Wilderness Wanderings

"You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you… (Psalm 66:12, 13). As promised last Thursday, I want to spend another day with these verses. Last time, I reflected on the creative tension between of our personal and corporate faith. Some of us swing more to one...

A special, extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Matthew 25:1-13 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:  immanu...

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)   Pastor Michael mentioned Ephesians 4-5 yesterday in his devotion on private and corporate faith, and so let's go there.  Th...

"You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you… (Psalm 66:12, 13). Authentic biblical faith exists in a creative tension that, I think, 2020 has highlighted. On the one hand, there is the corporate life of the church. On the other hand, there is the personal lif...

Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ?  And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)   This Sunday we'll be participating in the Lord's Supper, and so today is an opportunity to prepare for it. Sacra...

"God blesses those people who..." (Ps 1:1 CEV). So, starts the book of Psalms, according to the Contemporary English Version. I like that because it reminds us where blessings come from. They don't just show up. Being blessed is a gift from God. This is the introduction to Israel's song book. So, its worth paying extra attention to. Psalm 1 observes that wise people ensure they are influenced by t...

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 C...

A special, extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Matthew 22:1-14 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:  immanue...

We welcome back Mr. Rick Verkerk as guest to Wilderness Wanderings . He concludes his five-part series on praying for others. Today, I want to reflect on the need to protect ourselves because intercessory prayer is serious business. My understanding of prayer has come little by little. It's a life-long journey. And the practice of prayer discipline, both for myself and others, is a daily challenge...

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-4)   We've been talking in these devotions about pra...

We welcome back Mr. Rick Verkerk as guest to Wilderness Wanderings . He continues his five-part series on praying for others. So, we've learned about the importance of intercessory prayer – praying for others, why we should and who and what we can pray for. Today I have some thoughts on HOW we can intercede for others. Ready to stand in the gap for others? When you start thinking about who you can...

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)   Ecclesia Reformata, Semper Reformanda – The Church Reformed & Always Reforming   Well, today is election day in the States.  A day ripe for changes, and no can be sure just what changes will come.  We...

We welcome back Mr. Rick Verkerk as guest to Wilderness Wanderings . He continues his five-part series on praying for others. Last time I talked about how intercessory prayer requires a 'person in the middle', referring to it as standing in the gap, between the person in need and God. Today, I want to explore why its important to be people in the middle. In Ezekiel 22, we read about the sins of Je...

A special, extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Matthew 21:33-46 from the New International Version of the Bible.  Dive In discussion questions for further reflection can be found below! 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...

…until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13)   Much of the letter to the Ephesians has to do with living worthily into the hope to which we've been called as we grow up to maturity in Christ, together.  It seems a good place to cap off a conversation on how the enemy of ou...

We welcome back Mr. Rick Verkerk as guest to Wilderness Wanderings . He continues his five-part series on praying for others. Last time, I pointed out how important faith is when it comes to prayer and that we need to stick to it by praying earnestly. Today I going to talk more about intercessory prayer. Just so we understand, to intercede means to "act between two parties; begging or pleading on...

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do wha...

We welcome Mr. Rick Verkerk as guest to Wilderness Wanderings . He is bringing us a five-part series on praying for others. Prayer is the way that we connect with God and keep in contact with him. It is the most important relationship in our lives. We can experience intimacy with God, confess our sins to restore the relationship, express joy through praise, and partner with Jesus by interceding fo...

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire ha...

God told both Abraham and Moses to "go." They responded differently. What was the difference? What is Jesus teaching about faith in this parable? Why should we listen to Jesus? Where are God's fields? What does it look like to work in the particular fields God has called you to work in?

"Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong" (Eccl. 5:1). As you may have noticed, today's devotion is not based in Nehemiah. I might come back to that book later. This is my last Wilderness Wanderings for until the second week of November. I will be on a two-week vacation. While I am away, we...

But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?" I answered them by saying, "The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it."...

"Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So, they began this good work." (Nehemiah 2:17-18). During a war...

By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. (Nehemiah 2:13)   Sunday evening, our high school youth gathered for a (socially-distanced) campfire to worship and talk about Spiritual Disciplines—on this particular night: the discipline of gratitude...

When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites (Nehemiah 2:10). Nehemiah has finally made it to Jerusalem. He has letters from the king. He is official – coming with the king's authority. And he did not come alone. He came with an escort of officials and cavalry. There is no...