the watcher

Proverbs 18:24 There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother. Most character people carry about and practice is not innate, that is, "they where not born with it". The influence has always been from their environment be it physical or spiritual. The home you grew up in definitely would influence your character, so also the parents/guardians, siblings and neighbourhood you had. However, there comes a time of decision, when you have to decide the type of life you want for yourself.  Do you want to continue in the errors of your parents? Do you want to walk in the ways of the world? OR Would you create your own life? The best thing to happen to a being is to find the way of the Creator, the Architect, the One who made you and designed you. He knows the best of you. This is why we study scriptures. 2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! This i

Psalm 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, [and] established my goings. James 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. The Lord did not create man to fail, and what is failure, other than to stay in failure. Look at the prodigal son: Luke 15:17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! It is a trick of the enemy to make a believer or even a non believer remain in the place of sin! Also in the place of sickness! Most of the time, it is the enemy and his agents that bring the suggestion of wrong to the mind, thus when the mind receives it, having the power to create it breeds on it and it takes life. Then as the bible says death follows. Also most ailments begins from thoughts in the mind and supposed symptoms. When you see that

John 5:22-28 (NLT) In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him. “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. “And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son. And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man. Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, Still in these times and days some have an argument on Yeshua, Jesus the Ch

Psalm 91:1 & 2 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Every one who has matured and experienced things in this life knows that there are things that come against man and desire that man be destroyed. However we who believe the scriptures know that our enemy is the devil and by deceit and fear he can keep man in bondage. This morning we are reminded that we who have believed in the son of God and returned to the Father through the only way, truth and life (John 14:6), do have a covering that the enemy can do nothing about. Job 1:10 "Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. Thus we do not need to live each day in fear of the enemy's attack on us or our own, what we do is to, in the

Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: The same way the weather does not remain constant at all times, the state of the mind of man varies with what he experiences at each point in time, thus you may not be in the same state of mind with your neighbour. You may be in: * plenty while the other is in want; * happiness while the other is sad; * strength while the other needs rest; * hunger while the other is filled already; * need of conversation while the other just wants quiet; * a spiritual light while the other is in a carnal state * a need of people around you while the other wants time alone * an experience of joy in their work while the other hungers for a way out. We do not expect to always be in the same situation with others because our seasons could differ. When we know this we also understand when to give and when to receive. Thus to avoid strife, wisdom says we should consider one another. Hebrews 12:14-15 Work at

1 Chronicles 1:19 Eber had two sons. The first was named Peleg (which means “division”), for during his lifetime the people of the world were divided into different language groups. His brother’s name was Joktan. Genesis 5:29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This [same] shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed. Some wonder if there is anything in a name, should I be cautious in the name I bear? Do I mind what people call me? What is my identity? Of course there are some who were given good names yet they grew and left the good path to carry an identity which negates their name. However I believe parents should leave a good premise. For no matter what the outcome becomes, let the initial be made good. Do those who bear their name know what their names mean? It is one thing to bear the name, it is another to be conscious of what the name stands for. If I am called a king, do I act like one, do I act like ro

1 Chronicles 1:1,8,24,27,34 The descendants of Adam were Seth, Enosh, The descendants of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. So this is the family line descended from Shem: Arphaxad, Shelah, and Abram, later known as Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel. Does your genealogy matter? Opening the first book of Chronicles, you see lists of names stating the genealogies of the people of old from Adam, listing his sons all the way to Abraham then to Israel it kept going till it got to the genealogy of priests. Why is this important? Note that all these people listed where either just names mentioned or noted as people who made an impact be it positive or negative. (not just in this book but in other records) 1 Chronicles 1:10 Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, who was the first heroic warrior on earth. Surely everyone has a background, a genealogy line that tells who their ancestors where. Some could be called great, having achieved one fea

Esther 4:14b and who is to say that you have not come to the kingdom even for such a time as this? Every human is relevant, no one was born as a mistake. Where we occupy now is for a purpose, we have relevance there, there is something to accomplish. There is a function. Proverbs 16:4 (NLT) The Lord has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked for a day of disaster. We could lose sight of these if we dwell on the difficulties or focus our mind on those aspects that do not look favourable to us at the moment. Also, if we make complain a habit. Additionally, we could begin to enjoy ourselves and forget our purpose. Therefore, we must be cautious, we cannot live carelessly. But God who sees all things and knows all things, is able to make all things abound towards us. 2 Corinthians 9:8. And God [is] able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all [things], may abound to every good work: God allows us to go from stage to stage, every pre

2 Kings 25:1,8-10 So on January 15, during the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls. On August 14 of that year, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem. He burned down the Temple of the lord, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings in the city. Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side. Recall that when God introduced Himself to Moses, He said: Exodus 34:6 The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord!  The God of compassion and mercy!  I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. Can you see that all of God is goodness! When it comes to anger, God says slow, that is He is patient with us

2 Kings 24:3-4,9,20 These disasters happened to Judah because of the Lord’s command. He had decided to banish Judah from his presence because of the many sins of Manasseh, who had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. The Lord would not forgive this. Jehoiachin did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as his father had done. These things happened because of the Lord’s anger against the people of Jerusalem and Judah, until he finally banished them from his presence and sent them into exile. God chose the people of Israel as His people, the link to bring the world back to Him. Abraham was the first link: Genesis 17:1-2,8-9 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.” And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be th

1John 3 : 2 & 3 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Now we know that our change will take place when Christ returns, for now we carry our flesh with us. Thus the need to be cautious. When sin or works of the flesh is talked about it is an instruction: Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; Colossians 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. We are to put off the fleshy nature and to put on our nature of righteousness. It is a farse to walk in the flesh, for actually

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Many things could attempt to separate us from the love of Christ but it is a wasted effort, it just cannot, nothing can. If only believers understand the extent of this love. However, "GOD CANNOT FAIL. .," We are the ones who can stumble. God knows the extent of His love and what great a price was paid. So it is a wonder why some believers still allow the enemy to hold them captive in fear. So we are the ones that can fumble on love. Thus we then have the instruction: John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. It is the evidence that we are of Jesus the Christ: John 13:35 By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. No matter what, great people of God, this is God's expectation. Our love

2Kings 23:1-3 Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. And the king went up to the Temple of the Lord with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, along with the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. There the king read to them the entire Book of the Covenant that had been found in the Lord’s Temple. The king took his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the covenant in the Lord’s presence. He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. In this way, he confirmed all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll, and all the people pledged themselves to the covenant. King Josiah was shown the book of the Lord found by the high priest Hilkiah, this really broke Josiah's heart, and as we saw yesterday he tore his clothes in sorrow. HE DID NOT STOP THERE, HE TOOK ACTION!!! The king took steps immediately, he called all the elders and all the people, and

2 Kings 22:1-2,11 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. He did what was pleasing in the lord’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right. When the king heard what was written in the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes in despair. We read of the faithfulness of king Hezekiah to God and how it was recorded that there was no king like him. We were the baffled that his own son who took over kingship from him, that is, Manasseh, chose to walk in evil ways. Ways so abominable that he put his son through the fire to worship idols. What was also surprising was that he was 12 years in age when he began to rule! Following in his steps was his son Amon who also walked in wickedness. Now here comes his son Josiah who became king at a young age of 8. Josiah chose to walk in the ways pleasing to the Lord. Now, do you get it?

2 Kings 21:1-4,6 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother was Hephzibah. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had destroyed. He constructed altars for Baal and set up an Asherah pole, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them. He built pagan altars in the Temple of the Lord, the place where the lord had said, “My name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in the fire. He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the Lord’s sight, arousing his anger. For two days we learnt from the life of Manasseh who was king of Judah. We saw how faithful he was to God and that there was no king like

2 Kings 20:12-13,16-18 Soon after this, Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick. Hezekiah received the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them everything in his royal treasuries! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them. Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to this message from the Lord: The time is coming when everything in your palace—all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. Some of your very own sons will  taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon’s king.” We could get carried away sometimes, especially when everything seems to be peaceful. We may become careless and let our guard down.

2 Kings 20:1-2,5-6 About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.” When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the lord, “Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David.’” Anyone who has followed this devotional through the years would understand one major emphasis of the message. "WE NEED OUR PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD!!!" That is how God made man in

Psalm 56 : 1 & 2 Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me.  Mine enemies would daily swallow [me] up: for [they be] many that fight against me, O thou most High. When we look at the concept, "enemy", what comes to our mind most times is as a result of where we are coming from, that is, what we have been exposed to and mostly what we have been told. The dictionary defines enemy thus: "Someone who is hostile to, feels hatred towards, opposes the interests of, or intends injury to someone else. A hostile force or nation; a fighting member of such a force or nation. An alliance of such forces." In Psalm 56, Davids talks of his enemies and very well so, he was a man anointed to be king but some did not want him to achieve this position, his enemies were  those from other countries but "worse off", he had enemies within Israel and within his own house! Today the concept of enemies include those we have from our

2 Kings 19:22-23,28,35 “Whom have you been defying and ridiculing?  Against whom did you raise your voice?  At whom did you look with such haughty eyes?  It was the Holy One of Israel! By your messengers you have defied the Lord.  You have said, ‘With my many chariots  I have conquered the highest mountains— yes, the remotest peaks of Lebanon.  I have cut down its tallest cedars and its finest cypress trees.  I have reached its farthest corners and explored its deepest forests. And because of your raging against me and your arrogance, which I have heard for myself,  I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth.  I will make you return by the same road on which you came.” That night the angel of the lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. Sennacherib boasted, yes his ancestors had taken over nations, he as king also had taken over nations. He then thought th

2 Kings 19:15-16,19 And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God. Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God.” What was Hezekiah's response to Sennacherib's threat? He took it to the Lord in prayer. He had the right, he was a servant of the Lord. This is the type of relationship God wants from us. Listen to the summary of Hezekiah's character as king once again: 2 Kings 18:1-3,5-6 Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to rule over Judah in the third year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the

2 Kings 18:30-32,35-36 Don’t let him fool you into trusting in the Lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely rescue us. This city will never fall into the hands of the Assyrian king!’ “Don’t listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me—open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own well. Then I will arrange to take you to another land like this one—a land of grain and new wine, bread and vineyards, olive groves and honey. Choose life instead of death! “Don’t listen to Hezekiah when he tries to mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will rescue us!’ What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? So what makes you think that the Lord can rescue Jerusalem from me?” But the people were silent and did not utter a word because Hezekiah had commanded them, “Do not answer him.” The threat can come as heavy as it looks. Always remember: 1 Peter 5:8

2 Kings 18:19-20,22,30,36 Then the Assyrian king’s chief of staff told them to give this message to Hezekiah:“This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident? Do you think that mere words can substitute for military skill and strength? Who are you counting on, that you have rebelled against me? “But perhaps you will say to me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God!’ But isn’t he the one who was insulted by Hezekiah? Didn’t Hezekiah tear down his shrines and altars and make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem worship only at the altar here in Jerusalem? Don’t let him fool you into trusting in the lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely rescue us. This city will never fall into the hands of the Assyrian king!’ But the people were silent and did not utter a word because Hezekiah had commanded them, “Do not answer him.” What do you do when trouble arises, when you are challenged, when an opposition arises? Hezekiah was one of those good kings of I

2 Kings 18:1,3,5-7 Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to rule over Judah in the third year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time. He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the Lord had given Moses. So the Lord was with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did. He revolted against the king of Assyria and refused to pay him tribute. It is that simple. Walk in obedience then the Lord will be with you. Resist by walking in disobedience means you are asking the Lord to leave you. What happens when the Lord leaves you? You become open to any other thing! That is what happened to the children of Israel. 2 Kings 18:11-12 At that time the king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and placed them in colonies in Halah, along t