Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

  He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Psalm 121:3 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.121.3.ESV This verse reminds me of Paul's call in Ephesians 6 to take our stand against the devil. This verse is a great verse to cling to when we feel like we're under satanic attack. If it depended on us, we'd be hopeless. Thankfully, the battle isn't ours ultimately, it's God's, and He will assuredly give us the victory in Christ. Christ died and rose again in victory over death. Through faith in Him we too will overcome all that assails us. God doesn't necessarily ask us to be particularly progressive. He just asks us to take our stand against the evil one. We don't necessarily need to take ground off the devil, just to stand our ground. We naturally grow weary, and would give up if it was up to us. Thankfully, God never slumbers or sleeps. He'll always watch over us. 'God our Lord, we thank You for watching over us a...

  My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise. Psalm 119:148 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.119.148.ESV What keeps us up at night? We have to be careful not to get too enthusiastic about things, because if it causes us to lose sleep, it's going to affect our mental health. David was enthusiastic  about the promises of God though. If we know God has promised us eternal life, that should encourage us to be enthusiastic about His goodness to us. All we need to do is to trust in Christ crucified on our behalf. Thankfully He has done everything necessary for our salvation. God even gives us the faith we need to trust in Him. So there's no room for boasting. Salvation is of the Lord, not of us. If we're going to be awake at night, it may as well be something worthwhile keeping us up. There's no point allowing worries to preoccupy us. Better to allow what is positive to be our focus. 'Sovereign Father, we're gratefu...

  In your steadfast love give me life, that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth. Psalm 119:88 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.119.88.ESV How are we even alive? We could talk about the heart pumping blood round the body, or the lungs taking in oxygen. Ultimately however it is in God that we live and move and have our being. What is the meaning of life? According to this verse, it is to obey God. That's why we're alive, in order that we might live for Him. It's because of God's love that we are alive. Because of His great grace, we can have eternal life. It's through Christ crucified on our behalf. The right response to God's goodness to us in Jesus is to seek to obey Him. We obey Him by loving Him back, and loving others as He has loved us. We should put others first, not ourselves. 'Lord our God, we worship You for Your love, and the life You've given us. Please help us to obey You as You deserve, in the name of Christ our Saviour, amen...

  When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies; Psalm 119:59 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.119.59.ESV Too often, we don't think on our ways. By default, we subconsciously drift through life. If we were to think on our ways, no doubt we'd need to change our ways. Naturally, we go astray. Until God finds us, we're spiritually lost. Even having been found, we have a tendency to wander. If, like David, we reflect on our ways, we will hopefully realign ourselves to God and His ways. God is in the business of drawing us back to Him, by His Spirit, so there's no room for boasting. God's word calls us back to Him. We are to love Him wholeheartedly, and to love one another as we love ourselves. Jesus embodies how we should be and saves us from our failures. 'God Almighty, please help us to realign ourselves to follow You wholeheartedly, for Your glory we pray, amen'

  I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me. Psalm 119:30 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.119.30.ESV The way of faithfulness doesn't come naturally to us. We naturally go astray. Like David, we need to actively choose the way of faithfulness. The way of faithfulness isn't something we can naturally do. By default, we're unfaithful. Faithfulness isn't easy in our broken world. Thankfully, the fruit of the Spirit is something that He delights to bear in us. God graciously pours out the Spirit of Jesus upon us who cry out to Him. He enables us to live for Him. We might think that having been saved by God we can ignore His rules. Yet although we're not saved by keeping God's laws, we still should. Having been saved, we should want to live to please God. 'Sovereign Lord, we praise You for Your law of love. Please help us by Your Spirit to faithfully obey You. In Christ's name, amen'

  Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 118:1 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.118.1.ESV I heard a preacher say that the goodness of God is one of the scariest things about Him. We might assume that the fact God is good makes Him nice and inoffensive. The problem is that God is good and we are not. If God is good, then He is incompatible with badness. If He is good, He cannot tolerate all that is unlovely, like we so often are. Thankfully, God's unfailing love is indestructible. Not even our badness can cancel out His love. His love plumbs the depths even of our evil. Because the good God loves us, despite deserving condemnation, He is worthy of our thanksgiving. Being thankful is the only right response to His goodness and love. It might not come naturally, but supernaturally we can be grateful for His kindness. 'Our Lord God Almighty, we're grateful for Your Otherness: Your goodness and love. We're glad Your...

  For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 1 John 5:4 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1jn.5.4.ESV This seems a counterintuitive verse. How can faith overcome the world? The world dismisses faith as a crutch, or a leap in the dark. Yet our faith can transcend this world. This world is passing away, yet our faith is in God who is eternal and can carry us through beyond this life. God has set eternity in our hearts: deep down, we know there's more to life than this world. It seems like the powers that be trample on people of faith. Those who trust in Jesus tend to get persecuted by those who don't. There's a spectrum from mockery to martyrdom. There's an eternity to come which will make all that we might suffer in this life pale into insignificance. Jesus tells the persecuted that they are blessed. We have a great reward in heaven to look forward to. 'Father God, thank You for that a...

  So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:16 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1jn.4.16.ESV How do we know God loves us? Because He sent His Son to give His life for us and to always live to fight our corner. Even our belief in Him is a gift from Him. 'God is love' is one of the most powerful statements there is. It doesn't need a religion to tell us that God is great- we can see His greatness reflected in creation. Yet in this messed up world, it's helpful to have a reminder that God is love. Love is in God's very nature. His loving salvation of us isn't plan B. He always knew He was going to save us, out of His great love for us. We are to live lives defined by love. If we claim to know God, we know what love is, and we ought to live by it. We love because He first loved us. 'Loving Lord, how we praise You for Your love, lavished upon us ...

  But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 1 John 3:17 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1jn.3.17.ESV John concurs with James in his letter. It's not enough to say to someone in need, 'Go, I wish you well, keep warm and well fed'. We have to actually do something to help them. If we're able to help someone in need and don't, we betray the fact that God's love doesn't abide in us. If we don't help someone in need when we could, we don't just not love them, we actively hate them. This shouldn't be amongst the family of God. There were no needy people in the early church in Jerusalem. Quickly though, certain widows were overlooked in the distribution of food. So the church office of deacons was established. Just because the church has deacons to serve the needy amongst us, doesn't mean to say the rest of us can wash our hands of those in need. We all ...

 I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 1 John 2:14 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1jn.2.14.ESV    As fathers, we can be tempted to assume that our children are totally reliant on us, especially when they're younger. I like how John gives us some divine perspective. Father God is from the beginning.     Young men are often at the coal face of the faith, sharing the gospel, contending for the faith, and standing up against the evil one. Their youthful zeal is to be harnessed by the church for mutual upbringing. They are to support those who are weaker than them.     The word of God lives in young people who trust in Him. Therein lies their strength, that they know and do the will of God. We are to hide God's word in our hearts, that we might not sin against Him.     Youn...