Health – Toxic Drugs Not Needed to Relieve Stress

The vast majority of American adults say they feel anxiety or stress – every day. As one of the most stressed nations on earth, it’s time to start taking a serious look at the connection between chronic stress and the immune system.

What do we already know about chronic stress? We know it has a significant unwanted impact on your immune system. An overview of studies surrounding stress and the immune system shows a link between stress and how the immune system functions that goes back decades. Additional studies have found that chronic stress increases your risk of inflammation, and elevated levels of inflammation increase the likelihood of cancer and heart disease.

When you’re feeling stressed out, depressed, or lonely, you shouldn’t be surprised if you end up getting physically sick.

Chronic mental stress is a big threat to your future health, according to many studies

Back in the 1980s, an immunologist and psychologist found it intriguing to see studies linking stress to infection. They went on to do their own study on medical students, discovering that the stress of three-day exams decreased the students’ immunity.

Since then, hundreds of studies have been done on the links between stress and health. Those studies have revealed unique patterns. When people experienced stress for a significant duration of time, their immunity went downhill, leading to the conclusion that too much stress can wreak havoc on the immune system.

How does stress affect your immune system? It triggers chemical reactions in the body, releasing the stress hormone cortisol, which can decrease white blood cells. Keep in mind, white blood cells are designed to help us with infections.

Researchers also discovered that individuals who are already sick or older are at a greater risk of stress-related immune dysfunction. In aging adults, even mild depression may suppress their immune system. Some experts even believe that stress may be responsible for up to 90% of all diseases and illnesses, including the big ones like heart disease and cancer.

Chronic stress also increases the risk of inflammation – which increases the rate of tissue damage and infection risk. The effects of stress tend to be cumulative, which means that every-day stress may eventually lead to serious health problems. Unfortunately, the only “solution” that Western medicine offers is a toxic drug, that only adds to stress – especially in the liver!

Your state of mind and how you respond to stressful situations dramatically influences the development of disease or wellbeing. But if you’re dealing with chronic stress, there’s something you can do to help your body fight it more effectively.

New research conducted by the University of Konstanz psychologists and published in the journal Scientific Reports discovered that giving yourself a few minutes of downtime boosts both physical and mental relaxation significantly. And surprisingly, it only takes ten minutes to see the positive effects!

According to this new research, just ten minutes of massage resulted in higher levels of physiological and psychological relaxation in individuals. And it wasn’t just massage.

Taking ten minutes to rest also increased relaxation, although not quite as much as massage did. This is the first solid indication that even short-term relaxation may reduce stress on both a physical and mental level by boosting the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the body’s main engine for relaxation.

This study shows that massage, and even rest, boosts the parasympathetic nervous system, also resulting in less perceived mental stress. According to researchers, understanding relaxation, which is the opposite of stress, offers an excellent way to better understand the negative effects stress has on the body and mind.

The exciting thing about this new study is that it shows us that even short periods of rest or massage are enough to counteract the effects of stress. Researchers found that you don’t even need a professional massage to reap the relaxation benefits. Having a loved one rub your shoulders for just ten minutes or even taking a moment to close your eyes and relax for ten minutes can boost your body’s own engine of relaxation. Of course, when you add slow, deep breathing to the equation, it’s even more effective!

www.naturalhealth365.com/stress-immune-system-3574.html

While massage and rest are beneficial in reducing stress, “Let us turn from the dusty, heated thoroughfares of life to rest in the shadow of Christ’s love. Here we gain strength for conflict. Here we learn how to lessen toil and worry, and how to speak and sing to the praise of God. Let the weary and the heavy-laden learn from Christ the lesson of quiet trust. They must sit under His shadow if they would be possessors of His peace and rest.” Counsels on Health, 251, 252.

Miracle Drugs

Jesus went about all the cities “healing all manner of sickness and all manner of diseases among the people.” Matthew 4:23. Matthew tells us that because of His work of healing, “His fame went throughout all Syria and they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments . .. and He healed them.” Matthew 4:24. The Lord Jesus did great works of healing and at times He used natural remedies. On one occasion we are told that He spat on the ground, and mixed the spittle with the clay. He then applied it to a man’s eyes and his sight was restored. “The cure could be wrought only by the power of the Great Healer, yet Christ made use of the simple agencies of nature. While He did not give countenance to drugs, He sanctioned the use of simple and natural remedies.”Counsels on Health, 30.

Today many people, sick and suffering from disease, put their faith entirely in medical doctors and in prescription drugs to cure their ailments. Instead of putting all our trust in the arm of flesh, we should follow God’s eight laws of health—pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, and trust in divine power. Natural remedies like charcoal, water treatments and the use of simple herbs can be used to restore the sick to health.

A true Christian physician should always point his patient to Christ for their healing, since all true healing comes from Him. “The physician should first gain the patient’s confidence and then point them to the Great Healer. If their faith can be directed to the true physician, and they can have a confidence that He has undertaken their case, this will bring relief to the mind and often give health to the body.” Ministry of Healing, 244.

There is a lesson in the life of King Asa in the Bible: “And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.” 2 Chronicles 16:12, 13.

 

Abused and Overused

 

Most of us have used antibiotics. They were discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming, and their use initially had great results. They have saved many people from infectious diseases. Doctors have used them routinely in relieving people who have illnesses.

Unfortunately, these antibiotics have been abused. They are being used more liberally now than ever before. The antibiotics used today to fight infections are very potent and powerful. It is not just penicillin anymore. Broad-spectrum antibiotics are being used on little children because antibiotics are losing the war against the infectious diseases. Overprescription has become a major concern in this country with our doctors.

“Antibiotics are prescribed at an alarming rate in this country. Obstetricians and gynecologists write 2,645,000 antibiotic prescriptions every week. Internists give out 1,416,000 in the same period and pediatricians and family physicians lead the way prescribing over five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) worth of antibiotics each year to treat just one problem—ear infections in children. Another five hundred million plus is spent on antibiotics to treat other pediatric illnesses. “Over the past fifteen years, antibiotic prescriptions to young children have risen a staggering fifty-one percent. Antibiotics have been prescribed for conditions that do not warrant their use. After congressional hearings and numerous academic studies on this issue, it has become the general consensus that forty to sixty percent of all antibiotics in this country are mis-prescribed.

“In 1983 more than fifty-one percent of the more than three million patients who saw doctors for treatment of the common cold, were unnecessarily given a prescription for an antibiotic. Antibiotics do nothing for the common cold because the condition is viral in nature. It is no accident that the most allergic generation in history has also been raised on antibiotics.” (Lendon B. Smith in Beyond Antibiotics, 3.)

Several times a week I see a new patient whose allergies appeared or became much worse after a course of antibiotics. “Recurrence rate [of middle-ear fluid] were significantly higher in the antibiotic-treated group than in the placebo group. Children receiving amoxicillin for chronic middle ear infection experienced two to six times the rate of re-occurrence.” (Ibid.)

Antibiotics, which literally means “against life,” are often the first choice of treatment for many ailments.

 

Personal Experiences

 

Let me share with you some personal experiences I have had with people who were taking antibiotics.

A mother brought her four year old to me. The little girl had tubes in her ears from recurrent middle ear infections. In fact, the child had been on four different antibiotics, stronger each time in the last couple weeks.

The mother said, “I was told to come and see you—that maybe you could help us.” The doctors had already pierced the child’s ear drums and now they wanted to do surgery, to open it and clean it out. “Can you help me?” the mother asked. I responded, “I can try, but first of all I need to ask the question, ‘Is your child on dairy products?’ ”

She said, “Yes, she is.”

“You need to get her off. She does not need milk, because milk is causing excess mucous. Secondly, I want to put some drops in your child’s ears. Drops that contain Saint John’s Wort, Mullein, and garlic. Things that are going to be probiotic for your child rather than antibiotic. They have the ability to kill certain germs without the side effects that you are experiencing with your daughter.”

The child was pale and sickly. She screamed and did not want to hold still when I was ready to put the drops in her ears. I put two drops in one ear. The little girl looked at me, smiled, turned her head over and pointed at the other ear. In two weeks the mother came back. She had taken the child off dairy products and she had continued using the ear drops. The mother came and thanked me. The child had not had another ear ache in two weeks. Before this the little girl had been in pain every day.

 

Side Effects

 

Another mother brought in her five year old child that had been given antibiotics for years. This child had a swollen spleen and an abnormal liver panel when she came to see me. I asked her the question, “Has this child been on antibiotics?”

“Ever since she was two years old,” the mother responded.

“You know, I need to read you something about the effects of antibiotics. Yes, they have been beneficial, but today they are too frequently prescribed for conditions that they are not even needed for.”

I read this to her from the book The Encyclopedia of Natural Health and Healing for Children: “Antibiotics do have associated side effects, some of which may cause irreversible damage. This is another reason why antibiotics should be the last choice for treating bacterial infections. All antibiotics are unsafe during pregnancy as they can cross into the baby’s blood stream through the placenta. Between 25% and 75% of the mother’s concentration of penicillin or tetracycline crosses into the baby and the common side effects include liver damage, allergies, destruction of valuable intestinal bacteria, vitamin K deficiency, interference with the absorption of nutrients and can induce thrush, diarrhea, skin rashes and phlegm.” Marcea Weber in The Encyclopedia of Natural Health and Healing for Children, 12, 13.

She said, “What do I do?”

I said, “I would try to bring in some natural things into the child’s diet such as herbs.” I gave her several herbs including Echinacea and Golden Seal. I also advised her to take the child off dairy products and give her lots of live, fresh foods.

The mother came back in a week and wrote out a check to Modern Manna for $50.00! I said, “Well, thank you.”

She said, “Thank YOU. After I put my daughter on the program you suggested, the spleen shrunk to normal and the liver panel came back fine. The child has not been on antibiotics since I saw you.”

Another woman came to me who had rashes all over her body. I asked her, “Have you ever had these before?”

“Just when I take penicillin. But I am not taking any penicillin. Why do I have these rashes all over my body when I am not using the drug?”

I asked her if she drank milk or used other dairy products. She said that she did.

I said, “Do you know there is penicillin residues in milk? Quit drinking it for two weeks and let us see what happens.” She came back in three days and the rash was gone.

Did you know that farm animals receive thirty times more antibiotics, mostly penicillin and tetracycline, than people do? Fifty percent of the antibiotics produced in America are given to animals.

Have you gotten just a little idea of what antibiotics can do? Consider also the hundreds of people who suffer from diarrhea and constipation because the good flora of their large intestine has been destroyed by antibiotics. When you take an antibiotic, it does not single out bad bacteria. It kills the good and the bad. This explains why many times a woman will have a yeast infection immediately following a round of antibiotics. The good bacteria, necessary for the intestine, and also for keeping the fungus in the vaginal lining under control, has been destroyed.

There are untold numbers of people suffering from allergies, because of leaking gut syndrome caused by antibiotics and other drugs, like alcohol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like acetaminophen and ibuprofen—aspirin type drugs. There is also a connection between antibiotic over-prescription and immunal suppression diseases.

 

Super Bugs

 

We are not the only ones realizing the danger that antibiotics can be. Newsweek, in an article called “Antibiotics —The End of Miracle Drugs” said this about the threat: “When a colony of bacteria is dosed with, say, penicillin, most die. But a few lucky microbes by chance harbor mutant genes that make them immune to the drug. They survive. The mutants pass on their resistant genes to their progeny. One bacterium can leave 16,777,000 offspring in twenty-four hours! The mutants gladly share their resistant genes with unrelated microbes. Antibiotic uses have stimulated evolutionary changes unparalleled in recorded biologic history.

“Even more ominous, there are signs that these bacteria are very clever. Microbiologist Stanley Falkhell at Stanford University puts it, ‘In ways scientists never suspect, it turns out the germs can become resistant to antibiotics they have never even met.’

“In women receiving tetracycline for a urinary tract infection, for instance, Ecoli developed resistance not only to tetracycline but to other antibiotics also. It is almost as if bacteria strategically anticipate the confrontation of other drugs when they resist one. One of the problems that we are facing today in America is that we are getting too many antibiotics in our people. Over-prescription is a problem and when you overprescribe antibiotics to people, it kills off the weak bad bacteria, but these mutant ones survive and change and become resistant.” Newsweek, March 28, 1994.

Bacteria are becoming so resistant that in 1993 alone, nearly fourteen thousand people died in our hospitals because the antibiotics could not kill these “super-bugs.”

The pharmacuetical industry can not keep up with the ever changing microbes. New resistant strains of old diseases are springing up. That means that patients are suffering and dying from illnesses that science predicted forty years ago would be wiped off the face of the earth. The scientists were wrong. Before science catches up with the microbes many more people will die.

Now is not the time to depend upon antibiotics and drugs to take care of ourselves. It is time for us to aid our immune systems to fight these things. We are suppressing our immune system, not only through drugs, but through the foods we eat, and the life style we live. We need to now take charge and become educated in what we can do to fight off these diseases.

 

Use Only as a Last Resort

 

Charise and I have used an antibiotic only once, for two days on our children. I do not tell people not to ever take an antibiotic, but use it only as a last resort. I knew a lady who would not use an antibiotic on her child. She was praying mightily to God to heal the child of an ear infection. She did not use the antibiotic and the child went deaf in one ear. You see there may be times when you need to do something of that nature, but today these “wonder drugs” have created an anti-miracle because of over use. Instead of building up, they are actually suppressing the immune system.

One of the diseases that is growing rampant today is candida albicans or candidiasis. A good flora keeps yeast within our bodies in check. We all have candida in our bodies, but it is held in check because of the good bacteria. So when you take in antibiotics killing off the good flora, these yeasts proliferate. And some of the problems are these. Chronic fatigue, loss of energy, bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, vaginal infections, frequent bladder infections, menstrual complaints, depression, irritability, an inability to concentrate, allergies, chemical sensitivities,and low immune function.”

 

A History of the War on Infectious Disease

 

“The view of infectious disease was divided into two camps. There was Louis Pasteur, and another theory by a Russian biologist named Metchnikov. Pasteur believed that if we could identify the germ and isolate and treat it with drugs that we are going to eradicate all disease and illness. Metchnikov on the other hand said, ‘I don’t think so.’ His life work centered upon the healing power of the body and its battling against infections. Metchnikov taught that the correct way to deal with infectious disease was not by administering chemicals but by strengthening and where necessary exploiting the body’s own defenses.

“This view was in stark contrast with that of Pasteur who believed a germ could be found for every malady. He contended that if the germ could be isolated and treated with treatment devised to kill the germ virtually all disease might some day be eradicated. Pasteur came to realize that his theories about germs were erroneous. Just prior to his death he is said to have uttered the words, ‘Metchnikov was right.’ The terrain is everything, the bacteria is nothing. Pasteur recognized that it was not bacteria that were responsible for disease but the terrain, the surrounding land and the inability of the host to combat them. If the host was strong or the immune system was active, the organisms could not get a foothold. If the host was weak, the organisms could settle in and overcome. Pasteur had come to the conclusion that myriad factors including diet, nutrition, stress, heredity, environment, and state of mind had a profound effect on resistance to microbes.” Beyond Antibiotics, 14. (These are the two views that were held.)

In 1967, the surgeon general of the United States, at that time, William Stewart, said, “It was time to close the book on infectious diseases. We have basically wiped out all infection in the United States.” The Coming Plagues, 33. They set out to conquer infectious diseases around the world, and in the U.S. they were going to concentrate on chronic diseases.

How is it then that today we find that the infectious diseases are back—deadlier than ever in America. We are seeing viruses and bacteria beginning to hit the United States like never before, and our “wonder drugs” are losing the battle because of the mutant germs.

“Since the nineteen fifties we have seen the development and overuse of antibiotics. The use of hormones, birth control pills, the development of immuno suppressive drugs, prednisone, mytheltrephate, chemo therapy, the introduction of various chemical and toxins in our environment, and significant changes which have occurred within our diets leaving our foods tainted with pesticides, depleted in nutritional value, loaded with sugars and dyes. Can we really continue to believe that these incredible changes have not affected the well being of some and eventually perhaps all of us?” Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the Yeast Connection, X1.

The Bible says the devil came to steal and destroy and kill. Jesus Christ is not “anti-biotic,” He is “pro-biotic.” In Him is life and life eternal. We need to learn that by living healthfully and eating the right foods, we can strengthen the immune system.

 

Contaminated Vaccines

 

Dr. Leonard Horowitz, a Harvard graduate with his masters in public health, has recently done a great deal of research into vaccine contamination. In an interview, published in American Freedom Magazine, December 1996, he said this: “‘This month’s Money Magazine has the first article ever published in the United States that actually tells the truth about polio and DPT vaccine. Today’s oral polio vaccines are littered with monkey virus contaminates which are causing everything from Simian Cytomegalo virus associated with chronic fatigue to encephelopathy.’

“Should one be apprehensive about taking flu shots? ‘Regarding the flu shots: My mother received the swine flu shot and she among 10,000 others developed Guillian-Barre Syndrome, which is a common vaccine contaminate reaction. It’s a progressive neurological breakdown,where the body’s normal white cells start eating away the myelin sheath around nerve cells.’” American Freedom Magazine, Volume 1, Number 8, December 1996, page 19.

 

Inspired Counsel about Drug Medication

 

In conclusion, consider this counsel from God’s inspired messenger: “Drugs never cure disease, they only change its form and location . . . When drugs are introduced into the system, for a time they seem to have a beneficial effect. A change may take place, but the disease is not cured. It will manifest itself in some other form . . . The disease which the drug was given to cure may disappear, but only to reappear in a new form such as skin disease, ulcers, painful diseased joints, and sometimes in a more dangerous and deadly form . . . Nature keeps struggling and the patient suffers with different ailments until there is a sudden breakdown in her efforts and death follows.” Healthful Living, 243.

Some of the most common diseases today are auto-immune diseases. Fibromyalgia which causes pain in the muscles and joints, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, the list goes on. What has been causing these problems? Ellen White told us, with the use of drugs the disease is not cured, it just disappears and later manifests itself in some other way.

 

How to Build a Strong Immune System

 

What can we do to build our immune systems and fight off disease?

  1. Follow the eight laws of health, which is God’s plan.
  2. Maintain an ideal weight by decreasing the number of calories you eat.
  3. Eat a moderate protein, high complex carbohydrate, vegan diet rich in omega-3 fatty acid.
  4. Eat lots of fiber rich food like fruits, vegetables and cereals that reduce the transit time in the colon. This will help to get carcinogens, the bile acids and other fats that can cause cancer, out of the system.
  5. Avoid all animal products. Now is no time to be drinking milk.
  6. Keep salt intake low and avoid food additives and preservatives. Avoid condiments like mustard, vinegar, black pepper, baking soda and baking powder. Avoid caffeine and tobacco and alcohol, of course, but avoid other people’s smoke also.
  7. Consume large amounts of fruits, vegetables and legumes for their phyto-chemical properties. Whenever possible, try to obtain foods that were not artificially grown and are uncontaminated with pesticides.
  8. Eat plenty of raw fruits and vegetables for their enzyme content.
  9. Have X-rays only when absolutely necessary.
  10. Avoid refined sugar and nutra-sweet. (These are related to systemic lupus, fibromyalgia, and multiple sclerosis.)
  11. Use water filters whenever possible. Wash your hands several times each day and limit eating in restaurants.
  12. Use stress reduction techniques, such as walking, and taking a vacation.
  13. Make Bible reading and prayer a part of your day.
  14. Have a positive attitude.
  15. Avoid drugs unless absolutely necessary.

If we fail to follow the basic plans that God has given His people, we are going to be caught in the fray. The Bible also says that if we are obedient to His commandments and we follow His statutes, none of the diseases of Egypt will come upon us because the Lord who heals us has promised.

“The Lord gave His word to ancient Israel, that if they would cleave strictly to Him, and do all His requirements, He would keep them from all the diseases such as He had brought upon the Egyptians; but this promise was given on the condition of obedience. Had the Israelites obeyed the instruction they received, and profited by their advantages, they would have been the world’s object lesson of health and prosperity. The Israelites failed of fulfilling God’s purpose, and thus failed of receiving the blessings that might have been theirs. But in Joseph and Daniel, in Moses and Elijah, and many others, we have noble examples of the results of the true plan of living. Like faithfulness today will produce like results. To us it is written, ‘Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.’ I Peter 2:9.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 26, 27.

 

Dangerous Path – Secret Protector

As I looked out of the window, I knew I was in trouble. Two men, who I knew to be hit men, drove up in front of the little house where I lived with my little girl. I had crossed one of the leaders of a group I seemed to have become a part of and I knew my number was up. At that point I did not know God as a Father, but as a God of wrath. Still the familiar words came out, “Oh God, help me.” I watched as they got out of their car and headed toward the gate in my front yard. Time froze at that window as I watched them draw nearer; then, all of a sudden they turned quickly and headed back toward their car. My eyes looked again and, amazingly, there was my grandmother walking toward the gate of my yard. This was the first time she had ever come to my home and at just the time when I needed somebody to intervene, God did it through my grandmother. I know my life was spared.

Grandma stayed for a little while and I knew that when she left, those men would be back. I phoned my mother in Minnesota and told her that I was in real trouble. I grabbed my little girl and a few clothes and left that house never to return again. I did not know God, but He loved me even in the midst of all the filth.

After staying with Mom for a short period in Minnesota where she tried to redirect me, my brother offered that I could stay with him and his family in Idaho until I got settled. I had not yet turned my life around when we moved in with them and several weeks later my sister-in-law found some drugs on me. Before I knew it, my brother asked me to leave because they were concerned for the safety of their children. Now I had no place to go and knew nobody in that area. My little girl and I lived in my car for about two weeks. One morning a very nice lady knocked on my car window and asked me if we would like to stay in her little camper until I could find some place to live. She was concerned about my daughter. Amazing how God stepped in again!

Later, I decided to go back to my home town and ended back in with some of the old friends. One night after joining with these friends in some drugs, I lost my mind. I don’t know what happened for several hours. I was told that I just sat and stared with no response. After three hours with no improvement my friends became afraid for me and decided to take me into the hospital. I suddenly started asking for my little girl so they went and picked her up from the sitter and brought her to me. She started screaming and crying, “Mommy, Mommy!” Suddenly I snapped out of it and immediately realized how close I had come to insanity and even death. I cried and squeezed my daughter. Looking back now I know that God had put her into my life especially for that moment. I am amazed how often God stepped in.

After that experience, needless to say, I quit drugs, but still had not changed anything else in my life.drug

God had another plan for me. Shortly afterward my brother and his family were in a horrific car accident. His wife and eldest daughter were killed instantly but my brother and the youngest were still alive. I immediately caught a flight to see him though it was only to be for a few minutes. He was unable to talk because of the tubes down his throat and up his nose. Oh! What a mess! I told him I loved him and I know that when he reached out and touched me, that he loved me also. I told him I would be back in later but I never saw him alive again, as he died.

Oh, I was heartsick and blamed God. I believed that my brother was in heaven so I tried to contact him. He never answered, so I thought I needed to become a witch and then I could contact him. I picked up witchcraft books and started incantations, etc. Oh my; I look back now and see how God had His hand over me again and I did not even know it.

Finally, I came back to reality and considered what my brother would have wanted me to do with my life. The first thing I did was to quit where I was working because it was not a nice place and my brother never did approve of me being there. I went back to school for training and ended up working in law offices. Had it not been for my brother’s death, I would not be here because the thought of changing my life had not occurred before this. God truly works in mysterious ways. He knew that was the only way He could get my attention—through my brother’s death.

As I started working in my new field, I fitted in well with the lawyers and I was outspoken, etc. After several years, I received a flyer from a friend advertising a healthful cooking class. Since I had not been feeling well, I decided to attend. I thoroughly enjoyed it as it was a most wonderful and informative class. On the last night we were asked to fill out a card and to check whether or not we wanted Bible studies. I do not know why I checked yes, but I did. Amazing how the Spirit works!

On the first night of the arranged Bible studies something happened that changed my life. Jesus was presented to me in such a way that I broke down in tears. What a loving Savior. I thought of all those wasted years that I did not know Him and His Father.

I now had such a yearning to learn more of my Savior. I was so diligent in studying and I went the extra mile and read the Spirit of Prophecy. I just could not keep myself away from the Word of God and Spirit of Prophecy and I gave my heart and my all to God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

I look back and can see God’s hand in protecting me in so many instances. Behold what manner of love He had for me, a sinner—a chief of sinners. Now I am truly free in Him.

The law office where I worked soon noticed the change in me. They even quit cursing, etc., around me—it was a totally different atmosphere that was created.

God had a plan for me, but first He had to get my attention. Now He had my attention and my dad came down with cancer. I was able to share with him about the love of Jesus and before he died, he said he gave his heart to Jesus.

Early one morning while studying, God moved upon my heart to move to Minnesota. I said, “No Lord, not Minnesota.” But the impression was so strong to go tell the remaining family what God had done in my life.

I moved, and the first couple of years were rough because they all thought I was a member of a cult. Mom started having strokes so I stayed with her in the evenings. I would get her tucked in and go out and spend time reading and singing. She would come out and ask me why I was always so happy and humming. I was always singing Scripture songs in my heart. I would say it was Jesus; do you want to hear about Him? She would say no. One night I was spending time with God and He so impressed me to go back and tell Mom about Jesus, and I said, “No Lord, she does not want to hear about Him.” But the Lord kept moving upon my heart, so I went back and I said, “Momma, do you want to hear about Jesus?” Amazingly she said yes, so I sat her up and we talked. That was the first time I had ever prayed with Momma. Those were very special moments. The next morning she had a massive stroke.

Did God have a plan for my life? Yes, and if I had not followed, many would not have heard about Jesus. My sister has now given her heart to the Lord. God has saved me from much and now He is working through me to touch others.

I am so thankful for a God who loved me before I knew Him. I am so thankful for a God who protected me from the Devil’s wrath that was trying to destroy me. I praise God for the life He has given me and I treasure each moment.

I look back and I know why Grandma showed up at my gate that day. It was the only time she had been there. It was because God loved me and had plans for my life. I look back and I can see God’s hand of protection over me. I know why all those things happened and there are many more experiences I could share. I can honestly say that truly, I “know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:28–31.

Because He lives, I live and I can face tomorrow with joy in my heart. He has predestined me for a high calling and I choose to follow Him because He first loved me. Truly, if God be for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)? God has saved me from much. He has given me a life and I have returned it to Him for His use and for His glory.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies.” Psalm 103:1-–4.

Judy Hallingstad is on the LandMarks team. She can be contacted by email at: judyhallingstad@stepstolife.org.

It is Your Choice

The warfare against self is the greatest battle that was ever fought.” Steps to Christ, 43.

The further I have advanced in my Christian experience, the truer those words have become. We each have a battle to fight to gain the victory over self, and everything necessary to come off victorious has been provided through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Faith determines either victory or defeat in our Christian walk, whether we stumble or fall, succeed or fail. If our faith fails, then we are going to fail. “Every failure on the part of the children of God is due to their lack of faith.” Conflict and Courage, 166.

However, there is another deciding factor. “The will is the governing power in the nature of man, bringing all the other faculties under its sway. … It is the deciding power, which works in the children of men unto obedience to God, or unto disobedience.” Child Guidance, 209. The power of choice that God has given to everyone depends upon the right action of the will. Before the fall, man’s will was naturally in harmony with God’s will. Man was made upright with noble traits of character without any inclination towards evil. But everything changed after the fall when man’s will was given into the control of Satan who ever since has been working in man to do his good pleasure.

“In transgression Adam became a law to himself. By disobedience he was brought under bondage. Thus a discordant element, born of selfishness, entered man’s life. Man’s will and God’s will no longer harmonized. Adam had united with the disloyal forces, and self-will took the field.” The Signs of the Times, June 13, 1900.

What Adam forfeited by his disobedience, Christ reclaimed by His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. Now we have the freedom to choose on which side of the great controversy we are going to be, to continue in slavery to sin or day by day make decisions to walk in God’s ways. Though our soul, our body, and our spirit belong to Him who both created and redeemed us, we are given the privilege of freedom to choose one of the two forces contending for each one of us, one from above, or the other from beneath.

“Each human being is given the freedom of choice. It is his to decide whether he will stand under the black banner of rebellion or under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel.” In Heavenly Places, 361.

Choosing that blood-stained banner gives us the assurance that God hears and also responds to the cries of our heart when we cannot find the words to speak. “Every man is free to choose what power he will have to rule over him. None have fallen so low, none are so vile, but that they can find deliverance in Christ. The demoniac, in place of prayer, could utter only the words of Satan; yet the heart’s unspoken appeal was heard. No cry from a soul in need, though it fail of utterance in words, will be unheeded.” The Desire of Ages, 258.

As there are two opposing forces seeking supremacy, let us look at some things that influence our wills and our decisions. An internet article entitled, Touching the Prospect’s Emotions in Your Sales Letter by Joe Farinaccio, written to explain how to write a sales letter that will generate responses demonstrates this concept that certain things must already be in place to get the expected response. It says, “Your prospect has emotions and you must touch these emotions in your sales letter. Your copy has to excite, stir curiosity, generate fear and create deep desire. If it does not, your copy will fail.”www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/emotions.htm. October, 2010. The reason for this is very simple, because by and large it is emotion that moves us. Even a person who appears to be completely unmoved by anything but cold logic will not act until he is motivated to do so by his feelings.

One of the most powerful things that influences decisions is feelings—our emotions. People are primarily moved by emotions. As Christians, we are to be controlled by reason and to move from principle. The higher powers of the mind are to be in control of the lower powers, but this does not happen without a struggle. Naturally, in our sinful condition, our emotions have a powerful sway over us, causing a constant battle. Often, faith and emotions are completely contradictory to one another. Emotions can cause people to do tremendous feats of strength, acts of heroism and also cause people to do some barbaric things in violent rage that they would not otherwise do. We call these things crimes of passion. Emotion can cause someone to be totally unreasonable. Other emotions can cause thoughts of suicide. Never underestimate the power of emotion!

This same article continues: “You must inject emotions into your sales letter for him to want to become a buyer. You can do this by studying three things. (1) Your prospect. You need to determine what kind of person he/she is and what he/she really wants from your product. (2) You need to know all the benefits your product will provide them. And (3) you have to match those up, the most important want of the customer, or the person; whether it is a desire to have something or a problem to be corrected within your prospect determines a primary emotion your sales letter will target. Your goal is to link the product benefits to these emotions. Find out what the person wants and then give it to them.” Ibid.

That concept determines what makes people successful. They find out what people want and then make a product to fill that need. Satan understands these principles well, and he is a master marketer.

One of the most powerful emotions that marketers use today and which, incidentally, is also the one that caused Satan to fall in the beginning is the desire for gain. Isaiah 14:12–14 says, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”

Lucifer’s fall was caused by a desire for gain. He wanted to be like God. Lucifer was a high and exalted angel next in honor to Christ, but he was not content and wanted more. He wanted to be in the position of Christ. A special light beamed in his countenance and shone around him brighter and more beautiful than all the other angels. Yet Christ, God’s dear Son, had preeminence over the entire angelic host. He was one with the Father before the angels were created. Lucifer was envious of Christ and gradually assumed command, which devolved on Christ alone. Satan wanted more than he had and that caused his fall.

The first successful sale that Satan made is found in Genesis 3:1–6. Here we see how powerful this emotion really is. Adam and Eve were created holy and happy with no inclination to sin, yet Satan was successful even though he was limited in his access to the holy pair. “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

It was the desire for gain that caused the fall of Eve. She desired the knowledge that the serpent dangled in front of her. When Satan tempts us, he never gives us the whole picture. A good salesman always picks out the most positive benefits of whatever he is trying to sell.

“Satan desired to make it appear that this knowledge of good mingled with evil would be a blessing, and that in forbidding them to take of the fruit of the tree, God was withholding great good. He urged that it was because of its wonderful properties for imparting wisdom and power that God had forbidden them to taste it, that He was thus seeking to prevent them from reaching a nobler development and finding greater happiness. He declared that he himself had eaten of the forbidden fruit, and as a result had acquired the power of speech; and that if they also would eat of it, they would attain to a more exalted sphere of existence and enter a broader field of knowledge. …

“She coveted what God had forbidden; she distrusted His wisdom. She cast away faith, the key of knowledge.” Education, 24.

The desire for gain is a powerful emotion, and it is no different today. These same tactics work even more effectively today than they did then.

In Philippians 4:11, 12, it says, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” Paul learned this lesson. He said, “Whatsoever things I have, I am content.”

In I Timothy 6:6–9, it says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.” Contentment is a gift God can give to us. It is not in us naturally to be content, but God can give us that contentment if we ask for it. Without that contentment we are an open target for Satan’s temptations.

Hebrews 13:5 says, “Let your conversation be without covetousness: and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” In Matthew 6:19–21 we read, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

We must continually examine ourselves to know where our hearts are, because Satan knows our every weakness and is always ready to attack at every opportunity.

Another powerful emotion that moves people is the fear of loss. That is the fear that caused Adam to fall. Adam understood that his companion had transgressed the command of God and could not bear the thought of being without her. “Adam understood that his companion had transgressed the command of God, disregarded the only prohibition laid upon them as a test of their fidelity and love. There was a terrible struggle in his mind. He mourned that he had permitted Eve to wander from his side. But now the deed was done; he must be separated from her whose society had been his joy. How could he have it thus? …

“He resolved to share her fate; if she must die, he would die with her. After all, he reasoned, might not the words of the wise serpent be true? Eve was before him, as beautiful and apparently as innocent as before this act of disobedience. She expressed greater love for him than before. No sign of death appeared in her, and he decided to brave the consequences. He seized the fruit and quickly ate.” Daughters of God, 24, 25.

Christ had to face these temptations in the wilderness—the desire for gain where Satan offered Him the whole world and in the garden of Gethsemane, the temptation of the fear of loss. The fear of loss was most powerful, because it involved eternal loss and eternal separation from His Father, making His struggle in Gethsemane almost unbearable. These tactics are still successful today. Satan has been studying human nature and perfecting his craft for 6,000 years. In The Great Controversy, 555, it says, “Satan studies every indication of the frailty of human nature, he marks the sins which each individual is inclined to commit, and then he takes care that opportunities shall not be wanting to gratify the tendency to evil.” Satan understands how it works.

Writing to the Philippians Paul said, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” Philippians 3:7, 8. Though Paul suffered the loss of all things, he gained Christ and found contentment. Matthew 19:29 says, “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” It may appear in this world that we lose; but, in reality we gain everything. As well as gaining eternal life, God has promised to repay a hundred fold whatever is lost for His sake. This is just amazing!

The use of stimulants also affects the decision-making will. “Opium, tea, coffee, tobacco, and liquor are rapidly extinguishing the spark of vitality still left in the race. …

“When the appetite for spiritous liquor is indulged, the man voluntarily places to his lips the draught which debases below the level of the brute, him who was made in the image of God. Reason is paralyzed, the intellect is benumbed, the animal passions are excited, and then follows crime of the most debasing character. How can the user of rum or tobacco give to God an undivided heart? It is impossible. Neither can he love his neighbor as himself. The darling indulgence engrosses all his affections. To gratify his craving for strong drink, he sells reason and self-control.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 36, 37.

Today, there are many more things that stimulate the emotions, the imagination, weaken the mind, affect the nerves, weaken the body, cloud the judgment, and bring the person into bondage, weakening the power to resist. We live day by day on a battlefield.

“By indulgence, the reading of sensational or demoralizing literature becomes a habit, like the use of opium or other baleful drugs, and as a result, the minds of thousands are enfeebled, debased, and even crazed. Satan is doing more through the productions of the press to weaken the minds and corrupt the morals of the youth than by any other means.” Counsels to Writers and Editors, 133, 134.

When I was a young man I used to read books containing mysteries and fiction. These have a similar affect on you as drugs, taking control of your imagination and becoming a way of escape from reality. They warp your mind until the fiction appears as truth and the Bible seems like fiction.

Lack of faith in God’s power has a tremendous affect on the mind and will. “Our entire life is God’s and must be used to His glory. His grace will consecrate and improve every faculty. Let no one say, I cannot remedy my defects of character; for if you come to this decision, you will certainly fail to obtain everlasting life. The impossibility lies in your own will. If you will not, then you can not overcome. The real difficulty arises from the corruption of unsanctified hearts, and an unwillingness to submit to the control of God.” Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 2, 686. [Emphasis author’s.] If we do not believe that we can overcome and have victory, then we are not going to have it.

“Man does not build himself into a habitation for the Spirit, but unless there is a co-operation of man’s will with God’s will, the Lord can do nothing for him. The Lord is the great Master worker, and yet the human agent must co-operate with the divine worker, or the heavenly building cannot be completed. All the power is of God, and all the glory is to redound to God, and yet all the responsibility rests with the human agent; for God can do nothing without the co-operation of man.” The Review and Herald, October 25, 1892. Again, if we do not believe that we can do something, then we are not going to put forth an effort to do it. God can only operate when we cooperate with Him by submitting our will.

Overwork affects the ability to make good choices. “When the laborer has been under a pressure of work and care, and is overworked in mind and body, he should turn aside and rest awhile, not for selfish gratification, but that he may be better prepared for future duties. We have a vigilant foe, who is ever upon our track, to take advantage of every weakness that he may make his temptations effective for evil. When the mind is overstrained and the body enfeebled, he can take advantage, and press the soul with his fiercest temptations that he may cause the downfall of the child of God. Let the laborer for God carefully husband his strength, and when wearied with toil that must come upon him, let him turn aside and rest and commune with Jesus.” The Review and Herald, November 14, 1893.

We have an adversary. Satan is looking for every opportunity to ensnare us. He is ever upon our track and ready to take advantage of every weakness, of every opportunity that we give him, so we need to be diligent and make sure we do everything we can to not provide him with those opportunities. We must do everything we can to stand firm.

Intemperance weakens the faculties. “Satan has overcome his millions by tempting them to the indulgence of appetite. Through the gratification of the taste, the nervous system becomes excited and the brain power enfeebled, making it impossible to think calmly or rationally. The mind is unbalanced. Its higher, nobler faculties are perverted to serve animal lust, and the sacred, eternal interests are not regarded.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 151.

Though we have a tendency to categorize and put things in an order of importance and see some of these things as trivial, the Bible says that if we are faithful in that which is least we will be faithful in that which is much (Luke 16:10). How much time do we set aside for personal Bible study? “The reason why the youth, and even those of mature years, are so easily led into temptation and sin, is that they do not study the Word of God and meditate upon it as they should. The lack of firm, decided will-power, which is manifest in life and character, results from their neglect of the sacred instruction of God’s Word. They do not by earnest effort direct the mind to that which would inspire pure, holy thought and divert it from that which is impure and untrue.” The Signs of the Times, October 10, 1906.

Feelings of guilt have a deleterious affect on the will. “This feeling of guiltiness must be laid at the foot of the cross of Calvary. The sense of sinfulness has poisoned the springs of life and of true happiness. Now Jesus says, ‘Lay it all on Me. I will take your sins. I will give you peace. Banish no longer your self-respect, for I have bought you with the price of My own blood. You are mine. Your weakened will I will strengthen; your remorse for sin I will remove.’ ” Manuscript Releases, vol. 9, 305.

“Some things that look impossible to you now will certainly change in appearance when your heart is changed by the grace of God. Your heart has become sad at times as you know you are in an unsaved state and that you are grieving the Saviour by your wrong doings. When you come to yourself you are amazed at the distance you have placed between yourself and your Saviour. You have again and again resolved to reform, but you have as often failed because you made these resolutions in your own strength. Your moral power has become weak. Your will power is strong enough, but it is not strong on the Lord’s side. You are not able to fix your mind upon the Word of God. You have talked enough, but it has only sunk you lower. Your heart does not feel when you try to pray.” Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, 66.

This is not an exhaustive list. Whatever we do that weakens the mind or the body affects our ability to exercise our will and it also creates an opening for Satan and temptation to enter in. God’s grace is sufficient to sustain us, but we have to do our part. We must do all to stand. Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5.

“Many have an idea that they must do some part of the work alone. They have trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of sin, but now they seek by their own efforts to live aright. But every such effort must fail. Jesus says, ‘Without me ye can do nothing.’ Our growth in grace, our joy, our usefulness—all depend upon our union with Christ.” God’s Amazing Grace, 293.

Without Christ, our willpower is nothing. It is a power of choice, but it has to be linked up with Christ and with His strength to give us the strength to overcome. Through Christ we have all power available to us, but we have to put our wills on the right side, trusting in Him, not in ourselves. We must choose whom we are going to obey. The choice is ours.

May the Lord help each one of us to make the right choices and strengthen those areas of vulnerability. If we pray and ask the Lord to show us those areas, He will do it and give us the grace needed to do it. “As the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be done at His command may be accomplished in His strength. All His biddings are enablings.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 333.

This is the true force of the will when we ally ourselves with Christ, exercising our will to be overcomers in harmony with the will of God. Only then can we accomplish the Divine plan He has for each of our lives.

Jim Stoeckert is a staff member of Steps to Life, working in Faith Haven Christian School. 

Inspiration – Need of Education in Health Principles

Education in health principles was never more needed than now. Notwithstanding the wonderful progress in so many lines relating to the comforts and conveniences of life, even to sanitary matters and to the treatment of disease, the decline in physical vigor and power of endurance is alarming. It demands the attention of all who have at heart the well-being of their fellow men.

Our artificial civilization is encouraging evils destructive of sound principles. Custom and fashion are at war with nature. The practices they enjoin, and the indulgences they foster, are steadily lessening both physical and mental strength, and bringing upon the race an intolerable burden. Intemperance and crime, disease and wretchedness, are everywhere.

Many transgress the laws of health through ignorance, and they need instruction. But the greater number know better than they do. They need to be impressed with the importance of making their knowledge a guide of life. The physician has many opportunities both of imparting a knowledge of health principles and of showing the importance of putting them in practice. By right instruction he can do much to correct evils that are working untold harm.

A practice that is laying the foundation of a vast amount of disease and of even more serious evils is the free use of poisonous drugs. When attacked by disease, many will not take the trouble to search out the cause of their illness. Their chief anxiety is to rid themselves of pain and inconvenience. So they resort to patent nostrums, of whose real properties they know little, or they apply to a physician for some remedy to counteract the result of their misdoing, but with no thought of making a change in their unhealthful habits. If immediate benefit is not realized, another medicine is tried, and then another. Thus the evil continues.

People need to be taught that drugs do not cure disease. It is true that they sometimes afford present relief, and the patient appears to recover as the result of their use; this is because nature has sufficient vital force to expel the poison and to correct the conditions that caused the disease. Health is recovered in spite of the drug. But in most cases the drug only changes the form and location of the disease. Often the effect of the poison seems to be overcome for a time, but the results remain in the system and work great harm at some later period.

By the use of poisonous drugs, many bring upon themselves lifelong illness, and many lives are lost that might be saved by the use of natural methods of healing. The poisons contained in many so-called remedies create habits and appetites that mean ruin to both soul and body. Many of the popular nostrums called patent medicines, and even some of the drugs dispensed by physicians, act a part in laying the foundation of the liquor habit, the opium habit, the morphine habit, that are so terrible a curse to society.

The only hope of better things is in the education of the people in right principles. Let physicians teach the people that restorative power is not in drugs, but in nature. Disease is an effort of nature to free the system from conditions that result from a violation of the laws of health. In case of sickness, the cause should be ascertained. Unhealthful conditions should be changed, wrong habits corrected. Then nature is to be assisted in her effort to expel impurities and to re-establish right conditions in the system.

Natural Remedies

Pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, trust in divine power—these are the true remedies. Every person should have a knowledge of nature’s remedial agencies and how to apply them. It is essential both to understand the principles involved in the treatment of the sick and to have a practical training that will enable one rightly to use this knowledge.

The use of natural remedies requires an amount of care and effort that many are not willing to give. Nature’s process of healing and upbuilding is gradual, and to the impatient it seems slow. The surrender of hurtful indulgences requires sacrifice. But in the end it will be found that nature, untrammeled, does her work wisely and well. Those who persevere in obedience to her laws will reap the reward in health of body and health of mind.

Too little attention is generally given to the preservation of health. It is far better to prevent disease than to know how to treat it when contracted. It is the duty of every person, for his own sake, and for the sake of humanity, to inform himself in regard to the laws of life and conscientiously to obey them. All need to become acquainted with that most wonderful of all organisms, the human body. They should understand the functions of the various organs and the dependence of one upon another for the healthy action of all. They should study the influence of the mind upon the body, and of the body upon the mind, and the laws by which they are governed.

Training for Life’s Conflict

We cannot be too often reminded that health does not depend on chance. It is a result of obedience to law. This is recognized by the contestants in athletic games and trials of strength. These men make the most careful preparation. They submit to thorough training and strict discipline. Every physical habit is carefully regulated. They know that neglect, excess, or carelessness, which weakens or cripples any organ or function of the body, would ensure defeat.

How much more important is such carefulness to ensure success in the conflict of life. It is not mimic battles in which we are engaged. We are waging a warfare upon which hang eternal results. We have unseen enemies to meet. Evil angels are striving for the dominion of every human being. Whatever injures the health, not only lessens physical vigor, but tends to weaken the mental and moral powers. Indulgence in any unhealthful practice makes it more difficult for one to discriminate between right and wrong, and hence more difficult to resist evil. It increases the danger of failure and defeat.

“They which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize.” I Corinthians 9:24. In the warfare in which we are engaged, all may win who will discipline themselves by obedience to right principles. The practice of these principles in the details of life is too often looked upon as unimportant—a matter too trivial to demand attention. But in view of the issues at stake, nothing with which we have to do is small. Every act casts its weight into the scale that determines life’s victory or defeat. The scripture bids us, “So run, that ye may obtain.” Verse 24.

With our first parents, intemperate desire resulted in the loss of Eden. Temperance in all things has more to do with our restoration to Eden than men realize.

Pointing to the self-denial practiced by the contestants in the ancient Greek games, the apostle Paul writes: “Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” Verses 25–27.

The progress of reform depends upon a clear recognition of fundamental truth. While, on the one hand, danger lurks in a narrow philosophy and a hard, cold orthodoxy, on the other hand there is great danger in a careless liberalism. The foundation of all enduring reform is the law of God. We are to present in clear, distinct lines the need of obeying this law. Its principles must be kept before the people. They are as everlasting and inexorable as God Himself.

One of the most deplorable effects of the original apostasy was the loss of man’s power of self-control. Only as this power is regained can there be real progress.

The body is the only medium through which the mind and the soul are developed for the upbuilding of character. Hence it is that the adversary of souls directs his temptations to the enfeebling and degrading of the physical powers. His success here means the surrender to evil of the whole being. The tendencies of our physical nature, unless under the dominion of a higher power, will surely work ruin and death.

The body is to be brought into subjection. The higher powers of the being are to rule. The passions are to be controlled by the will, which is itself to be under the control of God. The kingly power of reason, sanctified by divine grace, is to bear sway in our lives.

The requirements of God must be brought home to the conscience. Men and women must be awakened to the duty of self-mastery, the need of purity, freedom from every depraving appetite and defiling habit. They need to be impressed with the fact that all their powers of mind and body are the gift of God, and are to be preserved in the best possible condition for His service.

In that ancient ritual which was the gospel in symbol, no blemished offering could be brought to God’s altar. The sacrifice that was to represent Christ must be spotless. The word of God points to this as an illustration of what His children are to be—“a living sacrifice,” “holy and without blemish,” “well-pleasing to God.” Romans 12:1, R.V., margin; Ephesians 5:27.

The Ministry of Healing, 125–130.

Health – Is Popular Culture Healthy?

Our young people are growing up in an age where they are exposed to hundreds of television channels showing all manner of programs on different subjects. They also have immediate access to an unlimited amount of information to people near and far through e-mail and instant messaging. Besides the computer, there are DVDs, video games, magazines, advertising and malls to fill each young person’s life. Most young people between 2 years old and 18 years old will spend at least, if not more than, 5 hours a day absorbing this so-called popular culture. This popular culture is a very destructive force in their lives because of the values at its foundation. The culture of past generations in the Western world used to reflect Christian values, but the popular culture today reflects different values. We are now in serious danger physically, mentally and spiritually.

Instead of benefitting from our Christian cultures and background, the popular media is now implanting bad values, attitudes, and beliefs in our young people. They are being brainwashed as to what they need, and the majority of the time, their wants have no redeeming value. Anything that may be emotionally, socially or spiritually unhealthy is impressed upon the young people and is very destructive. Some examples include advertising that connects certain toys, clothes, food, or drinks with being popular or cool, or music that encourages racism, sexism, drug use, or violence.

We must remember that even “good” popular culture sometimes is not very good for young people. Many of the daily activities which include television, computers, ipods and cell phones teach children bad habits which include:

  1. Teaching them to be observers and not participants.
  2. Experiencing life vicariously instead of directly. In other words, the experience is felt or enjoyed through imagined participation in the experience of another.
  3. Sedentary games instead of physical activity.
  4. Indirect social contact with others rather than real contact. Many people today have lost the ability to interact positively with others. Even in families there is no interaction; many do not talk with each other because they have nothing to say.
  5. Preventing them from participating in activities that will support their intellectual, emotional, cultural, spiritual, and physical development.

Julius Gilbert White explains as follows:

It is a matter of common knowledge that human existence consists essentially of the exercise of three sets of powers: (1) the physical, (2) the mental, (3) the spiritual.

The physical body and life provide the habitation for the mental powers, which give life to them and so make their function possible.

Likewise, the physical life and the mental powers combined make it possible for men to meditate upon and conceive spiritual things, accept spiritual ideals and truths, and render a spiritual service, and so have a spiritual experience. Without the physical life there can be neither mental powers nor spiritual experience.

Everything depends, then, upon the physical life, which is the foundation of the entire structure of human existence, including the spiritual life, which is the highest object of man’s existence.

“The physical life consists essentially of the use of five senses—abilities to see, hear, taste, smell, and feel. If the foundation be destroyed the entire structure is ruined.” Julius Gilbert White, The Christian’s Experience, (Northwestern Publishing Association, Sacramento, California) 37, 38.

The devil wants to destroy the foundation of our young people. He knows that if he destroys the physical life, then the mental powers and spiritual experience will also be destroyed.

The following is taken from an article in the magazine Parenting.

Television, movies, and video games glamorize violence, sexuality, wealth, celebrity, and the use of alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes. Fashion and celebrity magazines affect how girls think about their bodies, the amount they diet and exercise, and the occurrence of eating disorders. The internet gives your children limitless access to a universe of inappropriate information. In sum, popular culture in excess and without guidance is destroying your children psychologically, emotionally, socially, spiritually, and physically.

Popular culture is like a network of saboteurs that infiltrate your family’s lives with stealth and deception, hiding behind entertaining characters, bright images, and fun music. You probably don’t notice half of the unhealthy messages being conveyed to your children. It is also an invading army that overwhelms your children with these destructive messages. It attempts to control every aspect of your children’s lives: their values, attitudes, and beliefs about themselves and the world that they live in; their thoughts, emotions, and behavior; their needs, wants, goals, hopes, and dreams; their interests and avocations; their choices and their decisions. With this control, popular culture can tell children what to eat and drink, what to wear, what to listen to and watch, and children have little ability to resist.

The mere presence of popular culture shouldn’t be your greatest worry. Rather, your greatest concern should be the influence that this presence has on your children. Few people really understand how popular culture affects children’s lives. Even fewer people realize how truly harmful it is to children, families, communities, and to our society as a whole. Popular culture attacks children at their most basic level, the values that guide their lives.

Popular culture promotes the worst values in children and disguises them all as entertainment. Reality TV, for example, has made the “seven deadly sins”—pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth—attributes to be admired. Throw in selfishness, deceit, spite, humiliation, cruelty, and vengeance—all qualities seen and revered in popular culture—and you have the personification of the worst kind of person. Popular culture makes heroic decidedly unheroic values, characters, and behavior. Source: www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles (look in the index for “Know your Children’s enemy”).

Remember the family unit. “Let parents seek, in their own character and in their home life, to exemplify the love and beneficence of the heavenly Father. Let the home be full of sunshine. This will be worth far more to your children than lands or money. Let the home love be kept alive in their hearts, that they may look back upon the home of their childhood as a place of peace and happiness next to heaven. The members of the family do not all have the same stamp of character, and there will be frequent occasion for the exercise of patience and forbearance; but through love and self-discipline all may be bound together in the closest union.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 176.

So, shut down the computers and turn off the TV and cell phones and spend some time doing things together as a family. You could put on your running shoes and take your children for a walk out in the sunshine or dig a vegetable garden. Be creative and choose activities that are physically, mentally and spiritually healthy that will build tight family bonds and happy memories.

Do your best to keep your family healthy!