Devotional

Listening Heart

A few devotions ago, we touched on the subject of how our heart thinks. Read here if you missed it: My Heart Thinks?

In this passage, Jesus teaches us that our heart also listens…it has spiritual ears:

Jesus desires that when listening to Him and His words, we open our hearts to hear what is revealed to us in the spiritual. This is why we are told "God's Word is alive and active.” (Hebrews 4:12)

We can also apply this principle to those around us. When listening to someone we should not just listen to their words and emotions, but to the spiritual force behind or inside them. Sometimes it may appear as a cry for help, or a cry of frustration, or a desire to experience true love, God's love. Often, people’s words do not match what is in their heart. Exposure, however, is only given through spiritual discernment. 

Discernment is a gift of Holy Spirit. It awakens you to the ways of wisdom when it comes to being a great friend, neighbor, or co-worker. It is also one we develop as we apply and use this special gift.

But see also the warning given in this verse. Jesus says “those who do not listen with open hearts, what little light they imagine themselves to have will be taken away.” That ‘light’ is the light of revelation. We are told here to use it or lose it. When Holy Spirit reveals things to us in the spiritual we need to respond or take action without hesitation. By doing so we grow spiritually and it becomes easier to hear God’s voice.

God desires that we apply His listening heart to every situation we face in life. Don't just hear in the natural, listen and discern in the spiritual. If it sounds complicated it doesn't have to be. Holy Spirit is our helper and enabler, so just ask Him for help in gaining a listening heart.

Health Nuggets

Health Facts to Consider

I enjoy reading fun facts by people who will do the research and educate us on how to better take care of ourselves. Sama Hoole on X is one of them as he shares with us some truth:

When cholesterol was demonised, Pfizer sold the statin, and it became the best-selling drug in the history of medicine.

When fat was demonised, Roche sold a pill that stops you absorbing it, and the side effect was printed on the box in a way nobody forgets.

When salt was demonised, the blood pressure tablet went on repeat prescription for a third of the over-50s.

When the sun was demonised, the chemist sold vitamin D in a bottle, for the hormone your skin had been making for free.

When liver was demonised, the chemist sold retinol, iron, copper and B12 in four separate bottles.

When eggs were demonised, the chemist sold choline, and nobody in the queue knew what it was for.

When red meat was demonised, the gym sold creatine and the chemist sold iron.

When butter was demonised, the chemist sold vitamin K2 for the arteries, which is what the butter had been doing.

When hunger was demonised, the pharmacist sold an injection to stop you feeling it, at £200 a month, for life.

Every nutrient the animal carried was declared dangerous, removed, and sold back as a molecule by a company that could patent the molecule but could not patent the cow.

The food did a dozen jobs in one bite. The pharmacy sells each job separately, with a repeat prescription and a side effect.

The animal never had a sales rep. That is the only thing it was missing.

Note: Health Nuggets are opinions and not medical advice.

Financial Update

The Bond Market’s Warning

As of late, The U.S. Treasury yields have climbed to levels not seen in more than two decades, thus leaving investors with the question “What is the bond market telling us about the economy?”.

On October 5, the yield on the 10-year Treasury reached approximately 5.3%, its highest level since 2002, while the 30-year Treasury approached 5.6%. The Federal Reserve’s latest daily data showed the 10-year Treasury at 5.28% and the 30-year at 5.63% on October 5. These are significant levels because Treasury yields influence borrowing costs throughout the economy, from corporate debt and mortgages to commercial real estate and infrastructure projects.

What makes the move even more interesting is that it is occurring even as the labor market shows signs of cooling. The U.S. added just 29,000 jobs in September, while unemployment rose to 4.2%. July and August employment figures were also revised downward by a combined 60,000 jobs. Ordinarily, weaker employment can increase expectations for lower interest rates. Yet longer-term Treasury yields have remained elevated.

One explanation is that long-term yields reflect more than expectations for the Federal Reserve's next move. Investors also demand compensation for inflation risk, government borrowing, and the uncertainty associated with holding bonds for decades. Inflation remains above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, while the federal government continues to issue substantial amounts of debt. Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook recently noted that inflation remained too high and that the AI investment boom and higher oil prices could create additional inflationary pressure.

The divergence with stocks is particularly notable. On October 6, the S&P 500 reached another record high while the Nasdaq also posted a record, even as Treasury yields remained near multidecade highs. That doesn't necessarily mean one market is right and the other is wrong. Stocks are primarily reflecting expectations for corporate earnings and growth, while long-term bonds incorporate inflation, fiscal policy, interest-rate expectations, and the price investors demand for taking duration risk.

The bond market matters for numerous reasons, including its influence extending far beyond government debt. Higher long-term yields can raise mortgage rates, increase corporate financing costs, affect commercial real estate valuations, and change how investors value companies whose expected profits lie far in the future.

The bigger lesson is that interest rates are not simply a Federal Reserve story. Even if the Fed changes short-term rates, the market ultimately determines the yields investors demand for lending money over 10, 20, or 30 years.

With the 10-year Treasury back above 5%, the bond market has once again become an important part of the broader investment conversation, and potentially one of the most important variables to watch as markets enter the final quarter of 2026.

Tech Update

MRIs and Differences Between Canada-USA

Having recently returned from a trip to Canada, I met two people that have had to wait, and are still waiting months to get an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) for injured knees. One gave up and went across the border to pay for an MRI then returned to Canada to show the orthopedic to then schedule surgery, which had its own waiting period. The medical woes in Canada are horrendous to say the least due to socialized medical care, but that is a topic for another article. It did make me probe into wanting to understand the complexity and cost of MRI systems, and the differences between the countries, which I’m sharing here.

Firstly, a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a medical diagnostic machine that uses powerful magnets, radio waves, and computer processing to generate detailed, three-dimensional cross-sectional images of internal body structures. Unlike X-rays or CT scans, it uses zero ionizing radiation, making it uniquely safe for visualizing soft tissues, such as those in the brain, spinal cord, muscles, and ligaments.

Inside an MRI System

An MRI system is an engineering marvel of physics and cryogenics, built around several core components. The primary one is superconducting electromagnets, typically 1.5-3.0 Tesla for medical use, and must be kept at near-absolute zero using liquid helium, which is very expensive. Radiofrequency (RF) transmitters and receivers broadcast short pulses of radio waves into the body to ‘listen’ for the faint electromagnetic signals protons emit as they resonate off body parts. A high-powered computing backend then translates data into high-resolution diagnostic images. The MRI is housed in an RF shielded Faraday cage to block outside radio frequencies (from cell phones, radio stations, etc.) from corrupting the extremely sensitive measurements.

Cost and Number of MRIs across USA and Canada

MRI systems are very costly. Brand new, they cost between $1-3M to purchase and install in a fixed facility. Operating and maintaining them run about $100K annually. There are also mobile MRI units that you may have seen outside hospitals and medical offices. These range from $300K-$1.5M and have to be carefully powered, transported and maintained.

The United States has a total of approximately 12,000 MRI systems across all forms (both fixed and mobile), compared to 400 across all of Canada.  On a per capita basis, the USA has roughly 40 scanners per million people compared to 10 per million in Canada.  The average Canadian waits 18.1 weeks for an MRI, compared to about 3 weeks in the USA.

In conclusion, let’s pray for our Canadian friends waiting on an MRI, for their healthcare system to improve, and to limit government run healthcare in the USA.

Note: This information is based on research and is not medical advice.

Trivia Corner

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