Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 Luke 1:46-47 ESV  And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,   and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,    Mary knew what her raison d'etre was. Her purpose in life as for all of us was to exalt the Lord. She did a great job of it. The mother of Christ wasn't about exalting herself. She was all about the God who humbled himself to take up residence in her womb. He was born to save her and all who will believe. Note that Mary recognised her need of a Saviour. She wasn't perfect. She needed Jesus's salvation as much as the rest of us. Having been saved, we aren't to continue business as usual. It's not enough to simply pray the mantra of a sinner's prayer. We need to live to glorify God.  'God our Saviour, please help us to honour and rejoice in you in our lives, for your glory we ask, amen'.

 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'.