Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 Proverbs 17:17 ESV A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Solomon strongly suggests that a fairweather friend is no real friend at all. A true friend is evergreen. Better a friend close by than a brother far away, as he says elsewhere. Jesus is the ultimate Friend. He was nicknamed Friend of sinners. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever: he's still a perennial Lover of sinners like you and I.  Greater love has no one than this (Jesus said): that he lays down his life for his friends. Jesus didn't just talk the talk. He walked the walk, and transforms enemies into friends. The Lord is our firstborn Brother from the dead as it were. He's the ultimate big Brother who beats the bullies of sin and death, hell, the devil and his horses. By trusting in him, we gain eternal life. 'O Lord our God, we worship you for your everlasting love. We're grateful that it transcends any and every adversity we may face. Help us reciprocate your lov...

 1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. When we trust in Jesus, we're set upon a path, the way of eternal life. It's not necessarily all plain sailing however. The devil will send temptations to try and overtake us.  Satan tempts us, but God can use those temptations to test us. The evil one wants to trip us up. Yet God enables us to overcome every hurdle. God is faithful and powerful. He's able to help us to defeat the devil. It's not inevitable that we give in to temptation.  We often think of temptation as 'positive' in the sense of things like lust, hate and greed. Yet it can also be 'negative' in the sense of not doing what we ought, like telling people the Good News of salvation in Christ. In him we can and will endure, as long as we f...

 Ephesians 4:32 ESV Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. I love the motivation for kindness, tenderheartedness and forgiveness. We don't seek to be such things to earn God's acceptance. We do so because that is what God is like with us. God demonstrates his kindness to us not just by wiping the slate clean as it were. He welcomes us into relationship with him. He is the Lover of our souls. If we're not particularly tenderhearted, we can ask God to perform spiritual heart surgery. We can ask him to cut away our hardheartedness. We can ask him to give us soft hearts. Forgiveness starts with God. It shouldn't end with him though. Having been forgiven, we are to forgive one another. 'Merciful God, we praise you for your kindness towards us. May we follow your example, for your glory we pray, amen'.

 Matthew 6:25 ESV Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Jesus commands us not to be anxious. Anxiety is disobedience against him. Anxiety is mistrust in God's sovereign care of us. If we were assured of God's provision of our food, drink and clothing, we wouldn't be anxious. If we are anxious about our needs, a good prayer to pray is 'give us this day our daily bread'. The antidote to anxiety is to have a conversation with God and a conversation with ourselves about his gracious provision for us. God has never failed to provide for our needs. We are here today because we've had sufficient food, drink and clothing. Even the Apostle Paul knew what it was to lack such things at times but God always came through for him in the end. Greater than our need for food is spiritual sustenance: Jesus is the Bre...

 Jeremiah 31:25 ESV  For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish. The Rolling Stones famously sang that they couldn't get no satisfaction. They were probably looking in all the wrong places: sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll! Even in the tumultuous days in which he lived, Jeremiah promised satisfaction for God's beleaguered people  God is the Source of all goodness, including satisfaction and replenishment. If we look to him to provide our needs, he'll never let us down. Gods people are tempest tossed, but 'with Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm' as it were. How does God satisfy us? He provides our needs like food and drink,shelter and relationships. Ultimately, he invites us into relationship with him, who will never disappoint. Even Jeremiah himself sometimes complained to God about his lot. Yet God was gracious to him. The Lord picked him up, brushed him down, and sent him on his way to minister for him. 'Gr...

 Matthew 7:14 ESV For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Jesus might seem to contradict himself. He famously said his yoke is easy and his burden is light. Yet he he says the way to life is hard.  Jesus makes things relatively easy, but the devil does his worst to try and make things hard for us. Alongside temptations common to man we also have persecution to contend with. We need God to uphold us in the midst of opposition. The gate to eternal life is narrow because we can't take any baggage with us. Our self righteousness and materialism have no place on the path of life. We must abandon all our worldly wisdom and entrust ourselves to the Lord. Sadly, relatively few people find the way of life. God doesn't want anyone to perish. Sadly, most people reject him.  'Dear Lord, we're so grateful for you showing us yourself as the Way of life. Please help us to follow you wholeheartedly, until you call us home. For your ...

 Proverbs 19:21 ESV Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. A popular Western philosophy is 'I think, therefore I am'. People think they are what they think they are. In reality, what God thinks matters infinitely more than what we think. I could think I'm going to become a millionaire. Unless God decrees it, that's not going to happen. More spiritually, I could try and make millions 'make a decision for Christ'. Ultimately however Christ has to make a decision for the millions. As James said, we should always add the caveat of 'God willing' to our plans. We pencil plans in. God's purposes are set in stone. God is sovereign, not us. If we make a declaration, it isn't necessarily so. When God declares something, it assuredly is. 'God, forbid that we would assume that our plans will inevitably prevail. Help us to entrust them to you, and bow to your Sovereign Son. In his name we ask this, amen...

 Philippians 4:7 ESV And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. I know some people seem to take some kind of sadistic pleasure in conflict, but surely most of us are yearning for peace. God is the Source. He seems far removed from us in our enmity and strife. Gods peace seems to transcend all understanding. How can we know it in the midst of this world of woe? By the blood of Jesus. Because Jesus bore Father God's wrath on the cross, we can know peace with God, in spite of this conflicted world in which we live. If we put our faith in Jesus, we become blessed peacemakers. We're adopted into God's family, and take up the family business of making peace. The very fact our hearts and minds need guarding reveals that there's a war for our peace. The devil wants to destroy our peace. He can't rob us of our salvation, so he'll try and steal our peace and assurance. 'God of peace, please guard our...

 Psalm 59:16 ESV But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. It's not just David who had distressed days. Sadly, we all face them. For much of David's young adulthood, he was a fugitive on the run from murderous incumbent king Saul. David didn't feel sorry for himself. He was God focused, not self absorbed. He determined to sing praises to the Lord who delivered him from his distress. God doesn't promise a life free from distress. What he does promise is to be with us in the midst, and to look after us. Even if we're martyred for our faith in Jesus, our eternity is secure in him. If football fans can sing in praise of their team's kicking a ball around, how much more should we sing praises to our Rock of refuge! He'll never let us down, unlike our favourite sports teams. He'll always be there for us, even when we don't feel his pr...