Maintaining Your Christian Health
Good Physical Health is a Precious Possession.
When you are healthy, you enjoy life to a fuller extent, but when you are chronically sick or disabled, it is more difficult to cope with everyday living. Good health must be maintained. Many neglect their health because they make very unwise and unhealthy lifestyle choices, which lead to illness, disabilities and, yes, even death. Those who make healthy choices usually have a measure of good, vibrant health and strength throughout most of their lifetime.
"Malediction does not come
without just cause"
(Proverbs 26:2)
Spiritual Health is More Important than Physical Health.
The best of physical health cannot bring God's gift of eternal life. Good spiritual health results from clean worship and faith based on accurate knowledge (John 17:3; Hebrews 11:6; James 1:27).
The apostle Paul said: "Let the aged men be moderate in habits, serious, sound in mind, healthy in faith, in love, in endurance" (Titus 2:2). Anyone desiring to be healthy in their faith must put forth a diligent effort while maintaining a constant and vigilant awareness. The threat of contaminating your Christian spiritual health may come from within you or from outside sources. You must be aware of these threats, if you are to maintain your faith and spiritual health in this sick, fleshly world.
How Sick Is This World?
There is no doubt that this fleshly world is very sick morally and physically. You see deadly diseases in all parts of the world, as well as its corrupted religions, political systems, commercial institutions, and its entertainment world. Few have respect for God and for the laws he has given us for the protection and welfare of all humanity. As history shows, moral decay invariably leads to an increase in physical and moral diseases. Ironically, most people do not want to do anything about curing this diseased, moral condition because they love the fleshly, feelings and benefits that cause and bring it about.
While seeking the ultimate thrills to escape reality, many have ruined their lives through alcohol and drug abuse. Violence is everywhere; the value of life has no meaning for many people; jails are filled and overflowing with criminals. In many countries, half of all marriages end in divorce, and, some, in death. Children lacking proper parental supervision grow up as delinquents that are unfit to morally function within society. As sexual immorality continues to grow, at an alarming rate, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases are spreading rapidly.
In relation to faithless Judah, God accurately depicted this sick, fleshly world when he inspired his faithful Prophet Isaiah to declare: "Woe to the sinful nation, the people heavy with error, an evildoing seed, and ruinous sons! They have left God, they have treated the Holy One of Israel with disrespect, and they have turned backwards. Where else will you be struck still more, in that you add more revolt? The whole head is in a sick condition, and the whole heart is feeble. From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no sound spot in it" (Isaiah 1:4-6).
God's appeal to repent and "learn to do well" went generally unheeded in Judah (Isaiah 1:16-20). This eventually led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the Jewish nation in Babylon. Only a few faithful ones experienced God's blessing of health restoration and its preservation in the midst of sick nations. Similarly, today, in this world that is sick from head to toe, only a few desire to learn to do good. These faithful servants of God are making a diligent effort to maintain their faith and spiritual health now. Why? Because they have the hope of attaining perfect, physical, mental and spiritual, health as well as the prospect of living eternally in God's new promised world (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1-4).
If a Christian desires to attain and maintain Christian Health and Christian Healing including Spiritual Health as well as Physical Health, one must include Christian Prayers, especially daily Christian Prayers as part of one's daily living. As Christians what should we pray for? The answer would be Christian Prayers for Healing, Christian Prayers for Strength and Peace. If time is an issue even Short Christian Prayers would suffice in the eyes of God. The are many other situations that we can pray for to help us maintain spiritual health so we can continue to receive the blessings that God has bestowed upon mankind.