LAST GREAT FEAST.... Message
THOUGHTS
HOW THOUGHTS AFFECT YOUR BRAIN AND BODY
Did you know that your thoughts are so powerful that they cause physical reactions in your brain and body? It is true. Bad, mad, sad, hopeless, or helpless thoughts release chemicals that make you feel bad. Your hands get cold, you start to sweat more, your heart rate quickens and flattens (low heart rate variability is associated with negative thinking and heart disease ... which isn't good for your health), you breathe faster and more shallowly, and your muscles tense up. These awful, miserable, negative thoughts make your brain and body work less efficiently. On the other hand, happy, positive, hopeful, loving thoughts release chemicals that make you feel good. Your hands feel warmer, you sweat less, your heart rate slows and becomes more variable (which is a good thing), your breathing slows and deepens, and your muscles relax. These effects take place immediately and make your brain and body function better.
How do we know the body reacts to our thoughts? Biofeedback instruments, such as those used for lie detector tests, tell us so. How do we know that the brain reacts to our thoughts? We know this thanks to brain imaging studies. Previously, I told you about a study we did comparing the effects of negative thoughts and gratitude on brain function. The results were astounding. The scans showed that gratitude and positive thinking enhanced brain function. That makes it easier for you to make the best decisions regarding your diet and overall health. Negative thinking, however, caused serious decreases in activity in the cerebellum and temporal lobes, especially the left temporal lobe. When activity in the cerebellum is low, it is harder for you to think and process information quickly-— definitely not something you want to happen when you have to decide whether or not to accept that third glass of wine your host just offered you or if you want the supersize version of your meal that the fast-food cashier just suggested.
Decreased activity in the temporal lobes is associated with mood, memory, and temper-control problems. Feelings of depression difficulty remembering important information, and violent acts may occur. These pose serious consequences for your body. Depression has been linked to being overweight or obese. If you don't have a good memory, you will not remember all the things you need to do to maintain good health. And violence can lead to bodily injury. Ouch!
Several other studies confirm these findings. Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health conducted an intriguing study about the affects thoughts have on brain function. They looked at brain activity in ten healthy women under three different conditions: when they were thinking happy thoughts, neutral thoughts, and sad thoughts. During the happy thoughts, the women demonstrated a cooling of their emotional brain, and they felt better. During the sad thoughts, there was a significant increase in the emotional brain's activity, which is consistent with depression. Another neu-roimaging study from Canadian researchers found that sadness and negative emotions significantly influence in a negative way brain function and brain plasticity........
ACTION STEP
Your thoughts matter. If you want to feel good, think good thoughts.
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THE APOSTLE PAUL WAS INSPIRED TO SAY: "FINALLY BRETHREN, WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE TRUE, WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE HONEST, WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE JUST, WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE LOVELY, WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE OF A GOOD REPORT; IF THERE BE ANY VIRTUE, AND IF THERE BE ANY PRAISE, THINK ON THESE THINGS" (PHILIPPIANS 4:8).
THIS LAST GREAT FEAST DAY (8TH DAY IN LEV.23) IS A VERY POSITIVE DAY.
IT PICTURES THE TIME AFTER THE 1,000 YEAR AGE TO YET COME.
IT IS A DAY OF TRUTH, OF HONESTY, OF JUSTICE, OF LOVE, OF GOODNESS, OF VIRTUE, AND OF PRAISE.
JESUS GOT FRUSTRATED AT TIMES WITH THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS AND PEOPLE OF HIS DAY; THEY WERE FOREVER WANTING SOME SPECIAL SIGN [HE ACTUALLY GAVE THEM MANY] TO PROVE HE WAS FROM GOD IN HEAVEN. HE SAID HE WOULD GIVE THEM THE SIGN OF JONAH - THE 3 DAYS AND 3 NIGHTS SIGN - MATTHEW 12:40.
BUT NOTICE THE NEXT TWO VERSES: "The men of Ninevah shall rise in THE [is in the Greek] judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here [meaning Himself]. The queen of the south shall rise up in THE judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here [meaning Himself]."
MOST PEOPLE WILL READ RIGHT OVER THESE VERSES AND HAVE LITTLE CLUE AS TO WHAT JESUS WAS REALLY TEACHING. OR THEY'RE THOUGHTS GO TO A BURNING HELL-FIRE WHERE SOME WILL BE TORMENTED FOREVER WITH MORE PAINFUL SUFFERING THAN OTHERS.
PEOPLE'S THOUGHTS DO NOT STOP TO BREAK DOWN THE WORDS OF CHRIST, IN RELATION TO WHAT PAUL WROTE IN ROMANS 9 THROUGH 11.
THERE WILL BE A RISING UP OF THE PEOPLE OF NINEVAH AND THE QUEEN OF THE SOUTH - A RESURRECTION - WHICH WILL INCLUDE THE GENERATION THAT JESUS SPOKE TO. THEY ALL WILL RISE TOGETHER. AND CHRIST CALLED IT "JUDGMENT" AND FURTHER WENT ON TO SAY THAT IN SOME WAY THE OLD PEOPLE MENTIONED WILL "CONDEMN" THE GENERATION JESUS WAS PREACHING TO.
THIS IS NOT THE RESURRECTION OF SAINTS AT THE COMING OF CHRIST AGAIN TO EARTH, TO BRING IN THE 1,000 YEAR AGE. ONLY THOSE CALLED AND CHOSEN, THE SAINTS WHO REMAINED FAITHFUL TO THE END, ARE IN WHAT THE BOOK OF REVELATION CALLS THE "FIRST" RESURRECTION - REV.20:4,5. BUT THE REST OF THE DEAD LIVED NOT AGAIN UNTIL THE THOUSAND YEARS WERE FINISHED. LOGIC SHOULD TELL YOU THIS MEANS THEY WILL LIVE AGAIN.
WE FIND THE REST OF THE DEAD - THOSE OF NINEVAH, AND THE QUEEN OF THE SOUTH, AND JESUS' GENERATION [BACK TO MATTHEW 12:41-42] LIVING AGAIN IN "THE WHITE THRONE" PERIOD - A JUDGMENT PERIOD - REVELATION 20:11-12.
WE ALSO SEE A BOOK OF LIFE WAS OPENED TO THEM.
THIS ALL TIES IN WITH PAUL'S WRITING IN ROMANS 9 THROUGH 11.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLES ARE SPIRITUALLY BLINDED, ONLY THOSE GIVEN GRACE CAN SEE. AND ALL THAT TIES IN TO JESUS' TEACHING IN JOHN 6 THAT NO PERSON CAN COME TO HIM [HAVING JESUS AS PERSONAL SAVIOR] UNLESS GOD DRAWS THEM [VERSES 44, 65].
SOME WILL RISE IN THAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT PERIOD, AND HAVE A BETTER ATTITUDE OF MIND [LIKE THOSE IN ANCIENT NINEVAH, AND THE QUEEN OF THE SOUTH] THAN THOSE IN JESUS' DAY WHO WERE FOREVER LOOKING FOR A SPECIAL SIGN FROM JESUS TO PROVE HE TRULY WAS THE MESSIAH. THEY WERE DOUBTERS, THEY COULD NOT SEE THE NOSE ON THEIR FACE, THEY COULD NOT SEE WHAT WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM. THEY WERE SO SKEPTICAL AND UNBELIEVING, IT WAS TRULY SHOCKING, AND JESUS WAS KINDA DUMBFOUNDED, KINDA SHOOK HIS HEAD AT THEM. THOSE IN NINEVAH HAD A MUCH BETTER ATTITUDE OF MIND; THEY RECOGNIZED THAT GOD HAD SENT THEM SOMEONE SPEAKING GOD'S WORD. THE QUEEN OF THE SOUTH COULD RECOGNIZE SOLOMON WAS GIVEN GREAT WISDOM, NOT FROM MAN, BUT FROM GOD, AND SHE WAS WILLING TO TRAVEL A LONG LONG WAY TO HEAR IT.
MILLIONS HAVE NEVER BEEN CALLED TO SALVATION OVER THE AGE OF MANKIND, THEY DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THE SALVATION OF GOD THROUGH CHRIST, BUT SOME OF THEM COULD RECOGNIZE WHEN SOMEONE WAS FROM GOD.
WHEN THEY RISE IN A RESURRECTION WITH THE MANY OF THE PEOPLE OF JESUS' DAY, THEY WILL RECOGNIZE SALVATION THROUGH CHRIST, AND WILL EASILY EMBRACE IT; WHILE SOME THAT LIVED WHEN JESUS WALKED THIS EARTH, HEARD HIM PREACH, SAW THE MIRACLES HE DID, WILL STILL HAVE TO HAVE THEIR ARMS TWISTED, SO TO SPEAK, TO GET THEM TO RECOGNIZE SALVATION. THE PEOPLE OF NINEVAH IN JONAH'S TIME, AND THE QUEEN OF THE SOUTH IN SOLOMON'S TIME, WILL PUT TO SHAME [SHAMEFULLY CONDEMN] IN ATTITUDE OF MIND, THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED WHEN CHRIST TAUGHT AND WORKED THE MIRACLES OF GOD.
THIS LAST GREAT FEAST, HAS WONDERFUL TEACHING AND GREAT THOUGHTS ABOUT THE WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT AGE.
THE FINAL PLAN OF SALVATION IS ALL FULLY EXPLAINED TO YOU IN MY STUDY ARTICLE CALLED "THE WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT" MAKE SURE YOU READ IT, MARK THE SCRIPTURES, MEDITATE ON IT. THEN PRAISE GOD FOR HIS LOVE AND MERCY.
In God's Tomorrow There Is Eternal Spring
All nature heeds the call of spring
as God awakens everything,
And all that seemed so dead and still
experiences a sudden thrill
As springtime lays a magic hand
across God's vast and fertile land.
Oh, the joy in standing by
to watch a sapphire springtime sky
Or see a fragile flower break through
what just a day ago or two
Seemed barren ground still hard with frost,
for in God's world, no life is lost,
And flowers sleep beneath the ground,
but when they hear spring's waking sound,
They push themselves through layers of clay
to reach the sunlight of God's day.
And man and woman, like flowers, too,
must sleep until called from the darkened deep
To live in that place where angels sing
and where there is eternal spring.
Helen Steiner Rice
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