The Third Day

by Jim Lynn, Copyrighted 2007

You lose the keys to your house. You’re stuck in traffic. These are just a few of the million and one distractions that can occupy our minds at any given time. The world is good at that. It’s good at creating distractions that often make us forget our roots. “What roots are those,” you ask?

Simply that we may live in this world and have to endure its ways, but we are not of this world. We are spiritual beings created in the image of God.

We are (physically speaking), spiritual creations of a loving God who provides for our every need. I want you to stop and really think about that statement when it comes to your health.

Mankind did not begin life on earth by climbing out of some primeval slime bog with webbed feet and gills. Despite what the Discovery Channel may tell you, you will not find a monkey in your family tree. You will only find God. For every human being born of woman is a spiritual creation knit together by God Himself. Listen to what King David, the Psalmist, had to say about his own life:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Ps 139:13-16 (NIV)

You see; the world tends to make us forget. When a mother gives birth, we often forget about her child’s place of origin. We get so caught up with doctors, nurses, hospital procedures and the rest of the world that we forget God’s hands were all over that child from the moment of conception. What’s more: God not only creates humanity, the child (every child) bears the very image and likeness of God Himself.

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness..." Gen 1:26 (NIV)

Awesome to think about, isn’t it? We have but to look into a mirror to see the likeness of God. For we were created in His image, in His likeness. Our body is like God’s body as seen in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son. And that’s not all:

We were not only created spiritually; we are, like God, spiritual beings. Every aspect of our being, our body, our spirit and soul is spiritual. We forget that. We forget our roots living in a world filled with distractions and lies. And just in case we do manage to think about it, this materialistic world is quick to tell us otherwise.

We are told our body is purely physical, that there is nothing spiritual about it at all. We are told you are born, you live, and then you die. All that matters is the here and now. That constant tirade and onslaught day in and day out against our heritage sets the background to push God out of our everyday life and well being. And you know something? It’s working!

Forgetting our body is anything more than physical matter; the world is quick to show us its solution for our aches and pains. If we have discomfort, if we have pain or are diagnosed with disease symptoms, the world offers us synthetic petrochemical drugs.

God has a solution for our aches and pains, too. He offers a spiritual answer found in his loving provision to heal those with discomfort, pain and disease. But many do not hear or know God’s voice. Many are blinded and do not see. Many do not understand because many are ignorant of God’s provision, of His Word and His will in their lives. They are caught up in the world, and only hear the voice of a secular (Godless) physician or television ad telling them to “try these pills.”

Sadly, millions upon millions of Christians have turned away from God. Their ears are deaf to all things spiritual save for the salvation of their souls. When it comes to discomfort, pain and disease, they only hear the sound of a “quick-fix” offered to them by secular doctors. They forget what God did on the third day of creation to insure our health, vitality and well-being.

On the third day of creation God created the plant kingdom.

Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning-- the third day. Gen 1:11-13 (NIV)

A few days later, God created man and told him:

"I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-- everything that has the breath of life in it-- I give every green plant for food." And it was so. Gen 1:29-30 (NIV)

We think of food as something to fill our growling stomachs. But God thinks more of the plant kingdom than just something to satisfy our hunger. He ordained the plant kingdom to be the source of our health, vitality and longevity.

Science today knows the plant kingdom not only offers great tasting food, it offers vital nutrients and constituents necessary for sustaining and restoring physical and even emotional health. In short, the plant kingdom is a divinely inspired food bar and medicine chest all rolled into one.

Natural Plant Oils Versus Synthetic Petrochemical Drugs:

As for healing and restoring health, the plant kingdom is an eternity ahead of man-made drugs in efficacy and safety. For example: The tissue of plants and their essential oils are 100% biodegradable in the human body. Synthetic petrochemical drugs are not. Taken long term, synthetic petrochemical drugs poison the body and clog key hormone and neuron receptors from working properly.

Plant oils are to plants what blood is to humans. They work, with few exceptions, in perfect harmony with the cells in the human body, just as they do with the plant cells they nurture. Synthetic petrochemical drugs do not.

Plant oils, with few exceptions, are safe for consumption. Synthetic petrochemical drugs are never safe and always have side effects. Many of them are lethal.

Plant oils are complex. They have many health-giving constituents the body uses at will. Synthetic petrochemical drugs have few active ingredients, which can only perform one action at the expense of the rest of the body.

Plant oils work to restore balance within the body, so that the body’s immune system can heal itself. Synthetic petrochemical drugs do not. They destroy the body’s immune system.

From the Beginning:

From the earliest time mankind knew which plants were intended for food, and which were intended for healing the body of aches, pain and disease. Now how do you suppose early man knew that information?

Jacob, the father of Joseph, called essential oils the “best products of the land.” (Genesis 43:11) Wars were even fought over essential oils in ancient times, because they were considered more precious and more highly esteemed than gold.

The balm of Gilead especially was highly desired throughout the Old Testament period. Mentioned three times in the Bible (Genesis 37:25; Jeremiah 8:22; Jeremiah 46:11), this resinous balsamic oil (according to tradition) had near-miraculous properties. The main center of its production, Ein Gedi, was destroyed in 582 B.C., but other settlements started up in the same location. By the Roman era Ein Gedi had re-established its reputation as a supplier of balm. So famous were its balsam orchards, the Roman emperor, Titus (79 A.D. to 81 A.D.), after conquering Ein Gedi, displayed branches of balsam trees in his triumphal march through Rome.

Plants match our own biological nutritional requirements:

I was browsing through one of my vegetable garden seed catalogs recently when I came across the following paragraph about kelp:

"Every farmer and gardener should be using kelp in conjunction with a regular fertilizing program...Kelp contains potent concentrations of trace minerals, micronutrients, amino acids and vitamins essential to plant growth...Research and field trials have confirmed the role of kelp in increasing crop yields, drought resistance, frost protection and stress recovery. Most important, kelp contains many growth hormones...which stimulate cell division and larger root systems."

I thought to myself, "Hmmm, trace minerals, micronutrients, amino acids, and vitamins. Plants require many of the very same elements humans require to remain strong and healthy." No wonder plants are so beneficial to the human body. By paralleling the biological requirements of our own body in plants, God has created the perfect resource for our health and well being – A virtual, nutritional medicinal cabinet lying at our feet, perfectly suited for animal and human beings alike.

The perfection of this nutritional medicinal cabinet lies in how well our own body interacts with these substances. Whether eating plants for nutrition or utilizing them for disease prevention and healing, the liquid that flows through stems and leaves (the plant’s lifeblood) closely matches that of our own life-giving blood. For just as our own blood cleanses, protects, oxygenates, nourishes, and heals, so, too, do the natural oils found in plants. Plant oils contain amino acid precursors, coenzyme A factors, trace minerals, enzymes, oxygenating molecules, vitamins, and more. This is the reason why plant oils have come to be called essential oils.

Once you get past the world’s distractions and look to God and His creation, a whole new world opens before your eyes. You will understand everything you see around you created by God is for your benefit. The plant kingdom is God’s blessing to provide your body with every essential element needed to sustain a healthy, long life.

The drug ads you see on television belong to the world and its way. Forget them. Petrochemical drugs are part of that system and always come with side effects.

Knowing no one wants side effects; the pharma industry has come up with a clever marketing idea called “acceptable risk.” Forget “acceptable risk.” The very phrase is an oxymoron. For instance:

Did you know that something as common as aspirin, a synthetic, petrochemical drug, has been the cause of many deaths and visits to emergency rooms? But there is a safe, God-given alternative called Wintergreen. Therapeutic grade Wintergreen oil (when applied topically) is an analgesic for pain relief. And therapeutic grade Wintergreen oil is 100% safe when used in this fashion. Synthetic petrochemical counterparts are not.

Take a synthetic petrochemical drug and you will suffer a side effect. It may not become known for a time, but it will become manifest. Two recent cases in point (And there are literally hundreds):

·        Purdue Pharma L.P., the manufacturer of a powerful painkiller, Oxycontin, pleaded guilty in misleading the public about the drug’s risk of addiction. The company agreed to pay $19.5 million in fines.

·        Avandia, a widely prescribed Type II diabetes drug has now been linked to a greater risk of heart attacks and possible death. More than 6 million people worldwide have taken the GlaxoSmithKline drug since it came on the market eight years ago. Pooled results of dozens of studies revealed a 45 percent greater risk of heart attack.

You are not part of that world. Your body was not designed to consume synthetic petrochemical drugs. You are a spiritual being created in the image and likeness of God. Look to the plant kingdom God created for you to restore and maintain balance in your body. Look to God for answers to health.

My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body. Prov. 4:20-22 (NIV)

That’s good advice. And here’s another:

Speak to the earth and it will teach you.

- Job 12:8

When was the last time you sat down outside in the quiet of early morning and just took in the natural world around you? I suggest you find a quiet green spot of earth and do just that and do it often. What does your nose tell you? What do your ears hear? What do your eye’s see? And most important: What is your heart telling you about it all?

The more you take in the natural plant kingdom, the more your heart will understand what the world cannot: God provides!

Over the course of man’s history, much has been learned about essential oils and their uses. Many books have been written. Two excellent books are the Essential Oil Desk Reference compiled by Essential Science Publishing, and Healing Oils of the Bible, by Dr. David Stewart, each available from Essential Science Publishing,

God knows what’s best for our body because He is our creator. Thousands of years of trial and error, and experience confirm the truth God spoke to the Patriarchs in the beginning. If you want health, vitality and longevity, look to the plant kingdom.

About the Author:

Jim Lynn is director of God’s Healing Word ministry, and author of “The Miracle of Healing in Your Church Today.”