Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

 1 Timothy 1:20 ESV  among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. This is a scary verse. How were Hymanaeus and Alexander blaspheming? We're not explicitly told, but there are hints in context.  The Apostle Paul wrote about the importance of holding fast to the faith and to a good conscience. It's not enough to profess faith in Jesus. We need to have good consciences. Hymanaeus is mentioned in 2 Timothy (assuming it's the same person) as someone who claimed the resurrection of the dead had already taken place. He denied the faith, and shipwrecked his spiritual life. True faith and good conscience go together like horse and carriage. Alexander, we can reckon, is the same Alexander as in 2 Timothy, who did Paul a great deal of harm and strongly opposed his message. What we believe matters. It will impact on how we act. 'Lord God Almighty, help us to realise that we do what we believe in. Help us to repent o...

 Luke 6:38 ESV give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” At first glance this verse seems great. It seems to promise that we'll get back what we give. On second consideration however, it doesn't seem to make sense. If we give something, we lose it. I don't think Jesus is so much on about money and stuff. I think he's on about things like forgiveness and mercy. If we're forgiving and merciful, God will be forgiving and merciful to us. Let me clarify that I don't think our generosity to others earns God's generosity towards us. Yet if we have truly received God's generosity, we will be generous with others. The evidence of a grateful heart is a generous person. 'With the measure you use it will be measured back to you' is a double edged sword. If we're generous, that reveals that God has been generous to ...

 Psalm 68:19 ESV Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah The Lord is our boss. We are to bless him, for he is worthy. It's not like he doesn't deserve our everything. Other religions are about us trying to earn God's acceptance. Biblical faith is about God bearing us up from day to day. Idols need bearing up; God doesn't need bearing up. We are weak mortals. We need bearing up. We need saving from the condemnation we deserve.  We cannot save ourselves. Only God can deliver us from his judgment. We must trust in him. 'Lord, we bless your holy name. Please continue to bear us up and to save us. In Christ's name, amen'.

 Psalm 9:1 ESV I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. God doesn't want halfhearted thanksgiving. We ought to be wholeheartedly thankful to him for all his goodness to us. He is worthy of our praise. We would do well to recount all of God's wonderful deeds. For a start, he created us. Secondly he sustains us. The greatest deed of the Lord was to send his Son to give his life for us. Because of his love, we can face tomorrow. We should do so with gratitude. The Lord has poured out his Holy Spirit upon his people. He empowers us to live for him. He's given us everything we need to live fulfilling lives for his glory. 'Lord, we wholeheartedly thank you for your goodness to us. May we recount all your wonderful deeds. For your glory, amen'.

 John 8:32 ESV and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  Jesus is the truth personified. Truth isn't just some vague notion out there in the universe. He has flesh and blood. If we want to know the truth, we need to get to know Jesus. He told Pilate that all who are on the side of truth listen to him. The response was a dismissive 'what is truth' and Pilate them washed his hands of Jesus. Without wishing to excuse Pilate, he was between rocky Caesar and the hard place before the mob in Jerusalem. He was enslaved by his desire for self preservation and promotion. We need Jesus to set us free. Jesus wants to set us all free. We must be willing to be set free however. If we're unwilling, we'll remain slaves of sin. 'O Lord, please set us free in the knowledge of Christ Jesus, the truth personified, in whose name we pray, amen'.

 Jeremiah 33:16 ESV In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ Jeremiah loved through the dying days of the kingdom of Judah. They were insecure days that ended in the Babylonian captivity for the Jewish people. Nevertheless, Jeremiah looked forward to new covenant days when there'd be security. Salvation isn't so much about political peace. It's more about spiritual deliverance from the condemnation we deserve. For rebelling against God he should judge us, yet he wants to make us holy. We dwell secure, whatever's going on around us, when we trust in the Lord. Life is tough, but God is good. He can make us acceptable to himself.  Our righteousness isn't about us pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. Our righteousness is in Christ. His perfection can be credited to our bankrupt spiritual accounts. 'Lord our righteousness, may we trust you to make us holy...

 Isaiah 12:2 ESV “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” God is our salvation. We cannot save ourselves. Salvation is 100% of the Lord. All we bring to our salvation is simply to trust. Even our faith is a gift of God. There's no room for boasting. Our strength is in God. In him we live, and move, and have our being. Without him we can do nothing. Our response to God's love for us in Christ crucified should be songs of praise. He is worthy of joyful adoration. Isaiah looked forward to the first advent of Christ; we look forward to his return to call us home. 'God, we worship you for being our salvation, strength and song. May we ever live to make you famous as you deserve. In Jesus' name, amen'.

 Luke 4:13 ESV And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. The devil 'threw the book' at Jesus. He tried every trick to make the Lord give in to temptation. He failed dismally. The secret of Christ's success was to fight temptation with Scripture. This reveals how important it is to know the word of God. 'I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you'. Like Jesus, we go through seasons of temptation. Sometimes satan attacks us full on. Other times he's more subtle. Just because Christ passed this test didn't mean to say there wouldn't be more testings along the way. The devil can't be said to not be persistent. We must be more persistent in our faithfulness to the Lord. 'Dear God, please help us through seasons of temptation. May we successfully defend ourselves against satan's attacks. In Jesus' name, amen'.

 Matthew 24:42 ESV Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.  Jesus could return at any time. He won't return until people from every ethnic group have trusted in him. Sometimes people use that as an excuse that he won't return yet, but an angel will announce the gospel to the globe before Christ's return. If we claim Jesus is our Lord, we mustn't be caught napping. We must always be alert and about his business as his servants. We mustn't be slack. In the context Jesus seems to be talking about the rapture: talking about one being taken and another left. I wonder however if he's talking about some being taken to judgement whilst the meek stay to inherit the earth. I am of the view that when Christ returns that's it, there's no secret rapture. If Jesus finds us spiritually slumbering on the day he returns, we betray the fact we are shoddy servants at best, and don't deserve his salvation. If we want assurance we need...

 Revelation 1:3 ESV  Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. Many people struggle to find blessing in Revelation. A casual reading reveals curses, a dragon, a beast, the four horsemen of the apocalypse, plagues etc. At first glance it doesn't seem particularly blessed. A more careful reading of Revelation provides genuine blessing. The Lamb who was slain is on the throne of heaven. The crucified and glorified Christ is in control over all the craziness in this world. It's interesting that reading aloud brings blessing. Reading truth silently embeds it in our hearts through our eyes. Reading truth aloud embeds it in our eyes and our ears. It's not enough to read and hear the word of the Lord. We need to actively put it into practice. So we mustn't be afraid of all the craziness in the world, safe in the knowledge that Christ has overcome, and in him, we will t...