Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. 1 Corinthians 4:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.4.9.ESV The title of 'apostle' nowadays is like a badge of honour. Not in Bible days. After all, it simply means 'messenger' or 'sent one'. The Biblical apostles were marked men, brutally persecuted by the Roman Empire. They felt like men sentenced to death. Tradition suggests that most of them were literally sentenced to death too. The apostles were a spectacle to the world. They were prepared to be reviled and persecuted for the sake of Christ. They got beaten up, imprisoned, flogged and shipwrecked; among other things. Not only people looking on will have marvelled at what the apostles went through. Even angels marvelled at what they had to endure. Of course, it's all worth it for the sake of Christ, who gave everything for us. 'Fa

  each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 1 Corinthians 3:13 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.3.13.ESV It is hard in this life to quantify the impact our work has. But a day is coming when everyone's work will become manifest. That day will disclose the quality of what we have done. I'm reminded of the story of the three little pigs. The wolf blew the straw and wood houses down, but the brick house stood firm. Similarly, our work will be tested in the fire of God's justice. All our motives will be evaluated in the light of God's gaze. Not only do we have to build on the foundation of Christ, but we have to build with the right materials. I'm sure using this analogy that the fruit of the Spirit is the bricks we need to use: love, joy, peace etc. We need to make sure our work lasts by doing it not for ourselves, but for the glory of G

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 1 Corinthians 2:1 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.2.1.ESV We might be impressed by Paul's writings. Even sceptics often respect his evident intelligence and logic. But apparently he wasn't a particularly impressive speaker. I don't think Paul's just being modest here. We know that at least one of his hearers fell asleep during one lengthy address. He wasn't a great orator. This doesn't mean to say that Paul's subject matter was uninspiring. He spoke the very testimony of God. But his speech wasn't particularly dynamic. Paul might not have used rhetoric or worldly wisdom. However, when he did speak he demonstrated the wisdom of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. God can use the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. 'All wise God, thank You for revealing Your wisdom through the likes of us. May we be faithful to d

  To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 1 Corinthians 1:2 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.1.2.ESV What is a church? It is simply a gathering of the people of God. Corinth was an unlikely place to have a church. It was synonymous in the ancient world with sexual immorality, people used 'corinthianise' as a nickname for such things. I love how Paul phrases his greeting- telling the Corinthian church that they are sanctified, made holy, set apart for God. We might shrug our shoulders, these might be familiar terms to us. But these are the very same people that Paul criticises for being divisive, for taking each other to court, even for incest in one case. We often think of sanctification as being in the present tense: something that God is doing in our hearts on an ongoing basis. Paul here however desc

to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. Romans 16:27 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.16.27.ESV We might like to think of ourselves as relatively wise. But in the grand scheme of things, we only know a drop in the ocean. God, on the other hand is the fount of all knowledge, thr only wise God. Because God is wise, in a good, godly way, He deserves all the glory we can afford to Him. In His matchless wisdom, He has revealed to us the way of reconciliation to Him. We don't need to be foolish rebels against Him anymore. So often as humans we're fickle. We get enthusiastic about something for a season, and then lose interest. But God is to be glorified forevermore. It's all because of Jesus that the most wise God is to be glorified. This is because He reveals the wisdom of God's salvation plan. In Him, we can know the wisdom of God's salvation. 'Only wise God, we acknowledge You as the omniscient one. We are clueless without You

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, Romans 15:5 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.15.5.ESV God gives us endurance. He gives us the patience we need to live in harmony with people we might have very little in common with. For many Christians, Christ is their common ground rather than anything else. We might have different genders, political views, ethnicities, languages etc. But if we mutually belong to Jesus we can live in harmony with one another. We might need to be encouraged to do so, and God does, in His word. Jesus died, not simply to bring us peace with God, but with one another too. If we claim to live for Him and don't live in harmony with one another, we betray the fact we don't live for Jesus. If we do belong to Him, He will transform our lives. Just think what a testimony it is to the world to live in harmony, despite our many differences. Gender, politics, ethnicity, lang

  Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Romans 13:1 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.13.1.ESV Jesus wasn't a revolutionary, and neither was Paul. In fact, they both commanded believers not to rebel. Jesus said to give to Caesar what is Caesar's (and to God what is God's!). Paul here says we should obey whoever rules over us. His reasoning is that it is part of God's sovereign will that they are in power. So to go against the powers that be is to go against God. Bear in mind that Paul is talking about Rome here, who would (most likely) martyr himself and many other Christians. He knew however that Rome didn't just hate Chriatians. Generally, Rome punished wrongdoers and rewarded those who did good. Human authorities are generally about maintaining law and order, and that's a good thing. Obviously, where authorities tell us to go against our fai

  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." Romans 12:19 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.12.19.ESV If we belong to Jesus, we are the beloved of God. Also, we have to play to different rules to the world. People in the world seek revenge when they are wronged. Christians are to be different though. As Christians, we believe in the sovereignty and justice of God. So we don't need to take matters into our own hands. We can leave vengeance for the righteous wrath of God. Our attempts at revenge are always disproportionate, perpetuating cycles of violence and injustice. God always metes out the right response to our actions however. He may not always be instantaneous in His response, but in eternity at the very least, justice will be served. Paul goes on to explain what we should do instead of seeking revenge. He says we should give food and drink to our enemies, because tha

For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. Romans 11:24 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.11.24.ESV I love Paul's illustration here to make a difficult concept easier to understand. How can Gentiles be saved by the Jewish Messiah. Let's consider the analogy of the olive tree. Jesus is like the branch of the olive tree. And He is Jewish, His root is Israel. Naturally, the branches are Jewish, but some have been broken off due to unbelief in Him as the Jewish Messiah. Not only have some branches been pruned away, but other, Gentile, wild olive branches have been grafted in, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to be careful to remain in Him, because if not, we too will be cut away. Thankfully, God pruned the ones He loves to make us more fruitful. There is strong reason for hope that there wi

  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Romans 10:10 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.10.10.ESV I'm not sure the concept of 'secret believers' is very Biblical. Yes, there was Naaman in the old testament who had to fulfil some pagan duties. But in the new testament Jesus tells those who are persecuted for the faith that they are blessed (and to flee persecution). These verses in Romans 10 don't seem to allow for 'secret believers'. We need to confess with our mouths and be saved. We're not saved by confessing with our mouths, but if we are saved, we will confess Christ. Obviously, verbal confession isn't enough. Someone could claim to be a follower of Jesus and not believe it in their hearts. We need to believe in our hearts to be justified by God. So we need to confess that Jesus is Lord. As He Himself said, anyone who's ashamed of Him and His words will not be acknowledged by Him wh

  So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. Romans 9:18 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.9.18.ESV Many people struggle with the idea that God hardens people against Himself. Why would He do such a thing? Well, by hardening Pharoah, for example, God showcased His glory in delivering His people from slavery in Egypt. Not even the hardest of hearts can thwart God's purposes. We might be uncomfortable with the idea that God hardens people. But we see hard hearts all around us, should it really surprise us that God hardens people? If we're more attuned to God, it should be more difficult for us to understand why God would have mercy upon any of us. Considering that we're all naturally hard hearted, why would God bother softening any of us to His mercy? He owes us nothing. Too often, we have a sense of entitlement when it comes to God's mercy. But the very definition of the word is undeserved kindness. We're not entitled to God&#

  There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.8.1.ESV What a liberating statement this is! In Romans so far, we've seen how we're naturally bad, slaves of sin, and deserving of condemnation. These facts don't magically change when we come to faith. But if we are in Christ Jesus, however deserving we may be of condemnation, there is none for us. Jesus liberates us. He sets us free from the judgement we deserve. In Romans 7, Paul describes the conflict with sin that Christians still struggle with. But in this verse, he assures us that this ongoing conflict doesn't mean to say we have lost the favour of God. If we are in Christ, we are on the winning side. Paul will go on to explain about the gift of the Holy Spirit, who helps us in the fight against sin. If we belong to Jesus and are filled with His Spirit, the victory is assured. We need to work in partnership with the Spirit against our si

Lord, have mercy on the sinner I am I know that there is no good within me I know I'm hopelessly lost without you, I know that only you can set me free. Lord, you know the sinfulness of my heart And I know that your heart is only good, So please treat me according to your love And do not treat me as I know you should. Lord, your goodness is unfathomable Help me to become more and more like you. Without you I know I am powerless With you I know that my heart can be true. Lord, I know I ask the impossible, But with you everything is possible So I ask you to do what I cannot, To change my heart completely and in full.

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Romans 7:15 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.7.15.ESV Surely we can all relate to Paul here. We all do things we can't rationalise. Sometimes we do things we simply cannot comprehend or explain. As Jeremiah put it, the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can understand it. Sadly, we all do things we know we shouldn't, and cannot justify. Even the great apostle Paul admitted the same. Especially if we're born again of the Holy Spirit, He puts new desires in our hearts, to do what is right. The problem is, we don't always do what is right. There's a battle going on between our sinful flesh and our saved spirits. As with Paul here, we can be tempted to despair at our continuing sin, even as God's people. But then we need to remind ourselves of God's love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord. There is no condemnation for those of

  For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." Romans 4:3 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.4.3.ESV What did Abraham believe from God? That he would bless the world through his Descendant (the Lord Jesus Christ). Abraham was some pagan from Ur of the Chaldeans (near modern day Basra in Iraq). He was spiritually bankrupt. But God called Abraham, he believed, and God credited the riches of Christ's righteousness to Abraham's spiritual account. We are Abraham's children if we trust in Christ too. Abraham didn't earn his salvation; neither can we. God gave Abraham His goodness as a gift. Abraham didn't deserve to be made good, but God did it anyway, such was His love. We can't successfully work to get God's favour, we must receive it as a free gift of grace. Religion says 'do' this and that to try and get into God's good books. Christianity says all that is necessary is 'don

  Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the Lord , who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! Ruth 4:14 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rut.4.14.ESV Towards the start of the book of Ruth, Naomi felt bereft. By the end, she had her baby grandson in her lap. God is the God of the breakthrough, of the miracle. When there seems to be no way, God can make a way. And when He does, it will be a cause for rejoicing. God's blessing invites the blessings of others too. And whoever we are, we can enjoy God's blessings too. 'There is a Redeemer, Jesus, God's own Son, precious Lamb of God, Messiah, Holy One'. By trusting in Him, we can know His redemption in our lives. Boaz's name has become renowned in Israel. But he is only a shadow of the greatest kinsman Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, who isn't too proud to relate to us as our kinsman and Saviour. We can all be adopted into God's family through faith

  And when he saw their faith, he said, "Man, your sins are forgiven you." Luke 5:20 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.5.20.ESV Jesus's words here are surprising, because the man he addresses was paralysed, and was clearly brought to Jesus to be healed. He sees through the most apparent needs to what matters the most. Forgiveness is more important than healing. We often assume our physical needs are the most important. They are only temporary however. Our spiritual needs need settling for eternity. Healing is only for a season, until our bodies finally pack up, or Jesus returns. But divine forgiveness is for eternity. For those who trust in Him, God promises to do the humanly impossible and to forget our sins. Having said all that, Jesus did heal the paralysed man. He wanted to show His critics that He really does have the authority, not just to heal, but to forgive sins. We must come to Him in faith for forgiveness. 'Almighty Lord, we come to You for the heal

  In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jdg.21.25.ESV The UK might have a monarchy, but the second half of the verse seems pretty apt, not just for Britain, but for the West as a whole. We even have names for everyone doing whatever they like: pluralism/relativism. Pluralism/relativism are the ideas that anything goes, that people can do whatever they like. Our default sinful nature is to do whatever we see as right. But to be spiritual we must walk by faith, and not by sight. Doing what is right in our own eyes means people get together with people who look attractive. Spiritual people however know that man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Love might be as visual as the wind, but it is still better than a raw physical attraction/lust. The problem with relativism is that it doesn't work. If what's right for you is wrong for me, we can't both b

  And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness Luke 4:1 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.4.1.ESV We might assume that if someone is favoured by God, their lives will be easy, comfortable, and prosperous. Jesus blew that theory out of the water. Despite being filled with the Holy Spirit, He was led by Him into the wilderness. Why was Jesus led into the wilderness? To be tested by satan. Jesus passed the test with flying colours. Jesus passed where we fail. Time and again, we give in to satan's temptations to sin. But if we trust in Jesus, we can be forgiven and changed. We might like to think that Jesus went through the wilderness so that we don't have to. But we need to follow in His footsteps. By His Holy Spirit, we can endure the wilderness and come through to the promised land. 'Father God, thank You for Your Son going through the wilderness for us. Please help us through our wilderness wandering, by Yo

  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Luke 3:3 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.3.3.ESV At first, John the Baptist's message sounds easy. All we need to do is to be dunked in water as a sign that we're turning from our sins to find forgiveness with God, right? Wrong! John started berating those who came to him for baptism. Imagine asking a pastor for baptism only for him to call you a snake! What John wanted to see was fruit in keeping with repentance. It's one thing to talk the talk. But God expects us to walk the walk too. It's not enough to say the right thing, we need to do the right thing. Water baptism isn't a fad. It is an outward sign of an inward act of God. If there's no evidence that God is at work in our lives, we probably shouldn't get baptised. There needs to be a radical turnaround in our lives. 'God, please baptise us in Your Holy Spirit, if You haven

  And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" Luke 2:49 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.2.49.ESV Even as a twelve year old boy, the Lord Jesus Christ knew exactly who He was. He knew He wasn't Joseph the Nazarene carpenter's son. He knew He was the eternal, virgin born Son of God Almighty. So when the 'holy family' went to Jerusalem and His parents lost Him, Jesus told them exactly where they should have expected Him: His Father's house, the temple of the Lord. Even as the boy He was, Jesus amazed the learned teachers and religious leaders with His questions and answers. We can only speculate what it would have been like to have been a 'fly on the wall'! What of us, adopted into God's family, through faith in Jesus? Can we be found in God's house, on the Lord's Day at the very least? Would people be surprised to find us there? Our Father's house isn't a t

  it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, Luke 1:3 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.1.3.ESV Never mind 'most excellent Theophilus' as the initial recipient of this gospel; Doctor Luke comes across as a most excellent historian of Jesus. He is the only Gentile writer of the forty or so authors of the Bible! Luke was from Troas in modern day Turkey, when he met the apostle Paul, came to faith, and became part of his mission team. He wasn't just some curious Roman skeptic of a biographer. He was convinced that the Lord Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and he wanted Theophilus to share that certainty. As Luke travelled with Paul, he will have met other pioneering disciples of Jesus, who he could interview for his gospel. This wasn't some kind of apocryphal gnostic gospel, but a credible historical account. With his doctorly forensic approach, he a

  Yet you, O Lord God , have said to me, "Buy the field for money and get witnesses"—though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.'" Jeremiah 32:25 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jer.32.25.ESV Jeremiah was bemused. God told him to buy a field. 'Big deal' we might shrug our shoulders and say. But the land was being overrun by Babylonian invaders. God asking Jeremiah to buy a field is a bit like God asking a Palestinian to buy a field that Israelis are determined to build a settlement on. It just doesn't seem to make sense. But God wanted Jeremiah to have faith for the long haul. Jeremiah knew Judah's short term prospects were bleak. So much so that he'd been imprisoned for seeming unpatriotic. But God revealed to him that Judah's long term prospects were good. Judah's exile into Babylonian captivity wasn't the end of the story. A lifetime later they would return. Are we only preoccupied with our short lives, or are we

  the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Jeremiah 31:3 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jer.31.3.ESV Does God seem far away to you? He can still appear to you. As James says, 'draw near to God, and He will draw near to you'. God loves His people with an everlasting love. It's not that He loved Israel in the old testament and Christians in the new. All Israel will be saved- Christian are grafted in, and unbelieving Jews are pruned out. God doesn't give up on us if and when we fail Him. He who began a good work in us will assuredly carry it through to completion upon the day of Christ Jesus. We might fail Him, but He will never fail us. God is faithful, and not just when all is well. He's like a perfect husband who loves 'for better or for worse'. When the going gets tough, God doesn't get going and abandon His people. 'Loving heavenly Father, how gratef

  For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, Jeremiah 29:8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jer.29.8.ESV A few verses later is the very popular verse that God had plans for good for us. Surprisingly, at the time, it was unpopular, because in the context, Jeremiah was referring to life in Babylonian captivity. Understandably, the Jewish exiles in Babylon longed to return home to Judah. False prophets were telling the exiles, 'don't worry, you'll be home by Passover'! Jeremiah on the other hand urged them to settle down because they'd be exiled for a lifetime. Understandably, his prophecy wasn't popular. A modern day equivalent would be to say that there was going to be a lockdown not for months, but for a lifetime. As you can imagine, that wouldn't be popular. But Jeremiah was proved right and the counterfeit prophets were pro

  For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. Acts 19:37 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.19.37.ESV This might seem like an obscure verse, but I think it has important lessons for us in how we do (or don't do) evangelism. There had arisen opposition to Paul and his team. But when it was investigated, nothing could be said against them. Evidently Paul didn't get all polemic, attacking the Ephesians' false religion. Nothing could be said against Paul in how he might have disrespected the Ephesians' beliefs. There's an important lesson here for us in how we evangelise. We don't need to attack other people's beliefs. All we need to do is to preach the gospel of Jesus. Our faith is such good news that we can focus on that, rather than exposing other beliefs as bad news. We need to be as wise as snakes and as innocent as doves. We need to be wise in preaching Christ, and Him crucified. And we need to be