Isn’t it true that we spend lots of time, money, and effort striving to gain and keep physical fitness. There is tremendous worth and value in being or becoming the best possible version of ourselves. Tending to our physical body is not just a good idea, it is also something we find in scripture. Here is what we find in the first half of 1 Timothy 4:8 – “for while bodily training is of some value,” We will look at the second half of that verse later in this writing.

What about striving to gain and keep wisdom?  The Chinese philosopher Confucius observed three ways to acquire the wisdom necessary to navigate life. He said, “By three methods we learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is the noblest; second, by imitation, which is the easiest, and third, by experience, which is the bitterest.”

While Confucius is mostly correct, he missed, in my opinion, the most beneficial method for gaining wisdom – that being to ask God for wisdom. Not just any wisdom, His wisdom. The writer of Proverbs says this – “How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver” (16:16). He also says this about seeking godly wisdom over all other forms of wisdom – “Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her” (8:10-11). The entire 8th chapter of Proverbs is about the excellence, the call, the commendation, of seeking and acquiring the wisdom of God. In fact, much of Proverbs is a good place to learn of biblical wisdom.

The context of 1 Timothy 4:8 that I referenced above is the apostle Paul instructing Timothy not to be influenced, not to be swayed, by the many false teachings. Can I just say this before continuing. Take heed. Nothing has changed. Much like ancient times, the world today is filled with so much false information that it is often hard to know, fact from fiction, true from false, pearl from dung. In v.7, Paul encourages his protegee Timothy to “Have nothing to do with irreverent silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;”

Now let’s look again at v.8, this time in its entirety – “for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” As I dig into this verse, I find Paul telling us that bodily training does have some value, but in comparison to godly training, no contest. Bodily training, while important, is temporary whereas godly training is for now and forever. I encourage you to read this section of scripture in its entirety – 1 Timothy 4:1-15.

Godly knowledge and wisdom begin with a fear, deep reverence, of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7) and the equation for acquiring that wisdom is quite simple: Asking = Receiving (James 1:5). However, it is not grab and go. Rather, this wisdom gets cultivated in our heart, mind, and soul through a living relationship with Jesus.

Not sure how to ask God for wisdom? How about asking in the same way as Solomon asked as he was about to take over the throne from his father David – “Now, LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” (1 Kings 3:7-9).

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Whether it is low tide or high tide, whether there is a rip current or very little movement, whether the ocean water is cold or warm, whether the sun is shining brightly or it is the darkest of nights, one thing about the ocean is constant – while the water ebbs and flows and the tide rises and falls, the ocean keeps crashing onto the shore. The waves, whether big or small, just keep coming, one right after another.

The tides are caused by the gravitational attraction of the ocean’s water to the sun and the moon, and there are two tidal bulges every lunar day (the time it takes for the moon to make one full rotation on its axis) with two high tides and two low tides. Because a lunar day – 24 hours and 50 minutes – is longer than a solar day, the tides are not exactly 6 hours apart. The two phases of the tide are called ebb and flood, with the ebb being when the water drains way from the shore and the flood being when the water rises again.

You might not be aware that there is a third tide, called a slack tide. This is the short period of time when there is barely any movement either way in the tidal stream, before the direction of the tide changes. 

Just as the ocean’s water rises and falls, our lives are a constant ebb and flow, up and down, in and out. Some days life seems calm and the waves are small and other days you find yourself in heavy waves (surfer lingo for big and gnarly waves), but you can rest assured that just like the ocean is always the ocean regardless of the water conditions, God is always love regardless of your conditions. Stand in the ocean and the water will constantly wash over you. Stand in God’s love and it too will always wash over you, wave after wave after wave.

You might be familiar with the Psalm 42, or at least you’ve probably heard the oft used first two verses of the psalm – “As the deer pants for water, so my soul pants after you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Where can I go and meet with God.” Those words wonderfully describe how we are to thirst for God. Later on in this same psalm, and where I want to focus today, we see God’s unending love and presence in the midst of dangerous waves. Here is what we read in verses 7-8, “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me – a prayer to the God of my life.”

Those two verses reference the distress that the author of the psalm suffers but also confesses great hope in God in those times of trouble.

So, in this Advent Season, regardless of the condition of the ocean you stand in, run in and out of God’s waves of love, and let Him refresh you over and over and over again.

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On the church calendar, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are what we call Advent, which is the official beginning of the worship year. It is a season of hope, of expectation, and of waiting. In Advent we remember the longing for deliverance from evil and oppression experienced by the ancient Jews, and the anticipation of God’s Kingdom breaking in on their behalf. At Christmas, we remember God’s inbreaking into our human story, freeing us from sin and crushing the works of the evil one.

Each Monday during Advent, I will post a short writing. Typically, this kind of reading would be used during the lighting of an Advent candle. Since we are not lighting candles, I encourage you to meditate on each reading throughout the week, quietly listening for what God might want to say to you.

Below is the first writing.

The word Advent comes from the Latin word “adventus,” meaning “coming.” It is during this season leading up to Christmas that we expectantly wait for the coming of the Messiah. 

This week let us meditate upon the hope of the prophets, especially Isaiah, who waited in hope for the Messiah’s coming. We read these words in Isaiah 7:14, written some 700 years before the birth of the Messiah – “Therefore the LORD himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

It is in that expectant waiting, that hope of a better tomorrow, that we can be thankful, allowing us to sing out the words found in Psalm 100:4 – “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!”

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Now that all that is left of the turkey is leftovers, and today being Black Friday, the Christmas Season is “officially” upon us and with it comes a roller coaster of emotions. Stress levels often hit the roof during the holidays. The holidays present us with a dizzying array of demands – we have too many gifts to buy and wrap, too many parties to host or attend, cookies to bake, a string of tangled up lights that need hung. And let’s be honest, every family has a “Cousin Eddie” who shows up at the holidays. You know, that lovable but not too sharp character from the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation movie.

Maybe recently a loved one died and the thought of this holiday season without them weighs heavy on your heart. Or it could be that you’ve been unemployed for a long time, the bank account is drained, and you are not sure how you can afford to buy gifts. You might be struggling with a serious health issue. Your church has many activities during the holidays, and you want to participate, but there just doesn’t seem to be enough nights to get everything in. Your kids have three holiday school concerts, all different nights. Maybe you will be alone this Christmas, with nobody to share the holiday joy with. Does any of this resonate with you?

It seems like our burdens are on steroids during the holidays, everything just gets so crazy. Today we want to share the good news that we have a place to take our burdens. The word “Advent” literally means “the coming.” It is in this season of Christmas that Jesus was born; and it is about Jesus coming to you, meeting you right where you are. Yes, He meets you even in the midst of your messes and stresses.

So today, I want to share two verses to encourage you. In Psalm 55:22 we read these words, “Cast your cares upon the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

You ask, “Why would he do that?” Here is your answer – “Cast your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Do you see it! God cares for you! The same God who made the universe and everything in it ( Genesis 1, Hebrews 11:3, Revelation 4:11), the same God who names and numbers the stars (Psalm 147:4), knows and cares for you and for me. Even the very hairs are your head are numbered (Luke 12:7).

Jesus can turn chaos into calm, dark into light, and anxiety into peace. Jesus can heal the wounds of your heart. Whatever it is that is causing you any level of “holiday stress,” today I encourage you to give it all to Jesus. Pray and ask Jesus, the Light of the world, the Prince of Peace, to bring light to your darkness, to be salve to your soul, to bring peace to your heart, in the midst the chaos that is often the holidays.   

Advent is about Jesus “coming” to find you to bring you the most beautiful gift of a hope-filled present and future. Jesus is speaking these next words to you right now, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Run, don’t walk, to Jesus right now… He is waiting for you!

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Have you ever wished upon your Thanksgiving Day turkey’s wishbone? The tradition of breaking the wishbone dates back thousands of years to the ancient Romans who pulled apart a chicken’s clavicle in hopes of achieving good fortune. This elastic bone is the fusion of the bird’s two clavicles at the base of its sternum. It holds and releases energy as the bird flaps its wings, thus an important part of the flight mechanism. Today, folklore says that the person who breaks off the bigger piece has their wish granted.       

When you think of the word “hope” or “wish” what comes to mind? We often use the two words interchangeably, but they really are different in meaning and usage. Hope is most often used to convey the reasonable confidence that something good will happen in the future (I hope I pass my test) whereas wishing is a longing for something not likely to happen (I wish I were taller) or to express regret (I wish I hadn’t said that to her). Hope and wish are situational. They are based upon circumstances.

Unlike hope, or even wishful thinking, as most often understood in everyday language, biblical hope is not based upon situations or circumstances. It is not simply optimism or wishful thinking. Biblical hope is based upon a person, the trustworthy person of God. There are two main words used to translate hope in the Old Testament. The first is yachal, most associated with waiting on God (Job 13:15; Psalm 31:24; Psalm 130-5-7). In addition to yachal, we find qavah, which comes from the root word for cord. This verb confers the idea of the tension that comes with anticipating something.

Biblical hope is real anticipation, something you truly believe is coming. Because of Israel’s rebellion, God had hidden himself from them. Yet, despite that, the prophet Isaiah was waiting in expectancy – “I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope (qavah) in him” (Isaiah 8:17).

Micah talks of farmers who wait (hope) confidently each morning for dew to give moisture to their crops – “Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which delay (qavah) not for a man nor wait (yachal) for the children of man” (5:7).

Late last year, I wrote about biblical hope in a slightly different way. To read that post, click here.

Biblical hope is confidence, looking forward to, and trusting in, all that God has promised. There is always tension in the waiting, but in the tension, there is also confidence. Biblical hope is more than a wish It is hope that you can count on. 

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Can I tell you about the greatest love story ever told. We all love a good love story! This story is not about me. Instead, this story is about God and his endless pursuit of you and of me.

I am thankful for a billboard at the corner of Route 161 and Cleveland Ave in northeast Columbus, Ohio, that in 1998 pointed me to Vineyard Columbus! Let me explain.

I had just moved to Columbus to be CFO at one of the country’s largest egg farms. I was staying at an extended stay hotel near the aforementioned intersection until my family could move there later in the year. Every day I drove by that billboard on the way to and from work. For some reason it intrigued me. In my first month in Columbus, I visited a number of churches, but none really connected with me. I had never heard of the Vineyard Church, at least I didn’t think I had.

Just a few months earlier, back in Millersville, one Sunday morning at church, the worship leader that day sat at his keyboard and sang “Refiner’s Fire.” In his words: “this is a song by a new group in California called Vineyard.” I thought, appropriate name for a band from Cali. Little did I know then that I would soon find out Vineyard was a church movement and not just a band. The song really resonated with me. In fact, for some strange reason, tears began to stream down my cheek. Oh my, I thought, hopefully nobody noticed. Even though I did not know it that day, our lives were about to change. That song would play a big part in changing our path.

Now back to Columbus. One day God prompted me to call the phone number on the billboard. I had all my excuses ready as to why I couldn’t visit that church. It is probably all the way across town and I would not know how to get there, being so unfamiliar with Columbus. And besides, what kind of church advertises on a billboard anyway? None I ever encountered. You can imagine my surprise when the person on the other end of the phone told me the Vineyard church was less than one mile away.

Reluctantly (very reluctantly) I attended that Sunday and the minute I walked into the building on Cooper Road I knew this wasn’t like any church I had ever been in. The person who greeted me at the door was wearing shorts and flip flops. Seats not pews. A worship band. I thought to myself, where is the organ and choir loft? The associate pastor who welcomed me at beginning of service had a ponytail. The senior pastor did not look like the “reverend-kind” I was accustomed to. And his style, nothing I had experienced before.

The first song in the worship set was “Arms of Love,” during which God spoke to me. I can honestly say I believe this was the first encounter of that kind I can remember ever having. This song holds a very special place in my heart to this day! And the second song, much to my surprise, you guessed it, that same “Refiner’s Fire” I had heard a few months earlier. Imagine my revelation when I suddenly realized this Vineyard is that Vineyard! Oh my! All of a sudden, I felt my heart, in the words of John Wesley, strangely warmed! And just like the first time I heard this song, I again found myself with tears streaming down my face, still not having any clue as to why.

While then I did not have the vocabulary to know what was happening and despite my best defenses, that day God grabbed hold of me and did something in me that I had never experienced. He was putting a new song in my heart, both literally and figuratively.

After the service, and after filling my belly with a few too many Skyline Chili cheese coneys, I rushed back to my room to call my wife, excited to hear her voice and tell her, “Let me tell you about this crazy church I visited today!”

Well, here we are more than twenty-five years later and this Vineyard thing, we have come to call it home. And never in my wildest dreams, and I do have an active imagination, would I have on that day ever imagined moving to New Bern, North Carolina, in 2011, to plant a church. One we have since closed. The sadness is still in my soul, but I know it is all part of the beautiful tapestry God is weaving in, with, and through my life.

One last thing, on my second or third visit to that Vineyard Church in Columbus, I was introduced to their two-year ministry program. Hmm? Nine months later, I stepped into a classroom with knees shaking. We did worship before each class, and on that first night, the first song, you guessed it, “Refiner’s Fire.” I just cannot make this stuff up.

As a kid, I dreamed of being many things when I grew up, but I can honestly say, pastor never made any of those lists.

How we eventually got to New Bern is a story all unto itself, for another day. I will just say now it was part of the same dream in 1998 in which God prompted us to move to Columbus. It involved a simple park bench overlooking a river. A park bench that did not even exist in 1998.

God’s story of pursuing each of us is the greatest love story ever told. Motivated by unexplainable love, God was pursuing me even when I wasn’t too interested in being pursued. He is still pursuing me. He is pursuing you as well! Are you responding?

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