A Healthy Heart

Luke 2:46-50 "After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."

"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he was saying to them."

Last night my husband said something that hurt my feelings. I knew that we should talk about it before we went to bed but I didn't. I was tired and had a headache and decided it was more important to get some sleep. This is unusual for us. Whenever we have some type of disagreement, we have always tried to talk through things before we go to bed. Now we don't always do this, but it is a rare occasion that we do not work things out. Last night was one of those.

I awoke this morning knowing that we needed to talk. I knew that if we continued to let things go, it would be unhealthy for our relationship. It's like when you have an open sore that hasn't been cleaned of debris and dirt. If it is left that way it will begin to fester and become infected. If we choose to harbor things in our heart and not deal with them our hearts become unhealthy.

So how do you maintain a healthy heart? One of the first things to do is to make sure that it is clear of sin. Just like I could have chosen last night to deal with the miscommunication with my husband, I also need to choose to deal with the sins of my heart on a daily basis.

Jesus came into this world knowing that he would ultimately be a sacrifice for our sins. Even as a young boy when he was found by his parents talking with the religious leaders in the temple, he knew that he would one day die on the cross. He was already going about His Father's business.

How are you doing with maintaining a healthy heart. What do you need to do to clean house?

ACTIVITY
Make a point of dealing with things right away. Don't allow time for things to fester.

PRAYER
Dear Lord, help me to maintain a healthy heart. Rid me of my sins and help me to desire the things that bring glory to You. Amen.