This week

• FINANCE: The dirty trick gas stations play to get more of your money for the same grade of gas. Here’s how to avoid it and save money...
• HEALTH: The one activity that has more effect on weight loss than both diet and exercise combined. You do it every night, but are you doing it enough?...
• MARRIAGE: Too many “irons in the fire?” You may be setting your family up as an easy target for Satan. How to tell, and what to do about it…
• PARENTING: How to insulate your children from bitterness in the face of tough times…
• SUCCESS: Most people insist on serving God and others in this way ... which explains why most of them fail…
• Deadlines at work getting you down? This man had them too – and left a legacy that has lasted for centuries. Here’s how he did it…
• This key to real confidence is also the best way to get a good night’s sleep. Here’s how to know if you possess it…

“The Bible teaches that Christians are totally different from anyone else.” -  
Peter Jeffery, Evangelicals Then and Now (Buy Now)

Health

When Weight Gain Isn’t Caused by a Poor Diet or Lack of Exercise

We often see in Scripture the call to “rest” in the Lord. As a result, we know rest affects our spiritual health. And we also know from experience how a lack of physical rest can cause a weak immune system and many health problems. But did you know that not getting enough sleep can also slow down your metabolism and cause you to gain weight?

It’s true. Researchers at Case Western University followed nearly 70,000 women for 15 years. This is the longest study I’ve ever seen on sleep and its effects on weight. A study of this size and length gives it enormous credibility in the medical community.

The researchers put the women into two separate groups. The first one consisted of women who typically sleep five hours or less per night. The second group had women who usually sleep at least seven hours per night. The researchers then compared how much weight each group gained over the duration of the study.

What the researchers found was amazing. The women in the first group gained nearly 30% more weight than the second group. And, interestingly, those who were light sleepers were at an even greater risk of obesity.

But this finding was startling:

The researchers discovered that sleep actually plays a bigger role in weight management than diet and exercise. And, not only that, those who slept less than five hours per night ate less than those who got plenty of sleep.

At first, this was hard for me to believe … until I realized the hormone connection. You see, your body uses hormones to regulate your appetite (which is one reason why many pregnant women have such wild appetite swings). When you don’t get enough sleep, it influences these hormones. This slows down your metabolism and leads to weight gain, even though you might be eating less.

This is solid evidence that a good night’s rest is important to maintain a healthy weight. If you have trouble sleeping at night, don’t turn to sleeping pills. They can be addictive and it’s not the best way to encourage sleep.

The first thing you must do is make sure your relationships with God and others are right. If you’re in sin or if you’ve got unresolved conflict, it’s vital you make things right. Until you do, rest is impossible.

Once you’ve done that, there are some simple things you can do to get better rest. It’s best to go to bed at a reasonable hour, usually before 11:00 p.m., and wake up early. Don’t take naps if possible. If you need to nap, make sure you do so before 1:00 p.m. so it doesn’t keep you up late.

If, after a few weeks, you still need help falling asleep, try some herbal teas. I like chamomile the best, but valerian root is also effective. Valerian taken in capsule form (300-600 mg) acts like a sedative, so don’t take it with any other drugs. It can have serious adverse effects. Melatonin (1-3 mg a half hour before bed) is also effective.

I can’t guarantee this will help everyone lose weight, as it might not be the cause of the weight gain. It also will take time to see results (remember, this study was 15 years long). But this is a great place to start.

– Rhett Bergeron, MD

(Source: American Thoracic Society International Conference, San Diego, May 19-24, 2006.)

Parenting and Education

Why You Must Teach Your Children About Reality

Young children really enjoy hearing stories that end with “and they lived happily ever after.” It’s a good thing to desire “good” endings. But we live in a fallen world where good endings don’t always happen. That’s why we must teach our children to receive good as well as what we consider bad, from the hand of God.

As children mature, they experience life’s disappointments. They might get a bad grade on a test, even though they did their best. Or they may not get chosen for a team, even though they worked hard to get picked.

This concept was brought home to our family a few years ago through a tragic event in our church. There was a young married couple with three small children. They loved and served the Lord and were a blessing to the congregation. On one rainy night, after picking up their second car from the service station, they headed off for groceries. They were driving on a two-lane road and the wife was following her husband’s car as he turned into the parking lot. The rain was torrential and she didn’t see the semi truck advancing from incoming traffic.

No one really knows exactly what happened in those few moments. However, the truck hit her car and threw her down the embankment on the other side of the road. Time stood still, as the young father raced down the hill to check on his wife. It was obvious from her injuries that she was dead.

How could God have allowed such an accident? She left behind a nursing baby, along with a three and five year old. Our hearts broke as we all felt the weight of their loss.

But life is not “fair,” as we define the word.

Another example, this one from the Bible, is the life of Daniel. He was carried away into captivity in Babylon as a young boy. He did not have the security of his parent’s presence, or even the comfort of hearing his native Hebrew language. His only consolation was his three friends who were taken with him.

God started working in Daniel’s life in a way that would have been impossible had he become bitter about his circumstances. And much of God’s work was demonstrated over and over in the way Daniel responded to tribulation. But Daniel’s responses were not an accident. He was trained through God’s Word and time in prayer to know how to handle difficult times.

Daniel served under three different kings and was faithful to God. Yet he never returned to his homeland. The story did not end with a quick rescue at a young age. Life is not fair!! But God is working His will. And if we could see it His way, we would say it is good. The history of Daniel has encouraged millions through the centuries. Let it encourage you to prepare your children for adversity, teach them how to handle it when it comes, and to know that from God’s perspective, it is good.

Psalm 37:23 – The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.

– Gladys Villnow

Success

Is “Value” a Biblical Concept?

A couple weeks ago, we published a portion of an e-book called Acres of Diamonds. And in that excerpt, we discussed the importance of bringing value to others. Some may wonder where that concept is in Scripture.

Obviously, the concept of service is everywhere in God’s Word. It is the primary calling of the Christian – to serve God and man. And it’s the primary need in business – and often the reason for success or failure.

In the concept of service, value is almost a given. Value determines to whom the service is important. Unfortunately, many people miss this point. How many companies have you seen launch a product, only to see it discontinued in just a few short months? It happens all the time. Why? Because the product didn’t bring enough value to the customer. In other words, the product didn’t serve the customer in a way he wanted to be served.

Many people insist on serving others in a way that seems right to themselves. They aren’t concerned with how the other person wants to be served. Only how they want to serve.

This will work every now and then, as even a blind sow finds an acorn every now and then. But in general, it’s a recipe for failure.Value helps determine whether your act of service is selfish or not. If the other person considers it valuable, it’s less likely to be a selfish act (though the act could still be done selfishly, see “blind sow” above).

In Scripture, we see a perfect example of this in the book of Philemon. In this book, Paul is encouraging Philemon to take back a slave who abandoned his master (and possibly stole from his master, as well). In this case, Onesimus acted selfishly by leaving. That act had absolutely no value to Philemon – but rather removed value from him.

In verse 10, we see that Onesimus became a Christian under Paul’s teaching and learned Christian principles. Then in verse 11, Paul tells Philemon that Onesimus is now “useful” to both of them. That term hints that, prior to his conversion, Onesimus’s actions were “useless” to them both. The word “useful” means value and “useless” means no value. And, in verse 13, Paul relates this value directly back to service.

So this prompts the question, how valuable are you? If you’re not very valuable, you need to ask yourself, “What Biblical principles am I lacking?” Next week, we’ll discuss how this principle works in marriage.

– Steve Kroening

PS. The Acres of Diamonds e-book is still available. All you have to do is send a blank e-mail to acresofdiamonds@getresponse.com. My autoresponder will automatically send the e-book by return e-mail.

Wisdom From History

Is Your Work Good Enough to Last 350 Years?

Music standards vary for many people. But hardly anyone denies that some of the best music written is that by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). It is difficult not be moved emotionally when you hear the opening chorus of his St Matthew Passion. It requires two choruses and an orchestra. With its opening words, “See Him? Who? The Bridegroom Christ. See Him? How? A spotless Lamb,” it musically tells of Jesus Christ and His suffering for our benefit.

Music doesn’t get much better than that in portraying the majesty of the words. Perhaps only Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus from his oratorio, The Messiah, has more impact. But Handel added the sound of brass to his composition to create the majesty that was needed in singing “hallelujah” to the King of Kings.

What kind of character was Bach? What made him such a prolific composer? He wrote a lot of music. He married twice and had many children, 13 of whom did not die in infancy. His work, for most of his life, was to produce new music each Sunday for worship services and any other special event, and play the organ at the worship services. He had, what we call in the writing industry, deadlines. A great many of them.

In addition to this, Bach helped develop the musical scale as we know it. If you look at a piano keyboard, you will see a pattern of black and white notes, neatly dividing the scale into 12 “equal” parts. Well, they’re not quite equal, and this is what made the scale with 12 halftones unique. It allowed for the development of tonality in a more satisfying way. And Bach not only helped solve the mathematics of the tempered scale, as it is known, but also wrote two sets of 24 Preludes and Fugues to display the new scale in all its splendor. Twelve half tones allowed for 12 major and minor scales, 24 in total. Bach wrote a Prelude and Fugue for each one of them – twice.

Bach’s compositions often display in his handwriting “To the Glory of God” written at the end of the piece. He was a Christian in the Lutheran tradition of the time. A man who apparently understood the talent God had given him and how it should be used.

Bach was apparently difficult to get along with. He complained about his pay and working conditions. He complained about his working colleagues, often suggesting some of them were not up to his standards.

But he knew what he wanted and he went after it. He set his own standards in music composition and called all others to follow him. He ignored new trends in music and took the old musical forms and breathed new life into them.

History records the result. Bach’s refusal to lower his standards gave us some of the best music the western world has produced.

And from this you might learn that if you set your standards high and do not deviate from them, then maybe you too can leave a legacy that will last 350 years or more after you die.

– Ian Hodge

Word for the Wise

The Attitude That Produces the Sweetest Sleep

“It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors. For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.” Psalm 127:2

Even in his sleep – This incredible thought comes to us with a problem. The word used here (shena) never occurs any other place in the Old Testament. There is a great deal of translation controversy about its function and meaning. Does it mean, “God provides even when those He loves are sleeping” or does it mean, “God provides sleep (that is, rest) to those He loves.” We must seek the answer from the context. While there is no way to know for sure what David had in mind, it is quite clear that God’s involvement in the lives of those He loves stands in stark contradiction to the lives of those who toil without Him. Whether we see God giving peaceful rest or providing the necessities of life, we can be sure of this: Unless God builds the house, all effort is foolishness (Proverbs 127:1). If God isn’t intimately involved in your activities, you are going to reap nothing but anxious toil.

The contrast in this small Psalm is enormous. On the one hand, we have men whose lives are consumed with self-fulfillment. They toil from dawn to dusk, carrying the weight of their own prosperity on their shoulders. They firmly believe that it is all up to them. They live in a world devoid of God’s gracious favor. They are lauded on the covers of Forbes, Time, and Business Week. We parade them across the celebrity stage. But they take Valium and sleeping pills. Life is an enemy to be defeated.

On the other hand, we have the follower of God. Asleep in the boat in the middle of the storm (Mark 4:38). At rest in the midst of life’s furor. Why? Because the follower knows that God watches over His beloved. Is this the lazy man’s approach to life? Not a chance. It is not about toil. It is about trust. If I trust God, I know that my efforts are in line with His purpose for me. If I trust God, I commit myself to His direction and let go of my anxious toil. If I trust God, He orders my steps and I step confidently. But I still step. What God provides, whether restful sleep or necessities while I sleep, never eliminates obedience. But it does eliminate frenzy, anxiety and self-sufficiency

A good night’s sleep does not depend on a better mattress or a sleeping pill. It depends entirely on trust. Trust in yourself and you will never rest. Trust in God and He will give you what you need for rest. Jesus understood it perfectly. “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden.”

– Skip Moen

(Ed. Note: Skip Moen, PhD, is the president of At God's Table and the author of Words to Lead By.)

 Resources

Evangelicals Then and Now, Peter Jeffery, Evangelical Press (Buy Now)

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