Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

  And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ Luke 13:7 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.13.7.ESV This is part of a scary parable, or meaningful story, by Jesus. God forbid that the fig tree should represent us! What kind of fruit does God want us to bear? The fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of God's Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. These are the kinds of things God expects of us. If we don't bear that fruit, we betray the fact that we don't belong to Him. If we don't bear the fruit of the Spirit, God's going to cut us down. 'I thought God was merciful!' you might protest. He is: that's why the fruit He expects of us ultimately comes from Himself- His Spirit. If we want to bear fruit for God and not be cut down by Him, we can pray for such a thing. By dep...

  Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, Romans 5:3 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.5.3.ESV The previous verses are about rejoicing in the hope that Jesus brings. Paul goes on to talk about rejoicing in sufferings. This might sound sadistic, but hear him out. We don't rejoicing in suffering for its own sake. Suffering is miserable and no-one in their right mind enjoys it. Yet the wonderful thing about the Christian faith is that suffering isn't meaningless. Suffering can produce endurance. The trendy word for endurance nowadays is resilience. This is the ability to persevere in the midst of adversity. The Christian faith isn't just stoicism however. Just as Jesus's suffering leads to salvation for many, so our suffering can help us work out our salvation. Our hope isn't in this life; it's in the life to come. 'Lord God, we're grateful that suffering isn't meaningless. Please help us to en...

  And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” Luke 9:19 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.9.19.ESV Even in Jesus's days walking the earth, people had all sorts of theories as to who He was. Some thought He was John the Baptist risen from the dead. In reality, John the Baptist was the 'Elijah' who was His forerunner. Some thought Jesus was the promised 'Elijah' who would be a forerunner to the Messiah. Yet Jesus wasn't simply the best man. He is the heavenly Bridegroom who came down to earth for His bride the church. Neither was Jesus some reincarnated prophet of old. He wasn't Jeremiah, even if He might have sometimes seemed like a Jeremiad. Neither was Jesus Moses, even though He reinterpreted Moses' law. Simon Peter got it right. Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Holy Spirit anointed King of kings and Saviour of the world. He is the Son of God: the image of the invisib...

  as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; Romans 3:10 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.3.10.ESV Some people naively think the old testament is about laws whereas the new testament is about love. The old testament law is all about love. The new testament underlines that by commanding us to love as Christ first loved us, and gave Himself for us. Some people might assume that the old testament deceives us that we can somehow earn God's favour by keeping the law. Paul's quotes in Romans 3 make clear thar the old testament is under no illusions that we can keep the law. As Paul Himself summarised it: 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God'. As this quote makes clear, none of us are righteous. No-one's naturally good- except God Himself. We are sinners by nature. Thankfully, Paul reveals how sinners like us can miraculously become righteous. It's through faith in Christ crucified. We can be washed in the blood of the Lamb. 'Soverei...

  “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. 1 Samuel 2:2 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1sa.2.2.ESV 'Hope deferred makes the heart sick; but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life'. Hannah perfectly illustrates the truth of that proverb. Whilst she awaited a child, she was sick with sadness. Once Samuel was born, Hannah's desire for a child was fulfilled. She didn't keep him for herself, but dedicated him to the Lord. This poem illustrates why she would do such a thing. God is holy; He's set apart from us. In the world of Hannah's day, one might assume that God would favour the woman with a brood of children. Yet it was childless Hannah He had regard for. God is the only sure and certain rock. 'On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand'. He's the only One who will never let us down. 'Lord God, help us to realise Your holiness and faithfulness to us. May we prove ...

  Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, Romans 1:24 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.1.24.ESV Why is there so much impurity and sexual immorality in our world, and if we're honest, probably in our own hearts? The obvious answer might be because we're naturally sinful. This verse gives another reason too. We might perversely think that God giving up on us is a good thing. We might think that God giving up on us means that we can do what we like, however evil it may be. The problem is that we will have to deal with the consequences of our sinful actions. Sometimes, God simply gives up on people. It's not that He isn't able to change us. It's just that He sovereignly knows our hearts aren't in the right place. It's actually a fearsome thing for God to give up on us. This is because He is our only hope for eternal life. Without Him, we're destined to destruction. ...

  At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! Ruth 3:8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rut.3.8.ESV A lesser man than Boaz would have succumbed to temptation. What could have simply ended up as a one night stand with a lifetime of regret, became a marital union leading all the way to the Saviour of the world! Instead of taking advantage of Ruth, Boaz started arranging their marriage. It was Naomi's plan for Ruth to go to the threashing floor, traditionally a place where people got up to no good. To be fair to Ruth though, when Boaz discovered her, she gave a godly speech of her own. She basically appealed to Boaz to redeem her from her poverty and shame as a widow in that society. Thankfully, Boaz was willing to redeem Ruth, and so became a picture of Christ. What matters isn't so much how we come to Christ. As long as we come to Christ for redemption, how we do it isn't so important. We need redeeming from slavery to sin. Boaz...

  “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Luke 6:25 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.6.25.ESV So much for health, wealth and happiness! In this verse alone, Jesus pronounces woe upon the wealthy and happy. Doesn't he have things upside down? What Jesus is saying is that self gratification isn't the meaning of life. If we're living our best life now, we're heading for hell. We're to glorify God, even if and when it costs us personally. Instead of blessing the world's success stories, Jesus elevates the lowly and humble poor. Even when we're hated on for His sake we can be happy! How so? Because great is our reward in heaven. Counterintuitively, Jesus blesses, or makes divinely happy, the sad and mournful. If we're sorry for our sinfulness we need not fear. God comforts His people who are sorry for grieving Him. 'O Lord, realign our priorities we pray from selfishness to a...

  We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, Jeremiah 35:8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jer.35.8.ESV Surprisingly to many who are ignorant of the Bible, it is not a traditionalist book. Surprisingly to others who may have heard of Jesus's words against Pharisaical traditions, the Bible isn't necessarily anti-tradition. This verse illustrates that fact. The Rechabites were teatotallers like their ancestor Jonadab, a bit like Methodists traditionally were, and how many Millennials and Generations Zs are choosing not to drink alcohol. Even though the Bible as a whole has nothing against alcohol in moderation, Jeremiah commended the Rechabites. At least they kept a tradition, even as the Israelites as a whole rejected God's law. Obviously, it's far more important to obey God than tradition. Traditions don't necessarily have to be f...

  And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” Luke 3:11 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.3.11.ESV What does the Kingdom of God look like? Does it look like greedily obese people with wardrobes full of coats? Not at all! God's Kingdom isn't necessarily made up of healthy, wealthy and happy people. Yet there shouldn't be anyone in need in the Kingdom of heaven. Everyone should have enough. Subjects of heaven's Kingdom should share what they have with those in need. So there should be no needy people amongst us. We should look out for one another. So it was in the early Church. Rich Christians would even sell some of their stuff so that they could look after poor Christians. There were no needy Christians in the early Church; there shouldn't be nowadays either. 'Heavenly Father, help us to be generous with what we have. We pray that You would provide for Your people, and help us ...