the watcher

Psalms 24:1 The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. He who knows all and has all things in His control. We have our desires, plans, goals and expectations. We bring them to God in prayer. Sometimes things don't happen the same way we expect it to, we then forget all and focus on the exact thing we desired. When God looks at it, He looks far beyond our limited view, He has in mind the future and the details we are not previleged to have. Ephesians 3:20  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, We can be sure that God has our best interest at heart. Isaiah 55:9  "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. Psalms 92:5  O LORD, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep. My prayer is that He will grant us the grace to see His good plans fo

1Corinthians 8:6  yet for us there is only one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live. The argument about God, His person, His ways and His will, have been before we came into the world and will be after we have left the scene. In all what we believe is that there is only one God and one mediator between God and man. 1Timothy 2:5  For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, That is what the Christian believe in summary. That dosen't mean people do not believe otherwise but yet in all only Jesus the Christ could lay claim to the one truth. John 1:18  No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. All others talked of a God they claimed the heard something from or received a vision from but Christ came from the Father. He is the source of eternal life. John 17:3  &qu

Ephesians 5:20  giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Just like a saltless meal, or food without seasoning is a prayer life that is devoid of thanksgiving. The same way it is with us, when we have to deal with ungrateful people be they: * families * friends * colleagues or * just a contact We always get to be of help to someone again and again, it is irritant to keep dealing with people who only know how to receive yet they do not know how to be grateful, appreciative or make themselves useful. Luke 17:16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan We could get so used to receiving that we either forget to, or do not think it necessary to give thanks. In the same way we have our Father, the author of life. Our sustainer, provider, deliverer, healer and our God. We should not drift into a routine devoid of thanksgiving. He is God and He deserves it. All that work with Him know

1Peter 4:17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Romans 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. John 1:12  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name: When you receive the good news of salvation and accept the life in Christ you become part of the family, Jesus  calls us friends. It is ignorant to believe that we would be treated like outsiders, that we would be judged like those who are not saved. The truth is " it is a family issue". Even the enemy knows this. The relationship between those who have received Christ, and the Father, is truely that of father and son. David gives us an illustration of this, so also Abraham and Moses people who lived as fr

(please read with understanding this message has been kept for days but had to be published now after Sunday's programme in GC) Luke 18:21-22 And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth."  So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." So when Jesus heard the man say he had kept all the law he did not oppose him. He simply told him to let go of all he had and follow him. Goodbye to slavery of the law, welcome to the fulfilment of the law in Christ Jesus. We cannot get to a point when we say, we have known it all. Most church denominations at this time, even the orthodox, have adopted the selective law syndrome. Where, they or will I say we, have decided to select some parts of the law and discard others, especially when it entails things that have to do with money and physical practices. When a certain

1Kings 17:2  Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, A lot of things we work with in this world come from various sources and experiences. The need to make money is because we need to secure our continual provision: food, clothing, shelter, education, health, pleasure etc. A lot of other things come into play: * News Report: * Pressure from family, friends and colleagues * Fear of the future * Sudden news from home * Change of Government Policy There is no end to what we hear, there will always be the "News". 1Kings 17:8  Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, John 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. When the word of the Lord comes, every other News is secondary. All mouths are shut, protocols are removed. It just happens! I am not talking of empty promises or stiring motivationals to make us drop money or feel happy. There is a lot of noise in our world today, b

Revelation 1:3  Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. Psalm 90:12  So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. A song has a lyrics which says  "forever young, I wannna be forever young, do you want to live forever? I want to be forever young" We definitely will live forever, but not in this flesh, we don't need anyone to tell us that our body dies everyday, ten years back our skin was more fresher, as one gets into the 60s the strength isn't like that of the 30s. I remember when I was very young, one of my senior friends said to me "I wish I knew the Lord when I was as young as you are". He regreted all the mistakes and all the time he had spent doing the wrong things. Time thus moves faster than we think. Can we remember what we said we  would do when we: * passed that exam * finished school * got that degree  *

Philippians 4:6  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; Matthew 6:34  "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. That I Will not worry looks so unnatural, it seems man was created to worry over things, some more than others. Really issues and situation arises that looks overwhelming it may make us jitter. However when we discuss this issues with our Father He gives us the grace to see Him higher than those situations and we become assured that we will overcome. That is why Jesus asked: "What part of the problem has been solved by worrying?" Matthew 6:27  "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? Worrying could lead us to deactivate faith and begin to confess negatives. Instead let us bring it to the Father in prayer He will handle it. HAVE YOU PRAYED TODA

Psalm 66:19  But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. There are times we feel God is slow. We hear our self say things like, I have been waiting on the Lord for this and for that. It seems to us that the Lord desires that we should pray, pray and pray before we get that which we desire. We may not be able to explain why some things do delay, or do not actually come to pass, the moment we declare them. One thing is sure though: 1Peter 2:2b   but now you have come back to him who keeps watch over your souls. Psalm 34:7  The angel of the Lord is ever watching over those who have fear of him, to keep them safe. Can we recall those times we called out silently to God in a moment of pain or distress and suddenly all became calm, the pain goes away, the sickness is gone or that trouble is no longer a threat? We suddenly forget that it was the hand of the lord that worked it out for us. His angels responded to our inner plea and worked out that

2Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, have an abundance for every good work. 2Corinthians 8:2  that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. It is eazy to reach out when all is well with you. In multitude of wealth  to give little.(although some still find it hard to give).  However the true test of giving is when you give out of little. I remember the event in scriptures when many gave, yet Jesus recognised only the widow who gave so little but it was all she had. Mark 12:42-44  Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Him and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; "for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all tha

Proberbs 18:24  A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Keeping friends is a necessity, yet betrayal still exists. Enemies, most times are born from friends. Things do come up, issues arise, you wonder if you should make it known or be silent. If you do have to say it, you wonder to whom, how, when and how much. It has its good and bad sides. Depending on who you let it out to. Some could be of great help, others could take advantage and bring pain. 2Samuel 22:31 As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proven; he is a shield to all who trust in Him. There is no friend like God, He should always be first in our life. Never let man take the place of God. Yes man is not like God, yet man is not excused from being faithful. We wonder in this day and time, if we have people we could trust, confidants that we can confide in and be rest assured that we would not be betrayed. Can we even find t

1John 5:4  Anything which comes from God is able to overcome the world: and the power by which we have overcome the world is our faith. When we are faced with the challenges and pressures of life, our first reaction is to be worried. The "how", "why" and "what" questions come up in our mind. It takes a conscious effort to remember Him who can take care of all things, Him in whom we trust. Although He has promises for all situations as recorded in His word, it is one thing to know of them and another to recall them when the need arises. That is why the bible says we must walk by faith. 1John 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. Faith is a consciousness, it is the way of life of the believer. Trusting God in all things, some already set in motion, some needed to be called into being. Romans 4:17  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before

Psalm 47:7 For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding. This is a day of worship. We have reason to gather with other believers to give thanks to God for all He has done for us. We sing songs to Him, an expression of our hearts. Psalm 47:7, says we should do it with understanding! The lyrics we must know, not just flowing with the melody or the beauty of the sound. What are we saying? A lot of circular music exists today with junk as lyrics. The listeners are interested in a line lyric, then they go ahead to enjoy and dance to the instrumentation or beats as it is called. Ephesians 5:19  speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, We are different, our music speaks, and also makes melody! Another aspect we must consider, is our skill on the instrument. When we worship God or edify one another in music, we should "play it right". Psalms 33:3 Sing to Him a ne

Matthew 24:36  "But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. One major event every believer longs for, is the second coming of the Lord. When all the troubles and problems of these world will come to an end and we have a new heaven and a new earth. 2Peter 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. No more: * struggling to get money, * resisting temptations * battling in prayers * work, work and work * facing a contradiction of sinners * sicknesses or disease * wars and conflicts * evil leaders * hatred and malice We revert to the man God created in the beginning, even to a greater man. As we wait for this time the world system keeps running and wars and rumours of war keeps taking place. We could

Psalm 8:4  What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? I used to believe that Job had a limited understanding of how glorious man is, that he was too beside himself to see that man that God created was great and important. See what Job said: Job 7:17-19  "What is man, that You should magnify him, that You should set Your heart on him,  that You should visit him every morning, and test him every moment?  How long? Will You not look away from me, and let me alone till I swallow my saliva? This was a man in pain, his works was much better than some of us who walk as christians today. He had no fault in him. God said so Himself. Then I read a related statement from David although this time David had a better understanding of man and his creation. He added: Psalm 8:4-6 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?  For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with g

Psalm 143:8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You. It is good to begin each day in the presence of the Lord. A father is  pleased to hear his son's greetings early in the morning. Great leaders are known to begin the day in prayers and thanksgiving  to God. Psalm 5:3  My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up Do you know that every morning we are refreshed, we have the grace to start again? The Lord wipes away our mistakes and errors of yesterday and allows us make a better day. Lamentations 3:22-23 Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Psalm 30:5  For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. Have you spent tim

Judges 16:20  And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" So he awoke from his sleep, and said, "I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!" But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. When Jesus was to physically leave the earth He said He promised that the Father will give us the Spirit and yes He did. It is our duty to listen and obey. We cannot afford to get so busy or occupied that we do not know when the Spirit speaks to us, many a stress we could avoid and many a victory we miss when we neglect the Holy Spirit. God gave us His Spirit because of His love for us, it is up to us to appreciate this love and submit to the Spirit's leading. Romans 5:5  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Our prayer life, bible study and good works is empowered by the Holy Spirit, He ensures we do it the right way. He knows all t

Psalms 72:18  Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things! We need favours again and again, no one can be by him or her self. We will always need the help and support of one another. Some may take advantage of it, while others will lend the helping hand asking nothing in return understanding that they also would have needs. 1John 3:17 But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? However there are things that others cannot do for us, things that only God Himself can intervene to bring it to pass or to save us from. In those kind of situations, we don't have to worry anymore, yes, the  inconveniences of man's short falls have no play here. The Father asks nothing in return He gives and do not hold back. He is God.  Acts 17:25  "Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, a

Hebrews 5:11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. There may be days we do not feel like listening to the word of God or do not feel relaxed enough to meditate on it. It could be that we are exhausted, occupied or just not in the mood. Staying long enough in that withdrawal or denial is dangerous, for eventually it becomes normal and we do not feel uncomfortable if a day passes and we have not heard from God. I love this lyrics from Jeremy Camp's song titled "slow fade"  ["It is a slow fade, when you give yourself away  A slow fade when black and white turns to gray  Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid  When you give yourself away  People never crumble in a day] The urge to hear from God fades away as we go day by day without hearing from Him. Though we may have the bible, it remains a book till we study and listen to God from it. Though we pray again and again, we do not get be

Psalm 16:2 I say to the Lord, You are my Lord; I have no good beside or beyond You. When we look at our life critically, we can tell the things or people that matter to us. It is most times the things or people that meet a particular need or serve a particular purpose to us. It is a good mental exercise to sit back and reflect on what role most of our aquitances play in our lives. It could help us estimate how much time we spend with, or on them, and if we need to move away from, or draw closer. We who have believed know that God is the only one who can take the place of "my everything". We shouldn't place anyone or anything above Him. Every good teacher should point everyone to God and not to themselves, a sect or a denomination. The central focus ought to be God. Jesus who was very God, pointed to this fact: Matthew 19:16-17 Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So He said to

1John 3:21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, [then] have we confidence toward God. I remember after a class on grace many years ago I asked the Reverend who led the teaching "What about sin?" The new teaching on grace talks of all our sins being taken care of by the one sacrifice, summarily that a believer cannot sin, some go ahead to talk of the sin unto death and the sin not unto death. Others yet, still talk of the condemnation of sin, still basing on the sentence on the original sin "the soul that sinneth shall die". All these have their bases in scriptures. This morning however we look at the issue of our conscience, our mind. Not linking in any arguement, we need to see that the consciousness of sin would cause major issues in the life of the believer: * becoming unfruitful in preaching the gospel to others * asking and not receiving (weak faith) * not being able to intercede * not able to shine the light (be an example) * thinking we

Psalms 75:6-7  For promotion [cometh] neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.  But God [is] the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. We could sometimes forget who is in charge. We could be distracted and look at our efforts or the tool used to give us that breakthrough. We could then become arrogant or selfish and forget the reason why we are where we are. Nebuchadnezzar made that mistake and he suffered like an animal for 7 years till he confessed with his mouth that God was the one who ruleth in the affairs of men. Belshazzar was not that favoured, he died that very night. Paul by the Holy Spirit wrote: Romans 13:1  Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. So God is involved in that promotion that we seek or that we already have. We therefore cannot put Him out of the picture, we must be led by Him. We cannot afford to do o

1Thessalonians 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. No one wants to lose a loved one and of course no one wants to go. Yet we know that we will not all go at the same time, some will go before and some after. We need to look at what happens. We are spirit made by God possessing a soul and live in a body. When we leave the body we are seen as leaving earth our spirit returns to God and our soul awaits judgement either for eternal bliss or eternal misery. Man = spirit + soul + body Micah 6:7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams or ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? Isaiah 10:18  And it will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, both soul and body; and they will be as when a sick man wastes away. Psalms 31:9 Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am in trouble; My eye wastes away with grief, Yes, my soul and my body! Though some faiths believe th

Psalm 91:14 Because he has given me his love, I will take him out of danger: I will put him in a place of honour, because he has kept my name in his heart. When it comes to dealing with our fellow humans we try all forms and ways to show that we care, that we are loyal and that we love. We express it with our words, then the expectation is that our actions would prove those words. Many a time people fail, and this is because the heart was not really in it. Jeremiah 17:10  I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. The Lord God, dosen't deal with appearances He searches the heart. One great thing about the victory Christ won was the ability to have a changed heart, to turn from what we used to be to what God wants us to be. Romans 5:6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. That is, everyone has the opportunity to re-write their stor

Matthew 7:27  And the rain came down and there was a rush of waters and the winds were driving against that house; and it came down and great was its fall. Everyone who builds definitely plans for the rains. Physical structures built for living fall under this category. The foundation is always the primary concern and ofcourse the first to be constructed. Thus every effort must be made to have a good anchor, a very solid ground. We as believers know that there is only one true ground, where we can build a good foundation and He is Jesus the Christ. 1Corinthians 3:11  For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ Life has its own rains and Jesus has assured us, He says that we should be of good cheer, He has overcome the world. John 16:33  "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Yes the nature of our ancho

Matthew 24:46 "Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Year after year, we hear of the coming of the Lord, people have even  gone ahead to predict dates and times and yet all have failed. Matthew 24:36  "But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. The apostles expected His return too and more than two thousand years after that we still expect His return. Many have sacrificed their lives, that others may be saved, they also wait. Revelations 6 : 9 & 10 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" What of our fathers of old who lived faithfully, they also wait. The question is while we wait, what is expected of us

1Thessalonians 5:18 "in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." We know that it is because we have life that we can complain or make requests. It is good that each day, before  anything else we should give thanks to God for giving us life and for giving His Son "Yeshua, Jesus the Christ" in whom He has allowed all things to dwell.  Colossians 2:9  "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;" If you have Jesus you have everything. Before anything else daily my friend, let us give thanks. Romans 8:32  "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" And as we keep giving thanks He will keep taking care of all our affairs, success will be easy for us. This week shall work out very well for us. Psalms 35:27  Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continuall

Isaiah 40:31 But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Things do fall in place, people do say "que sera sera" the spanish, italian originated phrase meaning "whatever will be, will be". Yes, what will be will be, all things have been set in motion by God, so the morning will come and the night will come, their will be seasons and their will be times. However what will be is still a function of what is done before time. Yes it was revealed that their would be famine in Egypt for seven years but before these, there would be a boom of harvest for a seven years. What Egypt does in the seven years of plenty would determine what the seven years of famine will be. Thank God they had a Joseph in place. Those who do exploits are those who do what they ought to today, today. I love this principle: "I am what I am today as a resul

1Corinthians 10:13  No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. We have been taught that what happens isn't really the problem, what matters most times is the way we react to it. We are not to allow it break us. We cannot totally escape temptations. People could get us angry, disappoint us or we may make a mistake. The scripture says God would make a way of escape for us. It is that window period, most times the very moment before we react to the situation, it is at this point we have the opportunity to decide how we react to the situation. Should we be * agressive or friendly; * loud or quiet; * speak or be silent; * angry or calm; * vindictive or linient That little open window could determine the series of events that would follow and could either save us a lot of str