Wholehearted




Anyone who knows me knows that I read ALOT. In the last 18 months I have read some excellent books well I have another for you.

 

This is one of those books you both hate and love at the same time, but the reason it resonates with me is because its purpose is to help us live more wholeheartedly.

Now Ezekiel prophesized that when we became Christians God would  give us a new heart and put a new spirit in us; and he would remove from us our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh, but there is more to it than that. In Deuteronomy 30:6 it says, The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

Circumcision in the Bible signifies God’s covenant with Abraham and serves as a reminder of His promises and commitment to future generations. For the Israelites, circumcision represented their identity, obedience to God, and an outward sign of their spiritual status before Him. Circumcision involves removing the foreskin or outer top layer of the penis.

Our hear also has an out layer around it called the pericardium its job is too protect the heart so if it is to be removed that means that to love God with all of our hearts we must remove our protections and leave our hearts vulnerable. 

Three of the keys in Brown's book are courage, compassion and connection. I love her definition of ordinary courage as, "To speak one's mind by telling all one's heart."  In other words courage is about vulnerability. 

So let's examine what the bible says about hearts

Ezekiel 28:2 our hearts can be proud. It is puffed up A puffed up heart is bad it is a condition called (cardiomegaly) It isn't a disease, but rather a sign of other conditions. It does not pump blood through our bodies well. Symptoms of cardiomegaly include:

  • Shortness of breath, especially while lying flat
  • Waking up short of breath
  • Irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia)
  • Swelling (edema) in the belly or in the legs

What does this mean too us? Well breath is the pneuma or holy spirit so if our hearts our proud it is not operating as it should.

Arythmia is our pace or walk a steady rhythm is a sign of a healthy walk. Arythmia by its very name tells we are unsteady. 

Edema is the retention of fluids in our bodies. If you've read some of my posts about water you know that it is critical to our spiritual health but like air pride causes living water to pool and not circulate

Jeremiah 4:19 tell us that our hearts can be anguished. Broken hearts, traumatized hearts are in pain in medicine a heart in pain, What can cause heart pain? Chest pain can stem from a heart problem, but other possible causes include a lung infection, muscle strain, a rib injury, or a panic attack. According to Proverbs 15:13 such heart ache can literally crush the spirit

Jeremiah 48:36 Tells us that our heart laments This would be the equivalent of broken heart syndrome. Broken heart syndrome is a heart condition that's often brought on by stressful situations and extreme emotions. The condition can also be triggered by a serious physical illness or surgery. Broken heart syndrome is usually temporary. But some people may continue to feel unwell after the heart is healed.

People with broken heart syndrome may have sudden chest pain or think they're having a heart attack. Broken heart syndrome affects just part of the heart. It briefly interrupts the way the heart pumps blood. The rest of the heart continues to work as usual. Sometimes the heart contracts more forcefully.

Finally, John 12:40 tells us we can have hardened hearts this would be akin to arteriosclerosis which is a hardening of the arteries by plaques This can literally include the coronary vessels that surround the heart. typically these will increase pressure, make the heart work harder and can lead to ruptures or aneurysms, which are literally holes in our vessels. Do you have a hard heart? Does it feel like it is about too rupture?

Fortunately the heart can also be wise and steadfast and joyful and can act as a shield.

How healthy is your heart?

 





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