Matters of the Heart

Proverbs 4 says, beginning in verse 20:
20 My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. 21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22 for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.


We must be careful to filter what we place into our hearts through the Word of God - our hearts have been redeemed and renewed by the Holy Spirit, but if we are feeding input to our hearts that is not consistent with God's Word and nature, then our spiritual health is adversely affected.

Paul wrote in Romans chapter 10 that 9 ...if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  
Have your heard about the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas?   Yes, it has such scrumptous menu items as the Triple Bypass Burger and the Quadruple Bypass Burger.   Well, according to Fox 5 Vegas and amateur video (which seems to always be showing up these days, an unidentified man dining at the establishment suffered from a heart attack at the Heart Attack Grill while feasting on one of those Triple Bypass Burgers. He is reported to be alive and recuperating.

The restaurant's slogan is "Taste Worth Dying For", and this incident comes just a year after the Grill's 575-pound, 29-year-old spokesman died.

The Vegas owner of Heart Attack Grill, "Doctor" Jon Basso -- who is not actually a doctor -- first thought the man's cardiac arrest was a joke, but soon phoned 911. Basso told Fox 5, "I actually felt horrible for the gentleman because the tourists were taking photos of him as if it were some type of stunt. Even with our own morbid sense of humor, we would never pull a stunt like that," he said.

As health and nutrition expert Pam Smith reminded us on Tuesday's program, this is American Heart Month, and while people are focused on a plethora of hearts for Valentine's Day, it can serve as a reminder to take care of our hearts - no laughing matter here!   And, we must be careful to take care of not only our physical hearts, but our spiritual hearts, the human spirit, the core of our being.    Proverbs says to guard our hearts, because our spirit, our heart, is the wellspring of life.   How we behave and respond to God and others is governed by what is in our hearts - at our core.   If we are allowing Christ to energize our hearts, then our spiritual life will be healthy, but if we place thoughts and ideas into our hearts that are contrary to God's ways, then we live at a level less than what God intended.