Merry Christmas!!!

Merry        Christmas!

God Bless You All

Remember Jesus is the reason for the season!

See you next year: Brother Darrell

I See Dead People

Praise the Lord! Again I pray everyone is enjoying Gods many blessings. I am truly blessed today on our sixth day of consecration and I am truly enjoying this time with the Lord.  The word says "the joy of the Lord is our strength" but as I look around I see people in dispare, living in fear and looking for love in all the wrong places. People have put their hope in government and celebrities and both have failed them. The one hope we have they are trying to run him out of the country. "may the name of Jesus be stricken from all books, signs and billboards. May all references to God be stricken from all currency and court rooms. So let it be written so let it be done!" Sound familiar? Think of Yul Brenner in the Ten Commandments. Not only is the world turning away from God but the church, the body of Christ is losing it's way among all the divisions and in house fighting going on. The word of God says in John 5:24+25
²⁴Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
²⁵Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
 these words spoken by Jesus refer to the spiritually dead, those who have not repented from sin and accepted Jesus Christ as there Lord and savior. Everywhere I go in the world I see them. They go about their daily lives unaware and unconcerned about their eternal spiritual well being. They reject the gospel and the existence of God. I pray for them and reach out to them with the love of God and I think to myself "dead men walking" I expect this from the world but what I don't expect is that when I walk into many Churches these days I see dead people. They look alive, they sound alive and they even lift up holy hands and sing Gospel songs of praise but their is a lack of power caused by a lack of real spirit. Preachers preaching their hearts out and teaching their hearts out but still there isn't any growth by the people. people are not getting delivered and set free from drugs and alcoholism and other besetting sins. John 4:23 states
²³But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 
More people are playing church and using them as social clubs than ever before. Nobody comes out for prayer service and people are only willing to serve if they can be seen by others. The body of Christ is now a valley of dry bones. Will these dry bones live? Only God knows.
There is a remnant, Believers who not only profess they believe but are truly spirit filled and not just operating on gifts. They are the true worshipers that Jesus was talking about. God wants to pour out his spirit in these last and evil days on a church that is ready and willing to receive it and be obedient to it. He does not want to pour out his spirit on a people who will resist it and thereby quench it.
 Ezekiel 37:5+6 states:  
⁵Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
⁶And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
That remnant needs to pray that God would breath life again into His church. Back in the day we used to sing a chorus that said "I wish somebodies soul would catch on fire and burn with the holy ghost" we need to start singing it again and meaning it starting with ourselves first. I used to be apart of a ministry that fed and cared for the homeless and addicts in 42nd Street area of New York in 1992 and 1993 called the Upper Room, it was an outreach of Times Square Church. We were a praying ministry, staffed by prayer warriors and we would pray for hours before we would open the doors to our clients. As you walked in those doors the prayer was almost tangible, you could feel the power, the anointing God had placed on the room. We had many people who were delivered from drugs and alcoholism, many entered drug programs including myself, I personally saw and was involved in many miracles God performed there. In all these years I have yet to find another ministry quite like it, though some have come close.

Bottom line we need to wake up and live, Dead people can't help anyone, Jesus once said "let the dead bury the dead" Our jobs are the same as our saviors and that is to bring people "life and that life more abundantly" We have to have life to bring life but we must remember as Paul did in Galations 2:20
²⁰I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 
So let us live so others may live. God bless you all.
                                                             Brother Darrell, A Watchman














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John 5:24+25

Holy Ghost MRI/Getting Naked before God

Praise the Lord! I pray everyone is enjoying the many blessings of God. I myself am blessed just to be here in the land of the living. I love the time I spend before the Lord waiting to hear from Him, hear him speak to my heart and feel his presence as I bring my prayers and petitions before Him. We are in the fourth day of our seven day consecration and I am just starting to really get into the spirit of it. I feel God starting to deal with me about some things and I love that feeling of cleansing and purging. It is good to get naked before the Lord, because he can see through any type of cover you can put on. Look at Adam, before he knew he was naked he was comfortable spending time in front of God completely uncovered. That is the way God intended us to be in our relationship with him and with each other. When sin came in that's when we started hiding and covering up things.

When I was a child I remember one of my school teachers telling us the story of the "Emperors New Clothes" It was the story of this King who went out among his people believing he had on these fine clothes when in reality he was naked and everyone went along with it because they were afraid to tell the king he was naked. Today in the body of Christ we have saints walking around believing or betraying themselves as being naked and transparent when in fact they are wearing coveralls, and we are afraid to tell them for fear of making enemies and they believe they are hiding something from God and His people. David in Psalm 139:7-12 states
⁷Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
⁸If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
⁹If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
¹⁰Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
¹¹If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
¹²Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
David knew what a lot of us fail to realize, we can't hide from God! I'm sure he learned this lesson after his own sin with Bathsheba was exposed, not to God but exposed to himself. He had somehow fooled himself into believing he had not sinned and that he was within his rights to have her. when the prophet Nathan came before him and told him a story of another powerful man who had committed the same sin David was quick to condemn him to death.(see 2nd Samuel Chapter 12) How quick are we to point the finger at others sin and make excuses for our own.

God knows about everything we do, He just wants us to be willing to humble ourselves and admit our sins and ask him for forgiveness. Throughout the old testament you read where had to strip the Children of Israel naked before their enemies and before Him because of their sins but once He has done this and they are humbled and naked before Him that is when God turns his wrath away from them and lifts up their head again. \He raises them up once again. Even Jesus The son of God Had to be beaten and striped naked and hung on a cross to die before God raised Him up and gave all power in heaven and earth to him.
I often cry, sobbing before God when I come into his presence fully exposed, realizing who I am compared to Him. The fact that He allows me to come into his presence is a humbling experience in itself. His presence is like having a Holy Ghost MRI. You can feel him looking through you. What can you hide from His gaze? Paul states in Hebrews 4:12+13
¹²For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
¹³Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

When I sat down to write today I had intended to write about faith again but God had other plans, so His will becomes my will. Again as the fourth day of consecration is coming to an end I feel so blessed to come before him as a broken vessel ready, willing and able to be used by Him. I pray we will all learn to get before the Lord and get naked. God bless you all.
                                                  Brother Darrell, a Watchman 

Chosen and Predestined, Hallelujah!

Praise the Lord! I pray everyone is enjoying the many blessings of God. I myself am blessed as usual just to be able to be here writing this blog and doing what God has called me to do. Today I'm not writing about faith. I am going to share something God Gave me to write this past Friday for my Brother and sister inlaws church. They are on a seven day consecration and the theme is "chosen and predestined' they wanted something for the church news letter. I and my wife have been going on these consecrations with them and have been blessed beyond measure. When I sat down to put pen to paper my mind was blank and I asked God to "give me what YOU want me to write" and his answer was what you see below. I pray it blesses you as it has blessed me.

      Chosen and Predestined, Hallelujah!

“For many are called but few are chosen” Matthew 22:14(KJV) I remember reading that verse many times before I began to realize what it meant for me. Throughout the Bible you see where God has chosen certain people to use to accomplish His will here on earth. He chose the Jews as his people, He chose David as king, Samuel, Elijah, John the Baptist, Mary, Joseph and the list goes on and on including His son Jesus and his Disciples. When I realized that I was a follower of Christ, in other words a Disciple of Christ I began to realize that I too was chosen.

 Jesus states in John 6:4 ⁴⁴No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. Before you can be drawn you must be chosen. Isn’t that wonderful! We believers are Chosen by God, Just as The Jews are His chosen people from the old covenant those of us covered under the blood of the new covenant in Christ Jesus are now joined together with the Jews as Gods chosen people, and we all know the things He did for them.

Chosen for what? Ephesians 2:10 states ¹⁰For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

When you’re in Christ you are a “new creation”, a chosen creation for “good works which God hath before ordained” that we should live them out. Ephesians 1:11 states:
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,

So having been chosen we were also predestined to be used by him to bring forth His will here on earth. This is the high calling that Paul talks about in Philippians 3:14 so we too must also press toward that mark. We can no longer be Sunday go to meeting Christians who are satisfied with the status quo. We must keep attaining to a higher level, higher ground in Christ.

God bless you all. Brother Darrell, A Watchman

¹³Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,¹⁴I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Where is your Faith? part 2/ Faith and Works

Praise the Lord! I pray everyone is enjoying the blessings of God. I myself am blessed just to be able to be here addressing you all right now. Two nights ago some drug crazed man tried to kick my front door down, he apparently in his confusion mistakenly came to my door seeking drugs. It was about 4a.m. and the noise startled me out of my sleep. I yelled at the guy and threatened to call the police and he left. It shook me up at first and for a minute I even thought about getting a weapon to keep in my house, then I realized two things, One: I had gone to bed that night without praying and anointing myself as usual and two: I remembered whose I am and whom I serve and how many times He has delivered me from worse situations. I then called my wife and we talked and prayed finally I went went back to sleep. The devil is a liar!
When studying about faith in the bible one of the most quoted scriptures is in Ephesians chapter 2:8-10

⁸For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
⁹Not of works, lest any man should boast.
That is pretty clear, our salvation is based on faith not works so no man can say he saved himself because of what he did. Then the next verse says
¹⁰For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
This may be confusing to some, they might say Gods word contradicts itself but is this really true? The point of the matter is that we can't work our way into heaven, no matter how many tracts we give out, how many doors we knock on, how many big offerings we give and how many "hail Mary's" we say, it is our faith or lack there of that determines where we will spend eternity. Faith in what? you might ask, first we must believe there is a God and that He sent His only begotten son to live and to die on a cross so that we, sinful man, could be redeemed back to God so that we could stand before Him  justified, Justified by what? by our faith in these things. How then do we show that we have this Faith that the bible speaks about? this is where works come in. The above scripture talks about how those who believe are created "unto good works" Not works to build ourselves up but works "ordained" by God for building up His kingdom and to give Him Glory. "Faith without works is dead" James 2:19-21 states
¹⁹Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
²⁰But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
²¹Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

Abraham demonstrated his faith by obeying God believing He would work it out somehow. Going to church on Sundays is by itself an act of Faith albeit a basic act of faith. As we take those basic early steps of faith God expects our faith to grow stronger as we go from experience to experience in Christ.

James 2:14-18 states it plainly

¹⁴What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
¹⁵If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
¹⁶And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
¹⁷Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
¹⁸Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Faith is not just something you have it is something you demonstrate, it is an action word. Unfortunately some in the body of Christ say they believe and that they trust God but at the same time they are always whining and complaining and at the first sign of trouble they have an anxiety attack. "Is there anything to hard for God?" The answer is no! Is God soveriegn? the answer is yes! We have to stop talking about faith and start being about faith. The next time I speak to a Christian brother or sister about what I'm believing God for and they tell me " that's all well and good but God gave us common sense" I'm going to throw up. I tell people God is dealing with me about something and they ask me "how do you know it's God maybe it's the devil talking?" I'm going to cry. Demonstrate your faith, study Gods word and stand on what it says. It's not works that save you but it is works that show you are truly saved.
                        God bless you all, Brother Darrell, A Watchman

Where is your Faith? part 1

Praise the Lord! God is good! I pray everyone is being blessed and enjoying Gods blessing in your lives. Unfortunately The great time I and my wife had together this past thanksgiving weekend is coming to an end as she prepares to return to work. Now I'm looking forward to the Christmas holidays. It was great going to church with my wife this past Sunday, I got to break in my new seat cushion and I really enjoyed the praise and worship and the sermon was tasty, rich and in season.

After months of praying my wife and I finally recieved the first fruits of our faith, God healed my body enough so that I was able to get out and worship with my wife. Over the past few years my wife and I's faith has been tested to the uttmost. The word of God says' in Matthew 17:19+20
¹⁹Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
²⁰And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Eversince I became disabled I have  believed God will heal me. Even as I became progressively worse, even to the point of being in a wheelchair I have never waivered in my belief. I'm not talking about hope, I'm talking about believing God. Even though He has not completely healed me yet, God has delivered me out of the wheelchair and when my pain became unbarable to the point where I wasn't sure I wanted to go on, He has reduced my pain so that I can get around again.

I believed God for a wife even when many believed there was no way it could happen because of my disability, even my own mother did not believe it could happen. Praise be to God! after much prayer and preparation by Him I am now married to the woman I believe was ordained by God to be my wife from the foundation of the earth. In Habakkuk 2:4 it states: 
⁴Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
By His faith it says, yours and mine. It's an individual thing, the word says we all have been given a measure of faith, what happens to it after that is up to us. I can remember times when I was struggling with trying to live for God and an addiction to crack cocaine. There were times I would put myself in harms way by getting drugs on credit knowing I had no way to pay for them, there was one time when the dealer was walking me to my apartment at three A.M. so I could pay him for about $200 worth of drugs. I knew I had no money at home but I had told him earlier that I did. While we were walking the dealer kept telling me what he was going to do to me if I didn't have his money at home. As we were walking I began praying  to God "please get me out of this and I won't get any more drugs on credit" I did not want to lie and say I'd stop using altogether so I left it like that. The streets were empty as we were walking and all of a sudden out of nowhere a police car drove up and I walked up to it and told the officer what was happening and he detained the dealer long enough for me to get away and I never saw or heard from him again.
I was just hoping God would help me that time when I prayed but after numerous simular incidents  over the years I have learned to believe. you have to exercise your faith in order for it to grow. Romans 4:3 says  
³For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.   17-19 also says  
¹⁷(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
¹⁸Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
¹⁹And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:
This is the type of faith I'm seeking for myself, the kind of faith that moves mountains and speaks things that are not as though they were. The kind of faith that does not worry about how the bills will be paid or where my next meal is coming from because God said He would provide for all my needs. If we the body of Christ all had that kind of faith the Church would be the force we were meant to be in this world. The Gospel would be preached with signs and wonders following like it is supposed to be. We all need to take a long look at ourselves to see if we need to take our faith to the gym. The subject of faith has many facets and in my next post I'd like to talk about faith and works. Remember Hebrews 11:6
 . ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

                          God bless you all, Brother Darrell, A Watchman

Victory Comes In the Mourning

Praise the Lord!I pray everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving holiday and that we all will continue to show God our gratitude by living a life pleasing and acceptable to Him. My wife and I had a wonderful first Thanksgiving together. she cooked a sumptuous traditional meal for the both of us. It was truly a blessing, a day I will never forget.

I'd like to share with you all something God laid on my heart a few months ago that blessed me and I hope will bless you.

         Victory Comes In The "MOURNING!" 
Eccles. 7:4                             The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Have you ever noticed that the smallest turnout of the week at church is prayer night? On Sunday the people come streaming in dressed up in their fancy clothes and fancy cars, at some churches every Sunday looks like the Easter Parade. Bible study brings out a nice crowd, very studious with everybody carrying their big study bibles, commentaries, topical bibles and note pads.

Then comes prayer service and what you get is a couple of prayer warriors, they come ready to do battle fully equipped with a desire to pray and a workman like attitude. They are not concerned about how they look or what title they have. All they know is they need to get before the Lord and weep, moan or cry out, whatever it takes to get their prayer through and get the victory.

The bible says men ought to always pray and “faint not”. Jesus gave us one of the greatest examples of prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. He travailed until sweat poured off him “as drops of blood” he then humbled himself and said “never the less not mine but thy will be done.” David a man after Gods own heart was a praying man, Elijah, Samuel, Elisha, Nehemiah, Paul, the list goes on and on, they were all praying men. Prayer is work. It is not glamorous or high profile. In military terms prayer warriors are the “grunts” they do the heavy lifting behind the scenes so that the rest of the soldiers can reap the benefits. The bible says “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” unfortunately today’s church is not willing to invest the time it takes to establish a prayer life and a real relationship with God. Some churches have even cut out prayer all together feeling it is not worth “wasting” the electricity.

  Prayer is something you can feel, not only spiritually but physically. If you’ve ever walked into a place where a lot of prayer has taken place you can feel the consecration, the reverence to and the presence of the Lord. That doesn’t happen overnight. Effective prayer requires getting humble and completely open before the Lord exposing ourselves, realizing who He is and who we are in comparison, realizing our righteousness is as “filthy rags” in his sight. God says in his word
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I here from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2nd Chronicles 7:14)

The word says “weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning” Getting “naked” before the Lord might not always be fun but when it’s over there is a healing joy and victory waiting for you. The world has a saying “It’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it” but the word tells us prayer can be a tough job but we all need to do it to have victory in our lives and power throughout the body of Christ. So when your planning your schedule for the week don’t forget to include prayer.

       God Bless You, Brother Darrell, a Watchman

Thanksgiving= Thanks Living

Praise the Lord! I pray everyone is doing well and enjoying Gods many blessings. Speaking of blessings I am looking forward to the coming Thanksgiving holiday. My wife and I are looking forward to spending our first holiday together as man and wife, a family. I have a lot to be thankful for and I try to let God know everyday just how grateful I am. I once heard someone say "show your thanksgiving by thanks living" and I never forgot it. I try and live everyday in a manor that will be pleasing to God. Do I always meet my goal? Of course not.

A holiday is usually one day or a number of days put together to honor or celebrate something or someone. Holidays come to an end, they have a starting date and an ending date. Showing God how thankful we are should be an everyday thing, the moment we open our eyes in the morning we should thank Him and the moment we lay down at night to sleep we should thank him. In the old testament they would give thanksgiving offering at the Temple. Psalm116:17+18 David states
¹⁷I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.
¹⁸I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.

Paul urges us in the new testament To give ourselves as sacrifices in Romans 12:1
¹I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

What better way is there for us to show God how thankful we are then to give ourselves over to Him to use anyway He wants. Second Timothy 3:1-3 states
¹This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
²For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
³Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

These are the last days and the word says man will display many sinful traits, one of them being "Unthankful" Once a year the "world" celebrates Thanksgiving but they show how thankful they really are by rejecting God. But we believers should not be counted among the unthankful, because we should be living our lives as living sacrifices to God, holy, acceptable to God. So as we celebrate Thanksgiving with the rest of the world those of us who know Whose we are and Whom we serve should remember that Thanksgiving day for us should be every day of our lives.
                                                God bless you all, Brother Darrell, A watchman

Fruit Testers and Pew Pastors

Praise the Lord! I pray everyone is experiencing the blessings of God. I feel truly blessed today because Sunday I was able to go to church for the first time in three months. It was my pastors fourth anniversary as pastor of our church.(First church of Christ holiness USA) It was wonderful to fellowship again with my brothers and sisters in Christ. At one point I did experience some discomfort in my hips due to those old wooden church pews but I prayed and God gave me some relief.
The church was packed and the outpouring of love I received really blessed me. I was finally back home, fellowshipping with the saints of God. The word of God says in Hebrews 10:24+25 
²⁴And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

²⁵Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

You see that is our Job, to exhort each other to higher heights in the Lord. Our Job is to edify and build one another up, not tear down what God is trying to build up in each of us. In these last and evil days the enemy is pulling out all stops when it comes to attacking the Saints of God. When we come to church we need to be recharged, re motivated and reconditioned to face the world and the prince of this world for another week. The church is a type of filling station, we empty our tanks pouring out during the week and then we go to church on Sundays to refill our spiritual tanks for the next weeks battles.

Unfortunately there are those in the body of Christ who are not there to build you up but seek to tear you down, to hinder God's work and God's people. They have appointed themselves the churches official fruit testers. They come in many ways some smiling in your face bringing you gossip and backbiting stories to see if you will fall in with them and their crowd. Others test you by spreading falsehoods about you and your character trying to provoke you into retaliating and sinning against God. They have little cliques and their petty jealousies and lack of true concern spread like poison quenching the spirit of God.

Then there are the pew pastors who try to run the church and challenge the Pastors authority from their seats in the pews, Gods word says in Romans 13:1+2

¹Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

²Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

Every time we challenge the man of God and try to undermine him we are undermining Gods plan. If God is a sovereign God meaning He is in control of everything then it is He who ordained your pastor to be there according to His purpose not ours. A lot of Churches today are run by trustee boards and panels and not God or the man of God whom God sent. These pew pastors want to control even the appointments made by the man of God, they would give out positions in the church based on popularity and not by the calling on their lives. I thank God for my pastor who is led by the spirit of God and not some trustee board, It is our jobs to make new comers feel loved not isolated and not caught up in a power struggle between the Pastor and the "pew pastors"who usually end up splitting the church.  Brothers and sisters let's not forget why we go to church in the first place and let God handle His buisiness.                   God bless you all.

                                     Brother Darrell, A watchman

Take a tip from God

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Praise the Lord! I pray you are all enjoying Gods blessings. In my last post I mentioned that I and my wife had to postpone our weekend plans because of a family emergency, we want to thank you for your prayers and let you know God worked things out, praise God!

Malachi 3:7-9       
⁷Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
⁸Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
⁹Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.


God has been dealing with me lately about tithing and how He feels about it. If you have been out to a restaurant lately and you have used a credit card to pay for your meal you probably have noticed that your bill has a line for tips where you can fill in what you want to give as a tip. Sometimes the amount is already filled in. A tip is supposed to be a small token of your appreciation for services rendered. For most of us the better the service the larger the tip and if we don't like the service we don't leave a tip. Ever since I've been going to church, a total of  30 years or so, I have noticed a similar attitude in the church, the plate comes around my mom would give me a dollar and I would throw mine in along with everyone else. As you got older that dollar became two or three dollars. For many their experience was similar to my own. It became a habit you go to church you enjoy the service and you put your dollar "tip" in the plate end of "show". There was no concern about how they kept the doors open, the lights on, the heat or the air conditioning on. When it came down to tithes there were all kind of excuses why you couldn't pay your tithes. I myself have been very inconsistent when it comes to paying my tithes often asking God "should I not pay my bills this month?" knowing I could not do both, tithing lately has lost out..
The other day while again agonizing over how I was going to squeeze out money to pay my tithes my wife reminded me of something I had forgotten, "the money is not yours." I immediately thought about the scripture we used to read in church before each offering, "will a man rob God?" in Malachi chapter three and here I was robing God.
I must admit I have stopped tipping God when it comes to my offering relying on whatever the the spirit leads me to put in the plate. I am still struggling with paying my tithes sometimes only paying half of what I'm really supposed to be paying. That is not tithing! That is just another offering. The funny thing is that when I think back to the times when my finances were under control and I always seemed to have enough money it was during a time when I was regularly paying my tithes. Now I'm overwhelmed by debt and guess what? I have not been paying my tithes! Imagine that. God's word tells us to try him out and see if He will not open the windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing so large we cannot contain it. See Malachi 3:10 
¹⁰Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Looking back now I see that I have proved Him and when I was faithful He was faithfull.

A lot of people say "that's old testiment, we're under grace now." They beleive keeping the law of Moses is not for today they say we're now under grace but Jesus said in Matthew 5   
¹⁷Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
¹⁸For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
This tells me that God still expects us to adhere to his dictates even now. Everything written is still in play until it is all fulfilled. I implore you as I implore myself, stop robbing God and then leaving Him a tip.
                                      God bless you all,
                                                     Brother Darrell, A watchman

Taking the You out of Us

Praise the Lord! I pray everyone is being blessed. I am blessed of God just to be here, that being said I'm a little down today. My wife and I had a special weekend planned this week and we had to cancel those plans because of a family situation that needed to be addressed. I thank God for a wife who loves the Lord and is spirit filled and anchored in His will. Together we are steadfast and immovable in our love for God and for each other and that's how we are able to get through the trials and fiery darts of the enemy.
I am still experiencing some trepidation when it comes down to traveling, even though I have been taking little walks in my building to strengthen my legs. I think I'm ready to make my first significant trip this weekend and finally start going back to church on a regular basis. I think I even lost a little weight these last few weeks. Praise God!
I'd like to share with you something God was dealing with me about a little while ago that I hope blesses you as it did me when it was written.

                Taking the You Out Of Us

Romans 12:3+4  ³For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. ⁴For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

• Jesus once said that “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.”(NIV) The body of Christ in America is a perfect example of this, and the cause of this shortage is the fact that there are too many “chiefs” and not enough “Indians” in the Church today. Everybody is concerned about their position in the church, their ministry and where is their place in the pecking order. Some are not even satisfied with being next in line to the Pastor; they want to be the one pulling the Pastors strings. This is not new to the church. The bible talks about how some of the twelve apostles argued about who would sit at the right hand of Jesus in the kingdom, and even Peter when he was asked by Jesus to “feed my sheep” was not content with his own commission turned and noticed John the beloved walking behind them and asked Jesus what Johns job was going to be?  Jesus rebuked him saying “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me.”(John 21:22KJV) We as Christians need to stop worrying about titles and positions and worry about being obedient to what God has called us to do.                                      

Going to church nowadays is like going to a masquerade ball. On the surface everybody seems to be plugged into Christ smiling and showing much love for one another but behind the scenes everyone knows that sister Harris doesn’t speak to sister Judy because they both wanted to lead the choir and both of them hate the pastor because he chose brother Simon. The Trustee board is constantly in a power struggle with the pastor because they don’t trust that God knew what he was doing when he gave the pastor a vision for their church. If each of us would just concentrate on being the best that we can be at whatever the Lord has given to us to do the body of Christ would run like a well-oiled machine.

 The word of God talks about us humbling ourselves and esteeming our brothers and sisters above ourselves, we need to start practicing these things. We need to learn to be content in his will and learn to accept what he has for us. God says in his word that only He knows the plans He has for us, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”(Jeremiah 29:11NIV) So let us be Christ like for real and give our egos as well as our bodies as a living sacrifice unto God. We can’t all be Pastors, preachers, choir directors or Sunday school teachers etc. but we can all love each other as we love God.   

               God bless you, Brother Darrell, A Watchman

  

Now that I am weak

 Praise the Lord! I hope and pray you are all being blessed by the Lord. I was thinking about all of the pain and suffering I went through over the past year. I've come to the conclusion that it was good that I was afflicted. David said the same thing in the 119th Psalm verse 71.
⁷¹It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
 My relationship with God is much closer now, my prayer life is stronger now and my study habits have improved. Funny how a little adversity can either bring you closer to God or drive you away from God. All my life I had a lot of pride, not that I thought I was all that good looking because in fact I had low self esteem when it came to my outward appearance. But I tried to make up for it with my accomplishments, playing football in high school and college. First in my family to go to college and graduate. I Wrote songs and produced music and had a career as a Registered Nurse. What did it all mean? Nothing, if it had not all led me to Christ and to such a time as this, then it would have all been for nothing.
 I have been through the crucibal of affliction twice, drugs first and then suffering these infimities in my body. God has forged me like steel. But now my strengh is not in myself but in my faith in God. College degrees and a quick wit don't amount to anything in Gods kingdom.      Paul said in 2nd cor. 12:7-10  
⁷And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measur
⁸For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

⁹And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
¹⁰Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
I have yielded my spirit unto His, I seek him in everything I do. I have made a shipwreck of everything in my life that I have tried to do on my own. One of the reasons there are not more men in the church is the fact that men do not like to submit their wills to another, we are nsatural born leaders and we want to lead, we don't like being told what to do. I know I didn't and If you ask my wife she'll say I still don't, but I have been crushed time and agsain because of my disobedience and stuborness. When God breaks you only He can fix you. As I slowly turned my will over to Him He slowly began to restore me. As I am writing this God is already dealing with me about my next assignment and that is to lose a significant amount of weight and exercise more and I'm going to do it too but not depending on my own strength but leaning totaly on him because now that I am weak, He is strong, in me.
                                                            God bless you all, Brother Darrell, A watchman

Do you Know His name?

Praise the Lord! I pray you all are blessed as I am. My wife was not feeling well last night and I was reading the 91st Psalm to her and praying, as Gods word was being read it began to minister to us. The verses that really got my attention were verses fourteen and fifteen,
¹⁴Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
¹⁵He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
I began to think about all the times God delivered me from trouble, trouble I got myself into and yet he saved me more times than I can remember from certain death. When I was out there caught up in drug addiction He saved me and when I relapsed He forgave me and protected me until I laid down the drugs and came back to Him. Why? I often asked myself. He answered me in those two verses, it was because in spite of all I was going through I never forgot his name. Many nights I cried out to him "please take this addiction away from me!" only to pick it up again and run a little farther with it. I loved the Lord but I loved the drugs a little bit more at that time but God was patient with me.

Finally when I called on him in earnest to deliver me, he did, and He has kept me ever since.
 There is healing in the word of God also just ask my wife, she feels much better today. I thank God that I can call on the name of the Lord and He will incline His ear unto me. He hears us! Praise God!
This is worth the prayers, worth the consecration and the trials. The Bible says we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Psalms 145: 18+19 says 
¹⁸The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
¹⁹He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
Many know God by name but few know Him by person, they know of him but not what makes him him. I'm not talking about sinners(the unsaved) but about those sunday go to meeting Christians who are more into religion than relationship. Relationships take work and cultivation they don't just happen.
If you really want to be blessed and have peace of mind get to know Him and who he is. God bless you all.
                                               Brother Darrell, A watchman

A watchman on the wall

Praise the Lord! I pray everyone is having a blessed day. I realized the other day that by starting this blog and for the first time declaring publicly what God declared to me years ago through my pastor and through His word, I might have caused some confusion and skepticism among those who know me because I had never shared it before. By the way, for those that were wondering I did not make it to Deacon Broxtons Home going service. I still feel like I need a little more time to prepare physically for an outing like that. Please keep me in prayer.

I remember the first time I heard it. My pastor came to me about seventeen years ago and told me "God has made you a watchman on the wall." He put me in a chair up front near the pulpit up against the wall where I could see the whole church. At first I didn't get it. I felt like a security guard. I had only been saved about three years at that point and was just getting bearings in my walk with Christ. I knew back in biblical times a watchman was person who stood on the wall surrounding the city at night and kept watch over the city like a soldier on guard duty. For years that's what I did until I left that church a few years later. I didn't think much of it for years until God started to deal with me about it twelve years ago.

First God gave me the scripture Ezekiel 33: 7+8

 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for[a] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood." I began to really appreciate the position of Watchman. Still I did not understand what God wanted me to do. Then one day He confirmed to me who I was and what he wanted me to do for Him.

One day while reading Psalms I came across this scripture, Psalm 32:8    

^8"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye."

   That scripture bothered me for weeks maybe months, what did God mean he would guide me with His eye. I tried to picture God looking down from heaven with a beam of light coming from his eyes that would guide my way through life. It didn't make sense to me until one day it opened up to me, God was going to let me see things through his eyes. He was going to give me the ability to see things in this world the way he does. Once I understood what kind of "watchman" He wanted me to be my way of looking at things began to change, I was grieved by much of what I was seeing and I felt even more compassion for lost souls. Yet still I did not know how to use this gift so it could be edifying to the body of Christ. So God began to stir up another gift in me that I had not used in years and that was the ability to write. I discovered the ability to put pen to paper in the the fifth grade when I wrote a short story of fiction about my fifth grade teacher and an imagined affair she was having with another teacher at our school, I would have gotten an "A" too if I had just had sense enough to change the names.
For awhile I was a man with a calling with no way to minister, and then one day God put it on my brothers heart to bless me with a computer and there came my outlet, the Internet. I discovered that I could reach people all over the world. After a few false starts that I chalked up to learning experiences here I am writing under the unction of the Holy Spirit what God is observing concerning the Church especially in America. I plan on being obedient to my calling and going wherever it takes me. The Church is split into many pieces and heading on to dangerous ground. The word says judgement will start with the church FIRST. God has sent me and others like me as lonely voices in the wilderness saying "turn back! before it's to late!" We have abandoned the teachings of living holy and avoiding sin.
Yes I am a flawed vessel but that's what God uses, more important I'm a willing vessel.  He takes broken vessels and makes them whole.
I am being constantly upgraded and renovated by God as he seeks to make me the best I can be.
May God bless you all.
                                    Brother Darrell, A Watchman

Yes I Can!

Praise the Lord! I pray everyone has been blessed by God. As I said in an earlier post I have been in moderate to severe pain everyday for the last nine months until about three weeks ago. It got to the point that I would have to pray for God to give me strength just to get up out of my chair. I would often ask God to decrease the pain just enough so that I could tolerate the procedure as I also quoted the scripture Philippians 4:13 " I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
 Then I would struggle to get up on my feet. Every time I needed or wanted to do something I prayed that prayer believing that God would do just what his word said it would do.

Since then God has touched my body and lessened my pain, it is time now for me to become more active, to venture out into the world again, Go to church again things like that. It seems so simple just get up and get dressed and go. Sure there will be some discomfort involved but compared to the past year it is very manageable, my leg strength may be down a little of course but that's it. Yet I find myself dreading going out. As much as in my heart I want to go to church and be with my church family a few times when the time came for me to go a feeling of apprehention came over me, a type of anxiety attack. The joy I felt when I first made the decision to go quickly faded as the time to go got closer and closer.
Their was no prayer or telling myself "I can do all things through Christ..." Today I asked myself why? Why don't I press through and go out the same way I pressed to get up out of my chair? I asked myself if He helped me then why wouldn't he help me now? He never changes.I trusted him to get up out of my seat I trusted him to get up off the floor when I fell and had no one to help me. Why don't I trust him to get me where I'm going and get me back? I used to. I heard God say "when you take the first step and get on the bus haven't I always kept you and made sure you completed what you set out to do and brought you back safe?" I had to say yes, I had to agree, God has been faithfull even when I was not. He is more than able to keep me from falling, in all ways.

Saturday is the going home service for Deacon Broxton and I'm looking forward to being there to see him off and I'm looking forward to taking another step toward a more active life in Christ. Please pray for me as I pray for you.
                                             Brother Darrell, A watchman                                             

No soul left behind

 Praise the Lord! I have not posted in the last few days because life can be hectic even for a basically home bound person like me. I feel kind of sad today because my church family suffered a loss Saturday night, Deacon Reggie Broxton when home to be with the Lord. He is rejoicing with the Lord right now no more pain no more sorrow, but for those of us left behind there is a bit of sadness, we will miss him.

In case you don't know it God is moving by His spirit in the body of Christ in America and if you don't move with Him you may get run over or worse left behind. No one knows the day nor the hour. Here is a little something God has dealt with me about and I hope it blesses you as it did me.


^{Matthew 10: 5-7            5}These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:  6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

⁷And as ye go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.



The Marines have a motto “no man left behind,” meaning they don’t believe in leaving any of their men behind on the battlefield, dead or alive. When you talk to servicemen about that motto you find out they are very passionate about carrying out that “duty”. We as Christians have the same mandate as the Marines “No soul left behind”.  God wishes that none should perish and that all shall have eternal life. When Jesus sent out the twelve he sent them for the “lost sheep” those who had fallen by the wayside due to lack of faith and understanding. In the war for men’s souls Jesus could have just sent them after those who were willing to listen and learn, instead he sent them after those who were reluctant to believe the Gospel, holding to the fathers mandate that none should perish or be left behind.

In today’s Church era we have strayed from the example Christ set for us. Today we leave all kinds of people behind for all kinds of reasons, maybe they don’t dress right or maybe they’re not the right complexion, or maybe they’re young and full of the “world”. For whatever reason we the Church have dropped the ball. Mega churches are proliferating across America as they draw in the hungry and the thirsty, but who cares for the souls of the well off and the satisfied? Who cares for the God haters and those possessed by cults and demons? We step over the dirty and homeless as we enter into our grand edifices dressed to the nines and forsake the “great commission” to go out into the highways and byways and compel the people to receive salvation.

We are soldiers in the army of the Lord and we need to adopt the same mindset as the marines. We need to be determined that no soul is insignificant and that no one should be left behind to be devoured by the enemy.

                       Brother Darrell, A watchman

Where are the woman of God?

Praise the Lord! I pray everyone has been blessed since my last post. I did not mean for this much time to go by since my last posting but life being what it is things happen. It has been almost three weeks since God lessened my pain and I think I'm finally truly believing it. My legs are getting stronger everyday as I can now walk around now and my pain is manageable now. After spending the last eleven months mostly in severe pain it has taken me some time for me to push myself to become more active. Sometimes we pray and pray for something and finally God gives it to us and then we have trouble believing He did it. God forgive my unbelief

I'd like to share with you today the follow up to "Where are the men of God" "Where are the woman of God?" I hope you will be blessed.

 

 Proverbs 31:10           10) “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.”

If you walk into just about any church in America these days you might say “this place is full of virtuous women, Look, they are everywhere!” In most church’s today woman far out number men, even with the men’s ministries like “Promise Keepers” and T. D. Jakes “Man Power” series and other ministries designed to attract men woman still out number men in the church. They are everywhere, on the Deacon board, on the usher board and the executive board. They teach Sunday school, sing in the choir and sit next to you in church pews all over this country, but are they real women of God or are they just doing what they’re “supposed” to do, what’s “expected” of them. After all they were dragged to church every Sunday as children by their mothers who where dragged by their mothers and so on and so on. It has become a tradition, a tradition that most women carry on out of a sense of duty. On the out side it looks commendable, but on the inside their hearts are far from God. They have secret agendas like getting a husband or gaining power and respect in the church and the community, what ever the reason living holy and serving God has little to do with why they go to church. 2^nd Timothy 3:6 talks about false teachers and “weak willed woman who are loaded down by sin and swayed by all kinds of evil desires.” I believe Apostle Paul was not talking about just non-believers here but believers also. They are wolves in sheep clothing. They infiltrate the flock and feed on those who are also weak and unable to stand against the wiles of the enemy. They sow seeds of discord among the brothren through gossip and back biting while all the time appearing to be devout members of the congregation. In a lot of cases they are hard working members, belonging to all the right clubs and church committees but they are just religious woman, just functioning out of habit who have long since lost sight of Jesus. 

“Who can find a virtuous woman?” The writer of proverbs asks, yes where are the woman of God? They are right there in those same churches except they have not lost their way, they have stayed on course, refusing to fall for the tricks of the enemy. In these last days many men and woman will come and lead many astray but the true woman and men of God are still holding on to His unchanging hand. Though they labor hard they have not lost sight of the reason for their labor, Jesus Christ! You Woman who are living all you know how to live in Christ, remain steadfast and immoveable, do not get caught up in your works as some are want to do. Serve God with all your soul, heart, mind and strength and let the light of Christ shine through you so that others may see it and glorify God. Then they will know where the woman of God is. God bless you all.

Brother Darrell, A watchman

                                                                             

Where are the men of God?

Praise the Lord! Now that I've started this blog my main concern is where do I begin. First off I started my day off with prayer and thank God I did because as soon as I booted up my computer I noticed my security suite was not working and I could not access anything. After a number of reboots without success I had to call my provider because now I'm thinking virus. To make a long story short after about an hour of work in my computer by one of their techs and much prayer here I am.
           For the last eight years or so I have been suffering from severe pain in my hips due to degenerative joint disease and have been disabled to the point of having to use a wheel chair at one point. Coupled with a bad case of sciatica my quality of life physically has had me on an emotional roller coaster but spiritually speaking It has been a blessing because it has brought me closer to God. The past year has really been rough but about two weeks ago after a seven day consecration God touched my body, I'll tell you more about it tomorrow. Today I'd like to share something with you from the heart of God.

The body of Christ in America has a severe shortage and it is a concern. God put something on my heart a while back and I'd like to share it with you and let me know If you are feeling what the Lord is saying.
         

WHERE ARE THE MEN OF GOD?

1st Corinthians 3:1-3           1) Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but
as worldly-mere infants in Christ.  2) I gave you milk, not solid food, for you
were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.  3) You are still
worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not
worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?


The apostle Paul was addressing the men of the Corinthian church when he wrote
this and unfortunately it can be asked of the body of Christ today. Where are the
true men of God? Men, spiritual men who are led by the Holy Spirit of God,
uncompromising in there walk with their consciences clear between them and
God and between them and men. Men who mean what they say, and say what they
mean. Men who are rightfully dividing the word of God and not bending and making
up scripture to fit their purposes. The body of Christ especially in urban areas
needs men who care about their testimonies. I'm not saying we need perfect men
because there was only one perfect man but we need more men who are willing
to press on toward the mark, to take hold that for which Christ took hold of them.
These are the men worthy to be called "Men of God" I challenge you today if
your mind is not made up, make it up and serve the Lord.

                                                                             Brother Darrell, A watchman
                                                                                          

Taking Up The mantle

Praise the Lord! Today I will start a journey that I have known I would have to take for years but still tried to run from for years. For years I have been involved in many ministries, I've preached, I've taught, fed the homeless, been homeless, worked with addicts and have been an addict. God has invested a lot of time and effort in getting me to this point. I have received many messages from God all concerning the condition of His people. Some I delivered some went undelivered. After years of hearing one of my former pastors words echo in my ears "God has made you a watch man on the wall." Now after years of running and years of affliction I am obeying Gods will and I'm going to share what God has given me to share and also share what it is like to try and live holy in these last and evil days where sex is available for a coke and a smile and getting rich at any cost is the mantra of all the people including the people of God.

I am nobody special other than the fact that my desire is to serve God with all my heart, soul, mind and strenghth and love my wife as Jesus loved the church and gave his life for it. My wife and I have decided to let nothing stand in our way. I look forward to sharing with everyone my journey in Christ and what thus sayeth the Lord. God bless you all.
                                                                                                  Brother Darrell, a watchman