Jun
29
2011
What should motivate Christians to be healthy? Why does God desire that we be healthy?
Here are two excerpts from the book Faith and Health, written by Charles Reynolds Brown (past Dean of the Yale Divinity School) and published in 1910.
“The Lord of Love is seeking to banish fear, to bestow confidence, to increase faith, to promote healing. He too is desirous that you should gain peace, develop strength, obtain happiness and enter into his rest which remains for the people of God. While you are working out your own salvation by systematic, persistent effort, God is working with you and for you to accomplish his good pleasure.”
“The Church of Jesus Christ ought to ‘teach health,’ not as its chief business, but as a leaf on the tree of its main purpose, which, as already indicated, is to produce the good fruit of Christian character and service.”
Why Should Christians Be Healthy? To Bear Fruit in Our Lives
God wants us to be healthy so that we can experience the good “fruit” he has in store for us. The more fruit we have in our life the more glory God receives.
What kind of fruit does God desire us to experience and have a part in?
- Winning souls to Christ. Romans 1:13
- Sharing what we have with those in need. Romans 15:25-28
- Developing Christ-like character – the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23
- Praising God and giving thanks. Hebrews 13:15
John says that there is no greater joy for those win souls. 3 John 3-4 The believer also has great happiness when they share their possessions with others – “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35 In this verse, the word blessed can be translated “oh how very happy,” so there is a greater happiness in giving than receiving. When we give we can also experience great peace. Philippians 4:6-7 says that we can have the kind of peace which surpasses all understanding. These three emotions of joy, happiness and peace are a few key ingredients which foster good health.
But good health should not be desired as an end in and of itself. God desires us to have good health, and the emotional and physical energy typically associated with it, because this better enables us to have more fruit in our lives and to better use the gifts and talents that he has given to us to serve others and to serve him. When these things happen we are in God’s will.
When we’re in God’s will, he is glorified. This is why God desires a Christian to be healthy.
“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” 3 John 1:2
Questions to Reflect On:
What is your motivation to be healthy and well?
Is it your experience that the healthier you are the better enabled you are to serve God and others with the gifts he’s given you?
Related Resources:
Faith and Health, the book by Charles Brown, is available as a free Pdf file online.
Article – God Wants You Whole
Read other Health Devotionals
Read how my wellness coaching services can help you become healthier.
Jun
17
2011
America’s Plan for Better Health and Wellness was rolled out yesterday, June 16th by the Federal Government. It’s being called the National Prevention Plan.
I was fortunate to listen to the live simulcast event over the internet and to be part of the followup Question and Answer session. I applaud the leadership efforts of the National Prevention Council for the work they’ve done on this effort and the comprehensive strategy and report. Clearly, our country should have a strong preventive health focus led by our government.
Sadly, this report does not address or include any recommendations concerning care for the spirit and the link between spirit-mind-body that medical research over recent years has proven to exist.
Read my perspective of this new plan and the 122-page document on my guest blog post on Christian Post – America’s Plan for Better Health and Wellness.
Mar
24
2011
Here’s more insight and thoughts captured from my reading of Health Care You Can Live With by Dr. Scott Morris, founder of the Church Health Center in Memphis, Tennessee.
Excerpts From the Book:
“The dominant approach to health care in the United States concerns broken bodies more than broken lives.”
“Health care is a mess.”
“”Jesus said, “The poor will always be with you.” So far, he has been right. If he ever asks me, “Where were you when I was poor and sick?” I want to be able to answer, “I cared for you as best I could.”"
” Doctors learn to ‘keep out.’ Doctors learn to practice medicine by taking a medical history and asking questions around the symptoms the patient describes. ….. This process also says, ‘Keep out.’ Keep out of my heart. Keep out of my sorrow, my stress, my fatigue, my relationships. Keep out of my private space. Just fix what hurts.”
“Every day, every single day, doctors tell patients there’s nothing wrong because they find no physical root for patient complaints….. Whatever is amiss is not a matter for the health care system.”
“Plenty is wrong. Spiritual and emotional issues manifest in physical ways.(my emphasis) But, our health care system draws a line and says, ‘Keep Out.’”
“Health care is a mess. People want change. But to what?”
“Efforts at health care reform fail because they avoid the essential questions of wellness. The starting point is off kilter. Our health care system is built on the premise of waiting for people to break in some way and then come through the doors, where we will use our technological wizardry to fix them…. That’s not health care.”
“Caring for health means attending to the things that keep you well long before you break and need the door to technology.”
“In the next couple of chapters, …. we’ll delve into what you can do to bring change to your [personal] health care.”
My Thoughts
Morris is right, so very often it’s deeper spiritual and emotional issues that are at the root of the physical ailments we have. Most medical professionals will agree that the greatest majority (80-90%) of visits to physician offices are because of stress-related issues.
Our greatest hope in changing our personal health status is in loving our creator, God, and in living according to the many principles found in his guidebook for living, the Bible.
God is love. 1 John 4:8
His greatest command to us is to love him. Mark 12:29
He tells us that to love him means to obey his commands or principles. John 14:15
God has given us his principles because he knows that the greatest chance we have for health and wholeness comes when we follow them.
Questions to Reflect On:
Are you addressing spiritual and emotional issues that may possibly be at the root of your sickness or disease?
Do you encourage your physician to help you look ‘inside’ at your heart issues in addition to the ‘outside’ physical symptoms?
Are you falling more deeply in love with God?
Related Resources:
Article – It’s About the Relationship
Article – His Instruction Manual … Our Guidebook for Healthy Living
Mar
22
2011
Written by Dr. G. Scott Morris, founder of the Church Health Center in Memphis, Health Care You Can Live With puts a human face on the hot topic of health care. Making the argument that healing—both physical and spiritual—is a key aspect of the Christian faith, Dr. Morris provides a biblical framework for wellness and encourages us through real-life stories of those who found a better life within the overarching love of God.
It’s an excellent read! I began reading the book last night and almost completed it in one sitting. I now plan to read it over a second time. I will share in brief, individual posts the things that ‘jump out at me’ and reinforce what I believe and have come to understand over the years about the connection between health and the Christian faith. Typically, I’ll include short excerpts from the book and occasionally add my own comments. Below is my first excerpt.
“Jesus’ life was about healing the whole person. – the body and spirit – and the church is Jesus in the world. Jesus’ message is our message. Jesus’ ministry is our ministry.”
“The church can choose to get involved by reclaiming the biblical mandate to bring healing. Individual congregations can choose to get involved by envisioning their role in the health of members and the community around them. Individual Christians can choose to get involved in changing health care by taking charge of their own health care. And it has nothing to do with what happens in Washington or who is President.”
Questions to Reflect On:
Is your church choosing to get involved in the health of your members and your community?
To what extent have you chosen to be involved in your personal health care?
Additional Blog Posts on This Book
Read all the posts about this book in the category of Health Care & Wholeness
Subscribe to the feed for just this category:
Mar
02
2011
One of Jesus’ last prayers was that all future believers would know him and his Father and have eternal life.
“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3
The Greek word for know is ginosko, meaning to know, to understand, to perceive. Here, Jesus was not just meaning that we are to gain head knowledge about himself and the Father, but to get to know them intimately…. to really know them. Yes, it’s important to read the Bible to gain knowledge about God’s principles and to learn about him and his Son, Jesus, but Jesus wants us to really know him and his Father at a deeper level. This is something we can not do just in our minds, our brains. We must get to know them in our hearts.
We get to know Jesus and God the Father in an intimate way through the Holy Spirit.
Three chapters earlier in the book of John, Jesus told his disciples that his Father would send the Holy Spirit to them after he departs to be with his Father in heaven.
“But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you.” John 14:26
One role of the Holy Spirit, as Helper, is to guide us into truth. Another role is to help us experience God in a personal way. True life transformation occurs when we experience and embrace God’s love in our hearts. As you read scripture or are exposed to the truth of scripture through teaching or preaching, ask God to make it real to you. Ask God to reveal himself to you in your heart, not just in your mind.
Here’s an example. You read in scripture that you are a child of God because you have accepted Jesus. Galatians 3:26 You believe that people who accept Jesus in their hearts become a child of God, but you have been unable to embrace the idea that God really accepts you and that you, indeed, are a child of God. Prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you in your heart that this is so. Ask him to to touch you heart in a way that this truth is personally known to you.
A deep need we all have is to feel accepted. When we truly feel accepted by God deep in our hearts, we’re less likely to turn to unhealthy habits to try to fill this void that only God can fill. God wants each of his children to experience his love and acceptance and to experience the eternal life in an abundant way while we are living on this earth. The Holy Spirit was sent by God to believers in Christ to reveal himself to us in a personal way and this enables us to feel accepted by God and to live this full life now.
A Question to Reflect On:
Are you experiencing God’s love in a meaningful way? If not, consider asking the Holy Spirit to help you receive God’s truths in your heart.
Helpful Resources:
Article – It’s About the Relationship
Read more Blog Posts About the Holy Spirit
Nov
23
2010
Being thankful is healthy. That’s what the research continues to show. An article in today’s Wall Street Journal health and wellness section addresses recent research that indicates that people who are thankful are happier and healthier. Should we be surprised? Nope, because our Creator gives us that principle in his guidebook for living, the Bible. And, when we follow his principles for living, we’ll generally be healthy. Here are a few of the scriptures that instruct us to have a thankful heart and attitude:
- “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
- “And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20
- “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7
- “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 118:1
Some of the highlights taken from the helpful article are as follows:
- Maintaining an attitude of gratitude can improve psychological, emotional and physical well-being.
- The “positive psychology” movement focuses on developing strengths rather than alleviating disorders. Cultivating an attitude of gratefulness is a form of cognitive-behavior therapy which holds that changing one’s thought patterns can dramatically affect their moods…. which has a positive affect on their overall health.
- Counting our blessings can actually make us feel better.
- Gratitude is a complex emotion that requires self-reflection, willingness to admit dependency on God and others, and the humility to realize our own limitations.
- Using negative and critical words in your conversations can darken your mood.
- Journaling helps. There’s an iPad application for gratitude journaling.
- The real benefit comes from changing the way you experience the world (and God – my addition).
It’s too bad the author of the article, Melinda Beck, does not mention the importance of one’s personal faith and thankfulness toward God. But then again, this is just another reflection of the world we live in. How can a person help but recognize the significance of being thankful for their creator and recognize the value in that? Or, for that matter, just be thankful that they are alive, and attribute that to God.
Thankfulness to God can take many forms. My wife and I often do a simple thing – we call it the A to Z Game, though it’s not really a game in the sense that most people use the term. We take turns speaking a word or short phrase that describes God. We start with the letter A and go all the way through the alphabet to the letter Z. It helps us do a few things. First of all it’s a way to worship and praise God. That’s perhaps most important. Secondly, it helps remind us how thankful we are to have a relationship with our Creator. And, sometimes it can help us change our moods. Recently, Janice and I went on a hike in the Blue Ridge mountains. It ended up being much longer and more rigorous than I thought it would be initially. Towards the end, we were exhausted physically and our attitudes had also taken a hit. I suggested that we do the “A to Z” thing. We did this two times over a period of several minutes and after we finished, our outlook and attitude had shifted to become more positive.
We can chose our attitude. We can choose whether or not to be thankful. Deuteronomy 30:19-20 reminds us that it’s our choice. We can choose death or choose life. When we make a choice to be thankful to God, we are choosing life!
What are you thankful for today? I’m thankful for my relationship with God, my wife, my four kids, my father and mom and step-mom, my siblings and their families, my health, my church family and the list goes on and on. Today, I’m also thankful that God has given me an appreciation for nature along with the changing seasons and the colorful leaves that fall.
As the referenced article mentions, being thankful does have health benefits. Be Thankful to God is one of the principles of the Christian faith, or Spiritual Exercises, I’ve identified that contributes to well-being. I’d encourage you to put being thankful to God at the very top of your thankfulness list because God is good and his love will endure forever!
Some Questions to Reflect On:
What are you thankful for today?
Do you make a habit of choosing to have an attitude of gratitude and do you include thankfulness to God in that attitude?
Are you teaching your kids, and modeling for them, the importance of having a thankful attitude?
Aug
06
2010
Beliefs and Your Life
About a year ago I was asked a very thought provoking question by my oldest son. His question was something like this – “What is the single belief you have that has the greatest impact on how you live your life?”
That is a tough question and I had never been asked that or pondered my beliefs in such a way. How would you answer this question? Think about that for a bit before you continue reading. Really now….. pause and think on this for a minute or two.
Okay. Would your response be something like one of the following? God loves me. I am a child of God. Because I treat others like I want to be treated, I am treated well. I trust God no matter what happens in my life.
Drew, my son, shared his answer to this question with me and for the last year, I have adopted it as my answer.
The Bible is Truth
That is how I answer the question now. The single belief that I have that most impacts on how I live my life is that the Bible is truth. This belief has profound impact on my life in many, many ways.
Because I believe that the Bile is truth I desire to know what it says so I read it almost daily. I study it. I think about it, or meditate on what it says, throughout the day when I can. Because I understand that what I think about strongly affects my speaking and behavior, I write out and speak affirmations that are based on scripture….. and send them out over Twitter for others to receive. (See the right sidebar on my blog)
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The truths that I read in the Bible give me hope, strength and wisdom for daily living. Knowing that God inspired men to write the books of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17) helps me know that the Bible contains God’s guidelines on how he wants me to live my life. It teaches me how to handle the stressful circumstances that life throws at me. It teaches me how to be in relationships with other people, including my wife, my children and my parents and siblings. The Bible gives me principles for taking care of my emotional and physical health.
The Bible also reveals to me how to have a full and abundant life here on this earth and how I can be assured of living eternally – forever and ever – after I die here. (John 3:16 and John 10:10)
Because I believe - I know – that the Bible is truth, I have a deep, deep peace, joy and love in my heart and this motivates me to share what I believe… what I know… with others.
Questions to Reflect On
What is the single belief that you have that most impacts on how you live your life?
Are you being true to that belief? Are you “living it out?”
Are you sharing this belief with others? If so, what impact is it having on their lives?
Related Resources
Christian Principles that are Health-Promoting
Scriptures Related to Strength, Stress and Health
His Instruction Manual – Our Guidebook for Healthy Living
Bible Scriptures as Affirmations
An Invitation
- I invite you to share your most important belief in the comment section so that others might benefit.
- Forward this post along to others or use the social media buttons below to share.
Mar
18
2010
Over the past few days I’ve been reflecting on how I might simplify the message I’ve been writing and speaking about. My thought has been that the more concise I can articulate this message, the easier it will be to explain to others and for them to understand. With that in mind, I thought I’d share this condensed version with you.
An Inspiring Day
As I’ve pulled this together, all my senses have been engaged. I’ve been sipping on a few cups of great tasting coffee, listening to the trickling of the water in our small fountain, hearing the birds chirp, listening to a playlist of soft, instrumental Christian music on iTunes, feeling the warm spring air as it breezes through an open window, and seeing the bright sun shine on the trees and flowers in the back yard. It’s been quite an inspiring morning and early afternoon!
Understanding the Faith and Health Connection
This is, I believe, the essence of the faith and health connection:
Read more of this article »
Mar
05
2010
Spirituality and Health – A Working Model
This is a somewhat creative attempt to capture my ideas on many of the key aspects of the connection between one’s faith and their health. I used a mind mapping website to create this. It has limitations, but I’m pretty pleased with the connections it allows and the associated graphics.
Any feedback you’d like to provide would be appreciated.
What key components are missing?
Any links not made that should be?
Resources on the Spirituality and Health Link
Article – Understanding the Spirituality and Health Connection
Blog Posts – Spirituality and Health Tag
Dec
09
2009
Lately, I have found that I’m frequently using the word wholeness, and since the byline of this ministry is “teaching spiritual truths for health and wholeness,” I thought it would be a good idea to explore what wholeness means.
Wholeness
Used as an adjective, the word whole comes from the Greek words of holos and holokleros meaning all, entire and complete. These two words come from the noun holokleria meaning completeness.
In the biblical context of health and wellness, wholeness might mean being well in spirit, mind and body. In Paul’s letter of encouragement to the Christians living in Thessalonica, he addresses an aspect of their wholeness when he prays for them:
“Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
Spirit, Soul and Body
Paul refers to the three major aspects of man’s being – his spirit, soul and body. We are not beings of separate and distinctively different components, but a whole person. We are a spirit who has a soul that lives in a body. All of these aspects of man are inextricably interwoven. To be whole, to be complete, each aspect of a person must be well. When any aspect of our being is not well, the other aspects are adversely affected.
Medicine today focuses on the care for a person’s body. Physical health is important so that we can function and do the things God would want us to do with our body. Being physically active, eating well, getting enough sleep and being addiction free are some of the more important things we ought to do to care for our bodies.
It’s also important to care for our soul – to manage our emotions the best we can, to monitor our thinking patterns and to make healthy choices. Our soul-life is impacted by our spirit and the ‘gateway’ through which this primarily happens is in our mind. I think this is why Paul reminds us that we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:2) Our mindset and our thinking patterns can truly and radically transform us. For the good or for the worse. For life or for death. The only way we can understand the key truths of life is to be exposed to what God’s guidelines for living are as found in the Bible. The Bible holds the keys to being whole and living well. We must not only understand God’s principles, we must live them to be whole.
Finally, since we are first and foremost a spirit, our spirit must be well because this aspect of us is our core. When God breathed into Adam the breath of life, he became a living being. (Genesis 2:7) It is the spirit of man that gives him real life. We live out this life and interact with the physical realm with the five senses of our body. And it is deep in our soul that our emotions and our minds impact our our choices and subsequent physical behavior.
We are sinful by nature. We inherit a spirit of death and this sinful nature as it is passed down by Adam’s original sin. (1 Corinthians 15:22) Before salvation, our ingrained habits and lifestyle choices give us certain natural tendencies. Our life experiences contribute to our personalities. After salvation and we are born again spiritually, our challenge is to allow the Spirit of God to transform us into being the kind of person he calls us to be. We must consciously choose to have an attitude of submission to God and a dependence on him to become whole, starting with our spirit.
Being Transformed and Becoming Whole
When we accept Jesus as our Savior, God’s Spirit, his Holy Spirit, begins to live inside us. As we willfully allow, our spirit is affected by the Holy Spirit. Our spirit begins to take on the attributes of the Holy Spirit. This new nature will begin to affect our soul. Our entire mindset about God, our self, others and life can be transformed. Our thought patterns can become different. In turn, we can radically change many of our emotions and how we react to life circumstances. As we are guided by God’s principles as found in the Holy Bible, our resulting choices and behaviors will become more and more in line with how God wants us to live. This is how we become sanctified and holy. This is how we become a complete or whole person in spirit, soul and body.
So often, we try to make major changes in our life on our own strength. We leave God out of the picture. You can not achieve a good degree of wholeness in your own strength and abilities. The type of transformation that brings a sense of wholeness can only be done by the one who created you – by God himself. If we are to be whole, we must invite God into the deepest part of who we are – into our spirit and into our soul – so that from the inside out, we can be transformed into the type of person God wants us to be.
Our spirit, soul and body are constantly interacting together, as a whole, as a complete person. That’s the way God designed us. And Paul, inspired by God’s Spirit, shares the secret to being whole. It’s God himself who can change us through and through, in our entire being, if we desire this and ask him to. Paul tells us that “the one who calls us is faithful to do this.”
Questions to Reflect On:
To what degree are you whole in spirit, soul and body?
What behavior changes might you be attempting to make in your life? Are you trying to change from the outside in, or from the inside out?
Are you asking God to make a transformation first in your spirit, by the power of his Spirit?
Resources on Wholeness
Web Page – How God Designed Us – A Three-Part Whole
Article – God Wants You Whole
Wellness Coaching - Faith-based one-on-one coaching to assist with behavior changes
What should motivate Christians to be healthy? Why does God desire that we be healthy?
Let’s Connect!