Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 Psalm 37:4 ESV Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. This verse isn't a lottery ticket. We don't delight in the Lord as the means to an end of getting a private jet or something! God isn't the means to an end: he is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. If we delight ourselves in the Lord, he himself will be the desire of our heart. So God will give us of himself. By his Spirit he will come to dwell within us. I like that the Psalmist says God will give us the desires in the plural of our hearts. So if we desire for people to delight themselves in the Lord, God will answer that. We're to seek first God's kingdom, and he'll provide everything we need. We may be the answer to our own desires. If we desire for people to delight in the Lord, then let us call for them to do so. Let's encourage people to put their trust in Jesus. 'Dear God, please prove the truth of this verse in our lives. May we delight in y...

 Isaiah 25:1 ESV O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. What a privilege to be able to call the Lord our God. Sinners though we are, we can be adopted in his family through faith in Christ crucified. This calls for us to exalt him as he deserves. It is right and fitting that we should praise God's name. He is the great 'I am': the Faithful One who's unchanging yesterday, today and forever. Christ's death may have been 2,000 years ago, but it's still effective for salvation to this day. God knows the end from the beginning. His plans are formed of old. Jesus is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. The plans of God are faithful and sure. He doesn't give up on his people half way to glory. He will lead us safely home. 'Faithful Lord, may we praise and exalt you, for you are worthy. We thank you for Jesus' death on our behalf. In his name...

 Matthew 13:44 ESV The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. There's at least two ways of reading this. The first is to apply it directly to ourselves. When we discover God's Kingdom, we should realise that it is invaluable- worth giving everything up for. Note Jesus's emphasis here. The man doesn't grit his teeth and bemoan that he's had to give everything up. He knows that it's worth it. Another way of reading this verse is to apply it to Jesus himself. Most worldly kingdoms are inherited. King Jesus establishes the kingdom of heaven in the hearts of all who trust in him. For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross, scorning its shame, and is sat down at the right hand of Father God. This parable can be read with us or Jesus as the man. I take it as both/and rather than simply either/or. 'Sovereign God, may we invest everything i...

 Ecclesiastes 12:13 ESV The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  Here is the take of the wisest man ever. His verdict on the meaning of life is that it is to fear God and keep his commandments. This might not seem to fit in a book that says that 'everything is meaningless'. Some scholars have even speculated that this verse is a more 'acceptable' appendix added later by others. I beg to differ. Solomon has been emphasising the meaninglessness of life without God; now he emphasises the meaning of life is God. We tend to assume fear is a bad thing. Crippling terror is. Yet the child afraid to displease their loving father is a good thing. Fear should drive us to God in faith, not from him in terror. Like a child seeking to please their dad, we should seek to obey him. We shouldn't be like spoilt children. 'God, may we fear you as we ought, and obey you as you deserve. For your honour we pray...

 1 Chronicles 16:11 ESV   Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! When we truly know the Lord, we're not stingy with him. We call others to get to know him too. David was no exception. Jesus promises that those who seek will find. If we seek the Lord we will find him. If we seek his strength, weakness won't define us. We're to seek God like someone seeks a relationship: with passionate desire. He isn't just a means to the end of salvation. He is salvation personified. We're not just saved from hell. We're saved into a relationship with the Lord God Almighty. We are to pursue him wholeheartedly. 'Lord, we seek you and your strength. May you ever be present within and among us. In Jesus' name we ask this, amen'.

 John 14:6 ESV Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  This is a bold claim for a carpenter turned itinerant teacher. For Jesus to even say he is a way to God might seem presumptuous. Yet he insists that he's the only way to God the Father. Jesus told Roman governor Pilate that all who are on the side of truth listen to him. Pilate dismissively questioned what truth is, without sticking around for the answer. Jesus is the truth personified. Jesus is the life. In him we enjoy life. Through him we can gain everlasting life. God has ordained it that his everlasting Son is the only way we can get adopted into God's family. He came to give us life, and life to the full. Truly, he is the only way to God's glorious presence. 'Heavenly Father, thank you that we can approach you through the Lord Jesus, may we do so, in his name we ask this, amen'.

 Acts 20:24 ESV But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.  It's not how we start that matters so much as how we finish. Paul was determined to finish well. Finishing well doesn't happen by osmosis. What we value says a lot about us. Paul valued his ministry to testify of the good news of God's love. He wasn't some self proclaimed, self promoting 'apostle': he was commissioned by the Lord Jesus himself. We might not be eyewitnesses of Christ's majesty. Yet he has commissioned all of us to testify of God's love in him. The gospel isn't something to be miserly with. Maybe we haven't started out well. Neither did Paul: he was a violent, insolent blasphemer. Yet God showed him mercy so everyone can see there's hope for us too. 'Almighty Father, we're so grateful for the hope we have i...

 Hebrews 12:11 ESV For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. No kid likes being disciplined by their dad. Yet the purpose of discipline isn't punitive so much as restorative. Parents don't want their kid to grow up spoilt: we want them to grow up in the way they should go. God is a loving heavenly Father. His discipline can feel severe at the time. Yet he's seeking restoration for us from going astray. The gospel teaches us that something painful like discipline can have a peaceful result. Jesus didn't need to be disciplined, but he bore the cross for us s that we can have eternal life. God can bring good out of something that feels bad at the time. As an aside, the devil does the opposite to God. He seeks to bring bad out of things that feel good at the time. He wants to laden us down with guilt and shame; God wants to set us free. 'Loving Father Go...

 2 Timothy 4:7 ESV  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.     We could read this verse in isolation and think that it is individualistic. It is a personal testimony, but it is in the context of Christian community. This is part of an open letter from the Apostle Paul to pastor Timothy after all. I don't think Paul's thinking of a one to one boxing match with the devil in terms of the good fight. I picture him in the tortoise shell of Roman legionnaires battling horses of barbarian demons in the spiritual realms. There's no retirement in God's kingdom, but he knew his time was drawing to a close. I think of the race of life as being like the London Marathon. Yes, there's competition. Yet it's also collegiate: people spurring one another on and encouraging each other. How do we keep the faith? By battling the doubt that so easily assails us. We don't have to guilt trip ourselves over doubt, but we do have to overcome it...