Wilderness Wanderings

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms (1 Peter 4:10).

Last week, we began a four-week series growing out of the Vibrant Congregations Conversation that Immanuel Christian Reformed church had over the summer. The first week was focussed on the spiritual discipline of waiting. Today, we turn our attention to our tagline, "Together in Faith". One of our church historians has traced this phrase all the way back to 2006. For the next several weeks, we will explore how this expression can be lived today.

We begin with our text, "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms" (10).

There is a principle in this text that is fundamental to healthy church life: God gives Christians gifts so that we pass on his grace to others. This turns the modern notion of church on its head. Many of us have learned to ask, "What is the church doing for me?" This tends to be our primary inquiry when it comes to the church. To put it differently: the church exists to serve the Christian.

Such thinking does not line up with what the Bible says. You will notice how selfish this tendency is. The idea that "I" am the centre of the universe has leeched into the church. It is one of the elements responsible for the decline in church attendance and for the tragic fall of some leaders. In contrast, the Bible pictures the church as the gathering of those who have received from God and who therefore freely share his grace with each other.

"Together in Faith" assumes that every Christian experiences relationship in two directions. The first is the vertical: God reaches us in Christ, with a continuous stream of grace. Each Christian lives within this river of God's favour, responding to him with love, worship, and obedience. The second relational direction is horizontal: between people. The practical expression of worshipping God is in love shown to our neighbours. God's favour flows through us towards others.

When we picture the vertical and horizontal relationships together, they form a cross. Visually, our congregation has linked the phrase, "together in faith" with a cross. Naturally, Christians associate a cross with Jesus. Yet, it is not wrong to imagine the cross to be these vertical and horizontal relationships. In Ephesians 1-3 Paul delves deep into the love of God for us in Christ. The rest of this letter is about how we, having received that love, are to live in love with each other.

When light shines through drops of water, the ray is refracted into its various colours, and we see a rainbow. So, it is with God's grace. As God's grace shines through His people, it gushes out in a multitude of gifts. God's design is that we use these gifts, expressions of his grace, to bless others. When the gifts are stewarded as such by God's people they are as beautiful as the rainbow.

Years ago, Paul Simon composed "I Am a Rock" which begins with, "I am a rock/I am an island/I've built walls/A fortress deep and mighty/That none may penetrate/I have no need of friendship…" It's an apt expression of a philosophy that still prevails. But by the grace of God, the church is the antithesis of such a life.

Before that song, someone else wrote, "God seems to do nothing of Himself which He can possibly delegate to His creatures. He commands us to do slowly and blunderingly what He could do perfectly and in the twinkling of an eye".

Loved by the Father, recipients of the Son's grace, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, the church is the community in which God's favour is received and stewarded in a rich expression of colours. Because we are not yet perfected saints, our stewarding of this grace is not as rich and full as it should be. When the streams of grace are damned up by human selfishness, we still continue walking Together in Faith believing that this grace is strong enough to overcome our missteps.

We move forward with this confidence:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21).

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Galatians 3:23-5:12 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 QUESTIONS

1. What stands out to you from hearing these verses from 1 Samuel 17? Is God offering an invitation or a challenge to you through those words? Take time to pray about it.

2. What are the "Goliaths" that you face? The big, powerful forces or people that are bigger than you? In what way do these play on your fears?

3. How are you like Eliab?

4. How are you like Saul?

5. How might you seek to live in the faith of David in this week to come?

"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name." But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." (Acts 9:13-17)

The theme of this week is waiting for God. The founding story of the church from Acts tells us that the church is always firstly a community that waits for God's work and God's power to send it.

Does God send the church? Yes, always. But only in God's own power. Which means that we are always waiting in trust and hope on God to move his church.

Now I suggested that Matthias' selection was perhaps less a movement of God than a movement of anxious disciples who couldn't sit still and wait like they'd been told. As it turned out, Jesus was more than capable of choosing a 12th disciple all on his own, as he did by knocking Saul off a horse on the Damascus road and calling him Paul.

Now, you can argue with that interpretation. Paul certainly didn't think of himself as one of the twelve. In 1 Corinthians 15 he makes reference to them as he tells the story of Jesus' resurrection appearances. He finishes by saying: "last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect."

The disciples chose Matthias as one of the twelve. No one, including God argues with that action. Jesus later choses Paul to be his "instrument to proclaim [his] name to the Gentiles." Paul works harder than any of the twelve to spread the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth. Somehow then, Paul becomes an apostle with an authority and ministry that is seemingly equal to that of the twelve, though he's never really counted among them. So what are we to make of all this?

Well—through our waiting and our acting, whether from faith or unfaithfulness—there is always a God who, in Christ and through the Spirit, still winds up accomplishing more than we could ask or imagine.

Instead of Jesus removing Matthias and replacing him with Paul, we instead get a baker's dozen. 13 apostles instead of 12. Just as David is the 8th son instead of the 7th. God is that kind of a God—a God of blessing upon blessing. A God who sees abundance where the 11 apostles initially saw scarcity. A God who gives abundance in places where disciples like Ananias see only a threat to be feared.

God is accomplishing more than we could ask or imagine. In places where we can't see a way—he makes a way. In places where we don't feel we are enough or have enough, we discover that he is more than enough. All we have ever needed to do is to wait in hope and in trust for him.

On Tuesday, while preparing this edition, I set the publication timer incorrectly and as a result it did not get released. I'm sorry. Let it remain as a lesson in waiting. So here it is.

When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers gathered in one place. Suddenly a sound came from heaven. It was like a strong wind blowing. It filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw something that looked like fire in the shape of tongues. The flames separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in languages they had not known before. The Spirit gave them the ability to do this. Godly Jews from every country in the world were staying in Jerusalem. A crowd came together when they heard the sound. They were bewildered because each of them heard their own language being spoken. They asked one another, "What does this mean?".… (Acts 1:1-6,12).

It might be that you were skeptical about what pastor Anthony suggested yesterday about the choosing of Matthais. Was the church really running ahead of Christ? As I was rifling through the notes I have collected on the book of Acts, I came across some comments by Criag Barnes who wonders the same. Dr. Barnes has written a marvellous commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism.

Concerning Acts 1 he wrote, "The disciples began their time in that room devoted to prayer but grew weary of all that praying and finally succumbed to the church temptation of starting a committee. Peter mentioned that they couldn't really be called the twelve disciples anymore because of that unfortunate incident with Judas. 'But we have always been the twelve, so we have to find another disciple to fill this unexpired term.' They had a little election. It took two ballots, but finally the lot fell to Matthias. About the time the clerk was enrolling his name with the other eleven, the Spirit came.

Well, it wasn't hell, it was 'all heaven that broke lose.' Luke insists that what ever happened on Pentecost day came from heaven. It was as if the wind had started to blow violently inside the room, eventually pushing the disciples outside. Flames started to appear. The disciples themselves seemed to be on fire and began to speak languages they didn't know they knew. All of them were talking at the same time. People from different nations heard the disciples speaking their own language. "And all were perplexed, and said to one another, 'What does this mean?'" What in the world does this mean?

With that question we inherit a Biblical mark for a Spirit-filled church that is rarely mentioned: confusion. Is it possible that when God decides to use a church and give it a future, he starts with confusion? I'm not sure that's a valid conclusion, but I do know that one take away from Pentecost day is that things got confusing. It was so confusing that some of the people said the disciples were "filled with new wine." It is interesting that they did not respond by saying that Spirit-filled disciples don't drink. What they said was, "It's a little early."

While the disciples, who all knew each other and spoke the same language stayed in the upper room and carefully avoided changes, there was no Christian Church. That day Christ came back through the Holy Spirit and confronted the church with the world around it. He did not give them an organizational chart, even though these can be helpful, he did not give them a new mission and vision statement, even though these can be useful. Nope. He gave them power though the Holy Spirit. And it was confusing.

Amid all this confusion, Peter began to preach to everyone, and 3,000 converts were added. Wow. How does a band of 120 incorporate 3 000 newcomers? Talk about confusing! The only thing that could account for that is the Holy Spirit, who would not allow the church to hide out any longer.

I suspect that confusion is always part of the package when Christ's church is renewed in her calling to go to every nation. If a congregation is willing to open its doors and welcome new people, change and confusion are part of the drama, good drama of course. The Holy Spirit led the church into the confusion on the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit continues to lead the church today. We can trust the Spirit to empower us and to walk us into new things, even when they get confusion. Trust him. He is very good at leading the church.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21).

"For," said Peter, "it is written in the Book of Psalms: "'May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,' and, "'May another take his place of leadership.' Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection." So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:20-26)

We often assume that the "early church" we are to strive to be is the Acts 2 church from Acts 2:42-47 where the believers shared "everything in common," devoted themselves to prayer and the apostle's teaching, broke bread together, and had people added to their number daily through the work of the Spirit. In part that's right. But it's also partly wrong.

You see the church was not constituted in chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts. It was empowered on that day by the Spirit, yes. But the church was constituted on the command of Jesus from Acts, chapter 1.

Jesus had commissioned the church to "be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." But the Acts 2 church preferred to huddle rather than go out to the ends of the earth. It takes the stoning of Stephen before they would scatter out as missionaries like yeast through the dough as Jesus had told them to do.

Jesus had also commanded the church to "wait"—to wait for God to give what only God can. This is the command Pastor Michael mentioned yesterday, and it is in fact the very first command the church is given. But just as the empowered Acts 2 church preferred to huddle rather than go out as witnesses, so the huddling Acts 1 church preferred to get busy rather than wait. That's the story from the text today.

While they were supposed to be just waiting and praying—Peter decided to call the first church administration meeting. Now, often when we read this story of the selection of Matthias as the 12th apostle, we assume that this is a good news story. We assume we are told this story as a picture of God at work in his people. But, you may recall from the gospels that the pre-Spirit-filled Peter often put the cart in front of the horse. He often got out ahead of Jesus. And its worth wondering if the very same thing isn't happening here.

You'll notice that Peter quotes scripture and declares what is necessary—he takes up the role of leadership in this vacuum that has come from Jesus' absence. He just can't sit still any longer. There apparently need to be 12 apostles, Peter thinks, if they are to appropriately "witness" to the resurrection as Jesus told them to. Jesus told them to wait for his gift of power. But surely it couldn't hurt to help Jesus out a little in the meantime, right? The disciples don't disagree. So they nominate two men, pray about it, throw the dice and assume Matthias has been chosen by God.

But oddly, God himself never shows up as an actor in this run of verses. Nor does Peter yet have the Spirit-inspired interpretation of Old Testament texts that he will in Acts 2. Perhaps most interestingly of all, we never hear of Matthias again in the whole of the New Testament.

It's not that God slaps the disciples on the wrist. But this action of administration that came when they were supposed to be waiting also doesn't seem to bear any fruit.

Not until Acts 9 will this mystery of Matthias get solved for us when Jesus himself chooses the 12th Apostle on the Damascus road, named Paul. He was not among the disciples, was not witness to the things Peter thought he should be—but by the power and choosing of God he was made an apostle none-the-less. And through Paul—half our New Testament was written and witness to Jesus Christ was brought to the ends of the earth.

Perhaps we really can wait on the Lord to accomplish his work after all. Perhaps waiting and praying is more powerful than we thought.*

*We've got to credit Andrew Root and Blair Bertrand from their 2023 book When Church Stops Working for some of the insights they offered on Acts 1 and waiting!

One day Jesus was eating with them. He gave them a command. "Do not leave Jerusalem," he said. "Wait for the gift my Father promised. You have heard me talk about it (Acts 1:4).

Today, we begin a new series. Wilderness Wanderings was launched in the early days of the first COVID lockdown to help shepherd our congregation (Immanuel Church in Hamilton Ontario) through the pandemic. During this past summer, our congregation participated in a conversation called 'Vibrant Congregations'. Our leadership asked us to explore some of the learnings from that conversation in Wilderness Wanderings. We recognize that many people use this as part of their personal and family devotions. It is our intent to continue leaning in that direction. So even if you are not part of the Immanuel family, we hope that you will find these next four weeks edifying for your faith.

We are calling this series, Together in Faith. Since around 2008 this has been the tagline of our congregation. As the leadership sorted through the feedback from the Vibrant conversation, we realized that even though the church has changed in many ways, this tagline still resonates with many folks. Yet, living it out today looks different than it did 15 years ago. God has been at work among us. He is calling us deeper and higher.

So let us begin at a rather strange place: Acts 1:4. Here Jesus instructs his disciples to sit down and "wait". After several years of COVID restrictions, after a whole summer of gathering material, we start with more waiting. And you respond, "But what are we going to do?" And we reply, "Wait." Not as in, "Wait for it." But simply, "Wait".

Let me remind you that we are listening to the God of the Bible, not the gods of North America, which are constantly goading us to hurry up and get there. We, of course, never arrive where there is. The God who reveals himself in the Bible is rarely, if ever, in a hurry.

Abraham and Sarah waited decades for their son. Isaac and Rebekah were barren for a while as well. Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness. After David was anointed king, he went back to shepherding, became a soldier in the king's army, became his son-in-law as well and then an outlaw, all before he assumed the kingship. Throughout the Bible God's folks do a lot of waiting. Isaiah offers this summary, "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it" (30:15).

For many years, mission and vision statements, strategies and goals have been buzz words in church life. All of these can be good things and very helpful for a congregation. We do not intend to demean any of that work; however, we want us all to recognize that those things tend to create more busyness and can cause the church to become dependent on strenuous human effort. Peter, a de facto leader among the disciples, was a go-getter. He wanted to get things done. The kingdom of God moves forward by divine effort, not by human go-getters. Certainly, we Christians participate, frequently getting in the way, just like Peter (cf. Matthew 16:23).

Waiting implies that the Kingdom is beyond our ability to accomplish by our own effort, programs, and plans. Some other empowerment is needed. Jesus told his disciples to wait for the promised gift from the Father which he had told them about. It appears that they also remembered his teaching that the Father would give his Holy Spirit to those who asked (Luke 11:13). Luke tells us that the disciples (120 of them) got together 'regularly' to pray (Acts 1:14,15).

Members of GOHOP (Greater Ontario House of Prayer) are coming to Immanuel this fall, to lead us in a course on prayer. This was already in the works before we finished the Vibrant conversations. Maybe God was ahead of us so that as we work out our Vibrant learnings, we are also spending more time in prayer.

Jesus' invitation to wait is not just a matter of time, but a posture of the heart. It is an attitude for the whole Christian life. Prayerful waiting shows our trust that in God's loving hands "all things will work together for our good" (Romans 8:28).

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21).

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is 1 Samuel 16 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 QUESTIONS

1. What stands out to you from hearing these verses from 1 Samuel 16? 2. What do you think it takes to grow up to maturity in Christ? How do you know if you or someone else is mature? 3. How does fear work? How does it thrive in the things we can't see and don't know? 4. How does God answer our fears? 5. How does God invite us to trust and hope in the things we cannot see or know? How is that good news in your life? 6. How might you live with Kingdom purpose—with faith, hope, and love grounded in King Jesus this week?

Vindicate me, Lord, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered. Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness (Psalm 26:1-3)

At first glance Psalm 26 feels unreachable. How on earth can we pray, "I have led a blameless life"? But as we study the poem, we see that David is not writing this on his death bed but regarding a specific situation. Likely, people are making false accusations against him.

Even so we may still believe the psalm is beyond us. Yet, it can be instructive and helpful for our journey with God. David puts forth the underlying theme of his life. He is blameless, or as he defines it, "I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered."

David invites us to join him in a life lived fully in trusting God. What does that look like? In this psalm we discover these things.

First, it is a life open to God's examination: "Test me...examine my heart and mind" (2). David opens his decisions, his reason, his intellect, and his emotions to the Lord's examination.

This open attitude towards God is essential to the Christian life. Jesus said that true worshippers "worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). When I was growing up the preacher often encouraged us to worship this way and he prayed for it as well. It became like a cliché.

Its meaning is quite simple: that we come into God's presence fully conscience of the condition in which we enter. I have often heard people pray that we would leave the past week and all its distractions behind as we enter Sunday's communal worship. I think it is better that we take all that stuff along and dump it before God and admit it has distracted us from him. We cannot worship God when we try to hide our lives from him.

Further, David indicates that there are two things that he keeps in his mind and heart all the time: God's love (3) and truth (4-7). These two truly belong together. When we live with the awareness of God's love, it leads us to live God's way. When we divert from God's truth, we will lose the comfort of his love. And his love keeps drawing us back to his truth.

Seeking that truth keeps David away from those who have no interest in it. This does not mean that David never meets or talks with such people. But he does not join them in the way they live, nor does he get into situations where he compromises his integrity.

Finally, his desire is to be near God. His joy is to be with God. In the Old Testament times that meant being in the temple. We can be thankful that through Jesus we can come near to God. The writer of Hebrews says, "Brothers and sisters, we are not afraid to enter the Most Holy Room. We enter boldly because of the blood of Jesus. His way is new because he lives. It has been opened for us through the curtain. I'm talking about his body. We also have a great priest over the house of God. So let us come near to God with a sincere heart. Let us come near boldly because of our faith. Our hearts have been sprinkled. Our minds have been cleansed from a sense of guilt. Our bodies have been washed with pure water (10:20-21).

David also says that he loves to join in the praise of the great assembly. Part of a blameless life is a desire to be with God's other people. Together we lift the name of the Lord and encourage one another to trust in the Lord and not to falter.

As you journey, 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

The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. (Psalm 118:22-24)

Anyone familiar with the New Testament will know that these verses from Psalm 118 about Jesus being the cornerstone show up all over. Verse 24 is also where our song "This is the Day that the Lord has Made" comes from. The Palm Sunday shout of "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD" also comes from this Psalm. So, there's a lot going on here.

The most significant theme that resonates throughout is how the Lord is the one who saves. "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans," the psalmist says. And later: "I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done." The Lord is the one who saves from death, calamity, and sin. He is the only one, in fact. The psalmist couldn't do it alone and is convinced that no one else can either. But because the Lord is good and because "his love endures forever," we are able to trust that the Lord will not give us over to death either, even when we face death.

Of course, all of this good foundational theology was made flesh and dwelt among us in Jesus. He was the one who came in the name of the Lord. He was one who faced death unjustly and entrusted himself to the Father for salvation. He did not attempt to save himself. His hopes were well placed. On the third day he was vindicated by the Father and rose from the dead, able to say once and for all with Psalm 118: "I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done." All of us who trust in Jesus are able now to say the same thing.

But of course, this all looked rather like weakness. Jesus didn't put up a fight. He got himself bloodied and bruised. He got himself killed. Builders do not choose weak stones to be the foundational cornerstones. Builders do not choose broken stones to become the foundational cornerstones. Nor do they choose stones that they cannot put to their own uses. By that criteria too, Jesus was rejected.

But God vindicated Jesus. Not only by overturning Pilate and the Religious Leader's unjust verdicts against him, not only by raising him to life and so nullifying the sentence of death carried out against him, but also by raising Jesus to the highest place in the throne room of heaven—making him the King, the foundation, the base upon which the Kingdom of God, the Church, and all God's people would be built. This weak one becomes the strength of God. This broken one becomes the restored face of the entire edifice. This one who could not be put to use by the will of man becomes the one who empowers any worthy use any of us can set our lives to.

Jesus is our cornerstone. The only name in which life and salvation can be found. The only worthy foundation upon which to build our lives. So today, let us rejoice and be glad in him.

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).

Let's return once more to this word to Jacob -- a part of God's promise to him as he fled his brother's wrath.

I've often wondered how African slaves sold on the American auction block kept hope alive. Likewise, how did those who resisted the Nazi's maintain their resolve to hide Jewish folks, even as their own loved ones were carted off to concentration camps? Or how do folks who have suffered abuse for years and years find the resolve to live after finding freedom?

I'm sure the answers are varied and complex. We may catch a glimpse in some of the songs left us from African American Christians. The lyrics of "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" harken back to this promise of God to Jacob while in the same beat stretching forward to the new heaven and new earth. Such hope is rooted in God's promise, "I have better things in store for you."

Thus, there is good reason for all of us to ponder these great promises tucked into the pages of the Bible. And looking at the context of this promise offers us enormous hope. Remember that Jacob is running for his life. His brother is angry with him. And the anger is justified. Jacob has connived and tricked his brother out of the family birthright, blessing and inheritance that belonged to the oldest son.

But at the heart of this deception is a lack of faith in God. Rebekah, Jacob's mother, had learned, even before her twins were born, that the older would serve the younger. Faith would have waited and watched as God fulfilled his promise. She knew the story of her husband, Isaac, born to the aged Sarah. But she did not watch and wait. Instead, she deceived her husband and older son.

Despite this lack of faith in God's ability to bring about what he has promised, God makes a new promise to Jacob: "you are running away, but I will bring you home". And our Lord does it. This theme of God fulfilling his promise to his doubting people continues throughout the Bible. When the people of Israel reach the promised land, they don't believe that God could bring them in. They are banished to the wilderness, even as God promises to bring their children in.

Later, when Israel refuses to worship God, he threatens to remove them from the land. They don't take him seriously; they keep sinning. Even as God sends his people into exile, he promises to bring them back. He will resettle them in the promised land. He had promised Abraham that this land would belong to his children forever. He will keep his promise.

What does all this have to do with Christians today? Well, at least two things. First, it points towards Jesus on the cross. Paul is emphatic, that Christ died for us while we were still sinners, enemies, even, of God. When we read about Israel, we read our own stories. We are saved by grace, nothing else. Further, Matthew tells us that even while some of his disciples still doubted, Jesus sent them out to be his witnesses (Matthew 28:16-20). God does not need people who have it altogether. Its flawed and doubting folks that are saved and sent. That's good news for all of us.

Secondly, the promise of the land still stands: a renewed earth. We have something to look forward to. We believe that there is life after death. While the details might be sketchy, one thing is clear, the renewed earth will be vastly superior to this one. And God will be with us all the way from here to there.

So, whether its our own lack of holiness or faith, or the bleak circumstance of our lives, these promises of God penetrate our despair and offer us hope. These promises deserve celebration. Live with joy today as you consider the hope we have in God. That hope fueled the songs of African slaves in the Americas. It's a hope that belongs to all Christians. It's a hope that we need today.

As you journey, go with the blessing of God:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).