Faith and Health Connection Blog

Starting The New Year With God

Published by Dale Fletcher on January 1, 2009 in God. 0 Comments

New Year with God Well, a new year has begun and I want to start it off on the right foot by prayerfully and publicly thanking God for the opportunity He has given me to share His truths through this website and blog over the past year. It’s by His grace that I’ve received wisdom and insight through the reading of the Bible that I’ve written the articles and Weekly Health Scriptures that many of you have read here. And I hope that you’ve been encouraged by what you’ve read. I know that some of you have been because I’ve received your emails.

During 2009 I suspect that I will continue to create blog posts as I did during last year. I will try my best to continue with a Weekly Health Scripture, writing about insights God gives me as I meditate on his Word. I will also continue to seek out relevant news stories on the topic of health, faith, spirituality and religion and comment on that when warranted.

More than anything, what I hope to be able to continue to do is share insights that I believe God gives me through the power of His Holy Spirit on topics that may be helpful to you readers.

Finally, as we begin this first week of the new year, I pray that all is well with your soul and that your health prospers also. (3 John 1:2)

With the love of Christ,

Dale

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“Spirituality and Health” Film Series

Published by Dale Fletcher on December 29, 2008 in Spirituality and Health. 0 Comments

The Missouri University Center on Religion and the Professions is hosting a film series titled Spirituality and Health.

Religion and medicine both try to answer the biggest questions: about life, death and the future. Their free film series examines a broad range of issues encompassing faith, spirituality, religion, meaning, health, healing, wellness and medicine. Films represent a variety of genres and religious traditions.

The series is intended to provoke thought and interest in learning more about the intersection of faith and health. Discussions provide a safe space to explore issues of faith, ethics and beliefs as they intersect with topics both public and private.

A few films to be viewed are The Green Mile(one of my favorite films), Padre Pio and The Power of Forgiveness. To see a complete listing of films visit their website.

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Spirituality and Health - Understanding the Connection Article

Published by Dale Fletcher on December 29, 2008 in Faith and Health and Spirituality and Health. 0 Comments

I have just completed an article addressing the connection between spirituality and health. It’s on my website under the Articles/Resources tab. I’ve applied what I understand the truths of the Christian faith to be in light of what the research seems to indicate. The following is an excerpt:

“A growing body of scientific research indicates there’s a connection between spirituality/religion and health. To say that practicing a particular faith or involvement in certain religious practices will have an impact on one’s well being and health is oversimplifying things. The connection exists when people develop the type of qualities that come from knowing God and experiencing His love and in living in a way that God, the Great Physician, prescribes.

Yes, there’s a spirituality/religion and health connection. It occurs when individuals, regardless of their faith, incorporate powerful biblical truths into their lives. Forgiving, loving others, believing, worshiping in community, prayer and meditation are just a few tenants of the Christian faith that, if practiced by anyone, seem to have a positive impact on quality of life and health.

From a health perspective, our biggest challenge is to cope with the circumstances of life and its associated stressors along with relationship stressors in a healthy way. For the most part, our behaviors in response to these life events and stressors are attempts to meet our most basic needs of love, acceptance, self worth, security and identity. We have two options. We can choose to include God in our efforts to manage our life and stressors, or we can choose to go it alone.

If we rely on our own abilities and resources, apart from God, our strategies of living can be errant and unhealthy. When we depend on our own strength to cope with the pressures of life and past rejections, the result is very often conflict and frustration. Accompanied with a self-sufficient attitude and unhealthy thinking patterns and behaviors, this can lead to habits that have a detrimental impact on our spiritual, emotional and mental health. In turn, our physical health is often affected. When we experience poor health, we can not live a full life or be used fully by God. This is the strategy of the devil.”

Key Scriptures: Eph 2:10, John 3:16, John 10:10, 2 Cor 5:17, John 8:32, Gal 5:22-23

Enjoy reading the rest of the article at the link above.

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Spiritual Activity Guidelines Needed for Americans

Published by Dale Fletcher on December 26, 2008 in Bible and Health, Exercise, Faith and Fitness, Faith and Health, Spirit Mind Body Health, Spiritual Exercises and Spirituality and Health. 1 Comment

Physical Exercise Guidelines - A few months ago the US government released it’s latest guidelines for Americans on physical activity. I made a post here. A summary for adults is:

• Engage in 2 1/2 hours a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity. Aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes.

• Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities that involve all major muscle groups performed on 2 or more days per week.

Our country recognizes that physical activity plays a role in many health outcomes including premature death; diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke, some cancers, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and depression; risk factors for disease, such as high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol; physical fitness; functional capacity (the ability to engage in activities needed for daily living) ; mental health, such as depression and cognitive function; and injuries or sudden heart attacks.

Spiritual Exercise2 Spiritual Exercise Guidelines - 1 Timothy 4:7-8 says “Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important for it promises a reward in both this life and the next. This is true and everyone should accept it.” 1 Timothy 4:7-9 (New Living Translation, 1st Edition) God tells us, speaking through the writing of Paul, that spiritual exercise is much more important than physical activity.

Wouldn’t Americans benefit from a comparable set of spiritual activity guidelines that offers comparable spiritual health benefits? I’d like your thoughts on this matter. In the Bible, God certainly provides a wealth of information on this topic. Let’s develop a concise description of the types and amounts of spiritual activity that would provide us with good spiritual health and overall quality of life.

Post your comments here. In the weeks to come, I’ll pull them all together in a statement similar to what is provided for physical activity. God knows, our country sure could use such a set of guidelines.

Enjoy the holidays!

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Find Strength in God When Stressed - 1 Samuel 30:6 - Weekly Faith and Health Scripture

Published by Dale Fletcher on December 22, 2008 in Bible and Health, Faith and Health, God, Spirituality and Health, Stress, Trust in God and Weekly Faith and Health Scripture. 0 Comments

Bible Reading Are you stressed? Unemployed? Lost half of your retirement savings? Grieving the loss of a loved one? Battling a significant health issue? Perhaps you’re distressed over something else in your life. The longer one stays stressed, the more likely the body will eventually pay a price.

There was a time when the families of David’s army had been captured and taken away. The wives of David himself had been taken. Scripture tells us that David and his men wept until they had no strength. And, all his men were terribly upset with David. The Bible tells us “David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.” 1 Samuel 30:6 Reading further in this story we find that David prayed to God asking for direction, and God answered his prayers. David followed God’s guidance and he and his men were able to rescue their families and belongings. Afterward, David acknowledged that his God protected them as they were in a battle with the enemy forces.

How are you handling your stressful situation? Are you excluding God in your “battle” or distress? Are you attempting to manage on your own by falling back into an unhealthy habit or an addictive behavior to cope? Or, are you turning towards God by asking and relying on His help?

God wants us to choose Him as our source of strength when times are tough. If you’ve relied on Him in a past difficult situation, and He’s carried you through, remember that and call on Him now. If you’ve never made a choice to turn to Him when you’ve needed strength and guidance, trust in Him now. One way to receive the strength that He provides is by reading the Bible and being reminded of the character of God and of His truths. This is the main way God communicates to us today. He wants each of us to find nuggets of His truth, in the Bible, that speaks to us in our own situation, and then believe and trust that He will carry us through our own “battles.”

Read other entries about God and His strength.

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Walking as Exercise & Walking With God - Weekly Faith and Health Scripture - Genesis 5:18-24

Published by Dale Fletcher on December 9, 2008 in Exercise, Faith and Fitness, God, Prostate Cancer, Spirit Mind Body Health, Spirituality and Health and Weekly Faith and Health Scripture. 0 Comments

Walking Do you walk for regular exercise? Many people do.

As I recovered from surgery for prostate cancer, I was not able to run for a period of time, so I walked. I also remember when I conducted a walking program at the Army War College for participants of a personal wellness program. I committed to only walk as my aerobic exercise for a period of 8 weeks. On some days I would walk twice as I led groups in their exercise, sometimes for four miles each session. That meant I was walking 6-8 miles on some days. I was surprised that I lost body fat and that when I began running again, I seemed to not have lost my level of conditioning. The point is, walking is certainly a way to lose weight and to stay in good shape if your level of intensity(I) and frequency(F) is adequate. (Read this short article on applying the FITT principle to your physical and spiritual fitness program.)

So, what does walking with God look like? Today’s devotional from Our Daily Bread, written by Marvin Williams, addresses this topic. Here’s an excerpt:

“What did it mean for Enoch to walk with God? It(today’s scripture) describes Enoch’s close communion with God—as if literally walking by His side. Also, it refers to Enoch’s unswerving obedience to God in a corrupt culture. God rewarded Enoch’s faithfulness by taking him to heaven while he was still alive. Death would not have the final word in God’s creation.

Enoch’s walk with God reminds us that it is possible for all of us to enjoy intimate communion with the Lord. Let’s commit ourselves to walking faithfully with Him every day.”

As good as walking physically is for your health, ‘walking with God’ is terrific for your spiritual health, just as Enoch experienced. His reward for walking with God is that he is spending eternity with his Father.

What would a closer walk with God look like to you?

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Making Health Behavior Change With God’s Power & Help - Weekly Faith and Health Scripture - Romans 8:11

Published by Dale Fletcher on November 29, 2008 in Bible and Health, Faith and Health, God, Spirit Mind Body Health, Spirituality and Health and Weekly Faith and Health Scripture. 0 Comments

Bible Reading Christians might have a health-related advantage over those who have not accepted Jesus into their hearts. When a person invites Jesus to be a part of their life, God’s Holy Spirit, a part of the Holy Trinity, takes up residence inside that person. The Holy Spirit enables a person to live in a way that he could not live without the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us this in Romans 8:11 when he writes “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” (The contemporary Message translation is more detailed in its explanation.)

Imagine, God in the form of the Holy Spirit lives inside Christians. We have tremendous power that is not available to a non-believer. But, a big question is, do we really believe this and appropriate this power to live in healthy ways. Over recent years, I’ve come to recognize that it’s critical that I remind myself that this power is available to me and that I think, or meditate, on this truth. Even better, I often speak out this truth in a self-affirming way. When I do this, I seem to more easily live out of this power, not in my strength, but out of God’s strength and power.

How does this apply to health-related behavior change? Here’s one example. I have a tendency to skip eating breakfast. Any dietitian will tell you how important breakfast is. I enjoy a cup of coffee or two as I have my quiet time and read my devotional material and the Bible. After my prayer time, its Oh so easy for me to roll right into checking my email or writing some material. I’m off and running. Then the day begins to slip away and before I know it, it’s almost noon. When I’m disciplined to ask the Holy Spirit to prompt me and then strengthen me to take time for breakfast, I am able to be pretty consistent with this helpful behavior. Then, even as I am beginning the act of preparing something to eat, I thank God for helping me. This is the process I use in making a health-related behavior change, with God’s help. It’s really the Holy Spirit inside me that is responsible for the changed behavior. My responsibility is to acknowledge His presence and His power and my need for His help.

Are you struggling with making a change in behavior that you’ve been unsuccessful in making in your own strength and willpower? Would you consider inviting the Holy Spirit to help you and then believe He will do what you’ve been unable to do in your own strength?

If you’re reading this and have yet to accept Jesus into your life, I invite you to take some time to read this brief story about coming home.

Have a terrific day!

Read an article about surrendering more to the Holy Spirit.

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