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Synopsis from atstracts.org

Getting your heart right with God.

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Amazing, but not Indestructible

The heart is the most remarkable and vital organ in the body. Make a fist and you have approximated the size of your heart. It weighs about a pound. The average heart beats 70 times a minute, which equates to pumping 2,000 gallons of life-giving blood throughout the body every 24 hours.

              Much to my surprise, I joined the “1.5 million Americans a year” who have heart attacks, and it almost took my life.

Beyond Prevention

Thankfully, I came to the conviction that there is more to life than the physical heart. “The heart” is the term we use to describe a person’s innermost motives, morals, intellect, and spirit. That same analogy holds true in the Bible, which refers to the heart more than 1,000 times. “As [a person] thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

A Diagnosis of Our Hearts

Are you aware that God has already given you, and all mankind, a report on your heart—a spiritual “EKG”? As our Creator and the Great Physician, God has accurately diagnosed our spiritual condition. “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9), and “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

              God’s diagnosis reports the problem. His prognosis reveals two possible outcomes. The first result occurs when a man or woman chooses to ignore their spiritual, sinful heart. The result is predictable... death. “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

              The second outcome offers us a new, sin-free heart. The healing process toward this spiritual health begins by accepting God’s “medical” advice. “Unless one is born again, he [or she] cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

The Prescribed Treatment

Fortunately, God has prescribed an ingenious and surprising remedy for our hearts—a complete transplant. He promises, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:26).

              “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in yourheart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified [made right], and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.... For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

(Romans 10:9-10, 12-13 niv)

A Dying Man Finds Salvation

When Jesus was crucified, two thieves were crucified with Him. One thief mocked, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:39-43).

How About You?

Like the faithful thief on the cross, you can pray the following prayer: “Dear Father in Heaven. I admit that I was born a sinner with a bad heart. Thank You for sending Jesus Christ to earth to suffer, die and return to life again, so that You would forgive my sins and renew my faulty heart. I personally call upon You in faith as I accept Jesus as my Savior. Thank You for the gift of eternal life in heaven and peace with You now. Amen.”

Getting Your Heart Right

With this decision, your prognosis has changed from eternal death to eternal life! To keep yourself spiritually healthy, I prescribe that you:

1. Tell a friend or relative of your decision.

2. Read your Bible and pray daily

3. Seek Christian friendships in a Bible-believing church.

The author, Dr. Claude Van Andel, did his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan and is a graduate of the Chicago College of  Osteopathic Medicine. He is an honorary member of the American College of Osteopathic Internists and a diplomate of the Osteopathic Board of Nuclear Medicine. He retired from active practice as a consultant in the department of Internal Medicine, Mercy General Hospital in Muskegon, Michigan.