There are some people I am so close to that if I hear their voice, I know it is them even if I cannot see them. That is how well we should know the Lord’s voice. Even if we cannot now see Him with our eyes, we know His voice instantly because we have been with Him so much.

         I have read many books on knowing the Lord’s voice, and they can have wisdom and helpful insights. However, no book can teach us to know the Lord’s voice because this cannot...

         As my friend Francis Frangipane likes to say, “We are called to follow Emmanuel, not a manual.” We must understand this truth if we are to stay on the path of life following Jesus, and not just principles about Him. Our Truth is a Person who has called us into a personal relationship with Himself. 

         This is not to detract from our devotion to and reverence for God’s written Word, The Bible. If Jesus, who is the Word, would take His stand on “It is written” when challenged by the devil,...

         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...