Spiritual Cardiology 03/15/2026

Podcast

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, join us here today

Let us not fall into despair
Even when despair seems
The most reasonable choice
If we were alone
Without each other
Without you
Then despair just might
Be the wisest way

But we are not alone
We have each other
to lift and to love
And to be lifted and loved
In turn
And we have you
Present
Compassionate
Making all things whole

Help us set aside our despair
And find the work you are offering us
And then
Help us dig in
Take it on
And work with joy
As children adopted
As friends
As heirs
Together
As your kingdom comes
Bit by bit
And despair fades away
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

1 Samuel 7:3

Intro: Samuel enters the Scriptures during a chaotic period of history

The best way to understand it, is found in a line repeated in Judges
“In those days there was no king in Israel” (Jdg. 18:1 and 19:1)
– and again at the very end of Judges, with an added explanation
“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Jdg. 21:25)
– I have a friend who wrote a book on the Kingdom of God
• and though I enjoyed reading it and trust him as a serious student of the Bible,
◦ I disagree with his take on this verse
◦ he suggests that everyone doing what was right in their own eyes was a good thing
Steve Gregg, suggests that “. . . liberty of personal conscience prevailed, rather than dominated by a human (and therefore corrupt) earthly ruler.”
• but that this isn’t what that line means is proven elsewhere
◦ in Moses’ instructions to Israel when they would enter the land, he says,
“You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes . . . .” (Deut. 12:8-9)
◦ really, all you have to do is read the last three chapters of Judges to see the confusion and tragedy that resulted from everyone doing what they considered the right thing
Robert Alter discerns in these chapters a “theme of violence,” and suggests that, “Judges represents, one might say, the Wild West era of the biblical story,” a revelation that “becomes explicit at the end of the book, that survival through violence, without a coherent and stable political framework, cannot be sustained and runs the danger of turning into sheer destruction.”

As 1 Samuel begins, the era of Judges overlaps the coming era
– and gradually, a more stable society is formed
• I am impressed by how expertly the writer develops the overlapping of the two eras
◦ reading chapters 2-3, the text shifts back and forth:
◦ first Samuel ministering in God’s house, then Eli’s sons incorrigible sons violating ministry, then back to Samuel, then back to Eli and his sons, and so on

We briefly lose sight of Samuel after chapter 4, where he is still a boy
– but then he reappears in chapter 7, twenty years later
• the temple, first established at Shiloh, is now gone
◦ and the ark of the covenant is sheltered elsewhere (v. 1)
• meanwhile Israel is languishing under the rule of the Philistines
◦ so we learn that “all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD” (v. 2)
– at this point, Samuel suddenly appears as Israel’s spiritual leader
“And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, ‘If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines'” 1 Samuel 7:3

Now your wondering why I’ve dragged you through this mess

So I’m going to explain what’s on my mind
– when my reading in the Scriptures this week brought me here,
• this particular verse stood out and became my meditation
◦ there are plenty of other places in Bible that say something about the “heart,”
◦ this one just happened to be where I landed
• and it seemed relevant because of the chaotic state of our nation
◦ perhaps the direction that God is giving us in this hour,
◦ is the same as that Samuel pointed Israel to go
– I may be straining a bit here, but I want us to think about Spiritual Cardiology

You would have had to been living under a rock for years,

To not know heart attacks are a leading cause of death around the wor
– most of us are also well aware the behaviors that put our hearts at risk
• an unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, bad habits, and excessive emotional states:
◦ stress, depression, anxiety, anger, and resentment
– the same holds true for our spiritual heart
• and that is why we want to follow the wise advice:
“Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life” (Pr. 4:23)
• this is one of those verses that frequently comes to my mind
◦ I always get the feeling that it is extremely important,
◦ even if I don’t always put it to practice like I should

In the Scriptures, the heart is a flexible metaphor

Whether it refers to thinking, feeling, decision-making, believing, or hardening,
– it is always at the center, the core of our being and our doing
• so to come to God with our whole heart,
◦ is to devote our entire self to him
• in the Hebrew Scriptures, there is no splitting off one part of our self
◦ we cannot have God’s love in our heart, and give in to our bodies’ cravings
– the whole heart is the whole self, so giving it to God wholly is an undivided devotion
• in Psalm 86, the poet’s prayer is,
“Teach me your way, O LORD,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to [revere] your name” (v. 11)
• an undivided heart is a pure heart – uncontaminated

So Samuel tells God’s people to turn to God with all their heart

He also tells them to “direct” their hearts to the LORD,
– and the purpose for them doing that is to “serve him only”
• the Hebrew word translated “direct” includes the idea of being established, fixed
◦ Israel had to permanently attach their devotion to Yahweh alone
• pagan gods were always a temptation for them,
◦ but besides alien gods, there could be other things that would draw them away

In our culture, heart symbols represent love or affection

But our hearts can also feel something similar to love, and that is passion
(and not only romantic passion)
• a passion for sports, for the arts, for truth
• pursuing our passions, typically produces some thing, object, or accomlishment
– for several years I enjoyed a particular television program
• Barb and my kids thought I was silly for watching it

Sister Wendy was a little nun, touring art galleries and sharing her insights with her viewers. She was not lecturing as an art critic might, though she was familiar with those sorts of details–the artists and their backgrounds, the time period in which they produced their work, the various types of pains, styles, and compositions–, but usually she would stand near a painting (less often a statue) and draw attention to features of movement, texture, emotion, and drama. She spent a good deal of time with each masterpiece to derive that much insight from them. Her observations had a lot to do with the effect a painting would have on her. And sharing all that she observed, I was able to see what she saw. Her passion was contagious.
– I think this is the way we’re supposed to enjoy art; we look, and feel, and then ask,
“What does this painting have to tell me?”
• it was her passion that drew me in
• and I’m convinced that a person’s passion for Jesus is more compelling than any prepared speech we can deliver
• a passionate heart sees more than a glimpse or mere “looking at” reveals
• that is the gift that a Sister Wendy, or a Henri Nouwen, or Frederick Buechner gives us
◦ their passion for the Lord opens our eyes to wonder
– to serve God with our whole heart, is to be inspired and motivated by passion
• you know you’re in that state when so absorbed that you don’t notice the passing hours or worry about missing a meal

We need to realize we have control over our hearts

There is much in our world we cannot control
– the weather, traffic, other people
• but we own our hearts
• at the very least, we can point them in the right direction
– sadly, we can also give up our control of our own heart to someone else
• or we can let the wrong things into our hearts

I know that God has my whole heart–sometimes

I’m pretty sure he has all of it whenever he asks for it
– but there are times when my devotion sinks to half-hearted
• more than once I’ve felt guilty when reading Jesus’ parables in Mark chapter 4
◦ especially the “thorns” it the parable of the seed and four soils
“They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word and it proves unfruitful” (Mk. 4:19)
◦ other things enter into my heart and demand my attention or response
• sometimes I think that to turn to God with my whole heart all of the time, I’d have to live in an monastery

Conclusion: When I was twenty-one years old, my home was in a California desert

I lived in a literal shack. Sometime in the 1930’s or 40’s a man had built four of shacks in a row, and then rented them out. In a space of less than 200 square feet, there were two rooms, a living room, a dining room (!), a tiny kitchen, and a tiny shower. I shared the shack with three roommates; marines who were willing to live anywhere as long as it was off base. I was pastoring a small church with the most wonderful people I had ever known.
One evening, driving with Roger home from the church to our shack, I was feeling lonely and a bit moody. Sighing, I said, “I wish I had someone to share all this with.” Roger instantly said, “Share WHAT?” and we both laughed.

Reflexion is a shared spiritual journey
We are traveling this path together – fulfilling a longing;
to know God and to grow into his perfect love
One half of this journey is growing in love for all people
The other half is to “love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind” (Mt. 22:37)
We have a ways to go,
so let’s encourage and support each other along