Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and never satisfied are the eyes of man. Proverbs 27:20 ESV  We might say that death and hell are never satisfied. The curse that they are is upon mankind, and even when we die, if we're not saved, we face an eternity of dissatisfaction in hell. Death is like a monster whose stomach is a bottomless pit- it's never filled.  This is a very powerful, strongly worded proverb, but how true it is! If we look for satisfaction in the things we can see, we will always been unfulfilled. Only the infinite God can fill the aching void in our souls.  No matter how much screen time we get, it's never enough! Just one more blog post, one more vlog, one more comment and like on a picture! And Solomon didn't even have all the technology that we have an insatiable appetite for!  Knowing that technology can never satisfy, I'm sure that the occasional detox wouldn't do us any harm. More properly, we might call such a detox a fast from technolo...

As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man. Proverbs 27:19 ESV  If you want to know what someone looks like, of course you look at their face. If you want to know what someone actually is like however, you need to look into their heart. "The eyes are the windows of the soul".  So we can get a clue as to what people are like at heart, their facial expressions offer clues. We can also start to work people out by their words and actions. The Bible itself offers a mirror onto our souls.  So if we want to know ourselves, we will look into the mirror of God's Word. It will show us up as the rotten sinners that we are, with our deceitful hearts. But it will also show us we can get a spiritual heart transplant and be made righteous.  As God's children, our enemy satan wants us to see ourselves as hopelessly rotten sinners. Our Father in heaven though wants us to see ourselves as He does, as sanctified saints. We're not so much sinners who do good...

Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who guards his master will be honoured. Proverbs 27:18 ESV  I'm not a great authority on fig trees if I'm honest. But I can assume that if you want figs, you're going to have to tend to your fig tree. It will need pruning to make it more fruitful.  In the UK it would need to be in a greenhouse for it to be warm enough to bear fruit. So if you want figs, you have to look after your fig tree. Similarly, if you want honour, and presumably promotion, you need to look out, not just for your own interests, but also for the interests of your employer.  After all, they're the one in a position to honour and promote you. We might often think of doing a good job as simply fulfilling the tasks assigned to us. But Solomon encourages us to go above and beyond, and to serve our employers with distinction.  Unfortunately, Solomon's skilled and promoted employee, Jeroboam, ended up snatching the ten northern tribes of Israel from ...

And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour" Luke 1:46-47 (NIV) The angel Gabriel had given Mary some inconvenient news. He told her that despite her being a virgin, she was pregnant with the Son of God. Nowadays, most teenage pregnancies would end in abortion.  Mary lived in far more moral days than nowadays. People don't think much of teenage pregnancies nowadays, just an inconvenience to be got rid of. Jesus could hardly have been born nowadays, because in all likelihood, He would have been aborted. Thankfully, Mary was a godly young woman, and she recognised the honour of bearing the Son of God, never mind the shame of a pregnancy outside of marriage in that religious culture. She knew it wouldn't be easy. Nonetheless, she was overjoyed at the glorious responsibility of carrying the Saviour of the world. Joseph took a bit more time to come around, understandably! He needed a dream to persuade him to go ahead with his marriage to ...

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Luke 1:35 (NIV) How can a virgin give birth? Nothing is impossible for God. He doesn't need a man to cause His everlasting Son to be conceived by His Holy Spirit. Jesus isn't just the Bethlehemite baby. He's the eternal Son of God in whom we can be reconciled to God the Father. We must trust in Him for our salvation. Nothing is impossible for God. He who caused the virgin Mary to conceive the Son of God can cause us to be born again by the same Holy Spirit. We just need to believe. Jesus is the Holy One. He's God incarnate. He's the only perfect man who ever lived. 'Father in heaven, please help us to trust in Christ for our salvation, to make us holy and acceptable in Your sight. In Jesus' name, amen'.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (NIV) Jesus isn't just a baby born in Bethlehem. He's the King of kings and Lord of lords. We all need counsel: He is a Wonderful Counsellor. Jesus isn't just someone to advise us. He's Almighty God. At His arrest, He could have called down twelve legions of angels to prevent His torture and execution. Christ is the Everlasting Father of those who trust in Him. We don't have to be spiritual orphans. We don't have to be the prey of the evil one. Christ is the Prince of Peace. He came to bring peace on earth to those on whom His favour rests. If we reject Him, we have no peace with God. 'Father God, please help us to trust the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation. In His name we pray, amen'.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Micah 5:2 (ESV) Jesus isn't just a cute baby, born in the little town of Bethlehem two thousand years ago. His coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. In fact, as He told the religious leaders of His day, 'before Abraham was born, I am'. 'I am' is God's name for Himself: Yahweh, or the LORD. He is the self existent One. He was, and He is, and He is to come.  The Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. He's the everlasting God. He's the eternal Son of God. The Roman governor Pilate crucified Jesus as the supposedly treasonous King of the Jews. Yet Jesus is also the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He's ruler not just in Israel, but over all. 'Heavenly Father, we praise You for sending Your Son for our salvation and ...

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 (NIV) King Ahaz might have seemed pious for refusing to ask God for a sign. Yet God told him to ask for a sign. So He was being disobedient. Even though evil king Ahaz wasn't interested in a sign from God, He got one anyway. Isaiah promised Jesus, born of the virgin Mary. Jesus is Immanuel, which means God with us. He isn't just a miracle child. He's God incarnate. Christ is the eternal Son of God. He came to restore us to a relationship with God. Through Him we can know God's presence, by His Holy Spirit. 'Lord, we praise You for the miraculous sign of the virgin birth of Your Son. May we know You through Him and His Spirit. In His name we pray, amen'

“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. Jeremiah 23:5 (NIV) In Jeremiah's days, this verse seemed farfetched. David's kingly line had seemingly been destroyed. The final kings of Judah had their children murdered before their eyes. King Zechariah then had his eyes gouged out. Thankfully, David's line wasn't completely obliterated. Mary was descended from David via his son Nathan, another of Bathsheba's sons. Joseph, Jesus's stepfather and legal guardian, was descended from the kingly line of Solomon. Coniah whose children were murdered by Babylonians, seems to have adopted a child which continued the kingly line. So Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. He isn't just some fairy tale. He's the flesh and blood Son of David. Jesus is the King of the Jews. Not only so, but He's also the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He reigns ...

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. Isaiah 11:1 (NLT) Jesus was descended from David both legally (through His guardian stepfather Joseph, via Solomon), and physically (through His mother Mary, via Nathan, another of David's sons). This was important because God promised David a Descendant whose kingdom will never end. Jesus is the fulfilment of that promise.  Jesus is the King of the Jews, but He didn't establish a Jewish state and kick out the Romans. Jesus established the Kingdom of God on earth, in the hearts of all who trust in Him. The Kingdom of heaven is a spiritual entity, not an earthly polity.  From the root of Judaism, Jesus established Christianity. Even Gentiles like me can be grafted into spiritual Israel. There's room for all in God's kingdom. In Jesus's days, the house of David had fallen upon hard times, under pagan Roman occupation. Yet in Christ we can bear spiritual fruit, the ...