Do You Have a Happy Heart?

Proverbs 17:22 NIV: A cheerful heart is good medicine
The Message Translation: A cheerful disposition is good for your health

I know we don't usually take verses like this literally, however, I believe God included them in the Bible because that is exactly what we need to do. I have talked in a previous post about scientific research and studies that have proven that positive, happy thoughts activate our parasympathetic nervous system, which rebuilds, heals and nourishes our bodies. (You can read my post dated November 10, 2008 - "An Attitude of Gratitude")

Suffice it to say that your parasympathetic nervous system stimulates your immune and digestive systems. It's pretty easy to believe that is true. Just recall a time when you were upset and worried about something. Chances are very great that you either experienced indigestion, lost your appetite or had a stomach ache! Our body systems are created to work together harmoniously and when one is affected, so are all the rest.

Research actually shows that probiotics - the good bacteria that populate your digestive tract - and enzymes - the chemicals your pancreas produces in order to digest your foods - are not produced and actually die in the body of a person who is constantly sad and worrying! That's amazing when you really think about it. You can take probiotic and enzyme supplements by the handful, but if you are constantly worrying (which at it's most basic level is simply trusting more in evil's ability to harm you than in God's ability to protect you) and sad (focusing on what you lack rather than all you have), your body is unable to produce these powerful substances that are critical to health.

We are told repeatedly in scripture, "do not worry" - about what to eat, what we'll wear, about tomorrow, about what to say in your own defense. Why? Because worrying accomplishes nothing positive, and only diverts our focus from God, Who is the solution. Now we know, it even causes our bodies to malfunction at their most basic level!

Everyone of us feels sad at times. Our emotions are affected by circumstances and that's just a part of life. However, if we are constantly sad - then we are actually in disobedience. Look at John 16:33 in the Amplified Bible. Jesus, Himself, tells us: In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer {take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted}! For I have overcome the world. {I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.} Joyce Meyer always says it this way: Calm down and cheer up!!

If the joy of the Lord is our strength, as Nehemiah 8:10 tells us, then sadness weakens us and research is proving that to be true! These are certainly difficult times we live in. There are many reasons to slip into worry, despair and sadness. While we are only human and those emotions may get the best of us at times, we can make a different choice.

The Father encourages us to be of good cheer and cultivate a merry heart. We would be wise to do just that.

A Slave to Your Whims?

1 Corinthians 6:12 NIV: Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.
NLT: You may say I am allowed to do anything. But I reply, "Not everything is good for you." And even though I am allowed to do anything, I must not become a slave to anything.

This is such a powerful verse when you relate it to our cravings and appetites. There is a huge difference between physical hunger where we need to refuel our bodies and our appetite, which is our cravings and desires rearing their ugly heads!

According to this, we have no limitations to what we can eat. We won't go to hell because we eat a pork chop or lobster tails! But, they aren't the best choices nutritionally no matter how much your tastebuds are calling out for them. Same with sugar. The only way to break a sugar addiction is to stop cold turkey. You either control your body with it's appetite and cravings, or it controls you. And if you allow your appetite to have the upper hand too often, a habit is formed and you become a slave to that desire. Until you just cut it off totally.

There's an Indian saying that you have to "starve the right wolf." That fits perfectly here. If you get in the habit of eating a chocolate candy bar every day, your body comes to expect that and when you don't have it, you experience full-blown cravings! Well, the only way to get free from that enslavement, is to "starve" it - show your body and desires who is boss!!

This is part of the reason I try to do a three-day juice fast every month. It's good for you to give your digestive system a break every now and then and fasting periodically has been proven to extend your life; I like to use the time to pray or worship and commune with God as well. But a large part of my reason for doing this regularly is to keep firmly in control of my body. It's so easy to slip into bad habits. I always feel a great sense of peace, strength and accomplishment every time I've finished the three days.

So, pay attention to what the Father tells us and don't allow your appetite to overtake you and become a slave to your whims, as the Message Bible translates this verse.

Faith at the Quantum Level

Hebrews 11:1 Amplified: Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality (faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses.)

As Christians we know that right at this very moment our faith is the substance of things we hope for (Hebrews 11:1). So, faith is a thing – a substance. It’s not a substance like a chair or a car. It is not a visible, solid, or at least what appears to us as a solid, substance. But it is a substance none-the-less. In Matthew 17:20 Jesus Himself tells us we need only faith the size of a mustard seed. The principle of sowing seed is basic in scripture. Our faith (what we believe) is a seed we sow in order to reap a harvest on that seed. The harvest, of course, is whatever we believe for. Our words are also seeds we can sow to produce either faith or unbelief.

To return to the mustard seed, Jesus used that by way of description because the people of His time would recognize it as the smallest seed they knew. They could not imagine anything smaller. When we relate this to quantum physics I believe it will help us see faith more clearly. Much of the time, people will not accept a biblical principle unless it is proven scientifically. Personally I think that’s backwards. Science doesn’t prove biblical principle since it existed first. The Bible is the source and it proves what science eventually realizes.

Quantum physics is the study of the basic components of the universe. It breaks everything down to its smallest, most elementary, basic part. We think of our bodies as composed of cells, but those cells are not the smallest part. So, then we think of molecules and then atoms and to break those down even further, we go to electrons. Quantum physics has discovered even smaller sub-atomic particles, such as quarks, that make up every thing on this earth. Everything. All things are made up of different groupings of these particles depending on what they appear to be – a human body, a table, a car, the sun, a thought, a spoken word. Keep in mind, however, that even though an object appears to be solid, like a chair, no object is truly solid. Everything is made up of constantly moving particles.

These sub-atomic particles are amazing things. At their most basic level they are energy. Everything in the universe is created and made up of energy. The energetic makeup of the human body is different from the energetic make up of your car, but they are both concentrated forms of energy. Now bear with me if you are a Christian and are thinking this is sounding New Age or crazy. It is backed up, not only by science, but more importantly, by scripture.

Scientists have proven time and time again that these sub-atomic particles of energy actually respond to whoever is observing them. Scientists have discovered and proven that their expectations influence the results of any experiment. It’s impossible for an observer involved in an experiment to have no influence on the results. The particles behave differently for each observer, according to what that observer believes! For some it appears as a wave and for some it looks like a particle. So the things we interact with daily and those things we desire are all influenced and created of those very same atoms and sub-atomic energy particles which respond to our thoughts, beliefs and words. Just as a scientist, by observing it, changed the form of a particle by what he believed and expected, we also can change things with our beliefs and expectations. The Bible clearly tells us in Matthew 8:13 and in many other places that as we believe, it will be for us. The reason is because beliefs, thoughts and words are vibrations of energy. In Hebrews 11:3 we are told that everything we can see in this world was made by God’s Word so that the things we can see were created of things that do not appear. God’s Word is creative energy and since we are created in His image, our words are also vehicles of creative energy.

Understanding these principles underscores the importance of our beliefs, expectations and the words we speak. Remember, we are surrounded by an infinite supply of energy – substance – that we are simply to believe and speak into the particular substance we can see and touch in the physical realm. Everything begins in the spiritual realm. Remember, God first said “Let there be light” and then light was. The energy for light already existed, it just wasn’t visible yet. God’s faith-filled words caused light energy to become visible.

We have the same power in our lives. Whether we know it or not and whether we believe it or not, everything in our lives is responding to our thoughts, beliefs, expectations and words every single day. What better reason to become more aware of what we are thinking and saying! Since we are creating the substance of our lives, let’s create good things, things we desire and do it purposefully. Remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 9:29, “According to your faith, be it unto you.”

Stoke Your Fire

2 Timothy 1:6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you...
James 3:5 ...Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

While these scriptures don't specifically refer to metabolism, the principle is the same. In reading and meditating on them, I was reminded how important it is to use the correct fuel and to be vigilant to keep the fire burning steadily.

Think about the similarities - you can't start a fire with wet wood. The wood has to be nice and dry. In the very same way, you can't ignite your body's metabolism with cookies, cake and processed, synthetic junk foods. It won't work. They are not fuel. They're wet wood. They will not burn. They'll simply gum up the works.

In the first scripture, Paul urges Timothy to "fan into flame" the gift. We also must fan the flame. The very best way is with exercise. We can run, walk, jog, bounce on a rebounder, lift weights, use a medicine ball, ride a bicycle, use a treadmill, play tennis, dance - all great ways to get our hearts pumping which turns up the flame. There's a second component to exercise that's critical and that is increasing oxygen.

A fire deprived of an oxygen source will not burn. In the very same way, the more oxygen we process by exercising and breathing deeply, the more fat we burn. You kind of kill two birds with one stone with this one!

Finally, weight training builds muscle which also burns fat. The more muscle we build, the more fat we burn. As we build muscle, we enable our "furnace" to burn continuously, just as fanning a flame encourages it to burn more brightly.

The objective is to do those things that create a consistent, continuously burning flame. Both in our faith and in our metabolism. Father really does know best!

It'll Do You Good!

1 Samuel 16:23 Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better and the evil spirit would leave him.

If you skim through your concordance you'll find quite a few references in the Bible to music, musical, musician, etc. The Lord created music. So many of the references tell us to sing to the Lord, sing praises to His Name, sing for joy to the Lord. In fact, we are commanded in both Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 to "sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God" - to sing and make music in our hearts to the Lord constantly.

Did you ever wonder why music is so important to God? Sure it gives us pleasure. Everyone has their own personal taste in music. The Lord's creativity is obvious in all the different styles and genres of music.

However, what I would like to draw your attention to is that science has been researching music's health benefits. Here are some fascinating facts borne out by scientific studies:

Listening to "joyful" music improved blood vessel function! Dr. Michael Miller of the University of Maryland studied heart health and documented the positive effects of laughter. He then used the same research method to study the effects of music on cardiovascular health.

In his study he asked ten subjects to bring music they enjoyed most. The music in that group ranged from country to rap to jazz and classical rock music. He emphasized that everyone responds to music differently and what is joyful to one may not be to another.

He hooked each person up to a blood pressure monitor and played their favorite music. Then he measured their blood pressure. Nine out of the ten had very positive results. The findings were very consistent. His conclusion was that the effects of listening to music you really enjoy are comparable to taking some types of heart medications or even of doing exercise. Of course, it doesn't replace the need to watch your diet. His research found that it improves blood vessel function, and can become a pleasurable addition to a heart-healthy lifestyle.

His suggestion for getting the best response is not listening to the same song day after day. If , for example, you listen to one favorite on Monday, don't listen again for a week or two. For example if you listen to a Barry Manilow CD Monday, put it away until at least next Monday. Tuesday you may choose Il Divo, Wednesday Celine Dion, Thursday Frank Sinatra and Friday Usher. Perhaps Faith Hill or Tim McGraw float your boat. Fine. Just listen to a different favorite daily and recycle them every week or two. The reason is that if you listen to the same song over and over, you become desensitized to the emotional effect. I think we can see that from the scripture that opened this post. At first, each time King Saul became agitated, David would play the harp and he would calm down. When you read further in 1 Samuel (18:10 and 19:9, 10) you see that even though David was playing the soothing music as before, Saul was not calmed and in fact tried to kill David.

Another fascinating fact is that research shows music actually by-passes the conscious mind, directly stimulating the portion of the brain that controls emotions. The right music can actually be more effective than a tranquilizer!

So, put that CD or tape in, charge up your ipod and make joyful music that you really love part of a healthy lifestyle. That's a command straight from the Father and you know He always really does know best!

Clean it Up!

Matthew 23:26 Blind Pharisee! First, clean the inside of the cup and dish and then the outside also will be clean.

I realize that in this verse, Jesus is referring to greed and hypocrisy, spiritual and soul issues. However, I believe it is relevant to another issue, one that relates to our physical health.

So many of us are focused on the goal of "looking" younger. In our society, younger is better. We exercise, starve ourselves, take all sorts of diet pills and other drugs that promise noticeable results. We submit to botox, cosmetic surgery and liposuction. We are missing the most important factor in real health and wholeness. And an unexpected bonus will be that we actually look and feel better, with more energy - which equals youthfulness to me.

What am I talking about? Detox. Not, not drug detox which is what most people may think of. I mean purposely, systematically, periodically cleansing our spirits, souls and bodies of the toxins that assault us on a daily basis. Real healing and health begin from the inside out, at the cellular level. If you have poisons flooding your cells, eventually your body will begin to break down.

These toxins and poisons are all around us - in the air we breathe, in our water and food, in our emotions, relationships and thoughts. Unless we are consciously aware of them and take the necessary steps to flush them from our lives, they build up and overtake us.

We must take Jesus' command to the Pharisees to heart and look inward in all three areas of our lives. We can take that day of rest God instituted for our good and use it to pray, worship God and release any toxic attitudes we are harboring in our spirits: unforgiveness, offense, resentment, fear, worry, envy. Acknowledge them to yourself and then confess them to God. He already knows about them, but the very act of admitting you are fearful or resentful is cathartic for you. Spend time in praise and worship; meditate on the Word of God and realign your spirit.

Are you walking around with a toxic soul - mind, will or emotions? Fasting is one of the most effective ways to detox. Fasting is simply giving up food for a set period of time. Why not try a "soul" fast - give up criticizing, judging, complaining, worrying, gossiping, procrastinating? Stop speaking negative words for one day. It isn't easy - you have to be aware and willing to stop yourself, but you can do it. Then go two days; how about three? Are you always putting yourself down? Listen to your self talk and make a concerted effort to stop those negative, defeating thoughts in their tracks and replace them with positive, encouraging thoughts. Change those "I can't" thoughts to "I can" and "I will." Not only will you feel a difference, you will see your entire countenance change!

What about your body? There are many different ways to detoxify. You can try a raw food diet, juice fast, use one of the many cleanses available at your health food store, try a plan like Isagenix, eat more organic vegetables and fruits and increase water and fiber. I, personally, do a 3-day juice fast every month. I look at it holistically - I tithe a tenth of my month to cleansing my spirit, soul and body. The act of denying myself cleanses and strengthens my spirit and soul (particularly my will!) and the juices and green foods cleanse my body and give my digestion a rest. That's only one way to do it.

Recently I was given a book to read called, "Give Your Body a Break" by Celeste Davis. She is a Whole-Food Lifestyle and Detox Coach. She details in her book a 28-day plan using mostly raw, whole foods to cleanse the body, as well as practicing forgiveness and living life intentionally. It's an excellent option for someone with health issues who wouldn't otherwise know where to begin. She details the plan day by day and walks you through it. I highly recommend it and you can get more information at thewellnessworkshop@msn.com.

Father always knows best. In order for the outside of our temple to look its best, we must begin by cleansing the inside.

Walking in the Light

2 Peter 3:8 One day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.

Many read this scripture and think it can't possibly be taken literally. Well, I came across something very interesting that proves once again that Father really does know best and He doesn't just say things for effect!

Albert Einstein was the first to see and note the connection between time and light. His work has proven that light is the only unchangeable constant in the universe. Energy changes, light cannot. Before we go further - the bible says God is light (1 John 1:5), so keep that in mind.

Light also has a measurable speed - it moves at 186,000 miles per second. Nothing is known to move faster and Einstein himself said that the only thing that could possibly cross the threshold of the speed of light would have to be called "eternity." In 1 Timothy 6:15-16 God Himself is described as living in unapproachable light!

In James 1:17 we learn that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. In other words, God, Who is light, doesn't change - He is constant. God dwells in unapproachable light - nothing can get close to or go beyond God's light. Einstein said life as we know it couldn't cross the threshold of light speed without somehow changing. Let's go further with this - it's awesome!

While you are reading this post, God has already had the opportunity to travel around the world at least 7 times. This is how He can be everywhere at one time. Einstein said the faster you travel, accelerating toward the threshold of light speed, the slower time becomes. If you could cross that threshold, you'd step over into eternity, where God, Who is absolute light, lives. Keep that in mind as I relate what a scientist in California described. This is a documented scientific model:

If a rocket carrying astronauts was launched maintaining a speed that is 80% of the speed of light and traveling away from earth 15 days and back 15 days, there would be a strange result. Inside the rocket the astronauts would age 30 days - 15 days out and 15 back that they traveled. But at 80% of light speed, they would return to find people on earth had aged 60 days. Traveling at 80% of the speed of light caused the astronauts to experience a stretching or slowing down of time as compared to the people living on earth.

He repeated the model only this time the astronauts traveled 15 days each way traveling 85% of light speed. The result this time was that even though the astronauts only aged 30 days, a 5% increase of the speed of light caused a slowing of time that resulted in the people on earth aging 10 years!

Finally, the astronauts traveled at the threshold of light speed. That's as close to the speed of light as you could travel without going beyond it. Again they traveled 15 days out and 15 back. Arriving back home they would find the earth had aged 30,000 years while they only aged 30 days. These are mathematically proven models.

Look again at the scripture at the beginning of this post - it is a perfect confirmation of this scientific model. The ratio between 30 days and 30,000 years, reduces to 1/1000. One day is as a 1,000 years!!

The closer you get to light speed the more slowly time elapses. So the practical application is that the more you walk in the light of God, the more time will slow for you and enable you to effortlessly accomplish more! Talk about a stress reducer!

You may be wondering exactly how you can do that - well, since God is light and God and His Word are one, you can walk in the light by getting into the Word of God. Prayer will usher you into His presence. Anytime you are communing with God, you are in His presence and "walking in the light."

Try it and see if it isn't true for you. Everywhere you go, everything you do, commune with God, talk to Him, be consciously aware of His presence, include Him in every thought, decision, problem and circumstance. Be conscious and aware of God every minute of the day and you will be walking in the light. I can tell you from personal experience, you'll be amazed not only at how much you accomplish, but at how effortless it seems.

I challenge you to try this and then let me know what happens for you.