Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 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...

 Matthew 5:3 ESV Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This is a counterintuitive verse. We tend to equate riches with blessedness, whether materialistically or even spiritually. We #blessed the expensive holiday snaps on social media for example. Jesus says the opposite to what we might assume. If we know ourselves to be naturally poor spiritually, we can come to God for the riches he provides to those who know their need of him. He who was rich beyond all splendour, all for love's sake became poor, so that we through his poverty might become spiritually rich. If we think we're good enough for God as we are, we're deluding ourselves. We need to admit we're beggars spiritually. We receive the Bread of life through faith in him. Christians are famously described as beggars telling other beggars where to find bread. We're not to bad stingy with the spiritual sustenance we find in Christ. We're to be generous with others to tell them ...

 Matthew 5:8 ESV Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. At first glance this might seem a nice promise by Jesus. On second thoughts, it's concerning. How can impure people like us see the Holy One? Doesn't it say elsewhere in Scripture that no one may see God and live? Thankfully, the Lord Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Through Christ we can see the Almighty. We're naturally impure. We struggle with the likes of lust and hatred. Yet Jesus is able to purify us. When we're metaphorically washed in the blood of Jesus, we're purified of our spiritual impurities. God often tries us in the furnace of affliction. It's not an easy process, but it skims off our cross and makes us purer than gold. 'Dear God, please purify our hearts so that we can see you in your beautiful glory. For your honour and praise, amen'.

 Psalm 3:3 ESV  But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. David was at one of the lowest points of his life. The consequences of his adultery and murder meant his family and even his very kingdom were falling apart before his very eyes. Yet even in the midst, we have this powerful declaration of faith. The Lord was a shield about David against his murderous son Absalom. David trusted in God to look after him even though humanly speaking he was hopeless. David's glory wasn't in himself but in the Lord his Saviour. There's an apocryphal psalm where 'David' is all self congratulatory about killing Goliath. It doesn't ring true with genuine Psalms where the Psalmists are God congratulatory. David didn't pat himself on the back.  David could have gone around crestfallen, like he was avoiding sniper fire. Yet he testified that God lifted his head. We don't have to be overcome by guilt and shame. 'O Lord, please prove the ...