Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 'You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! ' Isaiah 26:3 https://www.bible.com/bible/116/ISA.26.3   Isaiah warned his fellow Jews that the Babylonians were going to take over. Notwithstanding this, he insisted that we can know peace, despite circumstances. Whoever our overlords may be, God is the King of king and Lord of lords.   If we focus on the storm, we’ll just procrastinate and get anxious. If we dig our foundations into God and rise above the storm, He will sustain us through it. When we build our lives on Him, we will withstand even death itself.   There’s no need to worry if God is our heavenly Father. He knows what we need, and He cares. We’re to seek first His kingdom, and everything else He will provide.   If we fix our thoughts on our problems, we’re likely to swiftly get overwhelmed. If on the other hand we fix our thoughts on the Sovereign Lord of the universe, we’ll get a heavenly perspective.

  'When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. ' John 16:13 https://www.bible.com/bible/116/JHN.16.13 God is Father, Son, and Spirit of truth existing together for eternity. We get to enter into communion with God by His Spirit. His Holy Spirit guides us in the way we should go. The Spirit of truth is the Spirit of Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life. He guides people into relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not so much that we choose God, as that we're chosen by God. We love, because God first loved us, and pours out His Spirit upon those who trust in Christ. The Spirit doesn't blow His own trumpet as it were, He's all about exalting the Lord Jesus. The triune God works together in perfect harmony to glorify Himself. The Spirit reminds us that the next great event on God's calendar is the return of

  'Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. ' Psalms 119:105 https://www.bible.com/bible/116/PSA.119.105 What is God's word to us? A dusty old tome? Irrelevant to our modern age? This verse reveals what it was to king David of Israel. The Bible was to David literally a bible as it were, a definitive guide, to life, the universe, and everything. It isn't just some philosophical work, it's very practical as to how we ought to live. It also shows what to do when we realise we don't live up to God's commandments. When we realise we've sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, we need to come to the Son of David for forgiveness. By His wounds we are healed of our spiritual sin-sickness. Even David had to look forward to God's promises of salvation to come. We look back and see that Christ is the Light of the world. We have light shone on Him by His word. It shows us our need of following Him. 'Lord God, may we glorify Yo

  'For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. ' Colossians 1:13-14 https://www.bible.com/bible/111/COL.1.13-14 We need rescuing. That's the first thing we need to realise spiritually. By default, we're in spiritual darkness. Not only so, but it's a dominion of darkness, led by satan who's determined to keep us there. Thankfully, Jesus wants to rescue us, and He will if we sincerely ask Him. He doesn't just rescue us from darkness, He brings us into His spiritual Kingdom of Light. The darkness of satan couldn't extinguish the light of the world. Jesus died for us, but He rose again in eternal victory. In Him we have redemption. The price is paid, in His blood, to deliver us from darkness into the light. All the bad stuff we've ever thought, said and done can be forgiven. Because Jesus died in our place and rose again, we too can die

  'For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.” ' Jeremiah 31:25 https://www.bible.com/bible/59/JER.31.25 I'm sure we've all experienced weariness. I certainly have, to the extent that I've gone insane with lack of sleep! Thankfully, this verse is my testimony, and God satisfies me even when I'm feeling weary. God satisfies us by giving us an awareness that He's the One who sustains us. In Him we live, and move, and have our being. Because Jesus died and rose, we can spiritually come alive and be satisfied for eternity. We might feel like we're languishing. It might seem like we're treading water as it were. Enemies might be at our metaphorical gates, as they literally were in Jeremiah's day. God can replenish His people even as we're exiles and strangers in this world. We're like refugees from this lost and dying world to the new creation. We need to trust God's promise to lead us safely home

  Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. Proverbs 12:25 NIV The new testament isn't unkind, but it is pretty direct to sufferers of anxiety. 'Be anxious for nothing', commands Paul, 'but pray about everything'. Jesus likewise commands us not to worry, but to seek first the Kingdom of the One who provides for all of our needs. Anxiety is weighty. It's heavy and burdensome. Yet it's a weight we don't need to carry- we can simply leave it all with God in prayer. God provides for our daily needs. So anxiety is pointless. Even though Paul for example had times of scarcity, he knew the secret of contentment. Paul refused to worry. He chose to trust in God. We should go and do likewise. 'Heavenly Father, please help us come to You trustingly instead of being anxious. May we have kind words for worriers. In Christ's name we pray, amen'

  'Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Saviour and my God!' Psalms 42:11 https://www.bible.com/bible/116/PSA.42.11 I love how realistic the Bible about how we sometimes feel. I love too about how hopeful and optimistic about how we can overcome negative feelings with God's help. Honestly, we do sometimes feel discouraged and sad, but that doesn't have to be our permanent state. As my old pastor used to say, 'it's not talking to yourself that's a sign of madness, it's not talking to yourself that's a sign of madness' (you might have to read that twice!). Basically, if we just passively listen to our negative feelings, we're going to struggle to overcome them. If we try and reason with ourselves, we're more likely to be able to overcome. Navel gazing alone isn't going to help us overcome negativity. We need God to help us to recover from depression. We have to resolve

 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-4 (NLT)   Hopefully praise comes naturally to us. We might praise a child for eating vegetables. We could praise a student for passing their exams. We might praise an employee for a successful project.   All praise is due to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though we deserve His wrath, He’s merciful to us and comforts us who mourn at our sinfulness. In all our troubles He comforts us, not just for our sakes or for His glory’s sake, but so that we can comfort others.   If we were comforted by God and refused to comfort others, we’d be miserly with the goodness of God. That would be horrible and selfish. We should comfort others with the comfort we have received.   If we have bee

 There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. 1 SAMUEL 2:2 (ESV)   This verse is part of Hannah’s praise of the Lord for opening her barren womb and enabling her to have a son, Samuel (which means ‘heard by God’). She sought the Lord for a son who she promised to dedicate to God. God honoured His side of things, and she honoured hers.   Hannah wasn’t all self-righteous for giving her son to serve the Lord. She knew that there’s no one holy like the Lord. He’s pre-eminently holy. It’s amazing that any of us can become holy and serve the Holy One.   Even if God makes us holy through faith in Jesus and the receipt of the Holy Spirit, any holiness we may have is nothing compared to the thrice holy triune God Almighty. Or as Hannah put it more succinctly, ‘there is none besides you’.   There is no rock like our God. Amazingly, Jesus, a carpenter turned teacher, claimed that if anyone builds their lives on Him and His words

  'When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ' John 8:12 https://www.bible.com/bible/111/JHN.8.12 Jesus was either mad, bad, or who He claimed to be, as C.S. Lewis said. If I personally said 'I am the light of the world', I would be mad, because I'd be deluded, or bad, because I'd be lying. Jesus however truly is the Light of the world. Before Abraham was born, Jesus is. He's the Word of God who said 'Let there be light'. In His light we have life. Jesus doesn't just give us our mortal lives. He's the One through whom we can enjoy eternal life. By His death and resurrection, the light of life is inextinguishable. By trusting in Jesus, we become born again to an indestructible life. Though we physically die, we can live forever spiritually, and physically rise again to newness of life in an embodied and perfect new creatio

  'This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. '   1 John 4:9 https://www.bible.com/bible/111/1JN.4.9   As with the prophet Malachi’s hearers, people often scoffingly and unbelievingly ask how God loves us. Malachi helped to tackle that question, but so did the Apostle John. We don’t just have to take people’s word for it that God loves us.   God demonstrated His love for us in this (as the Apostle Paul put it): while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. As John implies here, we’re spiritually dead unless we’re made alive in Christ. It’s not so much about our faith as the Object of our faith, the One who gave His life for us.   We aren’t worthy of God’s love. We’re worthy of eternal death. Yet God loves us anyway: He literally loved us to death.   Because Jesus died and rose again, we too can die to sin and come alive in Him. We love because God first loved us. If we claim to l

  'Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ' Acts of the Apostles 2:38 https://www.bible.com/bible/116/ACT.2.38 At first glance, Peter seems to be saying that we need to be baptised in water in order to be forgiven by God and to receive the Holy Spirit. Water baptism however is an outward illustration of an inward act. We need to be washed as it were in the blood of Christ. Water baptism also symbolises Jesus's death, burial and resurrection. It's through Him that we get forgiven, not by our deeds. Even our repentance is inspired by God. To repent is to change our minds about whatever our preconceived notions were of attempting to justify ourselves. We need to own up to our sinfulness, and our need of forgiveness. We can't try and earn our approval with God, we have to fully rely on Him. God doesn't

  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8 NIV Many people claim to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Yet of those, I would suggest that not all are faithful witnesses of Jesus. We weren't saved to confine ourselves to a 'holy huddle'. Being filled with the Holy Spirit doesn't simply mean we'll have a nice feeling. He empowers us to make Christ known, even in the face of persecution. Most of Jesus's closest followers were martyred for their faith in Him. This verse was largely fulfilled by God's people being persecuted out of their comfort zones. Having fled Jerusalem, many of them then spread the gospel to Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the world. To be honest 'the ends of the world' is still being fulfilled. There are still corners of the world where people haven't even heard of the Lord Jesus Christ. I eve

  Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19 NLT Whenever we see a therefore, we should ask what it is there for. All universal authority has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ, and He delegates it to us His people to make Him known. Humanity's purpose is to follow Jesus to glory, and that is what we should call others too. When people come to faith in Jesus and start following Him, they are to be baptised as a sign of their commitment to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: the One True God. Baptism symbolises being washed in Jesus's blood, and pictures His death, burial and resurrection. Water baptism is an outward sign of an inward act of God by His Holy Spirit. I know there's different opinions on this, but as far as I read it, every Christian is baptised in the Holy Spirit when we're born again. Water baptism simply symbolised that we've been regenerated through fait

  Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. PROVERBS 11:24 (NLT) This verse doesn’t seem to make sense at first. If we’re generous, surely, we become less wealthy. If we keep a hold of our wealth, surely, we gain interest at the very least. The Bible is a spiritual book, not a get rich quick manual. When we’re generous, our hearts are moved by God to think of others, and we gain treasures in heaven. When we’re stingy, we’re being ungodly and face His condemnation. Generosity won’t earn us heaven, but if God grants heaven to us, it follows that we will become more generous. If we’re conscious of God’s generosity to us, it follows that we should want to be generous in response. If we claim to belong to Jesus but are stingy, we betray the fact we aren’t really His. If we let go of what we have, we will gain so much more in eternity. If we cling to what we have, we will lose it all forever. Our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who gav

  Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “ Behold, we did not know this, ” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work? Proverbs 24:11-12 ESV   Although I prefer to focus on God’s word, inevitably, it has things to say about what’s going on in the world nowadays. I want to address the rise in anti-Semitism nowadays. I don’t think I or other Christians can or should stay silent on this issue.   Most Germans in the late 1930s and early 1940s weren’t Nazis. Yet by failing to speak out against Nazi ideology and actions, they became enablers of genocide. We mustn’t allow history to repeat itself.   Martin Niemoller, a German pastor who was imprisoned by the Nazis, has a famous quote about different groups of people the Nazis persecuted, but he remained silent. Then they came after him, and there

  He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. JOHN 15:2 (NLT) This verse is a warning. If we profess faith in God, but don’t bear the fruit of the Spirit, we will be cut off from God. It’s not that we can lose our salvation, it’s that if we don’t bear fruit for God, we were never saved in the first place. Even if we do bear fruit for God, there’s a warning in this verse for us. It’s not going to be all sunshine for us. As a gardener prunes plants, so God will prune us spiritually so that we might bear even more fruit for Him. I can’t imagine being pruned is a particularly pleasant experience for a plant- to have parts of it cut away. Yet it is for the plants good. Similarly, for God to cut away unnecessary or bad things in our lives is an uncomfortable experience. A more spiritual word for ‘pruning’ is ‘sanctification’. It’s not just by tough circumstances that God sanctifies us. He

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ROMANS 10:14 (NIV) All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. What a great promise! If we believe that God raised Christ from the dead, and declare that He is Lord, we will have eternal life. Those promises are great, but this verse naturally follows. If people have never heard of the Lord Jesus Christ, they can’t come to Him for eternal life. He is the only way! Those of us who know that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life must declare Him to those who don’t! To make Him known is our secondary purpose in life, closely related to our primary purpose in life. We exist to glorify God, and we are to proclaim Him so that others come to glorify Him too. The main reason we’re not fast-tracked to glory is so that we can tell others about Jesus so that they have an opportunity to be saved

  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:8 NIV This verse sounds like a blank cheque. Does it mean we can ask God for a private jet and expect to receive it? Probably not to be honest! In the context of Scripture, we need to ask in accordance with God’s will. Thankfully, Jesus demonstrated that God is a good Father who delights to give good gifts to His children. He knows what we need before we ask Him. A good dad gives his children food whether they ask him or not. He still loves them to ask him for what they need. Likewise with God, we should ask Him to provide our needs, especially spiritually. We need salvation. We need to be set on the right track. We need to build our lives on the rock of Christ and His word. Thankfully God gladly provides all those things to those who come to Him in the faith that is itself a gift from Him. ‘Heavenly Father, please provide our needs. Above all, please pou

  Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1:45 NIV To be blessed is to be made happy by God. Mary was happy to have the privilege to bear the Son of God. She could well have moaned that she would face the stigma of a teenage pregnancy outside of marriage, but she had the spiritual insight to realise how blessed she was. Mary's cousin Elizabeth recognised Mary was blessed. She also understood the key to receiving that blessing. It's because Mary believed that she was blessed. The Bible even describes our faith as a gift of God. So there's no room for boasting on the part of Mary, or us. It's about the object of our faith, not our faith itself. We can have faith because God is a faithful, promise keeping God. Jesus was born as promised from the outset of human history, right through the Old Testament. Mary had the great privilege of bearing God's Son. We can be carriers of glory too if we receive His Holy Spirit. &#

  But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Ruth 1:16 ESV This is a powerful statement by Ruth. In context, it's a statement of faith: she commits to Naomi's God. All this was in spite of circumstances. Ruth and Naomi were widows in a world with no welfare state as we would understand it. Yet instead of sticking with what she knew and staying with her people, Ruth hitched her wagon to Naomi. Naomi didn't exactly encourage her either! Ruth clearly knew enough to be happy to commit herself to Naomi's God. Thankfully, there was in God's old testament law provision for widows with kinsman-redeemership. Little did Ruth know that she was going to be provided for above and beyond her expectations. Not only did Ruth get provided for in the temporal realm, but she had the honour of becoming the great grandmother of great king David, and ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ. He

  But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT The devil wants our guts for garters. He offers bait but hides the hook. His temptations are sugar coated poison pills. Thankfully, the Lord is faithful, and He is sovereign over the evil one. He doesn't want us to fall. He wants us to succeed spiritually. God strengthens His people. He gives us the power to resist the devil and flee temptation. By His Holy Spirit, we can do this. God can guard us. If we need to metaphorically chop off limps or gouge out eyes, so be it. Yet God won't let His redeemed people be lost. 'Lord our God, please prove Your faithfulness in our lives by strengthening and guarding us against the evil one. In Jesus' name we pray, amen' But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT The devil wants our guts for garters. He offers bait but hides the hook. His temptations are s

 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 (NIV) This isn’t just some nice flowery quote. It communicates truth we can build our lives upon. If Jesus is eternally faithful, we can completely rely on Him. The writer to Hebrews is equating Jesus with the Lord Yahweh of the Old Testament. He is the great ‘I am’, the One who was, and who is, and who is to come. The One who gave His life for us continues to love us with the same intensity of passion. The blood of Jesus suffices for yesterday’s sins. It is enough for the sins of today. And it will cover any future sins. We are to be faithful, as God is faithful. Just because He’s faithful doesn’t give us a license to be faithless. That would be an insult to His Majesty. ‘God, forbid that we would prove faithless to You. We’re so grateful for Your faithfulness, and the gift of faith You give us in Christ Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen’.

  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. ISAIAH 53:5 (NIV) Why was it that Father God forsook His eternally beloved Son? Why did He allow Him to be crucified (something that hadn’t even been invented when Isaiah lived!)? So that we might be forgiven from our wrongdoing. Jesus was crushed for the sake of sinners like us. It’s amazing that the sinless Son of God would die for iniquitous rebels like us. We are unworthy; but the Lamb who was slain for us is worthy to be praised. Our iniquities demand God’s punishment. Thankfully, Jesus gave Himself so that we might be at peace with God. We’re reconciled with God by the death of Christ on our behalf. We’re spiritually sin sick. We’re terminally ill spiritually. Mercifully, by the grace of God and the death of Jesus, we can be healed for eternity. ‘Father God, we praise You for crushing Your Son on our behalf.

 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9 NLT Doing what is good isn't necessarily the easiest option in the short term. It's often easier to give in to the temptation to do what is bad. That is, until we have to reap negative consequences. How is it that sinners like us can do good at all? By the grace of God and His outpoured Holy Spirit. Any good spiritual fruit we bear is ultimately a work of God. Even if we don't see the benefit of our works of goodness in this life, we assuredly will in the next. We need to have faith in God to vindicate our efforts in the end. We need to persevere. We're often tempted to give up. The road to hell is a downward slope which is easily slipped down. The path to glory is an upward trek that we need to stick with. 'Gracious God, we're grateful that by Your power we can persevere. Please help us to do so by Your Holy Spirit. In Jesu

  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:11 ESV The Old Testament commands us to love God wholeheartedly, and to love one another as we love ourselves. The New Testament sets the bar even higher. As Jesus took up His cross for us, so we are to take up our crosses and follow Him. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life. If God gave of Himself for us, we should give of ourselves for Him, and for one another. We shouldn't be selfish. It's not all about us. We should be preoccupied with God and other people. We shouldn't be preoccupied with ourselves. It's not just about flamboyant acts of self sacrifice that demonstrates our love. It could be as simple an act as washing people's feet- literally or figuratively! There are countless ways we can demonstrate our love. 'Loving heavenly Father, we praise You for sending Jesus to dem

  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 NIV Anxiety is as inevitable as weeds in a garden. We shouldn't let anxiety take over any more than we should let weeds take over a garden. If our souls are gardens then God is the gardener. If God is the gardener of our souls, we need to let Him in to weed out anxiety in our souls. Jesus commands us not to worry. God provides for our needs. We are to seek first the Kingdom of God, and everything else will be looked after for us by our King of kings. We're to be anxious for nothing. Instead, we're to pray about everything. We cast our cares on God by praying to Him to deliver us from anxiety. He doesn't want us paralysing ourselves with worry. He wants us to live life to the full. 'Heavenly Father, we're so grateful that we don't need to worry. Please help us to give our anxieties to You. Thank You for Your everlasting care for us. In Jesus' name, amen'

  If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. Psalm 139:11-12 We can't hide from God. In the beginning, there was God, and God is light. Then God created natural light. Even in natural darkness, God can see clearly. When people do wrong, they like to do it in the dark, literally or metaphorically. Thieves tend to operate at night. We don't tend to like to publicise our wrongdoing. Do we really think that if we do wrong in the dark, God can't see us? He's omniscient; He's all knowing. It's best to be honest with God about our iniquities. God doesn't just want us to confess our sins, only to remain in the dark. He wants us to come into the light of Christ, to repent of our wrongdoing and be transformed into Christ's likeness. By His Spirit this is possible. 'God, please don't let us delude o

  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV Paul had a ‘thorn in the flesh’. We don’t know for sure what it was. We know he had an eye condition because the Galatians Christians would have plucked their eyes out and given them him if they could! So maybe that was his thorn in the flesh. Another contender for Paul’s thorn in the flesh was some opponent to his ministry. In the old testament, Canaanite enemies of God’s people are described as thorns in their flesh. So perhaps there’s some known (like Demas or Alexander) or unknown opponent of Paul referred to here. Essentially however, we don’t know for sure what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was because we don’t need to know. What we do need to know is that God’s powerful grace is sufficient for us in whatever we’re going through. The Apostle Paul wasn’t

  Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. COLOSSIANS 4:2 (NLT) Prayer isn’t just a chore. It is something we ought to devote ourselves to. Like we’re hopefully devoted to our earthly fathers, how much more should we be devoted to our heavenly Father?! Prayer isn’t something passive. It’s not some mystical experience where we empty our minds and repeat empty mantras. With prayer, we’re waging spiritual warfare, calling down the power of God upon our situations. We’re to pray intelligently. We’re to be watchful and alert as to how we can most strategically call down God’s help. Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain. There’s to be an expectancy in prayer. If we don’t have faith that God’s going to answer us, we may as well not pray. Instead, we’re to pray with a thankful heart, looking out for the answers to our prayers, which will always be what’s best for us in the eternal scheme of things. ‘Dear Father God, please help us

  But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! AMOS 5:24 (NIV) Amos lived in unjust times (as per usual for the world throughout history. The rich got richer off the back of their oppression of the poor. He lived during one of the economically better times of Israel’s history, but he wasn’t afraid to speak out against all the unrighteousness that was going on. Apart from all his pronouncements of impending judgement on the northern kingdom of Israel (that were fulfilled by the Assyrian Empire), there are also bright glimmers of hope in Amos’s prophecies, such as this verse. He imagined justice and righteousness as flowing water that never fails to bless the land. He looked forward to the advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, who has inaugurated the kingdom of heaven, defined by justice and righteousness. There’s still plenty of injustice and unrighteousness in the world to this day. Yet in God’s kingdom, justice and righteousness are the order of