Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 Matthew 9:37-38 ESV  Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.” Be careful what you pray for! Immediately after these verses, Jesus sent his followers out to fulfil this prayer. If we ask God to bring in a harvest of souls into his Kingdom, we're probably going to be the answer to our own prayers. One of the main reasons God doesn't translate us immediately to glory the moment we come to faith in him is because he wants us to call others to put their trust in him. The one good thing we won't do in glory that we can do now is to witness to unbelievers of the goodness of God. God doesn't want anyone to perish, neither should we. I'm not a Greek scholar, but I'm sure it's not coincidental that Jesus calls for labourers, not just workers. Evangelism is laborious. It's not easy work. God wants earnest prayer. He doesn't j...

 Romans 1:16 ESV  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Shame is a powerful emotion that can cripple us. Crucifixion was a shameful thing. Yet the cross of Christ can powerfully liberate us from guilt and shame. The Gospel has always been counterintuitive. That a Man dying as a common criminal can be good news doesn't seem to make sense. Yet that's the means God has chosen to set us free. Crucifixion seems the epitome of weakness: dying naked and alone on a Roman cross. Yet God could turn it into the immeasurably powerful means of our salvation. God turned something hateful- execution on a cross- into the ultimate demonstration of love. The Apostle Paul wasn't being racist by saying salvation came to the Jews first. He's just stating a fact. Jesus is Jewish, and came initially to the Jewish people, before sending his people out to the world to make him known. 'G...

 Ezekiel 36:26 ESV And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  The Bible doesn't flatter us. It doesn't tell us to 'follow our hearts'. It teaches that our hearts are deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can understand them? Thankfully the Bible offers hope. God can perform a spiritual heart transplant upon us. He can transform our hearts from stone to flesh. True spirituality wouldn't have us squirrelled away in some monk's cell or some ivory tower. God giving us new hearts of flesh means that we become truly alive and most genuinely human when he does his work in us. He can make spiritually dead people alive in him. As an aside, being 'woke' is a dangerous thing to be. When Jesus healed the blind man, he rebuked the religious people for claiming to have spiritual insight but being blind to him. Christ crucified is a stumb...

 Galatians 5:25 ESV If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.  Lots of people claim to be spiritual. Fewer people live by the Spirit of God. We know if we're doing so if we keep in step with him. If we've received God's Holy Spirit, walking with him should come (super)naturally to us. We should notice if we start to get out of step with him. I think there's two main dangers in that regard. The first danger is that we lag behind the Holy Spirit. This I would describe as hedonism/pleasure seeking/selfishness. This is where we might become complacent and apathetic about bearing the fruit of the Spirit. The second danger is that we might try and run on ahead of the Holy Spirit. This could be described as religion/self-righteousness/pride. An example would be king Saul jumping the gun and offering unauthorised sacrifices to God instead of waiting for Samuel. To obey is better than sacrifice. 'Dear Lord, may we keep in step with you, even as you ...

 Acts 10:43 ESV To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” This is a bold claim. We can put it to the test by reading the prophets and looking for Jesus in them. If we want forgiveness, we must come through Christ. The prophets weren't telling people to simply 'pull themselves up by their bootstraps'. They were calling upon them to trust in the coming Messiah for salvation. He is the only way. Biblical faith isn't just moralism. It's realistic about our immorality. Thankfully, it also tells us how we can be forgiven, by the blood of Jesus. The old testament says that all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. The new testament reveals the Lord to be Christ Jesus. He isn't just a mantra, but the means of our salvation. 'Dear Lord God, we thank you for your word and how it all points to your Son and the salvation we can enjoy in him. May we believe in him and so receive forg...

 John 1:12 ESV  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,  'You have no right'! is a common jab which people aim at each other. It's true in this case: we have no natural right to become children of God. Yet God gives us the supernatural right to become his children. How can we get adopted into God's family? Through faith in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave his life to reconcile us to himself. We don't become God's children by osmosis. We have to receive Jesus into our hearts. We have to believe in his name. It's interesting that people sometimes criticise the language of 'receiving' Jesus. Yet this is exactly how John phrases it here. Of course we have to receive the Lord, we mustn't reject him. 'O Lord our God, we receive you into our hearts and praise you for giving us the undeserved right to be your children. May we ever live for your honour. In Jesus' name, amen'...

 1 John 4:9 ESV In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  The love of God isn't just some nice philosophical idea. God's love is manifested in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. By his life, death, and resurrection, he gives us life. Jesus lived the perfect life we never could. He is our great substitute who stands in our place. We must trust in him, not ourselves. Christ died in our place. He took the punishment we deserve. We just need to believe in him to save us. The Lord has defeated death. Through faith in him we can too. We can enjoy eternal life in him. "'Thank you O my Father, for giving us your Son, and leaving your Spirit til the world on earth is done".

 Matthew 5:14 ESV   You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  This verse actually seems almost blasphemous at first glance. Isn't Jesus himself the Light of the world? Yes, but he's now glorified, and he reflects his Light into the world through us. If we are the light of the world, we are to live as such. We're not to walk in darkness. We're to walk in spiritual light. Another way of describing the fruit of the Spirit might be to describe it as being like a colourful rainbow of light. We can reflect God's love, joy and peace etc. to a watching world. A city on a hill can't be hidden. In WWII they did have blackouts to try and hide the lights of cities. In modern warfare with the wonders of modern technology, cities don't try and hide. 'Heavenly Father, please help us reflect your Light in this dark world. May we brighten the earth up with our witness of you and your love. In Jesus' name, amen'.

 Psalm 139:14 ESV  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. I never taught her Psalm 139. Yet I'll never forget what my firstborn six year old daughter at the time told me. I had apologised for being a shoddy father. My daughter told me not to say that I'm a bad dad. She said 'don't say that daddy, God made you a wonderful person'. Our tears became streams! Out of the mouths of children and infants, God has ordained praise. Simple little kids can shame the wise and learned. Childlike faith is better than 'sophisticated' skepticism. Often in the world and even the professing church, the emphasis is on self. Even in this verse, the emphasis is on God. Because we are his workmanship, that's why we have intrinsic value. 'God our Father, we're so grateful you made us, and we pray that we would fulfil our purpose to bring praise to your holy name. For your glory, amen'.