Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. Nehemiah 4:6 ESV When reading Scripture, we need to take into account that behind the face value of what we read, it's ultimately about the LORD Jesus Christ. He said as much on the road to Emmaus, having defeated death. We should take him seriously. So when reading Ezra and Nehemiah, we might be tempted to think it's about leadership primarily, how to be a good leader. There is a lot about good leadership in these books, but that's not their main purpose. The Holy Spirit inspired the writers to point to the Messiah Jesus. How do Ezra and especially Nehemiah point to Jesus? As godly leaders, they model what it is to be Christlike in our leadership. Yet I believe there's an even more fundamental truth to glean, especially in the book of Nehemiah. At face value, the book of Nehemiah is about building a wall. As such it doesn't sound very riveting. There...

 Romans 12:1 ESV I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  We are to live in the light of God's mercy. Once we were slaves to sin. Yet now we've been set free to serve him. Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice for salvation. Having said that, having been saved by him, we are to sacrifice ourselves for his sake. We might not have to get martyred on his behalf, but we do have to deny ourselves daily. We're not longer to live for self. Instead we're to live for our Saviour. Instead of seeking to gratify ourselves, we are to strive to bring joy to our Lord. The proof of a saved life is a holy life. We're not going to be perfect in this life. Nevertheless, if we truly worship God, we will do so by loving every moment of every day to please him. 'Almighty Lord, we're so grateful for your mercy. We feel the weight of your call to holiness, but ...

 Habakkuk 2:14 ESV For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. In times like this, when people are talking of a 'Quiet Revival' in the UK, and rumblings of revival across the West generally, this verse doesn't seem inconceivable. In Habakkuk's day however, this will have seemed farfetched. God's people were about to be swallowed up by the pagan Babylonian Empire. Nothing's impossible for God. In Communist China, Christianity is widespread. Nothing and no one can stop this verse from being fulfilled. As the new testament reveals, there'll be peoples from every nation, tribe and language in God's Kingdom. All around the world, people know and acknowledge God's glory. We exist to make God famous. I'm sure 'knowledge' doesn't just refer to intellectual awareness. Biblically, it very often has to do with relationship, like Adam 'knew' his wife, and she conceived. We're n...

 Luke 19:38 ESV saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  In isolation, this verse sounds great. In context, it seems somewhat disingenuous. Many of those who welcomed Jesus enthusiastically into Jerusalem on this occasion will have been those who bayed for his blood only days later. Many of those making the declarations in this verse will have been hoping for a political king to kick out the Roman occupiers.  When it became apparent Jesus wasn't going to do that, many will have become disillusioned. That's why many cried out for his crucifixion. Jesus is the blessed King who comes in the name of the Lord. Yet as he told governor Pilate, his kingdom isn't of this world. His kingdom is spiritual. It is right and fitting that we should glorify the Lord Jesus. In fact, this is the meaning of our lives. If we didn't praise him, the very rocks would cry out in worship of him! 'Glorious Lord, may we ever li...

'Joab the son of Zeruiah began to count, but did not finish. Yet wrath came upon Israel for this, and the number was not entered in the chronicles of King David. ' 1 Chronicles 27:24 ESV It's ironic that Chronicles, that is literally a record of Israel's history, would chronicle that there was an attempt to record the number of God's people that was sinful. After all, there was a census in Numbers. Why was a census okay in Numbers but not in Chronicles? The census in numbers was to record God's goodness to the children of Israel. He had grown them from one man to a great company, by his grace, and in the face of great opposition. They could celebrate his kindness to them. In the book of Chronicles, David sinned in attempting to count his people because he was trusting in his military capabilities rather than in the Lord his God. Chronicles records genealogies so that we can trace the family tree of the Son of God, but it doesn't record this census because it...

When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. 2 Kings 22:11 ESV If even the relatively good king Josiah tore his clothes at the hearing of God's Law, what hope is for us? Our hope is in the promise to Josiah's ancestor David of a Descendant whose Kingdom will never end. Jesus is the King of kings who will never let us down. It's not enough to be moral like Josiah. It's not even enough to tear our clothes when we realise we fall short of God's glory. As Joel said, we need to rend our hearts, not our garments. If our hearts break at how we have broken the heart of God by our rebellion, he will mend our broken hearts. God blesses the brokenhearted. The One who convicts us of sin is the One who acquits us of its penalty. Like Josiah, we are to humble ourselves before the King of kings, who himself is gentle and lowly. At his first advent, he meekly rode a donkey into Jerusalem. When he returns, it will be to conquer and to subdue all rebels ...

And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. 2 Samuel 7:16 ESV King David of Israel had wanted to build God a house, a temple, in Jerusalem. God refused, as he was a man of war with blood on his hands. Yet God told David he would build his house to be everlasting. David himself is dead and buried. Yet the Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ, his Descendant, broke out of the tomb. He defeated death and reigns forevermore. Jesus is David's promised Descendant whose Kingdom of heaven is everlasting. We can become part of it by changing our minds about him. He's not just a carpenter, or even a Prophet, or a Teacher: he's the everlasting Son of God. Christ is now exalted in the highest heaven, sat on the throne of God, where one day we will stand, and kneel to be judged. Only through faith in him can we escape damnation. We can repent of our rebellion and enter in to God's kingdom. 'God Almighty, we worsh...

The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge! Ruth 2:12 ESV The book of Ruth is a beautiful love story between Ruth and Boaz (spoiler alert!). However, it is also a beautiful love story between God and his people. God's people aren't just ethnic Israel, but all, including Gentile Ruth, who take refuge in him. We're not saved according to our ethnicity. We're saved if we take refuge in God from his rightful wrath at our rebellion against him. We deserve his condemnation, but we can find asylum with him. If we take refuge in God, we will have good works to show for it. We won't be persistently rebellious against the Lord if we belong to him. We ought to be defined by love of God and of one another. Ruth could have abandoned her bereft and bitter mother-in-law Naomi. She could have remarried a fellow Moabite. Yet she chose to commit to Naomi's God and people....

'But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord .” ' Joshua 24:15 NIV Joshua threw down the gauntlet to his wayward people. Already they were wavering in their commitment to the Lord their God, who had brought them out of slavery in Egypt. He gave them a choice. It's a no-brainer really- God is the One True God who delivers his people. The people of God had previously been moon worshippers from Ur of the Chaldeans. Yet God called Abram, renamed him Abraham, and transformed him into a true believer and the 'father of faith'. His descendants were tempted to go back to the old ways. As Israel entered Canaan, the gods of the Amorites tempted them. These demonic idols appealed to their lusts with their sex cult practices. Yet Joshua was ins...

This post is pretty simple really: the information we can glean from A.I. isn't the Bible/Gospel truth. This doesn't mean to say that A.I. is necessarily wrong. It just means that spiritually, A.I. is apocryphal: a hodgepodge of truths and not so much truths. For example, I typed my name into A.I. At first, it admitted it hadn't heard of me. Yet when I added some more details, it began to embellish and to basically create a character with my name, yet who doesn't actually exist. I checked with Google, and my A.I. generated namesake who was meant to be a public figure who would have been find-able on Google simply didn't exist. Basically, A.I. information has to be taken with a liberal pinch of salt. We have to be careful when creating supposedly Biblical/Gospel content with A.I.'s help. I'm not saying A.I. can't give a textbook answer at times, but A.I. isn't indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. We should trust ourselves as vessels of God's Spirit ...

 Hebrews 11:1 ESV Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  Many people nowadays would define faith as a leap in the dark. The writer to the Hebrews has a more optimistic definition. They insist that to have faith is to be assured of hopefulness. We might not have seen the risen Lord Jesus in the flesh. However, the testimony of the first eyewitnesses is credible. We have it recorded for us in the Scriptures, God's word. If we trust in Jesus, we're part of an unbroken chain of believers from those very first eyewitnesses. For 2,000 years, there have been those who have faith in Christ, and who tell others of the hope that is to be found in him. Are you part of that community of belief? We can be convicted of the truths of Jesus, and him crucified. We can verify the historicity of his life and claims. We can have confidence in him. 'Father God, please give us the gift of faith in you. For we ask in the name of Jesus, amen'.

 Romans 12:2 ESV  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  We're all being moulded, or confirmed, in some way or another. The Apostle Paul commands us not to be conformed to this world. This could have a number of expressions. If we're glued to Netflix, Google, or A.I., we're being conformed. Even if we over rely on humans relationships, we're conformed by peer pressure. Maybe in our work we need to use lots of technology, but we need to make sure we're moulding it to our advantage, and that it isn't moulding us detrimentally. Paul gives us a positive alternative to worldly conformity. He calls us to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. We do this by meditating on the word of God, the Bible, by his Holy Spirit. We can apply Scriptures to different scenarios that we face in the world, in order to test and to approve w...

 I created this with YouTube content in mind, but to be honest, it has wider application, to what we write as well, for example... Be Creative, Not Recreative; Be Productive, Not Reproductive To be honest, God is the ultimate Creator. He is the inimitable Producer. He creates 'ex nihlio', out of nothing. God simply spoke, and the universe came to be. We're created in his image and likeness. That's why we're creative and productive too (at our best). Sadly, because our forebearers ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we're also very destructive. Much of what we produce leaves a lot to be desired to say the least, and offends the Holy One. That's by way of introduction. What I want to say in this post is an encouragement to fellow YouTubers, even though I'm pretty amateurish and small fry. I want us producing quality content, not just replicating '10 easy steps to make money off YouTube'. There's not necessarily wrong with making ...

 1 Corinthians 9:22 ESV To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.  Religion is divisive. Jesus said as much. He said he didn't come to bring peace but division. Christ does bring peace on earth to those on whom God's favour rests. Yet for the rest of us, we're divided from God and his people. There's hostility from the world towards Christians generally. The Apostle Paul wasn't divisive for it's own sake. He was only divisive in regard to the offense of the Gospel of Christ crucified. In every other sense, he sought to be as diplomatic as possible. As God's people, we're ambassadors of Christ and his kingdom. As such, we're going to offend lots of people. We're to seek to be peacemakers though, with God's help. 'God of peace, may we be peacemakers as we proclaim the Gospel of peace to all who will hear. In the name of Christ we pray, amen'.

 Follow the link for a video on why AI will never understand the Gospel... https://youtu.be/Vjym6-qH88M?si=tELuu-YUl2tsWagN

 Isaiah 9:2 ESV  The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. Jesus's home region of Galilee had been the first part of Israel to be swallowed up by Gentile oppressors. As such, a place that should have been filled with the light of God was a dark place. Yet that's the area the Light of the world chose to call home. Jesus is the great Light who shone upon Galilee of the Gentiles. He didn't just heal Jews, but even Gentile settlers from the Gentiles settlements of the Decapolis. He blessed Samaritans too, a 'mongrel' mix of Jew and Gentile. Judea was the region of Israel that basked in the light of the temple of God. They largely rejected Jesus in their religious self sufficiency. The heartland of Jesus's support was humble Galilee. I'm reminded of saint Augustine. He has a quote where he says he used to have his back to the Light: focusing on things the Light shone on (sex was...

 Psalm 34:19 ESV Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. The epic end of Romans 8 lists a number of afflictions we could face. These include famine, poverty and violence off the top of my head. The righteous have even more afflictions than the unrighteous  We don't come to Jesus for an easier life necessarily. The Apostle Peter tells us that all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will inevitably be persecuted. That's on top of all the other afflictions that people normatively face. Thankfully there's a second half to this verse. It doesn't matter what we're facing. Nothing can separate us from the love of God for us in Christ Jesus our Lord: he delivers us from every affliction. 'Lord our God, in the midst of our afflictions, we're grateful for your deliverance. Please continue to do so, until you call us home, now and forevermore, amen'.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 1 Corinthians 3:7 ESV Often we hear from 'experts' about church growth. We have to be 'seeker sensitive', some say. We need smoke machines, coffee machines and slick bands, say others. A friend of mine half jokily said the size of churches he visited in America grew in proportion to the snacks provided. The biggest had donuts and barista coffee as it were. The smallest had watery fruit juice and a biscuit as it were. Church planting was trending a few years back, although I don't seem to hear as much about it any more. Maybe the emphasis nowadays is about watering what we've already got than planting new fellowships. The Apostle Paul suggest such debates are somewhat of a distraction. I'm reminded of the Psalm of Solomon who says that unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain who build it. Without God, we can do nothing. Only with his help can we see a harv...

 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 1 John 5:14 ESV God wants us to be confident. He doesn't want us filled with doubts. He wants us to come to him as our loving Abba Father in heaven. The child of a billionaire knows that nothing is too hard for their parent to buy for them. Similarly, if we know God as our Father, we have all we need. The cattle on a thousand hills are his. John adds an important caveat. If we ask anything according to God's will, he hears us. By implication, if we ask for a private jet, that is very unlikely to be God's will, and he's unlikely to have regard for such a greedy, covetous request. Note that John doesn't promise a blank cheque. He promises that God will hear us. What really matters isn't stuff, but our relationship with Abba God. 'Abba, Father God, please help us to pray in accordance with your will, and please hear us we ask, in Jesus's name, ame...

For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past Romans 3:25 (NLT) We all deserve God's punishment for sinning and falling short of God's glory. Thankfully, God has provided us with Jesus, and him crucified for us. By his death, Christ can wash away our sins. People have different ideas about how to get right with God. Most of them boil down to attempting to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. The Bible is clear however that salvation is 100% of the Lord. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for sin. He didn't deserve to die, but he did so for our sakes. By trusting in him, we can go free. God could well have ended the world already. The reason he hasn't is because Christ was crucified for us. Jesus has stayed the wrath of God. 'Abba God, please help us to ...

No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. Psalms 16:9-10 (NLT) David, writing around 1,000 B.C., prophesied of Christ's resurrection. This is a Messianic Psalm. In other words, David wrote as though he was Jesus. We know David wasn't God's Holy One. He was guilty of adultery and murder. Yet his Descendant, the virgin born Son of God, is the Holy One of God. Jesus knew he would defeat death. That didn't make his death easy. Yet for the joy set before him, he endured the cross and scorned it's shame, and is seated at the right hand of Father God. Even as his body rested in the tomb for three days, Jesus's soul and spirit were glorified. He told the dying criminal that that very day, he would be with him in paradise. Now he awaits his return as Judge. 'Lord God, we worship your Son for defeating death on our behalf. May we ever live for him. In hi...

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NLT) Jesus didn't flatter his followers. He was honest with them about the troubles in life. Yet he also gave them encouragement. Jesus didn't deceive his people that they would necessarily be healthy, wealthy and happy if they followed him. He was realistic about life's hardships. He didn't sugarcoat his message. Jesus wanted his people to have peace in him. One reason we can do so is that he is preparing a place for us in glory. The new creation is our destiny, not destruction. We can be encouraged because Jesus has overcome the world. He has defeated death, satan's most powerful weapon that he can use against us. Jesus has risen again in defeat of the grave. 'Heavenly Father, please help us to recognise that life isn't easy, but with you it is possible. In the mighty name of Jesus, ...

I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. John 16:20 (NLT) As Jesus said elsewhere, when the Bridegroom (he) was with us, we rejoiced. Now he has departed, we fast. Having said that, this verse has a slightly different emphasis. Jesus was referring to the time between his death and resurrection. His disciples disbelieved that he would rise again. They were grief stricken. The world rejoiced at the crucifixion of Jesus. He challenged the religious and political status quo. Jesus is Lord, not religious or political leaders. Religious and political leaders are blasphemous in their lust for power that is rightfully God's. Thankfully, the disciples' grief turned into wonderful joy. They rejoiced at the return of the King of kings from death. He gives joy to the sorrowful, and peace to the broken. 'Dear Lord, we're so grateful for your defea...

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13 (NLT) The love of the Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest love of all. Not only did he lay down his life for sinners. He is also unashamed to call us friends. Jesus doesn't judge us at this stage. His first advent was about him descending to earth as our Saviour. When he returns, it will be as judge. In Jesus, God's love and justice meet. He is able to be just and the justifier of the ungodly by his death on our behalf. He bore God's punishment on our behalf, so he satisfied God's justice. Often, we tend to overemphasise either God's justice or his love. It's hard to get the balance right. Yet Jesus perfectly personifies both. 'Dear Lord, we're so grateful for your sacrifice on our behalf. Please help us to trust in you. For your glory we pray, amen'.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:51 (NIV) Jesus wasn't talking about transubstantiation, the strange Roman Catholic doctrine that the bread of the mass magically becomes his literal body. He was using bread as an illustration. Just as bread was the staple diet of his society, essential to sustain life, so his body broken for us is essential for us to believe in spiritually. As Jesus said elsewhere, 'blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled'. Jesus is righteousness personified. Yet his body was broken in our place, so that unrighteous, hell deserving people that we are can become the righteousness of God. Nothing in this life can satisfy us spiritually. Attempting to keep ten commandments, five pillars, or whatever else, cannot earn God's acceptance. Only Jesus's broken body and shed blood ...

 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. Deuteronomy 6:6 ESV Moses had just revealed the greatest commandment, according to the LORD Jesus Christ. We're to love God wholeheartedly. He doesn't just want lip service. With all our hearts, with all our strength, with all our souls, with all our minds, we are to love God. We love, because he first loved us. He gave his beloved, everlasting Son for us and our salvation. In the words of an old hymn, 'the early dew of morning has passed away by noon'. In other words, we can't just reflect on God's love in morning 'quiet times'. We are to meditate on the love of God 24/7. We need God to write his words on our hearts. It's not enough to intellectually assent to his word. We're to be wholehearted in our devotion to God. 'Lord our God, may we love you unreservedly, as you deserve. We're so grateful for your immeasurable love for us in Christ, in whose name we pray, amen'.

 These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Numbers 33:1 ESV Numbers 33 is a travel itinerary. We may wonder what it has to do with us. The old hymn 'count your blessings' gives a clue. The book of Numbers is about attempting the impossible: trying to count the innumerable blessings of God. Just because we can't do it doesn't mean to say we shouldn't try. We can always make a start. In his famous chapter on love, the Apostle Paul says that love doesn't keep a record of wrongs. In the book of Numbers, Moses illustrates the flip side of the coin. Love does keep a record of rights. If we love God, we will attempt to count his blessings. Even through the wilderness of this life, he carries us through. We just need to trust him. 'Dear Father God, may we attempt to count your innumerable blessings, and be grateful and encouraged. In Jesus' name, amen'.

I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. Matthew 21:43 (NLT) Jesus declared this indictment to his fellow Jews who rejected him. This verse isn't an excuse for anti-Semitism. Jesus himself is Jewish. The 'nation' that produces the proper fruit isn't a political entity. It's a spiritual community of faith, made up of Jews and Gentiles alike. This nation is the people of God. The fruit Jesus is looking for is foundationally about having faith in him. People asked him what they must be doing to be doing the work of God. He replied that the work of God is to believe in the one whom he has sent (himself). If faith is the gateway to spiritual fruitfulness, then the Apostle Paul unpacks the holistic fruit of the Spirit in his letter to the Galatian churches. It starts with love. It includes such qualities as joy, peace and patience. 'Heavenly Father, whether we're Jews or Gentiles, may we w...

 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:18 ESV Our gut reaction when someone wrongs us is to seek revenge. If someone punches us, we're tempted to punch back, with interest! At the very least, we're likely to want to bear a grudge. God commands us not to take revenge. We mustn't bear grudges. Vengeance is God's job: he's clinically exact in his retribution. Rather than to hate people, we're to love them. We may well ask who our neighbour is. Jesus clearly says it's whoever we come across in our lives. We hear a lot in the world today about self love. Even the Bible acknowledges and assumes that we should love ourselves. Its emphasis though is love of God and of other people especially. 'Loving Lord, may we love you and others as we ought. For the honour of your name, amen'.

“It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” Matthew 21:13 (NIV) I'll always associate this verse with when my brother and I visited a cathedral in the UK. Because of the gift shop in the corner, I quoted this verse (rather tongue in cheek!) in the visitors' book. Jesus wasn't being humorous however. The entrance to St. Paul's Cathedral in London quotes what Jacob said when he had a dream of God: 'this is the gate of heaven'. It then goes on to mention the entrance charge. Thankfully, in truth, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is free: there's no entrance charge to heaven itself. Jesus's contemporaries had turned the Gentile court of the temple of God into a marketplace. By doing so, they froze out the nations from approaching the one true God. The Jews were supposed to be a light to the Gentiles, not a barrier between the nations and God. The gospel isn't the means to ...

 And he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God!' John 1:36 ESV If we were to be asked what animal we associate with, I doubt many of us would self-identify in the likeness of sheep! I'm sure there'd be self-professed lions amongst us. We don't like to admit the Bible's verdict of us that we're spiritually sheep. If you wrap a donkey up in a lion's skin, it's still a donkey. Jesus however, by the declaration of John the Baptist is the Lamb of God. He's not just like a lamb of God; he actually is the Lamb of God. A lamb, whatever else it may be, is pure and innocent. Jesus as the Lamb of God is his pure and innocent sacrifice for our sins. A regular lamb can't atone for our sins; Christ can. Jesus is the God-Man. He's the perfect Mediator between God and mankind. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquities of us all. 'Abba in heaven, we trust in your sinless Lamb for our ...

 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:13 ESV The story of the Passover sounds gory and archaic to our 21st Century sensibilities. We don't like blood and gore. We seek to avoid them if possible. We might like to think this story isn't relevant to us. Yet elsewhere, we're told that without the shedding of blood, there's no forgiveness of sins. Only the blood of the Lamb of God can save us. The blood of a regular lamb can't redeem us from slavery to sin. Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. We must trust in him. Jesus turned a Passover meal into the Lord's Supper. Bread is broken and wine is drunk in remembrance of him. His body was broken and his blood was shed for us. 'Lord Almighty, we praise you for sending Christ for our redemption. In his name, amen'.

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Matthew 23:37 (NIV) We have a saying in English that sums up the Jerusalemites who were contemporary with Jesus in his first advent quite well. 'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink'. Jesus is the living water of spirituality, yet the Jerusalemites refused to come to him for life. Maybe we would assume that Jesus would compel us to be saved. Yet he respects our free will. He allows us to reject him, if we so choose. It's foolish to reject Christ. He's our only hope. If we reject him, we're lost for eternity. Not only are those who reject Christ lost for eternity, but forty years after his crucifixion, in fulfilment of his prophecy, the Roman occupiers destroyed rebellious Jerusalem. Life is better even in the here and now with Jesus. Lif...

“Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ” Matthew 21:5 (NIV) We don't tend to associate kingship with gentleness. We assume that kings and rulers have to be brash and macho. It isn't necessarily so however. Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He defines what true leadership is, not some bully boy dictator like Putin. Thankfully, God is gentle, he doesn't beat us about the head with a big stick as it were. We would expect a king to ride a white stallion, like that famous painting of Napoleon on his steed. Yet Jesus, in humility, and in fulfilment of prophecy, rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. He wasn't out to conquer the Roman occupiers; he wants to conquer our hearts. The crowds welcomed Jesus enthusiastically. Many will have assumed he was going to kick out the Roman oppressors. Yet as he told the Roman governor Pilate, his kingdom isn't of this world. 'Almighty God, ...

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. Galatians 5:13 (NIV) God doesn't want us enslaved to our sinful passions. He has called us to set us free. We need to trust in him. Having been set free through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we're not to enslave ourselves all over again to our fleshly desires. By default, we're selfish, but that's not what God has called us to. Instead of indulging our selfish passions, we're to serve one another humbly in love. Humility is key. We're not to pat ourselves on the back, or to announce our good deeds with a trumpet. We're to love others not in order that we might be all self-congratulatory. Instead we're to do so because it's the right thing to do. God has called us to love him and to love one another- that is our purpose in life. 'Sovereign God, we're grateful for the freedom we enjoy in Christ. Ple...

I'm starting a new weekly series summarising the Bible. The Bible, as you probably know is a library of 66 books. I've condensed this series down to 52 weeks, so clearly, not every Biblical book is covered (I've merged some adjacent and similar books like Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah). This is by no means an exhaustive summary, it's really just to whet your appetite. We start, logically, at the beginning, in Genesis, the first book of the Bible 'I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.' Genesis 12:3 NIV This verse is God blessing Abram (who he later renamed more famously as Abraham). Abraham is known as the father of faith. Jews and Muslims claim him as their own, not just Christians. Ethnically, Jews are descended from Abraham via Isaac; and many Muslims via Ishmael. Yet Biblical faith isn't about ethnicity; it's about believing God, and having God credit...

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 (ESV) The Apostle Paul wasn't suggesting he could defeat all the legions of Rome single handedly. In the context, he was writing about contentment. We might assume we can only be content when the sun is shining, Paul suggests otherwise. If our contentment is circumstantial, we're going to spend a lot of time discontented. If however our contentment is grounded in God, we can be content even in difficult circumstances. We shouldn't just need a full belly to be content. We shouldn't even need a roof over our heads. If God is our portion, we should be aware that he is enough. Living with eternity in mind is a great aid in living contentedly. If we're looking for contentment in stuff in this life, we're only going to become disillusioned. If however we trust in God, he will never disappoint us. 'Abba in heaven, please teach us the secret of contentment, and strengthen us to be content in you wh...

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38 (ESV) Jesus wasn't talking about a literal harvest of crops. He was on about something even more fundamental. He was referring to the souls of people. If we follow Jesus, we are to be obedient to him. So when he orders us to pray for labourers for a spiritual harvest, we are to do so. We're to be aware that we might be the answer to our own prayers though! In the very next verses, Jesus commanded his disciples to go and to labour on the mission to make him and his kingdom known. This is a dangerous prayer to pray in that God might call us to answer our own prayer. If we're not willing to work for God, it's best not to pray for his work to be done. God doesn't just want us to talk the talk. He wants us to walk the walk. He wants us to make Jesus and his kingdom known. Lord of t...

  Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?  1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV A temple is a place where God dwells. God is holy, so it follows that his temples must be holy. Challengingly, the Apostle Paul tells his believing readers that we ourselves are temples of God. God forbid that we would sleep around, be greedy, or covetous. The Holy Spirit of God dwells within us. We need to clean up our acts. If someone professes faith in God and is habitually promiscuous, greedy, or covetous for example, they betray the fact that they're not really fit to claim to be God's people. God doesn't accept us based on our performance. Yet if we trust in him, we need to become increasingly godly. An old preacher was asked what he wanted to leave with his hearers. He stated that it's not enough to profess that Jesus is Lord. We must consciously allow Jesus to be Lord of every dark crevice of our lives. We can't lock any skeletons away in...

'Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. ' 1 Peter 1:10-12 NIV Even angels can't comprehend salvation. There's no salvation for angels. If they rebelled with the devil, they're hopeless. Angels can't understand why God would save rebellious humanity. To be honest, realistically, neither can we. People question why God allows suffering; but even harder to answer is why God allows salvation. If perfect angelic beings can't understand salvat...

 no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the LORD. Isaiah 54:17 (NIV) This is a powerful promise. Yet it's not like God's people deserved it. They were habitually disobedient to the God of their fathers. If we repent of our disobedience, trust in the Lord, and become his servants, this verse can become true of us. As Jesus said, we don't need to fear those who kill the body and can't touch our souls. When satan himself accuses us, we can refute even him by pleading the blood of Jesus. We deserve to be condemned. We don't deserve vindication. Yet if we trust in Christ crucified on our behalf, we can refute our accusers. The Lord doesn't want anyone to perish. He wants us all to come to faith. We just need to trust in him. 'LORD God Almighty, may this verse be true of us, through faith in Christ crucified, in ...

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 (ESV) 'All roads lead to God', people often say. There's a sense in which that's true. We'll all stand before God's throne of judgement.  Only one road leads to salvation. It's not a religion. It's not even the Biblical religion of caring for needy people and being uncorrupted by the world. We can't be saved by our own efforts. All our righteousness is like filthy rags. Only through the Lord Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, can we be saved. Salvation is of the Lord, as Jonah said. God has decreed that His Son, and His death on our behalf, is the means by which we must be saved. There is no other way. 'Abba God, please help us to trust You for salvation, for sending the Lord Jesus for our deliverance. In His name we pray, amen'.

that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:10-11 (ESV) When the Apostle Paul talks about knowledge here, he's not talking about intellectualism. He's talking about relational intimacy. We're not just to know in our heads that Jesus died and rose again. We're to die to self like He died for us. We are naturally risk averse as humans. We don't, by default, embrace suffering. Yet the mystery of the gospel is that through the suffering of Jesus, we can know peace with God. God is able to bring good out of suffering. We assume suffering is unremittingly bad. Yet the Bible teaches that because of Christ crucified, it can be redemptive. Thankfully, suffering isn't the end of the story. There's an eternity to come. There's the resurrection of the dead, which we can be assured of by the resurrection of the ...

And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14 (ESV) When you're about to move to a new country, you want to know that God's with you and that He'll give you rest. To be honest, even if you're not about to move to a new country, you ought to want to know that! If God is for us, who can be against us? I've only moved to another country once: from England to Wales for university. I can testify that as a believer in Jesus, God's presence went with me, and He gave me rest. I did have to work for my degree though! When God's people disbelieved that they could take the promised land, God consigned them to forty years in the wilderness. They swiftly changed their tune and insisted that they could do it, but He warned them that He wouldn't be with them at that time. It's essential to keep in step with the Holy Spirit of God. If God doesn't go with us, we shouldn't be going. Of course we have to do something, but i...

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 (ESV) Sometimes, books try to be clever and start somewhere other than the beginning. They then have flashbacks to the beginning of their plots later on. The Bible is more WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). Before the beginning, there was God. He's always been and He always will be. We can't get our heads round God's everlastingness, but if we could put God in a box, He wouldn't be God, the box would! God created time. He started the clock. He made the universe and all of its contents. Biblically, there are three heavens. There's the sky- the earth's atmosphere. Then there's outer space. Finally there's the spiritual realm where God dwells. The earth of course is our home planet. 'God, thank You for creating us. Please help us to live for Your glory as You deserve. In the name of the everlasting Word made flesh, amen'.

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NLT) Glory is somewhat of a religious jargon word. A similar word nowadays is 'fame'. We're to live to make God famous. To eat in a way that glorifies God would be to not eat in excess. It would also be to share with those in need. There should also be times of fasting to show God we mean business. To drink in a way that glorifies God would be to not drink in excess. We don't have to be teetotal. Yet we do have to drink in moderation. Whatever we do, should be for the ultimate purpose of making God famous. If He's saved us, we should realise that we owe Him everything. He deserves to be glorified by us, and by others who glorify Him for His work in our lives. 'God Almighty, please help us to do everything for Your glory, because You have given everything for us in sending Your Son to give His life for us. In His name we pray, amen'.

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 1 John 4:11 (NLT) God loved us so much that He sent his Son to give His life for us. We deserve His condemnation. Yet we can receive His acceptance. Because God has loved us so much, we ought to love one another. If we claim to love God, but don't love one another, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. We don't love others to earn God's acceptance. It's because God loves and accepts us that we love others. We love, because He first loved us. We should love each other enough to die for one another. Day to day though, love is expressed in countless small blessings to others. If we don't love in the small things, we won't love in the big things. 'Loving heavenly Father, we're so grateful for Your love to us, demonstrated by Your Son's sacrifice on our behalf. Please help us to love one another as we ought, in His name we pray, amen'.

 Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD     and take refuge in him!   Let all the upright in heart exult! Psalm 64:10 ESV We might assume the righteous one would rejoice in Himself. We might think that righteous people would be all self-congratulatory. Yet the psalmist commands the righteous to rejoice in the LORD. We become righteous through faith in the LORD. We don't become righteous by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We need to take refuge in Him. We need to take refuge in God from the condemnation we deserve for our natural unrighteousness. We need His salvation. We need Christ's righteousness to be credited to our bankrupt spiritual accounts. We have every reason to rejoice in the LORD. If our salvation depended on ourselves, we'd be miserable. After all, we let ourselves down, never mind God Himself. Yet because salvation depends on God we have hope. 'God of our salvation, we rejoice in You for sending Christ to bear our punishment and to be our rig...

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? Hebrews 12:7 ESV  We might not like the thought of being disciplined. Yet discipline is a quality we all need to develop. By being disciplined, hopefully we become disciplined.  God can use difficult circumstances to discipline us. The Hebrew Christians were coming to realise that the Christian life requires endurance. They were being persecuted for abandoning Judaism for Christ.  The writer to the Hebrew Christians was helping them to realise that God could turn what seemed like a negative into a positive. Getting disciplined by our parents never felt good at the time. Yet hopefully it produced the good outcome of making us disciplined.  None of us are naturally self controlled. We need God to develop that fruit in us. He often does so through challenging circumstances, but He always gives us the grace to endure.  'Dear Father in...

Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me. Psalms 103:2 (NLT) We have every reason to praise the LORD for all His goodness to us. Sadly, we have a tendency to forget all the good things He does for us. Everything good we enjoy is a gift from Him. God is the Source of everything good. Food, drink, shelter, relationships; all ultimately come from His hands. God forbid that we would forget all the benefits He provides for us. The greatest thing God does for us is to give us eternal life, through faith in His Son, crucified on our behalf. If we trust in Him, we are safe for eternity. We mustn't become like spoilt children who forget His goodness. To remember is a conscious decision. Some things we'd rather forget. God's goodness is something we should consciously seek not to forget. 'LORD, we praise You for Your goodness to us, in Christ Jesus ultimately, in whose name we pray, amen'.