A Holy Heart

Couch Potato Convention
A Holy Heart

Heart Problems
There’s a big health fad going around. Cereals such as Corn Pops used to be called Sugar Pops, but now, if someone saw that, they probably wouldn’t buy that cereal. Reality TV shows such as the Biggest Loser show people exercising like crazy. Sugary foods now have labels that say, "Whole Grain!" Maybe we teens should get all health-nutty, too. This, however, is not your typical boring health lesson.
A healthy body starts with a healthy heart, which is what we’re gonna talk about today.
Most of us don’t have healthy hearts, but we don’t even know it! I’ll tell you something I’ve never told anyone before: I admit that I have had heart problems. I still do! You see, I have a problem with giving. And with not making sarcastic comments. And with a lot of stuff. So you can probably guess that my heart is black with sin. My heart is unhealthy from all that stuff that’s clogging it up. When my heart is full of sin, my entire body simply can’t work right. You, believe it or not, have the exact same problem. So, how do we fix it?

Unclogging your Heart
So, you probably know that eating tons of fries and Little Debbie cakes can’t be good for your heart. Those things clog your arteries and prevent your heart – and you entire body – from working properly. There’s something else that clogs your heart. Sin. Before we start exercising our heart, we need to unclog it.
So, just as someone who is going on a diet will stop eating things that are bad for him, we need to stop doing things that are bad for us.
So, let’s start with the basics. What are some of the things that God warns us about? What things do you struggle with? Jealousy? Greed? Grudges? What things does the media shove down our throats? Things we shouldn’t look at? Music we shouldn’t listen to? Swearing?
Remove those things from your life. Replace them with better things so you won’t miss them as much.
All that crud in your heart right now is slowing down the work of your heart and making your entire body unhealthy. Unless you ditch the stuff that’s making your heart unhealthy (sin), you won’t be able to use your body in the awesome way God made it to be.

Exercising your Heart
Now comes the next step. If you defunk that gunk in your heart, but don’t add anything, your heart won’t have anything to do except the same old, same old: pumping, pumping, pumping blood, blood, and more blood.
Your heart is an amazing machine and needs to keep busy. It feels great when you do something good for others. That’s how God designed your heart to be. He wanted us to use it to serve other people. We have a life, now how do we use it?
Besides praying, the next best thing to do for people is to serve them. No, I don’t mean be their slave. I mean show them God’s love by doing things for them. If some bunny trashed your neighbor’s garden, offer to help her replant it. Set the table for your mom, take out the trash for your dad. Read your little sibs a bedtime story you loved when you were their age. Give your friend a little gift – just because. Bake cookies for the lady who is recovering from back surgery, and buy flowers for your teacher’s birthday. Just spend time with someone. It’ll really get your heart pumping!

Meet your Trainer
Your personal heart-healing trainer will be with you to help you on your journey called life. He’ll help you keep your heart, body, and mind in tip-top condition. If you have any questions, just ask him – he’s ready to listen 24/7.

Now go get pumping!