Monthly Archives: November 2023

When my kids were young they loved to imitate their daddy.

Once I got upset with myself and angrily kicked a wall, shouting, “Stupid!” Moments later, I heard my little daughter kick the wall too and shout, “‘Tupid!” Needless to say, my wife had a few words for me later about the example I was setting for our children.

Thankfully, our Heavenly Father sets a much better example for us to follow. We can’t go wrong imitating Him. His love and mercy have no bounds and, if we choose to imitate Him, neither will ours.

Ephesians 5:1 says, “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.” (NLT). Then verse 2 calls us to, “Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.”

Too often “Christians” are better known for their intolerance, insensitivity, and selfishness than their Christ-likeness. A few years ago, a survey found the number one thing people thought when they heard the word “Christian” was “anti-gay” – and it didn’t get better after that! “Loving” didn’t even make the list!

Imagine how different our world would be if Christians actually imitated Christ, if they lived lives filled with love. Conflict would end, marriages would flourish, rifts would be repaired, the hungry would be fed, and the destitute would find a place called “home.”

Someday soon Jesus will come to take us to a place like that, to Heaven, where “…there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain” and where “the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all.” (Revelation 21:4, Isaiah 11:6).

Until then it’s up to us to bring a little bit of heaven into the world around us, to be imitators of Christ, living lives filled with love in a world filled with hate. We are to be beacons of hope, shining in the darkness, showing the world a better way, pointing them to a God who loves them with an everlasting love.

We cannot do this on our own, however. My children became imitators of me, for better or worse, by spending time with me. It is the same with us and God. It is only as we daily spend time with God, studying His Word and talking with Him, that we will become like Him and be able to love as He loves.

2 Corinthians 3:18 describes it this way, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (NIV)

The world is in desperate need of “imitations”, people who imitate God’s love in their everyday lives. Today, determine to spend every moment in His presence, contemplating His glory, “being transformed into His image“, so you can truly be “imitators of God”, living “a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.”

May God guide you as you imitate Him today!

(This was originally posted in 2018).

One of my favorite memories from childhood was a backpacking trip we took in the Adirondacks of New York. I don’t remember who all went with us, but I know my dad, my sister JoAnn, a friend Ed DiJoseph (Big Ed), and several others were there.

When we started out the weather was beautiful, but it quickly took a turn for the worse. Rain came down in buckets and the trail turned into muck. It was a struggle just to take another step.
At one point JoAnn’s foot sank into the mud and when she pulled it out her shoe stayed in the hole.

The rest of us weren’t doing much better. Ed fell once and slid past us down the hill, before crashing into a mudhole. By the end of the trail we were all covered in muck and exhausted from struggling through the mud for hours. In other words, we all had a blast!

It’s not as much fun, however, when day after day we find ourselves slogging through the muck of past mistakes and disappointed hopes and dreams. Sometimes it’s a struggle to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. At times,it can be tempting to just give up and wallow in our misery.

King David felt this way sometimes. Trapped in the mire of his own sins and mistakes, he sometimes was driven to the point of despair but, instead of giving up, he looked up, and God came through for him. He wrote that God, “lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.” (Psalm 40:2 NLT).

God will do the same for you. No matter how deep the mess you’ve gotten yourself into, no matter how stuck you feel right now, help is just a prayer away.

Slogging through the muck on a hiking trip can be kind of fun, but in everyday life, not so much. Before you take another step, reach out to Jesus. Call to Him today and He will lift you out of the muck and mire and set your feet on solid ground. He did it for David and He’ll do it for you. All you have to do is ask.

Some days are darker than others. Have you noticed that? One day you can feel on top of the world and the next you’re down in the dumps. Today was like that for me. For some reason I was just in a mood. There was nothing especially wrong, just everything seemed gray.

Some of it was probably the weather, which was gray and raining. The end of Daylight Savings probably didn’t help either. When it starts getting dark at 4 o’clock it’s hard to be chipper. I’m also still getting over being sick. Whatever the reason, I just felt kinda blue.

Depression is a serious problem in our crazy world. It not only destroys marriages, relationships and careers, it can also be devastating to your health. Dean Ornish, one of the pioneers of lifestyle medicine, speaking at the conference I just attended, reported that people who are lonely or depressed are 3-6 times more likely to die prematurely than those who feel connected with others.

Even the Apostle Paul felt this need for connection. When he first came to Macedonia he faced incredible opposition. He, and those with him, “were harassed at every turn – conflicts on the outside, fears within.” (2 Corinthians 7:5 NIV).

But God didn’t abandon them to their depression and fears. Writing to the Corinthians, Paul reported, “But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him.” (vs. 6-7).

One of the best ways for you to help someone who is struggling with depression is to just be there for them. We all need each other. It’s been that way from the very beginning. That’s why God created Eve, because He knew “It is not good for…man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18).

If you know someone who is feeling depressed, let them know they’re not alone. We’ve all been there. Reach out to them, in person or even online, and let them know you’re in this with them. Remind them they have a Heavenly Father who “is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18).

Today, let’s make a point to “encourage one another and build each other up.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Be a friend to someone who needs one today. After all, tomorrow you just might be the one who could use a friend. If we will each just be there for someone else, then we’ll never be alone.

At the Lifestyle Medicine Conference I attended this last week, I took a resistance training workshop. In it we learned the importance of resistance exercises for our overall health and how to prescribe resistance training to our patients. We even got to do a little weight lifting with the past winner of California’s Strongest Man Competition, Dr. Andrew Mock.

When talking about heart health, everyone thinks of aerobic exercise, such as walking or running. This form of exercise is important, but recent research has found that resistance training is also essential for good heart health.

Resistance training is also good for our spiritual health. Just as muscles grow when stress is put on them, so our faith will grow as we face trials in our walk with Christ. When our faith is stressed, pushed to the limit, it becomes stronger and better prepared to face whatever comes next.

This is why James said, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4 NLT).

Resistance training takes hard work. It’s not always enjoyable, but, when it comes to your health, it’s worth it. The same goes for our Christian walk. God uses trials to help your faith grow stronger each day. Trials are resistance training for your soul.

So, don’t give up when trials come your way. Don’t throw in the towel when you face resistance in your walk with Christ. Instead, let the trials make you stronger in your faith, till you are “mature and complete, not lacking anything.” If you do, someday soon, you’ll hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant…Enter in the joy of your lord.” (Matthew 25:21 NKJV). May that day come soon!

Sorry about not getting a post out the last few days, but I’ve been under the weather. I was diagnosed with Strep throat 9 days ago, started antibiotics, and, since I was feeling better, flew to my Lifestyle Medicine Conference last Saturday.

The first day went well, but then this bug hit with a vengeance. I ended up staying in my hotel room most of Tuesday, watching the conference online. Thankfully, I was able to catch an early flight home Wednesday and spent the last couple days just moping around the house, recovering. It was definitely not how I’d planned for this week to go.

Life doesn’t always go as we plan. It doesn’t always go as God plans either. People blame God all the time when their plans go amuck, but it was never God’s plan for people to get sick, for marriages to fail, for nations to go to war, or for people to die. No, God’s plans for you are “plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT).

The one we should be blaming when our plans go astray and bad things happen is the one who caused all this mess in the first place. Revelation calls him “This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world”. (Revelation 12:9).

Satan has it out for us and he will do anything he can to discourage us or take our eyes off Jesus. Thankfully, he’s fighting a losing battle, because someday soon God’s plans will prevail. On that day, God will seize “the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and [bind] him in chains for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:2).

No longer will Satan be able to mess with God’s plans for us. No longer will he be able to bring sickness and mayhem and death, for on that day God “will wipe every tear from [our] eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (Revelation 21:4).

So, this next week, when things don’t go quite as you planned, don’t waste your time blaming God. Instead, choose to trust Him who “causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28). Put your hope in Him and remember, the best is yet to come!