Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

  As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), Acts 10:36 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.10.36.ESV Jesus ministered in Roman Palestine, a pretty small geographic area. Yet His impact is global. He might have been sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, but He sent His followers out to the world. Jesus isn't simply the Jewish Messiah; He's the Saviour of the world. He came to save His people from their sins. His people are from any ethnic group who would put their faith in Him. Christ came to bring peace on earth to those on whom God's favour rests. God's favour doesn't just rest on Jewish believers, but Gentiles too. The division in humanity isn't ethnic but spiritual- depending on what we make of Christ. Christ is Lord of all. Whether we acknowledge Him now or not, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Best to worship Him now, befor

  I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. 2 Samuel 22:4 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/2sa.22.4.ESV David might have self inflicted some of his problems, but God always came through for him. His adultery and murder had horrific  consequences within his family, yet God delivered him time and again. Even when Absalom sought to usurp the throne, David was saved from him. I love the humility of David in this verse. He didn't brag that his enemies ended up dead, often by his hands. He attributed his success to God. We need to clarify that we won't necessarily overcome all our temporal enemies. Maybe we'll get martyred one day! Yet we still will overcome in eternity. In a spiritual sense, we very much do overcome our enemies. Sin and death, the devil and hell are all overcome by the blood of Jesus. We just have to believe in Him. 'O Lord, please help us to overcome our enemies, for Your sake, not our own. In Christ's name

  In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge. Proverbs 14:26 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.14.26.ESV Fear and confidence might seem like an oxymoron. Yet if we fear the Lord, we won't need to fear anything else. If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the love of God is the eternal end of wisdom. The fear of the Lord isn't the kind of fear that makes us run away. It's the kind of fear a child has to not want to disappoint their parent. It's not just the fear of punishment, but the fear of causing displeasure to a loved one. The proverbs are general truths. They're not cast iron promises. Sadly there's no guarantee that the biological children of believers will come to faith. If, like me, someone grows up in a Christian home, they'll likely have a secure upbringing, a refuge of a home from the storms of life. I think there's a spiritual application to this verse too. If we help to birth fa

  They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. Psalm 73:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.73.9.ESV I can't read this verse without thinking of a quote attributed to Putin. He said that it's God's job to judge terrorists, but his own job to send them to Him. Of course Putin himself is the biggest terrorist of all right now! Asaph, like we might, saw the arrogance of the wicked and despaired. Before we pack it in and give up on the faith however, we need to read the end of the Psalm. When Asaph joined in corporate worship, he gained a sense of perspective. If we go to church, we will gain an eternal perspective. The proud and arrogant might often have it easy in this life. Yet there's an eternal reckoning to come. Through faith in Christ, we can avoid the condemnation we deserve and gain eternal life. If we do, we don't need to be envious of the arrogant players who strut across life's stage. We can just patiently

  This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.' Acts 7:37 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.7.37.ESV At first, it might seem pointless and strange that Stephen gives his fellow Jews their own history lesson which I'm sure they knew well enough to mime to. I think there's a few reasons as to why he did so. Firstly, to comfort and reassure himself that he was on the right side of history Most importantly though, I think Stephen was communicating to his hearers that in rejecting his Messiah, they were rejecting the only Messiah. He goes on about Moses at one point, and this verse illustrates why. Stephen could have tried to defend himself as a man of integrity. Instead, he decided to make much of Jesus, the final Prophet raised up from the Jewish people for the world. Christ is the One promised to Moses. Just as Moses led the people of God from slavery in Egypt to the promised land of Canaan, so Jesus

 And a messenger came to David, saying, "The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom." 2 Samuel 15:13 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/2sa.15.13.ESV I haven't picked this verse to provide a history lesson. You can read the context. Suffice to say that Absalom was seeking to usurp the throne of Israel from his father David. It was going well for him, and badly for the divinely anointed king David. I have picked this verse as a picture of king David's greater Son, his most famous Descendant, King Jesus. David was promised a Descendant whose reign will never end. This is fulfilled in Christ the Lord, whose church is His Kingdom. Sadly, although Jesus is King of His heavenly Kingdom, there are plenty of 'churches' that pay Him lipservice only. Many people gather celebrity preachers to tickle their itching ears. These charlatans are to Jesus what Absalom was to David. False teachers would steal our hearts away from Jesus. Like Absalom, they're narciss

  So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; Acts 5:38 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.5.38.ESV Even though Gamaliel wasn't a believer in Christ, he had some common sense. He was clearly a liberal in the best sense of the word. His advice to his fellow ruling Jews was to leave the fledgling Christian Church alone. Gamaliel's reasoning was to stop persecuting the church, because it would fail anyway if it was manmade. Everything manmade is fallible and has a shelf life. The church however has persevered for 2,000 years and is still ticking along. The reason the church is soldiering on isn't because of any intrinsic strength in itself but because it is God's passion project- it cannot ultimately fail. The true church has been persecuted throughout its history, yet God has sustained it through it all. Persecutors are wasting their time. Jesus told us we're blesse

  So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. Psalm 71:18 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.71.18.ESV As I start to go grey and age, this is a great verse for me to pray. God hasn't forsaken me yet. So I can have confidence that He never will. As we seek purpose for our lives, we would do well to mine this verse for meaning. If we know God's mighty sustenance of us in our lives, our job is to proclaim Him to others. If we're old, we're to pass on the good news of His salvation to subsequent generations. I love a verse where Paul says to Timothy to pass on what he entrusted to him to people who likewise can pass it on to others. That's four generations of influence. If we want a legacy for ourselves, that's selfish. If we want a legacy for God's glory, that's a noble pursuit. We mustn't be like people in the days of the judges, who forgot God an

  It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. 2 Samuel 11:2 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/2sa.11.2.ESV This verse is only part of a series of steps David took towards adultery and murder. People don't simply wake up one morning and decide to commit adultery and murder. It's a slippery slope. The quote that the devil makes work for idle hands isn't lifted directly from the Bible, but it is Biblical. It is illustrated by David in this chapter. He should have been leading his army in battle, but decided to rest on his laurels at home. What was the king of Israel doing lounging around on his couch in the late afternoon? He was clearly being lazy. He made time to be up to no good. Accidently seeing a woman bathing wasn't necessarily wrong in and of itself, although we could ask what David was doing instead of fighting I

  And the king said, "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?" Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet." 2 Samuel 9:3 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/2sa.9.3.ESV This is a wonderful verse. David was wanting to show kindness to the house of his murderous adversary Saul. There's something divine about such undeserved grace. Even though David had taken over from Saul as king, he was magnanimous in victory. Just as God had been kind to him, so he wanted to show kindness to Saul's family. Having received God's kindness in Christ, we should similarly show kindness. The main takeaway from this verse isn't 'be kind like David'. The big lesson here is that David is a picture of God, in His kindness towards us. We always want to read ourselves into the story as the hero, when that is Jesus's rightful place. Mephiboseph, Saul's grandson, was la

  The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways. Proverbs 14:14 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.14.14.ESV We reap what we sow. So if we sow sour grapes, that's what we'll get. If we sow pink lady apples, that's what we'll get. If we've got hearts forever going astray from God, we'll be filled with regret. God brings backsliders back. This doesn't mean to say we don't have to deal with the consequences of our actions. If we're good, we're going to create a positive outcome for our actions. If we're a teacher for example who is a good role model, many of our students will follow in our footsteps. We want to be able to call people to do as we do, and not just what we say. We want to have consistency. If we profess faith in Christ, we don't want to be forever backsliding. We want to be holy as He is holy. 'Holy God, may we become increasingly like You,

  When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. Psalm 69:32 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.69.32.ESV 'It' prophetically refers to the exaltation of Christ having given His life for us. The proud reject Christ. The humble rejoice that God is findable in Him. The exaltation of Christ is fearful to the proud because He will humble them. For those who are already humble though, they can look forward to being exalted with Him. By faith, Ephesians two says, we're already spiritually exalted with Christ. God is findable. If we wholeheartedly seek Him, we will find Him. Jesus reveals God to us. If we see Jesus, we see God. We can be encouraged that Christ is exalted. He is on the throne of heaven. Whatever's going on down here, He will work everything out for good for those who love God. 'God Almighty, please revive our hearts to rejoice in You and Your loving sovereignty over us. In Christ's name we pray, amen'

  Hide not your face from your servant, for I am in distress; make haste to answer me. Psalm 69:17 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.69.17.ESV When we're in distress, where do we turn? Our natural response is to go to family and friends. Yet even the most reliable of our loved ones will let us down sometimes. Even unbelievers sometimes cry out to God in their extremities. God shouldn't be a last resort, but a first port of call. Yet in our distress, if it leads us to faith in God, it has a good outcome. Jesus isn't unmindful of how we feel when we're desperately troubled. He Himself cried out to His Father on the cross. He asked Him why He forsook Him. Thankfully, Father God forsook Christ on the cross so that we could be accepted by Him. We who deserve rejection can be justified by faith in Jesus. We get to enjoy eternal life by trusting in the Son of God. 'Our Heavenly Father, please help us to cry out to You in our distress, and may You answer us with the

  O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. Psalm 69:5 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.69.5.ESV There's no point trying to hide our wrongdoing from God. He knows it already. He's an omniscient (all knowing) Judge. We can't pull the wool over His eyes. The Psalmist wasn't in denial. He confessed his sins to God. He wasn't defiant or blasé about what he had done. Another verse in this Psalm describes the Psalmist as worn out by weeping. He was devastated about his wrongs against his God. He longed for forgiveness. Thankfully, in Christ, we can be hopeful of forgiveness. Because He bore our wrongdoing upon the cross, we can be justified. The Judge can acquit us because of His intercession. 'Lord God, please cause us to truly repent, and wash away our wrongdoing in the blood of Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen'

  Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. Proverbs 13:20 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.13.20.ESV This verse sounds so obvious that it doesn't need saying. Sadly, the Bible teaches that we're all naturally foolish. We need to trust in God to wise up. You only need to observe schoolchildren to see this verse in action. It's not trendy (in the U.K. at least) for students to be wise. Yet if they act the fool they're likely to be popular. Students struggle to see the long term. So the foolish ones are likely to fail at life. Whereas the unpopular studious ones are likely to excel. Are us older folks any wiser? Who do we hang out with, not just in real life, but online? If we're associating with fools online, it will only serve to harm us. 'Most Wise God, please help us to be wise. May we shun folly and learn from thoughtful people around us, in Christ's name we pray, amen'

  After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst." John 19:28 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.19.28.ESV Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Jesus was emptied on the cross so that we could be filled with His goodness. We have to trust in Him for spiritual blessings. The Source of all sustenance gave up everything for us. He who was rich beyond all splendour, all for love's sake, became so poor. So we, through His poverty, might become rich. Even in His dehydration, Jesus did everything to fulfil Scripture ultimately. We can read the old testament and see Christ promised throughout. What we see in shadow form in the old testament, we see in glorious technicolour in the new testament. If we want to have our spiritual thirst quenched, we need to look to Jesus. He gave up everything so that we, in Him, can have all we need spiritually. Jesus is enough. 'Our Heavenly

  As the proverb of the ancients says, 'Out of the wicked comes wickedness.' But my hand shall not be against you. 1 Samuel 24:13 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1sa.24.13.ESV We're not basically good as people, who happen to do bad things. We don't just do sins, we are sinners. We do wickedness because we're naturally wicked. So wicked king Saul was rejected, and to be replaced by good king David. Yet David didn't do to Saul what Macbeth did to Duncan. Instead, he entrusted himself to God to work things out for him. David knew that Saul would get his comeuppance eventually. Yet he also refused to raise his hand against the Lord's anointed. Two wrongs don't make a right. David was the rightful king. Yet he wasn't going to ascend the throne wrongfully. He trusted God to work things out for him. 'Sovereign Lord, may we entrust ourselves to You and not take things into our own hands. Thank You for Your perfect justice, in Jesus' name, amen

  A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools. Proverbs 13:19 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.13.19.ESV If we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our hearts. In other words, we will desire Him, and He will give us of Himself who we delight in. God is sweet for the soul; He's not the cosmic killjoy He's so regularly misrepresented as. If we ask in Jesus's name and according to God's will, we will receive. A private jet is highly unlikely to be God's will for us. The salvation of our loved ones quite possibly is. To fools, 'fair is foul and foul is fair'. Pride is a virtue and humility is a dirty word, like something nasty you trod in. As Scripture says (and I paraphrase) 'let the sinner sin right on'. God gives us free will to go our own way. Yet that leads to death. Better to go God's good and delightful way of life, defined by love of Him and of one another.

  I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. John 17:14 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.17.14.ESV How to lose friends and alienate people? Tell them you're a Christian. They'll assume you're homophobic and out of touch. Naturally we crave popularity. Jesus warns us that to follow Him is to take the road less travelled. There's no point hankering after the road not taken. If our main concern in life is acceptance by the world, we won't come to Jesus. What really matters is that we'll be justified by God. When He does so however, we make an enemy of the world. Jesus urges us to realise the reality of who we are in Him. If we belong to Him, we no longer belong to the world. No wonder it hates us- it murdered Him! 'Lord God, thank You for the reality check. Please deliver us from fear of others and craving for acceptance by them. We praise You for justifying us in Christ,

  As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 1 Samuel 18:1 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1sa.18.1.ESV Humanly speaking, Jonathan should have been jealous of David. Humanly speaking, Jonathan was heir to the throne of Israel. Yet the Lord had rejected his father Saul as king, and David had been anointed in his place. Not only so, but David was capturing the hearts and minds of the Israelites by killing the enemy giant Goliath and going on to lead Israel's troops in battle. Jonathan was a competent soldier himself. Yet David overshadowed his achievements. Jonathan was clearly a godly man. He was willing to relinquish the throne for his soul mate David. Some people try to read a homosexual storyline into their relationship. Yet this was a spiritual attraction, not a physical one.   Jonathan was prepared to give up the kingship for his best friend David. This reminds me of Jesus saying

 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.15.12.ESV On the face of it, Jesus seems to be similar to Moses here, who commanded the Israelites to love their neighbours as themselves. Yet He goes further. Moses delivered God's commandments as His servant; Jesus delivered them as His Son. Jesus as the Son has as much authority as the Father. It's a bit like a Father-Son business where they work together as equal partners. Jesus models for us what God the Father expects of us. When Moses commanded to love our neighbours as ourselves, there wasn't a perfect frame of reference. Moses himself had been guilty of murder earlier in his life. Jesus is different however. Jesus can happily command us to love one another as He loved us. He loved us to the extent that He gave His life for us. He sets the bar impossibly high, yet with His help we can do the impossible. 'Our Father God, please help us to lo

 Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, but sin overthrows the wicked. Proverbs 13:6 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.13.6.ESV If someone accuses a righteous or blameless person of wrongdoing, they have nothing to fear. They might even be falsely punished. Yet they will have a clear conscience in the midst of it all. Generally, even in pagan Rome, or the post-Christianised West, authorities reward good behaviour and punish bad behaviour. So if someone has integrity, they can expect to get some recognition. A person of integrity ultimately isn't so for worldly recognition. God rewards integrity. There's no law against the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy and peace etc. are never going to be made illegal. The wicked however will assuredly get their comeuppance. Bad thoughts, words and deeds have a tendency to catch up on us. Skeletons in the closet tend to make their way out eventually. Even if we hide wickedness in our hearts, God will expose it in the end. 'Righte

  Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me! Psalm 66:20 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.66.20.ESV We might be like ants compared to the majesty of God, but we can still bless Him. It's only right that we should seek to bring Him joy after all He has done for us. He answers our prayers. God may not always answer our prayers how we want. Yet He always does answer our prayers, whether it's yes, no or wait. As a father answers his children, so God answers us. God never removes His steadfast love from us. Having saved us, He's not going to give up on us. He's not going to let us go astray beyond the reach of His ability to bring us back. Sometimes, when we go through hard times, it might feel like God has stopped loving us. Yet He brings us through difficulties. Ultimately we have an eternity beyond suffering to look forward to. 'God, we bless You for answering our prayers and for Your love for us in Christ. Ma

  For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. Psalm 66:10 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.66.10.ESV Naturally, we don't like being tested and tried. The illustration is of being refined like silver in a furnace. It's an intense experience. Silver needs to be refined to get rid of the dross; for the scum to be skimmed off. Similarly, we need God to refine us to smooth off our rough edges. We need to be polished like precious stones. The natural person assumes when they suffer that God is punishing them, or that He's bad. The spiritual person however knows that God can bring good out of bad, like salvation through Christ's crucifixion. The worst thing ever to happen- Jesus's murder- led to the greatest outcome: our justification before God. Just because God has saved us in Christ, doesn't mean to say He doesn't need to refine us. Our salvation starts the moment we believe in Jesus. Yet it's not finally accomplished until

  O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. Psalm 65:2 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.65.2.ESV What a comforting fact that God hears prayer! Praying might often feel like talking to the ceiling, but God hears and responds whether we feel it or not. He might answer yes, no or wait, but He doesn't ignore us. When we sin, we grieve the Holy Spirit. Yet that doesn't mean to say God becomes deaf to our cries. We can still cry out to Him for forgiveness and restoration. All flesh will come to God. It doesn't matter whether we believe in Him or not. We could be unsure of His existence, but we will still meet Him when we die. We need to make our peace with God, through Jesus, now, whilst we can. The day He judged us will be too late. Today is the day of salvation! 'O Lord our God, we pray to You confident that You hear. Please reconcile us to You before it's too late. In Jesus' name we pray, amen'

  In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death. Proverbs 12:28 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.12.28.ESV This verse seems unrealistic for at least a couple of reasons. Firstly, and most obviously, everyone died. How can Solomon say there is no death in the path of righteousness? Our lives are more than just a beating heart. We are body, soul, and spirit. If God makes us alive to righteousness, we'll never die. Death will be like falling asleep until Christ wakes us up to live with Him eternally. Another difficult thing with this verse is righteousness. We're all naturally unrighteous and on the wrong path in life. How do we get on the Righteous Road? We need to trust in Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He can be our righteousness, through faith in Him. By His Spirit we can live righteously. 'Father in heaven, please help us to walk the narrow path of life, and to come off the wide road to destruction. In our Saviour's

  do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? John 10:36 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.10.36.ESV This verse is a clear description of who Jesus is. He describes God as the Father, which of course makes Him the Son. Then He says the Father consecrated Him and sent Him into the world- He's the eternal Son of God. Sadly, for the religious people of the day, Jesus's claim was blasphemous. They refused to countenance the possibility that it might be true. Not even His teachings and miraculous signs persuaded them. The religious leaders were blinkered in their insistence that Jesus's assertion that He is the Son of God is blasphemous. Sadly, many people today concur. Yet the Truth is vindicated by His deeds. Not only did the Son of God live a life that vindicated Himself; He also died a death to validate His Sonship. No wonder the centurion who executed Him declared

  They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, John 8:39 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.8.39.ESV Lots of people claim to be Abrahamic. Yet the true children of Abraham are not necessarily biological, whether by Isaac or Ishmael, but the ones who follow in Abraham's footsteps. A biological child who goes against their biological father is no true child at all. So what were the works that Abraham did? He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Belief might not seem like much work, but Jesus Himself said that the work of God is to believe in the One He has sent- even Himself. So how is belief work? Abraham's belief in God caused him to leave his homeland and enter the promised land. He trusted God for Isaac (notwithstanding his Ishmaelite blip!). Abraham was even prepared to give up Isaac for God. We should be prepared to give up whatever is

  With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes. Psalm 60:12 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.60.12.ESV David, the Psalmist, was a man of war. He was a valiant warrior who trod down his foes. Unlike the apocryphal Psalm 151, he wasn't self-congratulatory. David knew that it was in God that we live, and move and have our being. He knew that without God we could do nothing. He knew that any success he had was ultimately down to God. Another verse which harmonises nicely with this one is that it is not by might or power, but by the Spirit of God that we accomplish what we need. We are to love our enemies. That isn't to say that God won't tread them down. When a man's ways are pleasing to God, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Ideally our enemies will be reconciled to us. If not, we entrust them to the justice of God. 'Victorious God, help us to live victoriously, knowing that in Christ You have won the victory for us. M

  But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. John 8:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.8.9.ESV 'Let the one without sin throw the first stone'. If you're a murderous religious person, the older you are, the more likely you are to be self aware. People often hope they'll overcome their besetting sins. I've heard said that the sins we struggle with in our youth tend to be what we struggle with in later years. So far, so true. The law of Moses declared that adulterers were to be stoned. Jesus, the only Sinless One, declared that no sinner has the right to enforce that law. In doing so, He dismantled and notion of theocracy. Theocracy will be established when Jesus returns, not any time sooner. When He returns, death by stoning will be the least of our worries. We deserve eternal hell for our rebellion against Him. Thankfully, in these days of grace, Jesus refuses

  The Jews therefore marveled, saying, "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?" John 7:15 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.7.15.ESV Jesus was a man of great learning, and a great teacher. Yet he didn't have His Postgraduate Certificate of Education. He had no formal training to be the best Rabbi ever. I assume Jesus had some basic education at the synagogue. Even at twelve He was wowing the religious leaders with His knowledge. Yet He will have learnt His stepdad's trade of carpentry. Because we don't hear of Joseph between Jesus being twelve and about thirty, we assume he died in the meantime and Jesus took on the family business to support His family. At thirty though, Jesus abruptly became a Rabbi. It's understandable that His biological family were bemused by His career change. Down through history, Jesus has transformed people who follow in His footsteps to go from an unlearned state to putting intellectuals to shame. In

  So Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?" John 6:67 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.6.67.ESV Jesus had been telling crowds He'd fed miraculously that they had to eat the bread of His flesh and drink the wine of His blood. Understandably, many were bemused and stopped following Him. Most wanted Him to be a Romanesque Caesar who gave them free bread and circuses. The way of Jesus isn't the way of free food and entertainment. It is the way of sacrifice. We must deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Him. I love Peter's response to Jesus here. He said 'who else could we turn to? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God'. Jesus doesn't promise an easy life. He demands sacrificial obedience. What He does promise is eternal life which will make the troubles of this present age pale into insignificance in comparison with the glory that is to be revealed in us. 'Holy G

 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. Psalm 58:10 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.58.10.ESV Certain verses in the Psalms, take this one for example, can read uncomfortably. Aren't we to love our enemies? Yes, but that doesn't mean to say we can't pray for their comeuppance! Of course, we ought to forgive and to show mercy to those who wrong us. We are to bless those who curse us. Yet if they refuse forgiveness, mercy and blessings, they only have God's vengeance to look forward to. It's not for us to take revenge. That's God's job. He's infinitely better at vengeance than us. When He does give the wicked their comeuppance, we can happily rejoice. If someone mourns Hitler's death, that would be concerning. If someone is glad when Putin dies, that's understandable. The Lord takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but the righteous understandably rejoice when the wicked ar

  The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. Psalm 58:10 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.58.10.ESV Certain verses in the Psalms, take this one for example, can read uncomfortably. Aren't we to love our enemies? Yes, but that doesn't mean to say we can't pray for their comeuppance! Of course, we ought to forgive and to show mercy to those who wrong us. We are to bless those who curse us. Yet if they refuse forgiveness, mercy and blessings, they only have God's vengeance to look forward to. It's not for us to take revenge. That's God's job. He's infinitely better at vengeance than us. When He does give the wicked their comeuppance, we can happily rejoice. If someone mourns Hitler's death, that would be concerning. If someone is glad when Putin dies, that's understandable. The Lord takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but the righteous understandably rejoice when the wi

  yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. John 5:40 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.5.40.ESV In the context, the religious people Jesus was speaking to diligently searched the Scriptures, because they thought they'd find life in them. Jesus said that the Scriptures testify about Him. Words on a page don't bring life, but the Word made flesh does. It is possible to be a diligent student of Scripture, and still be a stranger to God's grace. I remember chatting to some Mormons for a long time. My friend told them they weren't Christians. One replied that he studied the Bible every day before breakfast! We answered that doing such a thing doesn't make us Christians. As Jesus said on the road to Emmaus, all Scripture is ultimately about Him. So if we're studying Scripture and not finding Christ, we're missing the point. There's no point wasting our time! Instead of studying the Bible every day before breakfast and missing the wood for th

  and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. John 5:29 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.5.29.ESV At first glance, Jesus seems to contradict other Scriptures in this verse. Paul, for example, says that it is by grace we have been saved, through faith. Here, Jesus seems to suggest that we're saved by works. Take what Paul says in context however. Yes, we are saved by grace, through faith. Yet we are also God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do. If we are to harmonise these verses, we would say that we're saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone, it is always accompanied by works. We're not saved by works, they are simply the evidence that we are saved. Faith without works is dead. If we do good, ultimately, God gets the glory, because anything good in us is His work within us. If we do evil,

  I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. Psalm 57:2 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.57.2.ESV God is Most High. Not sickness, war, unemployment, or whatever else we may be facing. So in the midst of our troubles, we ought to cry out to God, like the Psalmist. In the context, the Psalmist was facing troubles of His own. Yet he knew where to take them. He cried out to God to deliver him from his troubles. God fulfils His purposes for us. Trouble doesn't stop Him. He works all things for the good of those who love Him. How do we get to know God's purpose for us? Simply put, His word tells us to love Him wholeheartedly, and to love others as ourselves. Whatever decision we're facing we can check against those criteria. 'Almighty Father, thank You that whatever troubles we face in this world, You have overcome this world through Your Son. Please help us to live by His Spirit, in His name we pray, amen'

  And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. Judges 2:10 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jdg.2.10.ESV This is like the negative alternative to something Paul tells Timothy. Paul tells Timothy to pass on what he heard from him to faithful men who could entrust the good news to yet another generation. That's four generations impacted by the gospel. Sadly, the reverse had happened in this verse in Judges. The Israelites were forgetting that God had miraculously delivered them from slavery in Egypt. They became careless of God's goodness to them. If we trust in Jesus, we're saved from slavery to sin. It's so easy to forget in the busyness of life what God has done for us though. The danger is that we become complacent. The West is like Israel in the time of the judges. The refrain in that book is that in those days there was no king in Isra

  Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counsellors there is safety. Proverbs 11:14 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.11.14.ESV This verse bodes well for the West, and badly for Russia. Putin has surrounded himself with yes-men meaning he has no meaningful guidance or counsel. So tragically his conscripted people fall in the vanity project of a war in Ukraine. This verse bodes well for the West because there's an abundance of would be guides and counsellors out there. Take your pick! Understandably you have to sort the wheat out from the chaff, but wise people seek out and find wisdom. In a spiritual sense, we need the word of God to guide us. Without that, we're spiritually lost. We need people to guide us into what the word of the Lord is for us. We need to turn from our own ways and start heading God's way. Around forty authors wrote the sixty-six books of the Bible. There's an abundance of counsellors right there! You don't ne

  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." John 3:8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.3.8.ESV Weather forecasting isn't far removed from soothsaying! Weather forecasters often get the gist of what the weather's going to do, but often they get it wrong! God can be as unpredictable as the weather, which in the UK is pretty changeable. God Himself isn't changeable, but what He can do by His Spirit in people's hearts is. No one is safe from the Spirit's transformation. A drug addict could be delivered. A proud religious hypocrite could be humbled. Most of us are somewhere in between my two examples. It doesn't matter whether we're notorious sinners or fine upstanding members of the community. God can turn anyone's life right side up. We're born spiritually dead. We need to be born again by the Holy Spirit of God. We don&

  Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. Psalm 54:4 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.54.4.ESV Being a helper is a humble role. Humanly speaking, we want to be the main act, not the side show. Yet, even though God is the director of life, He isn't afraid to step on stage to help us out. We might assume that the helper is subordinate to the helped. After all, if someone is deemed worthy of help, they must be important, right? Jesus came not to be served but to serve however. To be helped doesn't require us to do anything. To help is greater than to be helped. Better to actively contribute to someone rather than to simply passively benefit from someone's assistance. How are we even alive? Is it because we eat healthily, exercise well, and observed covid regulations? Ultimately, we live because God upholds our lives. 'God our Helper, thank You for not being too proud to assist us. Please uphold our lives, until You call us home, in the name

  Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" John 1:49 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.1.49.ESV Nathanael didn't need much to help him to conclude who Jesus is. Jesus recognised him as a man of integrity, which impressed him, because they'd never met before. In case he thought it was a lucky guess, Jesus said He'd (miraculously) seen him sat under a tree. Nathanael comes across as a dreamer, a thinker, a learner. He addressed Jesus as Rabbi, teacher, but didn't stop there. Nathanael recognised him as the Son of God. Nathanael's recognition of Jesus is a neat way for John to start his gospel. After all, Jesus would be condemned to death by the Jews for claiming to be the Son of God. The Romans would execute Him for claiming to be the King of Israel. Calling Himself the Son of God would be blasphemous, unless it were true. Calling Himself the King of Israel would be treason against Caesar, unless it is true.

  He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. John 1:7 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.1.7.ESV John the Baptist was like a man in a dark room who knows where the light switch is. He's not the light himself. He just pointed towards Him. Jesus is the Light of the world. If we follow Him, we'll never need walk in darkness. If we follow Him, we ourselves become witnesses of His majesty. John drew crowds with his dynamic personality. We might not be quite so charismatic, but we can still witness to friends, neighbours, colleagues, acquaintances and even strangers on the net. Jesus makes us fishers of people! Our desire should be the same as God's. He wants everyone to believe in Jesus. That should be what we're striving for as well. 'Father God, thank You for sending Your Light into the world to brighten it up. Please help us to call others into the light, for Your honour we pray, amen'

  O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. Psalm 51:15 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.51.15.ESV King David had been guilty of adultery and murder. Understandably, he felt muted. He didn't feel he could praise God publicly without coming across as a massive fraud. Yet David is described as a man after God's own heart. Yes, he fell deeply into sin. Yet this Psalm is a heartfelt prayer to God to restore Him. David knew that if God forgave him, he'd have a great testimony. There's hope for the worst of sinners! So he longed to open up his mouth in praises to God. Thankfully, God positively did answer his prayer. He did go on to praise God and write many more Psalms of worship to Him. Whatever we've done, there's hope for us yet, in the blood of Christ. 'Sovereign Lord, please help us to praise and worship You wholeheartedly, whatever our pasts may be. In Jesus' name we pray, amen'

  And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments. Luke 23:34 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.23.34.ESV Father God wonderfully answered His beloved Son's prayer. The centurion who led the death squad who executed Jesus came to recognise that 'this is the Son of God'. A criminal crucified with Him repented of his insults. The criminal said 'Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom'. Jesus replied, 'today you will be with me in paradise'. Only through faith in Jesus can we be forgiven. Jesus was willing for His murderous executioners to be forgiven. He was willing for His insulting fellow convict to be forgiven. Of course, Christ was 'convicted' of crimes of which He was innocent: treason against Caesar and blasphemy against God. If Jesus really was blasphemous against God, why did His heavenly Father answer His prayer to forgive His haters? Ultimately, Jesus

  so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever." Joshua 4:24 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jos.4.24.ESV It's good to remember God's might in ages past It's good to memorialise positive things. Many trees are being planted for Queen Elizabeth II's seventieth jubilee, some of which may stand for a thousand years (should Christ delay His return). The context of Joshua four is the children of Israel crossing the River Jordan into the promised land of Canaan. They crossed on dry ground. It was like God rolled out the red carpet for them. Joshua made Israel memorialise this wonderful miracle with a monument. He knew all too well how fickle we are, and how easy to forget. Just as the UK wants future generations to remember what a blessing Elizabeth II has been, so Joshua wanted Israelite generations to remember God's goodness. Fear sounds strange for Someone who always comes throu

 David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?" Luke 20:44 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.20.44.ESV The Jews were looking forward to the revelation of the Son of David, whose Kingdom would never end. They were picturing some Davidic king, flawed but powerful, who would kick out the Romans and establish an eternally golden age for Israel. Jesus sought to manage His people's expectations. He isn't just the Son of David, He's David's Lord. He's not simply on a par with David, He is his God. As Jesus told Roman governor Pilate when on trial for His life: 'my Kingdom is not of this world'. On the face of it, Jesus offered no threat to Rome. As it is, corrupt Rome fell whilst the Kingdom of God marches on. Worldly imperial ventures fail. Whether America, China, the EU or Putin, earthly powers fail. God's Kingdom on the other hand is eternal. 'O Lord our God, may we worship You not just as King to lead us but as Lord to obey. Help us to honour Y

  No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Joshua 1:5 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jos.1.5.ESV What men seem to stand before us, like Goliath, mocking us and our faith in the living God? We might literally have people opposing us. So let's take courage from this verse. Joshua is being addressed specifically in this verse. Yet all of us as God's people can claim these promises for ourselves. Even Christ, condemned to death by Pilate, ultimately stands in judgement over him. The God of Moses is our God. The God of Joshua is our God. The God of Paul is our God. We can faithfully and successfully serve Him in His strength. The God who never left or forsook Joshua will never leave or forsake us. Jesus hadn't left us as orphans, but has poured out His Holy Spirit upon us. We'll never walk alone! 'God of Joshua, thank You for being the same God to us to

  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.1.8.ESV Today is when the Western church traditionally remembers pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon His people. At church today, someone shared a dream with me. In it they were crossing a bridge in thick fog, and people were falling over the edge. Jesus is the bridge between us and God. His Spirit is the one who guides us across that bridge until He calls us home to our heavenly Father. God's word is a light to our feet and a torch for our path. As long as we stick with Jesus by His word and Spirit, we will be okay. We mustn't abandon faith in Him, otherwise we will be lost. Our calling as people crossing the Jesus bridge to God is to call others to do the same, to follow us as we stick to the straight and narrow.

  But he looked directly at them and said, "What then is this that is written: "'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'? Luke 20:17 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.20.17.ESV The religious people thought they were going to build the Kingdom of God on earth. Yet they rejected Christ the Cornerstone. He is the crucial piece to the whole structure of God's people. If we think we can write ourselves into God's plan and write Jesus out of it, we're deluding ourselves. We're in danger of getting sacked as builders of God's Kingdom if we don't work to God's blueprint. He's the divine Architect whose plans we have to follow. If Jesus is the cornerstone of His people, then our understanding of who He is is the foundation. He is the Christ, the Son of God, anointed by God to achieve the salvation of His people. He is central to the Kingdom of God. Elsewhere in Scripture, we're described as living stones in th

'Don't seek great things for yourself' Said no Disney film ever, But that's what God told Baruch, Who thought himself too clever- - to live in obscurity. He, from a family princely Thought writing was beneath him Until he met Jeremy- Jeremiah the prophet Was a compelling speaker But his writing- not so much, Baruch became his writer. And although he wasn't great, He did great things for his Lord. Penning Jeremiah's book; Living faithful to God's word. So don't seek greatness for you, Instead seek greatness for Him Even in Lamentations, Your heart is able to sing.

  'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Luke 19:26 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.19.26.ESV If Jesus was talking in economic terms, He would seem pretty harsh. He seems to be saying that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. He's not talking about money however, but spirituality. Elsewhere, Jesus blesses the poor, 'for their's is the Kingdom of God'. Of course, once we've inherited the Kingdom of heaven, we become spiritually rich. If, having become spiritually rich, we delude ourselves that we're still spiritual paupers, we betray the fact we haven't understood God's grace. It's like a beggar adopted by the King who prefers sleeping in a cardboard box to the palace. Of course, such an attitude would be an insult to the King's generosity. Unless he repents, he's going to lose his place in the palace. Of course, the right attitude for a

 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out. Proverbs 10:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.10.9.ESV Most people when hiding skeletons in the closet get found out in the end. Very few will pre-empt getting outed and confess their sins first. However people are found out, they inevitable will eventually, even if it isn't until the day of judgement. We are responsible for our own behaviour. We can't blame nurture when by nature we are crooked. We need God to straighten us out. Thankfully, through faith in Christ, we can become people of integrity. We can have our crookedness ironed out. When He does this, we are made secure. It doesn't matter what storms are raging in life. When we have integrity, we have nothing to fear. By the help of the Holy Spirit we can become who we ought to be. 'Righteous Lord, please help us by Your Spirit to confess and renounce our sins, and to live lives of integrity. In Jesus' name, am

  And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Luke 18:18 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.18.18.ESV On the face of it, this is a great question from a fine, upstanding member of the community. Surely we should all be wanting to know what we must do to inherit eternal life? He addresses Jesus really respectfully too. Jesus's response seems really harsh: was He just having a bad day? He seemed to take issue with the ruler's greeting. The implication is that He's not just a good teacher, but God. The ruler was trying to put himself on a par with Jesus. When Jesus rattled off a load of commands, he insisted he'd kept them all. His question was wrong however. Nothing we do can help us inherit eternal life. We inherit eternal life only if God sovereignly saves us, not through effort of our own. Nothing we do can earn our salvation. We must trust in the broken body and the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. 'Sovereign

  Day 14 One greater than Job  Having bigged up Job as the epitome of a good husband, I feel the need to provide one crucial caveat. Job was righteous, I don't want to detract from that. Even he would admit though that he needed a Redeemer.  Job had an amazing insight into Christ as His Redeemer. He knew that Christ lived. He knew he would see Him and give an account of himself to Him; and he trembled at the thought. It doesn't matter whether we're fine, upstanding pillars of our communities, or dodgy, notorious sinners. We all need a Redeemer, and His name is Jesus. Job had the humility to recognise his need of Him, do we?  The resurrection of the dead is as assured as Jesus's tomb is empty. Whether we're good or bad, we will be judged. Whether we're buried or cremated, we will face our Judge in the flesh. Our only hope is if our Judge is our Redeemer.  'Judge of all the earth, please redeem us from the penalty our sin demands, through Your sacrifice on the

  Day 13 Environmentally conscious  These are Job's final words before God eventually answered Him out of a storm. Interestingly, his conclusion is about how environmentally conscious he was. Job didn't bleed his land dry of its resources.  I'm sure Job allowed his land to go fallow from time to time, to have its own sabbatical and not to be overcultivated. I'm sure too that he allowed poor people to glean in his fields. Even though these are Jewish principles and Job wasn't, he was a God fearing man.  It seems that Job rented his land out. He asserts here that he did so fairly. He didn't rip people off in the rents he demanded from them.  Job knew that if he wasn't a responsible landowner, he wouldn't deserve to be so prosperous. He seems to have seen himself as we all are, stewards of all that God entrusts us with. May we likewise serve God well and gladly!  'Dear Lord, may we be responsible in Your service and rejoice at our privilege to do so. To

  Day 12 Prayerful  Much of what we've considered about Job could be said of a conscientious unbeliever. Today's verses however mark Job out as a God-fearer. He cried out to God and longed for a response.  Graciously, God would respond to Job, but didn't reveal why he suffered as he did. Instead, God reminded Job that He is the Almighty who has a right to do whatever He likes. We have no entitlements before the Mighty One.  Job knew that although he respected God, he didn't need to cower away from Him in terror. He knew that because of his integrity he could approach God confidently. He knew God wasn't going to condemn him, although God did end up putting him in his place.  When they finally did meet up, Job was humbled before the Almighty. God did vindicate him however, so he could hold his head up high. It might be by God's grace that we can feel good about ourselves (if we obey Him); but we can still thank God for His goodness at work in us.  'Almighty Go

  Day 11 WYSIWYG  With Job, what you saw is what you got. He didn't have skeletons in the closet. When you fear the Lord like him, you have nothing else to be afraid of. People with hidden sins are scared they'll get found out.  Job didn't have a fear of going out and getting found out, because there was nothing unsavoury to find out about him. He might have complained a lot in his book. He didn't grumble behind God's back however, he took his grievances directly to Him.  If we do have sins that need confessing, it might not only be God who needs to know. We might need to admit our wrongdoing to those we have wronged as well. Job had no such need.  I'm sure most of us have sins we need to confess. But just imagine how liberating it would be to have a clear conscience like Job. He wasn't perfect, but he kept his conscience clear.  'Lord, we confess our sins to You and ask that You would clear our consciences to be free to live for You without needed to fe

  Day 10 Hospitable  I'm sure Job wasn't simply hospitable because that was his culture. I'm sure he was hospitable because he saw the value and importance of being welcoming. Sadly, my British culture is not especially hospitable.  They say than an Englishman's home is his castle. All too often, I and my fellow countrymen draw up the proverbial drawbridge to one another, never mind to those from abroad. Thankfully, Job wasn't like that.  None of Job's employees or visitors went hungry. He made sure that everyone who entered his abode were well fed and watered. Visitors to the area could be assured of a warm welcome.  We would do well to learn from Job's hospitality. Noone is illegal as far as God's concerned, whoever they are and wherever they're from. Everyone's welcome through heaven's door: the Lord Jesus Christ.  'Dear Father God, thank You for Your warm welcome to strangers like us into Your Kingdom. May we likewise be hospitable to