wandering - Jeremiah's Vow

2022: The Fog

We’re in the beginning of the 4th week of 2022. And I’m still processing why it doesn’t feel like the new year even happened…

I also wonder: Does anyone else feel that way or is it only me?

I don’t have any specific answers yet as to why. But as I’ve been spending time with God about it, and He gave me this image: a foggy hiking trail thru the forest.

This “hiking trail” actually represents a path I’ve been on with Jesus for a while now. It started well before the pandemic, but I just wasn’t aware of it until the lockdown in 2020 created the space for me to acknowledge it and begin exploring it with Him.

I’ve started talking about the path I’m on as wandering with Jesus.

Not because I’m lost. I’m not.

Mostly because Jesus isn’t lost and I’m walking with him. So he knows where we are going, even if I don’t.

But also because the wandering isn’t actually new, or without meaning. It’s a part of the path He’s always been trying to lead me on, in a very intentional way. I just wasn’t aware of it, so I couldn’t talk about it.

For too long in my relationship with Jesus, I saw feelings of wandering as problems to be solved. And now I know that’s never been the case…

I’ve been aware of my wandering with Jesus for a little while now. And I know many others are “waking up” to it too. I’ve spoken with so many who feel dismissed by “church leaders” because of their wandering.

And I just want to say: I’m sorry.

I’m more interested in finding ways to wander together than to “fix” the wandering anymore. Because I know, what Jesus wants for me is the relationship(s) along the way anyways.

And 2022 just brought something new to the wandering: fog.

Before I would have seen the fog as an obstacle to be overcome.

Something Jesus had to solve. Something He had to clear so we could get to where we were going.

But now that I’ve embraced the wandering, I realize now that’s not the purpose of the fog at all. And that it’s also not Jesus’ desire.

He wants me to focus on Him. Not what He can do for me.

The fog will likely slow us down on our walk. And that’s okay. That’s probably exactly what I need right now.

So if you find yourself in a place where the only way you know how to describe it is wandering – I get it. I’ve discovered this wandering has actually always been the plan all along. It’s not a problem to be solved. It’s a path to focus me on what matters: the relationship(s).

I’m not sure what all 2022 will hold. But I do know it has started with a fog. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll help me slow down even more, so I can see even more clearly when it’s gone.

If you’re wandering with Jesus and looking for others who are too, I’m there with you. It might help not to wander alone. I’m glad I don’t feel like I am. I remember when I did.

Maybe 2022 for you will include finding others to wander with…I think it will for many people. If you want to explore what wandering with Jesus, with others could look like – reach out. There’s a number of us talking about that very thing right now.

I’m just thankful I’ve embraced this wandering with Jesus. Trying to solve it, like I used to do all those years ago, meant I missed out on so much of what He was wanting for me.

I’m looking forward to another year of wandering…but there’s some fog right now, so I’ll be taking it a little slower. Jesus has something for me in it.

Lent 2020 | Day 4: “Serve”

My father’s often said that we live in an upside down kingdom. And most days, this doesn’t make much sense to me. It’s just that there’s something unusual about the idea that the world in which we live is upside down, and the kingdom of God is right side up. But that is part of the mystery of what we are having to deal with as followers of Christ in this world.

The word focus for today is “serve.” Jesus said that the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. He told the disciples that if any one wants to be the greatest in the kingdom, he must become the servant of all.

One of the great mysteries of the Christian faith is that service is the highest goal. Service is the measure by which we determine who has properly understood and who has properly received the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus is a king. When he was born, he was born King of kings and Lord of lords. On the inscription over his cross as he was crucified, it listed him as the King of the Jews. But the world did not receive him as a king, because the world did not understand that he was a king of those who lived in service to each other.

One of the most amazing passages of Scripture that Jesus ever told His disciples was when he said to them, that the world will know that they were his disciples by their love one for another. How is this love supposed to be expressed? How is the world ever going to know what this love looks like?

The reality is that the love that God has given to us in and through the person and ministry of Jesus Christ can only be expressed in service. When we give of ourselves to one another we are serving and embodying the fullness of what God desires for us. When we surrender our rights, and we look for the good of others, even if it costs us something that we are not ready or even unwilling to give, we are truly serving one another.

This is the power of this season of Lent. We are going to be challenged each and every day for the next few weeks to consider, what is it that we are unwilling to surrender in order to serve one another? The greater the challenge, the greater the opportunity for us to demonstrate what we have learned, how we have grown, and how God has transformed us into persons who are more willing to give than to receive. This is the great wonder of the gospel.

The Gospel challenges us to consider that there are things greater and have greater worth than we could ever have ever imagined. If we would just surrender ourselves to the reality and maybe even the possibility that what God has for us is so much better than we could ever have accomplished for ourselves. But because our imaginations are so small, all we can see is what’s in front of us.

I don’t know about you, but I want to serve better. I want to serve more intentionally. I want to serve more deeply. But if that’s going to happen, I have to let go of what I think it means to be a servant. I have to look to Jesus as the primary example of my life. I need to turn to him and trust in Him to teach me, to lead me, to help me to see that service is not just something I do. It is who I am becoming.

Lent 2020 | Day 2: “Wilderness”

The focus of today is the idea of wilderness.

Whenever I hear this word, I am always reminded of the journey that the people of Israel took after the exodus into the wilderness. They were on their way to the promised land. And in the middle of that journey, they would find themselves face to face with their God, who would proclaim His Word and His truth to them, and give them instruction for how they should live and exist one with another.

What is difficult about the wilderness is not that it can be harsh, or even that it will test you. What makes the wilderness difficult is that we have a hard time accepting its purpose. The purpose of the wilderness is to break us from the patterns that we have previously developed.

One of the great examples of this is when the people of Israel went to Moses and they complained that it would have been better for them to stay in Egypt, in slavery and captivity, than to die out in the wilderness. But God had to break them of the patterns that they had developed over 400 years of indentured servitude. God had to break them of the identity that they had developed in the time that they have spent as slaves, and as servants, to unkind and unjust masters.

The truth of the matter is that the wilderness is not supposed to be easy. It’s not supposed to be something that we enjoy. The wilderness is the place where the things that we have accepted, that are wrong, are exposed. And the way that God works his miracle in us is to reveal to us that we can survive, that we can make it, that we are not alone, that he is with us.

God wants to show us that if we would submit to being his people, he has promised to be our God. That when we are in the place of our greatest need, he will provide his greatest supply.

This is the power of the wilderness, it exposes that which is wrong in us, and that which we have accepted and must now reject. The wilderness sheds light on all those areas of our lives that are not who we truly are. And it takes us to that moment where we can trust, truly trust, maybe even for the first time, that the God who has saved us, who has delivered us, has brought us into the wilderness for this very reason: that we might come face to face with who we thought we were, and actually discover who we are supposed to be in him.

I hope that you will continue to follow along in this season of Lent as we prepare ourselves to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Word to the Wise | “My Feet Almost Slipped” Pt. 1 and 2

*EDITORS NOTE: This was originally sent out as two individual devotional thoughts. They have been combined for the sake of continuity.

My Feet Almost Slipped (Psalm 73)

Part 1

There are two reasons Christians’ feet almost slip—or backslide: First, they begin to envy the world. You know like; “Dad, little Johnny gets to stay out until midnight, why can’t I?” Well, son—God would say—because little Johnny is not my son and you have to follow my rules and not little Johnny’s rules. Or, Pastor, is it okay for me to go to the clubs once a week? And I will say, if you want to spend the rest of your life with a broken fellowship with God—sure, go ahead. (2) Christians’ feet begin to slip when they start walking by sight instead of walking by faith. Listen to the psalmist: “My feet almost slipped when I SAW the prosperity of the wicked.”

The Bible tells us that we walk by faith, not by sight. But whenever we put our eyes on the world, we are walking by sight instead of walking by faith.

Part 2

Yesterday we mentioned one reason that makes Christians “almost slip.” There are two aspects that explain the “almost slip” commentary by the psalmist: (1) Christians almost slip when we begin to envy what we perceive are the world’s “blessings.” You know, when we develop the desire to continue enjoying the things of the world after we have made a promise to the Lord that we are dedicated only to Him [something is wrong]. (2) Our feet can slip when we start walking by sight and not by faith. Every time we compare our lives, our successes, our failures, our struggles, etc. with the world, we are walking by sight. Whenever we SEE the world “prospering” we ENVY them. One of the most important lessons we can learn is to realize that the world has NOTHING to offer us—NOTHING.

Our second [way of slipping], following yesterday’s discussion, is that some Christians fail to understand that we are functioning under a different set of rules from the rest of the world. This means that while the world can lie, cheat, and steal, we cannot. The world can blaspheme God, but we cannot. The world can function in hatred and revenge, but we operate in forgiveness and love. Our rules come from God’s Kingdom. Their rules come from Satan’s kingdom. If you belong to God’s Kingdom, you cannot be wishing to live under the rules of Satan’s kingdom.

Example: After God had rescued the people of Israel from the Egyptian bondage they began to desire the “pleasures” of Egypt—which represents the kingdom of Satan. The Bible says that, “After 400 years God heard the cry of the people of Israel in Egypt.” After they received their freedom they began to crave the routine that slavery provided. They were willing to surrender their new freedom for the “safety” of captivity. In freedom they did not always know what was next. In captivity, someone else was making their decisions for them. They did not need to take responsibility for their lives.

This is what is interesting about this—God did not send them back to Egypt, but allowed them to wander in the desert for forty years. It took that long to get their minds away from their slavery mentality. They left Egypt, but Egypt never left them. This is the same with Christians today. They leave the world, but the world never leaves them. Thus, they ask, “Can I be a Christian and still enjoy the temporary pleasures of the world?” You can enjoy the temporary pleasures of the world, if you want to spend the rest of your life wandering in the desert without direction, purpose, or hope of entrance into the Promised Land—that is, without ever finding God’s rest for your life and experiencing the joy of salvation for your life. The Red Sea was not just an event. It was also a metaphor.

This is the metaphor: God saved them from bondage—Jesus has saved us from the bondage of sin. God led them through the Red Sea. Jesus has washed our sins away with His blood. After they had crossed the Red Sea, the water closed back again behind them. We have passed from death unto life. The closing of the Red Sea meant that they could not go back. There was no access back to Egypt. Once we have received Christ we cannot go back because Jesus said: “I did not lose none of the ones you gave me.” Rejoice: you are now in the desert on the way to the Promise Land and Egypt has nothing to offer us.