by Michael Bootsma
A Christian devotional for the wandering journey of the Christian life. New devotionals Monday, Wednesday & Friday, created by pastor Michael Bootsma of Immanuel Christian Reformed Church of Hamilton, occasionally featuring guests. The Sunday sermon at Immanuel is also downloaded. Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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5/29/2020
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June 17, 2026
<p class="MsoNormal" style= "text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in; margin: 0in 0in 6.0pt .25in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> Nehemiah prayed to God, "You said, 'If your people are not faithful, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to me, I will bring you back. If you obey my commands, I will gather you together again… I will bring you to the special place where I have chosen to put my Name.' Lord, they are your people. They serve you. You used your great strength and mighty hand to set them free from Egypt"</span> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> (Nehemiah 1:8-10).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Having heard dire reports concerning the returned exiles in Jerusalem, Nehemiah sat in lament, sorrow and prayer. Then he intercedes for that community, acknowledging that this exile was caused by Israel's sin. God had scattered them because they had abandoned him.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> For a variety of reasons, Christians find it tantalizing to follow Nehemiah's lead, believing any misfortune to be God's judgement on some specific sins. But I think this is a misreading of scripture. This judgement in Babylon is not the norm. Isreal had needed saving from Egypt, but it was not God's judgement that brought them there. Joseph says that his coming to Egypt was intended by God to save many lives (Genesis 50:20). Horrible things happened to Israel in Egypt, but none of it was because of God's judgment.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> In Acts 11:19 we read, "</span><span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Some believers had been scattered by the suffering that unbelievers caused them. They were scattered after Stephen was killed.</span><span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">" Again, that suffering had nothing to do with judgement. The Holy Spirit pushed the followers of Jesus out of Jerusalem so that they could fulfill their mission to be Jesus' witnesses to the furthest ends of the earth.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Israel returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple where God was worshipped. In the gospel of John, Jesus teaches that he is the new temple (2:19). We can worship God wherever we are when we worship in his name. His promise is that he is with us there. Paul develops this temple imagery even further and declares that followers of Jesus are God's temple.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> This has massive implications. The temple in Jerusalem was the place where God was present. So, wherever Jesus followers go, God is present today. That is part of the New Testament story. This brings us back to Nehemiah and his prayer.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> In the face of suffering, we tend to ask why. But the more Biblical question is, 'what are we going to do in it'? John 9 illustrates this. Jesus and his disciples encounter a man born blind. The disciples want to know who sinned, him or his parents. That's a question about judgement, but Jesus says it is about God's glory. Then he gives the man his sight. God did not intend for us to suffer, and he never takes delight in it. But he can redeem it.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Nehemiah mentions that God's people serve him. That's a matter of glory. We can spend lots of energy on the 'why' of suffering. But if we ask, "how can we serve God while suffering?" that's a matter in which God's glory can be revealed.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <strong><span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;">As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;">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.</span></p>
June 15, 2026
<p class="MsoNormal" style= "text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in; margin: 0in 0in 6.0pt .25in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;">Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless…Whoever does these things will never be shaken </span><span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">(Psalm 1</span><span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;">5:1,2,5<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">).</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Psalm 15 is a 'worker's' song. There are others in the Bible, all containing experiences of people living their lives much like we do. They help us pray not as detached spiritual beings but real physical people interacting with ordinary humans straining to live in this chaotic world.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> This song recognizes that interacting with other humans gets us caught up in things that are not holy. Frequently, we make decisions, that with hindsight, don't measure up to the high standards God's people desire for themselves. We are reminded that we ought to examine our daily work before we go to worship God. Are our hands clean? Have we earned our income honestly? Have we given our best effort? Have we harmed people in the process?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> On the surface, Psalm 15 might disqualify all of us from actual worship. But that is not the case. Scripture interprets scripture and God has already laid out what we should do when we realize our actions and words have not measured up. Leviticus 5:5 sums it up, "</span><span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;">They must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day they present their guilt offering</span><span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">".</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Jesus echoes these instructions in Matthew 5:23-24. He doesn't mention the matter of adding "a fifth." Rather, he tells us to go and be reconciled. We need to be willing to make matters right. These passages teach that repentance is not just a matter between us and God. We cannot be clean before God if we do not make amends with those we have hurt or offended.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> To climb God's holy mountain and dwell in the Lord's house of worship is a profound blessing, for "</span><span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;">it is good to be near God</span><span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">" (Ps. 73:28). The Psalms push us to reckon with our workplace behavior both before and within worship. To glibly reply, "Well, Jesus paid it all, so I'm good now," is to fail to wrestle with our guilt and release the guilt that should haunt us during communal worship.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> The phrase, "work is worship", is right. Yet, it is also true that only when we bring our work into the sanctuary and only when we learn how to work while at worship does our work get shaped into a gift that honours God.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> So, wherever God brings you this week, prepare already today, to bring yourself as a gift to him in worship next weekend.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <strong><span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in .5in .75in 1.0in;"> <span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;">Wherever God takes you this week, 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.</span></p>
June 14, 2026
<p><span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;"> A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Romans 8:14-17. <span style= "font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;">Dive In</span> discussion questions are below for further reflection!</span></p> <p><span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;"> To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it </span><a href= "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_oxJmQWX3Y" target="_blank" rel= "noopener"><span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;">here on YouTube</span></a><span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;">. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: </span><a href= "https://www.immanuelministries.ca/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener"><span style= "font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;">immanuelministries.ca</span></a></p> <p style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">What images come to mind when you think about the Holy Spirit?</span></p> <p style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">What image was used in this sermon?</span></p> <p style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">What does it mean to be led by the Spirit?</span></p> <p style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">What three roles does the law have?</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Answer 86 of the Heidelberg Catechism gives us four reasons for doing good. What are they?</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">How does being adopted into God's family change our relationship with God? How does it change the way that we pray?</span></p> <p style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style= "font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If Israel's exodus from Egypt is a parallel to the church's story, where are we now? In what ways do we suffer?</span></p>
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A Christian devotional for the wandering journey of the Christian life. New devotionals Monday, Wednesday & Friday, created by pastor Michael Bootsma of Immanuel Christian Reformed Church of Hamilton, occasionally featuring guests. The Sunday sermon at Immanuel is also downloaded.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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