By now, everyone is beginning to settle into the new year. At the start of a new year, many are thinking of new beginnings, new goals, new plans, new relationships, new hopes, and new dreams. Our Biblical Prescription for the start of the new year is:
 

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you: I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26 NKJ

God's gift to us is a new heart. We need a new brain. Our genetics are flawed. Our brain of stone is selfish, fearful and stressed. In this new year, I daily need a new brain. As we worship each day, I want to ask God for this new brain. I need a Savior.

This week Nick Evenson and I were in Illinois filming the "Ultimate Prescription" television program. Throughout the series of programs, the discussion often returned to worship. When God gives us this new "heart", this new brain, there is a transformation. I want to grow this brain through worship. As this brain grows, stress chemistry improves. Research shows the anterior cingulate cortex grows in worship. Science is just beginning to understand the physiologic power of worship especially how worship relates to our genome.

The battle is for the brain. Better health starts in the mind. Just as we need to drink water, move, eat, and rest, we also need to worship for health. When we are drinking water, let's think of the Living Water. When we are moving, let's think about walking with God. When we are eating, let's think about the Bread of Life. When we are resting, let's think about Who is giving us this gift.

As we begin a new year, let's accept the new brain that God offers in Ezekiel. Let's grow this brain and improve our physiology through worship. This relationship will give us the power to change, one step at a time. When we accept this gift, when we worship the true God, we are in a safe place.

James L. Marcum, M.D. FACC
Author, Biblical Prescriptions for Life