the watcher

1 John 4:7-8 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. This gift called LOVE, it is actually a nature, a way of life. For it ought to be the motivation for all our actions as believers. I Corinthians reminds us that all our works amount to nothing, if we do not love. For love ought to be our driving force: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. Let us look at it, it

1 Corinthians 12:4-5,12&27 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. It is established that the Son of the Living God, Jesus the Christ, (for those who argue His name), the Word of God, is the one who revealed the Father. No other person could or can. Luke 10:22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and [he] to whom the Son will reveal [him]. John 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him]. Thus many may claim to know Jesus, but if they do not know Him as the Son of the Living God, they do not know Him, als

1 Corinthians 11:16 But if anyone wants to argue about this, I simply say that we have no other custom than this, and neither do God’s other churches. In this chapter holds some areas that have been debated back and forth by preachers and teachers through the years, especially in the liberation of denominations. Firstly, the authority of man over the woman and the relation to Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:3, 8-9 But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. For the first man didn’t come from woman, but the first woman came from man. And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man. You read this and then read still: 1 Corinthians 11:11-12 But among the Lord’s people, women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women. For although the first woman came from man, every other man was born from a woman, and everything comes from God. Thus the wise conclusion is

1 Corinthians 10:12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The believer faces temptation, yes, for it is when we overcome temptation that we win. The book of James explains to us that we get tempted when we are carried away by our lust. The earthy is always dangled in front of us. "Should we, or should we not?". It is for us to make the right choices. This is why we walk in the Spirit that we may not fulfil the lust of the flesh. We have people that are of the opinion that we should neither be tempted or tested, that man should face no challenges. Some believers are even sold this "non-truth" at the point of salvation that they later on get into difficulties or confusion. The truth is that we all face temptations and trials: John 16:33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” However, the Lord does not leave

1 Corinthians 9:17-18 If I were doing this on my own initiative, I would deserve payment. But I have no choice, for God has given me this sacred trust. What then is my pay? It is the opportunity to preach the Good News without charging anyone. That’s why I never demand my rights when I preach the Good News. The work of the Lord has no price tag attached to it, like a salary when you get employed in the secular world. However those who serve in the house of the Lord are taken care of by those they serve. Deutronomy 10:9 Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD [is] his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised him. Joshua 13:33 But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not [any] inheritance: the LORD God of Israel [was] their inheritance, as he said unto them. Thus spiritual leaders should be careful when they want to claim the rights of the levites of old. Most times when we ask for rewards or payments (e.g, in an offer), we forget to re

1 Corinthians 8:6 But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live. Most believers, especially those from Gentile origin, would have been used to the existence of small gods. Thus the consciousness of them as we see Paul explain in chapter 8, of the first letter to the Corinthians. The consciousness of these gods makes them feel defiled for eating food dedicated to them. For just as Paul explained: 1 Corinthians 8:7 However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated. So those who are mature are careful in this and other things not to cause the weak ones to stumble. 1 Corinthians 8:9-11 But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause o

When we study 1 Corinthians 7, we hear Paul's counsel about marriage, he points out that though marriage is good, because of sexual desires, being single is better. Many misunderstand this to mean that to get married is wrong. No. The whole of 1 Corinthians was pointing to the eternal, that is we should take that which would be eternal more important than that which ends here. Truly the covenant of marriage ends here on earth, same with many other relationships or situations. The noble and the commoner only exist here, your nobility does not count in the eternal life. (Ask the rich man in Christ's parable). The moment your spouse dies the marriage covenant ends! Thus Jesus said: Mark 12:24-25 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven. Romans 7:2 For example, when a woman marries

1 Corinthians 6:8,18 Instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow believers. Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. There are attitudes, habits and actions that destroy fellowship, 1 Corinthians mentions them, we are to do away with them. Why would a believer go to court against another, it is because one is trying to defraud or take advantage of the other. Why should that even arise in the midst of brethren? Sexual sin, hmm, very powerful element after love of money by which fellowship is destroyed. These are powerful distractions that take the minds of believers away from true fellowship. Listen: 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or a

1 Corinthians 5:6-7 Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. When one bad apple is placed with other fresh healthy apples, the mould (releasing ethanol etc,. . .) from that bad apple spreads to the other apples and they all become spoilt. This is also how yeast works, just a little of it leavens a whole loaf. I Corinthians 5, tells of the abominations boasted about by the church at Corinth, unacceptable sexual immorality, a man sleeping with the father's wife and other unacceptable behaviours. He insisted that the immoral brethren should be cast out. 1 Corinthians 5:3-5 Even though I am not with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit. And as though I w

1 Corinthians 4:15-16 For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. So I urge you to imitate me. The issue of using the word "father" to denote our spiritual leaders or teachers brought up criticism because of Christ's admonition in Mathew 23:9-10 Matthew 23:9-10(KJV) And call no [man] your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, [even] Christ. Matthew 23:9-10(NLT) And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. Truly so, we must understand this. We have only one Heavenly Father and only one Master and Teacher Jesus the Christ. Now does it mean then that it is wrong to have spiritual leaders and teachers who

1 Corinthians 3:1-2 Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, Imagine having a child who having been given birth to, stops growing, remaining in that statue, in size, intellect and action - it is terrible, a real pain. So is it when believers refuse to grow. Let us look at Paul's first evidence of lack of growth in the church at Corinth: 1 Corinthians 3:3-4 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the

1 Corinthians 2:16 For, “Who can know the Lord's thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?”But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ. Away from the daily life we live on earth, we do remind ourselves that the time here is limited. No matter what it is that happens here on earth, slightly above the span of a hundred years we would leave the scene. Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There is a life after! Thus what was God's plan for man? 1 Corinthians 2:7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. God had good plan for man, and His plan was known only to Him, and just as we learnt yesterday, the powers of these world had no clue, for if they did they would not have crucified Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:8 But the rule

1 Corinthians 1:19-20 As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. We do not have the full information of things before creation, however our interest should lie on ourselves, that is when we were created. The scriptures through the revelation to Moses gives us the description that led to our(man's) creation. Many have tried to explain existence before man, yes, science-based, atheism, religious folks, philosophers. Everyone has a theory to pre and pro creation. The truth is that it remains theory. The wise would seek to know the now and the eternity, for in there lies hope. Thus I am content to stay with scriptures, though there are books that were considered scriptures, which I have studied some if not all. I remain with the bible. The key is this - God's

1 Corinthians 1:2-3 I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. One thing must be clear to every believer, that the one you serve and are loyal to is the Heavenly Father. The only person who reveals Him is His Son Jesus the Christ He said He and His Father are one. Thus, if I glorify Christ I glorify the Heavenly Father. For even the Spirit of God that breeds life is also the Spirit of the Heavenly Father and the Spirit of His Son. So believers do be careful not to place your spiritual leaders, teachers or other ministers in this position. Now in the following verses instead of the names there put the name of your Pope, General Overseer, Prophet, Pastor, Apostle etc: 1 Corinthians 1:11-13 For some

Romans 16:1,3-4,6 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a deacon in the church in Cenchrea. Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in the ministry of Christ Jesus. In fact, they once risked their lives for me. I am thankful to them, and so are all the Gentile churches. Give my greetings to Mary, who has worked so hard for your benefit. Chapter 16 of the book of Romans seems to be a different letter of Paul to the church in Rome after he had successfully visited them. This is ascertained by most bible scholars. The letter brings to us a probing question. What is our testimony? When the list of those who have served the Lord is read, will we be in the number. Observe the list of women starting from Phoebe to Priscilla and Aquila to others. Everyone had a part in the furtherance of the gospel. I have this picture in mind, of when we meet Christ at the end of times/our time. He pulls out our file, what will our record be? No one is excluded, no one is

Romans 15:1-2 We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. I remember as a very young bible teacher having to lead bible study in one of the groups in the cathedral bible study. We looked at the issue of entitlement. I asked a question? Are we saved to become dependent on others or help others? What is this entitlement mentality that keeps some believers ever dependent that they just receive and do not give? When will you become the giver and be matured or ready to minister to others. "God created every living thing to grow and multiply" Selah The evidence of growth is when we are able to lift others up. It is foolishness to look back at one's life and count this or that achievement and yet we cannot see any positive impact we have made on people's lives! Then in what way, are we like Christ? Romans 15:3-5 Fo

Romans 14:1 Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. One of the most misinterpreted part of Christ's teaching is found in Mathew chapter seven. Matthew 7:1-6 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. This is so because people confuse correction and admonition with judgment. In Romans we are taught that we are not to argue about things that are right or wrong with believers whose faith is weak. Listen, there are two ex

Romans 13:4,8 The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. The Heavenly Father loves order and that is why He approves of institutions of authority. All believers are encouraged to respect these authorities and do our obligations: Luke 20:22,24-25 Now tell us—is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” “Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”“Caesar’s,” they replied. “Well then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” The believer is not under the bondage of the law. However, the believer cannot be faulted by the law, for they are not law breakers. We hav

Romans 12:1-2 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Having known how we got here, how we are grafted branches, adopted as children of the Lord. https://ikthewatcher.blogspot.com/2020/07/before-you-boast.html?m=1 We are warned not to take it for granted, we should not repeat the errors of the branches that were cut off. What next? *John chapter 15 is a good read, at this time* What next? This is the essence of follow-up and discipleship: 1. Offering our bodies as a living sacrifice: see the way the Amplified version put it - Romans 12:1 So here's what I want you to