the watcher

Acts 2:42-43 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. One thing we must remember when we read this awesome verses of scripture on how the church fellowshipped and how they shared things in common etc...  is that they just began. So,  Persecution had not come, rivalry had not come into place and the message had not spread far and wide.  For just a little number coming together filled with the Spirit would make a seeming perfect gathering, no quarreling, no competition and no tussle for hierarchy.  However let the numbers multiply, let it be time to bring in leaders, we begin to see that nature of man set in. We cannot also overlook the work of the enemy including the sowing of tares in the field of wheat.  Well in all of these, one advice the believer should hold onto is this:

Acts 2:38-39 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” The day of Pentecost finally arrived, power was released on those who were waiting in obedience to the instruction of Christ. They spake in that heavenly language such that all around could hear no matter what divers language they spoke, (this I believe, is not recorded to have happened anywhere else in scriptures). Well all to one aim: Acts 2:40-41 Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!” Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. This brings us to the essence of the Holy Spirit.  Reading John chapter fourteen and sixteen

Acts 2:2-4 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. When we do the things of the Lord continually there could come a time when it seems monotonous, we would want to spice things up, adventure or even return to former things, like Peter said: John 21:3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. It was while they were at this that the Lord appeared to them and the question about his love for the Lord came up.  Is there an instruction? Yes Acts 1:4-5 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you bef

Psalms 118:1,29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!  His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!  His faithful love endures forever. "It is indeed right to give Him thanks and praise", this is a reply in one of the chant used during the eucharist. One reason I will like us to meditate on today, on why we should continually give God thanks, is the battle the Lord fights for us behind the scene.  Truly, if we sit back and count our blessings we will have innumerable cause to give the Lord thanks, however, most of the time we are in so much of a hurry to move to the next thing that we are not mindful of the great things the Lord has done for us: Psalms 103:2 Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. Yes many, many blessings we could recount, if we sit back and reflect on how the years, months and days have gone by.  Well today, let us give Him thanks for the unseen battles He fights for us. For what

Acts 1:7-8 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jesus had finished His work on earth, He had resurrected and was about to ascend. He continued to show Himself to the disciples for a span of forty days, on His final appearance the disciples were interested in one major thing:..  Acts 1:6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” They and other Jewish leaders and people did not get the reason for His coming. It was not just for Israel alone, not just upto Samaria, but for the whole world.  When Jesus said: Matthew 4:17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is nea

1 Peter 5:7 (KJV)  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)  Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. As a child I used to wonder how the Heavenly Father could handle all the requests and prayers we raise to Him from all parts of the earth. One is asking for rain while the other is asking for sunshine and both living in the same area. Requests varying from one part of the globe, to the other, people wanting healing, some food, other conquests, promotions, deliverance, children, money and the lists is endless. How does He cope with all these?  Well He said He can!  Isaiah 59:1  Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: His Word can reach anywhere and He accomplishes all He sent Him to do: Isaiah 55:10-11  For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed

Hebrews 13:15-16 Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God. People always ask, how do I please God, how can I show that I love God. It is so simple, Jesus said: Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” So what is it? Believe in the Son and live in obedience. How do we do this, by walking in love.  Verse sixteen of Hebrews chapter thirteen talked of love: Hebrews 13:16 And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God. Let's compare this to Christ's requirement to be at His right side: Matthew 25:34-36 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you ga

Hebrews 13:7-8 Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The new dispensation was revealed by Christ Jesus and it is all about grace and truth. Grace being the finished work of Christ while truth is living in obedience: Ephesians 2:8-9 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 1 John 2:3-4 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. So the life we live in the new dispensation is not a careless life but a precious one. You do not buy an expensive ornament and dump it with the trash, NO, you preserve it where it cannot be contaminate

Hebrews 12:14-16 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. There is a NEW dispensation, the old is done away with. The old has to do with law and death, Moses defined it, for he was the messenger of the law following up where the prophets. However we must remember that they were shadows of things to come, they were earthy.  It was all about the earth, this is why man could not come boldly, listen: Hebrews 12:18-21 You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they be

Hebrews 12:7,11 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. A good child is a product of good parenthood, and good parenthood involves good discipline.  When we say discipline it does not just mean punishment, NO, punishment comes from disobedience this is also part of discipline but the whole aim of discipline is to TRAIN.  Hebrews 12:5-6 And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,  “My child, don’t make light of the Lord's discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. Let's take a look at our own discipline while we grew up, the restrains we had to do, has it helped us to become better people? Yes. Though our parents being human might have overburdened

Isaiah 54:2-3 “Enlarge your house; build an addition. Spread out your home, and spare no expense! For you will soon be bursting at the seams.  Your descendants will occupy other nations and resettle the ruined cities. Let's begin with this truth, God created man prosperous. There was no intention of man suffering, his major work was leadership.  Genesis 1:26,31 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day. Suffering began when man decided to sin against God or do we say when man heed the suggestion of the enemy and thus disobeyed God.  So the Heavenly Father does not want us to suffer, however suffering exists, what does He do, He brings us into recovery. This is wh

Isaiah 54:14  In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. We are not aware of many battles fought for our sake, we really don't know the things that we come across, or that come across us day after day. We are so busy worrying about little things that we are not conscious of the real battles.  If the Lord opens our eyes to see the spiritual activities around us, most of us will let go of that remote set, that social outing, that sleep and stand up to pray.  People wondered why those prophets of old were so valiant, how they could separate themselves from the flesh. The Lord had allowed them to see things thus they did not operate on the frequency of ordinary men.  2 Kings 6:15-17 When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha.

Hebrews 11:39-40 All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us. There was a reason Paul said: 1 Corinthians 15:19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. For our time here is short, that which exists after here is immeasurable. It actually matters more than our time here. However, that time after here is a function of our time now.  So when we talk of faith it is not just for measurable things such as: cars, houses, children, wealth, healing etc but for the intangible, the enduring, this was what Christ was explaining to the Samaritan woman.  John 4:13-14 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them etern

Hebrews 11:2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. A lot of things loose it's value when people abuse it's essence or when people have the wrong motive. This was why two people brought sacrifices to the Lord, one was rejected the other accepted because the heart of one was upright before God while the other was perverse. For instance we see James admonishing believers not to hold our faith in Christ Jesus with favouritism: James 2:1 My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? Those things are canker-worms that eat into the purpose of the faith and thus fault it's essence.  We see Paul admonishing believers to keep faith with a good conscience: 1 Timothy 1:19 Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. There is no way you can

 Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. When we look at this simple definition of faith we may wonder and say, well this is normal, everyone demonstrates faith one way or the other, because surely, people do have hope, of a better life, of endeavours working out, finding love, setting goals and meeting them etc.  For every invention and exploit done by man had to do with faith, for it involves bringing that which we hope for to pass.  If you read through the chapter, we see that the hope here goes beyond the earthy stay but to an eternal inheritance: Hebrews 11:13,16 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called thei

Hebrews 10:24-25 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. We have one High Priest, Jesus the Christ who gave us liberty and inheritance with the Heavenly Father. By His sacrifice He made everyone of us who believe sons: John 1:12-13 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. Knowing this, what then is expected of us as believers: We are to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. We gather in this same spirit. The book of Hebrews emphasized this that it is needed especially as the time of the end is near.  The verse further went to explain to us that sinning willfully has no redemption, thus we gather to edify one another.  We must a

Hebrews 10:12,14,18 But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices. The job has been done, the once and for all sacrifice has been made, Yeshua Hamaschiach, that is Jesus the Christ has given His life once and for all to set man free from the bondage of sin.  So no one should tell you of anything else you need to do to take away sin. NO sacrifice, ablution, penance can do an already done job.  Think of it, there has been a laid down rule that you obtain a visa to a enter a country. Anyone trying to enter that country using any other means is illegal and is only meant to be thrown out!  Listen to Jesus: John 10:1,9-10 “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, m

Hebrews 9:28 so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. Now let's get this, the price was paid once and for all, HOWEVER, the salvation is concluded at His return or at our leaving the earth: Reading the above verse in combination with it's preceding verse, we get the message: 👇 Hebrews 9:27-28 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. Let us look deeper into this: 1 Peter 1:3-5 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and w

Hebrews 8:10-11 But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord:  I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’  For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. We cannot overemphasize what the Lord has done for us. When we study the law and it's requirements we begin to appreciate the liberation we have in Christ Jesus.  Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free Let us look at some differences between the old and new covenant: * The old covenant brought death, while the new one brought life. 2 Corinthians 3:6 * The old covenant enslave

Hebrews 7:23-25 There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. There is a need for an interceder between God and man, the one who presents the requests of the people before the Heavenly Father and the one who performs the ritual for the cleansing from sin. In the old testament(before Christ resurrected) they were the human high priests, they had to offer for themselves, for they were imperfect, it is after this that they offered for the people.  However when He resurrected, Christ took care of it all: Hebrews 7:26-27 He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. Unlike those other high priests, he does no

Hebrews 6:17-18 God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. It is NEVER a regret to come to the Lord. He is not a man that He should lie, He keeps His promises, of this we are assured.  Look at it, there is no one greater than Him, thus who then can oppose Him? Many fail in their promises because they have to deal with someone greater than them but NOT with God, no one can question Him: Hebrews 6:13-14 For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying: “I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.” So with the Heavenly Father we have come to t

Hebrews 6:10-11 For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Everyone experiences the wait, and it is in this period that we prove who we say we are. We also get to work in the faith we have received and then expect a reward: 2 Timothy 4:8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. Are we expecting Him?  If we are then we must remain faithful, for truly we could get carried away with all the events in this world and forget who and of whom we really are.  1 Peter 1:23  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, whic

Hebrews 5:11-13 There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Every parent's desire is to see their children grow into maturity. They feed them till they are able to feed themselves. They instruct them till they are able to instruct themselves. They carry them till they are able to carry themselves. Parents become worried when the child remains a baby for too long.  The same applies to the spiritual: Hebrews 6:1-3 So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start

Hebrews 4:1 God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. From creation man is given a choice and it has always been about life and death. Let us look at it in scriptures: Genesis 2:16-17 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” Deuteronomy 30:14-15 No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. Hebrews 4:2-3 For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said,  “In my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never e

Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. Two things in this verse: 1. Nothing is hidden from God.  2. We are all accountable to Him.  Thus we do not live anyhow, we must train our minds to always do that which is right, for the mind cannot be a vacuum.  Proverbs 4:23  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life. We cannot waste time trying to argue God's justification of condemning man when He knew that man would fall. Understand who He created.  Thus the counsel of Romans 12:1-2 comes to mind: 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