Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

  and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.8.32.ESV At first glance this is a great verse, all about truth and freedom. Yet it's not all rainbows and unicorns. By promising truth and freedom, Jesus is implying that by default we're enslaved and clueless spiritually. Because of mankind's rebellion against God, we are all by nature slaves to sin. Truth isn't subjectively whatever we want it to be. The truth is objectively personified in Jesus. We don't have a clue about spiritual truth unless God reveals Him to us as Jesus. If we want to know what's right, we need look no further than Him and His word. The benchmark is whether something is loving towards God or others. We're born slaves to sin. We're not basically good people who occasionally sin. We sin because we're sinner for whom sin comes naturally. We need God to set us free. 'One True God, help us come to You for the f...

  Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” John 6:29 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.6.29.ESV The crowds asked Jesus how they could be about God's work. Maybe they thought He would command them to love God wholeheartedly and to love one another. That after all would be a neat summary of the Old Testament law. Instead, surprisingly, Jesus simply said that we have to believe in the One God sent, in other words, Himself. It sounds too easy. We like to think we have something to contribute to our salvation, yet all we have to contribute is our sin. Even the old testament is clear that all our goodness is like filthy rags before the Holy One. None of us can earn our salvation. Only Jesus can save us. Only Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law of God. Only He loves His Father with all of His being, and loves us enough to die for our salvation. If we're saved, we'll evidence it by good works, but our salvation is 100% of God, n...

  You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, John 5:39 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.5.39.ESV Jesus didn't flatter the religious people who rejected Him. They prided themselves on their knowledge of the Jewish Scriptures, the Old Testament of the Bible. Yet Jesus claimed they couldn't see the wood for the trees. Jesus asserted that the Old Testament is ultimately about Him. So if we claim to follow the Old Testament but reject Jesus, we've read it wrong. Sadly, many of the religious leaders of Jesus's day failed to acknowledge Him as their Lord and Messiah. We don't get eternal life by reading a book. Yet insofar as the good book points to Jesus, it can tell us the way of life. We don't worship a book, we worship the One the Bible testifies of. Some people assume the Old Testament is just a list of do's and don'ts. There is an element of that, but that aspect is fu...

  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:38 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.7.38.ESV Jesus isn't just a means to an end. He's not just the way to quench our spiritual thirst. We don't just come to Jesus for satisfaction. We come to Jesus so that we ourselves can become blessings. Jesus isn't just a quick fix to scratch our itch for meaning. He helps us to live meaningful lives that become sources of refreshment to others. Jesus is the ultimate source of spiritual satisfaction. Yet He also enables us to become channels of His goodness to others. The Christian life isn't a selfish, individualistic one. When we receive the Holy Spirit of God, we become blessings to other people. We become signposts to Jesus for others. If other people will take us up on our offer, they too will find fulfilment in Christ. 'Sovereign Lord, help us find fulfilment in You. May we point others to You as ...

  And he had to pass through Samaria. John 4:4 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.4.4.ESV I love how there isn't a superfluous word in Scripture. Even this seemingly incidental verse is laden with meaning. Normally, a devout Jew would make a beeline to avoid Samaria. This verse could be read to mean that Jesus just wanted to take the shortcut through Samaria under duress. Knowing Him as we do however, I think a more credible explanation is that He knew He had a divine appointment to make. Jesus was breaking societal norms not just by passing through Samaria, but then stopping to chat with an immoral Samaritan woman in the heat of the day. For a devout Jewish man to even chat to an unknown woman was taboo, never mind a despised mongrel Samaritan. Jesus's disciples were surprised to find Him chatting to this dubious lady. As a result of Jesus's apparently chance conversation, an entire village came to faith in Him. Nothing happens by chance. God orchestrates everything ...

  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, John 3:14 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.3.14.ESV The Israelites were rebelling against God. As a punishment for their rebellion, God sent poisonous snakes amongst them. Thankfully, He also made a way that people could be healed: by looking at a bronze snake that Moses made. Jesus turned that story into an illustration of what He does for His people. We're no better than the Israelites. We deserve hell for our rebellion against God. Thankfully, Jesus was lifted up upon the cross so that all look to Him will be saved. Because He bore God's punishment, we can go free. All we need to do is to trust in Him. The danger is, we think it's too easy to trust in Jesus. We'd rather feel like we can contribute something to our salvation. Yet Jesus is the only way. 'Heavenly Father, we praise You for sending Jesus to be raised up for our salvation. May we trust Him alone, in H...

  And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men. 1 Samuel 22:2 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1sa.22.2.ESV This verse about David reminds me of the Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ. David had been anointed King but he wasn't yet on the throne. Jesus might be King, but many still refuse to acknowledge Him. If people aren't in distress, they're much less likely to follow Jesus. When all is going well, people tend to ignore God. When hardships come, some blame God whilst others run to Him for refuge. Even if we're not literally in debt, we're all spiritually indebted to God. We owe Him everything, every breath we breathe is a gift from Him. Only Jesus can cancel our debt and make us rich spiritually. If we're all self sufficient and self righteous, we're not going to see our need of Jesus. Bitterness ...

  The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. John 1:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.1.9.ESV God is light, and in Him, there is no darkness at all. We are in darkness, and need Him to shine His light into our hearts. Thankfully, God's Son Jesus came down to earth to lighten up our darkness. We might think that now Jesus has returned to heaven, we're back in darkness. If He is the light of the world, then aren't we in darkness again due to His absence? Thankfully, like the sun's rays, Jesus's light shines in our hearts by His Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Light of the world, yet amazingly, He shines through us His people. He described us as the light of the world too, reflecting His light in dark places. We're not to hide our lights under our beds. If we're in the dark about God and forgiveness and eternity, we need to come into the light of Christ. He illuminates our spiritual cluelessness so that we can see the way we sh...

  so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 1:7 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.1.7.ESV The Corinthian church was far from perfect. It was divided, had sexually immoral people in it, and wasn't particularly generous. Yet Paul insisted they had all they needed. The idea we need a 'second blessing' to be 'proper Christians' isn't Biblical. The moment we believe in Jesus we're baptised in the Holy Spirit. There's no such thing as a 'second class' Christian. Someone asked a famous Christian once if he was filled with the Holy Spirit. He replied that he was, but that he leaked. That's true of us all. The moment we believe in Jesus we're filled with the Spirit and have all the gifting we need. We leak however so we need refilling and refreshing by Him. Thankfully He doesn't begrudge us such blessing. 'Lord our God, we're so grateful that we have all we ne...

  The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; Lamentations 3:22 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/lam.3.22.ESV In the midst of the darkness of Lamentations comes this ray of sunshine. God's people were at their lowest ebb. Many had been exiled to Babylon like Ukrainians forced to repatriate into the bowels of Russia. Those who were left behind were living in devastated ruins. Yet in the midst of this most lamentable of situations, the writer makes this bold, seemingly tone deaf statement. Many people reject God if things get lamentable. The writer knew that God hadn't given up on His people. When all seemed lost, His faithfulness and love endured. His promises remain and He always fulfils them. As Paul put it, nothing can separate us from God's love. We could be in the most lamentable of circumstances, and we might even deserve it! Yet God won't give up on His people, bought with the precious blood of Jesus. 'Loving heavenly Fa...