Keep Close Watch Over Yourself

Keep Close Watch Over Yourself

"Just make sure you stay alert. Keep close watch over yourselves. Don’t forget anything of what you’ve seen. Don’t let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant as long as you live. Teach what you’ve seen and heard to your children and grandchildren." (Deut. 4:9)

This verse is a timeless admonition, a treasure chest of principles for godly living.

It begins with “Stay alert.” Why? Because your adversary, the devil, is always prowling around, looking for someone to devour.
As 1 Peter 5:8 puts it: “Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping.”

Next, the Word says, “Keep close watch over yourself.” Too often we are more focused on correcting others than on examining ourselves. But Jesus reminds us: “First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Then comes the charge: “Don’t forget anything you have seen. Don’t let your heart wander.” This echoes Proverbs 4:23: “Keep vigilant watch over your heart, for that’s where life starts.”

The verse continues: “Stay vigilant as long as you live.” How do we do this? Joshua 1:8 shows us the way: “Don’t for a minute let this Book of the Law be out of your mind. Meditate on it day and night. Be careful to practice everything written in it. Then you will succeed.”

The key is focus—placing more weight on what God’s Word says than on what others or circumstances may dictate.

Finally, there is the call to “teach them to your children and grandchildren.” Don’t just live it—pass it on. Leave a legacy of faith. Mentor someone. Plant the truth so that it continues beyond you.

As we celebrate this Independence Day, let us embrace true freedom—the freedom that comes from living watchfully, faithfully, and generationally in the Word of God.

Have a fruitful day,
(Dr.) Emmanuel Okoro
(aka Dr. Lift)

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