If you do this, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord Who heals you.”  Exodus 15:26

And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you. Deuteronomy 7:15

Some may view the following experience as only an anecdote and somehow irrelevant. but all of us mortals have had similar experiences, which changed our lives forever. Some in a good way. Some in a bad way.

In the year 1971, I was 20 years old and a newly-wed. That year, an unexpected tragic event changed my life forever. Julie, my new wife, and I were just starting out on our life journey. We were in the prime of our youth and eager to experience life. But a shift in our thinking would occur from the events of the day starting with the ringing of our phone.

Since that hot summer day, I began to get interested in superior, not just good, health and longevity (except for ten years when I had a death wish-another story for another time.). Our new health motivation started with a phone call from my wife’s mother, Dorothy. On the other end of the line was a frantic and out-of-control screaming. Dorothy poured out almost unintelligible words that we interpreted as, “Come to your Grandad’s house!!! I think he’s dead!”

After scrambling through the yellow pages, we found and called an ambulance. Julie and I jumped in the car and raced several miles from Madison to Goodlettsville. 911 was in its infancy and not well-known back then. Cell phones were almost non-existent.

When we arrived, the crowd of three or four were outside including Dorothy. They seemed to be afraid of some monster that had gotten loose in the house. They refused to go in. The ambulance had not arrived. After a few questions to the sobbing family members, I went inside to the small kitchen in this simple little country home.

There he was! Lying peacefully on his back next to the kitchen sink, like he simply laid down to take a nap. I took his wrist to feel for a pulse from the wrist of this mid-sixty-year-old man in his overalls. From the first touch of his skin, I knew he was dead. He was cold and slightly stiff. Of course, there was no heartbeat. This big gentle farmer had passed into eternity.

At the time I was an atheist and had few words of comfort for the family…or myself. I liked this quiet man. He never showed a dislike for anyone and came across to most people as shy and humble. He was not educated by today’s standards, but he had reserved wisdom not often seen in our crazy society.

Well, the ambulance came and they rolled his body out the door to the sound of loud wailing from his adult daughters. They were also simple and poor people. I had a difficult time relating to them and never came into a close relationship with them. My lose.

When we got home and the adrenaline faded, I began to think about life and death. It bothered me that one day I, too, would pass into eternity. I wondered about the day of my death… ”would my family come home and find me lying on the floor dead from a heart attack?”

From that day forward I began to explore how to stay healthy. After much reading (no quick answers from google back then), I turned to a life of exercise, athletics, and changed my diet to a vegetarian after reading a book called “Food for Fitness.” Don’t bother trying to google it. I think it has long since gone out of print. In one chapter, it described the healthiest people in the world…those who lived the longest. For the first time in my life, I heard about the Seventh-Day Adventist that followed the simple health principals given by God to the nation of Israel. With that kind of name, I imaged them to be some hippie cult living in the deserts of California. Years later, I would find them to be warm Bible Christians with a desire to let the world know what they knew. They were far from what I thought.

So my new life as an athlete and vegetarian began. I would overdo the exercise! Over the next many years, I would train to run long distances and run eight marathons at or below a 3-hour pace. This qualified me to run the Boston Marathon, which I ran twice. I also became an avid bicycler and eventually the president of a local bike club. To this day (age 68), I enjoy biking. My time was spent either racing our touring on my expensive bikes. Research is now beginning to reveal that endurance athletes are not that healthy in their later years. A simple routine of exercise is much better.

But, little did I know, that about five years after the death of my wife’s Grandad, this self-centered atheist would reach out to God as I road on a bike trip across an Arizona desert. A simple prayer for Him to reveal Himself to me would lead to an extensive study of the Bible. In its pages, I would find the health laws God gave to help his creation stay healthy and the Bread of Life that would give them eternal life.

Today, I am amazed at the fact that the wealthiest country in the world is not the healthiest. I am also amazed that Christians have all this great health knowledge at their fingertips, but minimize God’s words. There are multitudes of health plans and diets to keep its writers wealthy for a long time. But all (including Christians) have dismissed the health laws that God promised Israel would make them disease-free… if they would simply listen and obey. He said, I will… “take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known.” Deuteronomy 7:15

Some say, “That was for the Jews only.” But I wonder, “how are their stomachs different than ours?” This is no anecdote! Today there are millions who live by the health principals contained in God’s owner manual. The result is longer, healthier, happier lives especially if they consume the Bread of life.

Salvation is not based on the food we eat, but God desires that we prosper in health just as our souls. Life is so much more productive and enjoyable if we are healthy. It even helps our spiritual lives. Our bodies are temples that can glorify Him not only in physical health, but mental, and spiritual health.

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” 3 John 1:2

“…do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” 1 Corinthians 6:19

“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

One day, all of us will pass away. But, I don’t want my family to find me dead on the floor. My desire is to be like Moses in this life,

“Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished.” Deuteronomy 34:7

My first wife, Julie, and I started to grow older with each passing of the day, just as all people do. She died of cancer this year. She now sleeps waiting for the day of the Lord. My ten years of a death-wish turned me from my healthy lifestyle. I ate and drank whatever I desired and eventually had a heart attack. My heart has never been the same.

But, several years ago, I returned to a healthy lifestyle. At age 68, I am more active than my peers and disease-free…hopefully forever. God’s grace and forgiveness are beyond words. We live in a dangerous and unhealthy world. This body is wearing down, but there are things we can do to make the journey from mortal to immortal better. Without a doubt, the death of a beloved Grandfather 1971 sent me on a journey that led me not only to a knowledge of the best health plan possible from God’s owner manual but to the Bread and Water (Jesus) that will give me eternal life. It is not an anecdote, it is the testimony of millions of people.

Next time, we will talk about the health plan from God. It will change your life and your experience with God…for the good.