Both my Grandfather and Uncle on my Mom’s side passed away from heart attacks. Heart anomalies run in the family and so it is wise for me to get my heart checked often. Without the heart beating properly I could jeopardize my long term health and future. A routine heart check up using an EKG, could be beneficial.

“Each time your heart beats, an electrical signal travels through the heart. An EKG can show if your heart is beating at a normal rate and strength. It also helps show the size and position of your heart’s chambers. An abnormal EKG can be a sign of heart disease or damage. “https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/electrocardiogram/

Just as vital as our physical heart is our spiritual heart. Is our spiritual heart in good shape and ready for what lies ahead? We would be wise at this junction, with all that is pulling at us, to check our spiritual hearts. The weight of the world can crumble and clog our hearts if we are not careful. I just read a headline that said that in Japan, suicide deaths now outnumber Covid-19 deaths https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/28/asia/japan-suicide-women-covid-dst-intl-hnk/index.html. These are surely dark days. Many are giving up hope. This is the equivalent of our spiritual hearts failing us. Watch this short video below.

There is a prophecy that in the last days, “men’s hearts shall fail them.” The prophecy is found in Luke 21:26 and reads, “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” As we look around us now it is easy to get discouraged.

I feel like as soon as I make some progress up my personal mountain climb that I can get thrown back down a ways. Despite them being my biggest blessings, the challenges of being a husband, father, owning a house and small business are all consuming. Life has a certain way of bringing us to our knees and humbling us. The pandemic, the political strife and secret combinations of evil all seem to be weighing me down. Part of me wants to sell everything and go live in a bunker with Jess and the kids, bracing for the end of the world. My heart aches for a better world as it talks about in the book of Revelations in the Bible. Revelations 21:4 says, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.” I look forward to this day.

So how is your heart? At least for me when I check my spiritual heart I find that it is still weak in many ways. It is not ready for the next life or even a Zion on earth because it has not yet been sufficiently tested. Has my heart been stripped of pride, envy, jealousy? Is my heart oriented first towards loving God and my fellow men above the world? Is my heart pure before the Lord to the point where I only desire righteousness and to do the Lord’s will? I may think that I have good intentions to do good in the world but if my will is not in line with Heavenly Father’s then I am in the wrong. The Lord says in Matthew 6:21 “where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”

And so here I am in the present with unfinished business for my heart. I am not going to go hide in a bunker as the world struggles. I am here to love and serve first in my family and then to friends and all that I can in my circle, for as long as I can.

Like any muscle, your heart grows when you use it. This Christmas it is my challenge to myself and all those reading to have a Grinch or Scrooge-like transformative Christmas experience this year. We can sit around and feel sorry for ourselves or we can choose to let our hearts grow. We can choose to give our hearts and wills totally to the Savior and watch what happens. I can promise you miracles will come into our lives if we just let him in. He stands at the door and knocks and all we need to do is open our heart to him. He will enter our hearts, he will purify them and get rid of any weakness. In fact, He will give us a totally new heart if we trust Him.

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

This year I am committing to strengthening my heart and seeking the heart that only the Savior can give. There is a campaign through my church called #lighttheworld. Will you join me on this heart journey? Here is the link: https://www.comeuntochrist.org/light-the-world-2020. It starts December 1st!