Spiritual Prescription                        THE FIGHT OF FAITH
 
        So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  Rom. 10:17.
 
    "If you fight the fight of faith with all your will power, you will conquer."--Testimonies, vol. 5. p. 513.  What is this fight of faith?  Paul talks about it: "Fight the good fight of faith.  Lay hold on eternal life" (1 Tim. 6:12).
 
    If you fight the fight of faith with all your willpower, you won't have any willpower left over for anything else!  If it is true that "every failure on the part of the children of God is due to their lack of faith" (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 657), then where should we put our effort and attention?  Strangely enough, it isn't toward faith, either!  No, it's toward the object of faith, the source of faith, which is Jesus.  This is why it is so important to take time day by day for knowing Jesus.
 
    Without spending time in communication, in fellowship, there will be no faith, no trust.  Faith is best defined as trusting God (Gospel Workers, p. 259).  There is no such thing as building a relationship of trust without spending time together.  No one gets acquainted with anyone without time for communication.
 
    Relationships cannot live without communication any more than we can live physically without eating.  My dad used to tell me about a man who trained his horse not to eat.  It was more economical that way.  Unfortunately, just when he got him trained, he died!
 
    If I quit feeding my physical life, I may be able to go along for a while on the basis of what I have already eaten.  I might live for a while on stored-up fat.  But sooner or later I am going to fall in a little heap on the sidewalk, and that will be the end of it.  And the person who has initially become a Christian and who has experienced the beginning of spiritual life may be able to go for a little while without taking time to feed his soul; but sooner or later he is going to end up in a pitiful little heap on the spiritual sidewalk.  Only by continual eating of the Bread of Life and drinking the Water of Life will our spiritual lives be strong and healthy.

Spiritual Prescription                        ONE TO ONE WITH GOD
 
        My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.  Ps. 5:3.
 
    May I share with you the one method that I have found far better than any other for a meaningful time of fellowship with Christ day by day?  I have tried a lot of other methods, and I've found some good ones, but none of them ever surpassed this one.
 
    Take the book The Desire of Ages, on the life of Christ.  Begin with a short prayer for the guidance and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, and then choose one chapter.  At the bottom of the first page of each chapter it says, something like, "This chapter is based on Matthew so-and-so."  Look up the Scripture passage and read it carefully.  Then read the chapter.
 
    As you read it, try to consider it as something more than a history lesson  You're not just thinking of Nicodemus, who lived two thousand years ago; you're not just thinking of some leper from the distant past, or of the disciples away back there.  Put yourself in the picture with Christ.  Nicodemus--that's you.  The leper--that's you.  Get yourself into the picture, so that it's you and God.  You aren't reading the chapters for information, but for communication.  (That's why you can go back and start the book over when you've finished--you're reading for communication.)
 
    When you've finished reading, and pondering what you have read, then pray about what you've read.  You can say, "Lord, I read today about Nicodemus.  I realize that that's me.  I would much rather discuss religion than be born again.  But, Lord, I need to be born again.  I don't understand all about it, but please accomplish that for me today.  Take my heart, my life."  You can talk to Him about what you've read.  This way, every morning you have something new to pray about, because you have read something new.
    
    If you will take time, alone with God, beginning each day with Him in fellowship and communication, and if you stay with Him, regardless of what happens, you will find the rest and peace that Jesus promised when He said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Spiritual Prescription                        MAKING NO PLANS FOR YOURSELF
 
        It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.  Jer. 10:23.
 
    Have you ever considered how much Jesus, in His life here on earth, depended on His relationship with His Father?  "Christ in His life on earth made no plans for Himself.  He accepted God's plan for Him, and day by day the Father unfolded His plans.  So should we depend upon God, that our lives may be the simple outworking of His will.  As we commit our way to Him, He will direct our steps."--The Ministry of Healing, p. 479.
 
    If Jesus got His plans on a day-by-day basis from His Father, it would have had to be the first thing in the morning!  It would be ridiculous to picture Jesus coming to His Father at the close of the day and saying, "Now what are Your plans for Me today?"  That wouldn't make sense.
 
    Wouldn't you like to live so close to the Lord that He would be able to flash His plans to you individually for the day?  This doesn't mean that you don't make plans.  But it does mean that if you have made plans on your own, you are always willing to have your plans interrupted.  Steps to Christ, page 70: "Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work.  Let your prayer be, 'Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine.  I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service.  Abide with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee.'  This is a daily matter.  Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day.  Surrender all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His providence shall indicate.  Thus day by day you may be giving your life into the hands of God, and thus your life will be molded more and more after the life of Christ."
 
    As we grow more and more into the likeness of Jesus, we will be more and more sensitive to what His plans are, so that the plans we make will more often be His plans instead of simply our own.
 
    The devotional time isn't for the purpose of just getting our time in, just being able to say we've spent an hour with God.  It is for the purpose of getting to know God, learning to trust Him, knowing His will, and accepting of His sacrifice for us again for the new day.  Do you know God today?  Will you seek to know Him tomorrow morning as well?

Spiritual Prescription                        YESTERDAY'S MANNA NO GOOD FOR TODAY
 
        And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.  Ex. 16:21.
 
    The children of Israel followed the instructions of Moses, gathering of the manna, the bread from heaven, according to their personal needs.  "And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning."  What can we learn here to guide us in establishing a meaningful devotional life?
 
    May I propose that one the of the reasons why people have a hard time in trying to live the Christian life is that they are trying to rely on something that happened yesterday for today?  It doesn't work.  The Christian life operated on the trolley-car principle, not the battery principle!  We cannot store up religion.
 
    Some of the Israelites who didn't heed Moses' instructions and left the manna until the following morning found that it "bred worms, and stank"!  Is it possible to have a Christian experience like that?
 
    Yesterday's experience is no good for today.  Here is where so many people have gone astray.  They have heard that a devotional life, a relationship with God, is important.  They "try" it for a day or two, then skip a week, then try another day.  On again, off again; on again, off again.  They say, "It doesn't work."  Of course it doesn't work!  It is possible to have just enough religion to make you miserable but not enough for a meaningful relationship.  The consistency of the daily contact and communion with God is extremely important.  Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily" (Luke 9:23).
 
    So the people of Israel gathered the manna "every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted."  Have you ever depended for your devotional life upon a prayer at night just before you fell into bed?  Many people have discovered that when they changed the time of their praying  and study from the last thing at night to the first thing in the morning, it made a big difference, and also changed the content of their prayers from simply "God, forgive me for all my sins and failures of today," to real fellowship and communion with Heaven.  Take time, alone, at the beginning of every day, to seek Jesus through His Word and through prayer.

Spiritual Prescription                        GATHER ACCORDING TO YOUR EATING
 
        Your father did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.  John 6:49, 50.
 
    Jesus suggested the comparison between Himself, as the bread of life, and the manna that was given as bread from heaven to the people of Israel.  Let's consider the story of the manna in Exodus 16 in relationship to the eating of the bread of life.
 
    The manna had fallen the night before, and the children of Israel were wondering what it was.  In fact, that's what they called it--"What is it?"  That's what the word manna means.
 
    "And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.  This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded.  Gather of it every man according to his eating" (Ex. 16:15, 16).  What does it mean, "according to his eating"?  Well, the primary reference here was to the number of the people in each family, but there's another principle we can apply from this, as well.
 
    When I was living in Glendale, not too far from where Elder H.M.S. Richards lives, I went over to visit him one day.  He was talking about the reason for lack of power today in the Christian ministry.  And he said, "You know, there are very few of us ministers who spend even four hours a day alone with God.  This is one of our problems!"  And I said, "What?  Oh, uh...yes, that's really too bad, isn't it?"
 
    What would you do if you decided to spend four hours alone with God tomorrow morning?  Could you do it?  What would you do during the four hours?  Have you ever heard about people praying all night, and wondered what they found to pray about?
 
    "Gather of it every man according to his eating."  A thoughtful hour alone with God--can you do that?  What about half an hour?  Or will the time be different according to the growth and maturity of your Christian life?  Is it possible that the beginning baby Christian may not know what to do with five minutes alone with God?  Is it possible that the mature Christian won't be able to find time enough?  "And the children of Israel...gathered, some more, some less" (verse 17).  But even those who gathered less still gathered!

Spiritual Prescription                        IT TAKES TIME
 
        But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not be faint.  Isa. 40:31.
 
    Take time.  Jesus' analogy is that the physical life and the spiritual life are sustained in the same way.  From this we learn basic principles of how to have a meaningful relationship with Him.  How fat would some of us be if we spent as much time eating our physical food as we spend alone with God?
 
    "It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ."--The Desire of Ages, p. 83.  This does not mean that you have to set a timer to make sure you spend exactly sixty minutes in communication with God every day.  But it is going to have to involve something more than reading a text for the day while you have your hand on the doorknob.  It will have to involve significant time, at least as much time as you spend eating your meals.
 
    You say, "I don't have time."  May I remind you that we find time for whatever we believe is important.  The reason why many people do not spend time in relationship with Christ every day is simply that they don't believe that it's all that important.  If they did, they would find the time available.
 
    If I don't think it's important to spend the time to become acquainted with Christ, it must be because I think I can be saved in some other way than through knowing Him.  And if one doesn't depend on Jesus, he is probably depending on himself.  One of the major reasons why people do not spend time in beholding Christ and in relationship with Him is that they are still operating on the basis of trying to secure salvation by their own efforts.
 
    It is true that the devotional life can become simply another "work."  Spending time each day reading your Bible and praying will no more guarantee you a healthy spiritual life than daily eating and breathing will assure you a healthy physical life.  But it's a sure thing that you cannot be healthy without it!
 
    John 17:3, "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."  Knowing God is what eternal life is all about, and is the purpose of the devotional life.

Spiritual Prescription                        EATING FLESH AND BLOOD
 
        Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.  John 6:53.
 
    At first glance the idea of eating Christ's flesh and drinking His blood may seem confusing.  It seemed confusing to those who heard Jesus first speak these words in John 6.  But we have been given a clear explanation of the meaning of this passage by the inspired commentary.
 
    "The reception of the Word, the bread from heaven, is declared to be the reception of Christ Himself.  As the Word of God is received into the soul, we partake of the flesh and blood of the Son of God.  As it enlightens the mind, the heart is opened still more to receive the engrafted Word, that we may grow thereby.  Man is called upon to eat and masticate the Word; but unless his heart is open to the entrance of that Word, unless he drinks in the Word, unless he is taught of God, there will be a misconception, misapplication, and misinterpretation of that Word.
 
    "As the blood is formed in the body by the food eaten, so Christ is formed within by the eating of the Word of God, which is His flesh and blood.  He who feeds upon that Word has Christ formed within, the hope of glory.  The Written Word introduces to the searcher the flesh and blood of the Son of God; and through obedience to that Word, he becomes a partaker of the divine nature.  As the necessity for temporal food cannot be supplied by once partaking of it, so the Word of God must be daily eaten to supply the spiritual necessities.
 
    "As the life of the body is found in the blood, so spiritual life is maintained through faith in the blood of Christ.  He is our life, just as in the body our life is in the blood....By reason of the waste and loss, the body must be renewed with blood, by being supplied with daily food.  So there is need of constantly feeding on the Word, the knowledge of which is eternal life.  That Word must be our meat and drink.  It is in this alone that the soul will find its nourishment and vitality.  We must feast upon its precious instruction, that we may be renewed in the spirit of our mind, and grow up into Christ, our living Head."--Ellen G. White, in Review and Herald, Nov. 23, 1897.

Spiritual Prescription                        CHRISTIANITY IS KNOWING JESUS
 
        I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.  John 6:35.
 
    Probably Jesus' greatest discourse on the close relationship of becoming acquainted with Him is found in John 6.  The chapter cannot be read hastily.  It's deep.  But it has expressions such as these: "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."  "He that believeth on me hath everlasting life."  "I am the bread of life.  Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die."  "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you."  "He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him."  "Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?"  "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him."
 
    Giving up on ourselves and becoming acquainted with God is the entire basis of the Christian life.  But there are many professed Christians who will scrap it at that point and say, "No, thanks.  I want a religion, a Christianity, in which I can manage my own life."  It is an ego-deflating thing to come to Jesus and say, "Lord, you're right.  I can't do it.  I would like to turn my life over to You."  But if you've had struggles and problems in your life that you'd like to face with the real answer, I invite you today to a personal acquaintance with God.
 
    How do we come into a relationship with God, and stay in the relationship with Him?  Here is the prescription for that: Take time, alone, at the beginning of every day, to seek Jesus through His Word and through prayer.  This is how you receive of His grace.  This is all you can do to become and to remain a Christian.  If you do not have a relationship with God, you're not a Christian.  There are many people in the church who don't know God and who don't care a whole lot about knowing the Lord Jesus.  They are simply good livers.  God invites us to something more.  He invites us to know His presence and His power in our lives.  This is Christianity.

Spiritual Prescription                        TO KNOW HIM IS TO TRUST HIM
 
        The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.  Nahum 1:7.
 
    Many people are frustrated in living the Christian life because they are trying to do what is right in order to be Christians.  It doesn't work!  In John 6, the Jewish people came to Jesus with the question, "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?  Jesus answered and said unto them.  This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent" (John 6:28, 29).
 
    The question is, How do we believe?  If the work of God is that we believe, how do we do it?  How do we get faith?  How do we trust?  Is it by trying hard to make ourselves trust?
 
    In our relations with other people, there are two ingredients necessary to be able to trust someone.  First of all, he must be trustworthy.  Second, we must get to know him.  Usually, we don't really trust anyone until we know him.  Then, if he is trustworthy, we will trust him spontaneously.  God is completely trustworthy.  If you know God, you will trust Him, and you will trust Him naturally, spontaneously. If you don't know God, you will distrust Him.
 
    So how do you learn to trust God?  You learn to trust by getting acquainted with Him.  God invites you to be more than simply a good liver.  He invites you to know Him, to know His presence and power in your life.  This is Christianity.
 
    The majority of church members today are relying on what they do, instead of seeking personal acquaintance and friendship with God.  According to recent surveys, only about one out of five are spending any time at all on a daily basis getting to know God.  It's like trying to make apples apart from an apple tree.  Apart from a continual connection with God, there can be no genuine trust, no fruit, and no real Christianity.

Spiritual Prescription                        THE ONLY WAY TO GET APPLES
 
        Ye shall know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  Matt. 7:16, 17.
 
    Once upon a time there was to be a county fair.  Special prizes were being offered for the best apples brought to the judging, and circulars had been sent all over the county to let people know about the contest.
 
    Some of the people in the county weren't interested in apples at all.  They threw away the announcements and forgot all about it.  But the rest of them began to plan how they could produce a prize-winning apple.
 
    Mr. Thompkins was a woodcarver.  He chose a piece of pine and carved his apple out of wood.  It was exactly the right shape, and when he had painted and polished it, it looked almost like a real apple.
 
    Mrs. jones hurried to town for some yarn.  She knitted her apple.  When she was finished, it didn't look exactly like an apple, but you could certainly tell right off that it was supposed to be an apple!
 
    Some of the people made their apples out of plastic, some crocheted theirs, some stitched them in cloth.  Some used clay or ceramics or glass.
 
    Only a few took their apples off apple trees.  Real fruit.  When the day of the fair arrived, most of the apples looked pretty good on the outside.  But when the judges tried to cut them open to see what they were like on the inside, all of the imitation apples were disqualified.
 
    If you want to produce apples, the best thing for you to do is to find an apple tree, or plant one.  And if you want to produce genuine fruit in the Christian life, the best thing for you to do is to be a Christian.  An apple tree bears apples because it is an apple tree, never in order to be one.  And a Christian does what is right because he is a Christian, never in order to be one.  It's what's inside that counts.  "The plan of beginning outside and trying to work inward has always failed, and always will fail.  God's plan with you is to begin at the very seat of all difficulties, the heart, and then from out of the heart will issue the principles of righteousness."--Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 35.