It’s time to “come out of Babylon” in regard to your health and the health of your family.  Get ready, as you are about to be reminded of who you are, so that you can access the power and inspiration of the Spirit and stop participating in this world’s “gentile” madness.

In the first article in this series, “Think Different” (March 2012), I warned you to stay alert and challenged  you to act differently from the world in all areas, not just in matters of morality and relationships, but also regarding health and health-related decisions.  In part two of this series, “Welcome to the Disease Economy” (April 2012), you were introduced to many sobering facts about how the American economy (and the entire global system) is profiting from the creation and maintenance of disease.  Sadly, Christians look no different from the world when it comes to health, as we have been equally influenced by drug and junk food companies, which brainwash and exploit saints and sinners alike into thinking we need artificial substances in order to look good or feel well.

So, as a believer, who areyou?” 

● “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6).

● “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6).

● “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16).
You are called to be holy, set apart, and to look, act and appear different from the rest of the world.  You are a special treasure, set high above the nations.  The Apostle Paul taught us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2). You must make a choice – be like the world or be different. God gave us a choice and a command about which way to choose: “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). The choice is life or death. In this context, Moses is not referring to eternal salvation. God is teaching His people that the choices they make about how they live their lives here on Earth will bring either health and long life or curses of disease and early death.

God’s plan for your health and for your very life can be summed up from two perspectives taught to us in Deuteronomy 28.  Please do not consider this a legalistic point of view. Again, we are not talking about eternal salvation here, just about your physical life and health (although if you ignore God’s advice you may very well get to eternity much quicker).  Here it is, straight from God’s word: “If you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments, all these blessings shall come upon upon you. Or, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.”

Alright, now you have been assured that God has a plan for you.  But even if you have walked away from Him, it’s never too late to turn back to His ways.  In Hebrew, the word for repentance is tshuvah, which literally translates as “turn back”.  In turning back to God, you turn away from sin, evil and anything else that is not of Him.  Even if you become ill, He still has a plan for you – so just go back to His ways, or in other words, “diligently obey the voice of the Lord.” In its simplest form, that is biblical health.

And that is what the finale of this three-part series is about. Here you will learn a few basic strategies for obeying God’s plan to choose life and live. In the process you will actually stand out and look different from the world. You will “come out of Babylon.” Isn’t that who you want to be and what you want to do?

I believe that the first step to change is always a spiritual one. Gain the hope, strength and even the very awareness of what needs to happen from the Lord.  “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light” (Ephesians 5:14).  The prophet Isaiah (52:1-2) exhorts, “Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean shall no longer come to you. Shake yourself from the dust, arise; sit down, O Jerusalem! Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion!”

It’s time to break free!  Call on the Lord and He will answer you.  Ask the Holy Spirit to penetrate your mind, will and emotions with the light of truth and life.  Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Let Him set you free from being bound to the things of this world, which bring death.
It all comes down to biblical education and getting on God’s plan.  Trust in the Lord, not man.  Obey the Lord; He has a plan.  Learn His plan and stick to it.  To accomplish this, you must stop patronizing those companies and organizations that promote death.  Rather, stand out and be different from the world.

Vote with Your Dollars
You can remove yourself quite significantly from this diseased economy just by voting with your money.  Stop funding these pharmaceutical, junk food, toxic personal-care product, pesticide, petroleum and chemical companies. If you stop buying their wares, you will starve them of economic growth. Yes, you can make a difference!

What’s the alternative?  You shop somewhere else. Buy from local markets with truly natural products. Look in your grocery cart and ask yourself, “What am I investing in here? What am I supporting?” Commit yourself to making positive changes so that you support the companies, organizations and individuals who are actually doing something beneficial.

Practice prevention.  If you live like the world you will die like the world.  If you do not follow God’s plan, He promises that you will suffer the plagues of the nations! A long list of chronic diseases are devastating our churches! Most people remain utterly ignorant of the relationship between nutrition and health. And as a believer, you must consider not only food and physical activity that nourishes your body, but all things that nourish your soul and spirit as well, such as prayer and intimacy with the Lord, healthy relationships, mental and emotional balance, and good financial stewardship, to name a few.

You Are What You Eat

We will focus on food choices as we conclude this article and series as what we eat is, in my professional opinion, the most common cause of sickness. First, “food” must be defined by God. Would you agree? Read God’s Word; if He says it is food, then it is. If He calls it an abomination, don’t eat it. Food must be that which supplies the raw materials which aide your body in the processes of growth and repair and at the same time does not harm you. So for sure, God’s plan for your food can be summarized like this:

1. Eat whole foods, the way they grow naturally: fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and to a lesser extent grains and legumes (beans).

2. Eat as much of those as you can without changing them by cooking, over-cooking or processing.  Those things that are not digestible in their natural state (like grains), should be processed to the least degree possible. Did you know it only takes three ingredients to make bread? Read your labels; how many ingredients are in the bread you buy?

3. If you choose to eat animal foods (meat, poultry, fish, dairy or eggs), eat them from natural sources.  Animals grown on antibiotics, pesticide poisoned crops and unnatural diets are not healthy for you to eat, nor are their byproducts, like dairy and eggs.

a. Did you know that if you eat a cow that has been raised on corn feed, the flesh and fat will absolutely cause cardiovascular disease? But if you eat a cow that has been raised on organic grass and greens it will actually prevent cardiovascular disease!

b. Did you know that if you choose dairy that is processed and pasteurized it will act like a glue in your body and clog you up, but if you eat raw dairy it will promote health?

4. Stay away from animal foods that God calls an “abomination.”  For the sake of not causing a theological battle, let me just say this:  If God made you, and He did, and if God loves you, and He does, and if He said not to eat swine (pig), shellfish, fish without scales, vultures and bats, and He did, then how about we all just agree that it would be a good idea to obey?  Can we simply approach this from the standpoint of a loving Father’s instructions to His children?

5. When it comes to water, drink clean water, not water polluted with municipal (government added) chemicals, such as fluoride and heavy metals.

6. Finally, let me just add one more warning for our modern age:  stay away from processed, packaged, artificial, and genetically modified foods (I call them Franken-foods)!  If you cannot pronounce the ingredients on the label, don’t eat what’s in the package.
Obviously, this is a giant topic worthy of a book, but for the sake of this article let’s just stop here.  You have plenty to consider for change, I am sure.

The bottom line is this: you have choices.  Treat your body like the temple of the Holy Spirit that it is. Eat right, exercise and create balance for your soul and spirit, and it will go well with you.  And if you do get sick, seek advice from professionals who will lead you up the narrow path that will be consistent with your faith and God’s Word, not down the same wide road that the world takes.  Now, isn’t that a liberating perspective?

Dr. Jeff Hazim is a Chiropractor and nutritional counselor practicing in Ft. Lauderdale (www.TheBrowardCenter.com), and Executive Director of “Biblical Health Television”, the only TV network devoted to Biblical Health (www.BiblicalHealth.tv).  He also co-hosts a weekly internet radio program  (www.BlogTalkRadio.com/BiblicalHealth)