Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

  since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 2 Thessalonians 1:6 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/2th.1.6.ESV As Christians, we suffer affliction above and beyond that of the world. Apart from usual worldly afflictions, we also face persecution, insults and mockery from the world, and the fierce opposition of the devil. Having said that, a day of reckoning is coming on those who afflict us. The day of judgment will cause our afflictions to pale into insignificance as we face eternal glorious rest. Our enemies, on the other hand, face everlasting shameful affliction. So if we're tempted to go for the easy option, we need to have an eternal perspective. Bear in mind that the writer himself started out afflicting the church of our Lord. Saul of Tarsus violently persecuted some of Jesus's first followers, before his Damascus Road conversion to Christ. As long as we're in this world, we should bless those who curse us, and pray for thos...

  But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I will speak.” 1 Kings 22:14 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1ki.22.14.ESV The truth isn't democratic. If 51% of the population believe a lie, that doesn't make it true. Micaiah was alone in prophesying trouble for Ahab, whilst four hundred false prophets prophesied success. I love Micaiah's brave and resolute stand for the truth here. King Ahab and queen Jezabel were the kind of people who would gladly murder followers of the One True God. Micaiah wasn't afraid to stick his head above the parapet however. Are we so brave? When we have opportunity to testify of our faith in Christ crucified, do we speak out? So often it's tempting to bottle our faith up and hide it in the cellars of our hearts. As adopted children of Almighty God, we should speak as led by the indwelling Spirit of God. As He breaths in us, we should breath out words of truth and love. Too often we keep quiet when we should s...

  King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Daniel 3:1 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/dan.3.1.ESV King Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonian Empire was quite possibly the most powerful man the world has ever seen. He was worshipped as a god, and ruled as an absolute monarch. Clearly, he was also one of the most vain men to ever live, as this verse about an epic vanity project suggests. Nebuchadnezzar had had a dream about a statue with feet of clay, which Daniel had interpreted as being about some of the key Empires of human history- from Babylon and Medo-Persia, to the Greco-Roman Empires. Nebuchadnezzar in the dream was the statue's golden head. He clearly wasn't satisfied with this image however. The Empires of this world have feet of clay, and will ultimately be toppled by the Kingdom of God. Nebuchadnezzar rebelled against this vision however. He liked ...

  For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. 1 Thessalonians 3:4 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1th.3.4.ESV The Bible puts us under no illusions as to the hardships we face as the children of God. Jesus told us that if we are to follow Him, we are to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Him. We are to be prepared to die for Jesus' sake. Jesus warned His followers that just as the world hates Him, they will hate us. Not only so, but we make an enemy of the devil, who's determined to make our lives a misery. So far so bad! So if we're going to face so much affliction as God's people, what's the point being the people of God? We might be tempted to do anything for an easy life. But God calls us to suffer for His sake, and afterwards to enter into eternal glorious rest. Yes, life might be especially hard for God's people with the persecutions, insults...

  And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 1 Kings 19:5 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1ki.19.5.ESV Elijah was fleeing from murderous queen Jezabel. He was feeling so sorry for himself that he despaired of his very life. I love how God graciously responds to suicidal Elijah. What is God's response to Elijah's pity party? To let him rest and to provide him food, not once, but twice! Sometimes, when we're mentally ill, there isn't some complicated solution but simple self care. Elijah was too depressed to look after himself. Thankfully God gave him the rest and refreshment we need. It was wrong of Elijah to despair of life, however understandable his feeling might be. There was no judgment from God however, only compassionate care. Are we feeling sorry for ourselves? Are we despairing? Well at the very least, all we might need are things as simple as rest and refreshment. 'God, may You comp...

  And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. 1 Kings 18:18 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1ki.18.18.ESV This passage illustrates the fact that believers in God have been scapegoated for thousands of years. King Ahab accused Elijah of troubling Israel because he'd declared a three year famine as God's response to the people's apostasy. It might have seemed like Elijah's fault, but ultimately Ahab himself was responsible for leading his people into idolatry. Elijah rightly turned Ahab's accusation back on him. Ahab's kingly line was defined by apostasy, rejection of the God of Israel for the false gods of the nations around. His pagan wife Jezabel was inciter in chief of such false religion. God had brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt and into the promised land. He commanded them to destroy the nations and their gods that they displaced...

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H_87b3OLKOU   This link will take you to my testimony of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ/life story. Enjoy :)

The idea behind War Room Devotionals is about having a 'prayer closet' to do 'spiritual battle'. Covid 19 has felt like a spiritual as well as a physical enemy, and around the time of the first lockdown in the UK I was inspired to up my devotional writing from Watching Daily at Wisdom Gates to War Room Devotionals as well.  Now, for the first time since I folded the War Room Devotionals blog, I'm making them all freely available again. Enjoy/read/copy/paste/print/share/circulate at will, just credit myself, Robert Chamberlain, as the author please. Thank you!  War Room Devotionals January 1st I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, John 10:14 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.10.14.ESV Here is Jesus clearly claiming to be God. "I am" is God's name for a start- Yahweh or Lord. But as David famously said in Psalm 23, "the Lord's my Shepherd". Jesus is Lord. Do you know that Jesus is Lord? Is He your good Shepherd? If not,...