Feb
12
2010
The month of February is recognized as heart month. Valentine’s Day is celebrated on the 14th. During this time of year, many of us are thinking about how we can demonstrate love toward a person we care about or a family member. It can also be a time to reflect on how we are caring for our own heart. It’s something God would want us to do. He tells us so the Bible.
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4:23
What does it mean to guard your heart and how do you do it?
We are told to exercise, eat well and manage our stress. These are all important measures to care for our physical heart as we are regularly reminded by members of the medical profession. What does our Creator tell us about caring for our heart? For that, we’ll need to look into the Bible, his guidebook for living life?
Guarding your heart means to forgive others who may have hurt you…. to let go of any anger, bitterness and resentment toward another that you may have and to release their hurtful behavior or words they may have spoken to you to God.
Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13
It means being mindful of what you think about. Our minds and heart are intricately connected. What we think about affects our inner spirit and heart. The Bible tells us to think about things that are pure and right and heavenly. When we do this, it creates a healthy environment for the rest of the body. In almost magical ways, these good thoughts sink deep into our being and have an impact on our nervous system and endocrine system. The hormones that are released in our bodies when we think good thoughts are heart-healthy, as opposed to the harmful hormones that are released when we are thinking negative thoughts.
Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8
Guarding our heart also means watching what we take into our minds. What we read and see over and over again will eventually make it’s way into our spiritual and emotional heart. Reading the Bible on a regular basis will help to get God’s truths into our inner being. This is healthy.
My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. Proverbs 4:20-22
Decide to have a cheerful heart. By attending to your thoughts, forgiving others and daily reading the Bible and meditating on God’s truths, you can more easily have a cheerful mindset. This is health-promoting.
A cheerful heart is good medicine. Proverbs 17:22
I encourage you to be intentional in making these spiritual exercises part of your daily life. As they become habits, your heart will be healthier. God promises it.
Questions to Reflect On
Are you taking good care of your heart, especially your spiritual heart?
Could you benefit from incorporating one of these spiritual exercises into your life?
Resources for Guarding Your Heart
Article – Physical and Spiritual Care for Your Heart
Blog Posts Related to the Heart
Web Page – How God Designed Us: Spirit, Soul and Body
Feb
09
2010
Another article appearing in the Wall Street Journal this week is worth passing along. The author, Ron Winslow, writes that “Broken Heart Syndrome is typically triggered by acute emotion or physical trauma that releases a surge of adrenaline that overwhelms the heart. The effect is to freeze much of the left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber, disrupting its ability to contract and effectively pump blood.”
“The phenomenon is a “concussion” of the heart, says Scott Sharkey, a cardiologist at Minneapolis Heart Institute. “It’s really a heart attack which is triggered by stress rather than by a blocked artery,” he says.
Triggers for broken-heart syndrome seem as varied as the number of people affected. While death of a spouse or other close family member or friend is a common cause, breakups such as a divorce or separation have also sparked the event, according to a study of 136 patients by Dr. Sharkey and his colleagues published Jan. 26 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
For others, being overwhelmed by new software at work, seeing a poultry barn burn down, or losing money at a casino all have brought the condition on, doctors say.”
Read the entire article.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23
Feb
05
2010
National Wear Red Day
Heart disease is the number one killer of women and today is National Wear Red Day. This is a campaign by the American Heart Associations to build awareness of the risk of heart disease and to raise funds for research and education on behalf of women everywhere. Many women will wear red today. My wife did. I even encouraged a male client of mine to wear a red tie today.
Heart Disease Risk Factors
The risk factors for heart disease for men and women are pretty commonly understood – high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, physical inactivity, obesity, diabetes, family history, sex, age, stress and excessive alcohol. In that light, the American Heart Association’s recommends these six lifestyle-related steps we all can take for a healthier heart:
- Avoid tobacco smoke
- Monitor high blood pressure
- Eat food low in cholesterol and saturated fats
- Be physically active
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Have regular medical exams
God and Your Heart
The above list is what the medical profession suggests we all do to attend to our “heart health.” I’d suggest that a seventh item belongs on this list - Trust, love and obey God. The heart of the matter, the truth is, that the greatest commandment that God, our Creator, has given us is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love others as yourself. ” Mark 12:28-31
When we come to the point where we love God from the bottom of our heart, it can change us completely. When we receive his love and forgiveness for all the things we’ve done wrong – all our sins – we can experience his deep love. When we trust him completely we can know real peace. When we make a choice to believe that the Holy Bible is truth and then try deep in our hearts to follow his principles for living found in the Bible, we can experience the full life that he desires for all of us to live. This includes having a healthy spiritual heart as well as a healthy physical heart.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23
“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” Proverbs 14:30
I hope you’re wearing red today… but more importantly, I hope you’re deeply in love with God.
Questions to Consider
How much do you love God? Do you trust him? Are you following his commandments out of love for him?
Is your spiritual heart right with God and with others?
Could any unforgiveness, anger or bitterness be having a harmful effect on your physical heart?
Resources for Your Heart
Web Page – Bible Verses About the Heart and Health
Article – Spiritual and Physical Care for Your Heart
Article – Forgiveness: A Spiritual Exercise for a Healthier Heart
Article – Manage Your Stress with God’s Help
Website – Faith-based Toolkit for Heart Health – National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Aug
28
2008
A few days ago I was listening to Johnny Cash’s song, “I Walk the Line”, while I was running. One of the lines in the song is “Keep a close watch on this heart of mine.” It reminded me of several scriptures:
- Proverbs 4:23 – “Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.”
- Proverbs 14:30 – “A heart at peace gives life to the body but envy rots the bones.”
- Proverbs 15 :13 – “A happy heart makes the face cheerful.”
- Proverbs 17:22 – “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
From a spiritual perspective, our heart is the deepest part of our being. It perhaps includes our soul and our spirit. It’s clear by what we read in scripture that God advises, in fact he commands us, to take care of matters of the heart. Certainly Johnny Cash knew that, and God wants us to know that too.
How do we take care of our heart? We guard against things that are not of God. We resist the lies that the evil one speaks into our mind. We spend time reading God’s Word so that His truth can sink deep into our spirit and soul – our heart. As we understand His truth by reading the Word, we do our very best to live our lives in accordance with His guidelines and His truth. We monitor our behaviors, our thoughts and what we say. We take an honest look, on a periodic basis, deep into our heart, to see if there is any aspect of our heart that is not in alignment with God.
Having any bitterness or unforgiveness in our heart certainly is not of God. If somebody has hurt you in the past, if you are upset with God or you haven’t forgiven yourself concerning an issue of your life, your heart is probably not right with either God, yourself or another person. God would want us to take this issue to Him prayerfully so that we don’t carry this burden in our heart. Doing this frees us up on the inside so that more of God’s Spirit can control us.
Yes, our heart is the wellspring of all life. It is at the deepest level of our heart that God lives in us with His Holy Spirit. He does not want to share space with anything that’s not good, pure and holy. Is your heart pure? Is your heart full of peace, joy and love? I hope so, because when that’s the case, God’s spirit certainly can be alive in you to the fullest. Consequently, your life will probably be healthier because of it. You’ll also be a better example for others who observe you as you live this life.
Take good care of your heart….and have an awesome day!!
See more scriptures about the heart
Apr
16
2008
Science Daily reports that researchers of Loma Linda University in California have found that even the anticipation of a positive humorous laughter experience reduces potentially detrimental stress hormones. 
In their work in 2006, the researchers found that the anticipation of “mirthful laughter” had significant effects. Two hormones, beta-endorphins and human growth hormone increased significantly when volunteers anticipated watching a humorous video. There was no such increase among the control group who did not anticipate watching the humor film.
Using a similar protocol, the current research found that the same anticipation of laughter also reduced the levels of three stress hormones. Cortisol, epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) and dopac were reduced. Chronically released high stress hormone levels can weaken the immune system. A weakened immune system can lead to colds, and a variety of diseases.
Proverbs 17:22 says “A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” As the research indicates, laughter and even the anticipation of laughing can release helpful hormones into our body. Likewise, if our hearts are happy, we’ll likely have a cheerful mind.
God wants us to have a heart and mind that is set on things above and that are positive. The more we love Him and dwell on His loving nature and the wonderful and cheerful circumstances that He orchestrates, the healthier we will be. It’s good medicine!
Have a terrific day!
Feb
15
2008
The author of these proverbs wrote over 2000 years ago about the importance of taking care of our heart. A traditional version of the Bible records Proverbs 14:30 this way: “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” A more contemporary version reads: “A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.” And in Proverbs 4:23 the author writes: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
What is the condition of your heart? Not your physical heart but your inner or spiritual heart? If you are at peace deep inside your soul then you stand a better chance of being healthier in the long run. But if deep in your soul or spirit you are storing emotions such as resentment, bitterness, guilt or envy your body is likely to incur some physical ailments as explained at this web site. Over time, these emotions can weaken your body’s immune system, making you more likely to get colds and other infections.
The only sure-fire way I know to rid myself of these types of damaging emotions is to turn to God in a deeper way. It’s only with His help that I can let go of these strong emotions so that I can be in a state of inner peace. When I focus on the nature of God my deep inner feelings are one of hope, calmness, serenity and peace. When our bodies are in this type of state it is conducive to good emotional and physical health.
So, consider taking a heart check… not the kind of exam that your cardiologist would administer but the kind of self examination that looks, and feels what’s going on deep inside your spirit and inner heart. If you find or feel emotions that are not conducive to peace, turn to God in a deeper way and ask Him to take away these damaging emotions. Then you have a role to play…. you’ll need to release them to God’s care.
Go have a peaceful day!
