Love the LORD your God with all your HEART and with all
your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
Heart disease is any abnormal condition in the body that affects the regular functioning of the heart. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in American men and women. Approximately 1+ million people die from complications resulting from a heart disease each year and one of a host of cardiovascular disorders that go beyond the heart.
While we are becoming more aware of diseases affecting the heart, most people are unaware of the disorders beyond heart attacks and stroke that fall under the cardiovascular umbrella. American Heart Association's reveal these often-chronic disease.
People affected by heart disease experience a wide variety of symptoms that directly and/or indirectly affect the heart. Cardiovascular disease can affect any blood vessel, or group of vessels, in the body. This creates a domino effect of health problems that can potentially affect every organ in the body.
These disorders often go hand-in-hand, with one problem leading to another, and another. Treatment options become more limited the sicker a person is, so prevention is really the best weapon. Once someone reaches middle-age with all of these health problems, there's no going back - these are chronic, progressive diseases.
There is, in contrast, another heart disease, prevalent to our health and wellbeing; this disease, residing within our heart, will have an (eternal) affect on our life. This evil disease can slip into our inner being undetected and allow this instability, hardening our heart, limiting our options. When we become so stubbornly set in our ways we soon discover it is impossible to turn to God, finding our way back.
The good news; there are preventive measures that can make the difference and turn this determined disease in a new direction. Obeying God is like building a house on a strong, solid foundation that stands firm when storms come. When life is calm, our foundations don't seem to matter, but when crises come, our foundations are tested. We need to be sure our life is built on the solid foundation of knowing and trusting Jesus Christ, the measure of complete restoration.
A lifetime of doing well is not enough if we make the crucial mistake of not following God with all our heart. A true follower of God puts God first in all areas of life. Because we are born sinners, our natural inclination is to please ourselves rather than God; we must ask God to cleanse us from within, filling our hearts and spirits with new thoughts and desires. Right conduct can come only from a clean heart and spirit. Ask God to create a pure heart and spirit in you. Does your heart long for God enough to change those areas displeasing him? Change a stony heart for a heart that is soft, pliable, trusting, and open to change. Are you as open to God as you should be? Or do you need a heart transplant?
We need to keep our heart pliable so we can accept Jesus' life-changing message. Our obedience must come from what God does in us, not what we can do by ourselves, be God-centered, not self-centered, be based on reverence for God, not approval from people, and go beyond keeping the law to living by the principles behind the law.
It is impossible to be neutral; every person has a master - either God or sin. A Christian is not someone who cannot sin, but someone who is no longer a slave to sin. Pleasures of this world; money, security, material possessions, can be dangerous, because their temporary satisfaction makes us indifferent to God's offer of lasting satisfaction. If you find yourself feeling indifferent to church, to God, or to the Bible, you have begun to shut God out of your life. Leave the door of your heart constantly open to God, and you won't need to worry about hearing his knock. Letting him in is your only hope for lasting fulfillment and complete cleansing; discover the best weapon for preventive heart disease. Heart disease goes beyond the heart!
Copyright 2007 Christine Ulmer
