Wilderness Wanderings

I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind (Proverbs 8:30-31). If we are to experience Sabbath's potential, we need to consider the practice of delight. The connection between delight and the Sabbath is easily seen. In expressing delight, we show our joy and great pleasure in the gifts of God. It is to relish th...

     I was the king's wine taster (Nehemiah 1:11). Why does this chapter end stating Nehemiah's position in the Persian court? The wine taster was a very important person among the king's officials, most likely responsible for other high priority files. In the Canadian context, he would probably hold several significant cabinet posts. The bulk of the chapter relates Nehemiah's lament and prayer. A...

I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done…Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life (Psalm 143 :5,8 ). In the Bible, God has multiple occupations. Here are a few from the Psalms: judge (9:16), provider (16:5), midwife (22:9), engineer and builder (Ps 24:2 & 87:1), teacher (25:12), planter (44:2), scheduler (74:17), liberator of those who toil (81:6), irrig...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Ezekiel 36:24-32.  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 What does soap do? Is it adequat...

The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made ( Psalm 145:9). Our text, along with others, has given rise to the teaching known as "common grace." This doctrine reflects on different ways in which God is involved in the affairs of the universe, including among human beings and human civilization. Here are some of examples of God involving himself. First, He restrains sin. Humans le...

"The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices… (Ezra 9:1). "Moderation in all things". This popular bit of folk wisdom is helpful but not always. Hating sin, for example, needs no moderation. We are to hate it and flee from it with enthusiasm and passion. When writing to Timothy about cer...

May the favour of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands (Psalm 90 :17 ). Growing up, the New Year was always ushered in with a reading of Psalm 90. Sometimes, just after mid-night, more often after breakfast on January 1. As a child growing up on a farm it was easy to relate to the petition of verse 17. But from an adult perspectiv...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Psalm 58. 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   What are the Imprecatory Psalms? How do we pray t...

It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O most high, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night… (Psalm 92:1-2). Christian teaching on Sabbath is frequently rooted only in the instructions given through Moses in the 10 Commandments. As such, this training is often reduced to as list of dos and don'ts. We focus on definitions of work and what kinds of wor...

Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven male lambs and, as a sin offering, twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord (Ezra 8:35). Ezra 8 records a second group of exiles returning from Babylon. This group is led by Ezra who has diligently studied the law of God an...

Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan ( Leviticus 25:10 ). We love distinctions. We separate sacred from secular. We divide work from worship. In these Monday devotions, I have been attempting to bridge the gap, to help us integrate our work w...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Psalm 110.  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 Who's Who? The Lord My Lord Enemies Troops Who is...

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God (Psalm 92:12-13). Last summer, I committed to preparing a devotion on Sabbath keeping each Friday. Since, it's popular topic these days, I have gathered enough resources to stimulate my thoughts for several years worth of Fridays. But s...

For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel (Ezra 7:10). The book of Ezra began with God moving the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia, to provide for the people of Israel to return to Jerusalem. Once there, they began rebuilding the temple of God with finances from the royal treasury. It's curious that this book was g...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Psalm 96 & Matthew 28:16-20. 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 Key Phrase: What has God been doing sin...

For surely your enemies, Lord, surely your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered (Psalm 92:9). Growing up, my family rested on Sundays. As farmers, we needed to ensure our animals were sufficiently cared for. This work rarely took more than an hour in the morning and another in late afternoon. Much of Saturday was set aside for preparation, both on the farm and in the house. Often,...

Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy (Ezra 6:16). To fully appreciate this joy, we need to know how Israel almost missed out on it. God had moved the heart of Cyrus, King of Persia, to bring an end to the Babylonian exile. Allowing them to go home, the king made provision for the rebuilding of the templ...

For seven days celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete (Deuteronomy 16:15). Let's spend more time reflecting on Israelite feasting as prescribed by the Lord. Would such feasting benefit us today? I think it would help us connect our work a...

For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. How great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts! Senseless people do not know, fools do not understand… (Psalm 92:4-6). These verses make me wonder if we aren't all a little senseless and maybe more than a little foolish. I'm thinking about Christians. Often, when we read such verses, we rarely wonder...

When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, "Let us help you build…" But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, "You have no part with us in building a temple to our God..." Then the peoples around them set out to disc...

For seven days celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete (Deuteronomy 16:15). Let us spend another week reflecting on Israelite feasting. We considered the emotional and ethical benefits of celebration. Today, let us reflect on the theologic...

It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp (Psalm 92:1-3). In the NIV Bible on my desk, this psalm is prefaced with, "A song for the Sabbath Day." Among God's people in the Old Testament, this psalm was the Sabbath psalm. As such, it oug...

With praise and thanksgiving, they sang to the Lord: "He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever." And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many othe...

Celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. Be joyful at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns (Deuteronomy 16:13-14). Last Monday, we reflected on the discipline of celebration to which G...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Mark 14:1-11; John 18:33-37.  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! What have you seen this week t...