Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 Romans 1:17 ESV For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” This verse might sound a bit technical, a bit jargon-y. Yet it is a very important statement of truth. Here, the Apostle Paul explains why the Good News is the power of God for salvation. If God simply brushed our sins under the carpet, he wouldn't be righteous. Righteous Jesus became sin for us, so we can become the righteousness of God. Faith unlocks the door of salvation. Elsewhere, faith is described as a gift of God. So if we don't have it, we can simply ask God for it. We can't trust ourselves; but we can trust God. Even though we're naturally sinful, we can have faith that God will make us righteous through our trust in his Son. Not only can we be forgiven, but we can be changed by God's Holy Spirit. God doesn't save us to carry on as we were, but to be transformed into his likeness. 'Sovereign Father in heaven, ...

 Matthew 16:24 ESV Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  Jesus can't be accused of false advertising here. He didn't pretend to be a lottery ticket. He doesn't want fair weather followers only. If we're to follow Jesus, we're to deny ourselves. I find this convicting especially when I'm tired and want a nap. When I do so I tend to leave others to pick up the pieces of whatever needs doing. To take up our cross is like taking up our electric chairs or our hangman's noose! Jesus is basically saying we're to be prepared to die for him. If we're faithful in small things, he'll prove us faithful even unto death. When all's said and done we're to follow Jesus. Why should be? Because beyond the cross there's a crown of life for all who have faith in him. 'Almighty Father, may we follow your Son all our days, until you call us home. For your honour and pra...

 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. God wants us to be like him. Therefore he has given us his Holy Spirit to help us to do so. God isn't fearful, and doesn't want us to be either.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but the love of God is the heart of wisdom. It was 'grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved'. If we fear God, we needn't fear anything or anyone else. The power God gives us isn't necessarily to work miracles. In the context, the Apostle Paul was writing to the young pastor Timothy. He was encouraging him to preach God's word with boldness. It's not enough to speak the truth. We must do so in love. We also need to be self controlled, to have self discipline so our lives don't disqualify our message. 'Dear God, please help us to be Christlike: powerful, loving and disciplined. Forgive us for times we're afraid we pray and help us to t...

 Isaiah 55:6 ESV Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; Some people say they'll repent on their deathbed. This verse urges us not to be so complacent. No one knows when we're going to die.  We need to seek God while we can. Tomorrow may never come. Today is the day of salvation. There's no guarantee that if we don't want to repent today, that we'll repent tomorrow. If we don't feel like changing our minds about God, we need to call upon him to transform our hearts. Without wishing to contradict this verse, what matters even more is that the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. If we seek after him, it's only because he first sought us out. There's no room for us to be all self congratulatory for crying out to him. 'Lord, we seek you wholeheartedly. We call upon you to draw near to us, even as we seek to draw near to you, through Christ crucified, in whose name we pray, amen'. 

 1 Peter 5:8 ESV  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  The Apostle Peter isn't saying we can't have a sense of humour. He is saying we need to take spiritual conflict seriously. The Christian life isn't a walk in the park. We're to be watchful. It's worth noting that the devil isn't just like a roaring lion. He often masquerades as an angel of light. It's important to note that the devil isn't actually a roaring lion. He's only like one- he's a coward really. He's scared of the true Lion: Jesus- the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The devil wants to devour us. If we're truly saved we won't be devoured by him. Our salvation depends on Jesus, not upon our performance, thankfully. 'O Lord, thank you for this warning. Please help us look to you to help us overcome the devil. In Jesus' name, amen'.

 2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. This verse seems too good to be true. It almost seems blasphemous. If we know ourselves to be sinners, we must be astounded that we can become the righteousness of God. Even the way God has made us good in his sight is astounding. The Father made the Son to be sin for us. So all our greed, lust, hatefulness, pride etc. was placed upon Jesus on the cross who was killed as the worst of criminals. Jesus was treated as worthy of hell so that we can be treated by God as worthy of glory. It doesn't really seem fair if we're honest. Yet God in his justice has made a way for us to be saved, through Christ crucified. I think a lot of our problems stem from having too small a view of both our sinfulness and God's righteousness. If we know how bad we are, it will make us all the more grateful at God's goodness. Praise the Lord for his immeasurable lo...

 Mark 13:33 ESV Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.  Jesus will assuredly return. Many Jews are still waiting for the first advent of their Messiah, but he's already been and gone. When he returns, it will be as Judge. Even Muslims believe Jesus will return, even though their understanding of Jesus is wrong. They deny his divinity. Biblically, an antichrist is someone who denies God as Father and Son, so every practicing Muslim is an antichrist. The worst 'sin' in Islam is to say that God has a Son. Christians know that Jesus is the eternal Son of God who was born of the virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit for our salvation. He is the only hope for mankind. We need to be our guard and alert for the return of the King. We mustn't get distracted from living for his glory or complacent about our offences against him. One of the best ways we can glorify him in this life is to tell others about him. 'Father in heaven, we praise you for sendin...

 Isaiah 53:6 ESV   All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. I'm sure most of us would want to compare ourselves to such an animal as a lion. As far as God's concerned though we're all like sheep. We've all gone astray from his way. As Solomon said twice: there's a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death. Whether it's religion or hedonism, if we don't go God's way we'll end up banished from his love. Jesus is the Way! Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Only because of his intervention are we not already being destroyed as we deserve. If we trust in him we'll be saved. Did Jesus die for every soul? Perhaps in the sense that he gave us a stay of execution. Yet I believe that Jesus didn't fail- dying for people who ultimately reject him- I think Isaiah is writing to believers here. 'Father, thank you for se...

 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.  This verse is rightfully one of the most famous in the Bible. It has been described as the Good News in a nutshell. It is a surprising verse. Your average Joe will bemoan the evil in the world and question what God's doing about it. We all deserve to perish for our personal evils, never mind evil 'out there'. That God loves the world we should never take for granted. It's amazing that God loves unlovely us. We can't earn his love. The Gospel is all about God and what he has done for us; manmade religion is about us attempting to earn God's acceptance. If we trust in ourselves, we will perish. If we trust in the Son of God, we gain eternal life. It's not just pie in the sky when we die; it's steak on a plate while we wait! 'Dear Father in heaven, we're eternally grateful that you sent your Son for our salvati...