Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 Psalm 100:5 ESV For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. People question the goodness of the Lord. They point out all the suffering. Yet if it wasn't for God, suffering is meaningless. Because God is good, he can even bring good out of suffering. The supreme example is the cross of Christ, where God's unfailing love was most clearly displayed. Because he gave his life for us, we can be forgiven of our badness. Jesus loved us to the uttermost. He gave his life for us. He rose again victorious and ever lives to demonstrate his love for us in intercession, and ultimately in his return to call us home. God is faithful. He doesn't give up on us half way to glory. He perseveres with us to eternity. Lord, we're so grateful for your goodness. We're so thankful for your love. May we ever trust your faithfulness, in Jesus's name, amen'

 2 Corinthians 9:7 ESV Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  The Apostle Paul was encouraging the Corinthian church to be generous. Yet he didn't compel them to give. Instead, he encouraged them to do so out of the goodness of their hearts. When we consider what God has done for us, it should inspire generosity. He didn't spare his own Son, but gave him up for our salvation. Our response should be defined by thankfulness and gratitude. Generosity doesn't just happen by osmosis. We have to decide what we are going to give. As the saying goes, 'those who fail to plan, plan to fail'. God loves it when we're happy to give. He isn't impressed with some begrudging tither. He'd rather we gave out of the kindness of our hearts than under a sense of compulsion. 'Generous God, we're so grateful for your kindness to us. Please help us to prove our thankfulness by our giving. ...

 Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Solomon calls us to trust in the Lord wholeheartedly. We're not to 'hedge our bets'. God is completely trustworthy. Even though he was the world's wisest man, Solomon knew not to lean on his own understanding. People sometimes describe Christianity as a crutch. In a sense it is, we all need to consciously lean on Christ. We're not simply to muddle through life, hoping for the best, crossing our fingers. We're to acknowledge the Lord in all our ways. He'll never let us down. We know the destination is a home in glory with the Lord. To be honest, we don't know every single step to get there. Yet we know our Guide, and we know that he is good. 'Sovereign God, may we trust you with our lives, as you lead us home to glory. For your honour and praise we pray, amen'

 Matthew 25:40 ESV And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Of course, we can never fully repay the Lord for what he has done for us. He has gained eternal life for us. Anything we do for him pales in comparison. Having said that, we can and should do good for Jesus' sake. If we do good to one another as God's people, we're doing good to the spiritual body of Christ on earth. We don't just have to try and impress his impressive people either. I love that Jesus encourages us to do good even to 'the least of these'. Most Christians aren't particularly impressive. Most of us are pretty ordinary. The old lady at the back of church may well be a prayer warrior. Even if she isn't, we should seek to bless her. If we do, the Lord will reward us. 'Dear Lord, please help us to bless one another, and in so doing to bless you, for the honour of your name we pray, amen'.

  Philippians 1:9-10 ESV  And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment , so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ ,  If we want to know how to pray for people, we could do worse than to study the prayers of Paul in his letters. He prayed that the Philippian church would increasingly be defined by love. It's not that they weren't already loving, it's just that we should be abounding more and more in love. Paul wasn't just on about some warm fuzzy feeling. He was referring to people knowing God personally, not just intellectually. He wanted his readers to be able to discern what is right. With discernment, often the choice isn't between right and wrong. Often it is a case of what is good, and what is best. If we're offered two different jobs for example, we have to take our pick between them. God doesn't want us agonising about the decisions we take. He wa...

 1 Timothy 4:8 ESV for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.  Note that the Apostle Paul doesn't say that bodily training is of no value. He wasn't necessarily telling Timothy to give up his gym membership necessarily. We should look after ourselves physically. Paul wasn't belittling working out. He was just emphasising that working out spiritually is more important. Being Christlike is of value in every way. We can say that if we're godly, we will look after ourselves physically as well. After all, Jesus himself isn't just a ghost, but an embodied person who looks after himself. Godliness is foundational to everything else in life. It's not enough to be physically fit if our characters aren't good. We need to develop godly character, not just to live good lives, but to be sure that we're heading for eternal life. Our godliness doesn't save u...

 Galatians 4:7 ESV So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. By default, were slaves of sin. Children don't need to be taught to sin, it comes naturally to them. Anyone who sins is a slave to sin. God doesn't want us as slaves to sin. He wants to set us free. Not only so, but he wants to bring us into his family. It might sound sexist that God makes us sons. What about daughters? The thing is though, in the ancient Roman world, daughters had no inheritance rights, so to make us sons is a good thing. Nowadays of course we can happily say that God makes us sons and daughters. The point is that all of us, whether men or women, get to inherit eternal life through faith in the Lord Jesus. 'Abba Father, we're so grateful you've brought us into your family. Help us not to sin, but to honour you, for your glory, amen'.

  Matthew 25:35-36 ESV For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Salvation is 100% of the Lord. This doesn't mean to say however that we simply pray the sinner's prayer and carry on business as usual. If we belong to Jesus, our lives will transform. As the family of God, we're to look out for one another. There's no lone rangers in the kingdom of heaven. Even the Apostle Paul had a great team around him, he wasn't just a maverick. If we belong to Jesus, we will help look after our brethren. By doing so, we will honour our Lord. If we see one of our brethren in need, we should do something about it. Of course, Jesus is referring to physical, embodied ministry. He's not saying we have to be gullible and get scammed online. We're to bless those physically around us, primarily. ' Soverei...

 Matthew 25:34 ESV  Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  How is it that we can be blessed by God? If we read the immediate context we might assume that we have to earn God's blessing. Thankfully, that isn't the case, because that's impossible. We do good, not to earn God's acceptance. Instead, we do good out of thankfulness for his goodness. An inheritance isn't something we work for. Note that God prepared his kingdom for us from the foundation of the world. He wasn't waiting to see if we'd be worthy. It's all of his grace. I'm reminded of when Jesus told his disciples that he was going to prepare a place for them in glory. We don't deserve a home in God's house. Yet he graciously promises us one anyway. 'Dear Lord, we acknowledge our unworthiness but we pray that you would help us to walk worthy of you. For the honou...

  Psalm 100:4 ESV Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! How is it that we can enter the ' pearly gates ' of the  heavenly city ? Only by the grace of God . There's no room for patting ourselves on the back. Instead of being all self congratulatory, we are to be filled with thanksgiving to the God of our salvation. It's by the cross of Christ that we can enter his presence with great joy. Eternity isn't long enough to give God the praise he deserves! This verse gives a hint as to why Jesus so angrily drove out the moneychangers and market traders in what was meant to be the Gentile court of God's temple. The house of God was meant to be a house of prayer for all nations. It had been turned into a den of thieves . That even Gentiles like me can enter into the presence of the God of Israel is a great mercy. There's no room for any entitlement in the kingdom of God. Even Christ's Jewish follow...