The Pastor’s Page
Most of us grew up being told breakfast was the most important meal of the day, but we assumed that was just Mom’s way of getting us to at least wolf down a bowl of cereal as we burst out the door to get to school. Well, it turns out that Mom was right! According to a study done by the Mayo Clinic, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, especially when it comes to the health of your heart. Throughout the course of 20 years, doctors tracked the breakfast habits and health statistics of 21,000 individuals. Respondents who grew up in homes where breakfast was skipped, or later stopped eating breakfast as adults, had significantly more health issues. Their waistlines were larger. Their cholesterol was higher. Their insulin levels were out of whack. The bottom line is that their hearts were at risk as a result. Many doctors who have studied the report now recommend eating a substantial breakfast as an essential step in avoiding serious problems later in life.
But moms and doctors aren’t the only ones concerned about heart trouble, so is Jesus. One of his most famous quotes is: “Let not your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1). Now, Jesus isn’t talking about cholesterol levels or clogged arteries. He’s talking about a different kind of heart trouble, the kind that can be classified as worry, fear, or stress; the kind of heart trouble that keeps you up at night fretting over money, worrying about your children, or devastated by a crumbling marriage. That’s the kind of heart trouble Jesus is talking about. It’s the kind we’ve all experienced. Any doctor will tell you that there are two keys to the physical well-being of your heart: a good diet and regular exercise. The same is true with your heart of faith. It must be well-fed and exercised in order to be strong and healthy.
Here’s what Jesus advises about maintaining a healthy heart of faith: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1). Jesus tells us that the key to spiritual heart health is to trust in God and feed our soul: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty . . . the one who eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:35&58). Far too many Christians have heart trouble stemming from the fact that their lives involve no regular consumption of Christ and no exercise of their faith. As a result, they’re unable to withstand the daily anxieties of life. We skip spiritual meals in favor of worldly solutions. We binge on earthly things, believing they’ll make us whole and well. You may join a gym and begin obsessing about your physical appearance and calorie count, wrongly believing that regaining control over your body will give you control over your starving soul. Meanwhile our unfed souls are growing flabby and lazy. Our troubled hearts of faith sit on the couch and consume nothing but junk. We become spiritual couch potatoes.
So, how do we feed our hearts with Christ? It comes down to being connected to the promises of his Word found in the Scriptures, and the power of his presence found in fellow Christians. Just as someone who’s cultivating physical health by taking up running might subscribe to Runner’s World and join a local running club for companionship and accountability, God’s Word and God’s people are essential for a strong heart of faith. Get more actively involved with your church family in the many activities provided at Zion’s Church. Worship regularly, read the Bible regularly, get involved in a Sunday School class, Bible study, or fellowship group, get involved in an outreach ministry.
Once your heart of faith is fed with Christ, the other essential element is to make sure it’s regularly stretched, exercised, and put to the test in a lifestyle of Christian living. Could it be that the very reason you feel so ill-equipped to face life’s obstacles is because you only try to avoid them? Could it be that the very means of strengthening your heart of faith is to jump at opportunities that will test it? For example:
Most of us grew up being told breakfast was the most important meal of the day, but we assumed that was just Mom’s way of getting us to at least wolf down a bowl of cereal as we burst out the door to get to school. Well, it turns out that Mom was right! According to a study done by the Mayo Clinic, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, especially when it comes to the health of your heart. Throughout the course of 20 years, doctors tracked the breakfast habits and health statistics of 21,000 individuals. Respondents who grew up in homes where breakfast was skipped, or later stopped eating breakfast as adults, had significantly more health issues. Their waistlines were larger. Their cholesterol was higher. Their insulin levels were out of whack. The bottom line is that their hearts were at risk as a result. Many doctors who have studied the report now recommend eating a substantial breakfast as an essential step in avoiding serious problems later in life.
But moms and doctors aren’t the only ones concerned about heart trouble, so is Jesus. One of his most famous quotes is: “Let not your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1). Now, Jesus isn’t talking about cholesterol levels or clogged arteries. He’s talking about a different kind of heart trouble, the kind that can be classified as worry, fear, or stress; the kind of heart trouble that keeps you up at night fretting over money, worrying about your children, or devastated by a crumbling marriage. That’s the kind of heart trouble Jesus is talking about. It’s the kind we’ve all experienced. Any doctor will tell you that there are two keys to the physical well-being of your heart: a good diet and regular exercise. The same is true with your heart of faith. It must be well-fed and exercised in order to be strong and healthy.
Here’s what Jesus advises about maintaining a healthy heart of faith: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1). Jesus tells us that the key to spiritual heart health is to trust in God and feed our soul: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty . . . the one who eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:35&58). Far too many Christians have heart trouble stemming from the fact that their lives involve no regular consumption of Christ and no exercise of their faith. As a result, they’re unable to withstand the daily anxieties of life. We skip spiritual meals in favor of worldly solutions. We binge on earthly things, believing they’ll make us whole and well. You may join a gym and begin obsessing about your physical appearance and calorie count, wrongly believing that regaining control over your body will give you control over your starving soul. Meanwhile our unfed souls are growing flabby and lazy. Our troubled hearts of faith sit on the couch and consume nothing but junk. We become spiritual couch potatoes.
So, how do we feed our hearts with Christ? It comes down to being connected to the promises of his Word found in the Scriptures, and the power of his presence found in fellow Christians. Just as someone who’s cultivating physical health by taking up running might subscribe to Runner’s World and join a local running club for companionship and accountability, God’s Word and God’s people are essential for a strong heart of faith. Get more actively involved with your church family in the many activities provided at Zion’s Church. Worship regularly, read the Bible regularly, get involved in a Sunday School class, Bible study, or fellowship group, get involved in an outreach ministry.
Once your heart of faith is fed with Christ, the other essential element is to make sure it’s regularly stretched, exercised, and put to the test in a lifestyle of Christian living. Could it be that the very reason you feel so ill-equipped to face life’s obstacles is because you only try to avoid them? Could it be that the very means of strengthening your heart of faith is to jump at opportunities that will test it? For example:
- What if, rather than avoiding that difficult conversation with your sister-in-law, you prayed for courage and guidance and then approached her in an attempt to reconcile?
- What if, rather than live in fear and mistrust of people different from you, you pushed aside fear and inconvenience and signed up to help out at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter?
- What if, rather than worry about your finances, you trusted God’s Word and attempted to tithe?
- What if, rather than feeding your heart with excuses to stay where you are in life, you took bold steps to takes classes, train, and learn to do new things, especially things that would help others?