Watchman Archives

In this video, Stan affirms the statement of the apostle Paul, that the gospel is God’s power unto salvation for everyone who believes.

He said, “Well, Brother Hedge was asking you if you were on the Lord’s side.” Dad, a lover of words his whole life also added that guerdon was a very old Germanic/French word that probably refers to the reward a knight received from his lord for his military service. The spiritual application of this was to learn if I was the Lord’s man or not.

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You might physically destroy an idol, but the teachings and faith system attached to the idol will not be destroyed in the minds of those that serve that idol. It takes the gospel in the heart of an individual to help them recognize the difference between what is genuine and what is counterfeit. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.

In this video, Stan Cox points out that while we are saved by Faith, the Bible clearly teaches that more than faith alone is required to be justified in the sight of God.

In Revelation, the “battle of Armageddon” is the figurative term describing the symbolic overthrow of all the forces of evil by the might and power of God. In the context of the final chapters of Revelation, “Armageddon” represents the complete defeat of the Roman Empire and paganism behind which Rome threw its total power (19:11-21). If we say this is a physical battle between human armies, we violate the purpose of Revelation. As far as practical application is concerned, “Armageddon” is any decisive battle between good and evil or between right and wrong. Whenever Christians fight a spiritual battle and win, they have fought the “battle of Armageddon.”

1 Kings 18 records a conversation between the great prophet Elijah, and Obadiah, the steward over the house of King Ahab. Despite his close association with the evil king, scripture describes Obadiah as a man who “feared the Lord greatly” (18:3).

A number of lessons can be learned by becoming familiar with these two men, and examining the conversation they had on that eventful day.

In this video, Stan affirms that we are saved by the grace of God, but notes that God has placed conditions upon receiving that great gift of salvation.

Because the purpose of miracles was to confirm the divine origin of God’s word, miracles would only endure as long as it took to accomplish this task, that is, throughout the first century. This is how Paul tried to show the Corinthians that love was a greater gift than miracles, for it would outlast them (1 Corinthians 13:8-12). They were to cease when incomplete knowledge was replaced by a perfect – completed – New Testament revelation. The church would then emerge from infancy to maturity. We now have the faith once for all delivered, a perfect law of liberty (see Jude 3, James 1:25).

God cares about the grief and sorrow that we feel. He cares about us and wants us to cast our burdens upon Him in prayer. While He does not permit us to escape the troubles of life, He does give us the strength to be sustained through those times of sorrow. Jesus, our mediator and advocate, has personally experienced the pain of betrayal and treachery. His way is the best way to handle these kinds of situations.

Is there anyone who does not know it’s wrong to steal? Yes! Everyone can be fooled into thinking something is okay that is actually stealing. It is a serious matter and a real temptation and danger for Christians in any age.

Christians can serve in the military, for when they do they are under the ordinance of God. They become an avenger of His wrath on those who do evil. May we always hold respect and honor toward those men and women who serve our nation in this way.

Holy Spirit baptism served its purpose. We can benefit from the work that the Holy Spirit did through the apostles when we study the New Testament, but we were never promised that we would receive the Holy Spirit in the same measure in which it was received by the apostles.

Men never quite understood Jesus’ mission on earth until His work was finished. However, Jesus knew full well what He faced, and yet willingly made Himself “… of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of man” (Philippians 2:7). Such love for man is glorious. As we reap the benefit of His magnanimous gift, we rejoice and must give thanks.

Christian Love
by Scott Vanderwood
If you were to describe the purpose of the bible in one word, what might that be? To one who has read the least bit of scripture, the answer is plain. It is love. God made it possible for us to know His will through the scriptures because He loves us. He wants us to know about Him and what He expects of us to be pleasing to Him. The greatest sacrifice ever made was when Jesus came and died by hanging on a tree, that He might be the “ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). God sent His Son and Jesus gave His life willingly because He loved us.

While He was teaching here on this earth, He taught His disciples about love. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). The words that Jesus spoke here are more than just words. They are a commandment that requires dedication, courage, and most of all, action! The grammatical structure of the word “love” here is an active verb. This means that is requires performing action to fulfill the suggested command. We cannot only love in word, and have it be pleasing to Christ. (1 John 3:18)

In order to have a love in the way that a Christian should, we need to have a pure heart. Our mind needs to be focused on what is above, where Christ is, and what His motives are, rather than on the things of this world, and what we want. (Colossians 3:1) If we continue to carry this mindset with us, then we will be blessed, and we will know assuredly what we truly love the Lord, because we have carried out His commandments.

However we not only must love Christ, we also must show our love for one another. This message is held forth in Hebrews, where it says, “Let brotherly love continue” (Hebrews 13:1). There are certain characteristics that are required if a person is going to act this way, and Romans 12 goes a long way in explaining them. “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion” (Romans 12:9–16 NKJV).

Jesus is looking for those who those who show their love by following all that He says, not sitting idle and going through the motions! (John 15:12-19) We must prove ourselves Christians by our actions, because James teaches us we are to be “doers of the world and not hearers only,” and after all faith without works is dead, meaning it is no faith at all. (James 1:22, 2:17) We can show our love toward one another in many ways today such as teaching someone else the truth about Jesus Christ, opening up your home to someone who is in need, being hospitable, giving your time to someone else, or even going as far as following the example of the good Samaritan Jesus about in Luke 10:25. (2 Timothy 4:2; Ecclesiastes 3:7)

Sometimes we think that we are loving someone by keeping a secret from them or holding back some information that would we know would hurt their feelings. But, in reality we are only hurting them more by not telling them. Jesus gives us a great example of this. While He was teaching in the region of Judea beyond the Jordan, a young ruler who was rich came to Him and asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus answered him that he needs to keep the commandments, which the ruler replied he had kept them all. Then Jesus told him one other thing; that he had to sell all he owned and give to the poor, and then he would have treasure in heaven. But this young man went away sorrowful, he did not want to give up his earthly treasure to follow Jesus. Was Jesus just being mean to this man? The account said that Jesus looked at him, and loved him. (Mark 10:21) It was out of love that Jesus told this man the truth. If he wanted eternal life, he must give up his earthly possessions and follow Jesus. The truth was hurtful to this man, but Jesus did not hold back just because it would make him sorrowful, He knew it would! We also, cannot hold back if we truly love someone. If we do truly love them, we will tell them the truth. This will show our true care, no matter how mad, sad, or upset they get.

Love is the glue that holds everything together. We are joined and knit together by it, and also edified by it. If we truly have a love for Christ, we will not let anything get in the way of obeying Him in all things. Neither money, popularity, nor recognition will stand in the way of true Christian love. True Christian love will be hard; it is not the easy part. However, the reward that it holds in the end will cover all our suffering here on earth.

The Lord knows we need sleep and that it is a comfort to us as well. The word of God actually addresses this subject quite a bit. Let us consider some things that He wants us to know about sleep.

Masonry claims that Lodge members from the various religions of the world “can assemble as brethren and unite in prayer to the one God (quoted from Masonry and the Christian, page 26). The apostle Paul says that such unity comes only through Jesus Christ (cf. Galatians 3:28). The two claims are incompatible.

In John 2:1-11, the apostle records Jesus’ miracle at the wedding feast in Cana. There are many important things to note regarding this event, where our Lord first “manifested His glory” (cf. vs. 11), but we are here most interested in the words spoken on this occasion. Specifically, we wish to examine Jesus’ words to His mother, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come” (vs. 4).

Often, by puberty, young ladies are not as physically powerful as their male counterparts, whose muscles tend to develop larger. Yet every female possesses a physical power in her shape and form that can overwhelm or renew a young man. There is power in dressing to be drooled over, but that is an abuse of God’s gift. Modesty has its own delicate power that brings glory to God and no cause for stumbling to men.

Just think of it: India is rapidly advancing in technology and commerce; her people prospering as never before. I instantly fell in love with these kindhearted, hard working and very intelligent people. They are as fine a people as any in the world. India (Bharat, which is Hindi for “The Republic of India”) has about one billion people and this incomprehensible number makes me think of the Lord’s confident urging to believers in John 4:35, where he said, “..behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.“ If we claim to love Him, how can we resist this opportunity?