126 1-3 It seemed like a dream, too good to be true,
    when God returned Zion’s exiles.
We laughed, we sang,
    we couldn’t believe our good fortune.
We were the talk of the nations—
    “God was wonderful to them!”
God was wonderful to us;
    we are one happy people.

4-6 And now, God, do it again—
    bring rains to our drought-stricken lives
So those who planted their crops in despair
    will shout “Yes!” at the harvest,
So those who went off with heavy hearts
    will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.

Anyone who has been on a mission trip will tell you, the blessing that you think you are going to deliver to someone else, comes back to you tenfold.  When Andy and I visited India with Freedom Challenge, we were in a church that was meeting in a school in the slums of Mumbai—they asked Andy to share a word from scripture and a greeting from Advent.  The people in attendance hung on every word as his message was translated into Hindi and then after the service, they lined up for us to pray for them.  There is such a beauty in people who are hungry for the deliciousness of our heavenly Father.  In the midst of a slum in India, in a little church meeting in a school—they couldn’t believe their good fortune that God loves them—it overflowed from them.  And as we walked through the slum after that wonderful service—we prayed for God to “do it again,” for every person we encountered, knowing that his promise is to restore all creation.  

4-6 And now, God, do it again—
    bring rains to our drought-stricken lives
So those who planted their crops in despair
    will shout “Yes!” at the harvest,
So those who went off with heavy hearts
    will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.

As I read Psalm 126 and finalize my packing and preparations to start our Camino de Santiago trek, I am reflecting on past victories and God’s faithfulness, that just as the Israelites experienced the joy of deliverance, this journey represents a fight for the freedom and restoration of those trapped in modern-day slavery. Each step taken on the Camino will mirror the steps that victims of trafficking take as they rebuild their lives after being freed from captivity. 

This verse is a call to endurance, faith and hope as this trek is not just a physical journey—it’s a spiritual one that echoes the themes of Psalm 126: from captivity to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from labor to harvest. 

Psalm 125: 1-2

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.  As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore. 

Let this “Song of Steps” resonate in you.  God’s Pilgrim sojourner.  But because you trust in the Lord and not yourself or anyone/anything else, YOU are like a mountain.  Strong and unshakable. 

I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Our feet are standing inside your gates, Jerusalem.

This psalm was written for the pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. They were making an obligatory trip to celebrate the High Holy Days in the presence of the Lord.  These words also describe how I felt when I heard that the Freedom Challenge this year was a pilgrimage on El Camino de Santiago (The way of St. James). I rejoiced! This is a pilgrimage I have had on my heart for several years. The opportunity to make this pilgrimage as my first Freedom Challenge seemed like divine timing. 

For thousands of years, pilgrims have made the journey to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela via various routes through France, Spain, or Portugal. Historically, one undertook this pilgrimage to prove oneself worthy of entering the gates of Heaven. In modern times, though, this is a journey most take for personal reasons, be it a bucket list, a fitness challenge, or the perfect Instagram post. 

Our pilgrimage though, with the Freedom Challenge, definitely has a higher purpose. We walk not to guarantee our place in Heaven; we know that Jesus has already guaranteed that spot for eternity. We walk for those who can’t. We walk for those held against their will and trapped in the heartbreaking cycle of human trafficking. While we walk, we will speak on their behalf, raise awareness, and pray for their freedom.

PSALM 121 – A SONG OF ASCENT 

“I lift my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth 

He will not let your foot slip- he who watches over you will not slumber.  Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep 

The Lord watches over you- the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night 

The Lord will keep you from all harm- he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” 

As we begin our walk on the Camino de Santiago I am comforted by the words of this psalm. This psalm is described as a song of ascent.  The psalms of ascent were sung as pilgrims climbed the ascent to the Temple mount in Jerusalem.  The ascent psalms were meant to encourage those who seek to worship God as they made their way up the hill.  It encourages me to remember that the Lord will be with us as we traverse the unknown roads of Portugal and seek to draw closer to Him in fellowship and in worship.   

In the first line of the psalm the psalmist looks up to the hills and asks where help comes from.  He then acknowledges that our help comes from the Lord.  Sometimes we look for help in other places, but we can know that help always comes from the Lord. The psalm goes on to describe the confidence we have that the Lord is with us every step of the way and that He will keep us from harm day or night as He watches over us.  The psalm’s final and ultimate assurance is that the Lord will be with us in our coming and going both now and forevermore.  We only have to trust Him.  

“Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty— he is the King of glory.”

– Psalm 24:8-10 NIV

The door seems like an animate object; however, one can perceive it as inanimate. During the preparation for a Freedom Challenge, one must focus on an opening. This opening has many perspectives as everyone’s journey is their own. As mother and daughter, the door physically closes as we make the literal departure from our home and go separate destinations; however, the door truly remains open to allow Christ’s strength, protection and blessings guide us on our personal journey.

The door that remains ajar is the one we must seek in order to obtain our assignment from our King of Glory. We must be willing to take that leap of faith and step outside the door. Sometimes it requires that we leave our comfort and the ones we love for a little bit, but it encourages us that we can grow and seek out the journey we are destined for. We all have different interpretations. And when we commit to the task at hand, we may just ultimately discover the King of Glory in a new light and when we do, may we find that deep radiant light that illuminates our whole being.

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage, as they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.  They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.”  Psalm 84:5-7

So, for the past few weeks I have been on a pilgrimage.  Not the one I was anticipating, because as I write this, the El Camino adventure hasn’t even started yet. But, thanks be to God, I have taken a pilgrimage just by preparing for “the” journey.  

My first weeks of training had me humming along to worship music, trying out different shoes and focusing on what I wanted to include in my prayers. I had schedules outlines, bullet points, Venn diagrams, intended outcomes – once a teacher, always a teacher!.  God was going to get a very clear and organized “lesson” on what I was asking him for!

Then I listened to a FC podcast with a woman recounting her experience on El Camino.  At the outset her story was a nice reprieve from my prayer planning, and a good distraction while putting in additional miles. But, the more I listened, the more I heard – “thin space,” the blessing of silence, and to be sure you go in with “an ask.”  My first reaction to the last one was, check!  After all, I had a whole list of tasks – with outlines, diagrams and everything!!!. 

When she described her task as “receive.”  I was skeptical. It seemed way too broad, too vague, and how do you put “receive” into a pie chart?  THEN God spoke directly to my heart and my pilgrimage began. 

Let’s look at the beginning of our verse again:  “Blessed is he whose strength is in you, …”  I hadn’t been relying on God. I had been directing, planning, dictating. Directing? Dictating?! To God?!?!  

Then continuing, “who have set their hearts on pilgrimage,” It isn’t the finish line that brings the growth and connectedness to God – it’s the journey.  

“They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.” The individual steps, turns, stops, bumps, breathtaking views – even what seems like getting ready. That’s IT!

Miles later, with a lot of scrapping of plans, I eventually found my ask: JOY – real Biblical joy!!  

For the women and children – for our family and friends – for our country and world – for our churches and congregations – for the saved and the unsaved – for the rich & the poor – for you & for me …Joy

• perpetual gladness of the heart that comes from knowing, experiencing and trusting Jesus.
• a good feeling in the soul produced by the Holy Spirit as He causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the Word and in the World.

(I had to get some bullet points somewhere!)

 As you go from strength to strength, do not miss the leg of the journey that is right now, right where you are, and right as you are. As you find your strength in Him, set your heart on Him, trust Him, and have pure joy! 

Laura Bluhm

The devotions for the next two weeks will be written by our Freedom Challenge hikers. Most are based on the Psalm called the “Songs of Ascent.” These were sung by pilgrims as they headed from their hometown to Jerusalem for festivals. I thought they would be a good fit for us pilgrims walking the Camino as well as all of you disciples who are walking with the Lord.

Psalm 120  vs 5-7
Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek, that I live among the tents of Kedar! Too long have I lived
 among those who hate peace. I am for peace;  but when I speak, they are for war.

Welcome to day 5, the last day of our series where we focus on Hope. 

Today we focus on Ephesians 1:22-23 – the last part of Paul’s prayer: “And He (that is God) put all things under His (that is Jesus) feet, and gave Him (Jesus) to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

I remember when we were kids, the boys used to tell stories about strong people. I specifically remember my friend Juan telling us how his uncle back in Puerto Rico grabbed a horse around the neck when it went wild and his uncle held the horse in his grip until it calmed down. Now today I doubt very much if that was true, but on that day he told this story, nobody could match it. This was after all something like a game, and the winner was clearly Juan with his uncle being the strongest. And Juan …, he gained the respect of the other boys, not because he told the story, but because the very strong man he was telling the story about, was Juan’s uncle!

Yesterday we heard it was God’s power that raised Jesus from the dead and placed Him in authority above everything in heaven and on earth. Paul continues with this theme when he says that God’s power placed everything under Jesus’ feet and made Him the “head over all things”.

God’s power is greater than any power the world has ever seen. Not greater in the sense that God is just stronger, or like John’s uncle that was stronger than anybody else they knew. But when we behold Jesus, we come to know that the very nature of the power of God is different. The powers in this world rule by force, fear, manipulation, and control. The power of God overcomes these powers just like light overcomes darkness because it is different.

This power is also now available to us. Jesus as “head” in this sentence also means that He is directly joined to the people who believe in Him, just as a head is joined to the body. We have direct access to the greatest power the world has ever seen.

For the body – that is the body of believers – to live with resurrection-power, we need to align with the Head. This is one of the reasons we are called to repentance. Repentance, as we already saw, is aligning our thinking with Jesus. Learn to align your idea of power and authority with Jesus. We are the body, and He is our Head – not the other way around. And so, we are also joined to Him in His mission to fill everything with this restoring and renewing power of God. When you embrace the call to be part of the body of this King, asking how He wants to work with you for His Kingdom mission, His power will be available to you as a daily source of hope and strength.

So, let’s pray: Thank You almighty Father – You have joined us with Jesus, and your power is available to us every day and everywhere. Strengthen us to align our thinking with Jesus, so that You can use us as your partners to fill this world with your hope-bringing power. In Jesus name. Amen.

And remember Jesus loves you and so do I.

Pastor Will 

Welcome to day 4 of our series focusing on Hope. 

Today we focus on Ephesians 1:20-21. We begin with the last phrase in verse 19 “according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.”

Let’s talk about power. Power is one of the great themes in this letter. Ephesus and the surrounding areas, where the first readers of this letter lived, was a region of great political, religious, economic and even cultural power. These distinctions are, of course, a very modern thing. Paul and his readers lived in a world where one man ruled the Roman empire, held the title son of god (small g), collected tax and was celebrated in poems, songs and festivals. Caesar was in the position of ultimate power and authority, or so people thought.

Power is also what this part of the prayer is about. In the previous verse, Paul uses 4 different Greek words for power. It’s almost as if he is running out of superlatives to praise God’s power. In today’s verses we see that, according to Paul, the greatest power that the world has ever seen, is God’s power by which Jesus was raised from the dead, and placed in authority over everything and everyone.

When we behold Jesus in His resurrection, we come to know Him as King of everything in heaven and on earth. Not Caesar, but Jesus, is Lord of all. A King who reigns with the greatest power recorded in the history of mankind: Resurrection-power. Paul emphasizes that King Jesus’ reign is already a present reality, and that it will continue into the age which is to come. “Age which is to come” was a typical Jewish way of talking about the time when God would have finished making everything new. That is what Resurrection-power is all about: making everything new – new creation. This is the power by which Jesus rules and that’s why we can have hope!

And Paul also prayed for insight in the previous verse because this power is now available to us who believe. God wants to empower us because He makes us partners in His work. What work? His work in us and His work through us in our world. We need this power to keep our focus on Jesus. We need this power to align our thinking with Him. And we need this power to represent King Jesus and the Hope He brings into our world.

That’s why we pray with Paul: We praise you almighty Father, creator of heaven and earth, that you blessed us in Christ with this resurrection power. Strengthen us to continue to behold King Jesus, and align our thinking and living with Him so that we can live for Your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

And remember Jesus loves you and so do I.

Pastor Will