Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

  For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, Mark 7:21 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/mrk.7.21.ESV In one fell swoop, Jesus voided kosher food laws. It's not what we eat that makes us unclean. Instead, what comes out of our hearts defiles us. What matters isn't so much what we eat, as who we are morally. Clearly we shouldn't be greedy and should eat healthily. Yet if we're honest, our hearts aren't pretty. Out of our hearts come all kinds of evil thoughts. We have hatred, which could spawn into murder. We have lust, which could spawn into adultery. We might think nothing of covetousness. Yet it can easily mutate into theft of other people's stuff that we covet. We need a spiritual heart transplant. 'Dear Lord, please transplant new hearts in the place of our sinful old ones, and help us to honour You in our lives. In the name of Christ, amen'

  If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. Jeremiah 20:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jer.20.9.ESV For years now I have written these daily Bible notes. You could call it a habit or a routine. Yet I couldn't go a day without meditating on and expressing my thoughts on God's word. Any genuine follower of Jesus should feel the same as Jeremiah. Even if we wanted to keep quiet about our Saviour and Lord, we cannot help but to speak out about His goodness. We want others to share in the joy of knowing Him. There's a holy compulsion in us to declare the goodness of God. Even Lot, who failed to witness of God to Sodom, was tormented in his righteous soul by all the evil goings on in that city. If he'd have spoken out, Jesus said, Sodom would have remained to this day. Jeremiah got into lots of trouble for speaking God's wor

  And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” Acts 10:15 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.10.15.ESV Peter had been taken in by the Judaisers, the false teachers who made out that Gentiles had to become Jews to be proper Christians. In a vision however, God made clear he'd been deceived. Jesus destroyed the barrier between Jews and Gentiles. The vision was of non kosher food. Yet God told Peter to tuck in! In Jesus, there is no longer any unclean food. Of course, we should eat healthily. Yet we don't necessarily need some special kind of diet. God has given us all good things to enjoy. The non kosher food Peter saw was a metaphor for Gentiles. If Gentiles like Cornelius the centurion come to faith in Jesus, they aren't to be rejected. Instead, they should be welcomed with open arms. 'Heavenly Father, forgive us for the barriers we construct between peoples. May we accept everyone in Christ, in His name we pray, a

  “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. Jeremiah 18:6 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jer.18.6.ESV At the end of the day, we're not much more than animated clay. God first formed us out of the earth. It wasn't until He breathed His breath into us that we came alive. Comparing God to a potter might seem rather humbling, but that's what He's like to us. He forms us in our mothers' wombs. If we come to faith in Christ, He reforms us into His likeness. Just as a potter can do whatever he likes with his clay, so God can do whatever He likes with us. Clay is in no position to question the potter. We have no right to question what God's doing in our lives. Too often we might have a sense of entitlement. We might delude ourselves that God somehow owes us something. The opposite is true: we owe God everything, and need to submit to Hi

  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jer.17.9.ESV The Bible teaches the opposite to Disney. Disney says 'follow your heart'. Then we have this verse from Jeremiah! If we follow our hearts we're in trouble, because our hearts are deceitful above all things. The world says we're basically good. The Bible holds a mirror up to our natural badness. We don't need to teach babies to sin, it comes naturally to them. We sin because we're sinners by nature. We're sinners first who happen to sin. It's impossible to understand the depravity of the human heart. Thankfully, John tells us in his first letters that when our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things. Salvation is following Jesus, not our hearts. 'God, please save us from our depraved hearts. May Your transform us by Christ's blood and the work of His Spirit, in H

  But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. Acts 5:29 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.5.29.ESV If obedience to God and to people oppose each other, clearly, we should obey God. If we disobey people, we'll get into trouble. If we disobey God however, we're destined for an eternity in hell. Obedience to God is in summary to love Him and to love other people. If we see other people heading for hell, it would be unloving of us not to warn them. So the apostles refused to be silenced by the powers that be. If we want an easy life, we'll do what people tell us, even if that contradicts God's law. If we want eternal life, we will obey God. The hardships of this season are nothing compared to the glories of the eternity to come, for those who trust in God. 'Trust and obey, For there's no other way, To be happy in Jesus, Than to trust and obey'. (When we walk with the Lord) 'Sovereign Lord, may we obey You even if it

  Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, Joshua 23:6 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jos.23.6.ESV I think Joshua's right that there's two main ways we can deviate from the word of God. If we follow the Bible's teaching, we're on the right path. If we stray in any way, we need to get back on track. The first way we might get off track with Scripture is to assume we need to add to it. Scripture tells us to rest one day out of seven. It isn't prescriptive as to how we take our rest, but we might be tempted to add regulations as to what we can and can't do on that day. The second way we might wander from God's way is to assume we can cherry pick His teachings. Some of God's commandments aren't politically correct nowadays, can't we just gloss over them? Christ might have fulfilled sacrificial and ceremonial aspects of the law

  And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, Acts 4:29 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.4.29.ESV The Church was born out of persecution. Our Lord and Saviour was crucified by the powers that be. Why should we His followers expect to avoid persecution? Naturally, we don't want to be persecuted. We don't need to invite it. Yet if we're faithful to God, we will inevitably be persecuted. Jesus blessed the persecuted, for great is their reward in heaven. We shouldn't just want to scrape into heaven by the skin of our teeth. We should want to enjoy an undeserved reward for our Spirit inspired faithfulness to God. Persecution was hotting up for the early church. Yet they didn't pray for it to stop. Instead, they asked God for the boldness to continue to faithfully proclaim Him, and He graciously granted their request. 'Dear Lord, grant us the boldness we need to stand for You in the face

 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2:42 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.2.42.ESV When we come to faith in Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, what then? Is it business as usual? Do we simply pray a 'sinner's prayer' and continue as normal? This verse provides a model for how we should be as God's people. We should be devoted to the teaching of the eyewitnesses of the risen Christ, the new testament writers. There's still plenty of self proclaimed apostles knocking around today, but we should be wary of them and test them against Biblical Apostles with a capital A who actually saw the risen Christ in the flesh. It's not enough to devote ourselves to Biblical teaching. To sit at home watching some YouTube sermon is to neglect the fellowship of the saints. Instead, we are to encourage one another. Breaking of bread isn't just eating together, but communion: remembering Christ&#

  Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass. Joshua 21:45 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jos.21.45.ESV What a wonderful verse! It's not about the Israelites being entitled or worthy. It's all about the worthiness of the Faithful One, God Almighty. The Lord is faithful. He keeps His promises. What was true for Israel is true for God's new covenant people. Just as God faithfully brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt, so He faithfully brings Christians out of slavery to sin. Not only so, but He brings us to the promised land. Just as Israel made it to Canaan, so Christians will make it to the new creation, through faith in the Jewish Messiah. The God of Israel is the God of Christians. The Jewish Messiah is the Saviour of the world. Just as God was faithful to Israel, so He is faithful to all who trust in Him. 'Sovereign Lord of glory, please encourage us about Your faithfulness, and thank You f

  They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. Jeremiah 8:11 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jer.8.11.ESV Jeremiah wasn't simply referring to the fact that Judah would soon be exiled in Babylon. He was on about the spiritual condition of the Jewish people. To be honest, us Gentiles are no better. Religious people talk of peace. Yet there is precious little peace on earth. Wasn't Jesus meant to bring peace on earth? Jesus only brings peace on earth to those on whom God's favour rests. Everyone else is at enmity with God. We need to make our peace with God before He judges us as we deserve. Thankfully, by the wounds of Christ, we can be healed of our mortal sin wounds. We're dead people walking. Yet through faith in Christ, we await the resurrection of the dead, to newness of life in Him. 'Lord of peace, please reconcile us to Yourself through Christ Jesus. Help us realise that He's the only way we can be h

  “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ Matthew 21:28 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.21.28.ESV This first son refused to work for his dad. The second son agreed to work for his dad. The first son ended up working for his dad; the second son didn't. The moral of the story is that God is more interested in deeds than words. Religious people might say the right kind of things, but they don't necessarily do what God asks of them. Irreligious people might think they haven't got time for God, yet when many of them meet Jesus, they start following Him. Jesus was a friend of sinners. The likes of traitorous tax collectors and immoral prostitutes loved Him. They might never have naturally said they'd work for God, yet they followed His Son Jesus. The religious leaders of Jesus's day were His enemies. They were jealous of His popularity and authority, and conspired and clamoured for His c

  With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. Psalm 142:1 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.142.1.ESV I love the humility of David in this verse. He was promised by God that he'd become king. Yet here he was, hiding in a cave from murderous king Saul. If I was David, I might be tempted to feel a bit entitled. 'Where's this kingship I was promised?' he could well have thought. Yet David was a man after God's own heart, and as such was defined by humility. Instead of demanding of God what he knew he couldn't earn, David instead asked for mercy. Mercy is where God doesn't treat us as we deserve. David knew God didn't owe him anything but judgment for his sinfulness, yet he pleaded for God to be undeservedly good to him. David cried out to God. He didn't even just silently pray, but voiced his petition to the Lord Almighty. Thankfully, God was indeed merciful to him. 'Lord our God, we echo David's pra

  for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. Jeremiah 2:13 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jer.2.13.ESV Where do we presume to find life? Is it in human relationships, like the Samaritan woman in John four? If so, we're only going to be bitterly disappointed and dissatisfied. Maybe, like the Samaritan woman mentioned to Jesus, we seek meaning I'm our religious traditions. Perhaps we look to Jerusalem, Mecca, or somewhere else for our purpose. Jesus clarified that He Himself is the Source of spiritual satisfaction, not some geographical location. If we profess faith in God, God forbid that we should look somewhere else to attempt to quench our spiritual thirst. Jesus blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. If we're self-sufficient and self-relient, we're deluding ourselves. Without God, we can't

  Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.” Jeremiah 1:12 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jer.1.12.ESV Jeremiah saw an almond branch. The Hebrew word for it sounds like the Hebrew word for 'watching'. So God used a play on words to illustrate a spiritual truth to him. What makes Shakespeare so good isn't necessarily the actors who act in his plays, but his wordplay in his works themselves. Similarly, God isn't so much great because He created us, but because His word defines life. God speaks, and things happen. God is like the director of life. Not only so, but He's the main actor, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. At the word of the Lord, this world will end. Thankfully, God is going to speak a glorious new creation into being. Thankfully we can be part of it too, through faith in Christ Jesus. If we live by His Holy Spirit, we can become part of God's eternal story. 'Lord, help us to look to t

  “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Matthew 13:44 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.13.44.ESV There's at least two possible ways of reading this parable. I don't think it's necessarily a choice between right and wrong ways of reading it. It might be two different but similarly valid truths. I think our gut reaction when reading Scripture (naturally selfish that we are) is to apply it to ourselves. If we were to do that with this parable, we would picture ourselves as the man who gives up everything else for the treasure. In that case, the moral of the story is that God's Kingdom is worth giving up everything for. Probably a better way of reading this parable is a Christocentric one. He is the man who gives up everything, even His very life, for the Kingdom of God. Jesus is the King who dies for His people rather than to necessarily dema

  We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Isaiah 64:6 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/isa.64.6.ESV The Bible is under no illusions as to what we are all like morally. Even religious people don't escape from this damning verdict. Jesus reserved some of His harshest words for His religious opponents. Before the Holy God, we're all unclean. All the good stuff we do is like filthy rags before His perfect righteousness. He knows our mixed motives even if we happen to do good sometimes. We're like autumn leaves. We're on spiritual death row. As the wind catches a leaf and blows it away, so we're lost without God's redemption. Thankfully, this verse isn't the full story. We can become clothed in the righteousness of Christ. He can cover the filthy stains of our sin with the washing of His blood and the wearing of His goodness.

  For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. Joshua 2:10 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jos.2.10.ESV The Canaanites were terrified of the Israelites, and rightly so. They knew God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt and they were coming to take over Canaan. If God is for us, who can be against us? It might seem harsh that the Israelites devoted their enemies to destruction, but to be honest, that's what they deserved. They were the kind of people who sacrificed their own children to their gods, and saw prostitution as a religious duty. They were ripe for judgment. Why is the world in opposition to Christians? What have we done to them? Like with the Canaanites, I think it's the fear factor. Deep down, people know Christ rose again and has massively impacted this world ever since. M

  But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.” Matthew 11:24 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.11.24.ESV Sodom is synonymous with the sin that is sometimes called sodomy. Nowadays, many people celebrate such a thing with pride. Pride is a worse sin than sodomy; it's the original sin that caused Lucifer to fall from heaven. Religious people might be with me so far. Yet Jesus in this verse is denouncing religious communities. They might not have been guilty of sodomy, yet they were guilty of rejecting Him. What does it matter if we reject a carpenter turned teacher from a faraway place and time? He's not just a good teacher but the Lord of glory. Our eternal destiny depends on our response to Him. In this verse, Jesus also teaches that we won't all be judged the same. Even if religious rejectors of Him and sodomites alike are condemned, it's still worse for those who knowingly reject Christ. Jesus even kn

  This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Joshua 1:8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jos.1.8.ESV We're not just to meditate on God's word. We're to talk about it. All Joshua had to go on were the first five books of the Bible, by his mentor Moses. Yet even they were enough for him to know how to prosper and be successful. A lot of people assume God's law is simply a list of do's and don'ts. If we do good things we will live, and if we don't do good things we will die. There's some truth to that, but there's more to it than that. With the entire sacrificial system, Moses was looking forward to the Messiah of God's people, who would sacrifice Himself for us. If Joshua meditated on the sacrifice of animals, he will have known that the b

  I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments. Psalm 119:176 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.119.176.ESV I love how Psalm 119 ends. This epic love poem to God's word ends with a candid admission of guilt. David admitted he'd gone astray like a lost sheep. David had been a shepherd before he became king. He ruled as a shepherd over God's people Israel. I love his illustration here, picturing God as the Good Shepherd. Thankfully, God is a Good Shepherd who seeks after His lost sheep. He doesn't abandon us to wolves. Having called us His own, He's not going to give up on us. Maybe there had been a time David forgot God's commandments. Maybe that's why he'd gone astray. Yet now, having got spiritually lost, he realised where he ought to be, and asked God to restore him to that place of joyful obedience. 'Good Shepherd, help us cry out to You when we get lost. Please restore us to Yourself when

  “Judge not, that you be not judged. Matthew 7:1 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.7.1.ESV This is a popular verse. After all, who likes being judged? Jesus here, out of context, seems to be telling us not to judge. In His very next breath however, Jesus tells us that we'll be judged according to how we judge. He then tells a story of someone with a plank in their eye trying to remove a speck of sawdust from someone else. Basically, He's telling us not be be hypocritical. By all means we can seek to correct, help and advise one another. We just need to make sure we have integrity, otherwise we won't be taken seriously. We all judge each other all the time, we just need to make sure we're justified before God and fair in how we treat one another. Parents, educators and elders have to judge how to resolve conflicts. They have to judge one way or the other. To not actively judge is to spoil someone. 'Father in heaven, may we judge with right judgment. Help us

  Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.31.6.ESV I love how Moses prophetically pre-empted God's encouragement to his successor Joshua after his death. God wants His people to be strong and courageous. We might be naturally weak and timid, yet in God we can become strong and brave. There's no need for God's people to be afraid or to dread our enemies. If God is for us, who can be against us? Unlike with Joshua, our battle isn't against flesh and blood, but against satan and his forces. God doesn't just tell us to do stuff for Him. He goes with us to help us. Jesus sent His followers to make Him know. Not only so, but He promised to be with us always, to the end of the age. We're not going to be abandoned halfway to heaven. God's not going to give up on us. If our salvation depended in any part

  “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. Deuteronomy 30:15 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.30.15.ESV God is basically telling us that it's His way, or the highway... to hell. God is the source of all life and goodness. Our way leads to death and evil. There are two ways to live. God's way leads to eternal life. Our way leads to destruction. What God did in Deuteronomy is what a good preacher does when he speaks for God. A Bible talk leaves people with a choice. We can either go God's way or our own. God doesn't promise us a mediocre, evil life. He promises the good life to those who come to Him. This life might be tough, but the next will be restful bliss. 'Dear Father in heaven, may we come to You for the good life only You can give, and to forsake evil and death. In Christ Jesus' name, amen'

  From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.4.17.ESV Repentance is religious jargon really that basically means to change our minds. Jesus was calling people to change their minds about what the Kingdom of heaven is. Its not a political entity. Lots of Jews in Jesus's day were hoping for a political/military Messiah to kick out the Romans and to establish a new golden age of a Davidic Kingdom. Right from the outset, Jesus challenged people's assumptions about Him. The Kingdom of heaven transcends the kingdoms of the earth. We might assume that we're alright as we are and that God will accept us regardless. Jesus is warning people to change their minds. We can come to God as we are. He doesn't leave us the same after an encounter with Him. Repentance means to turn from our sinful rebellion against God and to trust in Jesus for salvation. To repent is to no longer be

  Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. Psalm 119:37 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.119.37.ESV The more I read the Bible, the less I think of the entertainment industry. I'm not saying there isn't a place for entertainment. I just don't think it should hold the place it does in most people's hearts. I think of Rome, where people got to enjoy free bread and circuses, but were morally rotten. Much of what passes for entertainment could be described as worthless things, or worse! If entertainment is corrupting us, maybe it's best to not be entertained. God's ways aren't boring, but neither are they simply entertainment. Often, entertainment could be seen as a distraction from seeking out God's ways. Only God's ways lead to eternal life. We're not going to be entertained to heaven. A language app claims to teach a language in fifteen minutes a day, a questions what can be learnt by fifteen minutes on

  How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. Psalm 119:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.119.9.ESV This verse doesn't just apply to young men, but to old men, women, girls and boys too. Perhaps young men struggle most with purity. So maybe that's why David specifies them. Purity isn't trendy in the world, yet it is essential if we are ever going to see God. As Jesus said, 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God'. If we allow ourselves to be polluted by impure things, our destiny will be disastrous. Thankfully, this verse tells us how we can keep our way pure. If we guard our way according to God's word, we'll be okay. To guard our way according to God's word, we need to know it. That's why David goes on to say that he's hidden God's word in his heart so he won't sin against Him. By memorising Scripure, we can guard against going astray. He also goes on to say that God's word i

  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/isa.53.6.ESV Who was responsible for the crucifixion on Christ? Was it the Romans who nailed Him to the cross? Was it the religious leaders who bayed for His blood. This verse gives a different perspective to the obvious answers, about 700 years before Jesus was executed. We're like sheep that have wandered off. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His flock. So like people in the world trade centre who were saved by firemen who perished, we are saved through the death of Jesus. If we hadn't have got lost in the first place, Christ wouldn't have had to have died for the stain of our sins. Shockingly though, it's not just us who are responsible for Christ's death. God the Father is ultimately sovereign and responsible for the death of His Son. Jesus went willingly to the c

  How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” Isaiah 52:7 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/isa.52.7.ESV Is the good news the ABC of the Christian life, something we eventually graduate from? Not at all, according to this verse. Having received the good news, we're to share it with all and sundry. Peace, joy and salvation aren't just for the Jewish people, or any other particular ethnic group or culture. Anyone who believes gets to receive these wonderful products of faith in God. We easily forget, but God is sovereign, He's in control, and He's the source of all goodness. The peace referred to in this verse isn't the absence of conflict in this life, sadly. Yet in the midst of the mess, we can have peace with God. It's a peace that transcends circumstances or even our understanding. Peace and joy go hand in hand

  Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. Psalm 111:2 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.111.2.ESV The scoffer might question whether the works of the Lord are great. The fool might question His existence altogether. Wise people delight in God's works however. Why wouldn't we delight in God's works? After all, He is the One in whom we live, and move, and have our being. Without Him we can do nothing. Every good gift comes from God. He gives us everything we need. He didn't just create us; He sustains us too. The greatest work God has done for us is to send His Son to die for us. Because Christ was crucified on our behalf, sinners like us can be reconciled to a holy God. We can enjoy eternal life through the work of Jesus on our behalf. 'Dear Lord, how we praise You for all Your works on our behalf. May we trust You for eternal salvation, for Your honour and glory we pray, amen'

  For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another. Isaiah 48:11 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/isa.48.11.ESV Why do God's people suffer? Shouldn't we enjoy health, wealth and happiness? In reality, we deserve hell, anything better than that is a bonus! God refines us in the furnace of affliction for His own sake. Gold or silver needs to be refined in order for their true value to be revealed. So it is with us. If we were left to our own devices, we'd probably forget God and delude ourselves that we're self-relient. When we suffer, it  causes us to cry out to God for deliverance. Another illustration of our relationship with God is that of a father with his children. If God left us to our own devices, He'd spoil us. He disciplines so that we might glorify Him and not be arrogant. 'Father in heaven, help us to know that when we belong to You, our affliction is for our good and Your glory. In

  for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’ Deuteronomy 20:4 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.20.4.ESV Unlike in the days of Deuteronomy, we're not to literally fight with our enemies. Yet God is still with His people. He still fights against those who fight against Him. Jesus commands us to love our enemies. He exemplifies this love in that while we were still sinners, He died for us. Christ turns His enemies into His friends. Not only may we have literal enemies, but we have spiritual ones too. Our battle isn't against flesh and blood. Instead, we're fighting against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Christ has already won the victory. Yet we need to stand firm in Him against all that would assail us. He's equipped us with a full spiritual armoury to stay safe and strong. 'Lord our God, we thank You for giving us everything we need to stand for You. Please help us love our

  “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; Isaiah 46:3 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/isa.46.3.ESV The God of Israel is markedly different to the gods of Babylon. The gods of Babylon were mere idols who needed to be carried around. The God of Israel carries His people when we can't carry ourselves. Babylon would beat Judah in battle and exile the Jews. Yet even though it seemed like the Babylonian gods had won, God was sovereign over His people's exile. It was because of their rebellion against Him that He allowed them to be exiled. Even in their seventy year exile, God carried His people. Even in our lives pilgrimage, God will carry us. We just need to trust Him like a child trusts their father. Never mind a welfare state from the cradle to the grave, or even the womb to the tomb. God keeps His people for eternity. Not even death can separate us from His love. 'D

  “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’? Isaiah 45:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/isa.45.9.ESV Us taking issue with God's ways is like a pot questioning the potter! God formed us out of clay and breathed life into us initially. We should be grateful for our life and breath. Who are we to think we know better than God? We're like children who try and sue their parents for conceiving them, because they didn't get a choice in the matter! It's the hight of insolence to try and teach the Almighty a lesson. God knows best. We can't blame our flaws on Him, because He created us good. It's us who have gone astray. We need Him to bring us back and to refashion us into the likeness of Christ. God is merciful. Therefore, we should offer ourselves to Him, to conform us to become like Jesus. May we have teachable spirits! 'Almighty God

  “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. Isaiah 43:10 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/isa.43.10.ESV At the end of time, it's us who will be on trial, in the final judgment. In this life however, many people want to put God on trial. Lots of people deny His existence, but like to blame Him when things go wrong. God's got witnesses to back Him up. He's got people whose lives He's turned right-side up. God's people have seen Him transform their lives, and others can witness that too. The servant of the Lord keeps reappearing in Isaiah. He's the One by whose wounds we are healed. The amazing thing is that God doesn't just boss us around, He serves us, and gave His life for us. There's no other God but the Lord, yet He isn't a solitary oneness. He's Father, Son (the servant in this ver

  Watching Daily at Wisdom's Gates: Staying Focused on the Gospel in an Age of Distraction Robert Chamberlain is a husband, father, educator, and 'tentmaking' writer about the Bible. He is grateful for the gospel that has helped him recover mental heath and leave prodigal ways behind. Watching Daily at Wisdom's Gates is paraphrase from Proverbs 8:34. To run with the analogy, I see Wisdom as being a picture of person objectified as a city, along the lines of John Bunyan's Holy War. The gates of Bunyan's city walls are pictures of our five senses. We need to be careful what we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. We mustn't be governed by our senses, yet so much of what we experience is filtered through our senses. What is wisdom? It's not simply intellectual knowledge. Neither is it simply common sense.  Here's a Biblical definition of wisdom: 'but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are cal

 My latest YouTube video: https://youtu.be/yr3IkHmJXDw :)

  Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 41:14 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/isa.41.14.ESV We might sometimes feel like a worm on a path on a hot sunny day. Thankfully God is like my daughter who would rescue such a worm and return it to the soil. God isn't the kind of person who wants to leave us to perish. We deserve to perish. Like Jacob, we're deceitful. We deceive ourselves that we're okay when we're not unless it was for God. For God to help us is as undeserved as my daughter helping a worm make it home. Yet He delights to do so. He loves to redeem us from the fate our sins demands. God is the Holy One of Israel. He turns deceitful hellbound people into set apart princes and princesses in His Kingdom. He Himself is set apart, yet He's still able to draw us to Himself. 'Our Holy Redeemer, thank You for calling us from the destruction we deserve to th

  “You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. Deuteronomy 11:1 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.11.1.ESV It should seem like a no-brainer! Of course we should love God always. It's no good loving God half the time! Maybe we naively think loving God should be easy. Sadly, it doesn't come naturally however. The love of God is a marathon, not a sprint. As in a marathon, we will be tempted to give up on loving God. The devil will tempt us to live selfishly rather than in a godly manner. Yet we must refuse to give up. I'm an occasional, and very amateur runner. I've found that I tend to be fine on the way; it's on the way back I tend to run out of steam. It's all very well to start out well, but it's finishing well that really counts. 'O Lord our God, we ask that You would empower us to finish well, and to love You always. For Your glory we pray, amen'

  Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Deuteronomy 9:5 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.9.5.ESV What was true for the children of Israel in the old covenant is true of the children of God in the new covenant. It's not because we're any good that we're going to inherit the earth. It's not because Israel was any good that they inherited the promised land. The Canaanites were an evil people. They were the kind of people who thought that killing their kids was a good thing (a bit like people who think having an abortion is okay). They thought prostitution was a good and religious thing to do. Clearly the Canaanites were pretty messed up. They were unrepentant too, so the children of Israel woul

  For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. Psalm 91:11 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.91.11.ESV I must confess to being uncomfortable when people used Psalm 51 as a mantra to try and ward off the coronavirus. I don't think God guarantees here that we're not ever going to get ill and die. Not every faithful believer dies of old age. This verse seems to bear me out, in Biblical context. Satan attempted to twist this verse onto Jesus in his temptation of Him. If this verse is true, he claimed, You can jump off the temple, because the angels will catch You. Jesus rebuked satan for putting the Lord his God to the test. It's true that angels minister to God's people. However, this doesn't mean to say that we can be irresponsible. It's true that in Christ we're invincible... until we die or He returns first. We still need to make sure our ways are aligned with His will. Otherwise we might find ourselves in trouble. 

  “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children— Deuteronomy 4:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.4.9.ESV I haven't seen a sea parted in two. I haven't seen millions of people miraculously fed for forty years. I haven't seen anyone raised from the dead. What I have seen is peace, hope and joy even in the face of death, because of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. I have seen recovery from mental illness and prodigal ways. I have known assurance of salvation and eternal life in God my Lord and Saviour. Sadly, we easily forget. That's why we have the Lord's Supper at church, to help us remember Christ's sacrifice on our behalf. Our faith isn't just 'Jam' (Jesus and me): it's a community of God's people seeking to encourage one another to live for Him. Church isn&#

  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Deuteronomy 6:7 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.6.7.ESV What are we to teach our children? As the Beatles sang 'all you need is love'; but not just romantic love, or even love for our neighbours. We are to love the Lord our God wholeheartedly. God doesn't want half-hearted, part-time lovers. He wants men and women, boys and girls after His own heart. If we truly love God and know His love, we won't keep it to ourselves. God forbid that we should fail to share His love with subsequent generations! Note that we're not commanded to leave the teaching of children about God to 'professionals'/church youth workers. If we have responsibility for children, we're not just to care for their material needs. We need to acknowledge how we are responsible for their spiritual welfare. Tea

  Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love. 2 John 1:3 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/2jn.1.3.ESV Grace is sometimes explained as an acronym: God's riches at Christ's expense. Grace is getting treated royally even though we don't deserve it. Thankfully, grace can be our experience through faith in Christ. Mercy is not being treated as we deserve. We deserve to perish forever in hell. Thankfully, God is merciful to us in the Lord Jesus. Peace is what we can experience when we know Father God's love for us in His Son. Life might be conflicted. Our relationship with God however can be one of perfect peace. Grace, mercy and peace are ours through faith in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The truth is that we can know God's love that will keep us safe now and forever. 'Dear Father God, we praise You for sending Jesus so that we might know grace, mercy and peace with You.

  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1jn.5.13.ESV I like how John tends to explain why he writes his books. He wrote his gospel biography of Jesus so that people might believe in Him. He wrote his first letters to reassure believers that they have eternal life. God doesn't just want us to believe in Him. He wants us to have confidence in our salvation. We're not just saved from sin, but saved for eternal life. The first thing is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is altogether lovely, He's flawless. He is the Truth and He is trustworthy. Having believed in Jesus, God doesnt us doubting whether we've got eternal life in His perfect new creation. He wants us happy and confident in the eternity we have to look forward to. If we need more assurance, 1 John is a good place to go. 'Father God, we thank You for the faith You've given

  You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/isa.26.3.ESV How can we be at peace in this tumultuous world? Not by sitting in a lotus position and emptying our minds! Instead, we're to focus our minds on the Source of peace: God Himself. Jesus Himself is exemplary as to how to live at peace with God. Contrary to popular opinion, He wasn't a hippie. He didn't float around in a white toga unflappable even in the face of suffering and injustice. He got angry and grieved. Being at peace with God doesn't mean to say that life isn't a war. Quite apart from the conventional wars that are raged, everyone's fighting their own personal battles, many of which are unknown to others. If we're at peace with God though, we can have confidence that we will ultimately be victorious and enjoy eternal rest. We've got to keep focused on God, and trusting in Him. If we get distracted or

  for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 1 John 3:20 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1jn.3.20.ESV I stumbled across this verse when I was struggling with assurance of salvation. It gave me great reassurance that I did in fact belong to Jesus. Jeremiah reminds us that are hearts are deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: in other words, we can't trust them. Thankfully, salvation doesn't depend on how we feel, but upon the finished work of Jesus upon the cross. If it depended on us, we'd lose salvation as easily as we gain it. Thankfully, He is faithful and powerful to save us to the uttermost. God doesn't judge us based on our feelings. If we trust in Jesus, whether we feel like it or not, we're saved. If we were judged according to our feelings, we'd be hopeless. God knows everything. He knows we're fickle, fallible, flawed humans. We mustn't be governed by our feelings but upon His f

  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1jn.1.9.ESV This was the verse mum quoted to me when I first came to faith in God. I was eight years old. I hadn't been a drug addict or even a murderer, but I still had sins I needed to confess. Thankfully God was faithful and just with me. He forgave my sins and cleansed me from all unrighteousness. It was all because of Jesus's sacrifice on my behalf. Confession isn't just a one of act. We don't just pray a sinner's pray and carry on as before. We need to continue to confess our sins, because we don't become perfect the moment we believe in Jesus. God doesn't stop being faithful and just, even if we continue to fail Him as His people. Thankfully He saves to the uttermost those who come in faith to Him. 'Dear God, thank You for Your faithfulness and justice in Christ crucified on our behal

  until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Psalm 73:17 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.73.17.ESV This is the hinge verse in Psalm 73. In the first half of the Psalm, the Psalmist moans that evildoers tend to have easy lives. It doesn't seem fair. What really helped the Psalmist to get perspective was to join the corporate worship of God. Nowadays, if we want some perspective, we'd do well to go to church. Then we'll realise the destiny of those who reject God. Big deal if evildoers have easy lives for a short season: there's an eternity to come. If evildoers don't repent, they'll get their comeuppance. To be honest, we all deserve God's condemnation. Thankfully, there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Even repentant evildoers like us can be delivered from the punishment we deserve. Then we need to gather together to encourage one another in the worship of God. 'God Almighty, please help us to ha

  I have been as a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge. Psalm 71:7 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.71.7.ESV This verse is like my testimony in a nutshell. I have had severe mental illness, and I've been prodigal. Yet God has been merciful to me. I see the word portent as meaning that the Psalmist was infamous, serving as a warning sign to people of how not to be. Sadly, that is true of many of God's people. We should have integrity and be exemplary, but very often we're not. If God is our strong refuge, we don't even need to worry if we've got a rightfully bad reputation. We might well fail, but if we trust in Jesus, we're safe. We can take refuge in our merciful God from His wrath. Because Jesus gave His life for us, we can have free access to God through His sacrifice on our behalf. We can find in Him our safe place, whatever life throws at us. 'Dear Father God, please help us to take refuge in You from the condemnation we deserve. In J

  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1pe.2.9.ESV Why did God choose us? Why has He taken us from spiritual pigsties to the throneroom of heaven? Why has He set us apart and called us His own? There's an answer in this verse. God wants us to proclaim His excellencies to the world. He wants to choose other people through our witness, to dignify others by making them His own, precious and holy in His sight. We're a priesthood. Not only are we to witness to others, but we are to intercede for others to God. Thankfully we've also got Christ the great high priest doing a much better job than us. Once we were in darkness. Yet God has called us out. He has metaphorically switched the light on and delivered us from the dark night of hellbound sinfulness. 'Almighty God,

  And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” Numbers 21:8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/num.21.8.ESV God had graciously delivered His people from slavery. They ungratefully seemed to have 'Stockholm syndrome'. They were hankering after the old days of forced labour. Understandably, God was angry with His people's rebellious ungratefulness. He allowed them to become afflicted with poisonous snakes. Thankfully, Moses interceded for the people. This verse is God's response. Moses was to make a bronze snake for those bitten to look at and live. In John's gospel we're given an application for ourselves. We've been bitten by satan's poisonous sin; but if we look to Christ crucified, we will live. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so Jesus had to be lifted on the cross. All who look to Him will be delivered from sin's penalty. He is the only way

 https://youtu.be/03zlRRmIp_U Check out my latest YouTube video about how we can be rich towards God from Jesus's parable of the rich fool :)

 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. James 2:17 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jas.2.17.ESV We're saved by faith alone. This is one of the foundational truths of the Protestant Reformation from Roman Catholic works-righteousness. Yet James here sounds like a Roman Catholic! Are we saved by faith plus works? A mathematical equation might help. Thankfully salvation is not faith plus works, because if it was we'd all be hopeless. All our righteousness is like filthy rags. Salvation plus works is faith. That's what James is saying. We're saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone, it is always accompanied by works, as the evidence of our salvation and faith. When we first believe, we're like a dead body coming alive. The evidence that we are alive is that our body starts working. It's a bit like that spiritually too: we start bearing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, when we trust in Jesus. 'Sovereign God, give us

  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jas.1.27.ESV Manmade religion often tries to be either/or. Divine religion is both/and. There's no point making up our own rules: God's way is what matters ultimately. We're naturally impure and defiled spiritually. Yet we can be washed and purified in the blood of Jesus. Having been cleansed, how are we then to live? This verse is the answer. In a society without a welfare state, widows and orphans were the most needy in society, without anyone to look out for them. I don't think this verse is an exhaustive list however. Other needs people could include refugees and the homeless. James calls us to visit the afflicted. Simply by visiting needy people, we can show we care and offer comfort. If all we did was to visit the marginalised, that would be the social gos

  Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Psalm 51:13 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.51.13.ESV The first part of Psalm 51 is rightly famous, where David confesses his sin of adultery with Bathsheba. The last past of the Psalm, from this verse, isn't quite as well considered. David wasn't just individualistic in his admission of guilt. David didn't just want to absolve his conscience. He wanted to become a blessing to others again, after a barren season of sinful rebellion against God. He asked God to restore him, and knew this verse would be the result. As a transgressors himself, David knew he could tell other transgressors how to get back on track. Having gone astray, he could warn others not to bother, knowing the grief and heartache it would cause. Teachers who have struggled to learn things themselves make better educators than geniuses for whom learning is easy. People who get restored into a right relationship with God lon