Bible Study (personal and in groups), along with church attendance
(whether a church building or a group of believers in a more informal
setting) and a personal prayer life all are key to having Spiritual
Health.

Stress can increase a person's cholestorol level, cause ulcers and
heart disease. That is besides the mental and emotional problems
stress can cause. Also, bitterness, unforgiveness, holding grudges,
and a self-centered selfish attitude can lead to not only ulcers and
heart disease but many mental and emotional afflictions.
Jesus healed all manner of sicknesses and there are times where the
Holy Sciptures tell us Jesus healed those that were tormented and
hurting themselves. In many hospitals, it is found that a patient with
a serious medical condition and also patients recovering from surgery
have a better chance of survival and recovery .... if they have faith.
It has also been found in at least one study that patients who are
being prayed for respond in their bodies quicker to medical treatment.
In Detox centers and Rehabilitation centers it has been found that
those that have "the faith factor" have a higher long term success
rate on their clients/patients.

So Bible Study and Spiritual Health are very important for natural
reasons but more importantly are the Spiritual reasons.

It is a wonderful thing to experience a personal relationship with God
through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit bringing understanding of
God's Word, The Holy Bible.

It is a very wonderful thing to experience God's presence in your life
through the power of His Holy Ghost.

These experiences come through Bible Study and Prayer.

If you do not know what I am talking about then I would recommend you
start with checking out *"The Way" link further down this page, after
you finish reading this first study.

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first
begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.
Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood
Revelation 1:5

The above verse is one of many in which the Holy Bible tells us of the
importance of the Blood of Jesus Christ our Messiah for us to be
cleansed of our sins.

Then believe upon Jesus Christ that He died for your sins and rose
again.
Repent of your sins and pray for forgiveness from God
and ask Him to cleanse and deliver you from all your sins.
Ask Jesus to be Lord of your life

Mark 9:41 "I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward." -NIV

A new friend reminded me of this story this morning so I went and found it:

Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most respected leaders of modern history. A Hindu, Ghandi nevertheless admired Jesus and often quoted from the Sermon on the Mount. Once when the missionary E. Stanley Jones met with Ghandi he asked him, "Mr. Ghandi, though you quote the words of Christ often, why is that you appear to so adamantly reject becoming his follower?"
Ghandi replied, "Oh, I don't reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Apparently Ghandi's rejection of Christianity grew out of an incident that happened when he was a young man practising law in South Africa. He had become attracted to the Christian faith, had studied the Bible and the teachings of Jesus, and was seriously exploring becoming a Christian. And so he decided to attend a church service. As he came up the steps of the large church where he intended to go, a white South African elder of the church barred his way at the door. "Where do you think you're going, kaffir?" the man asked Ghandi in a belligerent tone of voice.
Ghandi replied, "I'd like to attend worship here."
The church elder snarled at him, "There's no room for kaffirs in this church. Get out of here or I'll have my assistants throw you down the steps."
From that moment, Ghandi said, he decided to adopt what good he found in Christianity, but would never again consider becoming a Christian if it meant being part of the church.

How we treat others tells people more about what we believe, and what following Jesus means to us than all tracts we pass out, or all the fine sermons we deliver. Will they know who you are?

By Gethsemene Rose
© can be used with permission just copy the entire devotion including contact information contact devotions@gethsemenerose.com