Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 2 Corinthians 5:18 ESV  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;  How is it that we can be transformed? It's all from God. It's not by our own efforts. In Christ crucified on our behalf, God has reconciled his people to him. Once we were his enemies. Now we can be his friends.  Jesus took God's wrath at our enmity towards him. He has made peace between Father God and ourselves. He has done so by his blood shed on our behalf.  Having been reconciled to God, we're not simply to rest on our laurels. We're to call others to be reconciled to God. Having been reconciled to God, we should also be reconciled to one another.  'God, we praise you for reconciling us to yourself through Jesus. Please help us call others to reconciliation with you. In his name we ask, amen'.

 Zechariah 14:9 ESV And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one. The Lord is King. He always has been and always will be. Yet there will come a day when he will be the undisputed King over all the earth.  Our role as God's subjects is to call others to worship him too. One day every knee will bow to him. Better to do so willingly than by force. Sometimes with worldly kings, people say 'not my king' or 'no kings'. There's no such option with God. He's even King over satan, death and hell. For now, worldly kings and rulers strut the stage of world history. Soon, they will be gone. Only the Lord God Almighty will endure for eternity. 'Lord our God, may we worship you as you deserve. We look forward to your undisputed rule and reign in the new creation. For your glory, amen'.

 John 3:17 ESV For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Lots of people have a caricature of God as some kind of sadistic killjoy who's waiting for us to trip up. Thankfully, that perception isn't a good likeness. Elsewhere, we're told that God doesn't want anyone to perish. He wants us all to be saved. God has made salvation possible for us by sending his Son into the world. Jesus didn't come to condemn us. Jesus came to die for us. I believe God hasn't already destroyed this world because Christ crucified has given it a stay of execution. If we want to become part of the new creation though, we must trust in Jesus. By his death he sets us free.  As the Apostle Paul said 'there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.' That does mean however that for those who aren't in Christ Jesus, there will be condemnation in the end. We need to trust in Christ cruci...

 Romans 1:17 ESV For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” This verse might sound a bit technical, a bit jargon-y. Yet it is a very important statement of truth. Here, the Apostle Paul explains why the Good News is the power of God for salvation. If God simply brushed our sins under the carpet, he wouldn't be righteous. Righteous Jesus became sin for us, so we can become the righteousness of God. Faith unlocks the door of salvation. Elsewhere, faith is described as a gift of God. So if we don't have it, we can simply ask God for it. We can't trust ourselves; but we can trust God. Even though we're naturally sinful, we can have faith that God will make us righteous through our trust in his Son. Not only can we be forgiven, but we can be changed by God's Holy Spirit. God doesn't save us to carry on as we were, but to be transformed into his likeness. 'Sovereign Father in heaven, ...

 Matthew 16:24 ESV Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  Jesus can't be accused of false advertising here. He didn't pretend to be a lottery ticket. He doesn't want fair weather followers only. If we're to follow Jesus, we're to deny ourselves. I find this convicting especially when I'm tired and want a nap. When I do so I tend to leave others to pick up the pieces of whatever needs doing. To take up our cross is like taking up our electric chairs or our hangman's noose! Jesus is basically saying we're to be prepared to die for him. If we're faithful in small things, he'll prove us faithful even unto death. When all's said and done we're to follow Jesus. Why should be? Because beyond the cross there's a crown of life for all who have faith in him. 'Almighty Father, may we follow your Son all our days, until you call us home. For your honour and pra...

 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. God wants us to be like him. Therefore he has given us his Holy Spirit to help us to do so. God isn't fearful, and doesn't want us to be either.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but the love of God is the heart of wisdom. It was 'grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved'. If we fear God, we needn't fear anything or anyone else. The power God gives us isn't necessarily to work miracles. In the context, the Apostle Paul was writing to the young pastor Timothy. He was encouraging him to preach God's word with boldness. It's not enough to speak the truth. We must do so in love. We also need to be self controlled, to have self discipline so our lives don't disqualify our message. 'Dear God, please help us to be Christlike: powerful, loving and disciplined. Forgive us for times we're afraid we pray and help us to t...

 Isaiah 55:6 ESV Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; Some people say they'll repent on their deathbed. This verse urges us not to be so complacent. No one knows when we're going to die.  We need to seek God while we can. Tomorrow may never come. Today is the day of salvation. There's no guarantee that if we don't want to repent today, that we'll repent tomorrow. If we don't feel like changing our minds about God, we need to call upon him to transform our hearts. Without wishing to contradict this verse, what matters even more is that the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. If we seek after him, it's only because he first sought us out. There's no room for us to be all self congratulatory for crying out to him. 'Lord, we seek you wholeheartedly. We call upon you to draw near to us, even as we seek to draw near to you, through Christ crucified, in whose name we pray, amen'. 

 1 Peter 5:8 ESV  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  The Apostle Peter isn't saying we can't have a sense of humour. He is saying we need to take spiritual conflict seriously. The Christian life isn't a walk in the park. We're to be watchful. It's worth noting that the devil isn't just like a roaring lion. He often masquerades as an angel of light. It's important to note that the devil isn't actually a roaring lion. He's only like one- he's a coward really. He's scared of the true Lion: Jesus- the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The devil wants to devour us. If we're truly saved we won't be devoured by him. Our salvation depends on Jesus, not upon our performance, thankfully. 'O Lord, thank you for this warning. Please help us look to you to help us overcome the devil. In Jesus' name, amen'.

 2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. This verse seems too good to be true. It almost seems blasphemous. If we know ourselves to be sinners, we must be astounded that we can become the righteousness of God. Even the way God has made us good in his sight is astounding. The Father made the Son to be sin for us. So all our greed, lust, hatefulness, pride etc. was placed upon Jesus on the cross who was killed as the worst of criminals. Jesus was treated as worthy of hell so that we can be treated by God as worthy of glory. It doesn't really seem fair if we're honest. Yet God in his justice has made a way for us to be saved, through Christ crucified. I think a lot of our problems stem from having too small a view of both our sinfulness and God's righteousness. If we know how bad we are, it will make us all the more grateful at God's goodness. Praise the Lord for his immeasurable lo...