Archive forJune, 2008

Christ’s Purpose of Founding His Church

Only few of the believers of Christ knew that the Church is also important to man for him to attain the salvation promised by Christ. They thought that what is important for their salvation is Christ alone because Christ is the only savior sent by God to save men on the day of judgment.

And for us to know the importance of the church founded by Christ, let us ask the Holy Bible the series of questions.

Did Christ state His purpose of founding His church? In the book of Matthew 16:18, on the declaration of Christ, it was clearly stated the importance of His Church:

18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. (Matt 16:18, NKJV)

According to Christ, the gates of Hades shall not prevail against Christ’s Church. Does it mean that members of Christ’s Church will not experience death? Apostle Paul answered that those who died in Christ will rise first.

16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (I Thessalonians 4:16, NKJV)

The dead in Christ referred to by Apostle Paul on that verse are members of the Church founded by Christ. They are said to be in Christ because they are members of the body of Christ, or the Church of Christ (Romans 12:4-5, Colossians 1:18, Romans 16:16)

Take note, that those who died in Christ will rise first. After this, what will happen to them? According to Apostle John they are blessed and holy and that the second death has no power over them.

6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (Revelations 20:6, NKJV)

What is Second Death, anyway? Apostle John said that the Second death is the lake of fire.

14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. (Revelations 20:14, NIV)

In other words, members of the true Church of Christ although experience death (the first death) will never experience the second death which is the lake of fire.

Why is it that members of the Church of Christ will never experience death? It is because Christ will save His Church.

23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. (Ephesians 5:23, NIV)

If Christ is the savior of His Church, does it mean that Christ will save His Church alone? Yes. Christ will save His Church alone, because according to Apostle Paul, outside the Church is God’s judgment.

13God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” (I Corinthians 5:13, ibid)

And what will be the judgment of God outside the Church of Christ? Christ said that the branch that will be cast out will be thrown into the fire.

6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. (John 15:6, ibid)

The branches referred to by Christ are the members of His Body the Church. As these branches will be cast out, they will be thrown into the fire.

If Christ will save His Church alone, is there any invitation of Christ to men for them to be saved on the day of judgment? Yes. Christ invited men to enter by Him.

9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. (John 10:9, ibid)

Those who enter Christ became parts of Christ’s body.

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. (I Corinthians 12:27, ibid)

The body of Christ is His own Church (Colossians 1:18, Romans 16:16).

Therefore: The main purpose why Christ founded His Church, is to save those who are inside His Church from the wrath of God on Judgment Day.

So, if you want to be saved on the day of Judgment, you must enter Christ, by becoming members of the true Church of Christ.

Sustines E. Laplana (SELaplana: selaplanaselaplana) is the first Pinoy Blogger and EMarketer in Southern Leyte, Philippines who blogs on Technology, Society and Reviews Promotions of products and owns the Cellphones For Sale blog ( cellphones-for-sale.blogspotcellphones-for-sale.blogspot ). Writing articles is his passion. And writing religious articles is his love, so that everyone will learn the truth taught by the Bible.

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The Importance Of Fitness During Menopause

Learn About the Crucial Links Between Fitness and Menopause

Did you know that a regular fitness or exercise routine plays a major role in reducing the symptoms of menopause? One particular symptom of menopause is weight gain, which, unfortunately seems to develop just as a woman finally reaches a point in her life when she’s mature and self-confident, and then the fat starts piling on. This weight gain is quite common and the result of declining hormone levels which causes the metabolism to slow down significantly, even in pre-menopausal women.

The majority of women will especially notice an increased amount of fat deposition around their mid-section, which plays a significant role in contributing to heart disease, the number one killer of middle-aged and older women. Not to worry; this weight can be managed quite easily by simply getting into a regular fitness and exercise routine. Fitness and consistent activity really are the keys to decreasing weight and avoiding the pitfalls of aging. By committing to a regular exercise routine, one which includes weight bearing exercises, women will change the muscle-to-fat ratio, enabling them to increase their metabolic rate and burn calories, even at rest.

In addition to weight gain, women in their thirties begin to lose bone mass at a rate of approximately 1% per year and that rate increases to 2%-3% per year after menopause. Studies have shown that exercise can actually increase a woman’s bone density, thus reducing the risk of osteoporosis and the incidence of falls and bone fractures associated with osteoporosis. Unfortunately, osteoporosis often goes undetected until bone fractures occur, but by taking preventative measures, such as getting into a regular fitness routine, women can indeed reduce this risk.

Exercise and fitness can also be beneficial in reducing the incidence of hot flashes, a common symptom of menopause. Hot flashes can contribute to impaired sleep patterns and a decreased energy level. Additionally, hot flashes can also affect one’s overall mood, which has the potential to negatively affect both personal and professional relationships. While estrogen replacement therapy has been shown to decrease these symptoms, for many women a regular exercise routine appears to be a very viable alternative.

Simply stated, making fitness and exercise a priority will benefit most women who are approaching or experiencing menopause, and the positive results, both physically and emotionally, are well worth the extra time required to begin and continue a regular exercise routine. It’s easy to make excuses to not make time to ensure that fitness is a priority, but it’s crucial to understand that being regularly active will lead to overall good health now and in the future. The only results you’ll see from your added physical activity will be those that are very beneficial to you and those you love.

Susan Megge founded 40isbeautiful40isbeautiful to assist women with issues related to menopause, such as weight gain, hot flashes, mood swings, etc. Susan Megge is the author of “Being Beautiful Beyond 40,” a book dedicated to give women the confidence and inspiration to experience menopause with minimal symptoms and learn to embrace these years.

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5 False Assumptions About Natural Living (From the Mainstream)

It seems like every time you turn your head, you hear confusing and misleading information from every corner of the natural health movement. First, you have mainstream “experts” who rely on outdated and inaccurate data to advise us on the subject. And then there’s the raw food or natural health movement itself, within which most people seem to disagree on what constitutes the healthiest diet.

In this article, I will review 5 wrong assumptions about natural living, spread by conventional “experts.” In the second part of this article, I will expose 5 false assumptions being spread by various raw-food advocates and naturopaths.

From the mainstream, we hear the following…

“You have to make sure you eat enough protein”

Without a doubt, the issue of “getting enough protein” is the number one concern of anyone switching to any kind of diet for any reason. Even though decades of vegetarian and vegan traditions and extensive research have proven that our actual protein requirements are fairly low and easy to meet - as long as we eat enough food - most people who will advise you about diet will likely make a much bigger deal about protein than it actually is.

Bodybuilders go beyond all extremes known to humankind by consuming upwards to 350 grams of protein per day, an amount that is completely off the charts and only possible through the consumption of refined protein powders.

At the same time, most people on the planet get by on less than 60 grams of protein a day, and many people in these cultures possess wiry and explosive strength that would put most gym goers to shame.

In the end, the evidence is still conclusive: as long as you eat enough calories to meet your needs, you will at the same time consume enough protein, even if all you eat are fruits and vegetables.

There is no reason to make protein more important than it actually is.

“You need to eat a balanced diet”

According to our nutritionists, a “balanced” meal is composed of carbohydrates, protein and fat in the right proportions.

A meal of bread (carbohydrate), with cheese (protein), and a salad containing a dressing of olive oil (fat) and a desert (carbohydrate) would be, in their opinion, a balanced meal.

That meal might be a digestive disaster for most people, but that aside, we don’t find any evidence that our bodies need to receive nutrition in such a manner.

If we look all around the world, we see different cultures that have enjoyed excellent health eating far from “balanced” meals. In China, rice with vegetables is a meal. In the Great North, the Eskimos have lived on almost nothing but meat. The Hunzas regularly ate meals composed of vegetables and some chapati bread.

If we look at wild animals, we also see that they do not eat “balanced” meals. A meal for an orangutan might consist of nothing more than rambutan (a tropical fruit) or durian (another tropical fruit).

There is absolutely no need to worry about eating a very simple diet where most of our meals are composed of a few foods only. As long as we eat a large variety of food from week to week, it doesn’t matter if our meals are not composed of “carbohydrates, protein and fat”.

“You can’t sustain yourself on just raw foods”

Most nutritionists look at the raw food diet and claim that it’s “impossible” to sustain ourselves from only fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Letting alone the fact that hundreds of thousands of people are doing just that and are still alive to tell about it, there is no scientific reason to believe that we can’t live on raw foods.

Nutritionists will claim that it would be “very difficult” to eat enough fruits and vegetables to consume enough calories.

The problem is that they are still stuck with the view of cooked nutrition and its “balanced view” and can’t think outside the box and realize that it is actually possible to consume enough fruits and vegetables and get the calories you need. It just is a lot of food!

The truth is, eating a raw food diet will mean that you’ll be consuming more fruits and vegetables in a day than some people may consume in a week or even in a month. But as you learn to eat this way, you’ll find that this “huge” amount of fruits and vegetables is actually the “right” amount.

“You should never expose your skin to the sun”

Although we know that too much sun isn’t good for us, the advice we get from dermatologists these days defy all reason. Apparently, we should never expose our skin to the sun unless we are fully protected by chemical lotions.

Did you forget the important fact that sunlight is essential to our well-being, and that regular sun exposure at safe periods of the day are actually beneficial to your health, even in 2006?

You need the sun. The question is just how much!

“If it’s natural it’s good for you”

The word “natural” has been abused more than any other term in the food industry. We now have “natural potato chips”, “natural coffee” and “natural beer.”

The fact that these foods come from a factory should make it obvious that they are definitely not natural, nor healthy.

The truth is, even if a food were natural, it wouldn’t automatically make it healthy. There are plenty of plants and mushrooms that grow in the wild that are not only “perfectly natural,” but also deadly!

Let’s be clear: for a food to be healthy, it has to be a lot more than “natural.”

“Frederic Patenaude, is the author of the book “The Raw Secrets”. Sign up for his weekly “Raw Vegan Tips,” and as a bonus, get your free “raw recipe of the week”. Visit rawveganrawvegan while this bonus is still offered.”

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