Wilderness Wanderings

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy (Exodus 20:8).      Sabbath is an important theme in the Scriptures. We neglect it to our peril. I will not advocate that we go back to Old Testament Sabbath keeping, nor to the fierce definitions of what qualified as work and rest that we once engaged in. However, Sabbath rest is essential for Christian spirituality. Let us recall how Israel was instructed in Sabbath keeping. There was the rhythm of a weekly rest day. It was so essential that while in the wilderness, God provided two portions of food on the sixth day, so that the people did not even need to gather food on the Sabbath. Further, there was the yearly rhythm of the Sabbath year. Every seventh year the whole nation took a break from securing food and profit. God would provide enough in the sixth year for two years. Finally, there was the year of Jubilee, every fiftieth year. God promised to provide three year's worth of supplies in the 48th year so that his people could enjoy his rest for 2 full years. Further, in the year of Jubilee debts were cancelled, all land was returned to the original families, and all slaves were set free. Negative market forces, bad financial decisions, natural disasters could all cause ruin on a family. But in the year of Jubilee, all was set right. They could begin over. God provides. When praying, ‘give us our daily bread', we are praying a Sabbath prayer. It's requesting that we do not depend on ourselves but put our trust in the God who provides. He provides for us physically. But there is more. In Psalm 62, we have this testimony, “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress; I will never be shaken”. There are things that happen in life that shake us to our very cores. Our souls, themselves, are shaken. All the securities we have put in place for ourselves topple. Where then shall we go? Sabbath practicing Christians know where to go. They have practiced trusting in God. They understand Psalm 46, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” (1-3). When such Christians hear Jesus' invitation, “Come to me and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28), they know how to go to him because it's a practice they are familiar with. There is no time like the present to begin. If you are not a Sabbath person, you might not want to start with a full day. Mark a few hours in your calendar in which you have nothing to accomplish. Rather, simply enjoy God and the good gifts he has given you. And begin praying, “Give us our daily bread.” Learn to practice Sabbath, so that when the winds blow and the floods rise, you know how to rest in God. He provides. Go with this blessing: Go to Jesus and he will give you rest (Matthew 11:30). May the presence of God go with you and give you rest (Exodus 33:14).

     Love must be sincere (Romans 12:9a).      This little phrase, “Love must be sincere”, is the heart of Romans 12. Everything that has come before--the stuff about personal transformation: “…in view of God's mercy…offer your bodies as a living sacrifice to God…be transformed by the renewing of your mind…discerning God's good, pleasing and perfect will…” and the stuff about the relationships within the church, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment…in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others…”--all of this leads into “Love must be sincere.”      The phrase has no verb. Its as if the apostle is saying, “Love that is sincere will…” and then he spends the rest of the chapter telling us what sincere love looks like.      In our culture, the word love has become rather vague. It's lost its crispness. We love sweaters and the weather, and we love each other. It's a feeling that comes and goes like a wave in the bay. So, what is love and what makes it sincere?      The word used here is agape. So far in Romans all references have been to the ‘love of God'—as demonstrated on the cross (5:8), as poured into our hearts (5:5) and as doggedly refusing to let us go (8:35, 39). This is a pursuing, wooing, winning back kind of love. The lover willing to sacrifice himself for the beloved. This is our reference point, our example. But it is also our source. This love has been poured into us. Now it flows out. Love is the essence of Christian discipleship. Romans 12-15 are a sustained encouragement to let love govern and shape all our relationships. At the end of the chapter, Paul will write about love for our enemies (17-21), but first he portrays it as pervading the Christian community (9-16).      ‘Sincere' means ‘without hypocrisy'. Acts and words of love must not be pretend. We should not tell someone we love them, when we really don't. Neither should we act in love, when we despise or even hate someone. For early Christians, the primary example of non-sincere love was Judas, betraying Jesus with a kiss. This was hypocritical love in its vilest form.      In this matter of sincere love Christian discipleship is counter cultural. Feelings are paramount. “If I don't feel like it, I don't have to do it.” But for Christians love is the law (13:8-10). If we don't feel loving, we need to change our attitude; our hearts need to change. We need to love like God loves us. How does that happen? The cure for a non-loving heart is not to try harder. It is to look to God, to see his love for me. For Christians, confession of sin is not about feeling bad, it's the road to experiencing God's mercy again. Love begins with a view to God's mercy. Only with our eyes fixed on Jesus, can our love become sincere. So, let us fix our eyes on him. As you journey on, 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 your day end with rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you. May you rest in his provision as he brings night, and then new dawn.

But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today (Deuteronomy 8:18). Last Monday, we reflected on God's creation of humanity as working beings. We work under God's care and direction. Let's reflect on this some more. It is so easy to ignore God while at work or at least to think that he has little interest in such mundane matters. But the Bible will have none of that. Wealth production is the work of God himself. Most of us have some sort of job description, even if they are not written down. When I began helping my dad on the farm, I soon learned what was expected of me. It didn't take long before I understood what was needed to be a successful pork producer and I began to lean into that. God wants us to understand and lean into the job description he has given to us. We do not own things. We are stewards of what he has made and owns. He has equipped us with time, talents and treasures. These things are not ours to do with as we desire. They are his and to be used for his glory. Even though Joseph oversaw all Egypt, he needed to submit himself to Pharoah. Likewise, we have been given great responsibility but must submit ourselves to God. This teaching can put us on a bit of an ego trip. Some Christians have misinterpreted this to mean they can ignore the things their supervisors tell them. Such an attitude does not jive with the Scriptures. Joseph submitted himself to Pharaoh. Paul writes, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities” (Romans 13:1). Titus is instructed to, “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone” (3:1-2). When we submit are labours to the Lord, it means that we seek to be the best employees and employers that we can be. We strive for excellence in our product, but also in our relationships. In submission, we recognize that success is not rooted in our abilities but in God's blessing. Will you submit to God in the big things and the small things? Will you lean on Him, His power, His love, and His grace, in whatever you do? Will you trust him with the outcome of your work? Go with this blessing: Wherever God takes you today, may He 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 and that you may live carefully—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Genesis 12:1-5 & Matthew 5:14-16. 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 image of the church is given in today's text and message? What three parts of ‘our story' are explored in the opening chapters of the Bible? What is the problem in this world? What is the remedy? In what is our hope? What advice was given to keep us from being overwhelmed? How will you live into that this week?

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy (Exodus 20:8).      Last week, I ended with the question, “What kind of rest do we mean?” When the Bible invites us into rest, what does it mean? What did God intend when he commanded Israel to observe the Sabbath? Let's begin this series on rest by exploring that question. A fruitful place to begin is by noting the word that often describes Sabbath, the word ‘holy'. This word does not always come with helpful connotations today. We think of those who have been declared saints or those who live by high moral standards, often with a “holier than you attitude.” That is not the place to begin. In the Bible, holy means "set apart," "separated," or "dedicated for a special purpose". Thus, the Sabbath was a day set apart for God. On it, Israel was to remember that God is both creator (Exodus 20) and redeemer (Deuteronomy 5). This was not intended to be a burden to Israel. Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). In Sabbath keeping, we are invited to rest from all our activities we engage in to succeed in this world. We are given time to remember and know that we belong to God, and he cares for us. Through the psalmist, God says, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). It takes time and some effort to still our souls long enough to hear the voice of the Spirit reminding us that we are holy, we belong to God. It is difficult to believe that we do not need to work every day to survive in this world. The rest we are talking about here, is the rest in which we learn to lean on God, trusting that he will provide our daily bread. In this rest, God re-orients our lives so that we live for him, not for ourselves. How has the drive to succeed taken control of your life? How is it impacting what your children and grandchildren are learning from you? What else might be interfering with this rest? Sometimes, it's our need to be entertained. Sometimes, it's our need to be busy all the time. Sometimes, its that we are living for ourselves. These are things that drive us ever onward without giving us rest or joy. God invites us into a different way of living. Go with this blessing: Go to Jesus and he will give you rest (Matthew 11:30). May the presence of God go with you and give you rest (Exodus 33:14).

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us (Romans 12:4-6a).      What does it mean to be part of a church? Does showing up on Sundays for worship services count? Maybe. There are many ways to answer that question. Our text offers two.      Before we discuss those, let's remember that when the New Testament uses the word church it did not have in mind the formal structures we know today. Church referred to the people who followed Jesus Christ. They had little structure and no history; they were simply the people in the Roman Empire who believed that this Jesus was Lord and Christ. In a place like Romans 12, the apostle Paul begins to lay out what belonging to this group means. What does he say?      First, the flow of Romans 12 implies that I cannot fully “renew my mind” without the active help of other believers. I cannot understand what the Bible teaches apart from dialog with others who are reading that same Bible. I cannot live the life of a disciple of Christ apart from the nurturing context of a community of believers who encourage me, pray for me, and set an example for me. I cannot discern the blind spots in my obedience to Christ without other believers to point them out to me.      In verse 3, Paul rebuked an attitude of arrogance. We think of ourselves “more highly than we ought” and so conclude that we do not need the help of others. To go back to our question, “What does it mean to be part of a church?” Our passage tells us that we need the input of other Christians. To be part of a church means to receive help in Christian thinking and living from others. I need the church, the body of Christ.      Second, we must participate in the church to help others grow. Whatever gift we have been given, we are under obligation to our Lord to use it to serve his people. Other Christians need what each of us has to offer. As the human body is at a disadvantage without a foot, or an eye, or a kidney, so the church is harmed when the full array of gifts is not being exercised within it. Notice how strongly Paul puts this, “according to the grace given to each of us.” If we disassociate from the church, we are hindering the flow of God's grace. We are God's sponges of mercy, first to the church and then beyond.      This is also why we need to think of ourselves with sober judgement. We should not consider our personal resources as personal possessions. They are gifts of God to be used for his glory. All of us who follow Jesus receive gifts to be used for the upbuilding of Christ's church. We each have gifts of grace to offer each other.      So, putting these two together: I need the church and the church needs me! As you journey on, 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 your day end with rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you. May you rest in his provision as he brings night, and then new dawn.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Psalm 147. 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 Who is our God? What do you do when the reality of life in this world does not match with what we expect of God? What two things do we do in lament? What assurances does this psalm offer us?

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it (Genesis 2:15). We begin our weekly reflections on work here. This text invites us to think about work as more than what we do to earn a living. In Genesis 2, God plants a garden and puts humanity in it to work it and take care for it. This means that each of us is tied closely to the created order. Even if we are not farmers, even if our fingers rarely touch the soil, we are creatures of the earth, and the flourishing of the earth is our responsibility. We can understand this as both calling and gift. How is it our calling? We often identify ourselves by what we do: construction workers, bus drivers, web designers, educators, financiers, business owners, policy writers, hairdressers, retirees, computer programmers, lawyers. We may view ourselves as parents or grandparents, as children or as spouses. These are things that describe who we are and what we do. But more significant--underneath all these realities—we are humans created in the image of God, called to serve him in this world; called to work in his world; called to take care of it. Our first responsibility is to God -- how we live, how we treat his creation, how we treat other humans – it all matters to God. Jesus told us to store up treasures in heaven. Such treasures are created in each moment of our lives. God has given us all the resources we need to serve and honour him. This is our primary calling in life. It gives us our identity. We should also understand this identity as a gift. God wants us to flourish and to find joy in this life. He causes the rain to fall and the sun to shine on all people (Mathew 5:45). The Spirit gives gifts to the followers of Jesus (Romans 12 & 1 Corinthians 12). And we work with this promise: that our labour in the Lord is never in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). In Matthew 5, Jesus tells his disciples that they should love and pray for their enemies. Surely, we ought to do that for those we work and live among as well. God wants his creation to overflow with life. And he wants to use us to make that happen. As a follower of Jesus Christ, can you embrace your work as a place of possibility and potential in these purposes of God? Will you live today believing that God is already at work in these places and will you give yourself unreservedly to his purposes in you and through you, wherever you are? Go with this blessing: Wherever God takes you today, may He 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 and that you may live carefully—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.

Thus, the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so, on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done (Genesis 2:1-3). Today, we begin a new Wilderness Wanderings Series. It is called Avodah. This is a Hebrew word which is translated into English with the words: work, worship and service. There is a long history in the Christian church to separate life into the sacred and the secular. Sunday worship, personal and family devotions and evangelism are part of the sacred. The work we do to earn a living and the schooling we take to prepare for such work are part of the secular. With such a dichotomy, we live two separate kinds of lives. One for God and one to survive in this world. But there is an older tradition, that goes all the way back to the beginning that does not separate life in this way. In various strands of Christianity, including the Reformed, we try to live by this older understanding. This is the perspective that all of life is sacred. But maybe that is not a good term. It might be better to say that “all of life is lived for God.” Paul put is like this, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). As Christians, our primary goal with our labour is not to earn a paycheck, even though that is an important element; our primary goal is to serve God with our work. This is Avodah. Our work is part of our worship of God. As Abraham Kuyper famously said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” In this Avodah series, we will explore two basic things: work and rest. Each Monday, we will consider work as our calling from God. And on Fridays, we will consider rest. There will also be a Wednesday edition, which will be taken from the archives. If you have resources or ideas or even illustrations for this series let me know, and I will try to include them. Since this is Friday, let's take a moment to think about rest. There is much in our text to consider, but I will only highlight one thing: God included a day of rest into the structure of creation. When God rescued Israel from Egypt and formed her into a nation, he gave her back this day of rest. Egypt had literally tried to work the Israelites to death. There is much of such Egypt all around us. It is easy to become enslaved to our labours. The stuff we do, whether its income earning or nor, can easily become our god. Do you include rest on your calendar? If not, maybe it is time to include “rest” times. If you are required to work on Sunday, what other day will you use to rest? Think also about this: what kind of rest are we talking about here? Go with this blessing: Go to Jesus and he will give you rest (Matthew 11:30). May the presence of God go with you and give you rest (Exodus 33:14).

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Luke 10:25-37. 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! For further reflection: What does ‘work' mean? What images does it create in your mind? What does Genesis 2:15 say about work? How does it change the way we view it? In what ways have you seen the effect of the fall on work? How have you contributed to this fallenness? How does Jesus' work affect our work? How will you live differently this week? How will Genesis 2:15 change the way you view your life?

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Luke 10:25-37. 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   How is your life an ongoing act of worship to Jesus? How would you describe his glory? What five words would you choose? Who would be considered the ‘outsiders' in your community? How can you reach out to them as an individual? As a community? Identify two ways that you can more intentionally worship Jesus with your everyday life. Identify one person (or group) that needs to experience the love of Jesus. Follow the pattern of Jesus and reach beyond yourself to the outcasts in your community.

“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 4:21-23). Well, friends, a summer of slow and steady attention has brought us to the end of Paul's letter to the church in Philippi. Today's devotional will be the last installment of Wilderness Wanderings for the summer, as we have reached a natural conclusion with these last verses of Philippians. There will not be a podcast tomorrow, nor throughout the month of August. However, Pastor Michael is making plans for a new version of Wilderness Wanderings in the fall. More information on that to come, so stay tuned.  For now, let's take a look at these last verses of Philippians 4. As we discussed with the opening of the letter, to close with greetings such as these that we read in today's verses would have been a convention of letter-writing in the ancient world. But as with all of Paul's letters, he uses the conventions of the genre to make particular theological points. Verse 21 is translated in the NIV “Greet all God's people in Christ Jesus.” However, scholars point out that this could also be translated “Greet every saint [or] holy person in Christ Jesus.” Not only does this indicate his personal affection for members of this community, it also has the rhetorical effect of building on his council to the church at other points in the letter about living in unity with one another.  To a church experiencing conflict, as we discussed earlier in chapter 4, Paul's encouragement to “greet every saint in Christ Jesus” was a challenge. And the command to do so “in Christ Jesus” is a reminder again of the fact that their unity is not in their agreement, but in their shared identity in Christ. Paul then offers greetings on behalf of “all God's people here.” Paul has spoken frequently in the letter of the challenges of persecution and false teaching faced by the church in Philippi, along with their internal division. Offering greetings from others who are in his company, perhaps those nearer him also providing support in the midst of his imprisonment, was a reminder to the Philippian church that they were not alone in their difficulties. They were part of a broader movement of Christ-followers also experiencing joys and sorrows, honour and shame, God's provision and persecution by those around them. This small church was part of something much bigger than themselves, and Paul thought it important in all his letters to remind the churches of this reality. On this note, as Paul offers his farewell to the Philippian church, perhaps this is an appropriate moment for me to offer my own word of farewell to you, my friends at Immanuel CRC. This is my last Wilderness Wanderings podcast as your pastoral intern, and my last day with you will be this Sunday, August 3. In my first Wilderness Wanderings devotional back at the beginning of my time with you, I quoted New Testament scholar NT Wright, who described the letter to the Philippian church as “overflowing with effervescent joy” and “sparkling with the delight of family affection.” As I reflect now at the end of my last week with you, I find in myself a similar sentiment, a deep joy and affection for my time with you this summer. While I would not claim to have nearly the same travel or missional resume as Paul, as I read his letters, and have paid particular attention to his letter to the Philippian church this summer, I see the longing in his words for the communities that he travels to and from throughout his career, and it resonates with my own spirit and the travelling to and fro nature of my own ministry over the last number of years. That Immanuel has been the most recent stop on this journey is something for which I am deeply grateful to God. I will miss you all.  And yet, I will carry you with me. It's one of the greatest gifts of the way in which God has formed his church, that we belong to each other. And so as I continue to travel and discern what God has next for me, I will take your greetings to your siblings in Christ in the places that I go with me. And I will hope to return to you with similar greetings from them should God give me the opportunity to do so in the future. Know that you will be held in my heart and before the throne of God in prayer. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to see how God is at work among you this summer. May “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” And as you journey on, 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.  

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). Yesterday, Kyra reflected on the gifts the Philippians had given to Paul. Today's text is a promise that the young church in Philippi will be cared for; cared for by God. These two things belong together; they follow each other. The way Paul writes, it sounds like God will care for them because they have cared for Paul. But is that right? Yes and no. Because we believe so firmly in ‘saved by grace alone' we have a difficult time with certain texts in the New Testament. Jesus tells us to lay up treasures in heaven and Paul adds that we will receive a crown of glory. Are these rewards for good behaviour? Sort of. There are rewards for the life of Christian faith that go above and beyond just our salvation in Christ. Should we want these rewards? Of course, but why should we want them? It's a thing we should wrestle with. It's our desires that we need to wrestle with. Paul's reflections are helpful. Paul's desire was not for gifts, even though he is blessed by them and receives them gratefully. His desire is not stuff. His desire is the place from which these gifts come. These are gifts of love from the Philippians as a response of faith to God. These gifts mean that God's Word is bearing good fruit through the Philippians. And that is enough. There's abundance in the Kingdom of God even when he goes without, because he is strengthened not by the stuff of this world but by Christ. The economy of the kingdom is a gift economy. Its not one of balance sheets. The things that the Philippians give are “a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice” given in response to all that God has given. The Philippians were living Romans 12. They are “living sacrifices,” giving all in the service of God—all that you have and all that you are. When we do that, we store up treasures for ourselves in heaven, a crown of reward. We do it, of course, not to get that reward per say, but as a response of faith—to be pleasing to God, recognizing as Paul had said already, that our contentment—our rest—is in Christ. We can say with Paul that “our God will meet all our needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Whether he does so in this world or the next, it does not change the calculus: God has given much. We are amply supplied in Christ and therefore we give as a response of faith.  It's a joyful storing up not in this life and according to the rules of this world, but rather according to the Kingdom principles of the world to come. As the Heidelberg Catechism says, true faith is a “also a deep-rooted assurance, created in me by the Holy Spirit through the gospel, that, out of sheer grace earned for us by Christ, I have had my sins forgiven, have been made forever right with God, and have been granted salvation” (A 21). But it opens with this, “Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him” (A 1). We don't live generous lives to get rewards. We do so to give him glory, to please him, believing that he is more than able to provide for us. As you journey on, 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.

“Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. 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” (Philippians 4:15-18). Paul, in our verses today, continues his reflection on the Philippian church's generosity toward him. He reflects on their gifts in the “early days” of their acquaintance with the gospel. They had, it seems, experienced the generosity of God's grace and responded, as many new Christ-followers do, with passion and eagerness to serve.  But Paul assures the Philippian church that the situation is not one where he “desired” their gifts. While he was grateful for their support, Paul was not financially desperate, believing that God's mission was dependent on the Philippian church. He did not see them as simply business partners. Rather, he desired their generosity so that they themselves would experience the grace of giving, that “more [would] be credited to [their] account.”  There are two things we have to be careful of here. First, as Paul's comment indicates, we cannot treat our generosity as something upon which God's mission is dependent. Christians and Christian ministries have, at times, exploited well-intentioned people because of a lack of care given to language around calls to generosity. We give, not because God is impotent without our doing so, not because people will not be saved if we don't, but because we are given the gift of participating in what God is doing in the world. We also have to be careful not to think of generosity as transactional. That was a common way of thinking in the Greco-Roman world, and is, if we are honest, often the way we think about giving too. But neither we nor the Philippian church are called to give and then wait around expecting to receive blessing because of a sense of our own righteousness. Rather, we are to understand that our generosity is, as Paul describes in today's verses, “a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.”  Recall Paul's words earlier, in chapter 2:17: “But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.” Here, Paul also uses the language of sacrifice to refer to the potential for his own impending death. And for Paul, as we've seen throughout the letter, his own death was an opportunity for him to imitate Christ, who poured himself out knowing that those his sacrifice was for could never afford to pay him back.  And this is the ultimate gift of generosity–that in being generous, we participate with Christ. The same gift of grace that allows us to freely receive–without guilt or shame, as Pastor Michael described yesterday–allows us to give. We, like Paul, can be assured that we are “amply supplied” by what already belongs to us in Christ Jesus. So as you journey on, 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.  

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles (Philippines 4:13-14). We continue with the theme of contentment. Paul learned contentment in all things through his reliance on Christ. But this was not a simple two-way street between Paul and Jesus. Our Lord used other people to provide for Paul, as he does for us. Paul knew this and was glad for the gifts from the Philippian church. But this is a difficult teaching. Many of us are rather stoic when it comes to receiving support from others. We decline when someone offers to pay for or give us something. We feel a certain kind of guilt or shame. Maybe we think we are deficient because we needed help. Or we feel that our relationship is now out of balance – we owe them. People who need help are often looked down on, despite Jesus' comment that the poor we will always have with us. Our society is organized towards personal self-sufficiency. Most of us rent or own our own property, living detached from other households. We work jobs to support ourselves and our households. We own vehicles to drive ourselves where we want to go. We build up savings and portfolios to ensure that we will remain independent after retirement. These things are constructed so that we do not need to rely on the hospitality of another. All these things are not bad or wrong. But something is amiss when we implicitly believe that all people should be able to do life this way: on their own, without burdening anyone else. Somewhere deep in our heart of hearts, we suspect such people to be weak, lazy, lesser, or at fault for it. “They did it to themselves,” we think: “they deserve what they get.” One should be able to do life on one's own, without the support or intervention of others. To do less than this is to fail at life somehow. Such attitudes are dangerous. We translate Jesus words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” into, “stand on your own two feet and give to the needy who can't.” Here is the problem: if we can do it all ourselves—what need do we have of a saviour? Many have come to the very logical conclusion that we don't. “We've managed this life just fine on our own, thank you.  We don't need help from anyone else—including God.” Feelings of guilt and shame when we have need or when we receive something work against our receiving the one and only thing we need but can't get on our own: God's grace in Jesus. Our relatively wealthy, peaceful, and independent society actively works against the logic of the faith. Contentment in Christ includes the willingness and the ability to receive with gratitude and thanksgiving—recognizing, once again, that our lives are not our own creation and that we are not the ones who hold on. It is Christ who holds on to us. Christ who provides for us. Receiving gracefully is a necessary spiritual discipline to counteract impulse towards self-sufficiency of our culture. As you journey on, 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.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Luke 10:25-37. 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 This week evaluate your use of technology like AI, Internet, social media, etc.  Maybe keep a log of all the ways you use it. How do you start your prayers? Do you get yourself fully involved? Who do you pray to? What image of God do you have in your mind? Where is he? What is he like? As you have grown in your faith, has your understanding of God changed? Has it become more accurate, closer to how he describes himself in the Bible? How does Jesus factor into your prayers? Do your prayers end in hope or despair? Why? How can your praying become more about spiritual transformation then the one-way street of asking God for things you want?

“I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:10-13). Throughout much of this letter, Paul has spoken of his joy in the Philippian church. Here, nearing the end of the letter, he returns to one of the reasons for his joy, also reflected in the beginning of his letter: The generous financial support of the Philippian church while he is in chains for the gospel.  Paul's comment about the Philippian's inability to show their concern initially suggests that they may not, at first, have been willing or able to provide support. Their own financial limitations, or the reality of their persecution we have discussed previously, may have inhibited their ability to aid Paul. Or perhaps they did not initially have a messenger like Epaphroditus, discussed in chapter 2, willing to risk caring for someone imprisoned by the empire. This further emphasizes the significance of their communal sacrifice which prompted this joy-filled letter from Paul. It may also explain Paul's comments about learning to be content in all circumstances.  This Greek word used for “content” in these verses is a word that appears only in this single context in the New Testament. However, it was a well-known philosophical concept in the Greco-Roman world, connected with groups like the Stoics and Cynics, which spoke of contentment as an ideal state resulting from supreme self-sufficiency.  Paul's use of this word, however, conveys a contentment that comes, not from self-sufficiency, but from God's sufficiency. Both poverty and plenty are states in which he is comfortable, not because they are a result of his choices or effort, but because his economic circumstances do not reflect his status before God. Paul's “secret” of contentment, a contrast to the Greco-Roman ideal, is further stated in verse 13: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”  Now, this verse has often been taken out of context to exaggerate human capacity. But it is important that we retain a distinctly Christian anthropology (or, in other words, view of what it means to be human). This verse does not imply any change in what it means to be human creatures. God does not give people super-human capabilities. What Scripture testifies about humans–that we are finite and fallen, that God is God and we are not, remains true. But Paul's testimony is that accepting the reality of human finitude yields a contentment that grasping for control over one's circumstances could never produce.  This is perhaps why Paul speaks of contentment in the context of his joy at the gift he has received from the Philippians–and why, as many scholars have pointed out about this letter, he never actually directly thanks the Philippians for what they have given him. Perhaps it is because he knows that, in their generous giving out of what little they have, they are in turn being gifted the possibility of learning contentment. A contentment dependent entirely on who God is, and not what they have. So where are you striving for self-sufficiency today? What might you relinquish to find contentment in God's sufficiency?  So as you journey on, 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.  

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:8-9). This letter has two key concerns: persecution that the church is suffering from the outside, and, under that stress, forms of conflict that threaten to tear this church apart from the inside (like the conflict between Euodia and Syntyche). Similar dynamics have been repeated frequently. Recent stats suggest the church in North America is shrinking and some believe that our decline is the result of persecution from a decadent society peeling away our members. Under this stress, we easily fall into forms of conflict that threaten to tear the church apart from the inside. As the writer of Ecclesiastes says: “there is nothing new under the sun.” In the face of such pressures, Paul invited us to seek the Lord's presence with joy discovering the peace of Christ. Now he asks us to contemplate better things. We shouldn't let our minds mull endlessly over the problems, pressures, and sins that threaten us from without and within. Rather, Paul invites us to feed our minds with virtuous things that are excellent and praiseworthy. “You are what you eat,” the saying goes. If we feed our minds a constant stream of junk—ruminations on sin, climate disasters, loathing of the government, gun violence, persecution, mistrust of fellow Christians, despair about the future, and whatever else is wrong—if that's what our minds constantly chew on, we're going to get indigestion. And we may very well descend into becoming more and more these things that occupy our minds the most. Thinking too much about sin may inadvertently tempt us into it; mistrusting others, we may become less trustworthy; loathing the government, we may become loathsome; despairing about the future, clouds of despair may haunt our days and nights. As an antidote, Paul invites us to feed our minds with better things. “Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”  That is, chew them over, ponder them carefully, let our minds run wild for a while on the best of what virtue has to offer. Such vegetables are far better fare to feed our minds than the empty, sugar-rush calories of bad news. As we ponder these things we may find that we become increasingly what we ingest: thinking of what is true, we align our lives to it. Pondering what is lovely or beautiful, we seek to become more lovely in character. Pondering the right, we become more righteous. This list of virtues that Paul offers are not explicitly Christian virtues. It is a morality list drawn from the work of the pagan philosophers of the day. The subtle point appears to be this: all that is good and true in this world belongs to God and is a gift of God—no matter who came up with it. And so, as you chew over these virtues, your capacity to see God and His Spirit abundantly at work as the Sovereign King over all creation and creatures is expanded. Slowly it may dawn on us the God, whose Spirit is everywhere present and at work, even in a secular world and in the atheist philosopher, is also here with me—and how much more so through Jesus!  May that notion give you peace. As you journey on, 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.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). “Do not be anxious about anything,” Paul begins. Well, that's quite a start. I must confess that I don't know that there is ever a moment in my life where I am anxious about absolutely nothing. There are maybe, just maybe, about 5 minutes after I read a verse like this, where I am in a devotional space, and I read this text, I pray a prayer of surrender for whatever it is that has just jumped into my head as an example of how bad I am at being obedient to this command… And maybe for those 5 minutes after I can maintain the kind of non-anxiety Paul is talking about here. But once I've left that quiet devotional space, all of reality comes rushing back in to disrupt my nice pious resolution of mere moments before. Possibly you can relate. I suspect we are not alone. Jesus offers a similar teaching as part of his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's Gospel. Many of us are likely familiar with the text of Matthew 6 that begins “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…” It continues to reflect on the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, God's provision for them and for us.  In both passages, the Greek word for worry or anxiety is the same. And I don't think either, in spite of how they are often read, is a judgment against worry or anxiety. As we have reflected previously this summer, Scripture's commands against fear do not express finger-wagging disapproval, but rather God's desire for his people. The command Paul gives in this passage is not “Do not be anxious about anything, you irrational and untrusting fools. Do you not know God at all?” No, Paul says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Paul is offering a way of transferring our anxiety and fear to our God, who promises to respond with his peace, so we don't have to carry it alone. Paul also calls the church to offer prayers with thanksgiving. This builds on the theme of joy which Pastor Michael reflected on yesterday. There are times when, as he described, thanksgiving is not a natural reflection of our circumstances, which may be tremendously painful. However, with the intimacy with God that comes through prayer, we can become people of joy and thanksgiving because of who God is–and who he has been and promises he will be–regardless of our present reality.  “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Jesus Christ for you,” Paul reflects similarly in 1 Thess. 5:18. Thanksgiving and joy, not fear and anxiety, are God's will for his people. But we don't have to carry the burden of willing or working our circumstances into alignment. In the midst of trials and suffering, we don't have to add the burden of positive thinking. Expressions of grief at what is wrong in our lives and the world is no less holy a form of prayer than joyful prayers in response to what is good, true, and beautiful. Prayer is not first about what we feel, say, or do; it is about who God is and what he can do. We may simply come before him, presenting our requests, and he will guard our minds and our hearts in Christ Jesus.  So as you journey on, 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.  

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near (Philippians 4:4-5). Paul begins to wind down his letter to the Christians in Philippi by returning to his opening theme. In the first few chapters, he has told us of the mindset of Jesus (i.e. humbling himself to the cross and submitting himself to the Father alone rather than his own recourse). Paul wrote how he sought to live out of this mindset of Jesus. He also included how the Philippian church and those within it experiencing fights and division (like Euodia and Syntyche) should live out that Jesus-mindset, as Kyra elaborated on yesterday. Having said all this, Paul returns to the theme of joy. This is where he began by mentioning his joyful prayers for the Philippian Christians. He was thankful for their partnership in the Gospel and for God's work in them that God would see to completion. Now he invites the Philippians into the same prayer saturated with joy. Today let's reflect on the joy. An antidote to the mistrust of fellow Christians that breeds division like that between Euodia and Syntyche is a healthy joy in the Lord. In the angel's Christmas announcement to the shepherds, they said, the Gospel is “good news of great joy for all people”. When our joy evaporates or is replaced by fear, doubts, or suspicions, it is an indicator that our own heart needs tending in the presence of God. Only then can we engage fruitfully again with fellow Christians.  We need to receive again the good news of great joy in our hearts. Then, as we encounter others, what spills out of us is a joyful, Gospel word. How do we do that? Let me suggest a few ways. One is simply by practicing. If we don't feel joyful, we should rejoice and giving thanks to God anyway. It's often the case that working a habit like rejoicing, even when we aren't in the mood for it, can serve to usher our emotions gently along until we do begin to feel it. We can use the last few Psalms to get started. Another way to find joy in the Lord is to remember that “the Lord is near.” Even when everything else might feel like its coming undone or when it feels like there are enemies all around—a recognition of the presence of God in that place can change things.  Even valleys of death's shadow can be transformed into an experience of God's care and provision when we remember that he is there, too. Meditation on Psalms 23 or 121 are helpful here. A third way to renew our joy is simply by talking to God.  We call that prayer. But that's for tomorrow. This kind of joy in Christ enables us to make known the mind of Christ to those around us. The Greek word translated as gentleness can also mean forbearance or tolerance. A willingness to let things go or to delay our reaction or desire for retribution. Doing so offers a gracious, merciful forbearance as God has done for us.  Again, we can do this because the Lord, who has displayed his gentle forbearance with us, is near.  It's a cause of joy. A cause for taking on the same mindset. So, rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! As you journey on, 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.

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life” (Philippians 4:1-3). Paul begins this last section of the letter with a final encouragement to the community to stand firm in the Lord. Like many of Paul's other commands, this is rooted in his love for them.  The remainder of today's verses are interesting because they involve mention of a number of people found nowhere else in Scripture, and there isn't a lot of detail given about the inciting incident prompting Paul's response in the letter. Likely, the two women Paul speaks of are leaders in the Philippian church, and Paul is addressing a disagreement between the two of them. The fact that he chooses the public forum of a letter which would be read to the whole community to address this concern suggests that it is not merely a personal matter, but something affecting the whole community. His plea that these two women be “of the same mind” is significant in several ways. It recalls Paul's command to the whole church in chapter 2:2, where he called the whole community to also be of one mind. As we discussed with regard to that verse, Paul's command is not that these two women come to perfect agreement, but rather that they prioritize a single-minded focus on the gospel and dedication to working out God's mission in their context.  Paul also stresses the importance of these women in the community and their work for the cause of the gospel, demonstrating that, even in the midst of conflict, the community is to respect these leaders and recall the cause that they share as the foundation of their relationship and leadership.  Paul then notes other figures, including someone he calls “my true companion,” and a man named Clement, and other co-workers. The true companion may be a figure known to the community like Epaphroditus, Silas, or Timothy, or another church leader, called on to serve as a mediator in Paul's place to deal with the conflict. The other figures may also be involved in the conflict or called to serve as additional mediators. Paul reminds the community that all their names are “in the book of life.” This may function as another reminder of what they all share in common even in the midst of differences. Throughout these verses, then, Paul is encouraging the community and its leaders on toward unity by showing them the various ways in which they are already united–having a common cause in the advance of the gospel and their identity as those who have been given life in Christ. Paul's way of dealing with conflict in the church is instructive for us as well. In our own conflicts with our siblings in Christ, whether historically or currently, there is a temptation to highlight differences, to seek unity only with those with whom we agree. But Paul's example, and his instructions to the Philippian church, ask more of us than that. We cannot afford to limit unity to a foundation lesser than the gospel. We are called to work harder at unity than is often comfortable. This requires humility, sacrifice, maturity–all the things we've highlighted as we've walked through this letter. But when we truly believe that our same mind is in the Lord, our identity is in Christ, and our shared cause worth contending for is the gospel, God will have his way in us.  So as you journey on, 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.  

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Luke 10:25-37. 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: immanuelministries.ca What is the lesson often given from this story? What is the question that propels Jesus to tell this story? In what ways have you tried to “inherit” eternal life? What is important about the summary of the law given in this story? Who is the beaten traveler? Who is the Samaritan? How can the church be like the inn and the inn keeper?

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body (Philippians 3:20-21). As we conclude this chapter, we build on Kyra's reflections from yesterday. Paul writes with tears. Was some of the ink blotched because those tears had fallen while he wrote? His heart is grieved for all those who insist on opposing the cross of Christ. Recall also that he does not name them ‘my enemies'. We do well to diligently follow his example. People are not the enemy. No matter how deep our disagreements, our struggle is against powers and principalities, not people. Regarding these ‘enemies of the cross', he says, ‘their god is their stomach'. Stomach stands in for all the desires of the body, the lusts of the flesh. Their chief concern is personal satisfaction. Their appetites dictate their lives; their minds focussed solely on this earth and this life; their vision to please the self in the moment. His warning is not against specific sins, but against the underlying sin of pandering to self. On that score, are any of us innocent? Which of us Christ followers do not, at least on occasion, fall to a temptation of the ‘stomach', pandering to self? Paul is reminding his readers that they themselves must remain vigilant. We do well to heed his warning; his tears fall for us as well. We must test our desires. In themselves, they are not necessarily bad. Desires for food, for friendship, for a healthy marriage or for rest are normally good. However, we can overindulge in food. Sometimes we can use friends to climb the ladder. Sometimes our desire for rest is just laziness. Thus, Paul reminds us that our citizenship is in heaven. Our treasures, our desires, our goals for life are determined not by the desires of our bodies, but by the values of God himself. Philippi was a Roman colony, ruled by Roman law not by its own customs; its citizens were Roman citizens. Likewise, Christians live in this world, among human cultures and value systems, but our citizenship is in heaven. We derive our values from the cross. When the truths of the cross and the return of Christ are grasped, a certain way of life naturally follows. What we believe changes our behaviour. We imitate Christ while longing for full redemption. When he returns, our Saviour will transform us so that our lowly bodies, often difficult to control, will then be subject to Christ giving glory to God. Ours are lowly bodies because they are subject to sin. The body itself, as God's creation, is good. But because of sin, we are frail and weak, easily seduced to engage in selfish activity. While our bodies remain ‘lowly', we have not arrived at our goal. But one day, our lowly bodies will give way to the new spiritual body. Eagerly we await Christ's appearance and full conformity to his resurrection body, forever in union with our God. We live in this world pressing on towards that day. At that final day he will, from his exalted position where all things are subject to him, draw our lowly bodies up into his glorious existence. He identified with our humility so that we might in turn be identified with his resurrected body. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus. As you journey on, 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.

“For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:18-20a). In today's verses, Paul is building off of those previous. Having encouraged the Philippians to find models to imitate, they must also be warned against those in whose footsteps they ought not to follow.  The challenge is who these people are. You may recall that in our exploration of this letter, there have been several passages where Paul makes accusations and warns the Philippian church against groups of people. So is he referring to one of these already mentioned groups? Those preaching out of rivalry from 1:15-17? Those who oppose and persecute believers from 1:28? Those “judaizers” we discussed in the early verses of chapter 3, who advocated for circumcision among Gentile converts? Or maybe even those Paul briefly alludes to in 2:21, who seek their own self-interest? The truth is that we really don't know. And so we have to be careful about using this text to extrapolate into our context and pronounce our own judgment on those we consider to be “enemies of the cross of Christ.” In a divided culture, verses like this can be used in pretty self-serving and antagonistic ways, but that's not the posture that the rest of this letter has been teaching us to take. So if we seek to avoid this error, what do these verses teach, even warn us, about? The first thing we see is that Paul grieves for enemies of the cross of Christ. He is not making a triumphalistic declaration that those with whom he disagrees are enemies of Christ doomed for destruction. Rather, he grieves for those who are misguided, who do not know Christ, whose “mind is set on earthly things.” Paul's is not a posture of hostility, resentment, or self-righteousness. He has the same kind of compassion for these enemies of the cross that Jesus had weeping over Jerusalem in Luke 19. A heart broken, not hardened, by the disobedience of others.  But what is it exactly that causes Paul to lament for this group of people? What do these verses say constitutes being an enemy of the cross of Christ? It is first necessary to highlight that he calls this group enemies of the cross of Christ, not just enemies of Christ. Some scholars suggest this may mean that those Paul is referring to are not pagan tormentors of the church, or those with lifestyles and belief systems diametrically opposed to followers of Christ. Rather, these may be believers, people who, as Pastor Michael described yesterday, maybe believe some of the right truths about Christ, but are opposed to the way of the cross as a way of life. They may claim salvation, but are unwilling to undergo the path of discipleship we have talked about over the last couple of days, and really throughout the whole letter to the Philippians.  The cross, for Paul, is the emblem of salvation, of knowledge of and participation in Christ. Cross-centred discipleship is the call of the Christian life. To crucify all privileges, status, wealth, perceived self-sufficiency in order to participate in Christ's suffering and death is to affirm one's heavenly citizenship. This is not a preoccupation with heaven to the neglect of life on earth, but a willingness to surrender all that is of perceived earthly value for the sake of Christ and his kingdom. So where might you be resisting the call of the cross-shaped life? For whom might you intercede, even through tears, that they would come to know only Christ, and him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2)?  So as you journey on, 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.  

So, all of us who are mature in the faith should see things this way. Maybe you think differently about something. But God will make it clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already reached. Brothers and sisters, join together in following my example. You have us as a model. So, pay close attention to those who live as we do (Philippians 3:15-17). What is Paul getting at in these verses? It's helpful to recognize that Paul is picking up ideas from the beginning of chapter 2. There he says: “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” The Greek word translated as “mindset” lies behind the phrase “such a view of things” and the word “think.”  In other words, Paul is saying: “All of us who are mature should take on the same mindset as that of Christ Jesus, even as you have witnessed me doing while I was with you.” Further, in considering everything a loss for the gain of knowing Christ, becoming like him in his death, Paul was practicing this mindset. In other words: to be mature in Christ is to have the mindset of Christ, as Kyra said yesterday. Paul offers his own life and experience as a witness and pattern of this mindset. It humbly submits to God and gives up everything as loss. Maturing Christians are learning to say yes to Christ in every area of our lives every day – at home, at work, at school, in our leisure, in our finances, in our friendships. The task of the Christian life is to say, “Christ is my all in all, seeking him as a precious jewel.” This had become Paul's life, full submission to Christ. And now he tells the Philippians: imitate me as I imitate Christ. Or imitate someone else whose life imitates mine or that of Christ. If we know Christ, we will mature into living the life of Christ—that life of humble submission. If believing the right truths about Christ is as far as we get, then we have not yet grown up. This is an immature Christian life. Yet, as Kyra also mentioned yesterday, Paul remains “confident… that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). Indeed, as he says: wherever your mindset differs from that of Christ Jesus, Paul trusts that God will make it clear to you.  Paul also encourages us not to go backwards. “Let us live up to what we have already attained,” he says. The goal is always to be straining forwards, looking ahead, keeping one's eyes fixed on Christ—or at least on those ahead of you who are following Christ—so that all of us might increasingly run the race of growing up into Christ until we become mature.  Who are you following into this mindset and way of Christ—this way of the cross: of humility, submission, and loss? Who is following you? And what is God clarifying to you? What is the next step of submission for you? How is God calling you to go deeper into the mindset of Christ? Where do you need to mature in your Christian faith? As you seek Christian maturity, 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.

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14). Yesterday, Pastor Michael described the “upward spiral” of the Christian life, the continual dying and rising with Christ by which we are transformed more fully into his likeness. Today's verses continue to unpack what this process looks like. The letter to the Philippians talks a fair bit about having the same mindset as Christ. This, it seems for Paul, is the measure of Christian maturity, and we've seen some examples of his teaching in this regard already in our exploration of the letter. In today's verses, he uses athletic language to describe this effort: “straining toward what is ahead” and “press[ing] on toward the goal to win the prize.” Just as an athlete trains for a grueling race, so too striving after union with Christ requires a single-mindedness and self-denial.  But is striving for perfection in every step the goal Paul is describing? I'm not sure that's quite it. Paul notes that as he strives toward the prize, he must forget what is behind him. Think about Paul's history. In an earlier chapter of his life, he had been a lead persecutor of followers of Christ. He certainly had been the antithesis of what he is describing in this passage. And yet he knows himself to have been taken hold of by Christ. Were he to dwell forever on the mistakes of his past, living a life of perpetual regret, he would not have been able to do the work God had for him to do. And the challenges don't only seem to be in the past; the language of “straining” or “pressing” implies the kind of daily present hardships that Pastor Michael described yesterday. So if Christian maturity Paul describes here is not past or present perfection, what is it? Paul locates the fullness of Christian maturity in the future–a divinely appointed goal to press toward. A goal toward which God has called, and thus for which Christ followers can expect to be supported by the Spirit.  What is perhaps most significant about what Paul says here is that, because Christian maturity is a future prize toward which a believer and believing community strains together with the Spirit's help, Christian maturity is not, at least in this life, a final destination. If a believer is pretty confident that they've already reached the fullest extent of Christian maturity, that's probably not a good sign.  If your past is full of failures or sins, or you consider yourself in a position now where you are still struggling, desiring faithfulness, but falling short–you're not a liability to Christ. Because Paul teaches that Christian maturity is not confidence of full attainment already, but a desire to grow, to admit past failures but not allow them to compromise our present or future witness, and to trust in God's calling and follow it with a single-minded focus and fervour. Like Paul, we do not consider ourselves having taken hold of all that is ours. Rather, we trust that our God is accompanying us on the journey, and there is much goodness that lies ahead. So as you journey on, 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.  

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:10-11). There are many little tangents one could take out of these beautiful verses. We'll stick with just one: our union as Christians with the death and resurrection of Jesus. But here Paul throws an odd twist into it. It does not show up in the usual order of death, then resurrection. Instead, Paul begins with resurrection—then talks about suffering and death before returning to resurrection again. The Christian life is to be an upward spiral. Every day we begin in the resurrection life of Jesus. A new day: a gift of life to be thankful for. Not simply because we woke up on the right side of the ground—but because we have life in Jesus!  We wake up into a sure hope that gives purpose and direction to our giving and our grieving, our working and our washing, our studying and our suffering. What we wake up into is a life in Christ, a Christian life—a new life filled with new mercies every morning. If we wake up in the morning and think, “What can I get out of this day? How much can I make? What urges can I satisfy?” If we start there, we do not enter this upward spiral. However, if we start with this, “How can I serve God today? What is he calling me to? Who is he calling me to love today and what form will that love take?” With such questions we enter the upward spiral Paul is reflecting on. As we move through each new day—this Christian life calls us to take up our cross and follow Jesus in his humble, self-giving, submissive way. On this side of eternity, resurrection life is not ours in its fullness.  We still must die to ourselves and to our sins and all these other things that fall away in the all-surpassing glory of knowing Jesus. We must reckon with and die to our rage at the bad driver in front of us. We must loosen our grip on our status, accomplishments, and wealth that we have. Or on our desires to have them. We must confront and suffer our way through a still sin-broken world where nothing is as God intended. But, as we do: suffering with Jesus and letting our ambitions and sins die in his death, the Spirit forms the new, resurrection life of Christ ever more fully within us. Sometimes this happens slowly over years and decades. And sometimes we can see the full course of this rhythm of life-suffering-death-life all in one day or moment. Round and round it goes, down through the years—a continuing spiral of rising and dying and rising again until Christ is formed in us. Sometimes we slip downward. But Christ will find us and continue his work.  This is how we come to know Christ and the power of his resurrection at work in us and come to believe more fully that yes: this Christ who is bringing us to life in the little, daily things, can also be trusted to keep his promise to raise us to life at the end of all things. So, while there is much suffering still to be endured and many things in our lives that we still must die to, it is worth remembering as Paul does that the first and final word of the journey with Jesus is life. As you journey on, 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.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Luke 14:1-24. 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? How would you describe his glory? What five words would you choose? Who would be considered the ‘outsiders' in your community? How can you reach out to them as an individual? As a community? Identify two ways that you can more intentionally worship Jesus with your everyday life. Identify one person (or group) that needs to experience the love of Jesus. Follow the pattern of Jesus and reach beyond yourself to the outcasts in your community.  

“What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith” (Philippians 3:8-9). In the verses for today, along with those from yesterday, Paul reflects on the salvation that comes, as Pastor Michael talked about yesterday, exclusively through Christ. The verses for today continue that reflection and look back to earlier in the letter, to the poem about Christ in chapter 2:5-11.  This poem, and Paul's words in yesterday and today's verses, talk about two people who begin with elevated status. Jesus, being in very nature God. And to a far lesser degree, of course, but still of religious and cultural significance, Paul who, as Pastor Michael described yesterday, had a strong Jewish pedigree. He was righteous, well-educated, and zealous for the law.  But Paul has come to understand, and expresses in today's verses, that his version of superiority was never actually any such thing. How does he know that? He looks at Christ and recalls his poetic description in chapter 2. Christ's adoption of the form of a slave, his obedience to God and willingness to take on the humiliation of the cross, required his willful self-emptying of what was a genuine superiority. Paul, on the other hand, comes to understand that to follow Christ in his own self-emptying requires a change in his self-perception. This kind of reversal is critical for we who are Christ's followers to grasp. Certainly, as Pastor Michael described yesterday, because we have to rightly understand the source of our salvation. And also because, when we have recognized the grace of our salvation, we respond by becoming increasingly like Christ by the work of the Spirit. And to follow the one who took on human likeness, who was obedient to death–even death on a cross–requires, as the Christ poem reveals to us, deep humility. This is not the kind of humility that says, "Although, in reality, I am superior because [fill in the blank], I will follow Christ and humble myself.” If we are honest with ourselves, this is often how we practice humility. But Paul says there is nothing we have that can fill in that blank. It's all garbage. All we have is Christ, and the privilege to follow in his footsteps and mirror his downward motion for our sake.  So the gift of faith leads to humility, and humility leads to Christ's service, not to earn our salvation, but as a response to grace. As we undergo a change in our self-perception, a change in understanding where our value is from, because we no longer consider any of our privilege, power, intelligence, money–you name it–as valuable in themselves, they can be transformed into tools used in service of the faith we profess, in service of Christ. And this is the “righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.”  So as you journey on, 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.  

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ (Philippians 3:4-7). No confidence in the flesh, Paul says, speaking firmly against any sort of “Jesus-and” faith. Like a faith that says salvation comes by Jesus, and circumcision; or Jesus and following the law; or Jesus and good worship; or Jesus and good kid's programs; or Jesus and good ethics. Certainly, these things are important in the life of the church and the life of the Christian—but they have no place in securing our salvation. In the shifting sands of culture and technology, we tend to reach for something more than Jesus—something tangible we can hold on to, to know we're safe and secure. We build up walls of policy and doctrine, or of research and knowledge, or of wealth and possessions, or of whatever. Something tangible that we can control so that we can keep the sky from falling on us. This has been going on since the beginning of the church—like it does here in Philippians. There's nothing new under the sun. But the Christian faith is not a “Jesus-and” faith. It's just Jesus that saves us. Him alone. We put no confidence in the flesh. No confidence in any of the things that we can see, achieve, hold on to, or control. Paul gives an example. As far as Judaism goes: Paul was at the top of the class. Not only was he born into the privilege of a strong, practicing Jewish pedigree—but he also had the smarts and the drive to pursue that Jewish faith to the Nth degree—not content with the achievements of joining the legally righteous Pharisaical sect, but also pursuing an absolutely faultless life and a zealous persecution of all those who stepped outside it—like Christians. But now: all these things he once considered gain he counts as loss. Paul does not see his previous privilege and achievements as garbage—they were gains!  But considering the surpassing greatness and sufficiency of Jesus and him alone—he considers all else loss. Even what he had previously considered as gains. So it is for our wealth and our institutions, our success and our knowledge—they may very well be gains in any other sense. But they don't save us. There's nothing there to put confidence in. In fact, compared to the surpassing sufficiency of Christ, they are a loss. Or perhaps better said, they are to be lost. Our need for them must die, such that we hold on to nothing else but Jesus. This is what Paul's getting at. What gains in the world of the flesh do you rest your spiritual security upon? That is, your salvation? Does it rest on nothing but Jesus? Do you hold onto Jesus and some other things? What do you need to lose? How do we go about losing those things? Two things to start: as Kyra said yesterday, worship the triune God, including within the context of public worship. Second, get to know Jesus. You will discover that he is up to the task of saving you.  As you journey on, 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.

“Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reasons for such confidence" (Philippians 3:1-4a). Having spent some time commending partners in the gospel to the Philippian church, Paul now turns to another subject somewhat abruptly, and his tone changes with it. He has described those who are exemplary models for the community, but he now does the opposite, warning against those he calls “dogs, evildoers, mutilators of the flesh.” This is very strong language coming from a letter which, up to this point, has been full of joy and encouragement even in the midst of suffering.  Paul's warning here might be familiar to you if you've read some of his other writings. In his letter to the Galatian church, Paul warns against a group of people that scholars of Paul's letters call “Judaizers.” These were people who would follow along the path of Paul's missionary journeys, teaching that groups of Gentile converts (like the church in Philippi) had to be circumcised in order to join Jewish Christ-followers as a community of faith. In Galatians, Paul writes a pretty strongly worded letter to those tempted to heed the false teaching of this group of people, rather than recognizing and teaching that the grace of Christ meant that to be included in the family of God no longer required the physical symbol of circumcision. To preach the opposite, Paul said, was to “pervert the gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:7). It is these teachers and their message that most scholars believe is being addressed in today's verses as well. For the believers in Philippi, and for all believers, the thing which unites them is not a sign in the flesh like circumcision, but a unity achieved by God's presence among them and working through them by the Holy Spirit.  The exhortations that Paul gives the Philippian church just before and after his warning against false teachers begins to give us an indicator of the practices Paul encourages the community to pursue which will shape them to be resilient to false teaching. He encourages them both to “rejoice in the Lord” (v. 1) and “boast in Jesus Christ” (v. 3). In essence, he's encouraging them to worship and to testify to the truth of who God has revealed himself to be in Christ.  These are practices that believers like us today can also trust to help us as we encounter false teachings, whether those that come from within the church or outside of it. We don't necessarily always think of worship as an antidote to false teaching. We may first think of doctrinal debate or apologetics as the right approach. Perhaps we wonder, or have heard others wonder, why regular worship practices, including attendance at weekly services, are important. In this passage, Paul indicates that communal practices of rejoicing and testifying about who Christ is–things the church does weekly in Christian worship–orient believers repeatedly to what is true and what is not. Being saturated in the word, active in praise and worship, and joined with a community of faith in fellowship–these provide us with the knowledge, the posture, and the accountability structures of community to help shape our minds and our hearts for discernment. And most importantly, of course, worship fosters relationship with God, and in so doing, makes it only natural that we would rejoice. So as you journey on, 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.  

But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed, he was ill and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore, I am even more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad, and I may have less anxiety. So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me. (Philippians 2:25-30). After commending Timothy to the Philippians, Paul turns his attention to Epaphroditus who gets even more space than Timothy and a commendation even grander than Timothy's because of the things he endured for the sake of the gospel. He was probably a convert since he was named for the goddess Aphrodite. Roman prisons made little, if any, provision for the prisoner's food, clothing, bedding, or hygiene. Such things would need to be brought into the prison by family and friends. The church at Philippi, having heard that Paul was imprisoned in Rome, sent Epaphroditus with money and other gifts and charged him to remain and tend to all of Paul's needs on their behalf. As he was fulfilling this service, Epaphroditus became deathly ill. But through God's grace he recovered. Paul now wants to return him to Philippi, an act which will relieve the anxiety of the church (which has heard of Epaphroditus' illness), and of Epaphroditus himself (who has been distressed that the church was distressed). No doubt much of the church's anxiety was not only concern for the health of the messenger but also frustration over what seemed a failed mission. Epaphroditus was sent to serve Paul, but as it turned out, Paul ended up caring for a deathly ill co-worker. Paul wants to relieve all such anxieties and to pave the way for a joyful return. The mission had not failed. Epaphroditus became a servant to Paul in his need, and just as Christ Jesus “became obedient to death—even death on a cross”, so Epaphroditus came near death in faithful service for Christ. Just as God, in response to Christ's obedience, exalted him to the highest place, so Epaphroditus should be welcomed back to Philippi with joy and honor because of his obedience and sacrifice. In relation to Paul, he is a brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier; in relation to the church, he is their messenger and servant. As to his performance while with Paul, Epaphroditus almost died for the work of Christ. In a hostile environment he did not retreat but risked his life to minister to Paul. The church should not doubt him but follow his example of willing sacrifice. Therefore, says Paul, let no cloud of doubt or disappointment spoil his home coming. Welcome him with the joy and honor appropriate to his selfless and sacrificial ministry. Epaphroditus risked his life for the sake of Christ. He is to be respected for this. Who do you know who risked or risks much for the sake of the gospel and the coming kingdom? We should all know such a person, whether they have already passed into glory or still here on this earth. They inspire our faith. They inspire our sacrifice. In the early church, there was a society known as ‘the gamblers', who risked their lives to care for the sick and imprisoned and to give martyrs and even enemies an honourable burial. The work of the indwelling God changed both Timothy and Epaphroditus into the likeness of the great Servant, the Lord Jesus Christ. They were varied characters, with varying gifts and diverse temperaments; their backgrounds could not have been more dissimilar; but they were each coming to resemble the Saviour; they loved him and followed his example. What was true of them can be true of us; God has not changed. As you journey on 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.  

“I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon” (Philippians 2:19-24). In our text for today, Paul is doing something very practical. He is commending to the church in Philippi one of his co-workers in the gospel, a young man named Timothy, in anticipation of his visit, and the hope that Paul himself will also eventually return to them. But Paul's commendation of Timothy isn't only practical. It is an indication of the ways in which Timothy serves as an example to the church of the kinds of things Paul has been exhorting them toward in the first part of his letter. Paul had encouraged the believers to look “not only to their own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2:3-4). In our text for today, he speaks of Timothy as showing “genuine concern for [the church's] welfare.” As we have seen repeatedly, Paul emphasizes the importance of relationships among believers as key to demonstrating the gospel message of grace. Paul also indicates that the Philippian church is aware of Timothy's character in the context of his relationship to Paul, which he compares to a son with his father. Again, think of earlier in Philippians 2 and the way that Jesus is described as obedient to the will of his Father, being humbled and then exalted. Paul's description of Timothy as a son is an indication of Timothy's own Christ-like character. So Paul sends Timothy with encouragement and, in doing so, invites the Philippian church to welcome him with gratitude and graciousness and to imitate his example. He identifies himself with Timothy, speaking of him as a co-labourer. While he hopes he can visit the community again one day, he entrusts their welfare to Timothy in the event he cannot.  This kind of sending and receiving is part of the way that churches continue to do kingdom work today. It's one of the ways we embody the mission of God that we are committed to as a church.  Immanuel has its own relationships with people it sends and receives, including various Faith Promise and missionary partners we believe are advancing the kingdom alongside us, but in other contexts. As a church committed to this work, we have a similar responsibility to Paul: To send these people with encouragement, and to cheerfully and prayerfully receive their reports about the work we have commissioned them to do. We are called to identify ourselves with them as co-labourers, and with the local and global church communities to which we send them, whether or not (like Paul) we get a chance to visit ourselves. We are one body, all of us together, and to tangibly live that out is part of the commitment a sending and supporting church makes.  So when is the last time you prayed for or intentionally encouraged those this church has committed to sending and receiving, or the communities to which you have sent them? Perhaps consider doing so today. This is part of the missional task God has given to the church, and I can speak from personal experience about how meaningful it is to receive this kind of support as a missional worker. And, as Paul himself anticipates, you may find yourself cheered by this effort too! So as you journey on, 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.  

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is 2 Kings 5:1-16. 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 question from 2 Kings 1 lies in the background to this chapter? What is unique about the young servant girl? Why is she a true Israelite? How does she stand in contrast to both Naaman and the king of Israel? What might God ask you to give up if you fully commit to him? How do the waters of the Jordan hint towards baptism? Do you believe that God is able?

And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So, you too should be glad and rejoice with me (Philippians 2:16b-18). We are still following Paul's reflections on ‘working out our salvation with fear and trembling'. This phrase does not mean nervous apprehension with which the guilty face a judge. Rather, it expresses the awe that we experience in the presence of God. Now we discover that this fear and trembling includes joy; the deep, foundational joy of the Christian life. The salvation process in which we participate along with the Holy Spirit is worked out in all circumstances, even in pain, suffering, loss, death, prison, uncertainty, perplexity. It is not that we are glad for the pain, but we know the suffering is temporary and God is at work within it. So, even during unpleasant circumstances we know the ‘joy of our salvation' (Psalm 51:12). This joy does not ignore the suffering of loss or the darkness of depression. It does not suggest that every Christian should be happy every day. Rather, it comes with the sacrifices we willingly make for the sake of the gospel. It is the joy that comes when our sacrifices result in others entering the shalom of God's kingdom. In Hebrews we read, “For the joy set before him, [Jesus] endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (12:2). Our salvation was wrought through the shame and suffering of this cross. Christ's suffering also stands as an example for us to follow. He endured the torture, at least in part, because he knew the joy salvation would bring to us. Likewise, we are called to suffer for the sake of the gospel because of the joy it will bring to others. Here is an element of the Christian faith that we may resist. My parents speak of the sacrifices they made to establish churches and Christian schools and to send out missionaries. They would go without for the sake of the kingdom. Have you made such a sacrifice? Take some time to reflect on this. Let the Holy Spirit speak truth to you. The Philippians have done much and sacrificed much to aid Paul in his proclamation of the gospel; he names this “the sacrifice and service coming from your faith”.   In Leviticus, there are several passing references to a ‘drink offering', commonly understood as a small and final offering. It was still common practice in pagan rituals in Paul's day. He alludes to his potential death as but ‘a drink offering' added to all the sacrifices the Philippian Christians have made for the gospel in the process of “working out their salvation with fear and trembling”. He will be glad to give his life for the sake of the gospel in addition to all that the Philippians have given. Paul views the Philippians' continued obedience and steadfastness amid persecution as an offering to God of greater worth than the offering of his own apostolic labors—labors that may end in his death. We have no animals to bring but we do have a sacrifice acceptable to God. The gift of a life of obedience—character-building, holiness and witness—the life to which our faith prompts us. This is our priestly service to God. May we all joyfully offer it to him. As you contiue to work out your salvation, 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.

"Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.' Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life" (Philippians 2:14-16a). There are times I wonder–and maybe some of you have too–whether God might not have picked a more effective strategy for building his kingdom than this rag tag group of people called the church. Whenever I ask this question, I return to the writing of one of my favourite theologians–a missiologist and missionary in India for much of his life by the name of Lesslie Newbigin–because he answers it. Here's one of the quotes from his book The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society which helps me when I wonder about the church: “I have come to feel that the primary reality of which we have to take account in seeking for a Christian impact on public life is the Christian congregation. How is it possible for the gospel to be credible, that people should come to believe that the power which has the last word in human affairs is represented by a man hanging on a cross? I am suggesting that the only answer, the only hermeneutic of the gospel, is a congregation of men and women who believe it and live by it.”  This, I think, might be something similar to what Paul is getting at in our passage for today. “Do everything without grumbling or arguing” is quite a command. As is the expectation that his audience could become “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Why would he set such a high bar for struggling people? The reason, I think, has to do with what Lesslie Newbigin is articulating–that no matter what a church professes to believe, if it doesn't change the way they live, the gospel isn't going to seem all that convincing.  To live out what we profess, or to “shine” in a context Paul describes as “warped and crooked” means, for the Philippian church and for us, to acknowledge the way in which we ourselves are warped and crooked. We don't get to be self-righteous and assume that the warping and crookedness is only in the people around us. That's often where we get in our own way as Christians interacting with others outside of the church. If we are going to be effective witnesses, we're going to have to acknowledge our own failures first. This is part of the working out of our salvation “with fear and trembling” that Pastor Michael talked about yesterday, and the humility we talked about last week.  But then, as Newbigin points out, when we have acknowledged our warping and crookedness, and have received grace through Christ, the Spirit uses what we profess to work reconciliation and make an actual tangible difference in the relationships and actions of members of the church as they interact with each other and go out into the world. It makes the church, as Newbigin says, “the only hermeneutic of the gospel,” or, in other words, the way people understand and interpret what the gospel is all about. Neither Paul nor Newbigin makes this transformation optional for the Christian community. Paul insists it is part of the church becoming “blameless and pure” and Newbigin suggests that for a community of people who seek to make the gospel credible, it's the only way. As Pastor Michael pointed out yesterday, “Sometimes it appears that Christians reduce the godly life to the gathering of correct information.” Paul and Newbigin tell us that's not enough. Our lives need to reflect what we believe. But this isn't just another rule to follow. When we live this way, we ourselves will be blessed as we both receive and extend the grace and love of Christ. It's the beauty of the gospel; it really is good news. So as you journey on, 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.  

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13). This is a text I cherish. For three reasons. One, it does not place responsibility for the spiritual growth of the congregation on the pastor. Certainly, pastors have a responsibility, but it is not primary, it is not even secondary. At best our responsibility is tertiary. This helps me sleep. Two, and more to the point, it gives us pastors permission to nudge and encourage the people under our spiritual care to get busy. Salvation is not just something received. It is received, of course, but it is also worked out. It is a matter of obedience to work out the consequences of salvation in our individual and communal lives. Christians must exert themselves, put effort in. Paul has in mind continuous, sustained, and strenuous effort. The kind of workout where the muscles get tired and want to quit, but one pushes through the pain to increase muscle strength and endurance. As Christians, people redeemed in Christ, we are to walk in step with the Spirit as the Spirit grows his fruit in us. Or to use the words of this chapter, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (2:3,4). The grace of God does more than get us into heaven. It also teaches us to say no to ungodly activity and to live righteous lives (Titus 2:11-12). But this is not easily done. Sometimes it appears that Christians reduce the godly life to the gathering of correct information. The most exertion required is that which gets us out of bed and to church on Sunday morning. If we have a preacher that preaches the truth, all will be well. Truth is important, but it is insufficient. If we do not apply that truth in our lives, we remain disobedient. We must allow the Spirit to identity patterns of sinfulness in our lives and to use various means to root them out. In classic Christian literature, we face three strong and wily enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Paul calls us to make full use of every God-appointed means to defeat the evil so that the good has room to grow. Spiritual disciplines are not simply to gain knowledge or ‘do time'. Such discipline should always be about this: working out our salvation. We pastors are sometimes invited to walk alongside people as they work this out. It is a tremendous privilege and often full of joy. However, at times it can be discouraging. Progress is slow. First gear is a frustratingly sluggish pace. Sometimes, we witness people stuck in reverse. At those times, it is important to remember that these verses place no responsibility on pastors or others who walk alongside. Rather, it says, “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose”. That, my friends, is good news indeed and the third reason I cherish this text. We are not on our own against our formidable enemies. God himself is at work. The God who exalted Jesus from death to the highest place is himself at work in you and me labouring out our salvation. We work with fear and trembling, not in despair, but in hope, in expectation, in certainty that progress is being made. The Holy Spirit is the chief teacher and worker after all. As you journey on, 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.

"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place     and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,     in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,     to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).   One of the reasons I love the Christ poem that we have been looking at in Philippians 2:6-11 over the past couple of days is the way that it draws together ideas from across Scripture to demonstrate the significance of who Christ is and what he has done. One such example is the allusion that many Bible scholars find in the verses for today to an Old Testament text, Isaiah 45:23-24, where the prophet delivers these words from God: “By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength.' All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame.” This passage in Isaiah comes from the middle part of the book, which is a dramatic announcement, while the Israelites are in exile in Babylon, that the time of exile has ended, that God has a plan to release them from foreign domination and return them to their land.  In Philippians 2, the verses we've read for today, the same claim is made with implications for the church–in Philippi and around the Roman empire–that the oppressive power which rules them will be subdued. God the Father has, by the obedient death of the Son, brought about the redemption of his people. He has exalted the Son to the “highest place” giving him the “name that is above every name” and all will bow before him and confess that he is Lord, “to the glory of God the Father.” Just as God promised in Isaiah 45, despite the fact that the people were still in exile, that the time of exile had ended and God had acted redemptively on their behalf, in Christ, God has acted redemptively again on behalf of his people. In spite of the fact that the Philippian church still experienced the daily realities of suffering under a foreign empire, just as the Israelites had in Babylon, the work that was accomplished in Christ's incarnation, death, and resurrection, meant that the empire of Rome was already defeated. Their fate was sealed; their power would give way to the one whose name is above every name.  But it wasn't just Rome; every other power across time and space would give way. Every knee would bow and every tongue confess Christ's lordship. The church, whether in Philippi or among us today, is called to live as those who believe that the Son has been exalted, that he already rules over all things, in spite of any evidence to the contrary. For those of us who do not live under oppressive powers, we can easily lose sight of the significance of this. But for our siblings in Christ around the world who suffer for their testimony that Christ rules, this changes everything. So perhaps the question for us today is this: What difference does Christ's lordship make for you and your community here and now? So as you journey on, 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.  

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is 2 Kings 2:1-15. 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  Elijah takes Elisha on a journey. What do these places represent for Israel?  Idolatry is difficult to sort out in our own hearts. It is most often about trust. Who do you trust? If we trust in God, we learn to obey him. But obedience can be costly. Has it cost you? In our story, God provided for Elisha to carry on Elijah's ministry. Will you trust God to provide for you so you can serve him? Where is God now?

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:7-8) This hymn doesn't say that Jesus humbled himself for us. It just says that he humbled himself. If his humbling was before or for anyone: it was for God the Father, the only other person mentioned. Jesus responded to the Father by giving up everything and making himself nothing. There are a few downward steps that Jesus takes. He lets go of his divine right to use his divine status and power. This is the very opposite move to that of Adam and Eve who grasped the status and power Jesus relinquished (“You'll be like God!” the serpent said). Letting go of his rights to exercise the role, status, and power of God, Jesus turns in humility and makes himself nothing—a servant—a human—and eventually a crucified, humiliated, dead human. He is born into this world a human. The face of God visible to all in the form of new, fragile, helpless human life. Jesus lives and teaches, suffering among a suffering people. Having borne their burdens and having compassion on their needs, Jesus submits himself to death on a cross. He could have called a legion of angels to spare him from this fate; he could have crushed the Romans; he could have come down from the cross. But he didn't do that. He did not use the divine power and status that was his to use. He gave it up. He became nothing and humbled himself to death—became obedient even to this death on a cross. This resonates with deep biblical themes. In Deuteronomy, the first and second commandment, together with the Shema, say the same thing: submit yourself firstly, lovingly, and exclusively to God. Or in the Psalms where the action of the psalmists is to submit themselves and their situation fully to God—seeking no recourse of their own. It is God who will have to vindicate their cause. God, whose justice, power, and praise will be shown and known. Jesus does the same. What does it look like for us to follow Jesus in this way of the cross in our relationships? What might it mean to make ourselves nothing, to humble ourselves, to make ourselves servants? That is, to let go of all our ability to control a situation, all our roles and titles, all our resources and assets, all our relational capital in friends, family, and networks of acquaintances? This is not the sort of humility that denies having abilities, skills, relationships, or power. This humility looks with a clear eye at the rights, skills, relationships, and privileges we have and resolutely chooses not to use them for our own self—perhaps even choosing to give them up altogether. This humility chooses not to seek another term; chooses not to step in and unduly influence an important decision; chooses not to purchase the expected property or possessions that social or economic peers have; chooses not to exact retribution; chooses to forgive. We face variations on any of these examples from childhood on. Perhaps they sound less radical than we might expect. Yes, there are times that the call is to give up everything one has. More often we are called to give these things up slowly across a lifetime in the smaller, daily decisions of life. How might you take one step in this humble direction today? But why would you? Because, like Jesus, you trust God with your life. As you journey on, 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.

[Christ] “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:6-7). Today, I'm going to begin by painting a picture for you. If you visited Philippi, as Paul did, in the late 40s AD, you would have seen a brand-new forum, a monumental square surrounded by various public buildings sheltering the civic life of the colony, a temple for the imperial cult, a marketplace, and more. You would also have seen a very long inscription (nearly 20 metres), made of huge bronze letters, engraved on the floor of the square to commemorate the paving of the new forum by a man who had been a priest of the deified Emperor Augustus. In the northeastern corner of the forum, an honorary monument supporting statues of the emperor Claudius and his relatives was erected. Then, a huge (5 metre long) dedication to the imperial family was carved on a wall at the centre of the city.  Why am I sharing all of these details of ancient Roman architecture with you? Because it's important for us to understand the magnitude of what Paul is saying about who Christ is and what he has done in our verses for today. See, wherever you went in the city of Philippi, it was impossible not to be reminded, by buildings, statues, and inscriptions, who was in charge and who should be worshipped. The answer was obvious to any occupant of Philippi: it was the Roman emperor, known by a Latin title translating to “son of God.” Emperor Augustus had used this title to solidify his power and position within the Roman state. His near-equality with the gods had certainly been used to his own advantage. But then, here comes Paul with quite a different story about who the Son of God is and what he does: “Christ, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”  Pastor Michael talked yesterday about what it means to have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. In the context of the Roman city of Philippi, it was to have the complete opposite mindset of most everyone you encountered around you. You would have walked past towering structures which would have been a daily temptation to interpret the Christ poem we read for today as utter foolishness. What kind of Son of God would choose to become like a servant–or perhaps, to translate the Greek even more accurately, a slave?  This is the kind of God we serve. One who is fully divine and who chose to be made in human likeness. It was not a decision to stop being divine, however, it was a decision to reveal to us what it really meant to be divine. And while we don't have towers of emperors around Hamilton city hall today, this message of radical self-emptying is not much less controversial in our context. We still often carry with us, and have modeled for us by world leaders, definitions of divinity, of power, of authority and influence, that are much nearer the definitions Paul is critiquing than those he is demonstrating as being Christ's own.  So the invitation for us today is to interrogate our own surroundings, as we've done Philippi, and the messages they have for us about what and who is worthy of worship and power. Then, we will be able to hold them up against the example Paul gives, of one who is, in very nature, God, and yet made himself nothing for us. So as you journey on, 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.  

        In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus… (Philippians 2:5) Yesterday, Kyra said, “The kind of like-mindedness that Paul advocates for is the kind that comes, not from uniformity, but from the willingness to give priority to the needs of others and sacrifice one's own.” And as she said, ‘that's awfully hard to do.” But how do we do it? Paul answers that question in our text, “have the same mindset as Christ Jesus”. Jesus lays down for us the two greatest commandments: Love the Lord Your God with all you've got and love your neighbour as yourself. Jesus defines the love he's talking about through his own action: dying for us on the cross. As he offers his life, he gives all his heart, soul, mind, and strength in an act of love for the Father and for us. This is the crux of the Christian faith. Jesus crucified is the entire story. It tells us what Jesus has done for us. It tells us what to preach. It also tells us and shows us how to live. Keep Jesus and his cross at the centre—as that thing that defines all else—and everything else will find its way. In fact, if we do this: others will see the life of Christ in us as we live it, bringing glory and praise to God! Paul also puts Jesus and his cross at the centre of the life of the church. He invites us to have this very same mindset as Jesus in our relationships with one another. That is, to have the mindset of Christ and him crucified.  As Paul will go on to tell, and as we will cover in the days to come, to have the mindset of Christ means having an attitude and practice of humble, loving submission before God that allows us to give everything else up to be a loving servant to others. This command is at the very heart of the gospel. It resonates with Jesus' own commands to love one another and to take up our cross and follow him. By these things, the world will know we are his disciples. It's not easy though. There are times when I'm right and the other person is wrong; times when I want what someone else has; times when I'm paralyzed by what someone else thinks of me; times when I've been hurt by someone or when I want to hurt someone for what they have said or done. These are the sort of small, sometimes even petty things, that undercut loving relationships in the church and that can breed mistrust, fear, discord, malice, slander, and the sort of fights that lead to division. It is in these very situations that we are to have the mindset of Jesus Christ. What are we to do when we come to these moments finding our motivations are less than wholesome or holy? Take on the mindset of Jesus and his cross. We are called to humbly die to ourselves. It often looks like a prayer. “Dear God, forgive me for my anger towards so-and-so. Help me to love them instead, even though I don't want to.” Asking forgiveness is a humbling action. It's a dying to ourselves. But in that action, we take on the mindset of Christ that frees us to live and to love. As you journey on, 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.

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Philippians 2:1-4). Yesterday, Pastor Michael talked about living as those who have died and risen with Christ, those whose witness to Christ is without fear. In today's verses, we have a practical example of what such fearless living looks like: unity, like-mindedness, humility, and self-sacrifice.  In the context of Philippi, these virtues required a sort of fearlessness. Philippi was a highly stratified and diverse city, as were many that Paul visited in his ministry. The ruling class was Latin in language, culturally Italian, and politically Roman. However, on the margins, including the outskirts of the city and in the lower classes, many were Macedonian or Thracian (which are culturally and linguistically Greek) or immigrants coming from places like Egypt, Asia Minor, and Judea. There were as many as 35 different local deities worshipped in the city, alongside the Roman emperor worship. In a context of such diversity, to seek unity, like-mindedness, humility, and self-sacrifice required the courage that we discussed yesterday. It involved dying to self. Such division and diversity, although in a different cultural context, likely feels familiar to many of us as well. We too live in a context where divisions along political, ideological, and ethical lines are common. In such a context, unflinching conviction is often perceived as the most effective way to advance any cause. However, Paul seems to suggest something more nuanced in this passage. Initially, it does seem that Paul expects the whole community to think the same way. He begins by saying that the Philippian church will make his joy complete by being like-minded, and one in spirit and mind. However, he quickly follows this with commands about humility, valuing others above oneself, and looking to the interests of others. If these are his next commands, then perhaps like-mindedness is a bit more complicated than his first statement would suggest. The need for humility and sacrifice for the sake of others' interests implies that this community is not, in fact, like-minded in the sense that they all agree. The kind of like-mindedness that Paul advocates for is the kind that comes, not from uniformity, but from the willingness to give priority to the needs of others and sacrifice one's own. This, I think, is rather good news for the western church in a context of deep division. We actually are not all expected to think the exact same way on every subject. What is expected of us is finding a way to live together, with humility, in spite of that.  This seems awfully easy to say and awfully hard to do, you might say. And you'd be right. But we have to remember that Paul isn't viewing diversity of thought through rose-coloured glasses. He doesn't think it's going to be easy. He is working with a church in a deeply divided context. It's simply that for him, the fact that the church has, as he begins, been united with Christ, comforted by his love, and given a common sharing in the Spirit, was actually meant to make enough of a difference that other differences could be viewed only in that context. And that, complex though it is, is something for us to strive for too. So as you journey on, 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.  

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have (Philippians 1:27-30). As we heard on Friday, Paul expects “to remain and continue” ministering with the church. Now he says something quite different. Now it's qualified: “whatever happens.”  This is deeper than his travel plans. He does not want the faith of the Philippians to be dependent upon him, but upon Christ. He wants society and even their persecutors to see Christ in the way they suffer and in the way that they contend for the faith of the gospel—as athletes working together side-by-side on one team. When neighbours look at Christians, our witness should not be to Paul (or our own leaders), but to Christ. This will be the witness, the sign to these others that they might be destroyed. Now, the church is to not preach this destruction, nor enact it by being cruel or retaliatory toward persecutors. Rather, by enduring our suffering in the same humble way of Christ, we bear to witness that we have something in God through Christ. We have something greater than any threat of suffering or death can extinguish. Some baptismal traditions have a beautiful way of symbolizing this. There's a stone baptistry in Philippi where those being baptized walk down steps into the waters of a running river. They take off their old clothes as they descend into the water—a sign of dying to themselves and their old way of life in the death of Christ. Then, having been baptized, they walk up the other side out of the water. On their ascent, they are given a new white robe signifying the new life of Christ to which they had just been united.  Why the Christians could stand and face martyrdom willingly, even with joy, remained a mystery to Caesar and his subjects. But the thing is, you just can't scare dead people. These Christians were already dead in the death of Christ. They had nothing to fear. All that was on display within them was the life of Christ: joy, peace, patience, and persevering love—all the fruit of the Spirit. We too are baptized saints: baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. To those around us—whether we are suffering or living in relative peace and joy—do they see this clear witness to Christ within us? Do they see that we are a people who live without fear? Do they see that we contend together as one for the faith of the gospel? Do they see that we live in the fruit of the Spirit and the life of Christ no matter what we face? This is Paul's prayer and invitation to us. As you journey on, 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.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is 1 Kings 19:1-18 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  

“Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me” (Philippians 1:24-25). Yesterday, Pastor Michael reflected on Paul's indifference, even hope in anticipation of his death, but also of his commitment to life for the sake of the church. In today's verses, Paul dives further into why he is committed to remaining an active part of the church that God is forming among the Gentiles. Paul's reasons for staying include the church's “progress and joy in the faith” as well as giving them reason to “boast in Christ Jesus.” Now, if you're like me, growing up reading this passage and others in Paul's corpus of letters where he makes similar statements, you might be asking yourself, “Doesn't Paul sound a bit arrogant? Does the church really live or die by Paul's presence?” Perhaps you're willing to concede that Paul, significant character that he is in the story of Scripture, may be justified in such a claim. He started a lot of churches, had a pretty compelling way of talking about Jesus, and certainly was used by God in some remarkable ways.  However, Paul's confidence in the importance of his presence with the church is not rooted in his particular talents. He is not confident merely in his own gifts for the church, but the necessity of his role as part of the body of Christ as a whole. This means that the claims he makes about the progress and joy of the church, and the fact that believers can boast on account of him are words that can and should apply to any member of a church. We are likely familiar with Paul's teaching on this subject in a different letter, his letter to the Corinthian church, where in chapter 12 he speaks of the necessity of all members of the body of Christ: “Suppose,” Paul says, “the foot says, ‘I am not a hand. So I don't belong to the body.' By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. And suppose the ear says, ‘I am not an eye. So I don't belong to the body.' By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell? God has placed each part in the body just as he wanted it to be . . . You are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it.” The reason that Paul is convinced that he must stay with the church to encourage its progress and joy, to give it a reason to boast in Christ, is because this is true of every single member of the body. Each member of Christ's church becomes an essential part of what God is doing in the world.  Are you as convicted as Paul is that you are necessary to the body of Christ? Do you go to church on Sunday morning, provide leadership as an office bearer, on a ministry team, leading youth of various ages, or volunteering in any other capacity within Immanuel or beyond its walls in the assurance that your presence makes a tangible difference–that it will lead to others' progress and joy in the faith, a reason to boast in Christ Jesus?  If your answer to this is “no,” read Paul's words again. They are as true of you, no matter who you are and what your role is in Christ's body, as they were of Paul, transformative leader that he was. If your answer to this question is “yes,” what are you doing to make sure that others around you are convinced of the same truth? We are Christ's body, and we have reason to remain members of one another and remind one another of why that is significant–for the sake of mutual joy and progress in the faith. For the sake of Christ and his kingdom. So as you journey on, 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.  

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body (Philippians 1:21-24). Thanks to Kyra for her wonderful series on “New Hope”. Now, back to Philippines. Our text helps us to accept our own impending death, a topic many avoid. Historically, people died at home, with family present. In many places, this is still the case. But in Canada, many die in hospitals or nursing homes, often alone. Their bodies are quickly moved to the morgue or sent to the crematorium, families not knowing what to do with death. It is the worst possible event for those who believe they have an inalienable right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. We cope with death by ignoring its existence. When I started in ministry, most families had a notion of what to do when a loved one died. Today, I often hear the question, “What are we supposed to do?” There are no cultural norms or rituals for responding to death. Preparation for it is avoided. Consider the effort put into staying young and fit. Into this vacuum, Christians enter with a different story. Paul is writing from his prison in Rome, knowing that execution is likely. So, both Paul and the Philippians are confronted with the specter of his imminent death. Paul is conflicted in this passage. He sees advantages both in dying and in staying alive. Paul has been saying, “Living well means seeking the glory of Christ.” This has been his motto since he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. When he dies, he will finally be with Christ and his sinfulness will no longer detract from his Lord's glory. As Christians, we believe that there is life after death, even the resurrection of our physical bodies. And that life is better than this one. Many people do not have this hope. To be with Christ is far better than to be here, says Paul. Do you believe that? When we do, it impacts how we live and how we view death. Paul's conflict is that he also believes the Philippian church still needs his service: “…it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” He is willing to stay. He is willing to sacrifice his own gain for the sake of the church. He lives what he will later write, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (2:4). Paul believes that continued life is a greater sacrifice than dying. Let me put it plainly, physical life or death are not of ultimate importance to Paul. Living means carrying out his calling to preach Christ and dying means gaining conformity with Christ's death and fellowship with him. He hopes for the outcome that will most clearly advance the gospel of Christ. This strikes us as strange if we have allowed the comforts of our present physical existence to have higher priority than Christ. Paul is astonishingly indifferent toward his own death. He invites us to take the same attitude. This is not, of course, to say that mourning is out of place for the Christian when loved ones die. The fact that they are with the Lord does not take away from our experience of loss. Tears are proper for believers. Jesus himself wept. We can face our own death with assurance, but not with indifference to those who will miss us. As you journey on, 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.

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 22:1-5). Coming to the end of working through themes related to suffering and healing in connection with the New Hope program and hearing stories about our siblings in Christ in the global church, today we are going to talk about the opportunities for “looking forward” in community which are necessary to healing. In the final weeks of the New Hope program, we invite participants to complete two activities. First, we invite them to write down a source of pain, a sin, a situation or relationship causing suffering which they have reflected on over the course of the program, and write it on a slip of paper. We then burn these slips of paper at the foot of a wooden cross, with prayer and singing, choosing to surrender them to God. Having led the New Hope program over the course of a week in South Sudan, I was doubtful about its impact on some participants. There were three young women in my group who had not answered any of the questions during the week, had not eagerly participated in the rehearsal of the stories from Scripture, and had not engaged with me after the sessions alongside their peers. I had continually prayed for them each evening when the sessions were over, but I was not sure that the program was making the kind of headway it usually made. These young women had stories of tremendous pain–fathers shot dead in front of them in tribal conflict, young pregnancies as a result of sexual violence, and one girl who was living in a refugee camp in South Sudan having fled the bombing of her city in Sudan just months before. Could these stories and simple activities really have made any difference? On the afternoon we brought the slips of paper–and with them pain, suffering, and sin–to the foot of the cross, my perception of the way that God works was challenged. Girls were invited to give testimony of what God had begun to do in their lives that week. And what do you know? The three girls from my group who gave testimony to the others present, through tears and with thanksgiving to God, were the three girls I had assumed unmoved. God does not always work healing miracles for us to see. Others' healing, it turned out, was not about me. Us churchy people, perhaps especially leaders, are not always good at remembering that. When any one of us engages in healing, outreach, ministries of mercy–they are not about us. The people we serve will know our intentions very quickly. We need to have the courage to get out of our own way and allow ourselves to become channels of the Spirit. God will work; what is required of us is a humble acknowledgement of the privilege it is to participate. The second thing we do to wrap up the New Hope program is to engage with the passage from Revelation that we read for today: “On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” I'll never forget the time I led New Hope with an intercultural group of young adult Egyptians, western expats, and Sudanese refugees living in Egypt who, when they acted out this story together, and without prompting, interpreted the line “And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” and began to take imaginary leaves off the tree and pass them to one another. This is indeed the beautiful work that is ours to do. When we begin to heal, by God's grace, we find the strength of the Spirit enabling us to extend that healing to others. And to recognize that we are part of a global and diverse church is to break down all barriers that existed in that room in Cairo, Egypt, but also in our community here in Hamilton–differences of personality, culture, ethnicity, race, nationality, experience–which led these young people to embrace the eschatological vision of Revelation and pull it into their present. May we too be compelled by this vision, arms outstretched, tree of life leaves in hand, offering friendship and belonging, healing and new life.  So as you journey on, 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.  

“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?     How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts     and day after day have sorrow in my heart?     How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, Lord my God.     Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”     and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love;     my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord's praise,     for he has been good to me” (Psalm 13). Continuing to work through themes related to suffering and healing in connection with New Hope and hearing stories about our siblings in Christ in the global church, today we are going to talk about lament. In the fifth week of the New Hope program, participants engage with the story of Jesus' crucifixion, and they hear the words of Christ's own lament on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus is quoting the beginning of Psalm 22, a lament which would have been well-known by the Jewish onlookers and similar to Psalm 13, our text for today. Lament psalms like these are prevalent in Scripture, particularly in the Psalter. In fact, individual psalms of lament are the most common type of psalm in the Psalter. As we've just noted, Jesus himself, in his death on the cross, affirms the centrality of lament to the Christian experience of suffering. And yet, even as the importance of lament is being recovered in some church contexts, we are still often uncomfortable with this practice. John Calvin loved the psalms and wrote a commentary on them, describing the Psalter as an “anatomy of all parts of the soul.” Yet, many churches today continue to be ill-equipped with liturgical resources for the practice of lament. Perhaps this is because lament disrupts the status quo evident in popular modern cultural scripts related to suffering such as “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” or “mind over matter.” In answer, lament psalms give scriptural testimony to the importance of allowing space for deep grief, fear, betrayal, and anger, and inviting God to meet us there.  On another note, the language that these lament psalms use, addressing God directly and inviting him into suffering or questioning his role in it, challenge another impulse common in our context–that suffering can only be effectively dealt with through medical or psychological interventions, and that spiritual and religious traditions are only for the seasons that things are going well or for the private lives of individuals, not to be engaged in the public sphere (something the church regrettably and often unintentionally confirms when we fail to engage in lament in corporate worship and allow it to translate into public action for justice).  In one New Hope group I led, a training for ministry leaders from around the world who were learning the program so as to be able to pass it along to their own ministry teams, one of the leaders confessed in frustrated tears to the group that they could not engage in the activity for this fifth week of the program. The activity involved writing a lament using four simple prompts: First, “Jesus, these things happened to me…” Second, “Jesus, I am/I feel…” Third, “Jesus, the worst part of this was…”  The fourth prompt was the most challenging for the leader because it then makes the same movement that Psalm 13 does in the last couple of verses when it says, “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord's praise,  for he has been good to me.” The fourth prompt asks participants to finish this statement: “But I believe (or want to believe because I've heard this about you) that you are…” This prompt indicates that lament is not an expression of the worshipper's own experience or personal desires exclusively, but always grounded in God's character and faithfulness. It's often the greatest challenge because, in the midst of deep suffering, it is only natural to wonder about who God is and what he is up to. What we came to together as a group of ministry leaders when we discussed our members' challenge with writing this part of the lament is that this final phrase is not simply tritely hopeful or falsely optimistic. Rather, it is an acknowledgment that the source of our complaint or our pain is something which not only offends and causes us pain, but it is actually an offense to God himself. The Bible's testimony is that the sin and evil which causes harm to God's beloved creation, including each of us, is even more painful to God. Thus, lament faithfully insists that God be who God has revealed himself to be.  If you'd like to try writing a lament of your own today, I'll include the prompts in the notes of the podcast. God is not threatened by your complete honesty about your pain. He chose to make known his character and promises to his people. So you can freely answer: How are you hurting today? What do you believe, or want to believe, about who God is? As you journey on, 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. Lament Prompts Jesus, these things happened to me: ____________________________ Jesus, I am/I feel ____________________________ (suffering, hurting, in pain, discouraged, desperate) Jesus, the worst part of this was ____________________________ But I believe (or want to believe because I've heard this about you) that you are ____________________________  

“And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, ‘If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.' Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?' ‘You see the people crowding against you,' his disciples answered, ‘and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?'' But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering'” (Mark 5:25-34). This week, we are continuing to work through themes related to suffering and healing in connection with the New Hope program and hearing stories about our siblings in Christ in the global church. If you haven't been following along with this series, feel free to look back to last Wednesday's podcast intro which will provide some context. “Go in peace,” Jesus said to the woman in front of him, “and be freed from your suffering.” I read these last words and look up, and I see the woman's shoulders shaking with suppressed sobs. The silent tears rolling down the young man's cheeks. Tears fill my own eyes. God is doing something in this room, and to say anything else, to add anything to Jesus' own words seems somehow wrong.  It is week four of the New Hope program, it's February of 2024, and I am gathered in a room full of my friends, most of them Sudanese refugees living in Egypt, those forced to flee when the war broke out again in Sudan in April 2023. A war that most of the world had, at this point, largely ignored for the better part of a year. A war which had resulted in more than 150,000 deaths of civilians through a combination of bombings and massacres but also malnutrition and disease resulting from lack of access to basic life necessities. The woman across from me, weeping, had escaped from Sudan and into Egypt the previous spring, having been held at gunpoint by officials, separated from both her older brother and the man she had intended to marry just weeks after the war broke out. The young man with tears running down his face escaped with his aunts, but neither of them have been able to re-establish contact with any other loved ones who remained in Sudan–at least as far as they know–since the beginning of the war. They face discrimination daily in their lives in Cairo, treated as outsiders by most they encounter. The group has just walked through the story of the bleeding woman and her encounter with Jesus through a visualization activity which ends with an invitation for the listener to do as the woman did, to tell Jesus the whole truth. To tell him their story. We paused for silence. Then the words of Jesus, “Daughter, son, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” They hang in the air in the room. “Amin, amin, amin,” a woman's voice says through tears, as though with the voice of the woman in the story herself, “bashkorak ya rob.” Or, in English, “Amen, amen, amen, thank you God.”  In my mind, there isn't any kind of exegetical work or systematic theology (necessary though those things are) that does a better job of explaining what Jesus does than what happened in that room that day. I think the invitation for us, in reading this story, is much the same as it is for New Hope participants. To walk through the story and allow it, allow Christ, to encounter us as we are.  So who are you in the story today? Are you the woman, struggling desperately forward, believing that to touch Jesus will mean your healing? Are you the disciples, skeptical of Jesus' encounter? Are you in the crowd of onlookers, watching in wonder or judgment? Are you being given the opportunity to, like Jesus, extend belonging and mercy to someone in pain and fear, desperate to believe who he is, desperate for transformation? No matter where you are in the story, it is for you, as are Jesus' words–to claim as your own and to offer to others: “Daughter, son, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”  So as you journey on, 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.  

“And it will be said: “Build up, build up, prepare the road!     Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.” For this is what the high and exalted One says—     he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place,     but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly     and to revive the heart of the contrite. I will not accuse them forever,     nor will I always be angry, for then they would faint away because of me—     the very people I have created. I was enraged by their sinful greed;     I punished them, and hid my face in anger,     yet they kept on in their willful ways. I have seen their ways, but I will heal them;     I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel's mourners,     creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace, to those far and near,”     says the Lord. “And I will heal them.” (Is. 57:14-19). Today, we are continuing to work through themes related to suffering and healing in connection with the New Hope program and hearing stories about our siblings in Christ in the global church. If this is your first devotional this week, and this doesn't sound familiar, the first few minutes of Wednesday's episode provide more context. In the third week of the New Hope program, we talk about barriers to our healing and in our relationships with God, others, and ourselves. We read Scripture together and do a drawing activity to demonstrate how we see these barriers. In one group, a young woman sat staring at her paper for the better part of ten minutes as the women around her created detailed images of the barriers they perceived in their own lives. When the time was nearly up, she scribbled down two words and showed them to the group: “sin” and “suffering.” “I can't figure out where one ends and the other begins,” she said. “What part of my pain is my fault, and what part is other people's fault. It seems easy for the rest of you to find the line, but I don't know how.” This young woman had suffered from several addictions and escaped an abusive relationship. She, like so many others in her circumstances, had been shamed by others into blaming herself for what she had experienced. She wondered aloud to her group whether God's grace was for someone like her. She had left her home country and run far from the source of her pain, but as is true of many in these circumstances, to escape physically is only to have one of many barriers removed. Today's verses from Isaiah draw us into the situation of the people of Israel post-Babylonian exile. Following closely after chapters which speak hopefully of God's redemption of his people from their captivity by a foreign empire, the later chapters of Isaiah, including today's passage, reflect a kind of disappointment among the people. They were free from exile but not experiencing the kind of dramatic restoration they had expected their freedom to bring. They were back in the land of their ancestors, but their holy cities had become a wilderness, and there were serious divisions in the community about pressing ethical issues. They had been forced to recognize the reality of their sin, as well as the persisting effects of the suffering inflicted on them in exile. Like the woman in New Hope, the line between their own responsibility and that of others was blurry. They had moved physically out of captivity, but barriers in relationship with God and others remained.  What is God's response in today's passage? He reminds them that he lives “in a high and holy place” but that this does not prevent him from being “also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit.” He acknowledges his anger at their sin, but promises healing, guidance, and restoration for mourners.  For God, the barriers that his people construct, whether due to their own sin or to protect themselves from the pain inflicted by others, like the young woman in New Hope, are not insurmountable: “Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people,” he commands. To those of us who live with–or watch people we love live with–the lingering effects of sin or suffering, and to those of us for whom the line between them remains indiscernible, causing us to wonder whether God's grace is wide enough, receive this promise to his people: “I have seen their ways, but I will heal them . . . Peace, peace, to those far and near, says the Lord.” So as you journey on, 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.