How to Keep yourself in Good Shape
Road to Easter, Day #18 2026 | Alison Lloyd
Above all else guard your heart.
Proverbs 4:23
Do not lust in your heart...
Proverbs 6:25
Love the Lord your God with all your heart… and love your neighbour as yourself.
Mark 12:30-31
I have plenty of competing priorities. I do work and housework; I have family and friends. And there’s myself to look after – brushing my teeth, eating well, wearing clean clothes, etc. My husband wants me to attend to my superannuation. Amongst all this, I regularly do exercises given by my physio. The exercises are to strength my core muscles and help my spine, which is not in the best shape.
Jesus was very interested in the state of people’s hearts. He often asked questions about what they wanted, or pointed out their true desires. These verses today suggest that taking care of my heart should be a priority too. The top priority, in fact.
Can you do exercises for your heart I wonder? (Not your physical heart but the metaphysical one, the centre of your inner life.) I think maybe I can. I can set aside purposeful time to put my heart through its paces. Caring for other people does that. Serving my neighbour’s needs is a great way to refocus my heart’s attention and disempower selfish lusts. Going to church does this too – I actively love God in singing. Then I listen to someone else’s perspective on Him and measure it up against my life and thoughts.
These Lent devotions have turned out to be heart exercise too. Sometimes, (to be honest), I resent the extra time it takes to write, after I’ve already prayed and read the Bible in the morning. I’ve had to apply unaccustomed discipline, to think about what I’ve read, and enunciate it. What are the central points? How does it apply to me?
Left to myself, I’m likely to get flabby-hearted and diseased. If no-one else reads this post, it doesn’t matter. A heart workout is good for me 😁
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