protein synthesis and breakdown, energy production, repair, and communication within the cell and with the outside world, not to mention complete replication of itself. The concept of irreducible complexity, as Behe defines it, is to first determine the function of the system and all the system's components, and then to determine if all of those components are required for its function. If so, then by definition, that system could not have come about by gradual changes. If it did, natural selection would have no reason to select each iteration on the way to functionality, because each in-between step would be at best, useless, and at worst, fatal.The classic example of the former is the eye. Earlier iterations of this incredibly complex system could not see, and would thus be useless. Therefore, natural selection would have no "reason" to pass on the non-functional, half-formed system to future generations. An example of the latter is the clotting cascade: an intricate internal and external feedback system allows blood to clot without a runaway clotting process that might solidify all the blood in the body at once. If the system did not work at all, though, even a minor injury would cause the creature to bleed to death.Objections to the concept of irreducible complexity tend to sidestep actual biochemical mechanisms in favor of conceptual precursors. These argue that light sensing organs were a precursor to the eye, for instance, and did confer survival advantage, and were thus passed down via natural selection. But since tiny steps cannot be demonstrated by which the one evolved into the other, this is a conceptual rather than a physical precursor, much like, as Behe argues, a bicycle might be a precursor to a motorcycle. The former is a much simpler means of transportation on wheels, but you can hardly make small, slight modifications to a bicycle and turn it into a motorcycle from the preexisting components of the bicycle. Even if one were to bring in outside parts to assemble, intermediate phases would still be utterly useless until the whole upgrade were complete. That scenario wouldn't represent evolution anymore, but something else altogether--something called punctuated equilibrium.The theory of punctuated equilibrium tries to rescue evolution from both the quandary of irreducible complexity, as well as the absence of fossil intermediates (which Darwin had predicted we'd be swimming in by now, if his theory were correct). The theory, proposed by Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould in 1972, holds that evolution occurs in large jumps rather than tiny small changes.This theory reminds me of the deus ex machina literary device: "and then the gods came down and fixed everything." (Only, not God, you understand.)In literature, this device is considered a cop-out. Authors employ it only when they have no idea how to fix the mess they've created. But that's not the case in science, apparently.Click here for the next in the apologetics series: Information Theory Negates the Possibility of DNA's Evolution

How Salt Affects Insulin Resistance
This week's podcast comes from this blog post, How Salt Affects Insulin Resistance.

Anthropic Fine Tuning
Even if one were to believe that life evolved on its own, the physical laws are peculiarly conducive to life, apparently fine-tuned to an extraordinary degree. Stephen Hawking wrote in "A Brief History of Time": “The remarkable fact is that the values of these numbers [the constants of physics] seem to have been very finely adjusted to make possible the development of life.” Other prominent (non-believing) scientists who authored books on the subject of anthropic fine-tuning include Roger Penrose, Frank Tipler, and Paul Davies.There are four fundamental forces that define the subatomic world: gravity (which still isn't fully understood), electromagnetism (the attraction of opposite charges, enabling electron orbitals to remain in proximity to the nuclei, necessary for formation of chemical bonds), the strong nuclear force (binding atomic nuclei together), and the weak nuclear force (which allows protons to become neutrons and vice versa).If gravity were much weaker, matter would not be sufficiently attracted to each other and planets and stars wouldn't be able to form. If it were only slightly weaker, stars would not explode and distribute the heavy elements formed in their cores, necessary for life. If gravity were stronger, smaller and thus shorter-lived stars would have formed, burned out faster, and likewise would not have been massive enough to explode and distribute heavy elements for life.If the electromagnetic force were stronger, the electrons would collapse into the nucleus of an atom, rendering chemistry impossible. If it were weaker, electrons would not hover around the nucleus at all, likewise rendering bonding and thus, more complex molecules impossible.If the strong nuclear force were 50% stronger, hydrogen (the simplest atom and starting point for nuclear fusion in stars) would have been consumed in the early universe. If it were 50% weaker, fusion would either not have occurred at all, or would not occur to the degree necessary to form heavier elements. In order to produce adequate carbon and oxygen for life, the strong nuclear force could not deviate from its present strength much at all.If the weak nuclear force were weaker, conversion of neutrons to protons would be much faster, and thus, hydrogen in stars would turn into helium too fast--ultimately causing the stars to burn up too quickly. In addition to these, the ratio of the masses of protons to neutrons is exactly as it must be for DNA to be possible.The masses of neutrons relative to protons are also exactly as they must be to allow heavy elements to form, without causing all stars to collapse into black holes.The convection in earth's core runs on radioactivity. If there were any less fuel, it might not have eventually formed iron, necessary for the production of earth's magnetic field which protects us from the sun's harmful solar wind, or charged particles that might otherwise destroy us. Any more radioactive fuel, and we'd be constantly beset by earthquakes volcanic eruptions, the ash of which would blot out the sun.Along the same lines, if earth were less massive, the magnetic field would be correspondingly weaker. As a result, the solar wind could strip away our atmosphere and thus, our breathable air. If it were more massive, earth's gravity would correspondingly increase, which would at a certain point cause a more uniform surface (no mountains or sea floors). This would distribute the oceans across earth's surface, making us a water world.In order for water to be present on a planet at all, it must orbit its star at a precise distance, called the circumstellar habitable zone; too close and we would experience the same runaway greenhouse effect that is believed to have occurred on Venus (water evaporates, concentrates in the atmosphere, traps the sun's rays, and the temperature eventually becomes an oven). Too far, and it will freeze into an ice planet. The only way to prevent the water from freezing would be to increase atmospheric carbon dioxide to trap the sun's heat, but too much CO2 would mean not enough oxygen necessary to sustain life as we know it.Our sun also has to be exactly the right size. Too small, and it would be a red dwarf, emitting far less light, and most of it in the red end of the spectrum. This would greatly impede photosynthesis, as plants require both sufficient sunlight, and both blue and red spectrum light as well. Impaired photosynthesis means not enough oxygen. A smaller star would also have a much closer circumstellar habitable zone; the problem is, a much closer orbit to a star would dramatically increase the tides on the planet, too. This would cause the planet to become tidally locked, like Pluto and its moon, Charon. This means one side would always face the star, while the other would always face away, causing dramatic temperature variations.If the sun were larger, its light would be more toward the blue end of the spectrum, which would allow for oxygen production, but would leave us susceptible to intense ultraviolet radiation.Jupiter and Saturn act as guards for earth: their immense gravitational pull tends to protect earth from stray comets that might otherwise collide with us and cause mass extinction.Our moon's size and proximity stabilizes Earth's precise tilt of 23.56 degrees, which is necessary to keep our seasons mild. It also is responsible for 60% of the tides, which, among other things, drive the ocean current and thus help to distribute heat throughout the planet.Earth also has to be placed exactly where it is within the galaxy. There is a 'habitable zone' within galaxies too, such that we have access to heavier elements from the larger stars, but we're still far enough from the spiral arms of the galaxy where supernovae occur from the most massive stars.These are just a few examples of cosmic fine-tuning. Many scientists recognize the improbability of these parameters being just so. A rather circular non-explanation is called the Weak Anthropic Principle by Brandon Carter, which states, "We must be prepared to take account of the fact that our location in the universe is necessarily privileged to the extent of being compatible with our existence as observers." In other words, things are the way they are because if they weren't, we wouldn't be here to ask the questions of why they are they way they are. The corresponding Strong Anthropic Principle states, "[T]he Universe (and hence the fundamental parameters on which it depends) must be such as to admit within it the creation of observers within it at some stage." The classic logical objection to this argument is that of a criminal expecting to die by firing squad, who nevertheless faces the squad and lives. Would it not beg the question for him to conclude that the firing squad missed him simply because if they hadn't, he wouldn't be alive to ask why he was still alive?Those who do not believe in a designer generally get around this objection via the multiverse interpretation of Quantum Mechanics: the idea that every possible quantum event does actually occur in some universe or another. Therefore every possibility, no matter how unlikely, must occur somewhere, at least once... and in the universe where it does, humans will evolve to ask questions such as "why is everything so perfectly fine-tuned for life?"Such an interpretation certainly seems to me to violate Occam's Razor: the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. (Not to mention, it begs the question--how one universe began in the first place now becomes a far more complicated problem of how multiple universes might be continuously generated with every Quantum Mechanical "choice.")Click here for the next in the apologetics series: Irreducible Complexity

Does Salt Raise Your Blood Pressure?
This week's podcast comes from this blog post, Does Salt Raise Your Blood Pressure?

How to Forgive - Pastor David Peterson
Rev. David Peterson is an ordained pastor and board-certified chaplain, with over thirty years of experience in ministry to congregations, as well as chaplaincy experience in hospitals, fire/EMS, law enforcement and hospice. He's provided emotional and spiritual care on the scenes of devastating events from 9/11 to school shootings and various community tragedies and in 1994, founded Shepherd’s Staff Pastoral Services, where he was able to provide spiritual care to thousands via chaplains he trained and placed at long term care facilities across the U.S. A study in resiliency and forgiveness, David has lived all his life with tremors in his hands and arms and navigated the bullying, harassment and embarrassing moments it has invited from those who lack understanding and empathy. And at the age of 12, he was targeted by a neighborhood pedophile who used alcohol, pornography and affirmation to abuse him sexually, emotionally, spiritually and mentally. Years of silence, anger, shame and self-destructive behaviors followed before healing and forgiveness transformed him. David and his wife, Arden — as well as their four sons and their families — reside in Chesapeake, Virginia.
To learn more about Pastor David or to get his books, go to davidpetersonbooks.com
To check out some of his sermons, see - apostles-lutheran.org

Integrative Orthopedics - Dr John Tait
Dr. Tait is the founder of ORIGEN Orthopedics and Optimal Health, a medical practice that applies the principles of Functional and Regenerative Medicine with the goal of helping patients lengthen the lifespan of their joints, while simultaneously improving their total health and quality of life. ORIGEN is the only Orthopedic clinic in the region exclusively focused on non-surgical solutions. Dr. Tait has authored three books and has created two courses on his Integrative Regenerative approach to Orthopedic care and optimal health. He gives more than a dozen talks per year on his unique approach to optimizing one’s human potential.To learn more about Dr Tait, see www.origenortho.comebook: 3 Reasons Doctors Never Get Surgery: tinuyrl.com/neversurgeryVideo: Stem Cell 101 Masterclass: tinyurl.com/helphealing

Training Wheels for Praise
Today's meditation comes from Psalms 6, 38, 39, 42, and 43.

How pH Influences Metabolic Disease
Today's podcast comes from this blog post, How Alkalinity Reduces Risk of Metabolic Disease.

Breathe: Soul Care Mentoring with Bonnie Gray
Bonnie Gray is a Soul Care mentor and the author of Breathe: 21 Days toStress Less and Transform Chaos to Calm,Whispers of Rest, Finding Spiritual Whitespace and Sweet Like Jasmine, an ECPA 2022 Christian Book Award Finalist. Heaving healed from PTSD, Bonnie is passionate about helping thousands of listeners detox stress and flourish in emotional wellness with God’s love through soul care, Bible Study and prayer. Bonnie is a trusted voice writing for Proverbs 31, Christianity Today and Relevant Magazine. She is also the host of Breathe: The Stress Less Podcast. Take Bonnie’s Soul Care Quiz to learn which area of wellness you’re missing at SoulCareQuiz.com. She loves hiking and eating waffles with her husband and two teenage boys in Silicon Valley.To learn more about Bonnie, take her Soul Care Quiz at SoulCareQuiz.com, find her book at thebreathebook.com, or follow her at thebonniegray on Instagram.

Preventing and Dissolving Kidney Stones
This week's podcast comes from this blog review of Preventing and Dissolving Kidney Stones.

Praying for Reign: Interview with Don Newman
Don Newman has more than twenty years of experience in ministry and leading prayer, and is also the acting Executive Director of Publishing for Salem Author Services, a division of Salem Media Group. As a passionate historian of the church and revival, Don has benefited from the writings and stories of many great intercessors of the church, including some of his own ancestors. These inspired truths are all part of his new book Praying for Reign. It is easy to underestimate the impact of prayer; however, Don believes we can develop a thoughtful, intentional prayer practice—a practice rooted in understanding the types of prayers God yearns for us to pray. Cultivating this type of prayer practice is revolutionary, both of our own lives and the world around us. It’s the first step for those who wish to be a part of the army that establishes God’s kingdom here on earth… and it all starts when we learn how to Pray for Reign. Don and his wife Tracee live in Central Florida. They have been married for almost 40 years and have three children and six grand-children.You can preorder "Praying for Reign" here, or you can get his previous books "Respond Up" here, or "Don't Just Speak It, Write It" here.See his YouTube channel, Living a Life Worth Remembering, here.You can also join his private prayer group on Facebook - just search for "Praying for Reign" and ask to join!

The Body is Designed to Heal - Dr Richard Ruhling
Dr. Richard Ruhling was board-certified in Internal Medicine and had a Cardiology Fellowship before teaching Health Science at Loma Linda University, a community featured on the National Geographic cover story on Longevity as the only ‘Blue Zone’ for health in North America. There, he gained insights on how the body is designed for self-healing, without the need of prescription drugs that have become a leading cause of illness and death.For more on Dr Ruhling, see his website, www.healthhappinessdestiny.comListen to "The Body is Designed to Heal - Dr Richard Ruhling" on Spreaker.

Attributes of God - Interview with Dr Glenn Daman
Dr. Glenn Daman is a pastor in Stevenson, Washington with over 35 years experience in the pulpit. Author of 'The Lighthouse: Discovering Security in the Radiance of God's Character', as well as five books related to rural church ministry, he is a graduate of Western Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Seminary. He serves on the Board of Directors of Village Missions. Glenn and his wife, Becky, have 2 children. He enjoys photography and woodworking.To learn mor about Dr Daman, see theattributesofgod.net or you can get his book on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Lighthouse-Discovering-Security-Radiance-Character/dp/163357413X/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?crid=3W0X0TYRLKDBW&keywords=The+Lighthouse+Dr+Glenn+Daman&qid=1673635989&sprefix=the+lighthouse+dr+glenn+daman%2Caps%2C939&sr=8-1-fkmr2Listen to "Attributes of God - Interview with Dr Glenn Daman" on Spreaker.

Do-it-Yourself Skincare
This week's podcast comes from this blog post on My Do-It-Yourself Skincare Routine: https://www.naturecurefamilyhealth.com/my-do-it-yourself-natural-skincare-routine/

Effects of Praise
Listen to "Effects of Praise" on Spreaker.
Commands to praise or be thankful:
- Sacrifices of thanksgiving were commanded for the Israelites: Levicitus 7:12-15, but He wanted it to be from their own free will (Lev 22:29)
- Deut 10:20-21: "You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name. He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen."
- Many of the psalms are trying to stir up the speaker or the crowd to praise, vowing "I will" praise (sometime in the future), or do such-and-such, that I might praise, or (these people) will praise, or saying "let me" or "let [some third party]" praise the Lord, as if asking for God's help in doing it, in addition to actually praising God:
- Psalm 9:11: "Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people."
- Psalm 29:1: "Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, Give unto the Lord glory and strength."
- Psalm 30:4: "Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name."
- Psalm 33:2: "Praise the Lord with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings."
- Psalm 47:1, 6-7: "Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!... Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding."
- Psalm 66:1-2, 8: "Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious.... Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard."
- Psalm 68:4, 32: "Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name Yah, And rejoice before Him... Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; Oh, sing praises to the Lord, Selah"
- Psalm 98:4: "Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises."
- Psalm 100:4: "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name."
- Psalm 117:1: "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!"
- Romans 15:11: “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!”
- 2 Cor 2:14: "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place."
- 2 Cor 4:15: "For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God."
- We should bring praise to God (when people see us): Eph 1:11-12: "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory."
- The Holy Spirit in us is to the praise of His glory: Eph 1:13-14
- When we bear fruits of righteousness, it is to God's glory and praise: Phil 1:11
- Our faith brings praise to God: 1 Peter 1:7
- Eph 5:20: "giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
- Col 3:15: "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful."
- Col 4:2: "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving"
- 1 Thess 5:18: "in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
- 1 Tim 2:1: "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,"
- 1 Tim 4:4: "For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving;"
- Heb 13:15: "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name."
- 1 Peter 2:9: "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."
- Rev 7:12: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
- Rev 19:5: "Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!”
Effects of thanksgiving:
- It was a battle strategy a at least once, when Jehoshaphat sent out the worshippers in the front lines of battle: 2 Chronicles 20:1-30
- It led to a prison break at least once, when Paul and Silas were singing to God, triggering an earthquake: Acts 16:25-34
- It leads to peace: Phil 4:6-7: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
- It's how we abound in faith: Col 2:6-7: "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving."
Examples of thankfulness:
- Moses' song after God parts the Red Sea: Exodus 15:1-18, and Miriam's, Ex 15:21 - to memorialize it. It's like a poetic retelling of what just happened.
- Deborah's song after their defeat of Sisera: Judges 5:1-31
- Hannah's song after she bears Samuel: 1 Samuel 2:1-10
- David's psalm when God makes a covenant with his line: 2 Sam 7:18-29
- David appointed singers to rejoice as the ark returned from the Philistines, and he was dancing himself with all his might (2 Sam 6:12-23 and 1 Chron 15:16-29).
- David after his mighty men killed the last of the Philistine giants: 2 Sam 22:1-51 (also Psalm 18).
- David set aside a company of men appointed just for worship: 1 Chronicles 25, and also made them their instruments for that purpose: 1 Chron 23:5 (and they still used them during Solomon's reign, 2 Chron 7:6), and they did it morning and evening every day: 1 Chron 23:30.
- Solomon followed suit (2 Chron 8:14).
- Later Hezekiah reinstituted temple worship according to David's pattern, even using the instruments he had made (2 Chron 29:20-36), and reinstituted Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread with accompanying praise (2 Chron 30:21).
- David's psalm at the end of his reign: 1 Chron 29:10-15
- The Levites rejoice when the ark is brought into the new temple: 2 Chron 5:13
- The people of Israel in response to the glory of the Lord in the new temple: 2 Chron 7:3
- Most of the psalms: 7:17, 9:1-2, 14, 18:3, 49, 21:13, 22:3, 22-26, 26:7, 27:6, 28:7, 30:4, 30:12, 33:1, 34:1, 35:18, 28, 40:3, 42:5, 11, 43:4-5, 44:8, 45:17, 50:14, 51:15, 52:9, 54:6, 56:4, 12, 57:7, 57:9, 59:17, 61:8, 63:3, 5, 69:30, 34, 71:6, 8, 14, 22, 72:15, 75:1, 9, 78:4, 79:13, 86:12, 89:5, 92:1, 95:2, 96:1, 4, 97:1, 12, 98:1, 100:1, 100:4, 101:1, 103:1, 104:1, 33, 35, 105:1, 106:1-2, 48, 107:1, 8, 15, 21, 22, 31, 108:1, 3, 109:30, 111:1, 112:1, 113:1, 3, 9, 115:18, 116:1, 17, 19, 117:12, 118:1, 19, 21, 28-29, 119:7, 62, 164, 171, 175, 135:1, 3, 21, 136:1-3, 26, 138:1-2, 139:14, 140:13, 144:9, 145:1-4, 10, 21, 146:1-2, 10, 147:1, 7, 12, 20, 148:1-5, 7, 13-14, 149:1, 3, 6, 9, 150:1-6
- Many of the major and minor prophets prophesy that Israel will rejoice when God redeems them, brings them back to the land, reveals the Messiah, in the Millennium, etc
- Jeremiah prays for deliverance: Jer 17:14 and his praise that God will deliver him from those who are against him: Jer 20:13
- Daniel praises God for revealing Nebuchadnezzar's dream: 2:23
- Nebuchadnezzar praises God: Daniel 4:34-37
- Daniel prayed and praised daily (despite opposition): Daniel 6:10
- Ezra 3:10-11: the people rejoice when the foundation of the temple is re-laid.
- Nehemiah on dedication of the rebuilt temple: he commands the people to rejoice and hold a feast, not mourn at the reading of the law they haven't kept (Nehemiah 8:10) and the Levites lead them in a psalm of praise to God and remembrance of their history: Nehemiah 9:5-38. Then Nehemiah appoints thanksgiving choirs with lots of instruments to rejoice loudly (Nehemiah 12:27-43). It's interesting that the story is long over by this point, but several more chapters are dedicated to their thanksgiving, praise, and remembrance of Israel's history and God's goodness to them.
- "For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God." Neh 12:46 - David set the standard and future generations try to recreate it
- Jonah, while still in the belly of the whale: Jonah 2:9
- Mary upon being told she will bear Jesus: Luke 1:46-55.
- The Samaritan leper came back to give Jesus thanks for his healing: Luke 17:16
- The blind man Jesus heals on the way to Jerusalem causes the crowd to praise: Luke 18:42-43
- The triumphal entry: Matthew 21:9, Luke 19:37-40
- The activity of heaven: Rev 4:9-10: "Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne"
- David set aside a company of men appointed just for worship: 1 Chronicles 25, and also made them their instruments for that purpose: 1 Chron 23:5 (and they still used them during Solomon's reign, 2 Chron 7:6), and they did it morning and evening every day: 1 Chron 23:30.
What happens if you're not thankful:
Romans 1:21: "because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened."
Deut 28:47. the curses were triggered “because you didn’t serve the Lord with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things”

Keeping Your Glycocalyx Healthy
This week's podcast comes from this blog post, Keeping Your Glycocalyx Healthy https://www.naturecurefamilyhealth.com/keeping-your-glycocalyx-healthy/

Holy Spirit Healing: How the Lord Can Set You Free, with Mimi Kroger
Mimi Kroger is a powerful Health & Weight Loss Coach with a heart for helping others healthrough Biblical principles. After healing from an eating disorder, body image issues, lupus, and other life traumas with God’s help, Mimi started Healthy Happy & Heavenly to guide her clients to health and wholeness rooted in a relationship with the Holy Spirit. Her mission is to bring others into the same freedom she’s received through faith-based coaching, nutritional guidance, and discovering the root causes of emotions. As a bestselling author, speaker, nationally certified personal trainer, nutrition guide, and behavior change specialist, Mimiempowers her clients to become the healthiest versions of themselves - mind, body, and spirit. Mimi is a mom to an awesome adult son, and she resides in Colorado with her loving husband, Ben. They have one tenacious Yorkie named Hugs!To learn more about Mimi, see healthyhappyandheavenly.com.Listen to "Holy Spirit Healing: How the Lord Can Set You Free, with Mimi Kroger" on Spreaker.

Dr Peter Kozlowski: "Get the Func Out"
Dr. Peter Kozlowski uses a broad array of tools to find the source of the body's dysfunction: he takes the time to listen to his patients and plots their history on a timeline, considering what makes them unique and co-creating with them a truly individualized care plan. Currently, he works with patients online and in person via his Chicago, Illinois, and Bozeman, Montana-based offices. Dr. Kozlowski did his residency in Family Practice but started training in Functional Medicine as an intern. He trained in the clinics with leaders in his field, including Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Deepak Chopra, and Dr. Susan Blum. He is the author of “Get the Func Out” and “Un-Func Your Gut.”To learn more about Dr Koz, see doc-koz.comYou can get his book "Get the Func Out" hereListen to "Dr Peter Kozlowski: "Get the Func Out"" on Spreaker.

Hermann and Louie Eben: Gr8 Relationships
Hermann Eben has served in various executive management roles for 40+ years in the business arena. Hermann’s world was devastated in 1991 when he received a phone call. The caller told him that his wife, Louie, was having an affair and that a package would be coming to prove the allegations. After seeing the evidence, he called his pastor, who decided it would be best for Hermann and Louie to meet with Dr. Marlin Howe to work through their relationship. The church had been using Dr. Howe’s Hope for the Family video series for about five years.God did a fantastic thing and restored their marriage. After a couple of years of God’s blessing and healing, Hermann and Louie decided, with the approval of the church elders, to use their experience to help others. And that is what they have been doing for 30 years. With the foundation of Dr. Howe’s work and blessing, Hermann developed GR8 Relationships (www.gr8relate.com) in 2000. He and Louie have held countless weekend seminars, met with couples one-on-one, and facilitated weekly study groups. Together they are on a mission to restore marriages and relationships.For more on Hermann and Louie and to get their materials, see www.gr8relate.comListen to "Hermann and Louie Eben: Gr8 Relationships" on Spreaker.

Glutathione - Master Antioxidant
This week's podcast comes from this blog post: Glutathione, Master Antioxidant https://www.naturecurefamilyhealth.com/articles/glutathione-master-antioxidant/

Why Your Fasting Glucose Is High
This week's podcast comes from this article: Why Is My Fasting Glucose Too High?This is the podcast I mentioned on how to break the sugar addiction: Breaking the Sugar Addiction: Interview with Teresa Shields ParkerHere's the resource on stress management techniques: Stress Management Techniques

The Woman at the Well: John 4:1-42
I didn't include this story in my "Daughters of Zion" biblical retellings (you can find that here: Daughters of Zion (Biblical Retellings) only because the theme of that book was miracles experienced by women, and not just biblical stories in which a woman was prominently featured. Otherwise, this would have been one of the big ones. The story only appears in the gospel of John, though it makes sense why John specifically would have chosen to include it. The theme of his gospel is love.The Jews of Jesus' day scorned Samaritans, and from a religious standpoint, it would seem that there were good reasons for this. The Samaritans were Jews who had intermarried with pagans of neighboring nations, violating God's commandments to Joshua (Joshua 23:11-13), and falling prey to the doctrine of Balaam (from Numbers 23-24). God specifically told the Jews not to intermarry with those who worshipped other gods, lest they be led into idolatry. But when Assyria captured Samaria (2 Kings 17:5-41), the Assyrian king sent foreigners into the land who worshipped other gods. The Jews there did intermarry with them, and incorporated their pagan practices into their worship of Yahweh as well. Because of this, devout Jews wanted nothing to do with Samaritans, and wouldn't allow them to worship at their temple. The Samaritans had thus erected their own temple for worship instead (John 4:19-20).Even among her fellow Samaritans, though, this woman was an outcast. This is implied by the fact that she went alone to the well in the heat of the day, rather than in the morning when it was cooler, with all the other women. Her story, as Jesus revealed it, indicates the probable reason for this: her immoral behavior presumably caused the respectable women of the town to look down on her. This was probably why she was so shocked when Jesus spoke to her, even humbling himself to the point of asking her for a favor. (I'm sure He really did want a drink, though, as we're told earlier in the story that He was weary from his journey, and it was mid-afternoon so possibly it was hot, John 4:6. The story never mentions that the woman actually gave Him a drink, so as I wrote the retelling, I kept thinking, He's still thirsty...)Jesus' humility in asking the woman for a favor probably lowered her defense mechanisms initially, but I love how Jesus proceeded to dismantle whatever remained of them with just a few sentences. Every "chick flick" or "chick lit" story features an archetypical down-and-out heroine, embittered by the adversities of life. She then surreptitiously encounters a romantic hero who is the very embodiment of perfection. He's not only handsome, confident, and kind, but also several rungs above her on the social ladder to boot--but he's never arrogant about it. He sees through our heroine's prickly defenses to the soft heart she's trying to protect, and he's absolutely taken with her. From that point on, he pursues her relentlessly, refusing to be dissuaded. Try as she might, she can't resist him--because as frightened as she is of letting herself be vulnerable, all she's ever wanted is for someone to look past her faults, see her for who she truly is, and love her anyway. She falls in love with him in spite of herself... and then of course they live happily ever after.That's how I see this story, and I think it's how John saw it too. It's not a romance in the human sense, and yet (as author John Eldredge would put it), it's "The Sacred Romance," writ small and personal--almost in allegory, though this was also a real woman, too. We are not called the Bride of Christ for nothing. I don't think it's a coincidence that this woman was the lowest of the low in that society, either--and yet, despite that, this woman is the first recorded person to whom Jesus overtly declares His identity as the Messiah (John 4:25-26). Of all people, He chose her to be the first to hear the news--just as later, the formerly demon-possessed Mary Magdalene was the first to see the risen Christ. (John is also the only gospel writer to explicitly record this encounter, in John 20:11-18.)If Jesus qualified even these women, then there's hope for all of us.

Steven K Scott: Wisdom from Proverbs, Teachings of Jesus, and a New Glutathione Delivery System
Steven K. Scott flunked out of his first 9 jobs right out of college, but after reading the book of Proverbs, he learned 16 strategies that he applied to each area of his life. Steve is a best selling Christian author & billion-dollar business builder. Steve’s blessed entrepreneurship journey has funded his ministry. His latest project is called “Neumi” and he refers to it as the biggest health breakthrough he’s ever seen.To learn more about Steve, go to Steven K. Scott where you can also learn more about Neumi!Listen to "Steven K Scott: Wisdom from Proverbs, Teachings of Jesus, and a New Glutathione Delivery System" on Spreaker.

Methylation Defects
This week's podcast comes from this blog post on Methylation Defects.