Proverbs 4:20-22 and Our Health

How can words help our health? Proverbs 4:20-22 tells us "My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body."

As I read this I understand God to be be saying to read the Bible, His words and to keep what we read deep inside... in our heart. I have intentionally read scripture over and over again and the more I read the more I sense that His spirit... the Holy Spirit, mixes with my spirit deep in my heart... my inner self. When this occurs my body and my mind responds in healthy ways. The more often I read the Bible the better I appreciate what God has in store for me and the better I understand how much He loves me.

I believe that is one of the secrets to living a really full life... understanding the love that God has for us as an individual. When we really believe this we begin to live it out. By that I mean that we are better able to develop and sustain habits that honor our body and honor God. We also are better able to keep our mind on things of God and not things of this world.

So, allow God's words... His truths... found in the Bible, to penetrate your heart. This will bring you a richer and fuller life... and good health, in spirit, mind and body.

Have a super day!

Psalm 119:143 and Stress Management

The Bible has much wisdom regarding stress and how to manage it. "As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands" is from the New Living Translation of Psalm 119:143. The New International Version says "Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands are my delight."

This says that as a person becomes stressed that he can find relief by following the principles and commandments of God that are found in the Bible. I would contend that the Bible is the first book written on stress management. As you read and study God's Word you find that there are so many nuggets of truth and such great wisdom. The reader can gain so much if his heart and spirit are open to this great wisdom and God's principles.

More and more I have found that as I ask God to reveal to me His truths, I find them. And as I find them tucked throughout His Word, I then am challenged by figuring out how to implement these truths in my life. That is the challenge we all have... how to make it personal to us and then to do it!

There are many sites on the internet that refer to other Bible verses that might assist us when we are stressed. Here is one site. The principles found in these verses are in fact what God would want us to implement during stressful times.

As I reflect on a few of His principles a few come to mind. First, cry out to God. This is a form of Spiritual Exercise. So many times in the Bible you read where people cried out to Him when there had heavy burdens or we "stressed." Simply taking time to open up our hearts to God during these times is so very critical. For me, I have to make it a point to go deeper into my heart, not just converse with God from my mind. To be really effective for me, it has to be a heart thing. That is where we really live and relate... from our hearts. If we expect God to provide direction and strength and sooth us during difficult times, I believe He wants us to come to Him from deep within... from our hearts.

I have also learned that it takes making a certain amount of time to be alone with God. This must be a precursor to crying out to Him. We have to be able to slow way down and spend time with Him. Too often I let time rush by. One day becomes two and two days become three. I might have thought about my concerns and lifted them up to God in a quick prayer and this is good but it is not as good as spending some dedicated quiet alone time with Him. When I am able to do this and still by inner self...still my heart and go to God in an intentional deliberate way I am rewarded by the peace that comes my way. This more complete and deep peace and calmness does not come when I send off a 'quick' prayer to Him. Those quick prayers don't seem to give my spirit time to mix with His Spirit in the same way that comes from a lingering time with Him.

So, a key to being able to better manage our stress is to read the Bible and know His principles, His commandments and then to implement them into our day to day lives.

Read It. Study It. Do It! And have a wonderful day!

John 4:31- 34 and Nourishment

Recently the idea that blogging on scriptures related to health might be insightful and helpful for me as well as readers. With that in mind, this is my first entry.

In John 4: 31-34 Jesus was urged by his disciples to eat some food. They felt he needed some food because it had been a while since he had eaten. Jesus responded that he had food available to him that they did not know about. He told them, "my nourishment comes from doing the will of God who sent me and from finishing his work." This "work" was to spread the news to people about his Father's love and of the joy and everlasting life that people could have if they knew of this love in a personal way.

Yes, Jesus needed the same type of nourishment in traditional food just as we do today. But He knew that His more meaningful nourishment came from doing what He came to earth to do... to bear all of our sins... past, present and future... so that we might have everlasting life when we die and so that we might have a more abundant/full life while we are here, being filled with His love.

As I read these verses, it causes me to reflect on what "nourishment" I need. True, I need carbohydrates, proteins and fats to fuel and nourish my body. I need to consume a healthy diet of foods so that I have the energy to function. I need the correct nutrients for my mind to work properly. When I run, I rely on a certain amount of glucose floating around in my blood to fuel my muscles. But these are for physical functions. What does my spirit need to perform the spiritual functions God would have for me?

Deep in my spirit I believe I am called to share the 'Good News' of who Jesus is and about the love of God with others. As my heart is set on this and I am in this mode, I am nourished in a way that I cannot be by eating even the healthiest of foods. As Psalm 81:10 reads, "Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things." God is telling the Psalmist, and me(and us), that if I open my spirit to Him that He will fill me with good things deep in my inner most being. Well, I think that God placed in me a deep desire to share with others about His love. To tell others about His goodness. To provide hope to others. And when I do this, deep in my spirit, I am nourished.

So my questions to you are.... what type of nourishment do you need? How is your spirit nourished or fueled? Are there other scriptures that speak to you on this topic?

Have an awesome day!