Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 Matthew 5:16 ESV  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. If we come into the Light of Christ, we begin to reflect his Light. We're not to be stingy with the light. We're to reflect it to others. We live in a dark world, with lots of bad going on. We need to be the change we want to see in the world. We need to brighten it up with our goodness. Even our goodness is because we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. God prepares us in advance to do good for his glory. It's not so we can pat ourselves on our backs. The purpose of our food deeds is to glorify God, not ourselves. We're not to be all self congratulatory. Instead we're to give glory to God for his work in our lives. 'Light of the world, may we reflect your light to those around us, and so glorify you. For the honour of your name, amen'.

 Isaiah 60:1 ESV Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. When we read Scripture, we're often tempted to assume it's about us primarily. Jesus however said it's ultimately about him. He is the Light of the world who came to brighten up our darkness. Of course, the prophet Isaiah wasn't primarily writing with Gentiles believers in mind. He was addressing the Jewish people. He was encouraging them to look forward to the advent of their Messiah. Jesus didn't just brighten up ancient Israel, but all who come into his light to this day. We're to abandon the shadowy darkness of our sin and to embrace the bright warmth of his love. He is able to give us asylum from the kingdom of darkness into his glorious kingdom of light. Father God glories in his Son, and his humble death for the likes of sinners that we are. We assume glory is to be arrogant. God reveals it to be humility. 'Glorious God, may we humble ourselves before...

Luke 12:40 ESV   You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. No one but God knows when Christ will return. Scoffers question whether he ever will. Yet he works to his own time scale, not ours. As Jesus said elsewhere, when he returns, will he find faith on the earth? We mustn't lose hope. We must trust in him. Christ will return like a thief in the night. We need to be ready for that great day. We need to live at peace with him.  We get to be at peace with God through faith in Jesus's death for us. Having trusted, the evidence of our belief will be a changed life. It's not enough to process faith in him, we have to bear the fruit of the spirit. 'Almighty God, please humble us before your majesty, and may we be ready for the return of Christ, in whose name we pray, amen'.

 Proverbs 31:30 ESV  Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. I remember many years ago going out with a woman who was charming and beautiful, but didn't fear the Lord. Thankfully I remembered this verse and wasn't charmed by her. Some women and men might even profess faith in God, but in reality, many even professing Christians don't fear the Lord. It's not enough to pay God lip service. Man looks out the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. What matters isn't so much what we say as who we are. There's not necessarily anything wrong with charm and beauty and all God's other good gifts. Yet there's everything wrong with idolising such things, putting them in the place of God. Money is one of the biggest temptations, never mind women for men! There's nothing intrinsically wrong with money. Yet the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. We cannot serve both God and money. 'Heave...

 Matthew 16:24 ESV  Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  The way to eternal life is narrow. We can't take any baggage with us. We have to stoop low to get through the doorway to life. We have to deny ourselves all the trappings of this life. We can't idolise anything in God's place. We came naked into the world and we'll leave with nothing but faith in Christ to deliver us, hopefully. Jesus is telling us to be prepared to die for him. I don't think he's just on about martyrdom. I think he's on about daily dying to our selfish, fleshly lusts. We're to follow Jesus. Disney tells us to follow our hearts. The Bible tells us to surrender to the Lord. 'Lord God Almighty, may we surrender selfishness and follow you, forsaking all else. For the honour of your name, amen'.

 Romans 5:8 ESV But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  If we want to know what love is, we need look no further than God himself. Love isn't a lustful feeling. We're not just animals to procreate. Love is a verb, it's a doing word, it's action. Words aren't enough. God demonstrates his love for us.. Actions speak louder than words. We need to practice what we preach. God doesn't just say he loves us, he proved it by sending his Son to die for us. There's no greater love than to die for someone. Jesus literally loves us to death. We don't deserve his love, sinful rebels that we are, but we can receive it. 'Heavenly Father, thank you for you matchless love for us in Christ crucified. May we reciprocate your love. In his name we pray, amen'.

 John 3:17 ESV For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Many people have a sneaking suspicion that God is out to get them. They consider their troublesome sufferings and assume God is sadistic. In reality he doesn't want anyone to perish. We all deserve to be condemned to perish. That's not what God wants for us though. He sent Jesus, not to condemn us, but to save us. For those who trust in Christ crucified on our behalf, he won't frown at us in the end with folded arms. He'll welcome us with open arms. His nail scarred hands will reach out to embrace us. First time Jesus came down to earth was as Saviour. When he returns it will be as Judge. We need to make our peace with him now, before it's too late. 'Heavenly Father, please help us to trust in you not to condemn us, but to save us through Christ crucified, in whose name we pray, amen'.

 Galatians 6:9 ESV And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.  We reap what we sow. If we sow to the flesh, we reap spiritual thorns and thistles. If we sow to the spirit, we reap a harvest of righteousness. Reaping what we sow sounds like legalistic religiosity. Thankfully, there's also grace for when we fail, getting what we don't deserve. Salvation is of the Lord. If we are saved by the Lord, we will reap spiritual fruit. We will evidence by a changed life that God has saved us. We mustn't give up. I think it's ultimately in eternity that we reap what we sow. On the last day of judgement, all wrongs will be righted, and all rights will be rewarded. We don't deserve reward from God, but he delights to give us it anyway. 'Dear God, please help us not to give up, but to persevere in doing good. For your honour and praise, amen'.

 Matthew 4:4 ESV  But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Jesus had fasted for forty days, and he was hungry! The devil told him to turn stones into bread. This verse is his response. Satan's suggestion seems innocent enough, humanly. What if Jesus had obeyed him? He'd have been disobeying his Father. Basically, Jesus is saying that there's more to life than food. We're not to idolise food. We live because God says so, not because we eat. Physical food is important. Spiritual food is essential. We're not just animals. 'Father God, please sustain us by your word, and give us our daily bread. In Christ's name, amen'.