Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 https://youtu.be/7WeHTVKPUmE?feature=shared

  I agonised about what to do after uni, agonised that I made the wrong decision, and agonised myself into a psychotic episode. I deluded myself that a friend from uni could be more than a friend, and became infatuated with her. When it became apparent that we were just friends, I also started thinking the end was nigh and that the world was about to end. I wasn't sleeping or functioning well. I was in cloud cuckoo land. My parents tried to get me to take medication to settle me down, but I thought it would kill me before I was killed by a mob (!). When it didn't I overdosed, leaving a note to say they'd be better off without me. Thankfully, I was taken to hospital where I recovered physically for a few weeks. Emotionally, I was still a mess. I didn't like my medication, which I felt 'zombified' me. A few years later I came off the medication and had a relapse. That's for next time though.

  ‭Psalms 23:5-6 NIV‬ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.23.5-6.NIV God provides for His people in the midst of the persecution they face. We proclaim the Lord's death until He returns, as we partake of the table where we eat bread and drink grape juice in memory of Christ. Similarly, His body was broken, and His blood was shed for us. We're anointed with the Holy Spirit if we trust in Jesus. If we truly believe in Him, we will allow the Spirit to transform our lives. We don't continue in rebellion against God. Even if we sometimes try to run away, God's goodness and mercy continue to pursue us. He doesn't give up on us even if from time to time, we might give up on Him. Our salvation depends on Him, not us thankfully. We have a wonderful

  My early years as a believer in Jesus were pretty sheltered to be honest. I was home educated, so I didn't get much peer pressure. I was eventually baptised in water as a public commitment to Christ aged twelve (having come to faith when I was eight). Things took a downward turn in the days of dial up Internet when I got my first email address and got spammed with some adult stuff that sparked an addiction which has been haunting my life ever since. On a more positive note, I used to invite friends to church, one of whom came, and even helped to organise evangelistic events to share the good news about salvation through faith in Jesus. University, when lots of professing Christians go off the rails, was generally good for me spiritually. I attended a church with excellent teaching which I'm sure taught me more than my degree in International Politics. I continued to flex my evangelistic muscles and tell people the gospel of Christ. To be honest, leaving university and all

  God humbled me, but it took the death of my grandad to do so. There had been glimmers of conviction previously. When my grandma read a children's edition of Pilgrim's Progress, the descriptions of hell scared me. It wasn't until my granddad's deathbed conversion that I saw the impact that Jesus could have practically. My family had hope and joy, even in the face of death, through faith in Jesus. A few days after he died, I simply asked mum how I could be saved. I finally realised I needed salvation. She quoted 1 John 1:9 which says that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I prayed to God to forgive me because of Jesus's death on the cross on my behalf, and immediately felt relief. It was the peace of the Holy Spirit, assuring me that I was now a child of God. I asked mum 'is that it?' as tears of joy streamed down my face, but I knew that was it, despite the lack of lightening or a

  I was born, of course, at a very early age! I'm so old that the Cold War hadn't even ended yet! My parents, like most Brits of their generation, were from nominally Christian homes. Thankfully, each of them came to a real and living faith in the Lord Jesus; they met each other, married, and eventually (after two other sons) they had me. So I was brought up in a Christian home, attending church from being a babe in arms. One of my earliest memories is sitting on my mum's knee and hearing a preacher talk about the return of Christ. I imagined being walked by mum in a pushchair when the end arrived. To be honest, being well taught in the Bible made me a religious hypocrite. As the Bible says itself, 'knowledge puffs up'. I was proud of knowing most of the answers in church kids clubs, and arrogantly assumed I was a Christian who God must be pleased with. Pride might be celebrated in the world today. Yet as far as God's concerned, it's the original sin tha

  ‭Psalms 23:4 NIV‬ Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.23.4.NIV When God leads us, life isn't all rainbows and unicorns. Sometimes He leads us through dark valleys. Yet even there, in the midst of the darkness, He presences Himself with us. God isn't always a warm, comforting presence, even for His people. There's times He needs to discipline us with His metaphorical rod. We need to have the humility to bear the chastisement we deserve. God's staff might be uncomfortable when He draws us back onto the narrow way. Yet it's essential for straying sheep like us. We need Him to keep us on the straight and narrow. We can't do life alone. We need the Sovereign presence of our Good Shepherd. He laid down His life for us, so that we might live forevermore. 'Lord our Shepherd, please walk with us through the darkest valleys, and even

  ‭Psalms 23:1-3 NIV‬ The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.23.1-3.NIV The Lord being our Shepherd is humbling, not just for us, but for Him too. We might be spiritual sheep, but shepherds end up smelling like sheep and doing a job that's looked down on by the more well to do. The Lord might be the Sovereign of the universe, but He's happy to shepherd us too. God isn't proud. He doesn't refuse to roll up His sleeves and get His hands dirty for us. He wants what's best for us. As silly sheep spiritually who naturally wander, we should keep close to the Shepherd. We do so by meditating on His word and communing with Him by His Holy Spirit. We need to keep in step with Him. God guides us along right paths. Even if it's through death valley, He will bring us safe through to the

  ‭1 Peter 5:8-9 ESV‬ Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. https://bible.com/bible/59/1pe.5.8-9.ESV The Christian life isn't a walk in the park. By all means we can have a sense of humour, but we should be sober-minded. The life of faith is no laughing matter. We're to be watchful. We're not just to idly cruise through life. We need to look out for spiritual danger. Jesus *is* the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The devil is only *like* a lion. Nonetheless, he is still a formidable adversary. We need Jesus to give us the victory. Although we're to flee temptation, we can resist the devil. We can say as it were 'not today satan!' We're to stand firm in our faith. We're in the same boat as countless other brethren. When we feel like we'

  ‭2 Corinthians 4:18 ESV‬ as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. https://bible.com/bible/59/2co.4.18.ESV I'm reminded of the blind man that Jesus healed. The world says that seeing is believing. The Bible says that believing is seeing. The blind man believed Jesus is from God and could heal Him. The religious people however claimed to have spiritual insight, but they were blinded by their own power-hungriness to who Jesus is. We're not to look for earthly acclaim. We're to see that our purpose is to glorify our Lord. If we only saw suffering, persecution, blood, sweat, toil and tears, we'd get pretty depressed. If however we look forward to all that God has in store for us, we'll be filled with hope. We don't have to just cross our fingers, but we can trust in our crucified and risen Lord. We can't see God right now, but by fa

  ‭Isaiah 53:6 ESV‬ 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. https://bible.com/bible/59/isa.53.6.ESV I love how honest the Bible is about what we're like spiritually. It doesn't flatter us. We're like wandering sheep! Sheep are naturally silly animals. By default they wander. We're no better, spiritually. Like foolish sheep, we think we know better than God. We go our own way, and get in trouble for it. We need the Lord as our Good Shepherd. The Lord is our Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. We can be delivered from our waywardness through faith in Him. We need to stick close to Him. 'Good Shepherd of our souls, we're so grateful that You bring us back from our wandering. Please help us to stick close to You. For the glory of Your name, amen'.

  I want to take us on a whistle-stop tour of the old testament prophecy of Habakkuk. Firstly, is it ever right to complain? It's never right to moan behind someone's back, but it can be okay to take legitimate complains to whoever we have a problem with. For example, if you don't like my writings, feel free to complain, and hopefully I'll take your complaint on board. Secondly, is it ever right to complain to God? After all, He is righteous, just, holy, good and perfect. Surely we have no right to complain to Him! God might be good, but the world is bad, and because He is sovereign, we can complain to Him about the state of the world and ask Him to do something about it. Habakkuk complained like this to God, and the Lord didn't tell Him off. Instead, God graciously answered Habakkuk. Most old testament prophets gave God's message to the people. Habakkuk is more of a conversation between Him and God, that we get to eavesdrop on, to be flies on the wall as it

  ‭John 8:32 ESV‬ and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.8.32.ESV The truth isn't subjective. The idea that the truth is whatever you want it to be is an objective truth claim which contradicts yourself. In days when people are 'living their truth', we ought to live the Truth. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Truth personified. No one comes to the Father except through Him. He sets us free from slavery to sin. We get to be adopted by God as our Heavenly Father. We're freed from slavery and the curse of sin. We don't need to go back to our old ways. Jesus sets us free because He gave His life for us. He bore the curse we deserve to liberate us from the condemnation we deserve. Because He lives forevermore, we shall too. 'Dear Lord, help us to know You not just intellectually, but relationally. May we know the freedom of a relationship with You. For Your glory and praise we pray, amen'.

  ‭Hebrews 4:11 ESV‬ Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. https://bible.com/bible/59/heb.4.11.ESV Having talked about resting in God, now the writer to the Hebrews writes about striving and obeying. It's not that we can become lazy having come to faith in Jesus. We have to obey Him, otherwise we betray the fact we don't really trust in Him. The most important thing we can do is to rest in God. Therefore, we should strive to enter that rest. We mustn't betray any unbelief by disobedience. Trust and obedience are two sides of the same coin. If we trust God, we will obey Him. 'Trust and obey, For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey'. We don't have to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. We can allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives to make us like Him. By His grace we can be conformed to Christ's likeness. 'Heavenly Father, please don't let us b

  ‭Hebrews 4:10 ESV‬ for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. https://bible.com/bible/59/heb.4.10.ESV We can rest from working to earn our salvation. God has done all that is necessary for us to be accepted by Him. We don't need to strive anymore. Jesus commanded us to 'Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest'. Spiritually, we can enjoy one long Sabbath. We can't make God accept us by our efforts. For us to continue to try and work to make God accept us is an insult to Jesus. He did everything necessary for us to be justified by God. All we need to do is to relax in the freedom He has won for us. What about where James says 'faith without works is dead'? The faith James is condemning isn't the faith other Scriptures condemn. It's not enough to just believe God exists: even the demons do that- and shudder! 'Dear Lord, please help us to rest in You. Please forgive

  ‭Hebrews 4:9 ESV‬ So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, https://bible.com/bible/59/heb.4.9.ESV 'Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden', commands Jesus, 'and I will give you rest'. God doesn't want us striving and straining to earn His acceptance. Christ has done all that is necessary to make us accepted by God. Having been accepted by God, by faith in the Lord, all we need to do is to rest in Him. His salvation is sufficient. We don't need to top it up with our works. The idea that Christ's death isn't sufficient to save us is a great insult to Him. We must rest, because if we keep trying to earn justification, we're saying that Jesus isn't enough. God wants us to enjoy all that He has achieved for us. We don't have to be legalistic about the Sabbath day. We do however need to rest from trying to earn favour with God. We can simply enjoy God's favour. 'Heavenly Father, thank You that we can

  ‭Matthew 6:19 NLT‬ “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.6.19.NLT This is a countercultural command of the Lord here. The world says 'store up treasures here, invest in mothballs, rustproof your precious metals, lock up your valuables, bank in Switzerland!' Jesus says the opposite. I don't think Jesus is necessarily saying we can't have savings, or mothballs, or locks and keys. What He is saying is that we shouldn't idolise such things. They are all of this world that is passing away. Christ gives us a positive alternative: 'seek first the Kingdom of God'. We do so by giving to church, the poor and missionaries. In that way we're storing up treasures for ourselves in heaven. We need an eternal perspective. This world is destined for destruction. Not even a nuclear bunker can save us in the end. Only faith in Jesus can keep us for

 “LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains. Psalm 107:13-14 NLT This is basically the testimony of every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. To believe in Him, we first must realise the trouble we’re in spiritually, and our need of salvation. We need to cry out to Him for help. Thankfully, when we cry out to the Lord for help, He gladly saves us from our distress. The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. He gave His life so that we can go free from slavery to sin. By default, we’re in spiritual darkness and deepest gloom. We’re in the devil’s dungeon. Mercifully, Christ is able and willing to set us free. Spiritually, we’re wrapped in chains by our sinfulness. We’re slaves of the evil one. In His lovingkindness, Jesus wants to set us free, through faith in Him. ‘Lord, help us out of our slavery to sin and help us to live for Your glory we pray. For

  ‭James 1:27 NLT‬ Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.1.27.NLT Christians sometimes say that Christianity is a relationship with God, not a religion. I know what they mean, that Christianity isn't manmade, like every other religion. Yet James insists there's a kind of religion that God accepts. There's a twofold aspect to divine religion. Firstly, we're to look out for people in need. Wishing people well without practically helping them doesn't cut it in the Kingdom of God. Secondly, we're not to be corrupted by the world. 'Blessed are the pure in heart', stated Jesus, 'for they shall see God'. We need God to purify our hearts and to continue sanctifying us, until He calls us home. We can't have one without the other. It's not enough to feed the homeless if we're lustful. It's

  ‭2 John 1:6 NLT‬ Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning. https://bible.com/bible/116/2jn.1.6.NLT Some people assume the old testament is a bunch of commandments, and the new testament is about love. The old testament commandments are in summary to love God and to love others. The new testament reiterates such commandments. We are given more motivation to love God in the new testament. We love, because He first loved us, and sent His Son to give His life for us. We are to love one another to the extent that Christ loved us. If we claim to love God and hate others, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Love isn't the same as acceptance. Love confronts that which is unlovely, and challenges it. We don't have to love what is hateful. We don't have to be doormats who allow hateful ideologies to trample over us and our consciences. We can speak the truth- in love. 'Lovin

  ‭Proverbs 23:24 NLT‬ The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise. https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.23.24.NLT To be totally honest, I don't think I can testify to the truth of this verse yet. Godliness and wisdom don't come naturally. My five and three year olds, and six month old have yet to display much godliness and wisdom! Having said the above, 'out of the mouths of children and infants, God has ordained praise'. It's wonderful when my children praise the Lord! I trust they will grow to be godly and wise women. I hope this verse rings true for my own father! Certainly, two of his four children are walking with the Lord (myself included). Hopefully we'll all not just profess faith in God, but be godly and wise. Godliness and wisdom isn't just about claiming to be a Christian. They're not just about talking the talk, but walking the walk. With the help of the Holy Spirit we can do this! 'Fat

  ‭Matthew 7:24 NLT‬ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.7.24.NLT Jesus didn't want us just to be 'red letter' Christians, to only really take seriously His spoken words recorded in the gospels. On the Emmaus Road, He took two disciples on a whistle-stop tour of the old testament and claimed it was all about Him. The rest of the new testament is written by His Apostles, commissioned by Him who sent them out to make Him known. So Jesus's teachings include the whole of the Bible. We're to follow it all. It all points to Him. If we follow Scriptures, we're wise. We might not necessarily get a high IQ, but we'll have the wisdom to make good decisions in life. Spiritual wisdom isn't the same as intellectualism. We either build our lives on the solid rock of Christ and His word, or else on the shifting sands of worldly wisdom. The only One who can help

  ‭Exodus 20:8 ESV‬ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. https://bible.com/bible/59/exo.20.8.ESV Jesus might be Lord of the Sabbath, but that doesn't mean to say that God hasn't designed us to have a day of rest in a week. We're not robots. Even God Himself rested on the Sabbath to set a pattern for us, even though He didn't need to. The writer to the Hebrews applies the Sabbath principle spiritually. He says that if we trust in Jesus, we can rest from our works. We don't need to strive to earn God's acceptance. There's still a case for celebrating Jesus on the day He rose from the grave. From the outset, it's been the church's practice to observe the Lord's Day, Sunday, as a special day. We don't have to be legalistic about Sundays. Yet if possible, it's good to have a rest from our day to day activities. It's good to gather to worship God with others at least once a week. 'Heavenly Father, please help us spiritually

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. MARK 6:31-32 (NIV) I love the compassion of Jesus in these verses. He Himself will have been weary and needed rest. His concern wasn’t for Himself however, but for His followers. In context, the attempt to get rest wasn’t successful. Crowds followed them, hungry for Jesus’s teachings and miracles. Instead of losing His temper with them for not letting them have a rest, He had compassion on the crowds. Also, in the context of the passage, Jesus is contrasted with murderous king Herod, who had His second cousin, John the Baptist executed. Jesus had compassion on the people because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Herod should have shepherded the people, but as Jesus described him elsewhere, he was more of a fox.

 Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock. Isaiah 26:4 NLT God doesn’t just want ‘fair weather’ followers. He doesn’t want us to only trust Him when the sun’s shining as it were. He wants us to trust in Him always. God is trustworthy whether the going is good or tough. He can carry us through the tough times. Nothing can separate us from His love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Lord God is the eternal Rock. He doesn’t abandon us when the going gets tough. He’s with us through thick or thin. As a Rock, God is solid and dependable. We can build our lives on Him. He’s a firm foundation. ‘Lord God, our eternal Rock, please help us to trust in You always, not just when we’re doing well. For the honour of Your name, amen’.

 'Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. ' Galatians 6:2 NLT We all face burdens in this life. We have sins that burden us. We have family responsibilities and work responsibilities. We have gospel needs that we seek to meet. We’re not to face our burdens alone. Jesus told us to come to Him, all of us who are weary and heavy laden. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. We can leave the burden of our sins with Jesus, who’s dealt with them at the cross. He burdens us with the task of telling the world the good news of salvation in Him. We’re to work together, helping each other take the burdens of our sins to the cross, and telling people the gospel as a team. If we’re finding things hard, our brethren should support us in prayer at the very least. The law of Christ isn’t just to love God, but to love one another. One of the primary ways we can express love for one another is to bear one another’s burdens. It’s not enough to simply wish

 ‭Micah 6:8 NLT‬ No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. https://bible.com/bible/116/mic.6.8.NLT We don't get to define what's good: that's God's job. In summary, we're to love God wholeheartedly, and to love one another as we love ourselves. What God requires of us isn't overly complicated. We're to do what's right. We're to live lives defined by love. Hate mustn't define us. We're to love mercy. If we're unmerciful, why would we expect God to be merciful to us? Thankfully, God's mercy to us in in spite of our sinfulness. We're to walk humbly with our God. There's no room for pride, arrogance, or self-righteousness in the Kingdom of God. Any good in us is God's work in our lives, so there's room for boasting. 'Lord our God, please help us to live lives that honour You. In the name of Jesus we pray,

  'The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ' Romans 8:6 https://www.bible.com/bible/111/ROM.8.6 We might like to think our minds are free. In reality however, they're governed by one of two things. We're either governed by the flesh- our old sinful nature- or by the Holy Spirit of God. We're all flesh and bone. Naturally, we want to satisfy our fleshly desires. Of course, we need food, drink and shelter for example, but the flesh is greedy for more than just our needs. If we're governed by our basic desires, we're going to die. We all face death, but for that to be our final destiny is a fearful thing. We need eternal life that only faith in Christ and the receipt of His Spirit can bring. If we welcome God's Spirit into our hearts, we're inviting eternal life and peace with God in. Not only so, but we can be at peace within ourselves, knowing the joy of sins forgiven. It's all because

  'In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ' Ephesians 1:7 https://www.bible.com/bible/59/EPH.1.7 We all need to be 'in Him', that is, in Christ. We need redemption from slavery to sin that only He can provide. He's beaten the devil by His death and resurrection. By the blood of Jesus, the price for our freedom has been paid. We're spiritually crucified with Christ: dead to sin and satan. We don't need to give in to temptation any more. We all trespass God's law. We all do things we shouldn't. We all need forgiveness. Thankfully, the Lord Jesus is rich in grace. He isn't stingy with His love, but pours it out upon us. He fills us with His Holy Spirit to conform us to His likeness. 'Our Heavenly Father, how grateful we are for Your Son, and all that we enjoy in Him. May we glorify Him in our lives, now and forevermore, amen'

  'By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. ' Genesis 2:2-3 https://www.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.2.2-3 God didn't even need a week to create the universe. He could have taken billions of years if He wanted. Yet He 'killed two birds with one stone' and set us a pattern for our times. We're not machines. Unlike God, we can't just keep going 24/7. We need a weekly day of rest. Of course, God doesn't need a day of rest. He's omnipotent, He's all powerful. Yet He chose to set us a pattern for how our times ought to be. We don't need to be legalistic about a day of rest. Christians tend to rest on Sundays, the day Christ defeated death. God isn't prescriptive about how we rest though. 'God Almighty, we praise You for setting us a pattern for

 ' “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” ' Psalm 46:10 https://www.bible.com/bible/59/PSA.46.10 We live in tumultuous times. There's wars and rumours of wars. The plague of covid is only recently over. There's famines in many places. In the midst of all the chaos, the Psalmist calls us to be still. There's no point running around like a headless chicken. God is sovereign, and He cares for us. The nations rage and the peoples plot in vain against the Lord and His anointed, Jesus. Yet He will be exalted. Every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. The Lord Jesus Christ will soon return to establish His reign on earth as it is in heaven. We can rest in His sovereignty. We can be confident in His love. 'Almighty Lord, please help us to rest in Your sovereign care. In the name of Christ Jesus, amen'.