Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 Isaiah 43:2 NIVUK When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Of course, Isaiah isn't recommending some coming of age ceremony where we literally have to walk through fire! I am however reminded of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in king Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace with the Lord. With God on our side, we're invincible until he calls us home. I'm also reminded of the Jews crossing the mighty Euphrates River to go into captivity into Babylon. I'm sure they thought they'd never cross it back again. Yet around seventy years later, waves of exiles were allowed to return home. In Christ, all the promises of God are 'yes and amen'. So we can claim this promise for ourselves. Whatever we're going through, God is with us in the midst. 'Dear Lord, please help us through floods of troubl...

 Philemon 1:16 ESV  no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. The Bible doesn't explicitly forbid slavery. The new testament condemns the slave trade, which is the lifeblood of slavery. The old testament allowed for temporary slavery for people to get themselves out of debt. Philemon became a Christian. His slave Onesimus ran away, and became a Christian on the run. The Apostle Paul met Onesimus and commanded him to return to Philemon. Note however that there's no slavery in the Kingdom of God. Onesimus wasn't to return to slavery. Instead, he was to freely and willingly serve his brother in Christ Philemon. Philemon wasn't to enslave his fellow Christian. Instead he was to welcome him back as his beloved brother. The gospel can empower estranged people to become reconciled. 'Gracious Lord, please reconcile us to yourself, as we entrust ourselves to you....

 Matthew 19:26 ESV  But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Humanly speaking, rich people can't enter the Kingdom of God. We can't buy our way into heaven. We can't give God most of ourselves, whilst hoarding our wealth. There's not necessarily anything wrong with being rich. God can do the impossible and save rich people. There's everything wrong with covetousness, greed and stinginess. Too often, wealth isn't accompanied by generosity. It's characterised by greed, discontent, and miserliness. These things have no place in the Kingdom of God. If we are rich, we're to be generous with it. We don't get to take anything with us when we go, so we may as well give away all that is surplus to requirements. Rather than raising our standards of living, we should raise our standards of giving! 'God Almighty, we thank you that nothing is impossible for you. Nevertheless, we pray that you wou...

 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV  for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. There's lots that could make us afraid. Fear of inclement weather, relationship breakdown or crime for example. God doesn't want us afraid though. With God, we have the spiritual power to overcome our fears. With eternity in glory assured, nothing needs to faze us. We can have confidence in him. God empowers us to love, even when it's hard. He enables us to forgive, which is essential if we are to be merciful and loving. He helps us to repair broken relationships to the best of our ability. Self-control is essential if we are to be godly. We are to be disciplined. We must have mastery over our flesh, and we can, with God's help. 'Sovereign God, please pour out your spirit of power, love and discipline upon us. May we not be afraid. In Christ's name, amen'.

 Mark 10:14 ESV But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.  Jesus got angry at his own followers for excluding children from coming to him for blessing. It's as though they were an overzealous safeguarding team, wanting to protect Jesus from a false accusation. Yet Jesus turned this episode into a spiritual lesson. We think we have to be big and clever to get into heaven. Jesus teaches that we have to be humble and lowly to get into heaven. It's not about being stupid or naive, but about being credulous of the sure and certain promises of God. A child with a good dad trusts him to deliver on his promises, to the best of his ability. How much more can we expect God to welcome us into his Kingdom if we come to him for blessing. We should leave our egos and agendas at the door. Jesus doesn't want us bickering about who the greatest is in the Kingdom. He wants us to humbly s...

 Hebrews 4:12 ESV For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  God's word is powerful. It is an offensive weapon. It's like a surgeon's scalpel. Our souls are what distinguish us from animals. We are eternal souls, which encapsulates our thoughts, intentions, feelings and emotions. Whether or not we trust in Jesus, we have everlasting souls. Our spirits come alive when we trust in Jesus. Our bodies become temples of the Holy Spirit. We begin to bear the fruit of the spirit. The difference between a moral person and a spiritual person is like the difference between crab apples (wild apples) and pink lady apples. Wild apples are sour; pink lady apples are delicious! 'Sovereign Lord, please apply your word to our hearts. Help us see where we're going wrong, and cut out all that is amiss. In Jesus' name, am...

 Titus 2:11 ESV For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,  Grace is God's Riches At Christ's Expense: an undeserved gift. The Lord Jesus is God's grace personified. He demonstrated God's grace by giving his life for us.  As Jesus himself said, when he was lifted up (on the cross) he would draw everyone to himself. His crucifixion is the ultimate demonstration of love. Not everyone receives his salvation, but his salvation is for all peoples. There'll be people from every tribe, language and nation in the family of God. Jesus isn't just the Jewish Messiah. He's the Saviour of the world  Sadly, not all people receive Christ as their Saviour. Only those who trust in him will be saved. Many are called, but only a few are chosen. 'Gracious God, please, in your mercy, chose to save us. We don't ask for our sake but for Jesus' sake, and for your honour, amen'.

 Luke 1:37 ESV  For nothing will be impossible with God.”  I'm reminded of the power someone mentioned of the word 'yet'. When someone says they can't do something, if 'yet' is added, it is taken from the realm of the impossible to that of the possible. Of course, ultimately, it is God's will that prevails, not ours. The Nazarene peasant Mary wasn't naive. She knew that virgins didn't have babies... Yet! She was going to be the exception. The angel Gabriel clarified for her. Mary wasn't disbelieving, she just wanted to clarify how she was going to have a child. Gabriel explained that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit, a miraculous conception. What seems impossible to us is possible with God. Why was Jesus born of the virgin Mary? To fulfil God's promises. As sin came into the world through one man, so salvation came into the world through one man, the Son of God. 'Dear God, we're so grateful that nothing is impossible for you. Ple...

 2 Timothy 3:17 ESV  that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. What is it that completes a man or woman of God? Do they need a 'second blessing'? Do they need to be able to 'speak in tongues'? The word of God, that is the sword of the Spirit, completes the person of God. Through it we become wise for salvation. Without it, we might think we don't even need salvation. Salvation isn't just praying a mantra, a 'sinner's prayer'. Even as believers in Jesus, we need rebuking, correcting and training as well in righteousness. God's word reveals how we ought to live. If we want to do good, it's God's word that reveals what's good. To love God wholeheartedly and to love one another is our calling. We need to dig into the Bible to find out how we can practically do that.  'O Lord, please help us to live by your word, and forgive us when we fail. In Jesus' name, amen'.

 John 3:16 ESV For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  Jesus didn't come to restrict us. He came to make us alive for eternity. Spiritually, we're naturally dead: we need him to resurrect us. Why did God send his Son to make us alive? Because he loves us. He could rightfully have abandoned us to our hellbound fate, but he refused to do so. Elsewhere we're told that God doesn't want anyone to perish. He wants everyone to come to faith in his Son. He loves the world, even though it is in opposition to him. Jesus is the only way to eternal life with God. We need an intermediary between us and God, and God has provided one, himself. We can't earn eternal life ourselves. Without God, we will perish. With him, we will enjoy eternal life. Trust in him today! 'God, we praise you for sending your Son for our salvation. May we trust him for eternal life, in his name, amen'.

 1 Timothy 1:16 ESV  But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.  Why did God show mercy to the violent, insolent persecutor Saul? To show all believers that there's hope for us too. If there was hope for the church's worst enemy, there's hope for anyone. Having been saved, Paul didn't remain a violent, insolent persecutor. Jesus Christ was patient with him. He became the greatest Christian. The Apostle Paul didn't blow his own trumpet. He knew that the good in him was a product of God's work in him. Jesus doesn't leave us in our mess, but transforms us. No one can say they're too good to need God. Equally, however, no one can say they are too bad for God. He is able to transform us. 'Dear Lord, we're so grateful that no one is too bad for you. Please transform us by your Holy Spirit. For your honour we pray, ...

 Isaiah 25:1 ESV O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. The Lord isn't just some distant force way out there in the universe. He can be our God. We can have a relationship with him.  God is to be exalted. He is worthy of our praise. He does wonderful things. Isaiah had revelation of God's word. In our day however we have the revelation of Immanuel, God with us, the Lord Jesus Christ. He has poured out his Holy Spirit to reveal himself to us on his word. From God's word we know that God hasn't finished yet. He's still calling sinners home, until he returns to judge the living and the dead. We need to be ready for that great day. 'O Lord our God, we praise you, for you are worthy. May we meditate on your wonderful deeds, for your glory, amen'.

 Philippians 4:4 ESV Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.  These are 'nice' words at first glance. Upon reflection though, they seem inappropriate. The Apostle Paul was in prison at the time of writing. Was Paul some kind of sadist who took an unhealthy pleasure in his predicament? Not at all. He had his eyes on eternity. For Paul, to live was Christ and to die was to gain. He knew his work wasn't finished for the Lord. He knew that when it was, he would attain to glory. What of us? Have we learned the secret of joy in the Lord, whatever our circumstances? May God help us to do so! 'Joyful God, please impart your joy upon us, whatever we're going through. In Christ's name we pray, amen'. 

 1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV  Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. The Apostle Paul encouraged the Thessalonian church. They were encouragements, but Paul encouraged them to keep on encouraging. We mustn't give up. It's too easy to discourage. Encouragement takes more effort. We need to be careful not to flatter. Our words can speedily tear someone down, but we are to do the opposite. We are to build one another up. If we belong to Jesus, we're to build our lives on him. We can't encourage people who are building their lives on the shifting sands of this world to carry on as they are. We must encourage them to build their lives on Christ. He is the only sure foundation. 'Almighty Father, thank you for the encouragement of your gift of the Holy Spirit. Please help us likewise to be encouragements. In Christ's name, amen'.

 Judges 3:2 ESV  It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.  When we come to faith in Christ crucified for our forgiveness of sins, why doesn't God immediately 'beam us up to glory'? I think this verse about ancient Israel gives us a clue. Even in the promised land, enemy peoples were thorns in Israel's side. War isn't necessarily a bad thing. Evildoers need to be stood up against. Spiritual warfare is essential.  As God's new covenant people, we're not called to literally fight unbelievers. We are called to fight demonic forces however. Ephesians 6 reveals how we go about it. We're to take up the full armour of God. We need the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, and the breastplate of righteousness for example. We need the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 'Lord, we remember we'll judge angels if we trust in you. Help us fight the good f...

 1 Corinthians 13:6 ESV  it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  When Charlie Kirk was murdered, many people hatefully rejoiced at such blatant wrongdoing. That kind of celebration of evil is the antithesis of love. We mustn't rejoice at wrongdoing. Love rejoices with the truth. What is truth? Pilate dismissively asked Jesus, and then condemned him to death. Jesus is the truth personified. That rules out other religions. It also rules out religions which try to add stuff to Jesus, whether that be Mary, the Sabbath, baptism or whatever else. As the Apostle Paul said elsewhere in this letter, 'we preach Christ crucified': the epitome of love. For religious people this is a stumbling block and for secular people it's foolishness. Yet for us who are being saved it is the power of God for salvation. 'Loving Heavenly Father, may we love you in return, for you are worthy. In the lovely name of Jesus we pray, amen'.

 Isaiah 40:3 ESV  A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. The prophet Isaiah looked forward to John the Baptist. He would call people to prepare for the revelation of the Lord Jesus. John literally ministered in the wilderness. Although this verse is primarily about John the Baptist, I think we can apply it to ourselves too as we await the return of King Jesus. We're not to passively wait for Christ's second advent. We're to call others to repentance and faith in him. John was literally in the wilderness. We could metaphorically describe this world as a wilderness. We need God to recreate it and then we will help him cultivate the new creation. We need to be ready for Christ's return. We need to forsake all else and trust in him alone for our salvation. May God have mercy upon us. 'Lord our God, may we be ready for the Great day of Jesus's return. Help us call others to believe in him too,...

 Romans 8:31 ESV What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  According to Wikipedia, the bestseller The Power of Positive Thinking says we should repeat this verse ten times a day. To me that makes it sound like a mantra. God isn't a genie in a bottle to carry around with us. So what is this verse actually saying? There's no point parroting it if we don't understand what it actually means in context. God being for us doesn't necessarily mean to say we'll have trouble free lives and fulfil the American Dream. The Apostle Paul goes on to say that nothing can separate us from God's love. Trouble, hardship, persecution, danger, poverty, famine, violence: all are transcended by God's love. The strong implication is that we may well experience such things. Jesus goes as far as to bless us when we're persecuted. He pronounces woe upon those that everyone speaks well of, for so they did to the false prophets of old. God forb...

 Psalm 139:23 ESV  Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! What God thinks about us should matter to us more than anything. It was clearly important for the psalmist. He invited God to search him. The amazing thing about God is that we can be 'fully known, and loved by him'. Even though we are naturally evil, we can be forgiven by him. We must trust in the Son of David, God's everlasting King Jesus, crucified for us. Unbelievers moan when God tries them. Believers invite him to try us. We want and hope to be proven genuine. Of course, God does know our thoughts. There's no point pretending we're something we're not with him. He knows us through and through anyway! 'God, we praise you for that amazing truth that we're fully known and still loved by you. May we love you in return, in Jesus' name, amen'.

 2 Thessalonians 1:11 ESV To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power,  Hope is only implied in this verse, but let me draw it out. This verse is reminiscent of the Biblical proverb, 'hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life'. The Thessalonians church was feeling hopeless and heartsick that Jesus hadn't returned yet. In 1 Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul commended the Thessalonians church's faith, hope and love. By 2 Thessalonians he only commends their faith and love. By implication, they were loosing hope that Christ would return. Are you tempted to throw in the towel as a believer in Jesus? Then 2 Thessalonians is a good letter to turn to. Jesus will assuredly return, but to his timescale, not ours. Jesus will return like a thief in the night. We need to be ready for that great day. God forbid that he would find us slo...

 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV  Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  What does God desire for us as his people. These verses give three examples. Firstly, we are to always rejoice. How can we rejoice when suffering strikes? Because we know that suffering isn't the end of the story for those who trust in Christ crucified. He has gained eternal life for us who believe in him in a perfect new creation. The Apostle Paul commands us to pray without ceasing. We're not to drift along with the tide like jellyfish. We're to swim against the current of culture like salmon. Giving thanks in all circumstances is subtly different to giving thanks for all circumstances. We don't have to thank God for hard providences. We can thank him that all things work together for those of us who love him and are called according to his purpose. 'Gracious God, please help us to live as you desire us to: jo...

 1 Peter 2:24 ESV  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.  The Bible isn't a manual about how to get physically healed necessarily. The entire book of Job is about how God allowed a righteous man to get ill. Even the Apostle Paul had a 'thorn in the flesh' and said the Galatian Christians would have gouged out their eyes and given them to him if they could. Do Paul's apparently unhealthy eyes and Job's painful sores contradict Isaiah and Peter's statement that by Christ's wounds we are healed? Not at all. Isaiah and Peter are talking about healing from something far worse than some physical ailment, but spiritual sin sickness: which is terminal unless the blood of Jesus is applied.  The cure for our terminal sin illness is Christ's sacrifice on our behalf. Through faith in him we did to sin. We don't need to live in it any more. Having been set free fro...

 2 Timothy 4:7 ESV I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  I have a (morbid) fascination with 'famous last words'. One of the most powerful I heard was of a man beheaded by Islamic State, who had him kneeling to decapitate him. He stood up and said 'now you will see how an Italian dies'. More spiritually, there's a gravestone of a man in North Yorkshire which is simply captioned 'Redeemed'. John Newton, who famously wrote the hymn Amazing Grace, was asked what his last words were going to be (an insensitive question if ever there was one). His faculties were understandably declining by his advanced age, so he simply replied that he didn't remember much, except that he was a great sinner, and God is a great Saviour. This verse is, if you like, the Apostle Paul's famous last words. We know Paul was imprisoned by the Romans and tradition has it that he was martyred by them. It seems he had a premonition at least o...

 Colossians 2:17 ESV  These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.  Many people say that 'seeing is believing'. They would claim that what we can see is what is substantial. They would assert than unseen things are shadowy. The Bible teaches the opposite to what many assume. 'Believing is seeing'. To have faith in Christ is to have spiritual insight. The Apostle Thomas doubted Jesus's resurrection from the dead. Christ graciously enabled Thomas to witness him, and so to be a messenger with the other Apostles to us of the substantial nature of Jesus's defeat of death and Lordship over all. Jesus as the everlasting Son of God is the Source and the Substance of reality. In Christ we live, and move, and have our being. Without him we can do nothing. With him nothing is impossible. 'Abba, Father God, we praise you for your Son's resurrection from death. May we trust in him for eternal life. In his name, amen'.

 Philippians 1:25 ESV Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,  The bright theme of joy shines through the book of Philippians. Was Paul just a cheery personality? Not necessarily: in fact, he was in prison at the time of writing! Our joy doesn't have to be circumstantial. It doesn't have to be weather dependent or any other external factors dependent. It can be based upon our relationship with God through his Son and by his indwelling Holy Spirit. God has revealed to Paul that this particular imprisonment wouldn't lead to death. He still had work so for the Lord. Until Paul completed his God given tasks, he was invincible. For Paul, whether he lived or died was a win-win situation. To die meant to be united with Christ; to live is to serve him on earth. Whatever God calls us to, we ought to be happy to do it. 'Sovereign God, may we serve you joyfully all our days, until you call us home, in Christ...

 Galatians 1:6 ESV  I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—  Ironically, Paul doesn't seem necessarily gracious at the outset of his letter to the Galatian churches. Being gracious however means that if people are abandoning faith in the grace of Christ, we warn them. Paul didn't flatter the Galatian Christians that all was well when it wasn't. We're saved by grace alone in Christ alone through faith alone according to Scripture alone to the glory of God alone. The Bible is our foundations, not the traditions of church history. Even in Bible times, churches were going astray from the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Galatian Christians were being deceived that they had to become Jewish to become proper Christians. Nowadays, people might assume they have to become Westernised to be Christian. Christianity originated in the Middle East, not the West! The vast majority of people don't s...

 2 Corinthians 2:7 ESV  so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.  One of the reasons 1 Corinthians was written was because the Corinthian church wasn't dealing with an immoral member who had been incestuously sleeping with his step-mother. The Apostle Paul commanded the church to kick that immoral brother out. Yet that man repented, so Paul wrote 2 Corinthians partly to call for his restoration. If we claim to trust in Christ crucified, our lives should evidence that claim. If our lives are overtly opposed to a Christlike life, we should be kicked out of church, if we're in one. If we repent of our evil though, we should be restored. Initially, the Corinthian church had been too lax in tolerating their immoral brother. Now the pendulum had swung the other way. Paul commanded them not to be too harsh on their now repentant brother. One of the main reasons we go to church is to encourage each other in our worship of...

 Jeremiah 29:11 ESV  For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  We don't just have to be 'one trick ponies'! God has more than one plan for our lives. We don't have to pigeonhole ourselves. God's plans for us are for our good, even if they don't seem like it at the time. God can and does bring good out of bad. The supreme example is Christ's crucifixion, which was for our salvation. Contrary to popular opinion, God's not out to get us as his people. We still suffer, but our suffering isn't meaningless. We will attain to glory as long as we maintain our faith in God. We have a glorious eternity to look forward to. Our hope isn't about crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. It's based on the resurrection of Jesus from death. 'Dear Lord, we're so grateful for your good plans for us. Help us to trust you to work them out for us. For your honour we pr...

 1 Corinthians 1:10 ESV I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. I want to clarify two things that the Apostle Paul isn't saying here. He isn't a universalist. He doesn't think that we should all be united under one world government or religious authority other than God. Paul isn't ecumenical either. It's not even enough to call Jesus Lord if in practice we're following a pope or a saint, or Mary, or some charismatic preacher. Paul goes on to emphasise how faith in Christ crucified is crucial. It's not even enough to be a 'Jesus only' kind of person who doesn't believe in Father God or the Holy Spirit. Jesus as the Christ means he is anointed by the Father with the Holy Spirit to deliver his people from our sins. What Paul is saying is that if we trust in Christ crucified, we shouldn't let ou...

 Romans 1:16 ESV For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  The gospel is the good news of salvation through Christ crucified on our behalf. It doesn't seem like power for the Son of God to allow himself to be killed by evil people. Yet as Isaiah said around 700 years before Christ's advent, 'it was the Lord's will to crush him'. Everyone who believes in Christ crucified for them is saved. There's no first and second class citizens in the Kingdom of God. It doesn't matter whether you're Jewish or Gentile, slave or free, man or woman: we're all one in Christ. If we're all equal, why does the Apostle Paul say that salvation comes first to the Jewish? Doesn't that make Gentiles second class citizens in Gods Kingdom? No, just that Jesus was Jewish and came to the lost sheep of Israel, before sending them out to make him known to the Gentiles. ...

 Acts 16:7 ESV And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.  Acts is sometimes called The Acts of the Apostles. It could just as well be better called The Acts of the Holy Spirit, because he inspired the Apostles to do what they did. Simply by telling people about Christ crucified, they transformed the Eastern Roman world. Here's an interesting episode in Acts. The Apostle Paul and his missionary team were mindful to go East, deeper into modern day Turkey. The Holy Spirit redirected them West, into Europe. Does God prefer Europeans to Easterners? Not at all! I think part of the Holy Spirit's reasoning was that as a Roman citizen, it made more sense for Paul to start within the Roman Empire to share the gospel.  In the providence of God, the Gospel move of the Spirit has tended westwards, from the Middle East, to Europe, to the Americas, to the Far East, and hopefully back to the Middle East in time for...

 Proverbs 16:9 ESV  The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. 'Those who fail to plan, plan to fail'. Solomon isn't saying here to not bother planning. He's just making an observation that our plans don't necessarily come to fruition. Plans are often good, but we just have to pencil them in. God may just as well erase our plans as write them with a permanent marker. We shouldn't be so arrogant as to assume that our plans are guaranteed to come to pass. God's plans are set in stone. Interestingly God doesn't just have one set plan for us. As Jeremiah famously records, '"I know the plans [plural] I have for you", declares the Lord'. It's the Lord who establishes our steps, not our own ingenuity. All sorts of things can derail our plans. Not a step is taken outside of God's sovereignty. 'Lord, help us to seek after your wisdom as we make our plans. May we submit to your sovereignty in them. Thank you t...

 1 John 2:6 ESV whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. Elsewhere, we're told to keep in step with the Holy Spirit. We're not to be like me on a trek across Wales, when I marched on ahead of my companions and took us on a diversion one time! It's not enough to claim to abide in Christ, we actually have to do it. How do we know if someone is actually a Christian? Are they consciously more Christlike than they would have been? Or do they fail to give him the glory for their Christlikeness? It's not enough to have a form of godliness, but to deny its power. We need to acknowledge that the power to be one like Jesus is from him. By his Holy Spirit, we can walk as he does. The Apostle John's emphasis isn't on us raising the dead, or what we might be able to do. He's more on about who we are. Do we bear the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy and peace etc.? 'Lord our God, may we walk as you walked. Help us to do so by your S...

 John 11:25 ESV Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live This is a bold claim by a carpenter turned teacher. As CS Lewis said, he's either mad, bad, or who he claimed to be: God incarnate- the One in whom we live, and move and have our being. He can't just be a good guy if he claimed to be the Son of God. Jesus didn't just rise from the dead himself. He is the One in whom we too shall rise. We will either be resurrected to live with our Saviour forevermore, or to be eternally punished by the One we rejected. Humanly speaking, these words of Christ to a grieving sister seem insensitive, small comfort to a bereaved lady. Yet he went on to raise her brother Lazarus from the dead. He did so partly simply to prove the truth of what he claimed. Why can't we all be raised from death even in this life? Because the curse of God of death at our sinfulness lies heavily upon us. Yet we can be raised forevermore...

 Luke 1:3 ESV  it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus Neither Doctor Luke or his addressee Theophilus were eyewitnesses of Christ's majesty. Yet, as the close companion of the Apostle Paul, Luke determined to study and compile a biography of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are numerous 'gospels' about Jesus, but only four are Holy Spirit breathed, and Luke's account is one of them. With clinical precision, Luke forensically investigated the life of Christ, whilst there were still eyewitnesses to interview. He himself had come to faith in the Jewish Messiah, Gentile though he was, trusting in Jesus as the Saviour of the world. Theophilus in all likelihood was a Gentile too, and Luke sought to persuade him of the relevance of Jewish Jesus to a Gentile like him. Doctor Luke wasn't some casual observer, hoping to make some quick buck from some fantastical s...

Mark 6:34 ESV When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.  Here we see the best of humanity in the Son of God. When someone is compassionate, we sometimes call them humane, and here Jesus demonstrates how God created us to be. He wasn't just a nice person, his compassion was supernatural. Jesus's relative and forerunner had been murdered by king Herod 'the fox'. One who was meant to be a shepherd of God's people was harrying and oppressing God's flock. Yet Jesus didn't wash his hands of his helpless people.  Christ is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. His sheep hear his voice, and we follow him. He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, but he has other sheep not of that sheepfold who he's gathering in to his flock. How does Jesus shepherd us? Not primarily by miraculous signs and wonders, but by his teachings. T...

 Matthew 6:19 ESV Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal Jesus tells us together our priorities right. Why are we slaving away for stuff that's only going to pass away? Why not work for God and his kingdom? Jesus isn't calling us to give up the day job. He is however telling us to invest in the Kingdom of heaven before investing in Mammon. What are we living for: the latest iPhone, or the glory of Almighty God? We're not necessarily being called to become homeless vagrants here. We are however being told to be heavenly, not worldly. Why chase after stuff that is fading away when we can live for the Everlasting Lord. So many people are preoccupied with the here and now with barely a thought for eternity to come. We need to live for God and not for material things that will not last. Better to be Lazarus than the rich man in his mansion.  'Sovereign God, may we give you the glory and honour that is...

 Matthew 1:22 ESV  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: Jesus's first advent didn't happen in a vacuum. Hundreds of old testament prophecies were fulfilled by him 2,000 years ago. The prophet Isaiah promised he'd be born of a virgin. Sure enough, the virgin Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit of God and bore the Son of God. Even the first woman Eve was promised that her Seed (the virgin born Jesus) would crush the snake (satan's) head. Sure enough, though the devil struck at Jesus by his crucifixion, Christ had the victory. On the third day, he rose again in triumph over death, which is God's curse over us because of our sinfulness. One of Jesus's nicknames, as foretold by Isaiah, is Immanuel, which means 'God with us'. Jesus isn't just Mary's Son, he's the everlasting Word of God made flesh. He is the One in whom we can be reconciled to Father God. Isaiah prophesied around seven hundred years before Christ ca...

 Malachi 3:1 ESV Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.  Malachi looked forward to the Word of God becoming flesh, the Lord coming to his temple, the Son of God clothing himself in humanity. To inaugurate that day, John the Baptist would come as a messenger to prepare the way for Christ's revelation to the world. John would baptise Jesus, even though he wasn't even worthy to tie his shoelaces. Jesus's baptism would itself be a message of why he came. As he went down into the river Jordan, so he would go down into the tomb for us. As he rose up from the river, so he would rise from death to set us free.  Malachi delighted to look forward to his Messiah's incarnation. Does Christ delight us? Or do we shrug our shoulders complacently at his beautiful majesty? When Christ gave his life ...

 Zechariah 9:11 ESV  As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Zechariah was looking forward to the passion of the Christ, the Jewish Messiah and Saviour of the world. By his blood, he sets us free from the condemnation we deserve. A covenant is a solemn promise. We don't enter into a covenant with God by our own efforts. Even if we were to shed our blood, we could not earn his acceptance. Only by the blood of God's Son can we be reconciled to him. Whatever we're mastered by is what we're enslaved to. Yet we can be set free from imprisonment to the devil and his schemes. We can be released through faith in Jesus. I'm sure Zechariah is giving us an old testament, shadowy glimpse of hell, a bottomless, waterless pit. That doesn't have to be our destiny. We can be freed by the blood of Christ. 'God of the covenant, we worship you for setting us free from the condemnation we deserve. Ple...

 Haggai 1:7 ESV Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways.  The Hebrew Bible didn't have bold, italics and underline. So if something was to be emphasised, it was often repeated. So it is with the refrain of this verse. The Lord is the God of the armies. He's sovereign over pagan superpowers as well as over his relatively puny people. In his sovereignty, he had returned his people to their land courtesy of their Persian overlords.  God's people were busying themselves lining their own nests, whilst God's house lay in ruins. It had been destroyed many years before by the Babylonians juggernaut. The Jewish people shrugged their shoulders at this dishonour to the Lord.  The Lord of armies urged his people to consider their ways and to get their priorities right. God's honour is more important than our comfort. The world dances to his tune; it doesn't revolve around us. 'Lord of armies, may we prioritise glorifying you even over our own convenience. Please...

 Zephaniah 2:3 ESV  Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord. When God's anger is outpoured, there's no guarantee we'll be hidden on the day of his wrath from our efforts. Seeking the Lord, being humble, doing his commandments etc. are good but not a guarantee of salvation. The danger is that we start trusting in our seeking, rather than in our Saviour. We're not saved primarily by seeking after God, but by him seeking us out. It's by the blood of Jesus that we're saved, not by our own efforts. The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. If we realise we're naturally spiritually lost, we need to come to Christ. Ultimately however, we need him to come and find us. Salvation isn't 50/50 us and God. Salvation is 100% of the Lord. Even our faith in him is a gift from him, so there's no room for boasting. 'Good Shepherd of...

 Psalm 56:3 ESV When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Fear is inevitable in this life. Note that the Psalmist says 'when I am afraid', not 'if I am afraid'. David wasn't even a fearful person, he was the great warrior king of Israel. If even David could admit that he got afraid, we shouldn't be scared to own up to our fear as well. Jesus commands us not to fear those who can kill our bodies, but to fear him who can cast soul and body into hell. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We might assume that fear and faith are incompatible. If we fear someone, we might presume that we don't trust them. It isn't necessarily so. A child is afraid to displease their father because they don't want to make him sad, angry, and to punish them. They trust in him to forgive them and to restore them to himself. So it is with us and our heavenly Father. 'Abba Father God, please help us to trust you when we're afraid. In the name of Christ we pra...

 Jeremiah 29:13 ESV  You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.  Jesus echoed Jeremiah when he told us to ask, seek and to knock. If we ask he said it will be given to us. If we seek, we will find; if we knock, the door will be opened to us. Jesus wasn't talking about getting a private jet, or anything like that. He was talking about the gift of the Holy Spirit primarily. God also provides our daily physical needs. Jeremiah is more specific than Jesus. He talks about seeking the Lord. We're not to seek after stuff, but to become more godly. There's no promise for half hearted seekers. We're to be wholehearted in seeking after God. God hates complacency and apathy; he loves genuine seriousness about him. 'O Lord God, please help us to seek after you wholeheartedly, and so to find in you our all in all. In Christ's name, amen'.