Wilderness Wanderings

"Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart" (Psalm 15:1). This psalm begins with difficult questions. Does it make you squirm? If it doesn't, look at the rest of this psalm. If you are not squirming yet, you better read it again, a little slower. How can any of us live up...

Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that "We all possess knowledge." But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. But whoever loves God is known by God. (1 Corinthians 8:1-3)     If we are to be the sorts of people that can engage our changing world with the wisdom and grace of God, we need to be the sorts of people...

As God's co-workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, 'In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you'. I tell you, now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:1-2). Last Friday, Pastor Anthony reflected on Jesus' authority to forgive sin. At the end of 2 Corinthians 5, Paul implores us to be reconciled wi...

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to fo...

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore ; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race. Everyone lies to his neighbour; their flattering lips speak with deception (Psalm 12:1,2). Does it seem to you that Psalm 12 describes our society? People do not expect the truth to be spoken. Trust in leaders and strangers is at an all time low. Many do not even trust their family and friends to sp...

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,    "Whoever would love life and see good days    must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.    They must...

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old had gone, the new is here! 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 (2 Corinthians 5:17-19). It used to be...

"When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3). Have you ever felt as if life's foundations were disintegrating underneath you? It's when the things we had counted on to remain crumble. We discover how little control we have over our own lives. Sometimes we are haunted by the tragedies of people who live around us. We do not know how to help them and even fear we migh...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Ezekiel 37:1-14 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 Wha...

"Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever (Psalm 52:1,5,8). O...

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?   The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror (Psalm 10:1, 16-18) At first glance the open...

"How lovely is your dwelling place O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God" (Psalm 84:1-2). Jesus once asked the question, "What do you want?" (Luke 18:45 TLB) Some of you may be looking in the refrigeration to get some breakfast. I'm not interested in what you want for breakfast. When we ask this question, we gener...

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (1 Peter 1:6-7). In our day, it is difficult to gaze into the future. Destructi...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Ezekiel 36:16-38 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 Div...

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 to Jerusalem. On arrival, they have what appears to be an impromptu wor...

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory (Romans 8:17) . Most of us spend the occasional moment dreaming about the future. When we are young, we tend to dream about our futures in this world. Older Christians might dream about the life to come. God would have us dream about thi...

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 made provision for Israel to return to Jerusalem. Once there, they began rebuilding the temple of God with finances from the royal treasury. Its curious that this book was given the...

The Spirit you received doesn't make you slaves. Otherwise, you would live in fear again. Instead, the Holy Spirit you received made you God's adopted child. By the Spirit's power we call God Abba. Abba means Father. The Spirit himself joins with our spirits. Together they tell us that we are God's children. (Romans 8:15,16) . In the beginning, before there was anything wrong in this world, our fi...

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). Let's focus on the last phrase of this text, 'with joy'. The Israelites celebrated the completion of the new temple of God with joy. To fully appreciate this phrase, we need to recall how the nation got here and how they almost missed out on this joy. In...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Ezekiel 34:11-24 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 Ho...

"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar, 'If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty's hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up'" (Daniel 3:17-18). Nine-year-old Danny came bursting ou...

To give your podcasters time for vacation, the following 10 weeks will include some Wilderness Wanderings Reruns. Certainly not every day, but often enough to give us space for spiritual rest. If you have tagged an episode as particularly meaningful for you, let us know so we can consider sending it out again. To follow up on Pastor Anthony's reflection yesterday, here is a rerun rooted in Romans...

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.   We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to...

To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Greet all God's people in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings. All God's people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen (Philippians 4:20-23) . This letter of Philippians ends where it began. All the saints are co...

Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians...