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 

Welcome to day 3 of our devotions focusing on Hope. 

Today we look at Ephesians 1: 18-19. Paul continues his prayer …the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power

“What’s the view like from up there?”, the one young man shouted to the other, while climbing up the steep staircase that leads all the way to the top of the Lighthouse. After a while the answer came back: “Come and see for yourself.” A view can be so beautiful, that words or even pictures cannot do it justice. You have to see it for yourself. Keep this picture in mind as we continue with Paul’s prayer.

It seems as if Paul’s readers were lacking in hope, because after thanking God for their faith and love earlier, he now prays for them to know the Hope of God’s calling.

I would think that if people lacked in hope, Paul should teach them about it. But he knows better. He prays for them. This doesn’t mean that knowledge is not important. On the contrary, that is precisely what he prays for: understanding, insight and knowledge.

But he begins with prayer because it is God who brings insight into the hope of His call. This is what revelation means: God helps people to see what they normally wouldn’t see. And, to continue yesterday’s theme, this insight into hope doesn’t happen by itself. It comes through beholding the glory of Christ. The breathtaking view – or more accurately said, “breath-giving view” – that calls you to come and see for yourself. Nobody can behold on your behalf. “Beholding” asks you to be totally present.

How do we behold? Where do we start? We learn from Paul to begin with prayer. One of the reasons Paul writes how he praises God – remember the long praise sentence – and now what he prays for, is to help us to pray. It is in prayer that we present ourselves to behold Christ. And it is through prayer we also work with God to gain insight into the hope He is calling us for. When God works, He makes us His partners and empowers us to be just that: Co-workers. The power comes from Him, but the work in us, to grow in this knowledge, and also the work in the world to bring hope, is something we do with Him.

Let’s pray with Paul: Praise to you Father God, for blessing us in Christ with everything we need to grow in faith, love and hope. Enlighten the eyes of our understanding through your Spirit that we may know the hope of your calling, as we behold Jesus. For your glory we pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

And remember Jesus loves you and so do I.

Pastor Will 

Ephesians 1: 17. Paul prays:

… that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,

What images or impressions immediately come to mind when you hear the word “God”? We all have ideas about God, many of which were formed in us as we grew up. But as we grow, those images don’t align with the God that really exists. Central to discovering the Hope that Paul is going to pray for in the next verse, is beholding God in Jesus. Jesus said: If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father. That is what Paul means by the phrase “The God of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Paul also calls God the “Father of glory”. We see the glory of who God is, when we “behold” Jesus. Jesus who heals, forgives, and restores. Jesus who challenges abusive authority and systems. Jesus who drives out darkness by giving himself and dying for us. The reason we can have hope, is because God is who we see when we see Jesus.

“Father of glory” also refers to the promise God made to fill the earth with the knowledge of His glory. This healing and renewing glory of God which we see in Jesus, is going to flood the earth. And as we behold Christ, we discover that we are called to partner with Him in this mission. God wants to use you to fill the earth with His glory. That’s why Paul prays for spiritual wisdom, because wisdom is what people need to live life as God intended it to be: for His glory.

And he prays for spiritual revelation and knowledge of who God is. It is the Spirit of God that enables you to behold God in Jesus and align your view of God with Him. One of the reasons Jesus calls people to repent, is to make a radical change in our thinking about God. Bringing our image of God in alignment with who Jesus is, is central to our calling to fill the earth with God’s glory. Of course, we can only do this with the help of the Holy Spirit. This is what Paul prays and what God has already blessed us with.

When we reflect God’s glory into our world, it will bring hope, because at the root of many people’s hopelessness and despair, there’s an image or idea of God that doesn’t align with Jesus. God wants to save people from false ideas about Him. Knowing God in Jesus inspires hope.

So, we pray with Paul: Thank you, Father that you have made Your glory known in Jesus. Thank you for blessing us with your Spirit in Christ, to help us to behold You in Jesus and to repent of ideas about you that are not aligned with Jesus. Use us to reflect your glory to others and to bring Hope. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

And remember Jesus loves you and so do I.

Pastor Will 

As we are in the sewing of the fall and a new season of school and ministry.  I wanted to share with you what we are focusing on as a church at Proclaim for our theme of the year. With wars, political divisions, financial troubles, the election, we can grow weary and disillusioned. But Christians are People of Hope. Hope is our theme for this ministry season.  We are going to consider Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians and for us Ephesians 1:15-23 this week to delve deeper into the Hope that is inside of each of us.

1 Ephesians 1:15-16 “Therefor I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:”

Have you ever been in a conversation where someone is so excited about something that he or she keeps on talking and talking, and you are so drawn into the story that you find yourself almost holding your own breath on his or her behalf?

Well, Paul begins his sentence with the word “Therefore”, which obviously connects WHAT he is about to say, to his previous sentence. And in the original language the previous sentence starts in verse 3 and goes all the way to verse 14. One long sentence where Paul, full of excitement, praises God for what He has done for us in Christ. Take time to read it for context.

Throughout this week’s devotional, we will often use the term “behold”. To behold is more than just seeing; it’s to observe, to ponder, to perceive. In a sense this is what Paul is doing in verses 3 to 14: He is beholding Jesus Christ – pondering what God has done in Christ. And when we behold Christ, we discover that we are called to be a people of faith, hope, and love.

Paul continues his prayer in the verses we read, by giving thanks to God for the faith and love in the lives of his readers. Later in the prayer he prays for them to grow in hope. Paul refers to faith, hope and love several times in his different letters and he refers to it as a sign of a person’s maturity. But personal maturity is not a goal in itself. The larger calling is to reflect God’s glory into our world: that is our homes, places of work and communities by bringing faith, hope and love to people and societies.

And for Paul the starting point in order to grow, also to grow in hope, is to behold Jesus Christ. One of the ways we behold Jesus is in prayer. thanking Him for the impact He has already made and praying for things that God has already blessed us with in Christ in order to grow. Things like faith, Hope and love. We focus this year on hope but remember the bigger purpose.

So, we pray with Paul: Father, we praise you as we behold Christ. In Christ you blessed us with so much: to belong to you and your family, to be forgiven, to share in your purposes for our world, to be indwelt by your Spirit. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the work you have already done in me. Help us to continue to grow in faith, hope and love as we behold You. In your name we pray. Amen

And remember Jesus loves you and so do I.

Pastor Will