“The Bible has changed the lives of more persons than any other book,” said W. Clement Stone. “It has helped countless thousands to develop physical, mental and moral health.”

In his book, None of These Diseases, Dr. S.I. McMillen said, “When God led the Israelites out of afflicted Egypt, He promised them that if they would obey His statutes [laws], He would put ‘none of these diseases’ upon them [diseases that afflicted the Egyptians]. God guaranteed a freedom from disease that modern medicine cannot duplicate.”²

Every rule, every law, and every principle in the Bible is there, not because God is a killjoy, but for our total physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing.

For instance, the ancient Jews were told by God not to eat certain animal meats, including that of pigs (pork). Was this for any kind of religious ritual? No. It was because those particular animals carried diseases that caused serious sickness—such as were common in Egypt.

Still today, God’s Word gives us many instructions that are for mental and physical, as well as for spiritual, health reasons. We are instructed not to be jealous, bitter, hateful, resentful, unforgiving, and so on. The greatest physician who ever lived, Jesus Christ, pointed out 2,000 years ago the importance of forgiveness. When He encouraged us to “forgive seventy times seven,” He was thinking of our emotional and physical wellbeing as much as our spiritual wellbeing. Dr. McMillen also pointed out that a forgiving spirit could save us from “ulcerative colitis, toxic goiters, high blood pressure, and scores of other diseases”—all possible effects of resentment.

We disregard Gods laws to our peril. This also applies to his moral laws. For one example, think about STDs and AIDS. The reality is that we can no more break Gods moral laws than we can break the law of gravity. When we try to, we only break ourselves. God also has a law of sin and death …. We also defy this to our eternal peril. We will discuss this law in tomorrow’s Daily Encounter.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank You for Your moral laws which You have given in Your Word, the Bible, for my protection and well being. Give me the wisdom to understand them, the faith to believe them, and the good sense and strength to obey them. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Psalm 119:105 (NIV).

2. Dr. S.I. McMillen, None of These Diseases, p. 7.