Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 Proverbs 31:30 ESV Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Charm is a facade. Someone could be charming to your face and a horrible person on the inside. We shouldn't let people flatter us with their charm. Beauty is God given, but it's fleeting. In a hundred years, it will have rotted away. Solomon gives us a better reason to 'fall in love'. It seems hypocritical for the prolific Solomon to say, but even he recognised that a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. He knew that when the rubber hits the road, fear of the Lord is what matters. A woman who fears the Lord has her priorities right. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The love of God is the heart of wisdom. We're to fear God like a child fears to displease their loving father. 'Loving heavenly Father, please help us to fear you as we ought. Help us get our priorities right. We love you, in Jesus' name, amen'.

 1 Peter 5:7 ESV  casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.  I love how realistic the Bible is. It doesn't just say 'don't worry'. It says to cast our inevitable anxieties on the Lord. Anxieties are like birds. We can't stop them from flying overhead. We can however stop them from nesting in our hair, to echo a C.H. Spurgeon quote! I love the second half of this verse. God cares for us. He's not some distant, uncaring force way out there in the universe. How do we know that God cares for us? Because Christ died for our sins. We can be forgiven and know peace with God through him. 'Lord God, please help us to know and feel your care and the peace you give us. May we leave our worries with you as soon as they rearrange their ugly heads. In Christ's name we ask this, amen'.

 Proverbs 31:25-26 ESV Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. Proverbs 31 famously describes the epitome of a godly wife. Note that she isn't some weak person. She's strong and dignified. The Proverbs 31 woman isn't worried about the future. In fact, she laughs at the time to come. She knows who holds the future. Wisdom defines the words of the Proverbs 31 woman. She's not just some shallow person who only makes small talk. Before we might think these verses don't apply to us, there is a way we can apply it even if we're men. The church is the bride of Christ. So if we belong to Jesus, we should be like the Proverbs 31 woman, whether we're men or women. Kindness should define us and our speech. 'Dear Father in heaven, please help us to emulate the Proverbs 31 woman, and so to be Christlike. In his name we ask this, amen'.

 Hebrews 8:12 ESV  For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” Humanly speaking, it's impossible for omniscient God to forget our sins. Yet nothing is impossible for God. All things are possible with him.  God is love personified. Mercy comes naturally to him. Even though he's holy and doesn't tolerate evil, he's able to forgive us. Christ was crucified to bear God's wrath at our iniquities. If we trust in him, we will receive mercy. By his wounds, we can be healed from our spiritual terminal sickness. We might always, in this life, remember our regretful, sinful pasts. The Bible however describes this life as being like a dream in the light of eternity. Maybe we will have a vague recollection of the hurt of this life, but the pain of it will be removed. 'Loving heavenly Father, please have mercy upon us. We're grateful for your willingness to forget our sins. Please help us not to be consumed by regret. We ask in...

 2 Corinthians 6:15 ESV  What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? This verse tends to be applied to relationships. Christians shouldn't marry unbelievers. We need to be compatible spiritually, as well as in other ways. Some people apply this verse to business too. A believer and an unbeliever will have different priorities for work. An unbeliever will probably be focused on making as much money as possible for themselves; whereas a believer should be altruistic and charitable. Yes, we're to love everyone, but that doesn't mean to say that we have to entrust ourselves to everyone. Having said that, the Apostle Paul would say elsewhere that if we're already unequally yoked in marriage with an unbeliever, we shouldn't separate from them. If we promise ourselves for life, we should stick that promise as far as we're able. Paul is getting us to have an eternal perspective. If we're going to spend eternity apar...

 Romans 12:17 ESV  Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honourable in the sight of all.  Our gut reaction when someone does evil to us is to do evil back- with interest! If someone pushes us, our reflex may be to knock them over. The Apostle Paul commands us not to do such a thing. Doesn't Paul contradict the prophet Moses who famously said 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth'? No, because the context was different. Moses was saying the punishment must fit the crime; Paul was saying not to go all vigilante. Moses instituted God's law, which decrees death for murderers for example in an exacting penalty system. The Apostle Paul and the early church were under the jurisdiction of the secular Roman Empire. As such, they were to defer to that authority. Paul gives a positive alternative to vengeance. He calls for us to be honourable. The Lord Jesus Christ could have taken revenge on those who wronged him, but he honourably endured the shame of t...

 1 Samuel 14:10 ESV But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.”  Jonathan was a man of faith. There's no mention in this passage of an audible word from the Lord to give a sign. It seems that Jonathan simply had a Holy Spirit inspired conviction as to the way ahead. I have tended to struggle in life with discernment. Should I take this job or that one? Should I live here or there? Amusingly, someone wrote a book on discernment called 'just do something' which basically says that as long as it isn't explicitly sinful, we can go ahead and do things even without a thunderous voice from the heavens rubber stamping our decisions. God has given us free will and initiative to exercise. The Philistines oppressors indeed said 'come up here' and God did indeed give them into the hands of Jonathan and his armour bearer. May we similarly have the courage of our convictions. May God give ...

 Romans 11:5 ESV So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.  This verse reminds me of when Jesus's followers asked if only a few are going to be saved. He didn't answer directly. Instead, he told us to make every effort to enter onto the narrow way of life. These Scriptures suggest that God's people in every generation are only a remnant, a relatively few. Over the ages we add up to an innumerable host. We should expect to be in the minority however. When the Bible says that 'all Israel will be saved', it's not referring to an ethnic, religious, or political entity. 'Israel' refers to the spiritual people of God. In Elijah's day for example there was a 7,000 strong remnant who didn't bow the knee to Baal but worshipped the Lord God of Israel alone. 'Many are called, but few are chosen'. We're chosen by grace, not because we're deserving. God choosing us is an undeserved gift. 'Lord our God, may we trust in...

 Romans 10:2 ESV For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  Let zeal marry knowledge! Zeal without knowledge is incomplete. Knowledge completes zeal. It's not enough to be sincere. We could be sincerely wrong. Religious people sincerely trust in their own self-righteousness, but their confidence is misplaced. Passionate attempts at keeping God's Law, or five pillars, or whatever else aren't enough. Only Christ perfectly keeps God's Law. We must trust in him. Let us know Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Then let us passionately serve him. May we zealously live for him all of our days. 'O Lord God Almighty, may we serve you, not just in a spirited manner, but according to your Truth. For we ask in his name, Truth personified, the Lord Jesus Christ, amen'.