The Amish Voice 9
Psalm 139:14-16
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully
and wonderfully made: marvellous
are thy works; and that my soul
knoweth right well.
My substance was not hid from
thee, when I was made in secret,
and curiously wrought in the lowest
parts of the earth.
Thine eyes did see my substance, yet
being unperfect; and in thy book all
my members were writen, which in
contnuance were fashioned, when
as yet there was none of them.
1. How ofen do you think about your kid-
neys?
2. Do you know where they are or what
they do?
Most people think of kidney stones when
they think about the kidneys. We will talk
more about that later.
Your kidneys are two bean-shaped organs,
each about the size of your fst. They are in
the middle of your back, just below your rib
cage, on either side of your spine. They
weigh about 0.5 percent of your total body
weight. Although the kidneys are small or-
gans by weight and size, they receive 20
percent of the blood pumped by the heart.
Most people know that a major functon of
the kidneys is to remove waste products and
extra fuids from the body. These waste
products and extra fuids are removed
through the urine. The producton of urine
involves a very complicated process. This
process is necessary to maintain the proper
balance of diferent chemicals needed by
the body.
Your kidneys receive the blood from what is
called the renal artery. Once the kidney
receives it, it flters out the waste and un-
wanted items. The fltering part is made up
of several things. The frst thing is water. It
is also made up of sodium (salt), potassium,
chloride, glucose (a type of sugar) and other
small items.
The kidney flters approximately 45 gallons
of blood per day! That means that the kid-
neys clean all the blood in the body 20 to 25
tmes per day. Once the blood has been
cleaned it is return to the body through
what is called the renal vein. The body now
has clean blood to use as needed.
As stated above, the wastes and other un-
wanted items become urine. Urine goes
from the kidneys to the bladder. In the
bladder, the urine is stored untl it is ex-
pelled from the body. All this fltraton
makes approximately two quarts of urine as
the waste product.
When the kidneys don't work like they
should, there are many difcultes that take
place in the body. Waste in the blood which
are supposed to be removed, is not and the
body becomes ill.
God has designed this whole process to keep
the body on track. Some of the things that
the kidneys regulate are:
Remove waste products from the body
Remove drugs form the body
Balance the body's fuids
Release hormones that regulate blood
pressure
Produce an actve form of vitamin D
that promotes strong, healthy bones
Control the producton of red blood
cells
Maintain your body's calcium levels
Regulate the compositon of your blood
Earlier we mentoned kidney stones. Just
what is a kidney stone?
A kidney stone is a hard mass that builds up
from crystals and separates from the urine
within the urinary tract. Normally, urine con-
tains chemicals that stop the crystals from
forming. These do not always work for all
people. If the crystals remain tny enough,
they will travel through the urinary tract and
pass out of the body in the urine without
being notced.
What causes kidney stones?
Doctors do not always know what causes a
stone to form. While some foods may help
stones form in certain people—those same
foods may not cause stones to form in other
people. A person with a family history of
kidney stones may be more likely to develop
stones.
Not drinking enough water can allow kidney
stones to form. When you don't drink
enough water, the salts, minerals, and other
items in the urine can stck together and
make a stone. This is the most common
cause of kidney stones.
Just as God created a part of our body so
complex and important in our earthly body,
He is concerned that our spiritual “body”
functons just as well. We need to take steps
to flter out spiritual dirt and debris. For
this, God has given us His Word. We are
told in Psalm 119:9:
“Wherewithal shall a young man
cleanse his way? by taking heed there-
to according to thy Word.”
It is God’s word and His alone that leads us
to all truth.
2 Timothy 2:15 says,
Study to show
thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the Word of Truth.
In this verse we are instructed to study
God’s Word. That means we take tme to
look at it, read it and understand it. By
knowing God’s Word and listening to what
He says in His Book, we can flter out sin and
wrong teachings of men.
Kidney; The Body’s Filter
—Written by Robert McCallum