Awesome Truths and Amazing Facts
by Richard C. Vaughn

   Today:  The Eight Natural Doctors Found in the Bible - What Health Principles in Scripture apply to Christians today? Part 3
Why is there so much sickness and disease today? Surely this can’t be God’s plan for the people who profess to be His followers. Is there a simple plan that can be followed by those interested in vibrant health and wellness? Yes there is. These eight principles provide the foundation for dealing with any health condition successfully. Using the acronym NEW START, it makes them easier to remember.
Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunlight, Temperance, Air, Rest, Trust in God. Applied individually, each health principle is very effective; but combined, the benefits are multiplied beyond what each one by itself could do.
Psalm 67:2 “That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.” Let’s look at each of God’s 8 doctors in the light of Scripture. 
Nutrition: Genesis 1:29 “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Good nutrition and regular meals are essential for good health. We need to eliminate as much junk foods, fried foods, white flour products, white sugar and artificial sweeteners as is possible. We would never put water in the gas tanks of our cars. Why should we put unhealthy so-called food in our bodies which are God’s property and we are the caretakers?
Exercise: Genesis 2:15   “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Exercise is important to digestion and to a healthy condition of body and mind. It increases oxygen intake and the efficiency of the lungs. It normalizes blood pressure, improves muscle tone, charges brain and nerve cells, lowers cholesterol and fats in the blood, burns up unwanted fat, slows the aging process, and promotes good sleep. Inactivity causes a reverse of the benefits of exercise.
Water: Nehemiah 9:20 “Thou… gavest them water for their thirst.” The earth’s surface is ¾ water and your body is 60-80% water. Fat cells have 20% water and muscles cells 80%. Bone cells contain 25% water. Water is so important to you that the loss of 10% to 20% of your body’s water would be fatal. We should hydrate our bodies daily and not wait till we are thirsty. We should use refreshing pure water, not soft drinks, coffee, hurtful teas and canned or bottled juices.
Sunlight: Psalms 84:11 “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Man receives many benefits from the sun’s energy both directly and indirectly. With the energy supplied by the sun, plant life takes in water, carbon dioxide and minerals and transforms it into vegetable matter we call food. We also receive heat and light from the sun as well as Vitamin D in skin exposed to the sun. Without vitamin D the body cannot readily absorb calcium. The benefits of sunlight are too numerous to mention here.
Temperance: Galatians 5:22,23   “But the fruit of the Spirit is …temperance.” Satan is constantly on the alert to bring all of mankind under his control. His strongest hold on man is appetite. We need to practice moderation in that which is good and abstain from anything that could injure the body, mind or spirit.
Air: Psalms 150:6  “Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD.” Everybody needs about 3,000 cubic feet of fresh air every hour to waft away the waste products given off by the skin and the lungs.
Rest: Exodus 33:14 “And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” There is not a single cell in our body that does not need rest. Newborn babies need up to 22 hours of sleep, while most adults get by with 6 or 7. In addition to a restful sleep for the mind and body, we should abstain from secular labor one day in seven for spiritual rest.
Trust In God: Psalms 28:7 “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped.” Proverbs 3:5,6  “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” No one has ever trusted the Lord in vain. 
There you have God’s natural eight doctors. If you would like to receive a free copy of an excellent magazine called “Radiant Living - Simple Steps to Health and Happiness”, which gives much more information on NEW START and radiant health, write me at: Victory Ministries International, P.O. Box 970, South Hill, VA 23970 
Next week: Creation’s Creators