Tag Christian Encouragement

WATCHMAN REPORT: It Is Time to Cross Over

Allen Frederick Leave a comment
A Prophetic Call to Stop Wandering and Step Into Promise

There comes a moment in every generation when God stops speaking to the crowd and begins speaking to the remnant. A moment when the cloud no longer circles the same mountain, when the manna no longer satisfies, and when the Lord Himself declares that the season of wandering has reached its appointed end. That moment came for Israel in the days of Joshua and Caleb, and it is coming again for the church in our day.

The tragedy of Israel’s wilderness was not the giants in Canaan, nor the fortified cities, nor the strength of the enemy. The tragedy was that ten voices—just ten—held back an entire nation from entering the promise of God. Scripture records it plainly: “They brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land”** (Numbers 13:32)**. Ten men froze the faith of millions. Ten men turned a nation’s destiny into a forty‑year funeral procession. Ten men became stumbling blocks instead of stepping stones.

And the Spirit of the Lord is asking His people again: “Are you a stepping stone into promise, or a stumbling block that keeps others wandering?”

The Stumbling Block Spirit: When Fear Masquerades as Wisdom

Jesus Himself warned, “Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks… but woe to the one through whom the stumbling block comes”** (Matthew 18:7). Paul echoed it when he wrote, “Resolve not to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother” (Romans 14:13)**. A stumbling block is not always a sin of commission; often it is a sin of hesitation, a sin of fear, a sin of clinging to the familiar when God is calling His people forward.

This is the condition of many churches today. A handful of elders, board members, or long‑standing influencers—good people, sincere people, but fearful people—stand at the riverbank and say, “We see the promise, but we cannot cross. Let us go back to what is comfortable.” They lead congregations to the edge of inheritance only to turn them around again, back toward the wilderness of routine, nostalgia, and spiritual stagnation.

They do not realize that their caution has become rebellion, their tradition has become a chain, and their leadership has become a stumbling block to the very people they claim to shepherd.

The Joshua and Caleb Company: Those Who Carry a Different Spirit

But God always preserves a remnant. Joshua and Caleb stood before the same giants, saw the same land, heard the same reports, and yet declared, “If the Lord delights in us, He will bring us into this land”** (Numbers 14:8)**. Scripture says they had “a different spirit” (Numbers 14:24). They were not reckless; they were faithful. They were not naïve; they were obedient. They were not dreamers; they were believers.

And like Joshua and Caleb, there are men and women today who feel the ache of delay, the frustration of circling, the weight of watching others refuse to move. They are ready to cross. They are ready to inherit. They are ready to obey. But they find themselves surrounded by those who say, “Not here. Not now. Not us.”

This is not because the Joshuas and Calebs are out of order. It is because the wilderness generation is out of alignment.

A Prophetic Warning: Do Not Be the One Who Holds Others Back

The Spirit is speaking with urgency: “Examine yourselves. Are you moving with Me, or resisting Me? Are you a stepping stone into promise, or a stumbling block that keeps others wandering?”

This is not a word of condemnation. It is a word of invitation. A call to self‑examination. A summons to courage. A warning to those who cling to Egypt while singing about Canaan. A reminder that God will not wait forever for a stubborn generation to obey.

Just as in the days of Moses, God is moving the resistant out of the way. Not in anger, but in mercy—so that the next generation can cross.

Some will awaken. Some will resist. Some will wander until the end. But the remnant will cross.

The Watchman’s Cry: It Is Time to Cross Over

This is the hour when the Lord is saying, “You have circled this mountain long enough. Turn northward.” (Deuteronomy 2:3)

The wilderness season is ending. The Jordan is rising. The manna is ceasing. The cloud is shifting. The promise is calling.

And the question that remains is simple:

Will you cross over, or will you cling to the wilderness? Will you be a stepping stone, or a stumbling block? Will you move with God, or resist Him?

The watchman’s trumpet is sounding. The river is before us. The land is ready. The giants are already trembling. And the Lord is saying:

“Be strong and courageous. For you shall cause this people to inherit the land.” (Joshua 1:6)

It is time to cross over. It is time to stop wandering. It is time to step into promise.

Encouragement to the Remnant: God Has Not Forgotten Your Wandering

Before the trumpet sounds and the call to cross over is complete, there must be a word to the remnant — to the few, the faithful, the ones who have carried the ache of Joshua and Caleb in their own bones.

God has not forgotten you.

He has seen every mile you walked behind people who refused to move. He has heard every sigh you breathed while others hardened their hearts. He has watched you eat manna with the multitude even though you once tasted the fruit of the land. He has counted every tear shed over a promise delayed by the stubbornness of others.

Joshua and Caleb did not wander because they lacked faith. They wandered because they were faithful in the midst of those who were not.

And God took note.

When the wilderness generation died off, God did not give Caleb a valley. He did not give him a plain. He did not give him a safe, easy inheritance.

He gave him the high country. The rugged country. The elevated country. The country where the giants lived.

Because the remnant always receives the high road, not the low one.

The high country is symbolic — it is the place of clarity, the place of courage, the place of elevation, the place where the faithful stand above the fear that once surrounded them. It is the inheritance of those who kept their spirit alive while others let theirs die.

And so the Lord says to the remnant in this hour:

“I have seen your wandering. I have seen your faithfulness. I have seen your longing for more. You will not die in the wilderness. Your mountain is waiting.”

Take heart, you who have walked with the wanderers. Your delay has not been denial. Your suffering has not been wasted. Your faith has not been forgotten.

The high country belongs to the faithful. And the faithful will cross over.

WATCHMAN’S REPORT: DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

We plan as though time were ours to command, confidently declaring, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit.” Yet, as James reminds us, we do not know what tomorrow will bring. Our lives are but a mist that appears briefly and then vanishes. Instead of presuming on the future, we should humbly say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13–15)

This truth calls us to acknowledge that God is sovereign over all time, and our plans must always be submitted to His will. In a world that grips the illusion of control and endless tomorrows, Scripture confronts us with the sobering reality that our days are numbered and the night is nearly over.

“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

The Midnight Hour and the Illusion of Tomorrow

Every night we lie down assuming we will rise again. We set alarms with confidence. We plan tomorrow as if tomorrow is guaranteed. But the Word shatters that illusion with sobering clarity. Paul writes, “Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” (Romans 13:11)

The language is urgent. Not casual. Not optional. High time. The moment to wake up is not later. It is now.

Jesus told a parable that feels painfully relevant in this hour. Ten virgins. Ten lamps. Ten people who believed they had more time than they did. All ten slept. But at midnight—the hour no one expected—a cry pierced the darkness: “Behold, the Bridegroom is coming; go out to meet Him!” (Matthew 25:6)

Five were ready. Five were not. And when the door shut, it did not reopen.

There will be no “do over,” no second chances, and no overtime granted—just the sound of a closing door.

Jesus presses the point even further: “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:44)

We do not get to choose the hour. We only get to choose whether we are awake when it comes.

And if the midnight cry feels distant, look around—the signs are already shouting.

The Signs of the Times: A World Drifting Toward Midnight

Jesus rebuked His generation for knowing the weather better than the spiritual climate: “You can discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.” (Luke 12:56)

But today the signs are not subtle. They are loud, global, and accelerating.

  • Wars and rumors of wars fill the daily news.
  • Nations align in patterns that echo ancient prophecy.
  • Economies tremble under instability.
  • Violence, corruption, and deception rise like floodwaters.
  • The love of many grows cold.
  • The Church, in many places, sleeps with its lamp half-empty.

Paul’s words ring louder than ever: “The night is far spent, the day is at hand.” (Romans 13:12)
Far spent. Not beginning. Not halfway. Far spent. The Watchman sees a world drifting toward a prophetic midnight while the Church hits the spiritual snooze button.

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come…” (2 Timothy 3:1)

The Trumpet That Will Interrupt Every Tomorrow

Paul describes a moment that will interrupt every plan, every schedule, every assumption of “tomorrow”: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet… the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:52)

There will be no warning siren. No countdown. No five-minute delay. Just a trumpet. A transformation. And a final dividing line between the ready and the unready.

Jesus said it plainly: “At an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 24:44)

The Watchman hears the faint echo of that trumpet reverberating through the shaking of nations. The world is not winding down randomly—it is moving toward an appointed hour.

The Prophetic Burden of This Moment

This report is not prediction. It is pattern. It is Scripture. It is the convergence of signs Jesus told us to watch for. The Watchman bears the weight of this moment because the world is rearranging itself into prophetic patterns, the Church is distracted by comfort and routine, believers are living as if the midnight cry is centuries away, and a spiritual drowsiness is settling over people who once burned brightly.

The shaking in the nations is not random—it is a divine alarm clock.

The Call to the Remnant: Wake Up and Trim Your Lamp

The midnight cry will not wait for anyone to finish getting ready. Scripture calls us to watchfulness, sobriety, and readiness. Paul writes, “Let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober.” (1 Thessalonians 5:6)

Jesus warns, “Blessed is that servant whom his master will find watching.” (Luke 12:37)

This is the hour to examine the oil in our lamps, to strengthen what remains, to guard our hearts, to walk in repentance, to cultivate intimacy with Christ, and to resist the spiritual drowsiness of the age. The night is far spent. The day is at hand. And the trumpet is closer than we think.

Benediction: A Call to Stand Awake in the Light

May the Lord awaken every sleeping heart and steady every trembling one. May His light break through the fog of distraction and call us into the clarity of His presence. May He strengthen the weary, revive the watchful, and stir the embers of every lamp that has grown dim. May the God who neither slumbers nor sleeps teach us to walk as children of the day—sober, alert, and anchored in hope. And may His peace guard our hearts as we wait for the appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Closing Prayer

Father, we come before You with humility, acknowledging that our days are in Your hands. Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Awaken us from spiritual sleep and open our eyes to the lateness of the hour. Strengthen us to walk in repentance, purity, and readiness. Fill our lamps with the oil of Your Spirit so that when the midnight cry sounds, we will rise with joy and not with fear. Keep our lamps burning until the trumpet sounds. Keep us watchful, steadfast, and faithful as we seek Your face while it is still called today. In the name of Jesus, our soon-coming King, Amen.

Faith That Shakes Armies: The Jonathan Principle

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

The world marks its days with festivals, anniversaries, and cultural remembrances. Cinco de Mayo is one of those days, a moment when a nation recalls an unexpected victory—an outnumbered force standing against overwhelming odds and prevailing. Yet for the believer, such moments are not occasions for secular celebration as much as they are reminders of a deeper and older truth. God has always delighted in overturning the odds. He has always stood with the few, strengthened the weak, and revealed His power in places where human strength fails. A date on the calendar may draw attention to an earthly victory, but Scripture draws our attention to the God who makes such victories possible.

Cinco de Mayo becomes, then, not a holiday to honor, but an illustration to consider. It echoes a pattern that Scripture established long before any nation fought for its independence or defended its borders. The pattern is simple: when God is present, the few can rout the many. When God fights, numbers lose their meaning. When God moves, the impossible becomes the inevitable.

Jonathan and the Armor-Bearer: Faith in Motion

Among the many examples of this truth, the story of Jonathan stands out with remarkable clarity. Israel was outnumbered, outmatched, and poorly armed. The Philistines held the advantage in every measurable way. Yet Jonathan, the son of Saul, looked at the impossible situation and saw something different. He saw the possibility of God’s intervention. He saw the potential of faith.

Jonathan turned to his armor-bearer and spoke words that have echoed through generations: “There is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.” [1 Samuel 14:6]. With nothing more than courage, conviction, and confidence in God, the two men climbed a hill toward a garrison of Philistines. They did not carry the strength of an army. They carried the strength of belief.

What happened next was not the result of strategy or skill. Scripture tells us that the earth quaked, the enemy panicked, and confusion spread through the camp. God moved. God fought. God delivered. Two men stood in faith, and an entire army fell into disarray.

This is the Jonathan Principle: God does not need many. He needs willing. He needs faithful. He needs those who will step forward when others shrink back, trusting that His power is greater than any opposition.

Gideon’s Reduction: Strength Through Surrender

Jonathan’s story is not an isolated moment. Gideon experienced the same divine pattern when God reduced his army from thirty-two thousand to three hundred. The reduction was intentional. God declared, “The people that are with thee are too many.” [Judges 7:2]. Too many for what? Too many for God to receive the glory. Too many for Israel to understand that victory comes from the Lord.

Gideon’s three hundred men faced an army described as “numerous as locusts,” yet the outcome was never in doubt. God fought for them. God confused the enemy. God delivered the victory. The few defeated the many because the Lord was in the midst of the few.

Faith That Moves Mountains and Scatters Armies

Jesus continued this theme when He taught that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed… nothing shall be impossible unto you.” [Matthew 17:20]. He did not speak of faith measured in crowds or nations. He spoke of faith measured in trust.

A seed of faith can topple giants. A seed of faith can shake armies. A seed of faith can overturn the impossible. The strength of faith lies not in its size but in its object. When faith rests in God, the few become mighty, and the weak become strong.

A Secular Reminder of a Sacred Reality

This is why Cinco de Mayo serves as a useful illustration, even if it is not a day we elevate spiritually. It reminds us that earthly victories often mirror heavenly truths. A small force standing against overwhelming odds and prevailing is not merely a historical moment; it is a reflection of a divine pattern. It is a reminder that God has always worked through the few, the overlooked, and the underestimated.

But our focus is not the date. Our focus is the God who stands behind the principle. We honor Him daily, not seasonally. We remember His faithfulness continually, not occasionally. We trust His strength always, not only when the calendar gives us a reason.

“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.” [Psalm 20:7].

The world may remember a battle, but we remember the God of battles. The world may honor a moment, but we honor the Maker of moments. The world may celebrate the victory of the few, but we celebrate the God who gives victory to the few.

This is the Jonathan Principle. This is the Gideon Pattern. This is the truth that stands above every date on the calendar: when God is for us, the many cannot stand against us.

GOD’S SAVINGS TIME: REDEEMING THE TIME WE HAVE

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

The Ritual That Changes Nothing

Twice a year we perform the same ritual. We move the hands of our clocks forward and backward as if time itself were clay in our grasp. We complain about losing an hour or gaining one. We often discuss “saving time,” although no one has ever saved a single second. The sun still rises and sets on the schedule God ordained in Genesis. The day remains twenty‑four hours long, no matter how many times we adjust the numbers glowing on our screens.

Daylight Savings Time is a perfect picture of human illusion. It feels important, but it accomplishes nothing of eternal value. It shifts the clock, but it does not shift the heart. It rearranges the hours, but it does not redeem them. It is a semi-annual ritual. It signifies our desire to feel in control of something we cannot command.

Scripture, however, calls us to something far weightier. We are not commanded to save time. We are commanded to redeem it.

Redeeming Time, Not Rearranging It

Paul writes, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16). The word redeem means to buy back, to seize, to rescue from loss. It is the language of urgency, stewardship, and eternal purpose. We cannot redeem the hours on a clock, but we can redeem the opportunities God places before us. We can redeem conversations, relationships, moments of influence, and windows of grace.

Paul reinforces this in Colossians 4:5: “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.” This is not about managing schedules. It is about reaching souls. It is about recognizing that every moment carries eternal weight.

Daylight Savings Time pretends to give us more daylight. God’s Savings Time calls us to walk in the light while it is still available.

The Call to Watchfulness

Daylight Savings Time is a harmless ritual, but spiritually it mirrors a far more dangerous pattern. Twice a year we adjust our clocks without adjusting our lives. We move the hands forward or backward. We feel as though we have accomplished something meaningful. Yet, nothing in eternity has changed. The sun rises and sets exactly as God ordained. The hours remain the same. Only our perception shifts.

In the same way, many believers have been lulled into a false sense of security. This is due to soothing messages and comfortable routines. A Christianity that promises rest without responsibility can also be misleading. We have been told to relax and settle in. We are encouraged to enjoy the blessings of God as if the Kingdom were a recliner. We treat discipleship as though it were a leisure activity. But Scripture paints a very different picture. The Kingdom of God is not a lounge chair; it is a field. It is not a place for slumber; it is a place for labor. It is not a retreat from responsibility; it is a call to action.

Paul’s warning becomes clearer in this light: “Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep.” (Romans 13:11).. He is not speaking to the world; he is speaking to the Church. He is speaking to those who have drifted into spiritual Standard Time. They have become comfortable, predictable, and unhurried. They are unaware of the lateness of the hour. He follows with a phrase that cuts through every illusion of delay: “The night is far spent, the day is at hand.” (Romans 13:12).

This is not a poetic flourish. It is a diagnosis. The night is not approaching; it is already advanced. The day is not distant; it is pressing in. The time is late, and the work is urgent. The fields are not waiting for us to feel ready; they are already white for harvest. Jesus said, “Lift up your eyes… the fields are white already to harvest.” (John 4:35). Harvest time is not a season for sleep. Proverbs warn, “He that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.” (Proverbs 10:5).

The Church has been comforted by complacency, but the Kingdom is calling us into wakefulness. We are not here to adjust clocks; we are here to redeem time. We are not here to preserve our comfort; we are here to rescue the lost. We are not here to drift through days; we are here to work while it is still day, because Jesus Himself declared, “Night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4).

This is the heart of God’s Savings Time. It is not about gaining an hour of sunlight. It is about seizing the hour of salvation. It is about recognizing that every moment carries eternal weight. It is about refusing to sleep through the harvest while souls hang in the balance. It is about waking up, rising up, and stepping into the fields before the final night falls.

The Fields Are White, Not Waiting

Jesus told His disciples, “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” (John 4:35). The harvest is not someday. The harvest is not when we feel ready. The harvest is not when the Church is comfortable. The harvest is now.

Proverbs adds its own warning: “He that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.” (Proverbs 10:5). We are not called to sleep in harvest. We are called to labor in it.

Daylight Savings Time may shift the clock, but it does not shift the urgency of the harvest. Souls are perishing. Hearts are hardening. The night is approaching. The Church can’t afford to drift into spiritual Standard Time. Routine, complacency, and delay must be avoided. God is calling us into His Savings Time.

Numbering Our Days

Moses prayed, “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12). Numbering our days is not about counting them. It is about valuing them. It means understanding that every day is a gift. Each moment involves stewardship. Every opportunity is a divine appointment.

We cannot save time. But we can redeem it. We can invest it. We can sow it into eternity.

Daylight Savings Time is a ritual that changes nothing. God’s Savings Time is a calling that changes everything.

The Question That Matters

The question is not whether we have adjusted our clocks. The question is whether we have adjusted our lives.

Are we redeeming the time? Are we awake? Are we working while it is still day? Are we living in God’s Savings Time?

Because the night is coming. The trumpet will sound. And the work will be finished.

From Chains of Captivity to Prayers for Victory

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

A Letter from St. Patrick to a Nation in Need

To the people of this land, in a time of confusion and fear, from Patrick, a servant of Christ Jesus.

I was not born a saint. I was not born a hero. I was a boy who ignored the living God until chains taught me to pray. They took me from my home. They dragged me across the sea. They sold me into slavery in a land whose language I did not know. I fed animals in the cold. I slept on the ground. I feared the night. But in the fields of my captivity, the Lord had mercy on me. He opened my blind eyes. He broke my proud heart. He became my only hope.

When He delivered me, I believed the story was finished. But God does not free a man only for himself. He frees him for others. In a dream I heard the voices of the Irish calling out, “Come walk among us once more.” And the Spirit of God burned within me. The land that broke me became the land I was sent to heal.

I returned with no army, no wealth, no power—only the gospel of Jesus Christ. I walked into the halls of kings and the camps of druids. I faced curses, threats, and death. But Christ was my shield. Christ was my courage. Christ was my victory. I did not change Ireland. God did. I was only the vessel He forged in chains.

I look upon your nation now. It is anxious, divided, and wandering. It is hungry for truth. I tell you what I learned in my captivity. When a people forget God, they lose themselves. But when a people turn to Him, even the darkest land becomes a place of light.

You do not need luck. You do not need legends. You do not need the trappings of a holiday that has forgotten its own story. You need the living Christ. The same Christ met me in the fields of my slavery. He will also meet you in the wilderness of your time. The same Christ who broke my chains can break yours. The same Christ who sent me back to the land of my captors can send you. He can guide you into the broken places of your own nation.

In my day, I prayed a prayer of armor—a cry for God’s presence to surround me in a land filled with fear and darkness:

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me…

This was not poetry. It was survival. It was surrender. It was the only way to stand in a world at war with truth.

And long after my bones returned to the earth, another Irish believer prayed a similar cry—a prayer you now sing as a hymn:

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart…Thou my best thought, by day or by night…

BE THOU MY VISION A FITTING SONG FOR A TIME SUCH AS THIS

BE THOU MY VISION a Temple Music Production, all rights reserved

If you want to see revival during your lifetime, pray this just as I did: “Lord, be my vision.” Be my wisdom. Be my strength. Be my shield. Be my everything.”

From chains of captivity to prayers for victory—this is my testimony. Not of who I am, but of who God is.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Patrick, a slave of Christ, and a witness to His mercy.