Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) God has plans for His people. They might be exiled for a lifetime in a pagan land, but He'll eventually call them home. In the meantime, they're to settle and to trust in Him. God's people were scarred by the exile to Babylon. Yet God assured them that if they trusted in Him, He would be faithful to them. Judgement was over and there was hope for them yet. Similarly, we as God's new covenant people aren't destined for disaster. We can expect a good, hopeful future from God. He is for us, not against us. God has plans in the plural for us. We don't just have to stick to plan A. God can multitask and help us to have a great destiny in more than one way. 'Lord our God, please fulfil Your perfect plans in our lives, and give us hope and a future. In Jesus' name, amen'

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 (NLT) Isaiah had an awesome vision of the preincarnate Lord Jesus Christ, a theophany. Jesus was looking for someone to represent Him to His people. Isaiah volunteered. It was a brave thing for Isaiah to do. The vision was fearsome. Even the angels were awe inspiring, never mind the Lord Himself. I'm not sure Isaiah knew what he was letting himself in for. His ministry to God's people was a largely thankless task over many years. Tradition reckons that he was sawn in half by those who hated his rebuke of their iniquitous lives. Isaiah knew he wasn't up to the task, humanly speaking. He knew he was a sinner before the Holy One. Thankfully God made atonement for him, and for all who trust in Him. 'Lord our God, please help us to be willing to serve You. For the honour of Your name, amen'

Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3 (NLT) Too often, we drift through life with little thought as to what we're doing. We need to be 'intentional' about aligning our actions with the will of God. We're not necessarily going to become billionaires, but we will make it to glory if we commit ourselves to God. Even Jesus said to His Father, 'Your will be done'. He didn't dictate to God. He didn't 'manifest. Similarly, we need to commit whatever we do to God. He won't necessarily make us win the lottery. Yet He will provide for our needs. We need to align our plans with the will of God. If God wills what we plan, it will assuredly come to pass. We just need to trust Him. 'Lord, please help us to commit our actions to You, and may our plans succeed. In Jesus' name, amen'

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. John 10:10 (NLT) Everyone has a purpose. Even Jesus and satan have purposes. The devil's purpose is to destroy us. The evil one wants to ruin our lives. He wants us in hell with him, miserable for eternity. Thankfully, Jesus is more powerful than that. Jesus wants something better for us. He wants to give us life, and life to the full. He wants to give us abundant life. A rich, satisfying, abundant, life to the full doesn't necessarily mean to say we'll be filthy rich materialistically. Yet God will provide all we need. Not even the thief can thwart God's purposes. 'Heavenly Father, may You realise Your purposes for our lives. In Jesus' name we pray, amen'

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Romans 8:11 (NLT) Because the Spirit of God rose Jesus from the dead, there's hope for us too. He who resurrected Jesus is at work in us. Though outwardly we're wasting away, yet inwardly we're being renewed into the likeness of Christ. We're not just destined for the grave. We can have eternal life with God. We're spiritual beings, not just worm food. The Spirit who raised Christ from the dead can make us Christlike. We can have our old, deathly ways dealt with and become what we ought to be. We can enjoy eternity with our Saviour. Our bodies are destined to die, unless Jesus returns first. Yet there is an eternity to come. We can be resurrected like Christ was to enjoy eternity with Him. 'Heavenly Father, please pour out Your Spirit upon us to make us like Christ, in w

 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25 (ESV) It's not enough to claim to live by the Spirit. We need to keep in step with the Spirit. It's like a toddler saying they're going for a walk with dad, but not keeping up. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit can adjust His pace to be appropriate to ours. Nevertheless, He's like a pace setter for a runner. He encourages us to keep up with Him. In the context, keeping in step with the Spirit involves increasingly bearing the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy and peace etc. These things don't come naturally to us. A baby isn't born with the ability to walk, it has to be developed. If we fail to keep in step with the Spirit, the danger is that we're not living by Him at all. We need to become more Christlike in how we live. With the Spirit's help, it's possible. 'Heavenly Father, please help us to live by, and keep in step with the Spirit. In Christ's name we pray, amen

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:24 (NIV) Jesus told even religious leaders that they were of their father the devil. That's who we are by default, belonging to the evil one. Thankfully, we can become Jesus's. We belong to Jesus when we trust in Him and His crucifixion on our behalf. Without Him as our substitute, we're hopeless. We don't just passively acknowledge the truth of His crucifixion, we claim it for ourselves. We have wrong passions by nature. We need to overcome wrong passions and desires. There's such a thing as good desires. If we delight in the Lord, we're promised elsewhere that He'll give us the desires of our hearts. If we delight in the Lord, He Himself is the desire of our heart. He gives us of Himself. 'Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son to give His life for us. May we give our lives for You and Your glory, amen'

 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT) How ought we to live? We ought to be loving. God is love, and so should we be. How can we be defined by love, and these other virtues? By the Holy Spirit's work in our lives. We can be joyful even in difficult circumstances. We can be at peace even in the midst of external conflict. We can be patient even when we live in a society that craves for instant hits. We can be kind even when we don't feel like it. God can supernaturally make us good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled. These things don't come naturally to us. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we can become what we ought to be. 'Lord God, we praise You that we can become what we ought to be, by Your Spirit. Please forgive us for the many times we fail, through Christ Jesus we pray, amen'

 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8 (NLT) Our hearts are naturally impure. How then can any of us be blessed, and to see the Holy One, who cannot tolerate impurity? Thankfully, it's through the One who spoke these words. God wants to bless us. He's not a killjoy. He wants what's best for us, and that's purity. Because Jesus died in our place, we can be forgiven of all of our impurity. We can have our impurities washed away in the blood of Jesus. We just need to trust in Him. Somewhere in the Bible it says that no one can see God and live. Yet if God reveals Himself to us, and glorifies us, it can be possible. Nothing is impossible for God. 'Heavenly Father, please purify our hearts through Christ and by Your Spirit. May we see You in glory, in Jesus' gracious name we pray, amen'