Health is a wonderful thing and something we can really thank God for! But what is health?
Is there a difference between having a tooth ache and having healthy teeth that do not ache? Is there a difference between having a cold with a runny nose and being healthy with a normal nose that does not run? Is there a difference between having a cut (an open wound) that hurts and having skin that is whole and healthy? Is there a difference between having a fever (of 102) and having a normal temperature? Is there a difference between feeling like you are going to throw up and feeling like you are not going to throw up?
What is good health? Is a healthy person a person who is not sick or is there more to it than this? Can a person who is not sick be unhealthy?
Let’s think about some of the things that describe a healthy person:
Let’s think about things that are hard. Which is harder? To go up steps (stairs) or to come down steps? Would you rather walk up the Statue of Liberty or walk down? Which is easier--falling out of a window or climbing to where the window is? Forward is harder than Backwards and Backwards is much more trouble than Forwards. Why is this so?
More often than not, healthy children will grow up to be healthy adults. If we can learn the rules of health when we are young, then we usually will keep following these rules when we are older.
Think about the physical part of you: body, brain, blood, and bones. What does the body need in order to stay healthy? Here are three things that are needed for physical health:
What are some things that harm the body (the first one is done for you)?
Smoking______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
When we think about the body, every believer should remember 1 Corinthians
6:19-20. According to these verses, what is the believer’s body?
__________________________________________________ Who lives in this body?
______________________________ Who does this body
belong to? _________________________ Why does it belong to Him?
_____________________________________________________________ How can we glorify
God in our bodies?
What are some things that harm the mind and that make the mind unhealthy (the first one is done for you)?
Swearing___________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
No one wants to be ill. How can we prevent illness? How can we keep ourselves from getting sick more than is necessary? Everyone gets sick from time to time, but is there anything we can do to help ourselves stay as healthy as possible and as free from sickness as possible?
Cleanliness (keeping clean) is very important. The doctors and nurses and other people who work in a hospital try to keep everything as clean as possible. Doctors are very careful about washing their hands before they see a patient. Would you want a doctor with dirty hands to operate on you?
It is important that the food we eat (and the food that goes into our stomach) is clean.
The food may be good and clean, but insects or animals could contaminate the food. A fly could lay eggs on the mashed potatoes or be a carrier of disease to some other food. The food is not clean anymore!
The food may be good and clean, but the cookware might be dirty. The germs that were not properly cleaned or boiled off the pan will get on the food. The food is not clean anymore!
The food may be clean, the cookware may be clean, but if the plate and silverware is dirty the food would still be contaminated again. Maybe the fork fell on the floor and was not cleaned before use. The food is not clean anymore!
The food may be clean, the cookware may be clean, the plate and silverware may be clean, but if dirty hands touch the food then the food is not clean anymore! Can hands look clean but still be dirty? Do you wash your bands carefully before every meal?
What about dirty clothes? Can dirty clothes (dirty slacks, handkerchief, underclothes, etc.) contaminate clean hands and make them dirty? Can dirty hands make clean hands dirty (such as when people shake hands)?
Do insects carry disease and germs? How do they do this? Do animals such as rats carry disease and germs? How do they do this? (Think especially of animals that bite, such as a mosquito or a rat)
What kinds of food did God say man could eat after the flood (Genesis 9:2-3)?
__________________________________________________________
_________________ According to 1 Timothy 4:3-5, what has God given to man to
eat? ________________________________________________ How should this food be
received, with complaining or with thanksgiving? _______________________ Why do
we pray before eating? It is impossible to eat food that is perfectly
clean--there are germs all around us and all around our food. But God is able to
take care of any germs or impurities that might still be in the food. This is
why we pray and ask God to set the food apart. Paul was careful to give thanks
to God before eating (Acts 27:35)!
God made our body and He made us so that we need food ("our daily bread"). But if we only have food, we are missing something very important. Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread ________________ , but by ___________________________________________________________________ (Matthew 4:4). What was Jesus’ meat (food) (John 4:34)? ______________________________________ There is more to life than just eating and or drinking. To have real life we need to feed on God’s Word (John 6:63).
The Pharisees thought that they were clean and righteous because they washed their hands in a special way and because they did this often (Mark 7:1-5). But the Lord Jesus knew that they were not clean at all! He knew that their hearts were unclean and filthy (Mark 7:20-23). They were all concerned about outer pollution but their real problem was the inner pollution of the heart. Often we try to blame everything else for our problems (we blame our school or our parents or our friends, etc.), when the real problem is our own sinful heart.
God wants people to be clean and healthy on the inside because He is clean: "Be ye holy; for am ______________" (1 Peter 1:16). "God is _______________ and in Him is no _________________________ at all" (1 John 1:5). God is pure and clean and holy! There is no pollution with God! Throughout the Bible we see that God has been teaching His people that there is a difference between what is clean and what is not clean! For example, in Leviticus chapter 11 God gave the children of Israel a whole list of animals that were clean (and could be eaten) and animals that were unclean (and could not be eaten). Today we know that God allows us to eat any animal (1 Timothy 4:4). Why did God have this list of clean and unclean animals for the children of Israel?
The answer is found at the end of Leviticus chapter 11. In Leviticus 11:44 God says, "ye shall be H__________; for I am _________." Does He say the same thing In verse 45?________ Why did God do all this? Verse 47 gives the answer: "to make a difference between the ___________________ and the _______________." God is clean and holy and God wants His people to be clean and holy! God does not want His people to be all filthy with sin like the peoples of the other nations. The children of Israel needed to know that there was a difference between clean and unclean and that God wanted them to be clean (and not polluted with sin).
When a person believes on Christ and receives Him as Saviour, he is made clean (cleansed from all his sins). The Bible talks about this wonderful cleansing in John 13:10 ("Ye are clean!"). As the saved person walks in this world he can still become polluted with sin, and therefore he daily needs to come to God for cleansing. This cleansing is described in 1 John 1:9. What must the believer do to be clean according to this verse? _______________ What does God promise to do? ______________________________________________________________________
What is a contagious disease? Contagious means something that another person can catch. A contagious disease is something that can go from one person to another person. Sometimes we call this an infectious disease. This means that the disease is easily spread. Can you think of some contagious diseases that you are aware of?
The Bible talks about contagious diseases, especially the terrible disease called leprosy. We learn what to do about this disease in Leviticus chapters 13-14. The person with this disease is pronounced unclean (Leviticus 13:3,44). This person is then isolated and kept away from other people so that the disease will not spread or be caught by others (Leviticus 13:5,46). Clothes must be washed (Leviticus 13:6) and if the disease is still in the garments they must be burned (Leviticus 13:52). When the man is healed he must be washed and his clothes must be washed (Leviticus 14:8). When the disease has contaminated a house, the house must be broken down and carried away (Leviticus 14:45). All of these rules were given by God to protect people from this terrible disease.
Today doctors have different rules so that diseases and germs do not spread. Everything in the hospital must be kept clean, clothes must be washed, beds must be changed and clean sheets put on, towels must be cleaned, etc. Everything must be disinfected. Even in our homes we have bottles and spray cans that disinfect and kill germs. Can you think of some things in your home that your family uses to kill germs (disinfect)? When did they use these things? For what did they use them?
The living God is the great Physician (Doctor)! He also has certain rules which are given to protect man from the greatest disease of all — the disease of sin! God does not want sin to keep spreading! God has given us instructions on how to get rid of sin, how to stay away from sin, how to prevent sin and what to do about sin when we get infected with it. What are some of these instructions? The Great Physician (Doctor) has the perfect remedy for our health and for our healing.
Exercise is important for health. What would happen to your arm muscles if you never used them? What would happen to your ability to multiply if you never exercised with multiplication (by doing it)? If we never multiplied, then we would soon forget how to do it! Bodily exercise is profitable, and spiritual exercise is much more profitable (1 Timothy 4:8). Physical exercise is when we use our muscles. Spiritual exercise is when we use God’s Word, and work with God's Word so that we follow what is good and avoid what is evil (see Hebrews 5:14).
Exercise is a healthy thing for young people. We all need to move around and run around and engage ourselves in different sports and games.
Certain supplies and equipment are needed to play certain sports and games. Can you name some?
How do these kinds of activities help your body? What is the difference between you playing catch with a ball and a New York Yankee or a Boston Red Sox player having a part in a major league ballgame? Why do you play ball? Why does he play ball? Who just does it for fun and enjoyment? Should you play just for fun and enjoyment? Do you play just for fun and enjoyment?
Do you need to be a star performer? Do you need to be the best? Why? Why not?
What happens to all our games and sports? Think about some of the great superstars in the world of sports today. When they grow older are they going to be able to play as well? Will there come a day when they will not be able to play at all? Then what? Is life more than sports? What is God’s purpose? What happens to this body? Why?
The Bible speaks of a special kind of strength that is better than the strength any young athlete has. Read Isaiah 40:26-31. Who is the One who is really strong (verse 26)? __________________ Does He ever get weary or tired (verse 28)?___________ What is He able to do for us (verse 29)? ____________________________________________________________________________ What will happen to even the greatest of athletes (verse 30)? ______________________________________________________ What is God able, to do for us (verse 31)?
May God help us to be the healthy and strong young people that he wants us to be--each and every day of our lives!
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