Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 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.  What is love? If someone dies for you, you know they probably love you. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. If Jesus loves us to death, we should be prepared to die for our brethren. Moses told us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. Jesus defined our neighbours as everyone we come across in life. Christ raises the bar even higher than Moses. He commands us to love one another as he has loved us. We're to love each other to death if need be. As John Bunyan said, we're spiritually lame. The law commands us to walk but provides no legs. Grace calls us to fly and gives us wings. 'Loving Lord, may we love you as you have loved us. For your glory, amen'.

 Isaiah 53:5 ESV But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. If this verse meant we will never get sick or will always be healed physically, it wouldn't ring true. We all eventually face death. The Bible is a spiritual book, not a doctor's manual. By Jesus's wounds we are healed of our spiritual sin sickness. We might still have symptoms. Yet we're not going to die in our sins if we trust on Jesus. We deserve to be cursed for our sinfulness. Christ took that upon himself on the cross. He went through that for us. The Father didn't twist the Son's arm to save us. He willingly died for us. We are to thankfully live for him. 'O Lord, please heal us of our spiritual sin sickness, and bring us safe home to you in glory. For your honour we ask this, amen'.

 John 16:33 ESV I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Jesus wants to give us peace. Nevertheless, he's realistic. He lets us know that troubles are inevitable in this life. We can be encouraged even in the midst of troubles. Suffering won't be the end of our stories. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us in his Father's house. The Bible doesn't pretend everything will be okay if we trust in Jesus. It's a realistic book. Thankfully it's hopeful too. Christ has overcome the world. He's beaten our great enemy of death. Nothing can hold us down ultimately. 'Father in heaven, we praise you that your Son has overcome the world. Please give us peace in him in the midst of troubles. In his name we ask this, amen'.

 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 isn't sadistic. He didn't enjoy the cross. Yet he knew that beyond the cross would come his glorification. Christ isn't just a good example to us. He is the founder and perfecter of our faith. In him we have the victory. Inevitably we will have to bear our crosses if we follow Jesus. Yet we can look forward to glory to come. Suffering isn't the end of the story. Just as Jesus is now glorified, so shall we be, through faith in him. We will join him in eternity to come if we trust in him. 'Almighty Father, please help us to endure suffering as we look to Jesus, our Saviour and Lord, in whose name we pray, amen'.

 Matthew 20:28 ESV even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” We're naturally selfish. Naturally we want to be served. By default we don't want to serve. Jesus is supernatural. He didn't come as some dictator to lord it over us. He came as a humble servant to serve us. We assume that the served are greater than the servers. Yet it doesn't require any greatness to receive a cup of tea for example. It requires more greatness to serve a good cup of tea than to drink it! We are to follow in Jesus's footsteps. We can rejoice in his service of us in salvation. Yet we too are to serve others by telling them of his great salvation. 'Dear Father God, thank you for sending your Son to serve us. Please help us to serve one another. For your glory, amen'. 

 Proverbs 3:5 ESV   Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Even the most atheistic materialistic person trusts. They probably trust in themselves and their own understanding. We trust chairs to hold us too for example. We trust the sun to shine. Hopefully we feel able to trust our loved ones. Most importantly, we should wholeheartedly trust the Lord. God will never let us down. He literally loves us to death. He defeated death on our behalf. We often get the wrong end of the stick. It's foolish to lean on our own understanding. God is trustworthy. 'Lord our God, may we wholeheartedly trust in you, and so walk through life with confidence. In Jesus' name, amen'.

 John 1:29 ESV The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! A Lamb might seem a strange description of the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Yet in that ancient Jewish context of sacrifice, John's heaters will have known exactly what he meant. Jesus was going to give his life for his people.  The Lamb of God is innocent. He's not done anything to deserve being sacrificed. Yet he dies for the sins of the world. Did Jesus die for everyone? To be honest, I only think he died for those he saves. Otherwise, his death will have been in vain for those who spurn his love. What I think John means by Jesus dying for the sins of the world is that because of Jesus's death, this world has a stay of execution. We're not judged yet as we deserve. There's the opportunity for us to repent and be saved. 'Almighty Lord, please take away our sins, through the sacrifice of your Lamb Jesus, in whose name we pray, ame...

 Proverbs 24:16 ESV for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity. What matters isn't so much whether or not we fall. Falling is inevitable in life. What matters is whether we get back up again. Successful people fail one more time than failures. Failures give up. Successful people keep going. Spiritually to be honest, we're all failures. We need Jesus to raise us up. Were born spiritually dead, and need him to make us spiritually alive.  Even having been made alive spiritually, we fall many times. We're not perfect this side of glory. We need God to pick us back up again. 'Dear Lord, we're so grateful you pick us up when we fall. Please help us to persevere, until you call us home. In Christ's name, amen'.

 Luke 19:38 ESV saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  On the face of it this verse seems great. In reality, just days later, the Jerusalemites would be baying for Jesus's blood. They probably thought he was a worldly king to kick out the Romans. Jesus truly is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. He isn't just some political figure. He's the King of kings and the Lord of lords.  Because Jesus is Lord, there is order in the universe. Though life often seems chaotic, God is on the throne of heaven. When Jesus returns, all disorder will cease. On the face of it, this Galilean Carpenter turned Teacher mustn't have seemed that glorious, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Yet the crowd at this point recognised his glory. To be glorious isn't to be proud, but to be humble. 'Our Lord and King, we recognise your glory and the peace that comes through submission to you. May we ever worship you, f...