As we continue with studying the duties and methods of being watchmen, we want to understand how these are related to growing in the nature of Christ. The most effective watchmen are not motivated by fear, but by love for those they are protecting. As we are told in I Timothy 1:5: “The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

         This should be our goal in everything we do, including becoming skilled watchmen. We want our increasing devotion to protecting people...

         As we continue studying the duties and methods of being watchmen, we will begin to see how these are related to growing in the nature of Christ, especially His nature as our Shepherd. The shepherd and watchman ministries are so closely related that you cannot be one without the other. 

         One of the most basic duties of a shepherd is to watch over the flock and protect them. Because the Lord is our Shepherd, He watches over us. He does this to a large degree through His body, the church. All of the ministries given...

         As we continue studying the duties and methods of being watchmen, there are skills we must develop for such an important task that we should all be very serious to know and to do. The skills of a watchman can also magnify everything that we do as they help us to be much more alert and focused on what is happening around us. 

         The skills of a watchman are not just for use while “on duty” as watchmen, but can release in us a level of perception and awareness that we...

         As we continue with studying the duties and methods of being watchmen, we do this because we want to be able to recognize any kind of threat to our families, our church family, our neighbors, and communities on whatever level the Lord has assigned to us. However, this is not the only reason we are doing this. To be focused and situationally aware will help us to see and engage in the almost continuous ministry opportunities around us. 

         As I touched on in last week’s study, in the military there are many ways and places...

         I recently had a former Special Forces Sergeant-Major come to our ministry to teach Situational Awareness & Threat Analysis. It was mainly for our leaders and key security people, but many in our church came that were interested in getting this training, which I was really happy about. It is obvious that we are living in increasingly dangerous times, and this kind of training will soon become crucial for all to have. Even more important than being able to discern and deal with threats, the more aware and focused we are in any situation can also...