While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you” (Luke 24:36).

Most of us live with a fear of failure. The need to succeed is strong. We don’t want to be embarrassed. Think about the stress that report card season causes for teachers, students and parents. Or take field day. When I was in grade school, the day was all about first, second and third place ribbons. One year, they started handing out participation ribbons so that no student would go home ribbon-less. They were not put on display. We were not fooled; they smelled of failure.

In the Christian life, we have the same problem. We need to succeed. How many of us haven’t quit devotions because we can’t pray as well as the next person? Or we miss a couple of days of Bible reading and before we know it feelings of failure set in. We don’t start again until some motivational speaker gets us back on track. We tried witnessing once; it was a disaster. Never again.

But what if we could see a different picture? What if we see Jesus entering the locked room his disciples were hiding in? He didn’t wait for them to get their act together. He met them in their failure and doubt and sent them out as his witnesses. What if he had let Peter sink that day Peter walked on water and then got filled with fear? Jesus doesn’t do that. He reached out his hand and caught him (Matthew 14:31).

Our God recognizes our weaknesses and proneness to failure. Thus, he is described as “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” (Psalm 103:8). Even Abraham, that Old Testament great, failed in his walk with God. But he was not abandoned. He learned from his failures; they helped him grow in faith.

Many of our unbelieving co-workers expect perfection from us. We lean into this heresy when we refuse to forgive ourselves. One of the ways that we can portray the character of our God is not getting bogged down in our shortcomings. This does not mean that we should take sin lightly, but to know in our very bones that it does not have the last work. When we let him down, Jesus reaches out and catches us.

Surely, if the world can see a people who believe more firmly in the grace of God than the taunting of the evil one, they will want to know our God. When we fail, hear the words of Jesus, “Peace be with you.” The Spirit will pick you up and send you out again.

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.

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience (Hebrews 4:11).

Genesis 2 opens with the seventh day, where God rests, but not because he was tired. Instead, we get a picture of God finishing creation with a Sabbath that never ends. Sabbath is creation flourishing. This is illustrated in Israel’s year of Jubilee in which slaves were freed, debts were forgiven, and the land was restored to those God had gifted it to; a nation created to flourish in the lavish abundance of their God.

God’s desire for his creation to experience and enjoy this Sabbath is expressed by Jesus through his miracles. He provides an abundance of wine, of bread and fish; he heals, gives freedom from demons and gives life to the dead. Many of these he performed on the Sabbath, giving rest to those bound by evil.

Sin interfered with God’s Sabbath in the beginning, continued to interfere throughout Israel’s history and still stains our own lives today. Sin destroys shalom; it brings death where life was intended. Hebrews tells us that God is still at work; at work undoing the evil that is leeching health from us. He is moving history towards the ultimate Sabbath when all evil will be eradicated.

We are redeemed to move into this Sabbath. Our text says, “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest.” The Heidelberg Catechism offers this explanation, “that every day of my life I rest from my evil ways, let the Lord work in me through his Spirit, and so begin already in this life the eternal Sabbath” (A 103).

Sin is an unpopular teaching today. The Christian church has often used it to shame and manipulate people. The Catechism is helpful, “I rest from my evil ways.” The emphasis is on the individual Christian pursuing righteous ways of living; to pray with the psalmist, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).

It is true that working sin out of our lives is difficult and failures are many. Yet, the Bible gives us hope, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11-12). This was God’s promise through Ezekiel, “And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (36:27).

To embrace God’s sabbath, we must make every effort to set aside our evil ways. As you pray with the Psalmist, ask God to reveal one thing you can move away from, moving from sinfulness to righteousness. Trust that God will help you.

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

Hospitality. Many of us don’t like that word. Yet here it is…an aspect of sincere love. Thus, a part of Christian discipleship. In Christian Reformed churches, the elders are charged with the promotion of fellowship and hospitality in the congregation, recognizing that it is essential to the life of the Christian church.

The word has fallen on hard times, partly because it is misunderstood. But also, because we do not spend enough time reflecting and preaching about God. We frequently focus on ourselves. What does God have to do with hospitality?

The Bible opens with God’s hospitality. He plants a garden for the humans: “trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food” (Genesis 2:9). When everything goes wrong in the garden, what happens? God shows up ‘walking in the garden in the cool of the day’ calling out to the humans, ‘where are you?’ Its long been understood that it was normal for God to come and spend time with his people. But now they were hiding.

There are two things we should pay attention to here: God creates space and time. Both are essential components of hospitality. Israel’s promised land is described as “a land flowing with milk and honey”. God took Israel, a nation severely oppressed by Egypt, to a land of plenty, to give them rest, Sabbath. God intended it to be a space for them to flourish and prosper where he could live among his people: space and time

Isn’t Jesus arrival in this world another example of God’s hospitality? We use a big word, incarnation, to talk about this. It has its usefulness, but it hides the remarkable implications of Jesus’ arrival. John, one of Jesus disciples, wrote that Jesus ‘made his dwelling among us’ (John 1:14). In other words, he made his home on this earth with us. Jesus spent time eating and drinking with people and inviting others to join him. To Zacchaeus he said, “Come down from that tree, I must go to your house today” (Luke 19:5). Space and time.

Why did Jesus come to make his home among us? Was it not to create a new community on this earth? A community in which all peoples, no matter what their language or colour or place of origin, can find a home? (Eph. 2:19; Rev. 5:9). As God was bringing Israel towards the promised land, he told them, “So, you also must love outsiders. Remember that you yourselves were outsiders in Egypt” (Deuteronomy 10:19). If that was true for Israel of old, it is equally true of the church today. Paul wrote, “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children” (Ephesians 5:1).

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.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you (John 15:16).

What does success look like? A church picnic without rain? A business that makes money? A family that can enjoy Thanksgiving dinner together? A winning sports team? Top grades in school? A vacation that leaves us relaxed and refreshed?

Now, none of these things are bad in and of themselves. And we should thank God when we experience these things. Yet, Jesus invites us to consider a different way of measuring success. “I chose you to bear fruit”. It’s fine to pray for good weather and restorative vacations and safe travels. But here, Jesus challenges us to deepen our prayers, to consider how his kingdom might come through our lives, including the daily, ordinary, mundane, routine activities we engage in.

There are many necessary things that we do each day: volunteering, employment, business transactions, driving children and/or parents, studying, cleaning up. While we do each of these things, Jesus calls us to bear fruit. How do we do that? Obedience. “Obey me,” he says (John 15:10). This obedience is about love. Out of his love, God has initiated relationship with us in Christ Jesus. He wants us to remain in that loving relationship. But we cannot without obedience.

Here too, Jesus summarizes the law with one simple statement, “Love each other as I have loved you” (15:12). So, the people that we encounter during our day—children, parents, co-workers, clients, customers, supervisors—these are all people that Jesus call us to love. We love them not just by being nice to them. Also, by providing the best service and products that we can offer. Further, we love them by offering our goods and services at a reasonable price. It is not wrong to make a profit, but for Christians, profit is never the bottom line. Love is.

This fruit bearing involves a wonderful triad: obedience, love and joy. When we set out to live obedient lives by passing on the love we ourselves have received from God, the result is joy for us. God’s joy invades our lives. This is a joy that lasts.

As we head out into a new week with the many things that will be required of us, how will we measure success? Will it be by a completing our to do list? Will it be by ensuring our bank accounts remains in the black? Or will we measure success by fulfilling the calling Christ has given us – loving obedience to our father? Can we believe that joy will come our way when we do this? Will we begin a new week but praying to bear fruit for our heavenly Father?

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.

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience (Hebrews 4:11).

Genesis 2 opens with the seventh day, where God rests, but not because he was tired. Instead, we get a picture of God finishing creation with a Sabbath that never ends. Sabbath represents a flourishing creation. This is illustrated in Israel’s year of Jubilee in which slaves were freed, debts were forgiven, and the land was restored to those God had gifted it to; a nation created to flourish in the lavish abundance of their God.

But sin interfered in the beginning, continued to interfere throughout Israel’s history and still stains our own lives today. Sin destroys shalom; it brings death where life was intended. Hebrews tells us that God is still at work; at work undoing the evil that is leeching health from us. Jesus pursued this dimension of the Sabbath in his miracles.

In Mark 1:21, he frees a man from an evil spirit and gives renewed vigour to the limbs of a paralytic in 2:27. Many of his miracles were performed on the Sabbath, such as the one for a woman “who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, ‘Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.’ Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God” (Luke 10:11-13).

These were signs that the kingdom of God was here; the Shalom of God was being brought back to the earth; the curse of sin was being undone. Jesus resurrection from the dead marked his victory over evil. The curse was undone; his kingdom was unstoppable. That is why Christians gather for worship on Sundays. We remind each other that Christ is risen. And we celebrate the coming end of evil.

The Heidelberg Catechism gives a slight nod to this matter when it says that part of our Sabbath keeping is “to bring Christian offerings for the poor” (A 103). That is why offerings are taken up during worship services. The apostle Paul got this started (Acts 24:17; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2). Churches are rightly involved in alleviating hunger and rebuilding where infrastructure has been destroyed. Historically, Christians began hospitals. This was all understood as following in the footsteps of Jesus working against evil.

Sometimes, I hear Christians tell me that Sundays are family days. That is well and good, but it is not enough. Sundays remind us that Jesus died to end the curse and evil. We are called to be his hands and feet. As you prepare for this weekend, how will you rest, and how will you help others to entire into God’s rest?

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. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good (Romans 12:9).

Love must be sincere is the theme fleshed out in the rest of this chapter and beyond. The biblical significance of love has eroded so it needs our careful attention. Let’s remember that godly love is not an emotion. It is an attitude, a mind-set, an aspect of the renewed mind. We are commanded to love; it is therefore a choice we make, a matter of the will.

Without the enabling grace of God, none of us can love in the way the Bible calls us to. Such love is never the product of our human wills. But our wills are involved. The Holy Spirit fosters it within us. It is our job to cooperate with the Spirit in developing a consistent mind-set of love toward others. We must work actively to put love into effect in our relationships. The Christian who nurtures an attitude of love will act in the ways that Paul describes here. Such love acts in accordance with God’s good and perfect will (12:2).

Discernment is an aspect of this love: hate what is evil; cling to what is good (9b). Ironic, isn’t it, that the exhortation to love is followed immediately by a command to hate. But we should not be surprised, for love is not blind sentiment. Rather, love passionately seeks the best for the one loved. Thus, it must hate everything evil that is incompatible with the loved one’s highest welfare. Paul’s word for ‘hate’ suggests a very strong aversion, an abhorrence, a loathing, a vomiting out. Whereas his word for cling, suggests supper glue, a bonding like two pieces of steel welded together.

Love must be sincere is the positive version of the command, “do not kill.” The Heidelberg Catechism offers us this explanation of that, “I am not to belittle, insult, hate, or kill my neighbor--not by my thoughts, my words, my look or gesture, and certainly not by actual deeds--and I am not to be party to this in others…By forbidding murder God teaches us that he hates the root of murder: envy, hatred, anger, vindictiveness” (Q 105 & 106).

When love encounters what is evil, it refuses to participate, nor does it merely look the other way. Love dares to confront someone doing evil, not to judge or browbeat, but to inspire righteousness. On the other hand, love “clings to what is good.” To repel evil and cling to good, love must know the difference.

How can we train ourselves in the ways of love? Anyone who has tried knows its not easy. Like all Christian virtues, prayer and scripture are the beginning. How else will we know God’s version of love? We can also get our minds engaged in other ways. How about watching an episode of a favourite Netflix show or a chapter of a favourite novel? Then discern the ways in which the characters practice love or the lack there of. We may find some brilliant nuances of love right among our favourite characters.

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 2 Corinthians 1:1-11. 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

1. What is your favourite ‘comforter’?
2. How is God’s comfort more?
3. How does God usually bring his comfort?
4. What does it mean to praise God during suffering?

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33).

This verse is well known. It is frequently used in motivational speeches encouraging Christians to pursue the things of God at church and on mission or service trips. But I wonder how often it is used to launch Christians into the daily stuff of life. How many of us wrestle with its applications in the hustle and bustle of the day?

In Matthew 6, Jesus offers commentary on a few of the common spiritual disciplines of his time: giving to the needy, prayer, and fasting. Then he encourages his disciples to lay up treasures in heaven rather than on earth, and rounds it off with this, “do not worry.”

What should we not worry about? “Your life”, he says. Clothing, food, shelter, etc. Really?

Here is the thing, says Jesus, your heavenly father is more than capable and willing to care for you. Look at the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. Do they rush around worrying? Nope. Your father cares for them. And if he cares for them, he will surely care for you. So, stop worrying already.

When we give up worry, we create space to pursue the things of God and his kingdom. When our main concern is no longer about making a buck, when we trust that God will provide for us, we can pay attention to other things and other people.

At our church, we support a ministry called Discipling Marketplace Leaders. After this teaching was brought to Burundi, one of the pastors summarized the change he saw among Christians, “They realize that when they said “yes” to Jesus, they weren’t enlisting HIM to their cause, but He was enlisting them to HIS cause” (DML Newsletter, September 1, 2025).

Jesus mentions that non-believers run around worrying about their lives, but children of the heavenly Father do not need to. He cares for his own. As you go about daily tasks and work, pause to pray the Lord’s Prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to keep those phrases in your consciousness. In what situations are you most likely to begin worrying? Prepare for those situations. Be ready to do something different. How might God be calling you to seek his kingdom today?

And how do we learn to worry less? Not by trying really hard not to worry. But, by paying attention to God.

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.