Issue: 2023 February

Story – God and the Spider

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During World War II, a U.S. marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific Island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire he had lost touch with his comrades.

Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed.

As he waited, he prayed, “Lord, if it be Your will, please protect me. Whatever Your will though, I love You and trust You. Amen.”

After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He thought, “Well, I guess the Lord isn’t going to help me out of this one.” Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave.

As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.

“Ha,” he thought, “what I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor.”

As the enemy drew closer, he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while. “Lord, forgive me,” prayed the young man. “I had forgotten that in You a spider’s web is stronger than a brick wall.”

We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to forget the victories that God would work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways. As the great leader, Nehemiah, reminded the people of Israel when they faced the task of rebuilding Jerusalem, “In God we will have success!” Nehemiah 2:20

Remember, whatever is happening in your life, with God, a mere spider’s web can become a brick wall of protection. Believe He is with you always. Just speak His name through Jesus His Son, and you will see His great power and love for you.

Source: truthbook.com

Inspiration – Shall Not God Avenge His Own?

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While the world is progressing in wickedness, none of us need flatter ourselves that we shall have no difficulties. But it is these very difficulties that bring us into the audience chamber of the Most High. We may seek counsel of One who is infinite in wisdom.

The Lord … invites us to present to Him our perplexities and necessities, and our need of divine help. He bids us be instant in prayer. As soon as difficulties arise, we are to offer to Him our sincere, earnest petitions. By our importunate prayers we give evidence of our strong confidence in God. The sense of our need leads us to pray earnestly, and our heavenly Father is moved by our supplications.

Often those who suffer reproach or persecution for their faith are tempted to think themselves forsaken by God. In the eyes of men they are in the minority. To all appearance their enemies triumph over them. But let them not violate their conscience. He who has suffered in their behalf, and has borne their sorrows and afflictions, has not forsaken them. …

If we surrender our lives to His service, we can never be placed in a position for which God has not made provision. Whatever may be our situation, we have a Guide to direct our way; whatever our perplexities, we have a sure Counselor; whatever our sorrow, bereavement, or loneliness, we have a sympathizing Friend. If in our ignorance we make missteps, Christ does not leave us. His voice, clear and distinct, is heard saying, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” John 14:6. “He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.” Psalm 72:12. …

Let all who are afflicted or unjustly used, cry to God. Turn away from those whose hearts are as steel, and make your requests known to your Maker. Never is one repulsed who comes to Him with a contrite heart. Not one sincere prayer is lost. Amid the anthems of the celestial choir, God hears the cries of the weakest human being. We pour out our heart’s desire in our closets, we breathe a prayer as we walk by the way, and our words reach the throne of the Monarch of the universe. They may be inaudible to any human ear, but they cannot die away into silence, nor can they be lost through the activities of business that are going on. Nothing can drown the soul’s desire. It rises above the din of the street, above the confusion of the multitude, to the heavenly courts. It is God to whom we are speaking, and our prayer is heard. …

The Lord permits trials in order that we may be cleansed from earthliness, from selfishness, from harsh, unchristlike traits of character. He suffers the deep waters of affliction to go over our souls in order that we may know Him and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, in order that we may have deep heart longings to be cleansed from defilement, and may come forth from the trial purer, holier, happier. Often we enter the furnace of trial with our souls darkened with selfishness; but if patient under the crucial test, we shall come forth reflecting the divine character. When His purpose in the affliction is accomplished, “He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.” Psalm 37:6

There is no danger that the Lord will neglect the prayers of His people. The danger is that in temptation and trial they will become discouraged, and fail to persevere in prayer. …

“Shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.” …

The world has become bold in transgression of God’s law. Because of His long forbearance, men have trampled upon His authority. They have strengthened one another in oppression and cruelty toward His heritage, saying, “How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High?” Psalm 73:11. But there is a line beyond which they cannot pass. The time is near when they will have reached the prescribed limit. Even now they have almost exceeded the bounds of the long-suffering of God, the limits of His grace, the limits of His mercy. The Lord will interpose to vindicate His own honor, to deliver His people, and to repress the swellings of unrighteousness. …

In this time of prevailing iniquity we may know that the last great crisis is at hand. When the defiance of God’s law is almost universal, when His people are oppressed and afflicted by their fellow men, the Lord will interpose. …

Men who claim to be Christians may now defraud and oppress the poor; they may rob the widow and fatherless; they may indulge their Satanic hatred because they cannot control the consciences of God’s people; but for all this God will bring them into judgment. They “shall have judgment without mercy” that have “showed no mercy.” James 2:13. Not long hence they will stand before the Judge of all the earth, to render an account for the pain they have caused to the bodies and souls of His heritage. They may now indulge in false accusations, they may deride those whom God has appointed to do His work, they may consign His believing ones to prison, to the chain gang, to banishment, to death; but for every pang of anguish, every tear shed, they must answer. God will reward them double for their sins. …

From India, from Africa, from China, from the islands of the sea, from the downtrodden millions of so-called Christian lands, the cry of human woe is ascending to God. That cry will not long be unanswered. God will cleanse the earth from its moral corruption, not by a sea of water as in Noah’s day, but by a sea of fire that cannot be quenched by any human devising. …

From garrets, from hovels, from dungeons, from scaffolds, from mountains and deserts, from the caves of the earth and the caverns of the sea, Christ will gather His children to Himself. On earth they have been destitute, afflicted, and tormented. Millions have gone down to the grave loaded with infamy because they refused to yield to the deceptive claims of Satan. By human tribunals the children of God have been adjudged the vilest criminals. But the day is near when “God is judge Himself.” Psalm 50:6. Then the decisions of earth shall be reversed. “The rebuke of His people shall He take away.” Isaiah 25:8. White robes will be given to every one of them. Revelation 6:11. And “they shall call them the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord.” Isaiah 62:12

Whatever crosses they have been called to bear, whatever losses they have sustained, whatever persecution they have suffered, even to the loss of their temporal life, the children of God are amply recompensed. “They shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads.” Revelation 22:4 Christ’s Object Lessons, 172–180

Health – Diabetes

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King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote the following in the book of Proverbs: “My son, eat honey because it is good, and the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste.” Proverbs 24:13

Whether you are talking about honey, salt, religious principles, work, or rest, there is a principle of balance that we need to keep in mind. Solomon also said: “Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, lest you be filled with it and vomit.” Proverbs 25:16. There are many good things to eat in this world, but we must always follow this principle to eat only what is needed.

Here is an example to consider. The global consumption of refined sugar during 2019–2020 amounted to 171.69 million metric tons. Between 2020–2022, the United States alone consumed 11 million metric tons of refined sugar. A large percentage of the sugar consumed is found in soda drinks. On average, a single 12-ounce can of soda contains 12 teaspoons of sugar; and depending on the soda you choose, as much as 16.5 teaspoons per can. The average American drinks about 45 gallons of soda, roughly 470 cans per year. That would be approximately 5,640 to 7,755 teaspoons of sugar consumed just from soda per year.

Source: statista.com/statistics/249692/is-sugar-consumption; madsenmed.com/blog/2017/7/5/-the-average-american-drinks-how-much-soda-per-year

We have known for decades that in any country with an individual consumption of refined sugar that exceeds 70 pounds per year, the incidence of diabetes begins to skyrocket; and this has been occurring in the United States for decades.

As of 2020, in America, over 37.3 million adults 18 years or older—11.3% of the total population—have diabetes. Of that number, 28.7 million are diagnosed with diabetes, with an additional 1.4 million newly diagnosed cases. The remaining 8.6 million have diabetes, but have never been diagnosed and don’t even know they have it. We will soon reach the point when approximately one person in four over the age of 65 years will have diabetes. Diabetes is a very serious metabolic disease.

In 2017, the estimated cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States was approximately $327,000,000,000.00.

Sources: cdc.gov/diabetes/health-equity/diabetes-by-the-numbers; cdc.gov/diabetes/statistics-report/new-diagnosed-diabetes

Diabetes is not a new disease. The classic symptoms of diabetes have long been described as excessive thirst, urination, hunger, fatigue, and weight loss ending in death. It is a much more serious disease today, primarily because so many do not understand how easy it can be to develop diabetes, and that they may already be working their way toward becoming diabetic simply because of their lifestyle and diet.

Hundreds of years ago, people died of diabetes because there was no way to treat it. But in the twentieth century, a treatment was discovered, and diabetics are now treated by administering the insulin hormone. On average, the life expectancy of a person with diabetes is shortened between five and ten years.

Diabetes contributes to many deaths per year. People with diabetes are much more likely to develop heart disease and trouble with their vision. In fact, in adults in the United States, the number one cause of blindness is complications from diabetes. Diabetes is one of the principal factors in almost half of all foot and leg amputations. A foot ulcer is the initial event in more than 85% of major amputations—about 73,000 every year.

Source: azuravascularcare.com/infopad/diabetic-foot-amputation-stats

In any given year, the annual average of 130 per 100,000 persons with diabetes (12 times greater than persons without diabetes) suffer from kidney disease and are on dialysis. The annual average for those with kidney disease, but without diabetes, is 11 per 100,000 persons.

Source: diabetestalk.net/blood-sugar/what-percentage-of-dialysis-patients-have-diabetes

Diabetes can also cause peripheral neuropathy, which is the result of damage to the nerves found outside the brain and spinal cord. It causes weakness, numbness, and pain, usually in the hands and feet. It can also affect other functions of the body including digestion, urination, and circulation.

Source: mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/peripheral-neuropathy/symptoms-causes/syc-20352061

Women with diabetes can also have an increased risk of breast and uterine cancers.

So here is the question we should be asking, “What can I do to avoid getting diabetes or if I have it, in addition to medical care, what can I do to prolong my life?”

In recent years, an optimal lifestyle program has been developed that seems to help many diabetics more than any of the drugs that are available. For example, a small study in a California lifestyle center demonstrated that a nutritionally-balanced diet totally free of meat and all other animal products, and high in unrefined vegetarian foods brought complete relief from painful neuropathy in over 80 percent of its diabetic patients in less than three weeks—amazing, considering that neuropathy was considered an incurable condition. Achieving these results also involved regular exercise, hydrotherapy, and exclusion of coffee, tea, alcohol, and tobacco. So, evidence shows that a comprehensive lifestyle approach to diabetes can diminish a person’s risk factors for many of the complications of diabetes.

How do we go about taking this comprehensive lifestyle approach? Let’s first look at a proper diet. There is a popular misconception that those with diabetes must remove carbohydrates from their diet. This has made people afraid of foods like bread, cereal, potatoes, and fruit.

But consider this: there are only three ways to get calories in your diet—protein, fat, or carbohydrates. If you reduce the carb intake, then to get the necessary calories for a healthy diet, you would have to increase your protein and fat intake. Most people then eat more meat, milk, eggs, and cheese. Too much protein is dangerous for anyone, but especially dangerous for a diabetic because too much protein promotes the destruction of the kidneys. Too much fat results in atherosclerosis in everyone, leading to heart and blood vessel disease. It is true that a person can control their blood sugar by eating a high meat diet, but that same person, consuming that same diet, has a greater risk of dying young from heart disease.

Is there a better way? Thankfully, yes. The way for both the diabetic and non-diabetic person to live longer is to consume a high carbohydrate diet that is also high in fiber, but not high in sugar. The intake of refined sugar needs to be dropped to as near zero as possible. The optimal diet will contain complex carbohydrates as they were created in natural foods such as whole grains, legumes, potatoes, vegetables, and whole fruits.

But be mindful, refined carbohydrates—such as white bread, rice, and certain pastas—remove the fiber content and much of the food’s nutritional value, and the carbs become simple sugar. These simple sugars are dangerous when eaten in large quantities. They are associated with dental cavities, obesity, high triglycerides, heart disease, and decreased resistance to disease. And because they are “empty” calories, these simple sugars can also cause malnutrition.

Where can we find a diet that is not filled with refined foods? To the best source of all—God’s word. Genesis 1:29 says, “And God said, ‘See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.’ ” The original diet was a high carbohydrate, completely unrefined diet. Adam and Eve were eating the foods the way God created them. When sin came into the world, God added to man’s diet the herb of the field, what we call vegetables today (Genesis 3:18).

Research shows that this diet has tremendous benefits for diabetics, including:

  • Reduction in serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels
  • Reduction in the risk of death from heart disease and blood pressure
  • Reduction in the risk of kidney disease
  • Reduction in blood sugar levels
  • Reduction of insulin-dependency to zero
  • Improvement in gastrointestinal function
  • Help with weight loss

Dr. Denis Burkitt found that in countries with diets including large amounts of fiber, there were fewer cases of many of the degenerative diseases that are common in the western world, such as:

  • Stroke and heart disease
  • Gall bladder, diverticular, and peptic ulcer disease
  • Bowel and colon cancers
  • Appendicitis
  • Diabetes

Fiber is the part of a plant that the digestive system cannot break down and is found only in foods of plant origin. These indigestible carbohydrates are very important to all of us if we want to be healthy, but especially for the diabetic.

Nuts and fruits contain significant amounts of fiber. Foods that are high in fiber tend to slow the rise of blood sugar after eating. A low fat, high fiber, plant-based diet helps to keep blood sugars from spiking too high even when fruit is eaten, thus reducing the need for insulin. In addition, fiber helps to dilute, bind, inactivate, or remove toxic substances and carcinogens that are found in our food.

The diet that is best for a diabetic is also the best diet to avoid developing diabetes, a meat-free diet that contains whole grains—the diet that God gave to our first parents.

[Emphasis supplied.]

Article taken from Hidden Killers, by John J. Grosboll

Available at www.stepstolife.org

The Key to Overcoming

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Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Matthew 16:24

Ellen White’s book Confrontation deals in great detail not only with the wilderness temptations of Christ, it also explains how Christ came off victorious as Satan used every means imaginable in his efforts to cause Him to fail in His mission, and shows how Christ’s success in resisting and overcoming can be ours.

In the wilderness, we know that Christ’s victories were gained through “Thus saith the Lord.” And of course, that is how we are to gain the victory over temptation as well.

However, it is clear from the details presented in this book that Christ did more than quote scripture in His constant confrontations with the enemy—He continually denied self.

In His assumed humanity, Christ faced the same temptations we face. “Appetite and passion, the love of the world, and presumptuous sins were the great branches of evil out of which every species of crime, violence, and corruption grew.” Op. cit., 47

That being the case, we can quickly and easily recognize that by overcoming those three temptations—also referred to in inspired writings as the world, the flesh, and the devil and in John’s first epistle as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—by gaining the victory in these three critical areas, we are well advanced on the narrow way to the kingdom of glory.

There is no temptation faced by man that is as severe as the temptations Christ endured after forty days of fasting.

It is important to remember that not only during His wilderness trial but throughout His life, “He did not for a single moment doubt His heavenly Father’s love, although He was bowed down with inexpressible anguish. Satan’s temptations, though skillfully devised, did not move the integrity of God’s dear Son. His abiding confidence in His Father could not be shaken.” Op. cit., 41

If we are to come off victorious, we must have that same abiding confidence, a confidence that will give us the victory in every daily trial.

On page 43, is this interesting statement: “Although Christ was suffering the keenest pangs of hunger, He withstood the temptation. He repulsed Satan with the same scripture He had given Moses to repeat to rebellious Israel when their diet was restricted and they were clamoring for flesh meats in the wilderness, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’ In this declaration, and also by His example, Christ would show man that hunger for temporal food was not the greatest calamity that could befall him.”

Think about that final sentence for a moment. Although Christ quoted the words that He had instructed Moses to give to the children of Israel when they were murmuring and complaining about their diet, Inspiration says that this statement applies to a much broader area than just temporal food. When we are living by “every word” of God, the application goes well beyond mere hunger for temporal food.

To get a broader understanding of our challenge to overcome appetite, we need to analyze a sentence from pages 50 and 51: “Our Saviour fasted nearly six weeks that He might gain for man the victory upon the point of appetite. How can professed Christians with enlightened consciences, and with Christ before them as their pattern, yield to the indulgence of those appetites which have an enervating influence upon the mind and body? It is a painful fact that habits of self-gratification at the expense of health and moral power are at the present time holding a large share of the Christian world in the bonds of slavery.”

Let’s break down that passage a little. Notice that it states, “… yield to the indulgence of those appetites,” plural.

We commonly think of appetite in terms of a desire for temporal food. However, the dictionary defines appetite as “a strong desire or liking for something, a craving.” Thus in its broadest application, our appetites include food, certainly, but also a craving for any number of things, such as fashion, conspicuous consumption in all its varied forms, preeminence, power, wealth. A hard look in a mirror will reveal more than just the wrinkles we have acquired as we have aged—especially in the mirror of God’s law.

Another word in that passage we need to understand is enervating. It might initially be assumed that it means energizing. However, it means just the opposite: “to cause [someone] to feel drained of energy or vitality; to weaken.”

With this understanding, let’s rephrase the rhetorical question asked in the passage quoted from pages 50 and 51: How can professed Christians yield to the indulgence of cravings that deplete the mind and body of energy?

In order to enable us to resist those cravings, Christ left heaven. There is a wonderful explanation of the victory He gained for us by leaving heaven and how it can be ours.

“Because man fallen could not overcome Satan with his human strength, Christ came from the royal courts of heaven to help him with His human and divine strength combined. Christ knew that Adam in Eden with his superior advantages might have withstood the temptations of Satan and conquered him. He also knew that it was not possible for man out of Eden, separated from the light and love of God since the fall, to resist the temptations of Satan in his own strength. In order to bring hope to man, and save him from complete ruin, He humbled Himself to take man’s nature, that with His divine power combined with the human He might reach man where he is. He obtained for the fallen sons and daughters of Adam that strength which it is impossible for them to gain for themselves, that in His name they might overcome the temptations of Satan.” Op. cit., 45

It is abundantly and encouragingly clear from this paragraph that we are entirely dependent on Christ for the ultimate victory.

On page 57, in the section entitled “Christian Temperance,” we find much guidance regarding temperance versus intemperance. The initial paragraphs are especially powerful.

“God gives man no permission to violate the laws of his being. But man, through yielding to Satan’s temptations to indulge intemperance, brings the higher faculties in subjection to the animal appetites and passions, and when these gain the ascendancy, man, who was created a little lower than the angels—with faculties susceptible of the highest cultivation—surrenders to the control of Satan. And he gains easy access to those who are in bondage to appetite. Through intemperance, some sacrifice one half, and others two thirds, of their physical, mental, and moral powers, and become playthings for the enemy.

“Those who would have clear minds to discern Satan’s devices must have their physical appetites under the control of reason and conscience. The moral and vigorous action of the higher powers of the mind are essential to the perfection of Christian character, and the strength or the weakness of the mind has very much to do with our usefulness in this world and with our final salvation. The ignorance that has prevailed in regard to God’s law in our physical nature is deplorable. Intemperance of any kind is a violation of the laws of our being.”

“The great enemy knows that if appetite and passion predominate, the health of body and strength of intellect are sacrificed upon the altar of self-gratification, and man is brought to speedy ruin. If enlightened intellect holds the reins, controlling the animal propensities and keeping them in subjection to the moral powers, Satan well knows that his power to overcome with his temptations is very small.” Op. cit., 58

“Sin drove man from paradise; and sin was the cause of the removal of paradise from the earth. In consequence of transgression of God’s law, Adam lost paradise. In obedience to the Father’s law, and through faith in the atoning blood of His Son, paradise may be regained.” Op. cit., 15

“The indulgence [of appetite] … counteracts the force of truth, and weakens moral power to resist and overcome temptation. …

“The adversary of souls is working in these last days with greater power than ever before, to accomplish the ruin of man through the indulgence of appetite and passions. … Unnatural desires for these indulgences are not controlled by reason or judgment.” Op. cit., 60

“Men and women indulge appetite at the expense of health and their powers of intellect, so that they cannot appreciate the plan of salvation. What appreciation can such have of the temptation of Christ in the wilderness, and of the victory He gained upon the point of appetite. It is impossible for them to have exalted views of God, and to realize the claims of His law.” Op. cit., 62

Note well this sentence: “The scene of trial with Christ in the wilderness was the foundation of the plan of salvation, and gives to fallen man the key whereby he, in Christ’s name, may overcome.” Op. cit., 63

Now contemplate this question: After being presented with all of this wonderful light from the pen of Ellen White, what is the foundation of the plan of salvation and the key whereby we, in Christ’s name, may overcome? That foundation and that key is nothing other than self-denial.

Throughout His life, Christ manifested self-denial to perfection. If you think back through the details we are given of His daily confrontations, His perfect self-denial gave Him the victory every time.

He could indeed have turned the stones to bread to satisfy His hunger. He could have given Satan evidence of His heavenly Father’s loving watchcare by jumping from the top of the temple. He could have accepted all the kingdoms of the world offered Him by Satan (though in truth, they were already His, even after they had fallen under the sway of the enemy). He could have wiped the bloody sweat from His brow in the garden of Gethsemane and returned to His heavenly throne. He could have come down from the cross when taunted to do so by His enemies.

But to our eternal benefit, He denied self at every opportunity. By emulating His selflessness, His self-denial, we, too, can be victorious.

Op. cit. – all quotations are taken from the source first identified – Confrontation

John R. Pearson is the office manager and a board member of Steps to Life. He may be contacted by email at: johnpearson@stepstolife.org

Missing the Glory

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As Bible-believing Christians, it is vitally important that every doctrine that we profess be firmly rooted in the word of God. Jesus declared that it is the word of His Father that is truth and makes us holy. “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” John 17:17. God takes ownership only of the truth. God has no part of a lie, but He tells us who the author of lies is. “You are of your father the devil … for he is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44. We need to “buy the truth, and do not sell it” (Proverbs 23:23) and have no part of any lie.

The purpose of a lie is to deceive, to blind the mind so that the truth cannot be understood. Satan told the very first lie to Eve in the garden of Eden. It was about death, a subject on which billions today are still deceived. The devil told our first mother, as she stood before the forbidden tree, “You will not surely die.” Genesis 3:4. This lie was in direct conflict with the truth of God regarding the punishment of death for sin. He had declared to Adam, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:17. Adam and Eve sinned, but did not drop dead that day. They did, however, die spiritually. They were no longer in unity with God, their Creator. Guilt-ridden, they fled from His presence.

Because our first parents did not physically die on the very day that they ate the forbidden fruit, the lie of Satan is eagerly believed by many Christians. Even on tombstones, phrases are carved disputing the existence of death. “There is no Death.” “Gone to Glory.” Satan’s lie is eagerly grasped for comfort at the loss of a loved one, being repeated by ministers, family, and friends at funerals and memorial services. So often, those who state, “She’s singing in the choir with the angels,” “He is in a better place,” or “He’s gone on home to glory” do not realize they are perpetuating the devil’s lie. On obituaries it is stated that the service is a “Home Going Celebration.” By the words of false comfort, spoken over the dead, God’s word has been stripped of its power to enlighten the mind to the glories of the resurrection of the just.

Is it not strange that in Christian churches, where the resurrection of Christ is regarded so highly that the first day of the week on which He rose is the day of worship, it is taught that those who die now go straight to heaven, bypassing the resurrection at Jesus’ soon return? How is it that those who follow the Master are greater and more blessed than He? Our Lord plainly told His disciples, “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ ” John 15:20

In His earthly ministry, Jesus raised the dead to life, but never gave any indication that they had gone to heaven at death. Even Lazarus, whom He loved, did not enter heaven at death. When our Saviour raised him back to life, He did not say, “Lazarus, come down.” He called out to the grave where His dear friend lay, “ ‘Lazarus, come forth!’ And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes … .” John 11:43, 44.

The raising of Lazarus from the dead agrees fully with the truth about death in the Old Testament. “The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence.” Psalm 115:17. “For Sheol [the grave] cannot thank You, death cannot praise You; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth. The living, the living man, he shall praise You, as I do this day.” Isaiah 38:18, 19

“Popular theology represents the righteous dead as in heaven, entered into bliss and praising God with an immortal tongue; but Hezekiah could see no such glorious prospect in death. With his words agrees the testimony of the psalmist: ‘In death there is no remembrance of Thee: in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?’ … Psalm 6:5.” The Great Controversy, 546

Jesus’ words to His disciples before He raised Lazarus shed further light on the true nature of death. He described His friend’s death as a sleep. “… ‘Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.’ Then his disciples said, ‘Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.’ However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead.’ ” John 11:11–14. Jesus’ description of death as a sleep is straight out of the Old Testament that He loved and knew so well.

“Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death … .” Psalm 13:3

“So David rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David.” 1 Kings 2:10

“Then Solomon rested with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father.” 1 Kings 11:43

“And the period that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. So he rested with his fathers.” 1 Kings 14:20

“So Rehoboam rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David.” Verse 31

How much do the dead know? Nothing at all. “For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.” Ecclesiastes 9:5

In the sleep of death, the dead know nothing and can do nothing. It is the misunderstanding or straight out refusal to believe God’s word on the matter of death that has led to such errors as channeling, using Ouija boards, wishing the dead “Heavenly Happy Birthday,” being scared of ghosts in haunted houses, holding séances to get messages from dead loved ones, or believing that dead relatives can come and talk to us. Such pretended communication is from Satan and his lying demonic forces, as evident in the history of King Saul and the witch of En Dor. (1 Samuel 28:5–25.) This happened after Samuel the prophet died and was buried in Ramah. So the “Samuel” that communicated with Saul was not the dead prophet of the Lord, but an evil spirit pretending to be God’s spokesman.

In the records of the kings of Israel and Judah, none of them, not even the righteous ones who walked in the ways of the Lord—David, Asa, or Hezekiah—are said to have gone to heaven at death. Centuries after David, “a man after [God’s] own heart” had died, specific mention was made by Peter on the Day of Pentecost, that he had not gone to heaven. “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

For David did not ascend into the heavens … .” Acts 2:29, 34. Even Jesus did not go directly to heaven at death (John 20:17).

We now ask, “When will the dead live again?” “So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor be roused from their sleep.” Job 14:12. And when will the atmospheric heavens be destroyed? In the “day of the Lord … in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise … .” 2 Peter 3:10. Jesus raised the dead while on earth, and at His glorious second advent, He will call the righteous dead to life. “Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.” John 5:25

The truth of the first resurrection is further clarified in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” This truth brings true healing to the grieving, as Paul summed it up in verse 18, “Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

On earth’s final day, when “the Son of man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him,” and sits “on the throne of His glory,” (Matthew 25:31), may we not miss out on glory, but greet Jesus in peace, and be forever with our Lord!

Patricia Smith is a second generation Seventh-day Adventist writer who loves to study and share the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy.

Give Up Everything that Weighs You Down

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Let’s talk habits. Do you know someone who has a bad habit? Do you have one? Or let’s ask the question in a different way: Do you know anyone who doesn’t have a bad habit? This subject has a universal application to both adults and children. Most of our bad habits are developed in early childhood and continue to affect us throughout the rest of our lives.

Perhaps there comes a time in people’s lives, after earnest evaluation, when they realize they don’t want to keep a particular bad habit. They want to make a change but find that they are locked into that habit because habits are very difficult to change.

Here’s a simple example: What would happen if I were to climb to the very top of the roof of a building and then jump off? Someone might say, “Well, if you prayed hard enough, maybe you wouldn’t get hurt too bad.” Is that a reasonable expectation?

We do this all the time. We violate certain physical or spiritual laws and then expect the Lord to deliver us from the resulting pain and suffering. But God cannot answer this prayer, because He would be condoning the violation of the very laws that He has established. So, when we study about how to deal with bad habits, and study the laws that are involved, then we can know how to escape them.

And, friends, there is an escape. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into this world because we were in bondage to something that we could not free ourselves from, and Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, … He has sent Me … to proclaim liberty to the captives and … to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” Luke 4:18

This is, in part, liberty and freedom from our guilt. But it is also liberty and freedom from our bad habits. Jesus came to set you free from your bad habits.

Spiritual, mental, and physical components are all involved in this escape, and in the forming, maintaining, and deliverance from them or we’ll never be free from them.

Let’s start with the spiritual and mental components and then we’ll take up the physical component.

Just how did we develop bad habits when we were children?

Children develop bad habits because their minds are not trained. As children grow up in their parental home, parents are to cultivate, train, and develop the good habits a child should have to lead a healthy, spiritual life.

Children should not be idle. A busy child has no spare time to engage in bad habits. Children without anything to do spend more time getting into trouble, and bad habits are the results. This has been a great curse in society.

Children need to have a balance of physical and mental activity. Parents must consider if their children are occupied enough to keep them busy all day.

Inappropriate associations can also result in bad habits. Who are your children’s friends? Do they love and obey their parents? Do they love and keep the ten commandments? Associates who are immoral or idle will encourage the development of bad habits in your children.

“With the present plan of education the door of temptation is open to youth. Although they generally have too many hours of study, they have many hours without anything to do. These leisure hours are frequently spent in a reckless manner. The knowledge of bad habits is communicated from one to another and vice is greatly increased.” Testimonies, Vol. 3, 148

Parents need to be aware of who their children go to school with and with whom they spend a lot of time. As parents, we need to place our children in God’s hands, asking Him to tell us where we should send our children to school and to protect them from the things that they will learn, see, and hear that could have a negative effect on their future.

Neglect also facilitates the development of children’s bad habits. When parents are so busy that they really don’t have time to raise their children, then the children are left to fend for themselves, and bad habits are sure to be the result.

Our home life should be one of order. There should be a schedule that tells children when to get up and when to go to bed, when to eat, when to do home chores and school work, and when to play.

So, these are three ways that children develop bad habits. What about those of us who now are adults with bad habits that we can’t seem to do anything about? The Bible clearly states the condition we are in.

“Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to doing evil.” Jeremiah 13:23

“And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. … But no man can tame the tongue, it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” James 3:6, first part, 8

How many people can change the color of their skin? None. Can the leopard change its spots? No. Who can tame the tongue? No one. The Bible is saying that we have a habit, and though we do not want to keep this habit any longer, we are finding it impossible to change.

The first thing we must understand about firmly-ingrained habits is that there is no one who can break or change them. This is one of the reasons people become so discouraged when they try to “kick” their habits, or make resolutions that they don’t keep.

Someone might think that if it’s an impossibility for a man to break his bad habits, then why are we even talking about it?

We want to talk about it because what we need to know most of all is that there is a way, a miraculous power, that will aid us in overcoming our bad habits. That way is Jesus. Changing anything in our lives just won’t happen without Divine help. It is only after He comes into our lives that we can then be set free from the things that hold us captive.

“When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, a new power takes possession of the new heart. A change is wrought which man can never accomplish for himself. It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element into human nature. The soul that is yielded to Christ becomes His own fortress, which He holds in a revolted world, and He intends that no authority shall be known in it but His own. A soul thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies is impregnable to the assaults of Satan. But unless we do yield ourselves to the control of Christ, we shall be dominated by the wicked one. We must inevitably be under the control of the one or the other of the two great powers that are contending for the supremacy of the world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not cooperate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and will make it his abiding place. The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness.” The Desire of Ages, 324

What is the only defense against evil? The indwelling of Christ in the heart. How do we receive the indwelling of Christ in our hearts? By yielding ourselves completely to Him.

“Unless we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end.” Ibid.

Without this vital connection with Jesus, unless He is dwelling in the heart by faith, we will be under the control of the devil, and even if we leave off many of our bad habits, he will still be our master.

A union with the Divine still requires supreme human effort.

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:12

There are two mistakes that most people make. Some want to do it all themselves until they find out it’s impossible to do alone. Or others, realizing it is impossible, decide to just depend on the Lord and let Him do it all. They don’t even try.

God is going to do a miraculous work in each of us, but we have a work of our own to do in this partnership with Him. We see that in Philippians 2:12. But verse 13 makes it clearer just what God intends to do in our lives.

“For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” I wish we had a stronger English word for “to do.” In Greek, this means to energize or to empower. You could read it like this: “… works in you to will and to empower [you] for His good pleasure.” God wants to give you the power to overcome your bad habits, and then with that power at your disposal, you do your part of the work with fear and trembling. To overcome the wickedness in our lives, it takes two: our complete surrender and God’s miraculous power.

“To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” Colossians 1:29

The Greek word Paul uses that we translate as striving, agonizomai, means to fight or to contend or to struggle. It is the word from which we get the English word agonize. This is an all-in struggle. Then the words “works in” mean, just like in Philippians 2:13, energizes or empowers.

We can struggle, fight, agonize over our bad habits. We can desperately labor and strive for our entire life to be free from them, but unless we cooperate with God so that He can work with great power a change in our hearts, we will fail.

I am reminded of the somewhat famous quote by Mark Twain regarding his smoking habit, “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve done it thousands of times.”

God doesn’t want me to give up a habit only to repeatedly pick it back up again, never truly gaining the victory over it. He wants to give me the power to be completely and fully done with it. Only then will it never have control over my life again.

Moving to the physical effects of our bad habits, Mrs. White writes:

“Any habit or practice which will weaken the nerve and brain power or the physical strength disqualifies for the exercise of the next grace which comes in after temperance—patience.” Our High Calling, 69

“For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his paths. His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his sin. … He shall die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.” Proverbs 5:21–23

This text shows us how a person becomes bound up with his bad habits and can’t get loose. He may pray and pray, but simply cannot get free of them. He begins to think that there is something wrong with Christianity, but the truth is, it’s not the religion at all, rather he is violating certain physical laws that make it impossible for him to overcome his bad habits.

In order to overcome, we must first have willpower. The prefrontal cortex of the brain, right behind the forehead, is responsible for our “I will, I won’t, and I want powers.” A more medical explanation of the responsibilities of this area of the brain is that our abstract thinking, thought analysis, and keeping our behavior in check all occur here. The left side of the prefrontal cortex handles the “I will” power, which helps us start and stick to things that aren’t so much fun or are stressful. The right side handles the “I won’t” power, which keeps us from acting on every impulse or craving that we have. And the center, lower area is responsible for the “I want” power, which helps us keep track of our goals and desires.

There are two facets of willpower: yes and no. Exercising our willpower isn’t always about saying no. It is just as important to use our willpower to say yes for the right things as it is to say no to the bad things.

Source: positivepsychology.com/psychology-of-willpower

Now let’s consider morality. Do you know what part of the brain is responsible for our morality? We’ll call it our conscience. The prefrontal cortex. Morality is the ability to determine right from wrong.

Spirituality is also located in the prefrontal cortex. It is from here that you talk to God and ask Him to help you.

But what if something has impaired your willpower and skewed your ability to make right decisions? Medical research shows us that when a person’s frontal lobe is damaged, he or she can completely change. A very religious person might no longer have an interest in church, religion, or the Bible at all. A person who was very conscientious and always doing what was right might begin to engage in very questionable behavior. But what if there was nothing wrong with the frontal lobe? Could our diet, a lack of sleep, fresh air, water, or appropriate exercise impair our ability to make sound decisions? Or what if we clouded our brains with alcohol, drugs, sugar, and other harmful substances? Anything that impairs the function of the frontal lobe will make it difficult to exercise our willpower to overcome any bad habit.

The reason people today are having so much trouble overcoming bad habits, much more so than they had 100 years ago, is because we are violating certain physical laws that are impairing the function of our frontal lobe.

Let’s look at some of the things that can impair your ability to exercise your willpower.

Drug use—illicit drugs, many prescription drugs, and social drugs. Social drugs include caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol.

Introducing these substances into your body is like shooting yourself in the foot if you are trying to overcome a bad habit. They numb the frontal lobe and interfere with your ability to utilize your willpower.

Diet—is vitally important. Refined sugar must be eliminated and foods containing unrefined carbohydrates—starchy foods like whole grains and potatoes—should be included. Animal foods contain arachidonic acid which has been proven to harm the frontal lobe.

Mrs. White writes: “A meat diet changes the disposition and strengthens the animalism. We are composed of what we eat, and eating much flesh will diminish intellectual activity. Students would accomplish much more in their studies if they never tasted meat. When the animal part of the human agent is strengthened by meat eating, the intellectual powers diminish proportionately.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 389

Medical research has shown that the brain functions better when dietary calories and the amount of food consumed are restricted.

If your diet consists of things that are not good for the health of the body, particularly the frontal lobe of your brain, then how will that affect your ability to overcome a bad habit?

Hypnosis—does not allow you to overcome anything. A person cannot overcome any bad habit using hypnosis because it bypasses the frontal lobe and utilizes other areas of the brain, placing them under the control of someone or something else. People who are in a hypnotic-like state are not in control of their own willpower.

There are two things that are done in this world, including in the church, that make it impossible for us to overcome our bad habits: watching television and movies and listening to rock music. There is significant medical data to support that both of these activities produce a hypnotic-like state. It is not a state of complete hypnosis because you are able to communicate and participate, but your brain is overwhelmed by the images and sounds that you see and hear.

All these things make it impossible for you to overcome your bad habits. They violate certain physical and spiritual laws that God has put in place, and He cannot help you overcome your bad habits if you choose to keep them in your life.

However, if you choose to lay all these things aside and come to the Lord for the power He is waiting to give you to overcome your bad habits, He will do it. There is no other way for you to succeed.

Somebody might think that it simply takes too much effort to give up bad habits. But if you are looking to follow Jesus, longing to one day join the saints in heaven for eternity, then you cannot hold onto these worldly things. Listen to what Jesus says: “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:33

Friends, are there things in your life that hinder you from overcoming your bad habits? Are you willing to remove everything from your life that stands between you and God? It’s a sacrifice, I know, but it is the price of eternal life.

Claim His promise of power, cooperate, struggle, contend, and you can overcome all your bad habits by His grace and power.

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Editorial – The Golden Rule

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The Golden Rule: Matthew 7:12

If we want to spend eternity in heaven, we must practice the golden rule. This rule will determine our eternal destiny in the judgment.

“The standard of the golden rule is the true standard of Christianity; anything short of it is a deception.

“This is the truth as it is in Jesus. When those who profess the name of Christ shall practice the principles of the golden rule, the same power will attend the gospel as in apostolic times.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 136, 137

“Every unjust act toward a fellow-mortal, though he be the veriest sinner, is a violation of the golden rule.” The Signs of the Times, December 20, 1883

If we are studying and practicing the golden rule, we will know that an overbearing spirit is not of God, and that harshness and accusation are of the devil. He is the accuser of the brethren.

We need to understand that it is a lack of following the golden rule in all the relations of life that will condemn us in the judgment and bring the wrath of God, rather than His blessing, upon us. This should not be difficult to understand.

What would you think of a person in a boat who sees a man drowning and as the man draws near to and grabs hold of the boat in a desperate effort to save his life, the person in the boat does not offer a helping hand? Instead, he reaches down and breaks the drowning man’s grasp on the boat, leaving him to perish in the dark waters. That drowning man is God’s child for whom an infinite price has been paid.

“Divine love has been stirred to its unfathomable depths for the sake of men … . Heaven stands indignant at the neglect shown to the souls of men. … The sufferings of every man are the sufferings of God’s child, and those who reach out no helping hand to their perishing fellow beings provoke His righteous anger. … To those who claim fellowship with Christ, yet have been indifferent to the needs of their fellow men, He will declare in the great judgment day, ‘I know you not whence ye are; depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity.’ Luke 13:27.” The Desire of Ages, 825