“Through sin, we clog and plug up the line between us and God, effectively blocking the Holy Spirit...Our genuine tears, our humbling ourselves before God in confession, our true commitment to cease sinning – all of these help to open up the vein that leads us to life again, making the Lord’s wisdom, strength, and light available to us once more.” (Dynamis 12/1/2018)
“What if you found out you had a heart condition? No doubt you would make it your highest priority to find out why. You would see a doctor, who would run tests to determine what's going on. Those tests might reveal one of the most common reasons – clogged arteries. The heart is pumping, but for some reason arteries become clogged and slow down the heart's ability to pump life-giving blood to the rest of the body. This is a serious, life-threatening problem. The same way this happens in our physical bodies can also be true in our spiritual life. If we're not careful to pay close attention to what is going on inside of us, we may someday find that in the midst of the everyday business of life, our spiritual arteries are clogged and the life that Jesus desires for us is being hindered. On the other hand, if our heart is right, it won't matter what the circumstances are. The real issue is what's happening on the inside. So what is the attitude of your heart?” (The Christian Post)
“As with physical heart disease, the causes of spiritual heart problems are often more internal than external. Improving our spiritual heart health begins with easily accessible, non-invasive treatments. Putting aside the poor spiritual diet of consumerism and materialism, taking up spiritual practices of study and prayer, and connecting with those in need in your area can immediately build up spiritual heart health. Getting the circulation going again may take some extra effort at first, but it can quickly become a life-giving practice…” (Melvin Amerson)
“Unhealthy habits can often account for the breakdown of our physical bodies. For example, the more common causes of a physical heart attack are stress, a high-fat diet, lack of exercise, smoking and high blood pressure. By eliminating the potentially harmful behavior patterns that lead to blockages in our arteries, we can prevent a heart attack from ever happening. The best cure is prevention. The same is true in our spiritual lives. We cannot ignore those things that cause a blockage in our spiritual heart muscle. Lack of spiritual health can cause us to leave our first love, which will eventually lead to a spiritual heart attack. Once we suffer such a heart attack, we find that our hearts no longer beat passionately for God or his purposes. Instead, we substitute formalism for faith and empty ritual for the life of the Spirit. In essence, by just going through the religious motions, we plug ourselves into an artificial life-support system. We mistakenly think we are alive, but in reality we are only existing.” (Christine Caine)
“Each time I turn away from that which tears me down and moves me away from the One who made me I am paying attention, getting stronger, getting clearer…making myself vulnerable and open to hearing truth, loving God…it is a frightening process for me…cleaning the plaque from my spiritual arteries…” (Angela Doll Carlson)