Wilderness Wanderings

Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long (Psalm 25:4-5). There is a story of a young Naval graduate, who after completing his first overseas cruise, was given an opportunity to display his talents at getting his ship underway and out of port. The young officer's efficiency established a new reco...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text of Matthew 8:14-22.  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 The little story of Peter's mother-in-law shows us...

Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. (Psalm 45:6) Today's psalm picks up almost directly on the heels of yesterday's.  A question looms in psalm 44 about the suffering God's people have faced.  They've done nothing wrong, and yet have been crushed.  Their God and King has decreed victory, and yet they have faced defeat.  As Past...

We are brought down to the dust, our bodies cling to the ground. Rise up and help us; rescue us because of your unfailing love" (Psalm 44:25-26). Often in the Christian life, faithfulness does not equal success, at least, not the way the world measures success. The clearest example of this is the ministry of Jesus. He was faithful in preaching the Good News of the kingdom, in healing the sick, in...

I say to God my Rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?" My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, "Where is your God?" Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (Psalm 42:9-11) Psalms 42 and 43 have long been two of my favourit...

The fishermen will groan and lament, all who cast hooks into the Nile; those who throw nets on the water will pine away. Those who work with combed flax will despair, the weavers of fine linen will lose hope. The workers in cloth will be dejected, and all the wage earners will be sick at heart (Isaiah 19:8-10) . Rarely is Isaiah 19 used as a preaching text, let alone for devotionals. The NIV edito...

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. … Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence. Strike them with terror, Lord; let the nations know they are only mortal. (Psalm 9:9-10,19-20) Most of this Psalm is a prayerful song of praise t...

"Blessed are those who care about weak people. When they are in trouble, the Lord saves them." (Psalm 41:1).   Jesus aptly sums up Psalm 41 when he says, " Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy " (Matthew 5:7). Some of us can learn mercy by reading about it in the Bible. Many more of us learn mercy by taking the plunge and practicing it. Some years ago, the story of Sister Helen P...

In the Lord I take refuge. How then can you say to me: "Flee like a bird to your mountain. For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; his eyes...

But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope (1 Chronicles 29:14-15). Sesame Street has the song, "One of these is not like the others". Our verses f...

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I bear pain in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God! Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, and my enemy will say, "I have prevailed"; my foes will rejoice because I am shaken. But I...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text of Matthew 8:1-4.  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 How is your life an ongoing act of worship to Jesus?...

Show me, O Lord, my life's end, and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure (Psalm 39:4,5). Standing at a bassinet, delighting in new birth, we are often unnerved by how fragile life can be. Struck by the raw beauty of a small baby, we po...

LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the LORD; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mi...

"But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish " (Psalm 9:18). This song comes from the harp of David the shepherd boy, not composed while he was tending sheep, but already a star in Israel. His success was growing. When he returned from battle, the women of Israel met him singing, " David has killed tens of thousands ." What does David do with his success? How d...

Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me. … All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes. My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away. … Lord, I wait for you; y...

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4). These words have been carved on many a plague to adorn our kitchen walls and encased in picture frames for our living rooms. Sometimes preachers will choose it for a sermon text, leaving their congregations with the impression that if they just love the Lord enough, all will be well with them. As they define...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text of Matthew 7:24-29.  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. How is your life an ongoing act of worship to Jesu...

Looking at his disciples, he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your...

" I look for your deliverance, Lord " (Genesis 49:18). Many Biblical scholars don't like this verse much. It doesn't fit, you see. Most of Genesis 49 is the record of Jacob blessing his sons from his deathbed. In the middle of this monologue directed towards his sons, he has this line directed towards God, " Lord, I look to you to save me". It could also be rendered, " I wait in hope for your salv...

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. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) This text is known as "The Shema." It is so named for it's first word in Hebrew which is, "shema," the Hebrew word for listening and obeying.  Jews of later years would recite these words twice every day—once in the morning and then a...

" O Lord, you have seen this; do not be silent. Do not be far from me, Lord. Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord. Vindicate me in your righteousness, Lord my God " (Psalm 35:22-24). Once again David is in trouble. It seems like his life is nothing but trouble. Many of his Psalms are requests for liberation. And David thinks God tends to be slow in responding to his pleas...

Hear me, Lord, my plea is just; listen to my cry. Hear my prayer—it does not rise from deceitful lips. Let my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right. As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. (Psalm 17:1-2,15) These are the first and last verses of the Psalm.  They recognize that though we might seek to...

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!   The texts come from Matthew 7:13-23, from the New International Version of the Bible.   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

Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons—would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord's hand has turned against me!" (Ruth 1:12-13). What a place for hope to show up! It...