“An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
Did you know that medical research supports this idea?
Specifically, one recent study found that eating fruits and vegetables with white flesh, such as apples, pears, bananas, and cauliflower, may protect against strokes.
The white flesh contains beneficial chemicals which the study showed lowered the risk of stroke by 52 percent.
Even though it is important for us to be healthy physically, it is more important for us to be healthy spiritually.
While physical health is maintained through good nutritional food, spiritual health is maintained through good nutritional food from God’s Word.
Knowing and applying God’s Word by the power of the Holy Spirit is essential to spiritual health.
Hebrews 13:9 says this:
“Do not let all kinds of strange teachings take you off course; your hearts should be strengthened by God’s grace, not by obeying rules about foods.”
In context, this is referring to the Jewish dietary laws.
The principle is this:
rules or laws do not help us to be spiritually healthy, only grace can do that. Grace means Christ does it all and we trust Him to live through us.
We read this in 2 Peter 3:18:
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
We see here that the more we know Christ intimately through His Word and live by His power, by grace we grow in a healthy way.
We read this in Romans 6:14:
“ Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.”
Our death, burial, and resurrection with Christ freed us form the power of sin as our master (see Romans 6:1-14).
Living by grace brings freedom from the power of sin to control us in our daily lives as we count ourselves dead indeed to sin and alive to God through Christ’s resurrected life in us (Romans 6:11).
The Manchineel tree looks innocent enough, but it can harm in multiple ways.
Its fruit is toxic.
Its sap, which is also found on the bark and leaves, causes burn-like blisters.
Touching a leaf to your eyes can cause temporary blindness.
Even having just a drop from it fall on you can cause severe pain.
This is why this tree is called in Spanish arbol de la muerte, or “tree of death.”
Are we eating the toxic fruit offered by the world, which brings death to our spiritual growth in Christ?
Or are we spiritually healthy because we are feeding on Christ through His Word and living by grace by His power?
Blessings!
Pastor Ken Keeler, Director of Church Ministries