Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 Romans 8:11 ESV If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. The Holy Spirit of God raised the eternal Son of God from the dead. That same Spirit dwells in all who trust in Jesus. We must allow him to clean us up and make us Christlike. Because the Holy Spirit dwells within God's people, we don't need to fear death. We won't avoid it, unless Christ returns first. Yet we will defeat death through faith in the Lord God Almighty. Romans 8 doesn't sugarcoat the Christian life. It doesn't deceive us that all will be health, wealth and happiness for the faithful. It is packed with powerful promises nonetheless. The Apostle Paul goes on to say that nothing can separate us from God's love for us in Christ. Trouble, famine, disease, war, not even death itself can defeat us. We're victorious in Christ from all that the devil t...

 Psalm 4:8 ESV In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. This verse isn't guaranteeing that we won't get insomnia. It is saying however that we don't need to let anxiety keep us up at night. The root of anxiety is unbelief that God makes us dwell in safety. If we're trusting in money for safety, we're likely to be anxious. What if it gets stolen? God, unlike money, is everlastingly on our side if we trust in him. This verse has to be taken in context with one that says that if we have a managerial job, concern for our responsibilities is likely to keep us up at night. Chewing things over at night isn't likely to solve things. There's no point considering every eventuality when in all likelihood only one will come to pass.  God cares for us. If we live in safety, we can thank him. If not, we can ask him to look after us- David knew what it was to be unsafe, humanly speaking, but he still trusted in the Lord to ke...

 Matthew 7:8 ESV For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  Many people read this verse as a blank cheque. Yet it has to be read in context. God gives good gifts to his children.  God knows what we need better than ourselves. Ultimately, our greatest need is himself. He is the Source of all that is good. We need to be careful what we ask for. The children of Israel craved meat. God gave them what they hankered after, but he gave them an accompanying 'leanness in their souls'. It's not enough to be fat with temporal blessings if we're spiritually anaemic. We ought to be hungry for God, and not just for stuff. We need to get our priorities right. 'Lord God, we ask that you would fill us with your Holy Spirit. Please provide what we need, not necessarily what we might want. In the powerful name of Christ we pray, amen'.

 1 John 3:16 ESV By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.  Jesus literally laid down his life for us. He was crucified for our deliverance. We may not have to die for our brothers and sisters in the faith, but we are to be prepared to. I'm reminded of the famous story of the prisoners of war of the Japanese who were all going to be killed for a missing shovel. The Christian claimed he was responsible and was killed instead of everyone. It turned out however that the guard had simply miscounted!  As the Christian laid down his life for his fellow prisoners, so we are to be prepared to die for our brethren. I don't think John is just saying we have to do extravagant acts of sacrifice. I'm sure he wants us to live for one another, as well as being willing to die for each others' sake. Laying down our lives might not just mean to be killed for others. It could mean smaller, day to day sacrifices. It's ...

 1 Chronicles 16:34 ESV  Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! We have every reason to give thanks to the Lord. Every good gift is from him. Interestingly, David's thanksgiving here wasn't selfish, it was because the ark of God had been placed inside the tabernacle. It seems strange to us that placing a golden box inside a giant tent should inspire David to exuberant praise. Yet that's how they worshipped God in those days. It was a picture of when the Son of David would 'tabernacle', or 'pitch up tent' amongst us. In this new covenant age, our Loving Heavenly Father has sent his Son for our salvation, and poured out his Holy Spirit to reside in us forever. God's love is boundless. We cannot fathom its depths. How can the good God dwell amongst us? Through faith in Christ crucified. The sinless Son of God bore our sins so that we can know the love of God. 'Abba, Father God, we praise you for sending your ...

 Isaiah 40:11 ESV He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. The Lord can be our shepherd. We all like sheep have gone astray, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquities of us all. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. God isn't a 'heavy shepherd'. He isn't harsh with us. He's gentle with us. Shepherding isn't glamorous. It's a smelly, hard, unpopular job. But as spiritual sheep, we need God as our shepherd. We easily wander. We're as silly as sheep spiritually. We need the Lord to get us and keep us on the straight and narrow. 'Good Shepherd of our souls, please look after us, until you lead us home. For the honour of your name we pray, amen'.