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Can you picture Jesus in a basketball uniform going for the slam dunk? Or was His life a little more sedate? Should Christians be athletes or couch potatoes—or something in between?
Giving God’s trumpet a Certain Sound for 75 years, this is the Voice of Prophecy.

CONNIE: Hello, I’m Connie Jeffery,

LONNIE: and I’m Lonnie Melashenko, welcome to our broadcast today, part 4 in our series on 12 simple biblical things you can do to really improve your life.

CONNIE: I take it we’ll be focusing on sports and athletics today—is that something you find in the Bible?

LONNIE: Well, Connie, we’re not really focused on sports, but on one part of lifestyle that is just as important to the average person as it is to someone trying out for the NBA. It’s exercise. We all can benefit from keeping our bodies in better physical condition.

CONNIE: But many people find that a bit challenging—we start on an exercise program, maybe get a membership in the local gym in January, and we make it about to Valentine’s Day and then fall off the wagon . . .

LONNIE: Or off the exercise bike as the case may be.

CONNIE: Yeah, and back into the station wagon instead of walking.
That’s one of the issues I brought up with lifestyle interventionist and health educator Dr. Hans Diehl when I spoke with him recently about how the average person can get into a program that will help them maintain optimum physical fitness and health.
Let’s listen to that interview now.

LONNIE: We welcome back to our studios Dr. Hans Diehl…Welcome Dr.

HANS: Well, Thank you…Lonnie.

LONNIE: Now, the research data is in and we know how to create many of our common Western diseases. We know how to reverse them, but Dr. Diehl, how do we get the word out and how do we motivate people to assume some responsibility and start digging in and doing it?

HANS: Well, how do you motivate people? I think that people need to understand that their actions and their diseases, and their life spans are directly related. I think that people over 50 begin to connect that, and they usually become the ones that become motivated and they begin to modify their diets, they begin to exercise, and these are the people that are beginning to recognize theses aspects.

LONNIE: Now Dr., I want people to realize that we are not talking fluff here. This is not a passing fad or book. You published scientific results of your program in 6 major medical journals. It’s been documented and reviewed by your medical peers. Now, the executives out there in the world, whether it’s the president or people that go out and work out in the gym. There doing this stuff, but what…I mean, why is the president out there exercising for an hour every day, and why doesn’t the general populist pick up on what you are suggesting?

HANS: Well, I think that people recognize that there is efficientcy and a deficiency in all of our lives.

LONNIE: But I hear people in my family say they don’t want to exercise because they are already too tired.

HANS: But you see, when you exercise in the morning, you become more efficient for the day. You can actually cut off a half hour of your sleep, because when you exert your self, you sleep a lot more soundly.

LONNIE: What are some of the other practical benefits of exercise?

HANS: It strengthens the heart, lowers blood pressure, lowers our cholesterol levels, strengthens bones, lifts depression, relieves anxiety, and helps us to maintain desirable weight levels. Lonnie, if I could take the benefits of exercise and put it all into one little pill, I would be a multi-billionaire overnight. These are the benefits of exercise. Somebody once told me, use those two doctors that you have, you’re right leg, and you’re left leg…

LONNIE: What is a practical non expensive way to get out and get healthy exercise?

HANS: The best way is to get out there and walk, and slip in some strength training that helps with you’re vitality and flexibility. Walk at least half to forty five minutes at least four days a week.

LONNIE: In our busy lifestyles, how do you motivate these people?

HANS: The hardest part of the motivation process is getting people involved, once they have started they love it and it becomes routine, it’s the starting off part that seems to be where people lag the most.

LONNIE: One final suggestion?

HANS: Well, you want simple foods, exercise, God, and a great attitude, and in the end stay on Gods side, and I believe you’re life will look upwards.

CONNIE: Amen! Now that’s a good suggestion for how to keep in good shape for the Lord—just keep walkin’ and talkin’ and singing in His name!

LONNIE: That was one of our favorite groups, Christian Edition, bringing us that musical selection. And we always like to encourage our listeners—if you enjoy the music we bring you, go to our web page at vop.com and check out the listing of music heard on the broadcast. You’ll find information on how to purchase copies of the CDs for your own collection.

CONNIE: And you’ll find many more resources there as well—including transcripts of our broadcasts and streaming audio where you can listen to past programs.

LONNIE: Also many of our television programs, including the brand new Exploring the Word broadcasts can be viewed right there at your own computer, so stop by today and visit us, won’t you. The address is easy to remember: vop.com.

CONNIE: Our focus today is on staying in good physical condition so that the Lord can use us more effectively in His work, and I know that many people find it challenging to stick with an exercise program, so we’re offering free copies of a little book called Take Charge of Your Health today. We’ll share information at the end of the broadcast on how you can receive a free copy, so be sure to stay tuned.

LONNIE: The book’s authors include Dr. Hans Diehl, whom we spoke with earlier, so I know you’re going to want a copy of this great little motivational book.

CONNIE: Right now though, let’s listen as Pastor Lonnie presents today’s’ message. “The Right Foundation.”

The Right Foundation

Was Jesus an athlete? Can you picture Him out on the ice rink, hockey stick in hand, parting the red sea of opposition to get to the puck? Or perhaps on the pitcher’s mound, staring down a batter as He prepares to hurl a lightning-speed fastball?

Well, as we were thinking about this—trying to picture Jesus as a real, live, human being, inhabiting our world, and pondering what kind of physical condition He would want to be in, we decided to consult the ultimate 21st-century “authority” on everything: The Internet. And what we found, well, I must say, it kind of surprised us. Perhaps the most amazing thing that came up when we typed “Jesus and athletics” into a search engine was a site where you can purchase “Jesus Inspirational Sport Statues.” Sure enough, for under $20 (plus shipping and handling), you can own your own statuette of Jesus in His 1st-century robe and sandals taking a handoff in a football game, or kicking a soccer ball past two youngsters in shorts and tennis shoes. Jesus even shows up with kids on the ski slopes—still wearing His sandals and robe—on this particular page!

Hmm… that wasn’t quite the kind of answer we were looking for. Somehow I don’t picture Jesus coming to live in the 21st century, but still dressing like a Galilean peasant did 2000 years ago.

So we decided that if we really wanted to know what Jesus is like, maybe we ought to consult the Bible instead of the Internet.

What kind of lifestyle do you think Jesus pursued? Was He active, or was He a couch potato? Does the Bible have any answers?

The Gospels give us one obvious clue. After Jesus left home to take up His ministry, He eventually made His way back to Nazareth, and when He went into the synagogue on Sabbath morning, He was invited to speak. The people responded in amazement, as we read in Mark 6:2-3: “And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, ‘Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary?’ ” (NKJV).

The word translated “carpenter” here is a general term for a craftsman—it could refer to a stonemason as well as to a person who worked in wood. But the point is that Jesus’ neighbors thought of Him as a workman, not a preacher. Being raised in a poor, working-class family, He hadn’t had much time to sit around and get flabby. I like to think He had big, strong arms, and wide shoulders. Jesus no doubt wanted to keep His physical body in peak condition, because of the kinds of challenges He knew He would face. And there’s another aspect to this as well. Keeping your body in good condition can help your spiritual life as well—giving you more time and energy to spend with God.

There are other clues in the Gospels as well, that reveal that Jesus must have Himself in superb physical condition. One of my favorites is found in the first two chapters of John’s Gospel. It’s a fascinating story, and it reveals something quite amazing about Jesus.

The main characters are Jesus, Philip, and Nathanael. The story begins in Judea down near the Jordan River, in the area where John the Baptist had been preaching.

This takes place right at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry—just as He begins to call disciples to follow Him. First are Andrew and John, then Andrew goes and finds his brother Simon Peter. Jesus now has three disciples, and according to John 1:43, “The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me’ ” (NRSV). And Philip immediately started following Jesus.

The reason why Jesus decided to go to Galilee at this time is hinted at in chapter 2—there was to be a wedding in the small village of Cana, a few miles from Nazareth, three days later, and He had been invited. So Jesus is leading His disciples to the wedding in Cana.

Maybe that’s what set Philip to thinking about Nathanael, because Nathanael was a native of Cana. Anyhow, Philip excused himself for long enough to go and find Nathanael and announce to him that “we have found the Messiah”—then comes that famous conversation where Nathanael, whose hometown isn’t far from Nazareth, asks whether anything good can come out of Nazareth. We’ll skip over that conversation for today, to get to our point.

Rabbinic sources tell us that weddings in Israel in those days were almost always held on Wednesday nights. So it must have been on Monday that Jesus decided to go to Cana.

Now it’s time to consult the maps in your Bible atlas. If you get out a ruler and measure the distance, you’ll find that Jesus and His disciples had a lot of miles to cover in three days of walking. Somewhere around 75 or 80 miles!
Have you ever walked 25 miles in a day? How about covering that far for 2 or 3 days in a row? And how about doing it in sandals over rough roads that are always going either uphill or downhill?

It was no walk-in-the-park to go from the Jordan up to Cana in three days. But Jesus and His disciples did it, and arrived in time for the wedding!

So, was Jesus an athlete? Well, I don’t think He ever played hockey or basketball. But I really wonder how many of us could have kept up with Him on a hike in the mountains!

Isn’t it amazing? In planning His time here on earth, Jesus could have planned to be born into the home of a prosperous rabbi or Pharisee, where he would have had the luxury of sitting around, reading the Scriptures, entering into long, leisurely discussions with His peers about the significance of the prophecies.

But instead He chose to be born into the home of a humble carpenter, where He learned to earn His bread by the sweat of His brow.

He wanted to enter fully into the experience of the descendants of Adam. Remember that one of the results of Adam and Eve’s fall was that God banished them from the Garden of Eden and told them, “ ‘In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return’ ” (Genesis 3:19, NKJV).

Work wasn’t intended as a curse. In fact even before they were cast out of the garden, Adam and Eve had work assignments. It was their job to tend and keep the garden.

Hard work that keeps the muscles strong and the body in tune is a blessing, not a curse—when practiced in moderation. God was so concerned for our well being that He even included work AND rest in the Ten Commandments. Here it is, right in the middle of the commandments: “‘remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates’ ” (Exodus 20:8-10, NKJV).

Hard work and good rest are all a part of God’s plan for us. Sometimes when we read this commandment, we focus exclusively on the command to rest. But the same verses remind us of the importance of work.

Of course in our day, hard work often involves sitting at a desk eight, ten, or twelve hours a day, staring at a computer screen, typing on a keyboard. Or flying from place to place, sitting in meetings, eating restaurant food, and attempting to get a good night’s sleep in unfamiliar surroundings.

And what’s the result? According to a study released recently, poor diet and lack of physical activity are the number two totally preventable cause of death among Americans. Only smoking kills more people prematurely every year.

And the problem just keeps getting worse and worse. Between 1990 and 2000, the number of deaths attributable to these two causes—poor diet and physical inactivity—increased by 33 percent!

Now, this isn’t intended as scare tactics to get you out on the jogging track. It’s just information that we all need to be aware of. God has given us bodies that are designed to be active, just as Adam and Eve were active, and just as Jesus was active while He was on earth.

So, what’s the solution to the dilemma? Should we all resign our positions and apply for work at the local carpenter shop so we can emulate Jesus?

I don’t think that’s what God is asking us to do—do you?

But there are some simple things we can do to take charge of our own health and make our bodies more fit.

One of the simplest things is to follow the same type of exercise regimen that Jesus had: Get out for a walk. No gym membership needed any high-tech exercise equipment. Just a good pair of walking shoes.

In the book Take Charge of Your Health, Hans Diehl and Aileen Ludington share story after story of people who have improved their health one small step at a time. Here’s one:

Three months after his triple coronary bypass, Father Fergus McGuinness experienced the return of his symptoms—pain, fatigue, frustration. . . .

[His physician told him to go back on his medications, but then Father McGuinness learned about a health center that might help him without all the pills.]

The physicians at the health center explained to him that the symptoms often return after bypass surgery unless the factors that caused the condition . . . are changed. . . .

Father McGuinness learned that switching to a low-fat vegetarian diet, coupled with walking for 30 to 60 minutes every day, was essential. It took considerable discipline for him to discard lifelong patterns and adopt health-building habits, but he persevered. Within a month his cholesterol had dropped 102 points, and he’d lost 17 pounds. He felt 10 years younger.

Father McGuinness followed the program faithfully throughout the years that followed. He told us recently that what he had learned has extended his life 14 years so far. He is 74 years old now, works fulltime, and has no plans to retire. (pp. 48-49)

You might call it adopting the Jesus lifestyle—becoming more active and living life more in the manner that God designed us for. It can pay big dividends in how you feel, and in how long you live.

And the great thing about it is that even small amounts of exercise can begin to bring improvements quickly, leading to stronger bones, stronger muscles, and better cardiovascular fitness. And not only that, taking time for a walk every day can improve your mental and spiritual attitude, too!

I’m thankful that we have a God who cares about us—cares about our spirits, but also cares about our bodies, and invites us to talk AND walk with Him every day!