Thrill of Victory

We have all heard the oft-quoted refrain, “thrill of victory, agony of defeat.” One of the first questions I want to ask God: why the committed, convinced, concerned followers of His Son, our blessed Lord, are so afflicted in this present world: troubles, trials, temptations, part of the package of sin? The spirit in the world, during my lifetime: churches celebrating self instead of God, projecting self instead of Christ, politicians projecting self instead of country, the attitude of most people in the world that “it is nobody's business what I do”, “if it feels right, do it”, “I don't want anyone telling me what to do.” As if you can drive down a busy highway without regard for laws or rules of any type.

One of Grimm's fairy tales describes our situation best. The story of the agreement between the cat and the mouse. They had a jar of jelly, and the two decided that they would share it. The cat with the “big I, little U” mentality, bigger appetite, ate more of the jelly than the mouse, paid little attention to the protestations of the mouse, finally ate the mouse. On the farm, I would often notice our big barn cat with a small mouse in the yard. The cat would play with mouse, allow the mouse to start running off, then reach over and pull the mouse back. The cat had already found that a mouse was much tastier after the mouse's neurons were sufficiently afflicted. The animal autonomic response of fight or flight.

Life involves heading down a busy highway, intensified by those keeping and breaking rules. The Christian knows there is a final exit, the splendors of eternity with God. We are not citizens in this place, our citizenship is in heaven, we are just passing through, foreigners, acting different, speaking different, dressing different (1 Peter 2:9). In this life we must deal with the world, the flesh, the devil. Few thrills of victory, knowing the agony of defeat, the tares taking over even the church of Christ. The thrill of victory is later.

Our lifestyle is different, our body is a temple, not a garbage dumpster. Every religion in history has believed in fasting (an internal shower). Eating is mostly a matter of habit, too many overeat, calories instead of nutrition, leads to obesity and diabetes. There must be a detoxification, cleansing of the human body through fasting and the eating of nutritious food. I am convinced that sickness should be unknown to a Christian. Correctly treated, your body is able to heal itself, God put everything we need for healing on earth, available to our physical spiritual and emotional ability. Fasting is your greatest physician within. If you eat correctly, you will not burden yourself with the physical problems of arthritis and joint replacement.

As I child, I remember the cider mill, an ancient apparatus used by my ancestors to process apples from the great orchard on our farm, to convert apple cider into vinegar. Like everything else of historical interest on that farm, it was all thrown away. The cider was kept in barrels, people would come from far and wide to buy that apple cider. During the many years I was away in school and military, my family who had no appreciation whatsoever for history, ditched every valuable thing on the plantation, and now I understand, the land itself. I know of nothing any better for the body than apple cider vinegar, you can tell the real thing because it will have a “mother”, celluose containing acetic acid bacteria. Using apple cider vinegar in the water you drink, on your food and many other ways, will give you good health.

I was acquainted with old country doctors of 60-70 years ago, who mostly used food for treatments. Dr. H.M. Stenhouse, one of my friends who ran for Congress when he was 100 years old in 1990, prescribed food as medicine. I knew others such as Dr. Strosneider, Dr. Crawford, Dr. Pierson, all old doctors who prescribed food, not toxic chemicals. Now there is a drug store on every corner making drug addicts of the population. Western medicine, Big Pharma has transmuted health care into an expensive process of body energy being taken up trying to rid itself of toxicity. There is real victory in healthy living.

There is real victory in decent living. We understand that two of the crudest men to ever enter the oval office were Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton...sexual activity in the Oval Office. Disregard for the feelings of anyone and everyone because they were president. I am told that Lyndon Johnson was the crudest man ever to walk the earth, on his ranch, urinating in public, even in front of the press corp. He would bring dignitaries into the bathroom for a conferences even while he sat on the commode. Rules of etiquette and decency that applied to other people, did not apply to him, and so it is with Madoff, bin Laden, or even the Bushes. Secret Service protection has increased 400% since Obama took office. Winning anything, even the presidency of a country, is not always a sign of victory (Gaddafi, Mubarak, Carter, Clinton, Mao, Saddam Hussein).

Learn early in life not to confuse accomplishment with success, think of Helen Keller and Madonna. You would agonize with defeat of the morals on an immoral earth, corruption in government, the frustration of religiosity in church, indifference in education, scams and squalor in business. Take each day one at a time, with every semblance of real happiness you can find. Time on this earth, even at best is very short. Your victory comes after the fight is over. O victory in Jesus, My Savior, forever....He plunged me to victory, beneath the cleansing flood. (Victory in Jesus, Hymn)