"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands…The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul…May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and My Redeemer" (Psalm 19:1,7,14).

I have a memory of preachers praying the end of our text prior launching their sermons. The memory is probably 40 years old by now. It is a good practice. I use it myself on occasion during a worship service, but more often in my study as I prepare during the week.

Have you ever prayed this prayer? I assume that most of you are not preachers. Still, I ask you this question. Do you pray this prayer?

You see, it is very unlikely that this psalm was originally prayed by a preacher. In the heading before the psalm, it is ascribed to David. Those headings are not considered part of the inspired Word of God; thus, we readily admit they might be wrong. Nevertheless, the psalm is meant to be prayed by all of God's people. That includes you.

It is thus valuable to look back and find out how the final verse of the psalm came to be included. The psalm can easily be divided into three parts. The first is a magnificent song detailing how the natural world exudes with the glory of God. After my meditation on Psalm 18 last week, one wonderful reader wrote that she was struck by the contrast of these two psalms. Both contain creation imagery, but in vastly different ways. We prefer the images of this psalm, but we need both.

If you check out the Belgic Confession, you will discover that Article 2 teaches that the creation is one of the two ways that we get to know God. It takes its cue from Psalm 19 but alludes to Psalm 18 as well. We can learn much of God's grandeur, greatness, creativity, and providential care if we spend time in God's creation and observe it. One gets the impression that this prayer may have come for the experiences of a shepherd leading his sheep and protecting them as he slept under the stars.

Some of us live in the 'concrete jungle' rarely getting out of the city boundaries. Still, if we pay attention, we can God's creatures, both animal and plants, creeping into this jungle. Is God quietly reminding us that we cannot cement him out of our lives?

The second part of the prayer takes delight in the spoken and written words of God which give direction for life. This psalmist recognized that there are different ways in which we might live. We are always faced with moral choices. This psalmist declares that God's ways are the absolute best. Here we are invited to ponder our own relationship with the Scriptures. Many of us learn to read the Bible as a textbook, as a place to get information. Here, the Word of God is portrayed as a treasure to be enjoyed, savoured, even played with. Always, with an eye to enjoying God himself, to borrow Presbyterian language.

The psalm concludes with a personal reflection on these two great sources for deepening our relationship with God. I believe the conclusion begins with verse 11. Essentially, the psalmist says that he wants his life to measure up to God's standard. Notice that it is only after he has spent time with both God's creation and His Word that he moves to this conclusion. I highly recommend the psalmist's pattern.

The psalmist stands in awe of God. Not just of God's greatness and majesty, but also of God's mercy and grace. He asks for forgiveness and the grace to lead a blameless life. Surely this is a prayer that we all ought to pray.

As you journey on, let Jude's doxology encourage you:

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen (Jude 24,25).

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)

God's saving work in Christ gives us a new identity, a way to walk, and the equipping of the Spirit to walk in that way. And as we learn to walk in this way of Christ, we discover that one of the fundamental cadences that begins to mark our steps is confession and forgiveness. The way of reconciliation.

That's not strange, it was God who first reconciled us to Himself through Christ. While we were still sinners, Christ forgave us through his taking of our place on the cross. The initiative was God's, and still to this day, that forgiving initiative of God is what invites us out of our hiding places to honestly confess and receive that which is ours in Christ: forgiveness and restoration to full relationship with God. His forgiveness leads and disarms us, our confession follows, and we are reconciled.

This is the power of the Kingdom of God, and it is the power that God authorizes all of us as the ambassadors of his kingdom to utilize fully as we walk in his ways among our family, neighbours, and friends. Whoever we're with, each of us walk with this diplomatic communique of the Kingdom in our hand. It is God's invitation to the world to receive his forgiveness so that they can be reconciled to God.

It's more than that though: in a very real way, we ourselves are that communique of the Kingdom. We are called to live it too: to forgive as we have been forgiven. To confess openly and honestly when we're in the wrong or have wronged someone else, because we've been forgiven. Not only is that a diplomatically attractive way to display the walk of our citizenship in the Kingdom, it also carries power with it to draw poison from wounds, to heal, and to restore.

You don't have to go far to discover anger, estrangement, bitterness, grudges, and hopelessness. It is in the news, in our politics, on our social media feeds, and in our families too. Even in our church denomination, a constant drumbeat of the inevitability of our splitting off from one another can be heard.

But this is not the power of the Kingdom. Forgiveness is. Reconciliation is. And this forgiveness and reconciliation has the power not only to heal our hurts, but perhaps also our relationships, our political divides, our church, and our world.

How might you respond to God's radical diplomacy of forgiveness today?

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).

In recent weeks, I offered devotions on finishing well and starting well. I ended the second one by alluding to the possibility of mid-life course corrections. That is what I want to pick up on today.

Like many of you, our family has taken several long road trips. Today, with GPSs 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. At times, they are caused by sinful choices we make. Other times, the events of life blow us off course. It might also be that we drift simply through inattention or minor distractions. And so, it can happen that we need a course correction. The words of our text are helpful in this regard. They contain two pointers for us.

First, 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. How we behave while engaged in our occupation is more important to God than what we are doing (with some exceptions, of course).

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. Here, we need to think beyond the structures of the church. Even if we do not have an official title, we are still called to contribute to the building up of healthy Chrisitan community.

"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. We should ponder them from a Christian perspective. 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, things we have built for ourselves. Something we can point to at the end of life and say, "I built that."

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 others in love'? Are you 'making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace'?

As you journey on into the week ahead, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

I mentioned this before, but I've been struck by the absence of congregational worship from the life of the Old Testament. I mean, daily, weekly, and annual rhythms of sacrifice and prayer were always going on at the National gathering place of tabernacle and later the temple. And the weekly rhythms of Sabbath were ongoing in homes across the land. But there's no steady intermediate place. No church or synagogue where a community that was larger than one's household, but smaller than the whole tribe or nation would gather for a weekly service.

Much more emphasis was placed on the two anchor points at the extreme: on the one end—the central worship at tabernacle and temple where the rituals of confession, sacrifice, forgiveness, and praise were rehearsed, and on the other end—the decentralized worship that happened week to week in homes when the Sabbath was observed. But what about those spaces between?

Here in Deuteronomy 6, the Israelites are finally at the doorstep of the promised land. Their wilderness wanderings have come to an end. For 40 years, they have been shaped by centralized worship. The tabernacle was pitched right in the center of the camp. Anyone could look down the row of tents to see it. Always—daily—the rituals were being rehearsed and repeated there again and again in the sight of the people. Always—daily—the conversation with God was being kept as He and Moses spoke face to face in the tent of meeting. Always—daily—the people were on pilgrimage with their God and their God with them. The ordinary stuff of everyday life was entirely and visibly intertwined with the sacred realities of God among them.

But they were about to be scattered. Changing from nomads to homeowners, they would no longer be one big camp together in one place surrounding their central place of worship at the tabernacle—they would be scattered to their own homes and towns, days away from each other. They might not see a priest or the tabernacle for months. So here on the plains of Moab, overlooking this promised land, Moses begins to remind the people of what they will need most to remain faithful in this new reality of life in the land.

His speech here is about staying faithful in the everyday ordinary stuff of life. To love God. To keep God and His ways regularly on your lips and in your heart. You do this by telling of His stories and commands when you're sitting around, when you're on the go, when you're parenting, when you're going out, when you're coming in, when you turn in for the night, and when you get up the next morning. Make a note on your hand to remember if you have to!

The life of faith has to be lived where you are every day of your life—especially when we're scattered, as we often are through these summer months: but also just in the regular six days that fall between Sundays.

Pastor Michael and I pray that these devotions continue to help make your faith walk an everyday part of your life in just that way. What are other faith habits, conversations with or about God, or spiritual disciplines that keep you walking and talking out your faith through the week?

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is James 4:13-17 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

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

v James challenges our presumptive living. In what did do we live this way? Consider some moments in your life where you made choices based on "moral therapeutic deism" or religion is "a very nice thing"?

v What is the counterpoint to presumptive living? What do we believe about God? What do we believe about ourselves?

v The sermon included four practices that help develop submission. What insights did you have as we reflected on these? Choose one or more of them (you may choose your own) and develop a plan to practice it (them).

"I love you, O Lord, my strength" (Psalm 18:1).

The opening phrase of Psalm 18 may suggest that this will be a nice, gentle psalm. It is anything but. It is filled with bold colours, powerful metaphors, haunting images, and violent movements.

John Calvin wrote that the creation is the "theatre of God's glory." I wonder if this psalm inspired that phrase. David, having spent his life shepherding sheep, hiding in caves, and defeating lions, bears and enemy soldiers knows a thing or two about this creation. That intimate knowledge fashions his prayer.

Let's take a brief look.

In the first movement God is a rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, stronghold. But wait a moment. These images of mountain strongholds are all preceded with a pronoun. David says, "The Lord is my..." I suggest that we ought to follow David's example. Find the strongest elements of God's creation to describe what God is to us. This may be a new form of prayer for some of us, but such practices tend to nourish the soul.

In the second movement, David uses creation metaphors to describe how he almost dies: cords of death, torrents of destruction, snares of death. Have you ever dared to use such images to describe a situation in your life? In his distress, David cried out to God. God heard and came to the rescue.

Thus, the third movement imagines the creation coming apart before God's approach: trembles, quakes, shakes, smokes, parts. Here God does not come in light, but in the darkness of judgement. It's an edge of your seat horror show.

Then, suddenly, the imagery shifts. This horrifying, mountain shattering God reaches down, shepherd like, and picks up his trembling lamb from the cliff of disaster. As enemies surround him, cutting off his life, God pauses, picks him out of the fray and sets him in a safe place.

Why? This is who God is. He has an eye for those who seek Him. When the psalmist declares his own righteousness, he is not suggesting that he has never sinned. No. It's another way of saying, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God" (Psalm 42:1). God comes to those who seek Him; he is found by those who look for him.

Now God becomes the teacher: God is the master and the psalmist, the apprentice. Notice all that God does for and teaches to David. All this training is so that David can go out and deal with his enemies. David is not rescued to be spared the struggle. Rather, God uses David to deal with those who oppose Him. Remember, God's enemies are David's enemies.

David is amazed at how thoroughly God has carried him through the storm and how thoroughly God has raised him over his enemies. Thus, he praises God.

We too can pray this prayer with David. The New Testament tells the story of how Jesus Christ rescues us from Satan's dominion. And "having provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of Majesty in heaven" (Hebrews 1:3). He is the king who won the ultimate victory. The book of Acts tells stories of how his earliest followers learned to face opposition by first turning to God in prayer. When, as Christians, we face opposition, this psalm becomes our prayer.

Like David we begin, "I love you, O Lord, my strength"; and we finish, "The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted by God my Saviour (46).

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever he may send you.

May he guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm.

May your day end with rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you.

May you rest in his provision as he brings night, and then new dawn.

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him… While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:55-60)

Stephen seems to be in an entirely different world than his attackers. He is full of the Spirit, eyes wide open seeing a vision of God. He is praying, forgiving. This is in stark contrast with his attackers who had made themselves deaf: ears covered, rushing, yelling, dragging, stoning. At the crux of this clash between kingdoms, the contrast between the way of Christ and the way of the world is fully revealed.

The way of this world is revealed to be a way of sin and death. A way that shuts up our ears and our eyes so that we cannot see or hear God. A way of rush and noise and hot anger. A way of control that forces, drags away, and makes captives. A way that ultimately kills.

But the way of Christ is a different way—His is a way of life. He opens our eyes and ears and invites us to keep them open. He restores, heals, and sets captives free. He is the one who says come away with me and get rest for your souls. The one who says: "be still and know that I am God." He is the one who promises life in abundance and to whom we entrust ourselves for life everlasting.

Stephen had the eyes to see Jesus in the throne room of heaven, even as he faced the moment of his death. He had peace, humility, and love as he sought not vengeance—but forgiveness from God for his enemies. The picture Luke paints of Stephen is that of a person molded by the Spirit into the likeness of Christ through the humble, life-giving ways of Christ. That is: Stephen looked and sounded a lot like the Jesus who humbly submitted to death, giving up His spirit to the Father while praying: "forgive them" over his enemies.

There is a rushing, weary, worry that sits like a cloud of fog over so many of us. So many have aged, gotten sick, or died these past few years. So many relationships have been strained or have simply been marked by a falling out of touch. So many have left us, our church, or other communities where we knew them to belong. The fear and threat of division and diminishment hang heavy in the air. There's a great shifting and shuffling under foot, even while life has resumed its reckless pace of busyness.

In these clouded times where we bump the limits of what we can do, or feel, or worry about: the way, the voice, and the vision of Jesus reminds us that it's not time to cover our ears and start yelling. It's time instead to hear His call to open our eyes and to look and see Him still there on the throne. To open our ears and hear Him call out: come away with me and find rest and freedom for your heart and soul.

Only then, refreshed by Jesus' life in us can we begin to join Him in facing the death, fear, sadness, divisions, and hunger in our world with eyes and ears wide open once again.

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).

Christians spend an incredible number of resources on the Bible. More copies have been printed then any other book. It has been translated into more languages than any other piece of literature. Currently, we are evaluating the possibility of us AI to provide translations into rare languages. Its possible that more scholars study the Bible than any other academic discipline. After all, seminaries all over the globe are largely dedicated to helping students understand this ancient text and how to apply it to daily living.

Why do we spend so much effort on the Scriptures? The Belgic Confession tells us that Christians receive it "for the regulating, founding, and establishing of our faith" (4). More recently, the Contemporary Testimony, put it this way, "The Bible is the Word of God, the record and tool of his redeeming work. It is the Word of truth, breath of God, fully reliable in leading us to know God and to walk with Jesus Christ in new life" (32).

These beliefs concerning the Bible lead Christians to support the publishing and translating and studying of it. But arguably, much of this is done by only a few of us. Our text for today, presses in not towards the scholars, but the everyday Christian. Recently, I wrote a devotional on "how to finish well". Certainly, a worthwhile question. But a better one is, "how do we start well?" or "how do we make a mid-course adjustment?" After all, it is difficult to finish well, if we do not start heading towards such an exit somewhere along the way.

The first Christians 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 might be 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.

The psalmists often refer to meditating on the Word. That means taking time to mull it over, digest it, to get back to stomach imagery. That is how it gets hidden in our hearts. It enters through our brains but needs to travel to our hearts. Like a highway or express way, we need to ensure that the traffic can flow.

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 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 audibly, 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.

Journey on with God's blessing,

May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it! The amazing grace of Jesus Christ be with you!

He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:7-8)

The kind of witnesses Jesus is sending out are sent out with power.

Now we all have power of one sort or another. The power to choose our reactions and responses. The power to speak or remain silent; to act or refrain. The power to force and abuse, but also the power to respect boundaries and seek justice, to apologize and offer forgiveness, hospitality, and grace.

The power Jesus used and gives is not the sort that forces or abuses. Jesus' kingdom is not a kingdom of armies and boundary-transgressors, it is a kingdom ruled by the one who humbled Himself to death on a cross, letting someone else (namely: the Father) vindicate, raise, and enthrone Him. It is a kingdom that looks like a bit of yeast or some mustard seeds. Nothing formidable. Yet if you're not careful, yeast can permeate a whole batch of dough and mustard trees can grow through a garden. So moves the kingdom of God to the ends of the earth: through the use of seemingly benign witnesses.

People put up defenses when an army threatens, but most just shrug and say thanks when told, "I'll pray for you." Yet if witnesses are empowered by Jesus and the Spirit, the second is in fact, the larger threat to the status quo—the prayers, not the impressive show of force.

The one who empowers us to speak His word, work in His name, and come before Him in prayer is not subject to political turnover or polarized divisions. No: the kingdom of God is everywhere present at all times, as is our King. We're on home turf anywhere on this Earth: for it all belongs to the God who made it. We're always connected to the one who empowers us. He is with us, He is within us, and all the paths we tread belong to Him. We witnesses may not look like much, but the One we look to and the One we hopefully look more and more like is more than up to the job.

The power we have been given to witness and participate in the life of Jesus is not diminished when we walk out the door of the church building and scatter back into our daily lives. If anything, in the wilderness of God's wide world we find ourselves discovering anew that He is with us still—His unimpressively scattered flock. He empowers and encourages us to be witnesses where we are: offering the power we have received of prayer, forgiveness, hospitality, and grace in humility, even to the end of the age and even to the ends of the earth. Thanks be to the God who accomplishes this power of witness through His power at work in us.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is James 3:1-12 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

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:

1. What two things does James say in Chapter 1 that influence our understanding of this passage?
2. Take some time this week to consider whether your tongue leans towards sweet or sour. Use the various things James says about the tongue for your reflection. Write them down as you listen to the sermon.
3. James warns us about the dangers of a sour tongue. It seems hardly necessary. And at first glance, he leaves little hope for sweetening. However, a closer reading of the text offers us some hope. What did you hear that gives you hope?