Here Come the Judge!

Dan Kunz

Judges in the United States have been in the spotlight for the last couple of years because of their rulings on a variety of issues.  Whether at the local level, the state Supreme Court, federal courts, or the United States’ Supreme Court, judges are a very important part of the republic in which we live.  An important election is taking place next week in Wisconsin to choose a new member of the state Supreme Court.  The U.S. Supreme Court made a very important ruling on Roe vs. Wade just a couple years ago.  A federal district judge recently made the headlines for calling a pause on the deportations of two planeloads of violent illegal aliens who have ties to foreign gangs which have been designated as terrorist organizations. 

Judges are not just part of our society but have been a part of human existence from the beginning.  Literally, a judge is a public official who is appointed to hear cases in a court of law.  In reality, we are all judges.  As a verb, judge means to form an opinion or conclusion about something.  We do that many, many times every day.  Sometimes our judgements are relatively small and insignificant.  We decide what best to wear if the weather appears threatening.  Sometimes our judgements are more important.  We decide which vehicle will do the best job of keeping our family safe and sound.  As Christians, we decide whether our actions will be God-pleasing or not.  Those judgements aren’t just based on someone else’s weather report or a product review we saw online, they’re based on God’s Law, written in our hearts and given to Moses on Mount Sinai.

Judges who are part of our court system in this country, also have a touchstone or a guiding light upon which they are to make their decisions – the Constitution of the United States.  Unfortunately, just as with most things in our world, we don’t always like what the “rules” say.  We want to twist things to our way of thinking.  Words which are often used today are “activist and Constitutionalist”.  The latter generally tries to make decisions based on a strict interpretation of the Constitution.  The former tends to make decisions based on how they think the law applies to life in American in 2025.  In one case the law is fairly inflexible.  In the other the law is much more malleable and flexible.  That’s not the case with the Ten Commandments and God is definitely not an “activist” when it comes to constantly changing the interpretation thereof.

Although people might like to change what God says about their behavior, the fact remains that he will judge them based on his rules, not theirs.  What is acceptable to society, or an individual, is not necessarily acceptable to God.  For example, taking God’s name in vain or using crude language seems to be more and more acceptable today.  God doesn’t make amendments to his Law or leave it to our interpretation.  As the joke goes, “They’re the Ten Commandments, not the Ten Suggestions”.  Fortunately, when it comes to God’s judgement of us, he first puts on his “Jesus glasses”!  Unlike rose-colored glasses, which only give everything a rosy tint or hue, “Jesus glasses” makes us look like Jesus when God looks at us.  On our best day, we’re a damnable sinner.  Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, his perfection becomes ours, all day every day.  We don’t need to be afraid of The Judge, he’s also our Savior!  Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the undeserved gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A friendly reminder:  The Christian Leadership Experience will be held on June 13-14 at the LaCrosse Center.  The “Early Bird” discount is scheduled to end on March 31, so please go to our website, www.ChristLead.com and register soon, if you haven’t already done so.  We look forward to seeing you and enjoying a faith-impacting conference with you!

Pure Evil

Dan Kunz

If any of you have had the opportunity to travel to some of the remote, hard-to-access, beautiful locations in the world, you may have thought the world is a pretty nice place, created by God for his children and you don’t mind being here.  Unfortunately, those “good vibes” only lasted until you returned to civilization.  Once back home, you realized although God created it to be a wonderful place, sin soon marred it and it became an evil, wicked place, full of the Devil’s traps and snares.  Watching the news any day of the week will underscore that dozens of times.  This past week was no exception.

Many Americans were not fans of Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, while he was in power.  The list of atrocities during his tenure is a lengthy one.  That being said, what has happened since he was forced out of office and out of the country, may be worse.  Now several factions are all fighting for control and, it seems, “old scores” are being settled.  According to many news reports, over one thousand people have been killed in the past week, many of them Christians.  Describe it as ethnic cleansing, jihad, or any other term for extermination, it is pure evil.  

If you are a resident of Wisconsin or a consumer of conservative news, you may have seen or heard about the Bernie Sanders “rally” at the University of Wisconsin – Parkside this past Friday.  You may agree with the ideology of Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, or not, but you can’t ignore the message sent by the so-called “entertainment” for the event.  Laura Jane Grace, a transgender punk rocker, sang the most blasphemous, disgusting, over-the-top song most people have ever heard.  It was pure evil.  To be honest, I’m surprised the earth didn’t open up and swallow her (check out the story of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram in the book of Numbers).

As Christians, we should never be deceived into thinking the world isn’t so bad.  What God created was good, the sinful world is not.  Good, decent, God-fearing people do exist, but so does pure, unadulterated evil, as shown by the two examples above.  Genesis 6:5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that all the thoughts and plans they formed in their hearts were only evil every day.  

So what do we do about the evil in the world?  First and foremost, expose it for what it is.  Christians should never simply sit by and allow evil to grow bold because of our silence.  Secondly, we need to pray for God’s relief and God’s judgement.  Protect us from the attacks of the Devil, personally, locally, and world-wide.  Whenever possible, confront evil with the truth.  This may be uncomfortable and maybe even dangerous at times, but with the courage of the shepherd boy, David, when confronting the blasphemous giant, Goliath, God will, ultimately, see his will carried out.  Finally, remember who’s in charge and who holds the final say.  Although it may seem, at times, the “bad guys” are winning, they will have to answer for the wickedness by which they’ve lived on the Last Day.  Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. To be sure, whatever a man sows, he will also reap.

A friendly reminder:  The Christian Leadership Experience will be held on June 13-14 at the LaCrosse Center.  The “Early Bird” discount is scheduled to end on March 31, so please go to our website, www.ChristLead.com and register soon, if you haven’t already done so.  We look forward to seeing you and enjoying a faith-impacting conference with you!

Foot Fingers

Dan Kunz

A few years ago, my friend described an encounter he had with his then daughter’s boyfriend (now husband).  Lukas is from Brazil and although his English is now very good, at the time he sometimes struggled to find the correct word for something in English.  Lukas was visiting Allison up in Wisconsin and it was winter.  Scott asked Lukas to help him with some work outside.  Of course, Lukas wasn’t used to the cold weather, and although he was bundled up pretty well, he appeared to be turning a little blue.  When Scott asked if he was warm enough, Lukas replied, “My foot fingers are a little cold.”  Foot fingers?  It only took Scott a few seconds to finger out what Lukas was saying.  He couldn’t remember the English word for “toes”, so he simply described them with the words he could remember – foot fingers!  That’s not only funny and cute, but it’s also a perfect description of what our toes are.  Even if he didn’t have all the right words, Lukas was able to convey his meaning.  Scott was able to find him some warmer socks and the outdoors project continued.

If you dive below the surface just a little bit, there’s a lesson for all of us in that exchange.  Even if we don’t always have the exact words for something, with some thought and persistence, we can usually convey the meaning we want.  Moms and young children just learning to speak are a good example.  If all else fails, just point and one can usually get the message across.  This also works with adults who don’t speak the same language.  On a recent fishing trip in Mexico, my friend and I had a guide who didn’t speak very much English.  As a matter of fact, he spoke almost no English.  Yet over four days of fishing he was usually able to make us “dumb Gringos” understand through pointing and hand gestures.  We can do the same thing when conveying the Gospel!

Probably the number one “excuse” which people use for not sharing the Gospel with others, is that they don’t know what to say.  They claim they are not “seminary-educated” and so, don’t have the proper terminology for all the wonderful information they have to share about Jesus and God’s plan of salvation for the world.  You may get sanctification and justification turned around.  You may not know what reconciliation and propitiation mean.  The trinity and eternity are difficult for us to wrap our head around.  You may not be able to speak “religion”.

You can, however, point to God.  You can tell someone how the Heavenly Father directs your life.  You can describe your relationship with Jesus.  You can illustrate how the Holy Spirit comes to comfort you in times of trouble.  “Hark, the Voice of Jesus Crying” was written by Daniel March in 1868, and beautifully explains this concept with the words, “You can tell the love of Jesus, you can say he died for all”.  Our lives preach a powerful sermon, as do our words.  When a believer lives a life of love and service to the Lord and his fellow man, people see it.  When a believer shares Jesus, people hear it.  The great part is that the power of the message doesn’t come from us – it comes from God.  You plant the seed; he makes it grow.  Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes—to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  Sharing the Gospel?  Whatever it takes!

Home

Dan Kunz

 A few weeks ago, I volunteered to run the projector for our early service at church.  The church has two large screens in front, which show the items from the service folder so people can follow the liturgy, hymns, and so on.  The projection booth is in a far back corner of the sanctuary, from which one can easily see the entire congregation.  An older man, somewhat disheveled, came in a sat in the second last pew just before the service.  I’m not sure if he lives on the street, but he might.  I don’t believe he is a member.  I don’t believe I ever saw him before.  After the service, two different men of the congregation walked up to him, shook his hand, and chatted with him for a couple minutes.  It was awesome to see how those two men tried to make the man feel welcome!

The experience made me think of a Robert Frost poem which I used to teach in my American Literature class.  It’s called, “The Death of the Hired Man”.  The basic story line is that an old hired man who is dying, returns to the farm where he worked on and off throughout his life.  Evidently, he had worked there enough to consider it “home”.  The old man’s name is Silas, his former employer is Warren, and the farmer’s wife is Mary.  Mary begs Warren to be kind to Silas, as he is old and sick.  Warren at first is somewhat irritated because, in the past, Silas was rather unreliable.  As the poem continues, it becomes evident that Silas has come “home” to die.  Perhaps the most memorable line from the poem is this: “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.” 

Isn’t that a perfect description of a church, a congregation, a gathering of believers?  Like the hired man, we are all old, sick, and dying, regardless of our current situation in life.  Also, like the hired man, we have a home where we can go, and they have to take us in!  It’s one of the many blessings of a church.  2 Corinthians 5:14 “For the love of Christ compels us, because we came to this conclusion: One died for all; therefore, all died.”  Because Christ died for all of us, we are all united.  We are all brothers and sisters.  We are all part of the same family.  Because we’re all in the same family, we are all compelled by the love of Christ to care for and about one another.  A church is a home, a family.  It is a place where all should be welcome and welcomed!  Is your church welcoming?  Are you welcoming? 

Just like earthly families, we don’t always get along.  We don’t always like each other.  We don’t always love each other.  That’s a result of sin, but that’s not how it should be.  As God tells us through the Apostle Paul, Romans 12:18 “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, maintain peace with everyone.”  Throughout his life, Jesus showed his love for all people in countless ways.  He healed the sick.  He fed the poor.  He ate with tax collectors and prostitutes.  Ultimately, he died for every single unlovable person on earth because he loved them, and we should too!

To paraphrase Frost, “(Church) is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.”  We all have such a home, and we should all share it with our brothers and sisters!

Stewing

Dan Kunz

Have you ever sat in a hot tub or sauna for thirty seconds?  No?  Me, either.  If you’re fortunate enough to have a hot tub or a sauna at your house, or if you ever stay at a hotel or resort which has those amenities, you probably look forward to sitting in the warmth and water or steam for as long as possible.  The warmth and moisture penetrate your muscles and joints.  You relax and let the cares of the day float away.  You sit and “stew” in the total relaxation of the moment, soaking it in and trying to absorb it into every fiber of your being.  It feels good and it’s good for you!

I recently heard the expression, “sitting in the Gospel”.  I wasn’t sure what that meant until I thought about it for a while.  I believe the person meant soaking in the meaning of God’s Word and letting it permeate every part of you and your life – stewing in the Gospel!  If you read this blog on a regular basis, you may know that I’m somewhat of a “box checker”.  I enjoy making a list, completing the tasks on it, and then checking each box for those items.  Unfortunately, even well-intentioned Christians can become box checkers when it comes to God’s Word.  Okay, I read my devotion for today, now I can move on.  I read the Bible today, let’s get on with the day.  If we don’t spend more than a few moments with one of God’s truths or concepts, we run the risk of forgetting about them very quickly.  They don’t affect us the same way as letting them soak into our hearts.  The Apostle James warns about this, James 1:23-24 23 In fact, if anyone hears the word and does not do what it says, he is like a man who carefully looks at his own natural face in a mirror. 24 Indeed, he carefully looks at himself; then, he goes away and immediately forgets what he looked like.  Truths, concepts, and facts don’t do us much good if we don’t remember them and put them into practice!

On the other hand, Jesus’ mother, Mary, is great example how we should approach God’s message.  She absorbed the details of her life (raising the Son of God) by “treasuring up all these things, pondering them in her heart”.  The Bible tells us she did that a lot.  Some of the monks of the Middle Ages literally spent their entire adult life studying and thinking about God’s Word.  If one only studies and doesn’t put it into practice, that’s not good either, but at least they weren’t like the man looking into the mirror. 

My personal Bible study takes place every morning, shortly after I get up.  I’m going to try an experiment, and I invite you to join me.  (As with most things, being intentional is almost always better.)  I usually underline key passages and ideas when I do my morning Bible study.  I’m going to take it a step beyond that.  I plan to write that passage or concept on a notecard of some sort and stick it in my pocket.  At lunch, dinner time, and bedtime, I’ll re-read the card and spend a few minutes thinking about what God is saying to me through his Word.  Hopefully, it’ll be like Mary treasuring up those things and pondering them.  They still need to be put into practice, but at least they’ll be more firmly rooted in my heart!

A Living Hell

Dan Kunz

Unless you’ve been visiting the Arctic or the moon for the past two weeks, you’ve certainly seen the horrific scenes of destruction in the Los Angeles fires.  It’s almost impossible to wrap your mind around the enormity of the tragedy.  Just the loss of life alone is terrible, but when you see block after block of the ashes of what used to be homes, schools, and businesses, it’s even more heartbreaking.  As bad as hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes are, probably at least some of people’s possessions can be salvaged.  Fire utterly destroys whatever it touches.  Only scraps, if anything, are left.  It’s not surprising that time and time again, the residents which survived the fire and evacuation described the experience as a “living hell”.  Words such as apocalypse, Armageddon, and conflagration were also frequently used.

Over the past several years, the word “denier” (one who denies something) has become popular.  We hear or read about “climate deniers”, “election deniers”, and all sorts of other deniers.  Unfortunately, we can add “hell deniers” to that list.  Obviously, someone who doesn’t accept the concept of any higher power isn’t going to accept the idea of heaven or hell, but those aren’t the only ones.  Even people who claim to be spiritual sometimes will talk themselves out of a place of eternal torment.  “A kind and loving God wouldn’t punish someone that way,” is their logic.  If you only look at one aspect of the person of God, such thinking makes sense, but the person of God is not just one aspect.  Yes, God is kind and loving.  God is also just.  God’s sense of justice demands sin must be punished.  If that were not the case, God would not be just.  His perfection requires his justice.  If that was the end of the story, of course, we’d all be in trouble.  His love for us, however, reached out with a plan to meet the need for justice.  He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to bear the burden of sin for us.  Anyone who believes in and accepts Christ’s payment for sin is saved.  It’s literally as simple as that.  An unbeliever is still under the burden of God’s justice.  Hell is a very real place and will be that person’s destination for eternity!

We’ve probably all heard the expression, “Scare the hell out of somebody”.  Hell isn’t just scary, it’s terrifying!  The California fires are a stark image of hell, or at least a glimpse of what hell might be like.  We can’t totally grasp what heaven is like, but we also can’t totally grasp what hell is like, either.  What we do know is that eternal separation from God is the worst aspect of hell.  We also know it’s a place of eternal torment. Mark 9:47-48 47 If your eye causes you to fall into sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’  That last verse should strike sheer terror into the heart of anyone who does not rely on the grace of God through Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior!  It is a quote from Isaiah 66:24, which describes maggots and unending fire.  A dump outside the city of Jerusalem called “Gehenna” was such a place.  It was a place where garbage, including dead animals and, sometimes, human bodies, were burned.  Between the fire and the work of maggots, it was the most disgusting, revolting place you could imagine.  The smell alone must have been overwhelming.  Such is hell.

Please keep Los Angeles in your prayers, but even more important, pray for those who don’t accept Jesus as their Savior, so they don’t experience for eternity, the worm that does not die and the fire that is not quenched!

Tweak Your Prayer

Dan Kunz

I try to start each day with three things – a devotional reading or video, time in God’s Word, and prayer.  I can’t say I never miss a day, but most days begin that way.  Since this is New Year’s Day, my prayers for family and friends is, perhaps, a little “bigger” than many days.  It’s natural at the outset of a new year, to ask God for his protection and grace for the coming year, not just for the coming day.  As I asked for those things this morning, it occurred to me I may be requesting God to work at cross purposes in people’s lives.  One the one hand, I asked our Heavenly Father to watch over and protect my family from all harm and danger, make their lives happy and pain-free, and to bless them with good things.  On the other hand, I also asked him to strengthen their faith, draw them closer to each other, and tighten the bond with him.  If you think about it, those two “asks” don’t necessarily always fit together.

Today marks the second anniversary of the death of our beloved son-in-law, Ryan.  If you read this blog regularly, you may remember I lost six family members in 2023.  The year was a tough one and it seemed at times our family experienced few “good things”.  Obviously, we did experience them, but it’s a little harder to enjoy and rejoice when our hearts are breaking over so many losses.  Two years later, we can look back and see, however, that the Lord who loved us, loves us, and will continue to love us, in his Son, Jesus Christ, has done just what we asked in the second half of the prayer for our family and friends.  Because of our (what we thought were unbearable) losses, God strengthened our faith, drew us closer to each other, and closer to him. 

1 Peter 1:6-7 6 Because of this you rejoice very much, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various kinds of trials 7 so that the proven character of your faith—which is more valuable than gold, which passes away even though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Pain, suffering, loss, death, and all the other parts of life we endure are not the only way God accomplishes those three important goals for our lives, but they are a significant way in many cases.  Perhaps prayers for our loved ones should be tweaked just a bit.  By all means, ask God, if it is his will, to spare them from all the hurts and pain which could come tomorrow, or next month, or in the coming year, but also ask for his presence and his grace, when those heartaches do come, as they may, remembering that God’s undeserved love is shown both in his sending Jesus to rescue us from sin, death, and the power of the Devil and in his intervention in our daily lives.  Ask him for supportive and faith-filled family and friends to comfort and console.  Ask the Holy Spirit to use all of life’s events to strengthen our faith and focus our eyes on the ultimate goal of that faith – to spend eternity in the presence of God with those we know and love!

My Father’s Son

Dan Kunz

About a week and a half ago, my wife and I went to a friend's landscaping and nursery business to buy our Christmas tree.  Since our house has a beautiful great room, we can get almost any size tree we want.  Two of our daughters also have houses with great rooms and so a “friendly” competition has developed.  Who has the biggest tree this year?  I put an end to the discussion the first year in our new house with a fourteen-footer!  Did I mention I’m very competitive?  Anyway, this year’s tree is a beautiful Frazier fir of twelve feet.  Even without decorations it’s beautiful!  While my wife was gone for the evening, I decided to put up the tree, so it was ready for her to decorate the next day.  I cut a few inches off the bottom, trimmed some unruly branches, and set it in its stand.  Once I got it upright, I noticed it wasn’t as straight as I wanted, so I got on my belly under the tree and started the slow process of loosening one set of “anchors” and tightening the other side to adjust the tree to be perfectly vertical.  Unfortunately, I loosened a little too much on the side closest to me and all twelve feet of Frazier fir came crashing down on me.  (It actually wasn’t so much of a crash as a slow motion topple!)  Because it wasn’t decorated yet, I kind of slipped out from under it.  No harm, no foul!  I had to laugh at myself when I remembered a “family classic” from many, many years ago.

As my dad lay in bed, he remembered he hadn’t shut off the lights on the Christmas tree, a definite no-no in the years before mini-lights which give off no heat.  People were always worried about extremely hot lights starting their tree on fire.  When he reached behind the tree to unplug the lights, he lost his balance and the whole tree, fully decorated, came crashing down on him.  He had to yell for my mom, who was already asleep, to come and get the tree off him so lights and ornaments weren’t needlessly broken!  It must have been quite a sight because the story has remained in the family all these years.  As I thought about those events, I realized, “I am my father’s son!”  How many families have two generations of “Christmas klutzes”?

Do you know who else is his father’s son?  Jesus.  John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”  The tiny baby, born in a stable and laid in a manger, whose birth we celebrate every Christmas, really is a “chip off the old block”.  Like his Father, Jesus is eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.  The best characteristic of all, however, which the two share, is their absolute love for us!  The Bible contains literally dozens and dozens of passages which proclaim the Father’s love for his children.  Jesus shares in every one of those passages.

Think how Jesus expressed that love!  He gave up everything heaven has to offer.  He came to earth and shared our humanity for thirty-three years.  He was laid in a food trough for animals.  He was reviled, insulted, spit upon, punched, and beaten.  He was executed like a common criminal on a cross.  This is the best Christmas present we could ever have - the love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus, a love beyond description!  As the hymn writer so appropriately asked, “What wonderous love is this?”  Jesus really is his Father’s Son.

The Elephant

Dan Kunz

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room right away and get it over with.  If he has the power to do so, should a father pardon his son?  Absolutely not!  Why?  Because if he pardons his son, then the rest of us are in a lot of trouble.  Wait, what?  You probably thought I was talking about Joe Biden’s pardoning of his son, Hunter.  Actually, I was talking about God the Father pardoning his son, Jesus.  Let’s take some time to look at the two situations and see what we can learn.

Do you suppose Hunter wanted to be pardoned?  Do you suppose he thought he might be pardoned?  Probably.  It appears that Hunter was a “bad actor” for a long time and was not held accountable.  Part of his problems stemmed from his drug abuse, which is a terrible thing, but not all actions can be blamed on that.  Did Jesus want to be pardoned?  Matthew 26:39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”  What Jesus was about to experience was so far beyond spending a few years in prison, it’s not even comparable.  A criminal pays for his own crimes.  Jesus paid for the crimes of the entire world.  We can’t imagine what that would be like.  He knew and yet he said, “as you will”.

A rather odd thing about Hunter’s pardon is that he wasn’t just pardoned for the two crimes for which he may have gone to prison, income tax evasion and lying on a firearm permit form, (in one he pled guilty and in the other he was found guilty by a jury) he was pardoned for any federal law he may have broken over a ten-year period of time, from 2014-2024.  Legal analysists agree the broad scope of the pardon is incredible.  Imagine you and I seeking a pardon from God, not just for federal crimes and not just for ten years, but for every sin we’ve committed during our entire life!  That’s what we got in our pardon.  Jesus, on the other hand, who committed no sins, no crimes, was not given a pardon.  Many people say Hunter’s pardon was understandable.  What father would allow his son to go to prison if he had the power to prevent it?  God the Father loved his Son and could have “pardoned” him, but, instead he loved us so much he did not pardon his Son.  He sent him to die for us.

Finally, pardons come in various forms and with various limitations.  According to federal courts, presidential pardons are expansive, but not limitless.  In the case of our pardon from God, it is completely without limit.  We are pronounced sinless, despite the millions or billions of sins we commit.  We are pronounced sinless, despite the size of our sins. Little white lies and mass murder are one in the same – gone!  Psalm 103:12 …as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.  President Biden said repeatedly he would not pardon his son, but he did.  Our God said he would pardon us, and he did!  He said he would not pardon his Son and he didn’t.  We can’t help but stand in awe of the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father.  He devised the plan to save us and he executed it.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

The Heart of the Matter

As the survivor of a silent heart attack years ago, part of my daily regimen includes taking a baby aspirin every day.  Of course, I take other meds too, all of which help keep my heart healthy.  Eating a healthy diet, regular exercise, and reducing stress are also part of keeping my “ticker” ticking!  Those things, however, are not the only aspect of having a healthy heart.

If any of you watch The Sean Hannity Show on Fox News, you know that he always ends his program with the encouragement, “Let not your heart be troubled!”  Christians may recognize these words of Jesus in the book of John, chapter 14.  I’m not sure of Hannity’s reason for always giving this encouragement, but, since he’s primarily reporting on news and politics, it might be easy for his viewers to be concerned, troubled, or frightened.

A friend of mine always ends his emails with a similar exhortation, “Guard your heart!”  Again, Christians may recognize these words from Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”  I appreciate my friend’s advice to all those with whom he communicates.  We’re probably all familiar with the old saying, “You can never be too careful.”  For someone who seems very accident-prone, I’m sure those who know me assume I’ve never heard that saying, or, at least, don’t take it seriously!  Being careful with the primary organ which keeps us alive is important, but spiritually speaking, guarding our heart is even more important.

If any of you own pets, especially dogs, you are probably familiar with heartworm disease.  Without getting too detailed (or grossing anyone out), a mosquito bites an infected dog and becomes the host to the heartworm larvae.  When the mosquito bites a healthy dog, the larvae is now transmitted into the dog’s bloodstream and matures into an adult heartworm.  The adult heartworms produce larvae and the whole cycle starts over.  Unfortunately, heartworms can do severe damage to an animal’s heart, lungs, and other organs, often resulting in death.  One method of protecting your pet is by giving them a monthly preventative, appropriately called “Heartgard”.

We know Satan hates God but can’t hurt him personally.  He can, however, attack God’s beloved children.  He often does this through our heart.  Just as a heartworm infects a dog’s heart and spreads throughout its body, causing disease and death, Satan “infects” our heart and the results are often catastrophic.  Matthew 15:19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts – murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.  A dog may look healthy but that doesn’t mean it’s not infected.  We may not commit a particular outward sin but that doesn’t mean our heart is not infected. 

So how, exactly, do we “guard our heart”?  What’s our spiritual Heartgard?  We can guard our heart in several ways.  Regular attendance at worship is one.  Daily devotions and immersion in God’s Word are two more.  Association with fellow believers is important.  (Bad company truly does corrupt good character.)  Prayers for strength and purity are huge benefits.  It may sound simplistic, but thinking about the right things is a skill to develop, too.  Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” 

Even when we do our best to guard our heart, unfortunately, it can still get infected.  Heartworm disease in dogs can be treated.  It is very expensive, requires multiple injections, and often is futile.  Our heart can also be treated.  The cure is free, requiring only one treatment, and is always successful.  The cure for our “infection” is an application of the blood of Jesus Christ!  So guard your heart, rely on God’s cure, and let not your heart be troubled!