Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 Psalm 103:13 ESV  As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. We might assume that being fearsome and compassionate are contradictory. Yet it is because God is compassionate that we should fear to displease our heavenly Father. Like a child is afraid to upset their dad, so we should be scared of grieving the Holy Spirit of God. Note that the fear of the Lord isn't a blind terror that runs away. It's a child wanting to honour his Father God. We often fail, but God is unfailingly compassionate. The Lord is compassionate. He feels for us in our weaknesses. Jesus knows what it is like to be tempted, yet he's without sin. God knows that without him we are like shepherdless sheep. Thankfully, he is the Good Shepherd who seeks out lost sheep. He's laid down his life for us. 'Compassionate Lord, we're so grateful for your compassion towards us in Christ crucified. May we fear you as we ought. In Jesus' name we p...

 Proverbs 5:9 ESV lest you give your honour to others and your years to the merciless I find this verse about sexual immorality personally convicting. My wife married me in part because she thought I had potential. Sadly, I have, thus far, largely squandered that potential. Yesterday I remembered a testimony that I hope I can emulate. It was a man who worked in a bar and became a Christian. Initially he witnessed of his new faith to everyone in the bar, but then realised it wasn't the best place to work as a Christian. For us to profess faith in Jesus and to squander our time in sexual immorality is to give our honour to others. The people we commit sexual immorality with don't care that we are giving our honour away. They don't care that we're dishonouring our Lord. So much time can be wasted chasing a temporary high that we fritter away time that should be devoted to the glory of God and the furtherance of his Kingdom. Instead, we are to redeem the time. As pastor Joh...

 1 John 1:9 ESV If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  We need to admit we're sinners if we're to be forgiven by God. Of course, that isn't the whole story. Most people would admit they're not perfect. If we are to be forgiven, we need to want to be forgiven. It's not enough to simply confess that we're sinners. We have to ask for forgiveness. Thankfully, God is faithful. He doesn't condemn us if our confession isn't perfect. He doesn't lose patience if we have to continue repenting even after our initial confession. God is just as well as forgiving. He punished Christ in our place. He doesn't just sweep our sins under the carpet as it were. 'O Lord, please wash away our sins in the blood of Jesus. For we ask in his name and for your glory, amen'.

 Philippians 1:6 ESV And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.  This is a wonderful, empowering promise of God via the Apostle Paul. The Lord finishes what he starts. He won't give up on us halfway to glory. If our salvation depended at all on us, we would be hopeless. We fall short of our own standards, never mind God's. Thankfully, salvation is 100% of the Lord. Note that we're not the finished article. God has begun a good work in us and he will assuredly complete it in the end. When Jesus returns, God will completely sanctify us. When Jesus returns, we will be transformed into his likeness. Because of his death, resurrection and outpoured Spirit, this is possible. We are to be holy as God is holy. 'Dear Lord God, please perfect us into your likeness. May we trust you to do your work in our lives. For the glory of Jesus, amen'. 

 Philippians 4:4 ESV  Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.  Note what the Apostle Paul doesn't say. He doesn't tell us only to rejoice in the Lord when we feel like it. We're not just to rejoice in the Lord when the sun's shining. The Apostle Paul commands us to 'always' rejoice in the Lord. Whether we feel like it or not, we're to celebrate our Saviour. Even in dark times, we're to have joy in God. We're to rejoice 'in the Lord'. We don't necessarily have to be all self congratulatory and to rejoice in ourselves. God is worthy of our joy, he is the Source of our happiness. Paul had to reemphasise his call to rejoice. Happiness doesn't come naturally to us. We need all the encouragement we can get to be happy. 'Joyful God, may we always rejoice in you, for the honour of your name, amen'.

 2 Corinthians 3:17 ESV  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  The Bible teaches that we're born spiritually dead. We don't get to enjoy the Spirit's freedom by osmosis. Even though God is omnipresent, it's only by faith that we get to enjoy his freedom. We must be born again by the Holy Spirit. We must come alive in Christ, by his death and resurrection on our behalf. If we lack faith we can ask God for it. Even having professed faith in Jesus, we must walk in freedom. We must keep in step with the Spirit. We mustn't lag behind or rush on ahead. Jesus must be Lord of every area of our lives. We need to set every last under the stairs cupboard free as it were. We need to unlock every area of our lives to God to enjoy the freedom he offers. God, forbid that we would only offer you lip service. May we live for you in spirit and in truth, for your honour we pray, amen'.

 1 John 2:6 ESV Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. God doesn't just want lip service. It's not enough to say that we abide in him if we don't. As Jesus said, 'not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of heaven.' This is a challenging verse. We can't just profess faith in God. We mustn't just 'talk the talk'; we must 'walk the walk'. How did Jesus walk? In love. He never once lost his temper for example, even though he was known to get rightfully angry at times. We must walk in love. We can't do so by 'pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps'. We need to Holy Spirit of God to help us. 'Dear Father God, please help us to walk in the footsteps of your Son, our Saviour and Lord, in whose name we ask this, amen'.

 John 15:12 ESV  This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  If we think the 10 commandments are onerous, Jesus raises the bar even higher. Moses tells us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. Jesus commands us to love one another as he loves us. Jesus loved us to death, literally. He tells us that we're to be prepared to do the same for one another. It's not just about the ultimate sacrifice, but everyday, small acts of self denial for the sake of others. Of course, our relationship with God comes first. After that though comes our love for one another. God commands us to love one another as he loves us. It seems like Jesus is asking the impossible of us, sinners as we are by nature. Yet by the power of his Holy Spirit, we can do this. We are to rely on his strength, not our own. 'Heavenly Father, we praise you for sending your Son out of love for us. May we love as you have first loved us, with your Spirit's help and in your Son'...

 Micah 6:8 ESV He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? The call to walk humbly with God is counterintuitive to the world. The world celebrates pride. The world sees humility as weakness. Micah calls us to be just. We're to be equitable. We're not to show favouritism. We're then called to love kindness. We're not just to be kind out of a sense of duty. We're to delight in being kind. Humility means we don't pay ourselves on our backs for our fairness and mercifulness. We're just grateful for God's graciousness to us. That we can walk with him is a great honour and privilege. 'Dear Lord God, may we do what is good: being just, kind and humble as we walk with you. For your honour we ask this, amen'.