Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 Psalm 86:1 ESV  Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. David was the lion, giant and enemy slaying warrior king of Israel. Yet for much of his young adult life he was chased around the wilderness by murderous, incumbent king Saul like a partridge in the mountains. He knew what it was to feel poor and needy. Even as king, David's son sought to usurp his throne and he had to flee for his life. Understandably he will have felt helpless. Even unbelievers sometimes resort to prayer when in trouble, how much more the 'man after God's own heart'?! God needs to incline to us. As the Most High God, he has to condescend to look out for us. For us to be condescending is arrogant. For God to condescend to answer our prayers is merciful and gracious. We know from David's life story that God answered David's prayer. Even though David was guilty of murder and adultery, God didn't give up on him. David repented and ultimately never gave up on God...

 James 4:7 ESV  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Submission seems like a dirty word to today's society. Yet it simply means to defer to another. If we refuse to submit to God that's infinitely more foolish than an ant having deference towards an anteater! If we're struggling spiritually, and even if we think we're doing well, we should submit to God. Without him, we can do nothing. With him is victory. The devil is a coward. Jesus's half brother James promises us that if we resist him, he will flee from us. We're not to be cowardly towards him. Sinning isn't inevitable for the believer. If we consider who we are in Christ and that the devil is under our feet, we will be more victorious. We can and must say no to satan's temptations. 'God Almighty, may we submit to you, resist the devil, and be victorious in Christ our Lord, in whose name we pray, amen'.

 Matthew 13:24-30 ESV Jesus put another parable before them, saying,  “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.  So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.  And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him,  ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’  He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’  So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’  But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” Today, I heard an application of this parable that I'd never heard before. When Jesus talked about ...

 Galatians 6:14 ESV But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.  Lots of people boast about lots of things. These include money, sex and power. The Apostle Paul was an intelligent man, but he didn't boast in his intellect.  The Apostle Paul determined not to boast except in the cross of Jesus. It's only by God's grace that we succeed. God's grace is supremely demonstrated at the cross. To boast in self is arrogant. We can't do anything outside of the grace of God. Only by Christ's death for us can we thrive. Paul wasn't allowed self congratulatory about his ministry. It was all for the glory of God. Because Jesus died for us, we should live to make him famous.  'Father God, may we only boast in Christ crucified, in whose name we pray, amen'.

 Philippians 2:4 ESV Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  If we went with our gut feelings we would be selfish. The Apostle Paul calls us to a better way. Instead of being self seeking, we're to be 'otherish'. Moses tells us to love others as we love ourselves. Jesus goes even further. He tells us to love others as he has loved us, even unto death. We're to die to self and love for God's glory and the blessing of others. Paul isn't saying we can't consider ourselves. He's just saying that we should consider others first. This verse, as pastor John Piper says, is an antidote to marital breakdown. If we're more Christlikely concerned for others we wouldn't be so entitled. Thankfully there is mercy for us in Jesus.  'Lord our God, please have mercy upon us when we don't consider others before ourselves. In the name of Jesus we ask this, amen'.

 Colossians 3:2 ESV Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  We have some unhelpful sayings in English that say the opposite of this verse. 'Seeing is believing', people often say. The Bible teaches that believing is seeing, that faith gives us spiritual insight. We sometimes say 'out of sight and out of mind'. That's an animalistic, inhumane, unspiritual attitude. The Apostle Paul commands the opposite, to set our minds on heavenly things. The world might say that the Apostle Paul was 'too heavenly minded to have any earthy use'. He would reply that heavenliness includes love, joy and peace. The world needs a whole lot more of such things. It's easy to be distracted by earthly things like money, sex and power. If we have such things in the right context, they're like fire in a fireplace. Everything in moderation though: too much of such things is like a wildfire. 'Heavenly Father, please help us to fix our minds...

 Psalm 34:18 ESV The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. When we're brokenhearted we probably feel isolated and lonely. Yet the Psalmist assures us that the Lord is near to the brokenhearted. That's true whether we feel it or not. God knows what it is to be brokenhearted. Jesus cried out asking his Father why he forsook him to the cross. God did that for our sakes. We might feel that being crushed in spirit is the end of the story. Yet the Psalmist encourages us that the Lord saves the crushed in spirit. He can restore us to wholeness. As Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God. We need to acknowledge our spiritual poverty outside of Christ to come to him for spiritual riches. If we think we don't need him we're lost. 'Dear Lord, may we feel you close in tough times. Please save us we pray for your name's sake, amen'. 

 Romans 8:18 ESV For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  People often use suffering as an excuse to disbelieve God. Yet if there is no God, suffering is meaningless. Thankfully, God can and does bring good out of suffering. The Bible teaches that suffering can be temporary. This life is plagued by suffering. Yet we can enjoy a glorious eternity free from suffering. When we're going through it, suffering can feel unbearable. Yet in eternity, it will pale into insignificance. We must trust in Christ's suffering for us to be delivered from the eternal suffering we deserve. We suffer in all kinds of ways as humanity. As Christians we can add persecution to the mix. Yet Jesus blessed the persecuted because great is our glorious reward in heaven. 'Glorious God, we're glad that suffering isn't the end of the story. Please help us to overcome and to reach glory. In Jesus' name we pray,...

 Amos 5:24 ESV But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Justice and righteousness don't come naturally. They're supernatural. They come from above. God is the Source of justice and righteousness. We need his help to become just. By default we're unfair towards one another. We need Jesus's righteousness to be credited to our bankrupt spiritual accounts. We're like a dry and weary land that needs irrigation to refresh it. Gods justice and righteousness never run out. If we profess faith in God, he doesn't just want us to sing songs to him. He wants us to be holy, as he is holy. By his Holy Spirit's empowerment we can do this. 'Righteous Father, please help us to be just and holy in our dealings with one another. We ask this in the name of Christ, amen'.