Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 Psalm 30:5  For his anger is just for a moment, and his favour is for a lifetime. Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes with the morning. God gets angry. We mustn't gloss over this truth. He's rightfully angry at all that is unlovely.  Thankfully, God's anger is momentary, and his favour is everlasting. He's like a loving father who gives his unruly son the rod for a moment, but then embraces him and welcomes him back into loving communion with him. We need God's discipline. If we're not disciplined ourselves, God will discipline us. He might drive us to tears through the night, but with the morning he will bring joy to us. Even if this life is a vale of tears, the next one is eternal joy. Thankfully, we can know much joy, even in this life. Every sunrise is pregnant with the promises of God. His mercies are new every morning.  'Dear Lord God, we're grateful not just for the joy you bring, but also for your discipline. Please help us to look for...

 1 Peter 5:6 ESV   Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,  God hates pride and loves humility. Even the Lord Jesus Christ himself is humble. He humbled himself from the throne of heaven to the cross for us, only to be exalted back to his rightful place. We deserve God's condemnation. Yet if we humble ourselves before him, we can be assured that he will ultimately exalt us. Even if it isn't until glory, God will raise us up. God is sovereign. If we're doing well for ourselves, we should give him the glory. If we're struggling, we should cry out to him to uphold us. If we don't humble ourselves, God may well do it for us. He can use life circumstances to humble us. Ultimately, if we reject him in the end, he will banish us to the ultimate humiliation of hell. 'Almighty Father God, please humble us, so that we can ultimately be exalted. Thank you for the example of Christ, in whose name we pray, amen...

 John 8:32 ESV and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  Some people think the truth is unknowable. How they think they know that is beyond me! That idea seems like a convenient way of trying to avoid having truth to which we are accountable. Jesus is the Truth personified. He is knowable, through his word, by his Spirit. If we want to get to know him we can ask him to reveal himself to us. As Christ said elsewhere, 'I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me'. If we want to know the truth of God, we need to look to the Lord Jesus. Truth isn't just some intellectual exercise. The Truth will set us free from the lies of the enemy of our souls who wants to keep us bound. By getting to know Christ, and him crucified, we find out how we can be liberated from our sins. 'O Lord our God, please set us free from our sins. Help us to get to know you and your Truth, for your honour and praise we ask this, amen'.

 Psalm 121:2 ESV  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Helping others is humble. We might think it's better to be helped than to help. Yet it's more blessed to give than to receive.  A home help is basically a servant. The idea that God helps us seems almost blasphemous. Yet he isn't ashamed to help us. God created Eve to help Adam. Before we conclude that this makes woman subservient to man, we should bear in mind that God helps his people. A helper is a co-labourer in the work. The Lord made heaven and earth. Yet he isn't too proud. He doesn't refuse to help us. 'Sovereign Lord, we're so grateful for your help. We acknowledge you have made all things well. Please help us to help you redeem broken people back to you. For the glory of Christ, amen'. 

 Proverbs 1:7 ESV The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. We tend to think of fear as a negative thing. After all, there won't be any fear in the new creation. Yet fear of getting burnt for example makes us careful around fire. Our God is a consuming fire. He's able to cast soul and body into hell. He's fearsome. If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the love of God is the heart of wisdom. Our fear of God should drive us to him for mercy, not away from him in terror. We should fear to displease him like a child fears to displease their father. We should be brave, but we shouldn't have bravado before the Lord God Almighty. We should reverence him as we ought. He deserves our awe. 'Almighty Lord, please help us to revere you as we ought, and so to gain hearts of wisdom. For the honour of your name, amen'.

 Galatians 5:22-23 ESV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  When we receive the Holy Spirit, we begin to change from seeking to gratify the flesh to wanting to bear the fruit of the Spirit. Fruit doesn't grow overnight. Nevertheless, we are to be increasingly defined by love, joy and peace etc. Jesus epitomises these virtues. If we want to know what love, joy and peace etc. look like, we need to look no further than him. His love look him to the cross; his joy enabled him to scorn the cross's shame as he anticipated his glorification; and he's at peace with Father God, in the centre of his will. Christ is patient with us: he doesn't expect to see fruit overnight necessarily. He's both strong and kind, as the song reminds us. He's good: we can trust him in the hardships of life. The Lord is faithful- he doesn't give up on us. He is gentle- ...

 Psalm 18:2 ESV  The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Jesus commands us to build on himself and his words as the Rock. Jesus is Lord. When the storms of life and death come, if we're built upon him, we will stand. We're to take every thought captive and bring it to Christ. He is our fortress. He's our safe place, whatever life throws at us. Christ is our deliverer. Sometimes, thoughts capture us rather than the other way round. Thankfully, Jesus is able and willing to set us free from negative thought patterns. The Lord is our shield. When our faith is in him, we are strong to withstand the fiery arrows of the evil one. Even in our weakness, in God we are strong. 'Lord our God, we're so grateful for the safety, strength and salvation that we find in you. Please forgive us for times we go astray, and bring us back we pray. In Jesus' name, amen'.

 Matthew 6:34 ESV  Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Anxiety is pointless. It achieves nothing. It worries about different possible eventualities that may or may not come to pass. Jesus didn't give his followers pills for anxiety. He simply commanded them not to be anxious. In a sense he's saying to live in the moment rather than for tomorrow. There's no point wishing or worrying our lives away. Jesus tells us to take each day as it comes. There's no need to get ahead of ourselves. In the context, instead of selfishly worrying, we're to be otherishly concerned for God's Kingdom and his righteousness. God provides our daily needs. Worrying about them doesn't make our needs to be met.  'Lord God, please help us not to be anxious. May we prioritise your Kingdom and your righteousness. In Jesus' name, amen'.

 2 Peter 1:3 ESV His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence We've got everything we need in God to live Christlike lives. How do we unlock the door to becoming like Jesus? By getting to know him, through his word and his Holy Spirit. Without God's word we rely on our feelings. Without the Holy Spirit we are legalists. With both we get to know God, not just intellectually, but relationally. 'Show me your friends and I'll show you you'. Jesus isn't ashamed to be nicknamed 'friend of sinners'. If we're friends with him, we'll become like him. Why does Jesus befriend us? Because he's excellent like that, turning enemies to friends. It's for his glory, which isn't arrogance, because he is worthy. 'Glorious God, we honour you for befriending us. Help us to know you and to become increasingly Christlike, in his name we ask th...