Our text comes from Deuteronomy 25:15-16:

You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. For the Lord your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly.

A few years ago, I spent some time in Brazil. A Christian businessman told me that when he took a client out for lunch, the restaurant normally offered to make the receipt out for double what he paid, so that his tax exemption would be doubled. He always declined. However, he admitted that the temptation was always present to go along with the system. To have integrity, to be honest, took effort.

Throughout history, dishonesty in the buying and selling of goods has been common practice. To promote fairness, we have developed standard weights--an international prototype kilogram made of nine-tenths platinum and one-tenth iridium is locked under 3 glass jars in Paris.

This need for honesty in business dealings extends beyond ancient scales. It applies to any area where numbers can be manipulated, such as taxes, online transactions, timesheets, donations, and even our personal relationships. For this purpose, accounting and financial rules have been enacted into law. Auditing firms analyze financial records to detect misuse of funds. But laws are subject to interpretation and manipulation.

As Christians, we seek to do everything to the glory of the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:31). This means, like my Brazilian acquaintance, we put effort into honesty in all our dealing, including financial ones. We do this because God himself is profoundly honest with us. He is just and true and we seek to be like him.

Sometimes, God includes a comment that a law offers long life in the land. This does not mean that every individual will live to a ripe old age. Rather, it suggests that the keeping of this law means a society can flourish for many generations. By insisting on fair practices, the community is protected from exploitation. A society where people can trust each other can thrive economically and socially.

When a society runs on dishonesty, it is always the weak and poor who suffer the most. Dishonesty deteriorates a society into strong people exploiting the weak. And God will stand up for them, dismantling unjust nations.

We should reflect on how to apply this principle in our live. Do we have accurate "weights" in our daily life, such as being truthful about our timecards, finances, or online sales? How can we advocate for fairness in a world where the powerful can easily take advantage of the weak?

Honesty in our business dealings demonstrates our faith that the LORD will sustain us both monetarily and physically.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

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 John 15:9-17. 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!

1. How would you explain friendship to someone? Who has been a friend to you? What made you feel that friendship?
2. What is the first aspect of “friends of God”? What is the kingdom of God? How do we experience it today?
3. What is the second aspect of “friends of God”? What are its results? What has it cost you to love and obey? How have you experienced the joy of obedience?
4. What is the third aspect of “friends of God”? How has this been misunderstood? How will this change how you pray?

Our text is Exodus 20:8-11:

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Sabbath keeping is an art form in which we resist certain values, refusing to allow them to define our identity and way of life. Within the 10 commandments, it gets a place of prominence, linking our relationship to God with our relationship to fellow humans. It gets the most words. Consider these things with me.

In Egypt, Pharaoh was god, his word was an iron law. But he was an anxious god, worrying about his dreams. Knowing that famine was coming, he gathered resources. When the hungry people came to him for food, instead of sharing his wealth, he sold his resources so that all of Egypt, including its people, belonged to him. God indeed – he controlled everything!

In such a world, everyone worked for Pharaoh. And every person, including neighbours and family, was competitor for the scarce resources that Pharaoh passed out. Competition raged. Everyone was anxious.

At mount Sinai, the Israelites switch allegiance. They commit themselves to the God of Abraham (cf. Ex. 19:8), who freed them from Pharaoh’s clutches. But what kind of God is he?

He is a God who rested (Genesis 2:2-3). After creating, God did not show up to do more, nor did he check on creation in anxiety to ensure it was working. He had complete confidence in the fruit-bearing, blessing-generating processes of creation. Despite sin, this still holds. Jesus pointed to the birds and flowers. They are still provided for, so stop being so anxious (Matthew 6:25ff).

Unlike Pharaoh, God is not a workaholic. He does not keep jacking up production schedules. Instead, God rests, confident, serene, at peace. God’s rest bestows on us a restfulness that contradicts the “drivenness” of the system of Pharaoh and of our own day.

God invites us to a new life of neighborly freedom in which Sabbath is the cornerstone. Such faithful practice of work stoppage is an act of resistance. Our bodies declare that we will not participate in the anxious system that pervades our social environment. We will not be defined by busyness and by pursuit of more, in either our economics or our personal relations. Our life does not consist in production.

Sabbath invites us into a life that does not consist in frantic production and consumption reducing everyone else to threat and competitor. Sabbath permits a waning of anxiety, redeploying energy to the neighborhood, to exchange anxious productivity with committed neighborliness. This practice creates an environment of security and respect and dignity that defines how we live and how we view others.

As you journey on, go with this blessing:

Go to Jesus and he will give you rest and an easy yoke (Matthew 11:30). May the presence of God go with you and give you rest (Exodus 33:14).

Love must be sincere… Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality (Romans 12:9a, 13)

Hospitality, as a practise of the Christian life, means more than opening our homes to people. It is rooted in God’s own character and behaviour. Jesus helps us understand.

First, Jesus came to earth. When we think of hospitality, we often think about inviting people into our spaces. When we do that, we remain in a comfortable place, and largely in control of the situation. We can expect people to play by our rules when they enter our space. But Jesus came to earth. He turns the concept of hospitality on its head. He comes into our space. And he sends us out, he says ‘Go’. Go into other people’s spaces. Part of Christian hospitality then, is to let go of the control that comes from being in our own spaces and learning how to live and move in some else’s.

Are there places we don’t want to go? Are there places that make us uncomfortable and therefore we stay away? I think the honest answer is yes. As a pastor, I have been invited into many spaces that were unfamiliar, in which I really did not know how to behave. I’m sure that I made a mess of some. But in such spaces, I have learned to ask a simple question, why did you invite me here, or what would you like me to do while I’m here. Such questions empower people; it lets them set the agenda. It also reminds me that there is much I don’t know and that people might not need anything from me but my presence.

Second, because Jesus lived as a human, he can sympathize with us. The book of Hebrews makes a big deal about this. How long did Jesus live here? About 33 years. How can we sympathize with people if we don’t invest time in walking with them?

An essential component of Christian hospitality is the ability to sympathize with other people. This can not be rushed. So, hospitality invites us in for the long haul. It calls us to pay attention to people, to set aside our own agendas, especially our answers to people’s problems and to listen. We tend to view people as projects that we get to fix. Once, fixed, we move on to the next. People are not projects. Each human bears the image of God.

Does this understanding of hospitality unnerve us? Does it seem more difficult than just inviting someone over? Of course, it does. But remember this, after Jesus returned to the Father, he sent his Spirit. God’s Holy Spirit now makes his home in us. He empowers us to be hospitable. He helps us love like God loves.

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.

Our text comes from Matthew 5:37:

All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Words have value! In a world with too many words, we forget their value. Christians have always recognized that words have power. We believe in a God who spoke the cosmos into being. We believe that ‘the Word became flesh.’ We submit ourselves (not always willingly) to the proclamation of the gospel through preaching because we believe God speaks to us in this way.

But we have too many words and too many ways that words come to us. The multiplication of words has led to the multiplication of lies and fake news. Many words we do not trust. Ecclesiastes describes this well, “The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?” (6:11). We live in a world that often runs on half-truths, exaggerations, and spin.

It is easy to join the fray. But the Bible teaches that “Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues” (Proverbs 19:10). And Jesus teaches us to keep our words simple and short and truthful.

In His day, people often made elaborate oaths to prove they were telling the truth—swearing by heaven, by earth, by Jerusalem, even by their own heads. But oaths like that often masked a lack of honesty. If we need to pile up promises and guarantees, maybe our word cannot be trusted.

Jesus cuts through all of that. He says, in essence: Truthful people don’t need oaths to prop up their words. Their speech itself carries the weight of truth. Let your “yes” be yes. Let your “no” be no. In other words, be so consistent, so trustworthy, so transparent, that people know we mean what we say without needing further proof.

Before we make a promise, we ought to plan how we will keep it. This way we be able to determine if we can fulfill what we commit to.

Our God is a promise keeping God. He is well known for it. A disciple of Christ is called to mirror the character of God, and God is the One who never lies, whose promises never fail. If He says “yes,” it is a “yes” forever. If He says “no,” it is unshakably “no.” Our speech, then, becomes a reflection of His faithfulness.

If your co-workers were asked about your character would truthfulness be mentioned? Would they say that you keep your word, you can be counted on? There is great freedom in not having to calculate, exaggerate, or cover your tracks—when you can speak with the kind of integrity that needs no backup.

So let your “yes” really mean yes. Let your “no” really mean no.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

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 Exodus 19:1-7. 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

1. What underlies God’s covenant with us?
2. Why did God make covenant with Israel and now the church? How does this impact on our lives?
3. Why is the “if” in verse 5 important?
4. Describe “treasured possession, kingdom of priests and holy nation.” Why does God use this language?
5. What motivates you towards holy living

Our text is Exodus 9:1:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.”

In 1901, Dr. Girdner coined the term “Newyorkitis” to describe an illness whose symptoms included edginess, quick movements, and impulsiveness. It was a condition of the mind, body, and soul affecting many New Yorkers. That was a world without the internet, high-speed cars, or computers. Our world has only sped up. I wonder what he would say about us.

Speed has become a god. Our culture generates in us an endless pursuit of greater security and greater happiness; a pursuit always unsatisfied because we have never gotten or done enough. This god is accompanied by the god of the market that summons us to endless desires and needs that are never met but always require more effort. The advertising god in service to the market god always offers one more product for purchase, one more car, one more deodorant, one more prescription drug, one more cell phone, one more beer.

We are harassed by many Pharaohs who kept reminding us of the inadequacy of our lives. Constantly, we see signs that we do not measure up yet, haven’t quite arrived, haven’t yet reached our potential, haven’t been recognized by quite the right people. Weariness, being heavy-laden, carrying an ill-fitting weighty yoke are all ways of speaking of those serving these gods of endless productivity. We have become worshippers of a system of gods that leaves us permanently restless.

Into that system God says, “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” The God of the Bible is a Sabbath-keeping God, ensuring that restfulness and not restlessness is at the center of life. Sabbath becomes a decisive, concrete, visible way of opting for and aligning with the God of rest. We must choose the gods of restlessness or the God of restfulness.

Jesus declares to his disciples, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24). The way of money is the way of endless desire, endless productivity, and endless restlessness without any Sabbath. Jesus taught his disciples that they could not have it both ways.

God called Israel to depart from the Egyptian system to dance and sing in freedom (cf. Exodus 15). He calls us to do the same. Sabbath is not an idea but a practical art. We are conditioned to run at brick-making speed. God offers freedom. To cease, even for a time, the anxious striving for more bricks is to find ourselves with a “light burden” and an “easy yoke.” It is now, as then, enough to permit dancing and singing into an alternative life. Which will we choose?

As you journey on, go with this blessing:

Go to Jesus and he will give you rest and an easy yoke (Matthew 11:30). May the presence of God go with you and give you rest (Exodus 33:14).

Love must be sincere… Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality (Romans 12:9a, 13)

This terse command, practice hospitality, is sandwiched into a meditation on love, an attitude of the mind that leads us to bless others in practical ways. The beauty of our love and our hospitality will only be revealed when they are deeply rooted in the love and hospitality of our God and empowered by his Spirit.

Other places in scripture also address hospitality. Hebrews 13:2 says, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it”. This is preceded by the instruction to keep loving each other as sisters and brothers. Luke describes the church this way, “All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need” (Acts 2:44-45). Hospitality within the church family naturally leads to hospitality to those not part of the family. As Luke finishes, “and the Lord added to their number daily” (47).

In the context of a famine, we also discover hospitality. God sends his prophet Elijah to a widow. He finds this woman preparing a last meal for herself and her son. After that they will die of starvation. Elijah has the nerve to ask her to prepare some bread for him first. Talk about hospitality to a stranger! He follows up his request with this promise, “this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up, and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land’” (1 Kings 17:14).

The widow did as Elijah asked. She fed him and family until the Lord provided rain. For me, she is the prime example of human hospitality in the Bible.

Hospitality has often become an act of impressing others, of showing off. We show case our homes, our decorating abilities, our capacity to put on a meal, our ability to entertain. Unless we can imitate Martha Stewart or some celebrity chef, we feel inadequate. Such hospitality is about us, portraying a sense of having it all together. The Christian discipline of hospitality is not about us.

We cannot give out of our abundance. It will never be enough. Rather, we need to give out of God’s provision. He has provided us with resources, not to hold onto tightly, but to hold loosely, so that they easily slide out of our fingers towards those God invites us to love. We need to develop the faith of this widow, who acted hospitably towards Elijah, trusting in God’s provision for herself and her family.

God promises that he will provide for us. Jesus says, “But seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things (clothes, food, shelter) will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). Trust in this promise enables us to practice hospitality.

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.