Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 2 Corinthians 9:8 ESV And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.   The Corinthian church was wealthy, but not so generous. He wasn't asking them to 'sow' into his ministry like some charlatan. He was asking them to provide for their impoverished Jerusalemite brethren. I love how positive Paul is with the Corinthian church. He doesn't metaphorically beat them about their heads with a stick. He gently encourages them to step into all that God has been gracious to them for. God isn't gracious to us so we can pay ourselves on our backs. He doesn't show us mercy to make us self-sufficient and uncaring about anyone else. He wants us to abound in every good work. The Lord expects us to be generous. We can't say 'I don't think that's my calling'. It's all of our callings to be generous. 'Sovereign Lord, please forgive any stinginess in us. Hel...

 Romans 5:3-4 ESV  Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope   We might think we have to lie down under a rock when we suffer, but Paul insists we can rejoice. Suffering isn't meaningless. It can produce endurance. If we never suffered, we'd have precious little endurance. The slightest little bump in the road would knock us for six. If we want to develop good characters, we need to endure suffering. Good character is developed in the furnace of affliction. Our dross is skimmed away. We come out purer than gold. If we can see that our characters are developing positively, we can have hope that God is working on us. He wants to transform us into the likeness of Christ. If we can see him doing that, we can be encouraged. 'Sovereign Lord God, please help us to see that you work all things together for good for those that love you, who are called according to your p...

 Psalm 94:19 ESV When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.   I'm sure most of us have many cares at some point in our lives. Bereavement, separation, unemployment and illness can all add to our cares for example. This verse assures us we don't need to be overwhelmed by our cares however. In the context of the Psalm, the Psalmist's cares weren't selfish. He was concerned for the plight of God's people. They were being oppressed. God consoled the Psalmist that the oppressors of his people would assuredly get their comeuppance. That might sound harsh. Yet it is what they deserved. Just to know that the God of justice is on our side should be enough to console us. We shouldn't need clement circumstances to console us. We can be fearless even though the valley of the shadow of death with God by our sides. 'Dear God Almighty, we're so grateful for your consolations in the midst of our cares. Please help us to rest in you. In Christ...

 James 1:2-3  Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.       What brings us joy? Our families, friends, fun etc.? Chocolate, coffee, or cheerful chatter? James commands us to rejoice when we have trials!  Our gut reaction with trials and tests is to feel nervous about them. Yet if we're well prepared, we can actually look forward to proving ourselves. God never gives us a trial we can't pass with his help. The devil tempts us to throw in the trial. God tests us like precious metals. In his trials he skims away the dress in our lives and purifies us. Of course, joy is counterintuitive when we go through hard times. Yet if we can see what the hard times are producing, we can be encouraged. God is proving our faith and making us steadfast and enduring: by his power we will assuredly prevail over all that assails us.  'Dear Lord our God, please help u...

 1 Timothy 4:8 ESV  for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.   The Apostle Paul doesn't say bodily training is of no value. Neither however does he say that bodily training is of value in every way, like some gym enthusiasts might be tempted to say! Instead, he insists that physical exercise is of some value. Paul wasn't Gnostic. He didn't think our bodies are irrelevant and unimportant. He knew the importance of being healthy. Godliness isn't just important: it is essential. We need to be holy if we want to see the Lord. How do we get holy? By trusting in him to be our righteousness and salvation. Some people might describe trying to be Christlike as 'pie in the sky when you die'. Others might say that it is 'steak on a plate while you wait'! Living God's way isn't a killjoy highway like the devil might try and deceive us; it's the ...

 Hebrews 12:1 ESV   Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us   God doesn't ask the impossible of us to follow him. Many have gone before us. We can take encouragement from their example.  I think the writer differentiates between weights and sins because some things aren't necessarily sinful, but they can weigh us down with wrong priorities. Money for example is a good servant but a bad master. I'm reminded of the parable of the Sower where Jesus warns about the deceitfulness of riches. We don't get to take anything with us into eternity. So it's best to travel light. There's nothing wrong with making money; just not to be miserly and greedy with it. We're in a race. We can invest our money for example in the Kingdom of God. We can be generous and help needy brethren.  'Dear God, please help us to f...

 Proverbs 12:25 ESV  Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.  What word can cheer up a man who anticipates homelessness for example, or loneliness and rejection? Jesus commands us to seek first his kingdom, and everything we need will be added to us as well. Jesus reframes worry and tells us not to be selfish with our concerns. Instead, he tells us to put him first, and to leave everything else to him. Anxiety is disbelief in the goodness of God.  God doesn't want us to be anxious. He doesn't want us to be weighed down by worry. He wants to set us free. The good news is that anxiety isn't the unforgivable sin. William Cowper, that melancholic saint of a poet, told us and himself to fear not, because the 'clouds we so much dread, are big with mercy and shall break with blessings on our heads'. Even through the storms of life, God can and will guide us his people safe home to glory. 'Sovereign Father, we're so grateful that we...

 Matthew 7:12 ESV   “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.    This verse is nicknamed the 'golden rule'. Other religions often have a negative version: 'don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you'. Jesus puts his command in the positive. Elsewhere, the Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament) is summed up to be love of God and  of one another. That's what we (sometimes subconsciously) wish for ourselves and should do for others, to love them as Christ has loved us. We're to be prepared to lay down our lives for one another. I appreciate 'love' could be seen to be vague. I don't just mean a mushy feeling. I don't even just mean being prepared to die for someone. True love is daily acts of joyful service for one another. An important application of this verse for believers is to tell people the good news of salvation in Christ crucified. People told us, for us ...

 Psalm 23:4 ESV  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.     Note that we may have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, not death itself. Physically, we all face death, unless Jesus returns first. For the believer though, it's like falling asleep until Jesus wakes us up again. The Lord Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid his life down for the sheep. He gives us eternal life from the moment we believe, and no one can snatch us out of his hand.  Evil is real, but we don't need to fear it with the Good Shepherd alongside us by his Holy Spirit. We face the 'triple whammy' of the world, the flesh and the devil; but we're born again by God's Spirit to overcome. Because Jesus gave his life and rose victorious over death, we can conquer and have the victory too. God's rod and staff don't sound too comforting at first. He may have to nudge and s...