1 Timothy 3:14-16 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

I left you yesterday with the observation of what God has done in you. To know that is but a slice or a moment in all that Christ is within the church body. We are part and not the whole. Over the years I have observed many slices of life in Christ. That helped me develop and work in me the faithfulness this is Christ at work. It is not all of Christ. The more I see and observe the more and more I know that I have not glimpsed but a little of all of what He is in glory.

This brings me to the last point which begins with God manifested in flesh. Christ in you is Christ in the flesh. Now my observation of you is first and most obvious that which is most easily seen, the flesh. Paul’s entreaty to Timothy is this; that which you have seen in me, do. It is internal and real, not the outward and seeming.

We will always see the reflection of our old self in others. That’s the easy part. Now that we are a new creature in Christ, now that we have gained some experience in how He works in us, to build-up, renew and shine within us, we are able to see Him in others. That ability is to serve the will of the Father so that the body of Christ might know how to act in unison, in concert, to serve as part, to do our part, to know how to behave.

Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Revelation 2:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

Proverbs 23:26 My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.

Following up on yesterday’s devotional Watchers, if you have not read it yet, please go now and read it. It will help see this in context.

The first essential understanding has to come from a position of sonship. If you have not given your heart to Jesus you cannot see this from that perspective. All observations come from a perspective of who we are. If you are in Christ, your perspective changes. Please understand that is the first rule of spiritual enlightenment.

Now let us speak to watching God. Our eyes observe His ways. Please consider this before anything else in this observation, having given your heart to Christ, you are a new creation. Your first and most critical observation has to be the changes within yourself. We are familiar with our understanding of observations from our own perspective, and if we have changed, then we need to stop looking thru old eyes.

I come to see God first through those things He has renewed in me. We can change our minds, our desires and our goals according to our will. That does not mean that God made the change.

1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Accept that those things God has changed in you, are things changed in you and you alone. This is not a group hug, it is personal and with purpose according to God’s will for you, not anyone else. What God does in your brother and sister in Christ may be the same from an external viewpoint and resounds a memory in you, but God’s will for them is just as personal as it is for you. Your calling is not theirs and their calling is not yours. God’s will for you is personal.

Tomorrow part three in the trilogy of the watch.