The only way to keep your health
is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like and do what you'd
rather not. -- Mark Twain
Most know that the Hebrew word shalom is understood around the world to mean "peace."
However, "peace" is only one small part of the meaning.
"Shalom" is used to both greet people and to bid them farewell, and
it means much more than "peace, hello or goodbye"....
Hebrew words go beyond their spoken
pronunciation. Each Hebrew word conveys feeling, intent and emotion. Shalom
is more then just simply peace; it is a complete peace. It is a feeling of
contentment, completeness, wholeness, well being and harmony.
According to Strong's Concordance 7965 Shalom means completeness, wholeness, health,
peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness,
fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. Shalom comes from
the root verb shalom meaning to be complete, perfect and full. In modern
Hebrew the obviously related word Shelem means to pay for, and Shulam
means to be fully paid.
Of course, there is only one
way to find TRUE shalom - and that is in the Word of YHWH. Many search
for fulfillment, happiness and contentment in material possessions, money, sex,
entertainment, etc. But those things do nothing to fill "that little hole
in our soul" that only GOD can fill! Those things only serve to distract
and prevent us from finding true peace...the shalom that can only come
from Him who created and put all things into place.
If you'll recall, Yeshua is called Sar
shalom, Prince of Peace, which
perfectly describes the ministry and personality of our Messiah (Isaiah 9:6).
In other words, the word shalom is a mighty blessing on several
levels!
Proverbs 18:21 tells us there is
life or death in the power of the tongue. Therefore, whenever you employ the
word "shalom" you are speaking into someone's life all the wonderful
things that shalom means!
The Great Aaronic Blessing -- Numbers 6:24-26: YHWH bless you and keep you. YHWH make His face
shine upon you and be gracious to you. YHWH lift up His face upon you and give
you SHALOM. In the name of Yeshua haMashiyach SAR SHALOM - the Prince of Peace.
We grow in four areas of life -- MPSR: Mental, Physical, Social, Religious -- as Jesus grew.
Have conversations with other people – do not just be a couch potato. Live your own life with a flourish – do not just watch someone else live their life.
Ask God for wisdom. He granted wisdom to Solomon and he will grant wisdom to you.
IN REGARDS TO PHYSICAL WELL-BEING
1. Watch what you eat. Get good nutrition, not empty calories.
2. Exercise physically on a daily basis.
3. Drink water more than anything else.
4. Walk whenever you can.
1. Connect with the people around you
2. With family, friends, colleagues and
neighbors, at home, work or in your local community
3. Social relationships are critical to
our wellbeing
2. I.e., our relationship with God and
other Christians
3. Jesus died to reconcile us to God and
to one another - cf. 2Co 5:17-20
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God,
who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling
the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he
has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his
appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God.
Christ and the local church are the means by which we can connect to God - cf. He 10:19-25
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters,
since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living
way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of
God, 22 let us draw near to God with a
sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts
sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed
with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly
to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on
toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up
meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one
another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
[If we focus on
establishing connections related to our spiritual well being, connections
conducive to our mental well being will follow.
Indeed, I would contend
that if one focuses on applying these steps in regards to spiritual well being,
mental well being will naturally follow.
I.e., active participation with the local church is more
important than one might think when it comes to our individual and mutual well being...!
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