Wilderness Wanderings

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you (Genesis 28:15).

The Christian faith is deeply rooted in the promises of God. As Hebrews 11 so famously puts it, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for" (1-2).

Being a Christian means that we believe there is more to life than this reality, there is more than what we can see with our eyes. There is something better in front of us. The writer of Hebrews tells us that many Old Testament saints were commended for living in this hope.

Would we be commended in the same way?

When I think about the spirituality of African slaves sold in the American marketplace, I think about a people who, while enduring unspeakable horrors, often saw the hope of the Christian gospel. That a strong gospel tradition remains among those so mistreated by those who claimed to be Christian goes beyond all human reason.

But I digress, that is not what this devotional is about. Or maybe it is. You see, our text is a promise which God makes to Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. And God makes it in the context of Jacob's unbelief.

Here is the story in a nutshell. When Rebekah was pregnant with twins, "they jostled" within her. She asked God why this was happening and was told that the older would serve the younger. This was contrary to the normal cultural practice. As they were growing up, Isaac loved the older, Esau, and Rebekah the younger, Jacob. She wanted Jacob to receive the promise God had made to her but doubted that God could pull it off.

As a result of her doubt, she convinced Jacob to deceive both his father and his twin brother. The ruse worked until it was discovered. Then Jacob's twin vowed to kill his bother. Jacob flees for his life.

It is as Jacob flees that God interrupts his flight, not to send him back but to speed him on his way with the promise that God will bring him back. Jacob was living in the land of promise, now he was fleeing because of his and his mother's unbelief, but God would bring him back.

Wow.

This is the gospel. Despite our disobedience and unbelief God will complete his work of redemption. This is good news for all of us who find ourselves living in the land of sin. We are often tempted to think that our sin has derailed God's work.

Nope.

Despite our sinfulness and lack of faith, God continues to call us back to faith and hope. The fulfillment of his promises is not dependent on us. As Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, "The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it" (5:24).

I will say more about this verse on Thursday. For now, have you given up on God's promises? What would it mean for you to pick them up again? How would it change the way that you live?

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Corinthians 4:6-7)

School starts again today! A ray of light in the darkness that says: this lockdown won't last forever! It's certainly something to rejoice about, especially for those of you in school and probably for your parents too!

But, at the same time, this wee bit of reopening is not the kind of hope you can ground your life on. There's always a threat hanging in the air that it might not last. Vaccines are delayed. Variants of the virus are swirling about. The horizon of hope seems uncertain indeed, even if today we find ourselves breathing just a little bit lighter.

That, I think, is why Paul's reminder in 2 Corinthians is a helpful one. Our hope—the light of the gospel of Christ—is not something of our own doing. It's not something that shines forth because of human ingenuity or intervention. Can it shine through those things? Sure, but it doesn't originate there.

Our hope shines forth from Christ. The power is God's. What belongs to us is the jars of clay that are our lives, our bodies, and our world. Fragile vessels that always teeter on the verge of brokenness. We've likely never been quite as collectively aware of that fragility of our lives and society as we are right now. All the grand things we have, are, and do as individuals and even as a society are little more than fragile vessels, jars of clay.

But for those of us who follow Christ, what we hold in our little jars is no small thing at all. We hold the life and light of Christ. The hope of new life and a world restored. The all-surpassing power of forgiveness and healing.

In our little clay vessels, we carry with us the immortal, invincible treasure of the Good News of Jesus Christ, and with it, the hope that one day there will be no more disease to cripple our bodies, plans, and society. No more sadness or anxieties to weigh down our hearts and minds. We carry with us the hope that far better news is yet to come than just schools reopening.

It's not from us or because of us. We are naught but jars of clay. But from God in Christ comes this glory and hope that fills our jars with something real, true, and solid. Thanks be to God.

A special, extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is 1Cointhians 11:17-34 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection or discussion!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN QUESTIONS

1. Compare Acts 2:42-47 with 1 Corinthians 11:17-34.
2. What was going on in Corinth Church?
3. According to Ephesians 2:14-16 and Galatians 3:8, why was this so problematic?
4. Define:
   1. Unworthy Manner
   2. Self-examination
   3. Discerning the Body
5. How might this text be applied in our congregation?

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

We've been thinking about living in such a way that we finish well. Yesterday, Pastor Anthony reflected on one of the deepest promises of the Scriptures, "God is with us." Today, I want to reflect on a particular aspect of what it means that God is with us.

When we think about finishing well or even starting well, we usually think about what we plan on accomplishing with our lives. In one way or another we are all doers. We want to accomplish something.

When I was growing up on the farm, one of the first tools I learned to use was a broom. On Saturday mornings, I would be assigned sweeping duty. All the alleyways in our barns needed to be swept. My dad would check afterwards and note placed I had missed. Soon, I began to take pride in a clean floor. It was a good morning if dad's keen eyes couldn't find any spots I had missed.

When I became a pastor, I discovered something odd. Preaching a sermon or helping someone through a crisis did not bring the same kind of satisfaction as a well swept floor. There was little capacity to see the fruit of my labours. There was no sense of being finished, having accomplished the task. There was no broom to put back in its corner. I preached sermons, but what impact did they have on the listeners? I rarely knew.

And I was frustrated.

John 15 offered a different framework by which to live: 'remain in me', Jesus says. Here, he gives us a different goal for life than the one the world offers. Rather than focusing on the things we produce; we need to focus on him. This is a deep Christian principle. We often try to be more loving and more joyful and more humble and we try to have more self-control. These are all good things which we ought to strive for. But Jesus says that the road to these things is through 'abiding in him.'

If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

We cannot force ourselves to be more loving or joyful or humbler. This is how God is with us. We are his garden and he works in us and with us and around us so that we produce fruit.

How do we abide in Jesus? Christians have always believed that the two primary ways to abide in Jesus are to read the Bible and to pray to God. There are other important elements as well, such as worshipping with other believers, celebrating the sacraments and giving gifts to the poor. But those two, scripture and prayer, are the primary means.

Sometimes these practices become things we need to accomplish. They become tasks. Then its time to step back and recall what they are, means to abide in Jesus. Remember Pastor Anthony's recent question, "How is your love life…with God?"

Reading scripture and prayer are about that, about abiding in our Lord and Saviour. And after abiding, God produces fruit in us. Abiding in him is the goal of our lives.

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." (Deuteronomy 31:8)

Pastor Michael has been speaking about the journey of life and faith this past while. Starting well, finishing well, and navigating mid-life course corrections as Christ is formed in us.

All this talk of the journey has made me think of another text that one of you shared with us a few weeks back. It's this text I read from Deuteronomy that has punctuated many a worship service at Immanuel in the years past. As we entered into our worship services we were often reminded of God's promise never to leave nor forsake us: the works of his hands.

These words were first spoken by Moses to the Israelites about to cross the Jordan out of the unknown of the desert and into the unknown of a new land. In that time of major transition and uncertainty, the Israelites could be certain of one thing: God's presence with them.

As we journey through our lives, and especially through these wearisome days of stay-at-home orders, that promise of God seems particularly relevant: a confronting invitation to entrust our fear and discouragement to the Lord who himself goes before us in this wilderness pilgrimage.

The writer of Hebrews puts this promise even more directly as a word from God to us: "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you."

So, as you journey on through life today, whether you're at the start, near the finish, or somewhere in the middle, remember: God's with you. He hasn't left, nor has he forsaken you.

And that reminds me of a quote I've often cited in talking with younger members of our church at the start of their journeys, pondering the different roads that could lie ahead. It's from Craig Barnes in his book, Searching for Home: Spirituality for Restless Souls. It goes like this:

"Every road leads to a fork, and every fork in the road eventually leads to another. But all of the roads belong to God. The real challenge is not choosing the correct fork, but learning to walk with the Savior who can use any road to bring us home."

So do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. Our Saviour walks the road with us. No matter where we are in the journey, we can trust that with his faithful never-leaving-nor-forsaking presence, we'll arrive safely home.

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3).

Last week, I offered a devotion on finishing well and this past Monday on starting well. I ended by alluding to the possibility of mid-life course corrections. That is what I want to pick up on today.

I've taken several trips across North America. Today, with GPS's in our cars and on our phones, it takes some effort to get lost. Before such technology, when we used Triptiks from CAA it was much easier. For years, we had a big map atlas that had a page for each province and state. Of course, these quickly became outdated, thus inaccurate. On occasion, we would lose the road we intended to take and would have to find our way back.

Such diversions happen in Christian discipleship as well. From time to time, we need a course correction. The words of our text are helpful in this regard. They contain two pointers for us.

First of all, they remind us that God's calling to us is not primarily about our 'occupation' in life. Rather, our calling is mainly about character, "be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love". Jesus is more concerned about how we live than what we do.

And second, Jesus is concerned that we have a healthy connection with the fellowship of believers. He calls each of us to contribute in a healthy way to the life of the church. We all need to participate in a way that leads to both unity and maturity in the fellowship.

"Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ" is the title the NIV editors gave this section. I think they are spot on.

Starting well, finishing well, course corrections are all good things for us to reflect on. However, we need to ensure that we ponder them from a Christian perspective. You see, often, we think about those things from the perspective of 'worldly success.'

An old bumper sticker read, "the one with the most toys wins." Toys are not necessarily material possessions; they can be accomplishments of any kind. Some form of kingdom we have built for ourselves. Something we can point to on our death bed and say, "I built that."

I doubt that God will interrogate us when we meet him. But, if he were too, he would not ask us "What did you do?" but he would ask, "How did you live?"

If its time for a mid-life course correction, it is possible that you need to consider what you are doing. But it is more important to consider 'how you are living." Are you living a life worthy of the calling you have received from Jesus?

Are you being 'completely humble and gentle; patient, bearing with one another in love'? Are you 'making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace'?

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:5b-7)

A strange thing can happen when we know we should talk to someone, but don't. Maybe we need to talk to them because we see or know that they're struggling. Maybe there's a tension or disagreement unresolved between us. Maybe we owe them something. Maybe it's simply the fact that it's an important relationship that we want to keep up with.

Whatever the case, the longer we go without talking to that person, the harder it becomes to reach out and do it. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe we get used to telling ourselves that we'll do it later. Maybe the conversation feels too big or too important to try to squeeze into any of the moments we have and so we wait for an opportune moment that just never seems to come. Or, maybe we build up a story in our head that they're frustrated or angry with us for not talking to them, and that makes it all the harder to reach out.

I think I've been guilty of all of these at some point. And, most of the time, when I do finally talk to that person I've been avoiding, it brings relief. We take steps to resolve our issues, we're encouraged by each other, I discover that they weren't nearly as upset at me as I had imagined, finding sometimes that they didn't even realize anything was wrong, making it clear in an instant that I'd been agonizing over nothing. Sometimes there's nothing to it, but to do it. To just reach out and talk. Sometimes that the quickest way to peace.

I think that same dynamic plays itself out in our relationship with God, too. We know we should talk to him. It's an important relationship. We owe him our thanks. Perhaps we feel a tension between us of some guilt or sin that needs confessing on our side, or something we're frustrated at God about that he seemingly hasn't held up on his.

The longer we go without talking, the harder it is. And yet, when we do, more often than not what we walk away with after is his peace that transcends all understanding.

So Paul reminds us, the Lord has already drawn near to us. He has already redeemed us and adopted us as his very own in Christ Jesus, making all the peace there ever needs to be between he and us already. So, no need to be anxious about coming to God in prayer. He's already taken the first step. He's already confirmed his love and forgiveness to us in Christ.

So, come to him. Talk to him. Today. And let his peace in Jesus that transcends understanding meet you and guard your hearts and minds as you journey on.

How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:9-11).

Last Friday, pastor Anthony offered us a devotion on the value getting into the Word. This topic also come up in the sermon I preached yesterday. I had planned on following last Thursday's devotion on Psalm 71, with reflections on these verses from Psalm 119. I had a fleeting thought to do something else, but as you recognize by now, that thought didn't stick.

Here's why. Thursday's devotion concerned the idea of finishing well. It's a good thing to think about. But it strikes me that it is rather difficult to finish well, if you don't start well. It's hard to get to the finish line of a marathon, if you begin at the wrong place. Not impossible, I suppose (not having ever run a marathon). But, I think we can all agree that starting at the right place is extremely beneficial.

As I noted in yesterday's sermon, the early church began with devotion to the teachings of the apostles. Clearly, these teachings were about Jesus and how to follow him. This is where we begin (and end) the Christian journey: the Word. It is the Holy Spirit's main tool to connect and keep us connected to our Lord.

So somehow, as the Psalmist says, we need to get this Word into our hearts. Our eyes and ears are the vehicle to our hearts in this. I used to advocate that we ought to get lots and lots of the Bible into us, the more the merrier, as they say. But I have reconsidered. I think its better to use manageable bits. For each of us that will be different. Its like food, we can only handle so much food before our stomachs start to get sore. I think the same is true for scripture.

Let me suggest that we do two things with the Word. First, we pray it back to God. This does not always include words on our part. It's like holding it in our hands and showing it back to God. We might ask questions of God about his word. What does this mean? Why did you use that image or word? Why did you have people do this or not do that? We might compare it to like looking at a painting or photograph and really looking at the details. As we do this, we ought to expect God to respond. Usually, he doesn't respond audible, but the Spirit does nudge our hearts and brains.

The second thing we ought to do with the Word is 'do something with it'. What does God want me/us to do with this Word? Do we need to think about him or ourselves differently? Do we need to alter our attitudes towards certain people? Do we need to change the way that we spend our money?

If we want to finish well, the best thing to do is to start well. As the first church was devoted to the Apostle's teaching, we need to be devoted to the Scriptures. If you're in the middle of your journey its not too late to change course, but more about that on Wednesday.

A special, extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Acts 2:42-47 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection or discussion!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN QUESTIONS

1. What are the two important background pieces to this passage?

1. What is the main quality of the early church?

1. The early church was devoted to the Word. Measure your devotion to the Word.

1. The early church was devoted to Fellowship. What are the two dynamics of this Fellowship? What can you do this week to grow in these dynamics?

1. The early church was devoted to worship. What was its main character? What three elements of worship are mentioned in this passage? Are these important to you?

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. (Psalm 119:105)

As I reflect on my life and even our church life together right now objectively, I see some great things. We've begun a time of prayer for one another together over Zoom. We're gathering around the Lord's Table with some intentionality and curiosity. We're still caring for and supporting one another as a church family, and still worshiping together too. Obviously, there are also any number of things that aren't so great.

But, even when just looking at the good things, the subjective reality is quite different. Good things or not: the life just seems to be sucked right out of them. Everything seems rather flat and dreary, even on sunny days. The isolation and fatigue of COVID and this second lockdown is draining us. And we are weary.

If ever there was a time that our path seemed dark, it's now. Uplifting worship, sunshine, a good conversation—none of it seems to pierce the all-consuming darkness that we drag ourselves monotonously through between our same four walls each day.

And yet, the strange inviting promises of our God are to look for him in just such dark and desolate wilderness places to see if he won't light our way. Put our ear to the ground to see if He won't speak.

Reading Scripture can be just that way that God grounds us back into reality as he defines and illuminates it, not as our circumstances or weariness does. Listening to God speak to us through his Word is an act of attention that can transport us out of the monotony of our time, and into the pregnant, creative possibilities of his.

Many of us have had a hard time staying faithful to rhythms of reading or prayer since the pandemic first hit. But, I'd like to invite you to try it again. Maybe through these devotions. Through an app that sends you a verse of the day. Through picking up the physical book and reading a chapter or so. Whatever bit of listening to the word you can take on faithfully each day, no matter how bite-sized, is the right place to start.

Our Youth Group talked about this Spiritual Discipline of Scripture reading this past Tuesday night. So, try it out: join them. If you're a prayer partner, connect with your partner and encourage them.

Here are some further anecdotes, resources, ideas, and scriptures to invite us into this healthy discipline of faith from our denomination's faith formation team. Check it out here.