Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 1 Corinthians 3:11 ESV  For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.     Is Paul contradicting the Lord Jesus here? Jesus famously said to one of his closest followers, 'you are Peter (stoney) and on this rock I will build my church'. Roman Catholics claim Peter as the first pope/bishop of Rome on whom their church, they believe, is built. If we read Jesus's statement in context however, we see that the rock  he  builds  his  church on is  himself , as Peter had just confessed: 'you are the Christ [the Holy Spirit anointed King of kings], the Son of the Living God.' Nowadays we might think of a son as subservient to his father, but in those days they saw sons as 'chips off the old blocks' who were to inherit everything off their dads, especially the firstborn like Jesus. We mustn't misinterpret Jesus's wordplay. Peter means stone but the rock on which Christ builds his church is Peter's confessio...

 Lamentations 5:21 ESV   Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old—    Ecclesiastes teaches us that as a general rule, it isn't wise to hearken back to 'the good old days'. This verse in Lamentations however acknowledges that history isn't linear: things aren't inevitably always getting better. I'm also reminded of the building of the second temple when the old folks remembered that the original was more magnificent. Notwithstanding the warning in Ecclesiastes to be wary of nostalgia, it is okay to ask God for restoration if necessary. Judah was at a low ebb. Most Jews were in captivity in Babylon. The Babylonians had devestated Judea. The writer of Lamentations recognised that the problem wasnt primarily geopolitical. The problem was spiritual. It was because the Jews had rejected the Lord that they were estranged from him and handed over to the Babylonians. Even when we're the problem, we can still ask God for restor...

 Luke 1:45 ESV   And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”    Elizabeth knew that belief is the key to blessing. She honoured her cousin Mary for believing she'd have a virgin birth. At the same time, by implication, Elizabeth was having a dig at her husband Zechariah for disbelieving they'd bear a son in their old age!  Mary and Elizabeth knew nothing is impossible with God. He can enable a barren woman to bear a child. He can even enable a virgin to give birth. God wasn't just being gracious and favouring a couple of women. Through their offspring, he would bless the world. John the Baptist was a herald of the Saviour of the world.  The virgin Mary had the honour of bearing the Son of God, our Saviour and Lord. Mary is an example to us to believe the fulfilment of God's word to us. When we trust in the Word made flesh, we receive eternal life. 'Almighty Lord, please help us to trust in...

 Luke 1:35 ESV  And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.  It wasn't that Mary disbelieved the angel who told her she was going to bear the Son of God! She just understood about the birds and the bees, so she wasn't sure on the logistics. Thankfully, the angel assured her that this was to be the prophesied virgin birth. Because Adam, the first man, messed up, all his descendants inherit that spiritual dysfunctionality. Thankfully, as the virgin born Son of God, the everlasting Lord Jesus doesn't share that sinful nature. He is holy, unlike the rest of us. God's holiness is one of the scariest things about him because we are unholy and deserve his wrath. Yet the wonder of the gospel is that the Holy God became one of us, to restore us to himself. Because of his life, death and resurrection on our behalf, sinners like us can be made...

 Hebrews 12:2 ESV  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Jesus as God's Son isn't a copy of our family units. Our families are so because we are made in the image and likeness of God. God is eternally Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We often think of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem, but in eternity he's been on the throne of heaven, and he always will be. Through his life, death, and resurrection on our behalf, we get to join him in glory. We just need to believe in him. Christ wasn't sadistic. He had to endure the cross. He despised its shame, knowing that exaltation was coming. Our Lord went through what he did for us, so that we might be restored to a right relationship with God. We get to go to glory forever, when we deserve everlasting shame. Because Jesus gave his life for us, we can be God's forevermore. 'Dea...

 Ephesians 4:2 ESV  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,  The world celebrates pride. The Bible condemns pride and celebrates humility. Our glory isn't to be in our shame. We're not to be brash in our opposition to pride. We're to be gentle. We're to win souls, not arguments. If we find pride in the world, or even in our own hearts, we're to be patient. We don't suddenly become perfect the moment we trust Christ. We need to persevere in longsuffering. It takes love for us to bear with one another. Love empowers us to not need to grit our teeth! We can gladly and joyfully give each other time and space to change. 'Dear Lord, please help us to display your characteristics in increasing measure. We ask for your honour and praise, amen'.

 John 1:12 ESV But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,  I recently had someone say I had 'no right' to talk to someone else like I did. Initially I agreed. I know I deserve hell. Then I stumbled across this verse. Naturally we deserve hell. Supernaturally God gives us try right to be adopted into his family. When we're adopted into God's family, we become children of the King of kings. We become spiritual royalty. We can 'walk tall'; we don't have to go around like we're avoiding sniper fire. The key to adoption into God's family is faith. We're to receive the Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. Then we're eternally secure. 'Father God, please graciously adopt us into your family, and help us to walk worthily of you. For we ask in Jesus' name, amen'.

 Romans 10:17 ESV So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Faith doesn't come by osmosis. It isn't genetic. Faith comes from hearing. How can people hear the gospel if no one tells them it? If we have heard and understood the good news of our Lord Jesus, we must let others know too. We can't hide our lights under baskets. Salvation is of the Lord. Yet he chooses to use us to make that salvation known. Think of the one who first told you the good news, and be that kind of person to others. The word of Christ is that he is the Saviour we need for our sins. We can know him as our Lord who will help us to live righteously. We're to tell others of this gospel truth. 'Dear Lord, please help us share your word with others, so that they may hear and believe. We ask for your glory, amen'.

 James 5:8 ESV  You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.  This verse reminds me of children waiting for Christmas. Of course, James is referring to Christ's second advent rather than his first. We should be looking forward to his return, but we should do so patiently. I think the Thessalonian church were getting impatient. They thought Christ's return was imminent. Therefore, they took their feet off the gas as it were and waited around for Jesus to appear. Patiently waiting for the Lord is perhaps somewhat like waiting for the bus. It might seem passive, but you can chat to other people, check details on the bus online, and pray that it would soon come. We can do similar as we await the return of Christ. We're not to give up waiting for Christ's return like we might walk instead of waiting for the bus. God doesn't work to our timescale. He will return soon. 'Dear Lord, we anticipate your return and ask that it would be...

 1 John 4:16 ESV So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.  We might assume that to know and to believe are contradictory. Many people see faith as a leap in the dark. Yet John sees no contradiction between the two. The Apostle John wrote 1 John so we might have assurance of salvation. Belief is the key that unlocks the door of salvation. It's because of God's love that we can be saved. If we belong to Jesus, we have been reset so that our new default is love. If we abide in love, we can know that we abide in God. This isn't just love for others, but for God himself. We love, because God first loved us. There's no room for being all self congratulatory about our love. We just need to rest in the love of God for us. 'Dear God, may we rest in your love, and may it overflow in our lives to bless others too. For we ask in Christ's name, amen'.

 1 Samuel 15:25 ESV  Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.”  If we took this verse at face value we might give Saul the benefit of the doubt. In the context of Scripture however, we see that King Saul wasn't genuine. He just didn't want to lose face before his subjects. From the outset, Saul lacked confidence. Yet he didn't seek to put his confidence in the Lord. Instead, he attempted to 'aura farm' from the prophet Samuel who had genuine integrity. Thankfully, not only was Samuel consistent, but he was also perceptive. He saw through Saul's insincerity. He refused to grant Saul's request. God doesn't want religion that is all show. Samuel told Saul that 'to obey is better than sacrifice'. It's not enough to pay God lip service if our hearts aren't right before him. 'God, forbid that we would lack sincerity. Please prove us genuine, for we pray in Christ's name, and for your glory, ...

 John 10:11 ESV I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  This is a familiar phrase, but the danger is that familiarity may breed contempt. Like a sheep that strays from the shepherd, so we may stray from a pure, unadulterated devotion to our Lord. At first glance, this is a very humble statement. Shepherding is a hard, smelly, despised kind of job. Yet Jesus isn't ashamed to shepherd smelly, silly sheep like us.  With some Bible knowledge, we will appreciate the magnitude of what Jesus is claiming. 'The Lord is my Shepherd', stated King David famously in Psalm 23. Jesus claimed here to be none other than God himself, the Lord in the flesh. Of course, Jesus wasn't some empty braggart claiming to lay down his life for his flock. We know he literally was crucified by the Romans, by the will of God, for the sins of the world. He was prophesying of his death. 'Good Shepherd of our souls, we praise you for giving your life for us. May w...

 Jeremiah 51:12 ESV  “Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon; make the watch strong; set up watchmen; prepare the ambushes; for the Lord has both planned and done what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about the Bible, but this verse has taught me something new. I thought of watchpeople as defensive, as in 'watching daily at Wisdom's gates'. I thought of watchpeople as purely like security guards or defenders of a fortified city. This verse reveals to me that watchpeople can be offensive as well as defensive, like scouts to scout out the enemy. Babylon symbolises the enemies of God's people, who are symbolised by Israel. I'm reminded of Jesus's saying that he will build his church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. If I remember correctly, one of the key gates of the city of Babylon, the Ishtar Gate, has been reconstructed in the British Museum. Of course, the British Museum isn't th...

 Psalm 85:2 ESV You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin. Selah Forgiveness is one of humanity's greatest needs. As part of our reconciliation to God it is essential. Almost all of us would admit that we're not perfect- which makes us sinners in need of forgiveness. How can the Holy One forgive our sins? He can't just brush them under the carpet. He's not just loving and forgiving, he is also righteous and just. How do we reconcile God's holiness with his forgiveness? We can't presumptuously hope that our good deeds outweigh our bad, because God can't tolerate any badness. Only by the blood of Jesus can our iniquitous stains be washed away. It's the broken body and the shed blood of the Lord Jesus that are the means by which our sins can be forgiven. 'Not the labour of our hands, can fulfil Thy Law's demands... Thou must save, and Thou alone' (from the hymn Rock of Ages). All we need to do is to claim Christ's sa...

 Isaiah 7:14 ESV Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.  Apparently the Hebrew word 'virgin' is perhaps more properly translated 'young woman'. In moral Jewish culture however, young women tended to be virgins. Also, the Greek translation of the old testament is clear that this is indeed a young woman who hasn't known a man. If Isaiah hadn't have meant a virgin, this wouldn't have been much of a sign. Also, God promised Eve that her Seed (not Adam's) would defeat the devil. That was another promise of the virgin born Son of God. The context to this verse is interesting. Isaiah offered evil king Ahaz a sign to encourage him. Seemingly sanctimoniously, Ahaz said that he wouldn't ask God for a sign. Isaiah gave Ahaz a sign anyway! When the virgin has a Son, he will be Immanuel: God with us. The Lord Jesus Christ, Son of Mary, is the Son of God by the Holy Spiri...

 Dear readers, If you're not AI chat bots, please comment on this post!  The stats tell me I have lots of readers (and/or readers who read a lot). I don't get any comments though which I would really appreciate, so please do comment!  Thanks, and God bless,  Robert

 Jeremiah 33:14 ESV “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  Maybe at first glance, you might assume as Gentiles that this verse doesn't apply to us. Yet as Paul says in Romans 2, being a Jew spiritually is about having our hearts circumcised, not about physical circumcision thankfully! So if we belong to the Jewish Messiah, we're grafted into spiritual Israel. As Paul says elsewhere, 'in Christ Jesus all the promises of God are 'yes and amen'. So even Gentiles believers who trust in the Lord can claim this promise for themselves. Yet what is the promise? We need to contextualise. The promise is of the advent of Jesus, who will be the righteousness of all who put their faith in him. Though we are naturally unrighteous, we can be made right with God through the blood of Jesus. Having been made right with God, we won't carry on 'business as usual'. He gifts us hi...

 Proverbs 4:23 ESV  Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Solomon isn't just saying to not let any old person whisk you off your feet. I think there's an element of that. He's writing more widely though. This is a better quote than the famous secular quote, 'I think, therefore I am'. Just because I think I'm a monkey doesn't mean to say I am. If I did, there'd be something wrong with me at a heart level. If God purifies our hearts, we'll be a blessing in this life, whatever stresses we go through. If our hearts remain impure, our 'springs' will be polluted. We need God to cleanse our hearts. We're not basically good, but do bad things. We do bad things because we're basically bad. We need God to set us right. 'Holy God, please set us right. Make our hearts pure and may we bless others as you bless us. In Jesus' name, amen'.

 Romans 8:36 ESV  As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” This bleak verse is sandwiched between two of the loftiest peaks of positivity within the whole of Scripture. Nothing can separate us from God's love. That doesn't mean to say that the devil won't try in vain to tear us from the heart of God  Paul goes on to say that we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. We're not like Roman conquerors, or those of any other empire. Our victory will be everlasting. In this life, we face much persecution. The global church faces much persecution, in places from Nigeria to North Korea. Christians are easy prey because we tend to be peaceable and are convenient scapegoats for despotic rulers. The Bible is realistic about the difficulties that Christians face. Our victory is in eternity. In the meantime we face many difficulties in this life. 'Lord our Shepherd, please help us to be realis...

 Job 22:28 NLT  You will succeed in whatever you choose to do, and light will shine on the road ahead of you. Torn out of context, this verse seems great. Upon closer inspection, it raises some questions. If we can 'name it and claim it', why aren't we all flying around in private jets? Contextualising this verse digs up more concerns. The source of this quote is Eliphaz. Even colloquially, a 'Job's comforter' is a bad thing. God condemned Eliphaz and company, and righteous Job had to intercede for them. Eliphaz and his friends slandered Job and made out he was suffering because he was unrighteous. Thankfully, God heard Job and forgave Eliphaz and co. We're not guaranteed to be 'rolling in it' when it comes to Mammon, just for professing faith in Jesus. The Apostle Paul knew what is was to abound and also to have lack- to be a 'cheese and cracker' Christian at times. John the Baptist was a 'locusts and wild honey' kind of believer. Th...

 Romans 15:5 ESV May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,  I love the juxtaposition of endurance and encouragement in this verse. Endurance alone sounds stoical: grit your teeth, cross your fingers and hope to die. Endurance isn't enough. Encouragement alone sounds Epicurean: be hedonistic and blinkered to spiritual realities. Encouragement isn't enough, if we're simply encouraged to be selfish and materialistic. Faith in Christ married endurance and encouragement. If we have faith in Christ, we will assuredly endure. Yet it won't be a joyless perseverance. We'll be encouraged in the midst of our longsuffering. The Christian life isn't some individualistic thing. We can pick and choose our friends, but we don't get to decide who's in God's family with us. This is why Paul prays that we'd be in harmony and of one accord, as we seek to serve our Lord. 'O Lord our...

 Psalm 34:18 ESV  The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. They often say that about one in four people suffer from mental illness health. Even if we don't as such, I'm sure we almost all get brokenhearted and crushed in spirit at some point in our lives. As Solomon says at one point, 'hope deferred makes the heart sick'. Even if we don't have psychological problems, we all have external problems that cause broken hearts and crushed spirits. It could be bereavement or relationship breakdown. Maybe we have health or money worries. This verse is very comforting. Broken hearts and crushed spirits may be pretty much inevitable. Yet we can know our all powerful and all loving God to be near us.  If we're crushed in spirit, not even God's nearness might comfort us. Yet if we know that God will ultimately save us, we can have hope. We needn't despair. 'Dear Lord, please be near to us in our suffering, and may you ultimately del...

 1 Samuel 5:9 ESV  But after they had brought it around, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them.  Why do any of us face affliction? Because the hand of the Lord is against us. God isn't impotent in the face of our affliction; he ordains it. Is God some kind of sadist to afflict us? We should have no sense of entitlement before him. We're a bunch of rebels against his Majesty deserving of his condemnation to hell. If we're afflicted like the Philistines here, as God's enemies, we can't kick against his spurs. We must repent of our wrongdoing. Likewise if we belong to Jesus, we should still take heed of his correction. God is the same now as he was then. Coronavirus was a megaphone by which he called us to repentance and faith in him. Were we listening? 'God, help us to recognise that you are sovereign even over our affections. May we repent i...

 Romans 4:25 ESV who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. This is a feeble illustration, but it's not enough that an important message is delivered. It has to be opened and received. That is a pale shadow of Christ's death and resurrection. Because Jesus died, our slates can be wiped clean. Because Jesus rose again, we can be accepted by God. We just need to receive his deliverance by faith. If we receive a parcel, we might have to sign for it. In a similar way, faith signs us up for salvation and justification by God. Even our faith is a gift of God, who adopts us into his family. We're on pilgrimage to our heavenly home with our Father God. The death and resurrection of his Son assures us that we can be set on the right track. We're not just trusting in some vague notion: but that Jesus was crucified and then defeated death for us. 'Dear Lord, we're so grateful for our deliverance and acceptance by you, because of Jesus, in who...

 Romans 3:18 ESV   “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” We tend to assume that fear is a bad thing. Yet it isn't necessarily so. Fear of fire for example means that we're unlikely to get burned. Our God is a 'consuming fire'. If we get on the wrong side of him, he will destroy us. We must repent of our rebellion and wisely fear him. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So to have no fear of God is to be spiritually foolish. God forbid that we would be apathetic and shrug our shoulders at the coming judgement. Despite our cold hearts, God sent Christ to give his life for our redemption. God forbid that we would spurn his love. If we do we can only expect to perish forever in hell. 'Father God, we praise you for sending your Son for our deliverance. May we fear to spurn your love. In his name we pray, amen'.

 Ruth 3:14 ESV  So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”  The self control of Ruth and Boaz is impressive here. They loved one another, but they didn't just hook up like a pair of animals. They waited until they could marry according to God's good design. It will have taken much discipline for Ruth to follow Naomi's (questionable!) plan to 'force Boaz's hand' to 'make an honest woman' of Ruth. She went and lay at his feet until he awoke and promised to make sure he could marry her. We can take Ruth and Boaz as a picture of the church and the Lord Jesus Christ, their divine Descendant. I'm reminded of Jesus's parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids. We're to await our heavenly bridegroom with expectancy. We might sleep before Christ returns, but let's make sure we're stocked up on the 'oil' of the Ho...

 Jeremiah 36:23 ESV  As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot.  Jehoiakim was a contemptible king. He was reigning over Judah in her twilight days. Yet instead of repenting at the word of the Lord, he despised it. This verse reminds me of that saying of Jesus's not to throw our pearls to swine. Yet Jehoiakim had to hear God's indictment over him, even if he was to spurn a final warning from the Lord. He reminds me of the king of Minas Tirith in Lord of the Rings, who buried his head in the sand over his city's destruction. God forbid that we would likewise despise the word of the Lord. God's word can be life to us. If we receive it in spirit and in truth, we have everlasting life. If we reject it, the lake of fire is our destiny. Poor prophet Jeremiah and his scribe Baruch! Maybe Jehoiakim's destruction of thei...

 1 John 4:19 ESV We love because he first loved us.  Why do we love? Is love just an evolutionary sleight of hand to enable us to procreate? Not according to the Apostle John, the disciples whom Jesus loved. We love because God first loved us. God is love, and he created us in his image and likeness, to love and to be loved. When we fail to love, we mar the image and likeness of God within us. Love isn't just a feeling. Love is willing to die for the beloved. God demonstrates his love towards us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. As God has loved us, so we ought to love others. He calls for daily decisions to put others first, not necessarily the ultimate act of sacrifice. If we love a little, we will love a lot if it comes to it. 'Loving Heavenly Father, please help us to love as you love, and gave your Son for us. For we pray in his name, amen'.

 Psalm 145:18 ESV The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. This reminds me of a similar verse, that all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. This verse however adds an important caveat. We must call upon him in truth. We can't take the name of the Lord in vain and expect his nearness and salvation. We can't be disingenuous when approaching the Almighty. We must be wholehearted in our devotion to him. I sometimes say to agnostic types to try prayer anyway. I tell them to be honest with God about their doubts, but to ask him for the gift of faith. The Lord loves to bless those who are honest with him. There's no point pretending we're something when we're not. If we're unbelievers, we can be truthful with God that we are. We can ask him to reveal himself to us. 'Lord, please draw near to us, even as we seek to draw near to you. We come in the name of Jesus, amen'.

 Ephesians 6:18 ESV praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,  We're in spiritual warfare. The devil wants our guts for garters. We must take up the whole armour of God. Most of the armour of God is defensive. The word of God is the sword of the Spirit. Prayer is like the aerial bombardment of spiritual warfare.  If we want to be strategic, and ultimately victorious in spiritual warfare, we must pray. Our prayers don't need to be vague. We can ask God specifically for what we need. We're to 'pray ourselves empty'. If we run out of things to pray for, we're to start again. We can never exhaust all we need to pray for in this life. 'Almighty God, may we be prayer warriors for you and your people. In your powerful name we pray, amen'.

 Proverbs 11:25 ESV  Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. This verse seems nice at first glance, yet maybe then it just seems implausible. If we give to others, surely we're impoverishing ourselves. Solomon states the opposite! What Solomon is saying is that God blesses those who bless. This doesn't mean to say that if I 'sow into' some charlatan's self serving 'ministry', I'll get a private jet. Yet if we invest in the Kingdom of God, we get treasures in heaven at least. The Bible isn't a get rich quick manual. It's a spiritual book and is to be understood spiritually. So the enrichment here isn't so much in Mammon but in spirituality. The Lord loves a cheerful giver. I think of Rebecca, who gladly and literally watered Abraham's servant and animals. As a result, God provided her with Abraham's son Isaac as her husband. 'Dear Lord, we praise you for your generosity with us and ask ...

 Psalm 121:5 ESV The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. When I hear the word keeper, I think of a goalkeeper in football. When the striker is bearing down upon the goal, the keeper comes out to intercept him. He doesn't just passively stand there to allow the attacker to circumnavigate him. God is the defender of his people. He doesn't abandon us. He actively fights the evil one who wants to destroy us. Another application of 'keeper' is that when someone is marriageable, we sometimes colloquially say 's/he's a keeper'. A 'keeper' relationally is someone we ought to and want to cherish. We're to value God above all. In the blazing Middle Eastern sun, to have the Lord as our shade isn't just a luxury, he's essential. Even with more melanin than me, the heat of summer can be a dangerous thing in hotter climates than the UK. We need God to be our 'right hand man', the One on whom we consciously rely in ev...