March 16

I am standing on the word of God, the word is power. I am standing on the word of God, the word is healing. I am standing on the word of God, the word of God is deliverance. I am standing on the Word of God, the Word of God is peace. Have Your way O! God in my life have your way O! God. Jesus have Your way, have Your way O God in my life have Your way O! God.

Gracious Father we thank You for You are our power, healer, our deliverance and our peace. How majesty are You Lord! Blessed be Thy Name O! God. We cannot thank You enough for Who You are and all Thy benefits to us. Thank You for the gift of life and peace around us. Glory be Thy Holy Name.

Beloveth are You standing watch? Again I ask “Are you standing watch?” Or maybe we should start with “who is a watchman (woman)? What does it entails to be one? A little look on our study text will give us a clue.

Interestingly many of us have security men or women at our doorpost probably that will give us another clue to the question.

Do you know the duties of these men and women at your doorpost? Before we get to level of whether they are faithful at it or not. Our topic today is calling on every believer to be enlist on this job.

Do you notice that they have special outfit or job kit for this job? It therefore means that it is not a job to be taken with levity or handle carelessly else there will be causality or victim due to negligence.

Now looking at our study text what do you observe? On my part, I saw a show of commitment and unrelenting position on the part of the watchman. It also showed that the watchman was patience and result oriented.

Beloved, this is a command from God and must be our top priority. I have an encounter recently I will like to share with you. For a while now, my six year old baby has been telling me mummy, I don’t want to go to school again, I want to be home with you and go with you anywhere you are going. On further enquiring, he will saying things like he will mention one of the classmate’s name that he hit his head or put his leg out while he was trying to walk across.

I made some observation from his statement that this is not a case of bulling, it is just an act common with children of that age bracket. This has been going on with different versions of story while he will not go to school. overtime I sense in my spirit that this not right and I started counselling him while he must be in school and what he stand to benefit after all the troubles of waking up so early as he once complained and all the rest.

 I also by the way of prayer encouraged him and rebuked the forces behind this complain. I reassured him that soon he will graduate and work in a good organization with his immediate younger telling him things like “Udo, if you think that education is stressful try ignorance,” and we laughed over it.

Beloved, last week, on a Sunday, right there in the church, this boy had a fall while running around with other children that removed his teeth gum (two). My attention was called to the incident scene, I was taken aback from the sight before me. While I was taking him to the church clinic, I was asking God why He allowed this to be, immediately what flashed in my spirit man was the recent discussions I have been having with him lately. The devil was negotiating his future with me unknowing to me.

Beloved if I have not stood my ground to counsel and prayed with him, it would have been worst the Spirit of God witnessed to me. He gave me this verse in the bible Isa 59:19. We later prayed over him during the family altar, my husband threatening to beat him because of the incident but when I opened his eyes to what the Spirit of God told concerning the issue at hand, he held his peace.

On a Saturday after the incident, this same boy went and sat on a cloth hanger at the corridor outside and both came clashing on the floor and when I discovered what happen because he told his story since nobody was with him when it happened, I simply said between my breath” satan, you have lost the battle over this one” but this time he did not escape punishment.

Someone is saying evangelist, hope you are not spiritualizing this matter but my dear you cannot but take charge of your life and situation spiritually first, else Satan makes you a mix meat. God forbid.

Beloved, I want you to also know that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and the weapon of our warfare is not carnal either, if I have not prayed and the Spirit of God raising a standard against him when the enemy came in like a flood, probably what the devil was proposing and negotiating through him unknowing to me will have come to past (staying off school and going with me wherever I will be going). Imagine just that but on the physical it look not so. But God made me to be sensitive enough in the spirit to rebuke and reject it. Beloved, are you keeping watch?

That is why we must stand our watch else the devil crumble our life itinerary, God forbid. The big question now is “are you standing watch?” come let read more on this:

I will stand at my guard post

and station myself on the lookout tower.

I will watch to see what He will say to me

and what I should reply about my complaint.—Habakkuk 2:1

The watchman’s job was vital. An approaching army left residents of an ancient city precious little time to flee or to prepare for battle. Everyone’s life depended on the alert watchman as he peered into the horizon for the earliest glimpse of an approaching threat. It was critical that the people be alerted as soon as possible to what was coming.

As a Christian, God places you as a watchman for yourself, your friends, your family, and your church family. It is essential that you be attentive to what God is saying. It may be that a friend is in crisis and needs God’s word. As you study your Bible, God may choose to give you words of encouragement to share with your friend. It may be that as your children face difficult challenges, God will speak to you as you pray and reveal how you can help them. If you are spiritually alert, you may receive a warning from God that addresses specific dangers that those around you are facing.

If you are careless, on the other hand, your family may be struggling, but the answers God has for them will go unheard. If you are oblivious to God’s message, those around you may miss the encouraging promise from God that He wanted to share through you. God holds His watchmen accountable for their diligence (Ezek. 33:6). Strive to be attentive to every word that comes to you from God. Your diligence will benefit you and those around you as you heed God’s warnings and follow His commands.

Looking at this piece you can see that the job of a watchman is vital. If you are careless about it you read the implication in last paragraph, will you rather be careless or do it with all diligent? More discover:

I will take heed to my ways.” Psalm 39:1

Fellow-pilgrim, say not in your heart, “I will go hither and thither, and I shall not sin;” for you are never so out of danger of sinning as to boast of security. The road is very miry, it will be hard to pick your path so as not to soil your garments. This is a world of pitch; you will need to watch often, if in handling it you are to keep your hands clean.

There is a robber at every turn of the road to rob you of your jewels; there is a temptation in every mercy; there is a snare in every joy; and if you ever reach heaven, it will be a miracle of divine grace to be ascribed entirely to your Father’s power. Be on your guard. When a man carries a bomb-shell in his hand, he should mind that he does not go near a candle; and you too must take care that you enter not into temptation. Even your common actions are edged tools; you must mind how you handle them.

There is nothing in this world to foster a Christian’s piety, but everything to destroy it. How anxious should you be to look up to God, that He may keep you! Your prayer should be, “Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe.” Having prayed, you must also watch; guarding every thought, word, and action, with holy jealousy.

Do not expose yourselves unnecessarily; but if called to exposure, if you are bidden to go where the darts are flying, never venture forth without your shield; for if once the devil finds you without your buckler, he will rejoice that his hour of triumph is come, and will soon make you fall down wounded by his arrows.

Though slain you cannot be; wounded you may be. “Be sober; be vigilant, danger may be in an hour when all seemeth securest to thee.” Therefore, take heed to thy ways, and watch unto prayer. No man ever fell into error through being too watchful. May the Holy Spirit guide us in all our ways, so shall they always please the Lord.

Beloved, did you heard that “put on your shield and do not venture without your bucker, lest the devil sees you and rejoices over you.” Finally, watch it onto with prayer lest you fall- that is your job kit- bible, faith, etc. read up Eph 6:10-18.

May God uphold every reader of this devotional lest we fall in Jesus Name. Help us O! Lord even as we stand our watch in Jesus Name. Help us to discover all the antics of the enemy as we keep watch and do not let any sin have dominion over us in Jesus’s Name we do pray. Amen!!!!

Remain blessed in the Lord.

Evang. Ifeoma Ohondu

the punch newspaper today

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IFEOMA OHONDU is the founder of the MattersoftheHeart foundation, a platform where issues affecting our everyday life are discussed and where necessary proffer solution. She is part of the end time army, who will not break their rank to fulfill the urgent call of God upon her life by declaring His word to the helpless, the doubting, the comfortless and the dying world. The world will experience great restoration and healing in the Word of God through her ministration. She is a voice to emphasize key spiritual truth about Faith, Healing and Encouragement.