Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 Jeremiah 31:25 ESV For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.” I'm sure almost all of us long for satisfaction. I'm reminded of the famous CS Lewis quote where he says that if we have a longing this world can't satisfy, we can reckon we were made for another world. Saint Augustine similarly said our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God. Many people assume that to follow God is burdensome. Yet he doesn't want to weight us down with rules and regulations. He wants to set us free from the condemnation we deserve for breaking his laws. As Jesus said, 'come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest'. This doesn't mean to say we can be lazy. Spiritually though we don't have to strive for God's acceptance. Instead of seeking to earn God's acceptance, we can rest in his love. This life may be hard, but spiritually, we can relax. In eternity, we will enter into glorious re...

 Romans 8:18 ESV  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  This present age in which we live is characterised by suffering. Some of it is self inflicted, others aren't deserved. All have our sinful rebellion against God at its root. The Apostle Peter tells us that suffering is inevitable. However, may we suffer for what is right rather than to suffer for our wrongdoing. If we get what we deserve, we have no rights to complain. If we get what we don't deserve we can be thankful we're counted worthy to suffer for the sake of our Saviour. Thankfully, suffering isn't the end of the story. There is glory to come. If we didn't have faith in God and his grace, we could only anticipate suffering. Because of his goodness to us in Christ, we can anticipate a glorious eternity with him. The Christian life rarely seems glorious. To deny ourselves, take up our crosses and to follow Christ isn...

 Mark 16:15 ESV And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Jesus had defeated death. What he said here wasn't to be taken lightly. This is a command to be obeyed. We may well ask whether we shouldn't throw our pearls to swine or what's sacred to dogs. Yet we don't know where people are at spiritually until we proclaim the good news to them. If people violently react to the Gospel, at least we've done our job of telling them the truth. Saint Francis of Assisi famously echoed this verse when he said 'preach the gospel to all creation; where necessary use words'. Of course, our lives need to match our words. Yet words are always necessary. We can only receive the good news of salvation through Christ crucified through hearing the words of the gospel. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. He is Truth personified. 'Heavenly Father, may we obey Christ's call to proclaim the good news to all creation. Forbid t...

 Isaiah 1:17 ESV learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. That we're told to learn to do good shows that goodness doesn't come naturally to us. If we have to seek justice that means it isn't always immediately apparent. If oppression needs correcting, it is sadly all too prevalent. In the context, Isaiah was rebuking the Jewish people for being unjust. Orphans and widows were being oppressed. Sadly, every culture has plenty of examples of injustice. There was no welfare state as such in ancient Judah. Families were meant to look out for each other. If people lost parents or spouses, their wider families/communities were meant to step in. Isaiah wasn't just telling his hearers to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. In the very next verse God promises to wash away his people's sins. All we need to do is to trust in him. 'God of justice, may we be godly and seek to do good to those in need. Fo...

 Psalm 119:114 ESV You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word. What do we hope in? Family, friends, work? They'll all let us down, but God never will. God's word is trustworthy. He is faithful. We can take him at his word. For much of his young adulthood, David was on the run from murderous king Saul. Even as a fugitive, he had a testimony of God's faithfulness. The Lord was his hiding place. Sometimes, David got found out by Saul. Even in those instances, God protected him. The Lord was his shield. ''Sovereign Lord, may David's testimony be our own. For the honour of your name, amen'. 

 Matthew 11:28 ESV  Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  We might assume that if something is laborious and burdensome it's a bad thing. Yet God can bring good out of bad. Jesus himself will have laboured for much of his life as a carpenter, and was heavy laden with the cross on which he was crucified.  For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross, scorning its shame, and is now at the right hand of God the Father. When we find work hard and life gets heavy, we are to come to Jesus. If we do so, he promises to give us rest. Jesus isn't just on about physical labour. He's hinting at being burdened by our sins. He doesn't want us dragging around our guilt and shame at our wrongdoing. He wants us to leave them at the foot of the cross. When people think of religion, they think of laborious, burdensome rules. When we think of Jesus, we can consider the one through whom we can have a relationship with God. He didn't come to pu...

 Luke 9:23-24 ESV  And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.  These are counterintuitive words. Jesus is calling his followers to a life of self denial and self sacrifice. He's telling us we're to be prepared to die for him.  Many of Christ's followers down the ages have literally been martyred for their faith in him. All of us must die to self every day. We need to crucify our flesh with its desires. Jesus seems to state the opposite of what we might expect. We might think self preservation is a prudent thing. He calls it spiritual suicide. On the other hand, if we do die to self for Jesus's sake, we will be saved. We're not saved by our obedience. Yet if we are truly saved, we will be obedient to our Lord and Saviour. 'Almighty Lord, may we obey you as we ought. Help us to deny ourselves an...

 John 20:21 ESV Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”  To see someone come back from the dead must be pretty terrifying. You'd be excused for thinking he was a ghost. Thankfully, Jesus gave peace to his fearful followers. Even us today can know peace, because Christ has conquered death. The peace he gives us isn't passive though. It's not about us sitting in the lotus position and emptying our minds. As the Father sent Christ, so he sends us to the  world to make him known. As Jesus laid down his life for us, so we ought to be willing to lay down our lives for him. To stand up for Jesus might invite conflict, but we can still know peace with God in the midst of it. Our purpose in life is to make Christ known. As he has saved us, so we are to call others to repentance and faith in him. This is our calling and meaning. 'Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Christ for our salvation. May we ever live to make hi...

 Romans 10:13 ESV For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” This is a powerful verse. People complain that not everyone gets saved. Yet this verse insists that everyone who calls upon the Lord will assuredly be saved. We have no divine right to salvation. So the fact that any of us get saved at all is a mercy. All we need to do is to call upon the name of the Lord. The Lord God is Christ Jesus. He is the Saviour. He is the Lord who saves. There are no exceptions to this verse. If a Muslim, a homosexual, or a murderer even call upon the name of the Lord, they will be saved from their past and transformed for the future. God can save anyone. 'Sovereign Lord, please cause us to call upon your name, and so to be saved. In Christ's name we pray, amen'.

 Genesis 1:3 ESV  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. We are often tempted to leap to apply verses to ourselves. Fundamentally though, this verse is about God, not us. God is powerful, he only needs to speak, and the lights turn on. He is the Source of all that is light and good. We need to come into the light. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. Saint Augustine talked about once having his back to the light, looking at things it reflected on like money, sex and power. Finally though, he came into the light, and so must we. We are the light of the world as God's people. We are to reflect his goodness to those around us. We are to declare the good news of the light of Christ. 'Almighty Lord, may we shine the light of Jesus in this dark world. Please bring us into his everlasting light, in his name we pray, amen'.

 Psalm 105:1 ESV  Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! God is worthy of our thanks and praise. The cynic may question why. Even this verse alone hints: because of his deeds. God's greatest deeds were to send his Son to die and rise again for our salvation. He does many other wonderful things though- from creating to sustaining us. Every good thing is a gift from him. We aren't to take God for granted. We're to call upon his name. He created us to have a relationship with him. We are to make known God's deeds among the peoples. He isn't just the God of the Jews or any particular people group. He wants all peoples to worship and to adore him as he deserves. 'Dear Lord, we thank you for your wonderful deeds on our behalf. Please help us to be truly grateful and to make you known by those around us. In Christ's name we pray, amen'.

 Amos 5:24 ESV  But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. The worship music industry was thriving in ancient Israel. Great praise was coming out of Bethel as it were, or so they thought. God wasn't so impressed. It's not that God is anti music. Some of the greatest music ever has been composed to his praise. Listen to Bach's sacred music for example. God is more interested in justice than music. He'd rather we were just and tone deaf, than unjust with voices like angels. Remember the devil used to sing God's praises! Righteousness is more important than hitting all the right notes. A horrible person could make great music. What really matters isn't so much the sounds we make, but who we are at heart, that will impact what we think, say and do. 'God of justice, please help us to get our priorities right. Please make us righteous through faith in Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen'.

 James 1:19 ESV  Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;  As the Turkish proverbs goes, if speaking is silver, listening is golden. Speaking is easy; listening is hard. James calls us to be quick to listen and slow to speak. We have two ears and one mouth. This suggests that we should listen about twice as much as we speak! We have a good record of Jesus's words, but he is the ultimate listener too, to respond appropriately to his hearers. James isn't just telling us to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, or even to seek to emulate Christ. He reminds us that we're brethren. We're adopted into God's family through faith in Jesus. Anger isn't necessarily wrong. In our anger we're not to sin. We're not to be quick tempered. 'Abba God, we praise you for adopting us into your family. Please help us to display the family characteristics: to be good, temperate listeners. For the glory of your name, a...

 Mark 11:24 ESV Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  This verse sounds too good to be true. It also sounds easily abused. We might think it makes God sound like a blank cheque or a divine slot machine. In the context, Jesus was talking about forgiveness. If we think we're beyond forgiveness, we can cling to the promise of this verse. If we believe Christ has forgiven us, we will be. Our faith doesn't earn our forgiveness. Jesus's blood achieved our forgiveness. Yet faith is the divine gift that unlocks the door of forgiveness and reconciliation with God. Our greatest need isn't stuff. This verse doesn't give us licence to ask for a private jet for example. Yet if we believingly ask God to adopt us into his family through Christ's sacrifice on our behalf, he will. 'Abba Father God, please give us the faith we need to enjoy a relationship with you. We ask in Christ's gracious name, amen...

 Galatians 6:2 ESV  Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.  We all have burdens. We sometimes talk about people who don't seem to have a care in the world, but we all do. Even if we feel carefree, we're blinkered to all the concerning things going on around us. Although we shouldn't be worried and anxious, neither should we be careless or stoical, gritting our teeth or being blinkered to the difficulties of life. Instead, we ought to help one another. After all, Christ has born the burden of our sins, so helping one another is the least we can do! The law of Christ is to love one another as he has loved us. Love isn't just a warm, mushy feeling. It's a verb, a doing word: love is action, like bearing one another's burdens. In a nearby verse the Apostle Paul says we each have to carry our own burdens. There's only so much that others can do for us. We have to take responsibility for ourselves. 'Dear Lord God, thank you for bearing o...

 Proverbs 9:10 ESV The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Biblical wisdom isn't about having a high IQ necessarily. It's not even simply to know the right thing to do. It's about choosing the right thing to do. The world doesn't like binary, black and white choices. It prefers to muddy the waters with many shades of gray. Proverbs makes a stark contrast between wisdom and folly. We all have a default bent of simplicity veering towards foolishness. We need to start fearing God to begin on the road to wisdom. Fear isn't necessarily bad: a wise child is afraid to upset their parents for example, out of loving respect. If we want to have spiritual insight, we need to get to know God. Science and God aren't necessarily opposed. Science simply means 'knowledge'. Yet it's not enough to know a lot of things, we need to know the Creator of all things. 'Our Master and Maker, may we know and fear you a...

Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.  Luke 12:51 ESV We tend to think of peace as good and division as bad. It isn't necessarily so. If we were all peaceful in the face of Nazism, we'd be living in the Third Reich. If we are peaceful in the face of Islamist expansionism, we’ll soon be living in an Islamic State. Jesus wasn't some pacifist hippie. Neither however was he a violent warlord. When Jesus said he came to bring division rather than peace, he meant this in a positive sense. On a motorway, there is a division between the two carriageways to keep motorists safe. In life there's a division between those who are on a highway to hell, and those on the narrow road to glory. We as believers in Christ aren't called to violent revolution to overthrow oppressive regimes. Christianity didn't overthrow the Roman Empire, despite all the persecution suffered. Ours isn't a political ideology but a spiritual real...

 1 Corinthians 9:24 ESV  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.  I guess it could be said that all of us are in the race of life. Some of us are running in the wrong direction. Others are crawling in the right direction.  Deep down, I'm sure the vast majority of us want to succeed in life. Sadly, many people give up. They blame their upbringing, health or other circumstances for not thriving. I think of the famous American quadriplegic Joni, who hasn't let her disability stop her from living a full and inspiring life. She encourages us all to live life to the full in seeking the glory of God in our lives. As Winston Churchill famously told some English schoolboys in the midst of WWII, 'never give up'! We might not feel like we're winning at life. I'm sure Jesus didn't feel like that as he was crucified for our sins. Yet by his death and resurrection he has obtained the victory for u...

 Romans 8:6 ESV For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  What is our focus on? Money, sex or power? Or do we overlook such idols and focus on God and glorifying him? The world focuses on fleshly things like food, alcohol and comfort. The Apostle Paul tells us to focus on the Spirit. He produces such fruits in us as love, joy and peace. We don't have to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps to refocus to what matters. We simply need to cry out to God for the gift of his Spirit. Then we just need to keep in step with him. The world is constantly clamouring for our attention. It seeks to stir up greed and covetousness in us for an excess of things we don't necessarily need, or only in moderation. We need to constantly realign our vision to look to the Founder and Finisher of our faith, until he calls us home, and for eternity  'Dear God, we praise you for the life and peace we find in you. May we never lose sight of you w...

 1 John 3:24 ESV Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. At first glance, this verse seems to contradict the previous one I wrote about. In the previous verse, the Apostle John says we simply need to confess that Jesus is the Son of God to abide with God. Here he talks about obedience. Confession and obedience aren't contradictory. By confessing Christ as Lord, we are being obedient to God. If we truly believe in the Son of God, we will seek to live lives defined by love of him and of one another. When people asked Jesus what they must be doing to do the works of God, he simply replied that they should believe in the One the Father sent: himself. As the old hymn says, 'trust and obey'. Trust is foundational. Yet if we really have faith in God, it will be evidenced by good works.  Faith is the key to unlock the door to a relationship with God. Obedience is the way we keep our ...

 1 John 4:15 ESV  Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.  Maybe to the average apathetic Englishman, this verse seems inconsequential. Even if the average Englishman might tick a box to say he's a Christian, in reality, he is at heart an atheist. He's more likely to worship alcohol or football.  To a Muslim, this verse expressed what they perversely think is the worst sin, to say that God has a Son. Yet Christ's Sonship is not human but divine. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary. In our relativistic age, your average Joe is numbed to the revolutionary consequences of Jesus being God's Son. The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Outside of him we're hopeless. In Islam, their god a sideshow in an immoral playboy mansion in the sky. In Christianity, when we trust in the Son of God, we get the Holy Spirit of God taking up residence in our hearts, and we become citizens of the new...

 Matthew 6:34 ESV Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. If ever there was a verse for today, it would, ironically, be this verse about tomorrow! If yesterday we were anxious about covid, today we could worry about WWIII breaking out. From Ukraine and Sudan to Iran, Israel and Gaza; it feels like war is becoming the norm. Even in the UK, mass migration and racist riots spark fears of an impending civil war. From America to Russia and the Islamic world, imperialism is on trend. Fears of nuclear holocaust seem more credible than ever: Iran has said that if it gets a nuclear bomb it will nuke Israel. A work colleague expressed a commonplace view when he said that whether by war or global warming, we will probably destroy ourselves, putting an end to human life on earth. I replied that this present age won't end until 'the Man comes around' as Johnny Cash put it. Christ's return to judg...

 Hebrews 11:4 ESV By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.  Why did Abel offering animal sacrifices get accepted by God when Cain with his crops was rejected? God has sacrificed animals to clothe their rebellious parents. Abel knew that without the shedding of blood, there could be no covering for our sins. Cain was trusting in himself rather than the Seed of the woman, the virgin born Son of God. I really chose this verse because, like Abel, there was a man in a pulpit who, through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.  Here's a quote from him: “weak faith unites as really with Christ as strong faith, just as the least bud in the vine draws sap and life from the root no less than the strongest branch. Weak believers, therefore, have abundant cause to be thankful; and while they reach after growth ...

 2 Corinthians 3:17 ESV  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  I was chatting with a work colleague about freedom. I said I'd rather be poor and free in the West than a rich slave in the East. My colleague pressed me on the definition of freedom and I acknowledged that freedom is primarily internal, not external.  As the Apostle Paul says elsewhere, there's no laws against the fruit of the Spirit. It's never going to be illegal to be loving, joyful and peaceful etc. We're always free to live for the glory of God. A slave in the Roman Empire could be spiritually free by trusting in the Lord. Even if his body was chained, his soul and spirit would be free. Even Paul himself was imprisoned by the Romans, but he remained spiritually free. I'm reminded of the rhyme 'two men in a prison, looking through bars/ one sees mud; the other sees stars'. There's a lot to be said for a positive perspective on life. We're...

 John 20:29 ESV Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The world says that 'seeing is believing'. The Bible says that 'believing is seeing'. If we have faith, we have spiritual insight. 'Doubting' Thomas was perhaps so grief stricken at Christ's death that he couldn't imagine that he had risen again. Jesus didn't condemn him for doubting. Instead, he revealed himself to him. Thomas is an eyewitness of the resurrected Lord. Alongside hundreds of others, many of whom died for their trust in Jesus, Thomas's testimony can be trusted. Jesus doesn't owe it to us to appear like some magician to prove himself to us. Christ's first advent was as Saviour. His return will be as Judge. Then, it will be too late to finally believe in him. We must put our faith in him now before it's too late. 'Lord Almighty, thank you for the testimony of Thomas. May we believ...

 Psalm 34:8 ESV Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Is the Bible sexist? Is it suggesting that women who take refuge in God aren't blessed? Not at all! Jesus applied all of Scripture to himself. It's primarily about him, not us. He is the ultimately blessed Man who takes refuge in Father God. God created our senses. He created food to be tasted and enjoyed. Ultimately though, he is the one whom we are to enjoy. God is the Source of all goodness. He himself is goodness personified. He is the Source of all our blessedness and joy. 'Sovereign Father God, may we take refuge in you and find joy in knowing you. For your glory, amen'.

 1 John 4:9 ESV In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  God is love. The skeptic questions how we know God loves us. Jesus is the revelation of God's love. The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. He didn't do so begrudgingly. He did so out of love. Because God is love, he wants us to live. The only way we can enjoy eternal life is through the Son of God. We can't earn eternal life ourselves. God loves us not because we're lovely. He loves us in spite of ourselves. Our response ought to be humble gratitude. 'God our Father, we praise you for sending your Son to reveal your love and to give us life. May we respond in humble gratitude. In our Saviour's name we pray, amen'.