Archives: Watchword

A bit of scripture, short meditations and stories, prayers, news and maybe a touch of humor.

Roads

WATCHWORD:

29 the man wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:29-37 Continue reading

Follow Me – Part 2

WATCHWORD:

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 4:18-20

 

Meditation:

Follow Me – Part 2

The parable continues: Now, it was much later in the afternoon, the children were returned to their father, and my Master had died on the cross. In my grief watched as the two Pharisees, the ones that were so sad, stepped up, took the body of my Master away, and placed it in a tomb. I could not understand why all this happened. Just yesterday the Master told us to be at peace, then he was beaten and crucified. Now he is dead and buried and I am lost, but strangely at peace? How can that be? And His voice said, “Follow Me”.

Follow? Who? The one I followed is gone. I looked around for John, maybe he could help me, but he was nowhere to be found. He’d been sitting with Jesus’ mother and the other Mary, now all three were off somewhere, probably grieving. I still did not know where to go or what to do. And the voice said, “Follow Me”.

It was the next morning when I sought out the hidden place, a safe room, a gathering of people who had been followers of Jesus. The room was filled with sad people; some were crying, there was wailing, some simply praying. There was Mary, the mother of my Master, in the midst of grieving, angry, upset people, but she was bringing a different message; smiling, reassuring, and saying something that I will never forget. She said, “Remember who He is and what He told us, just days ago, to be at peace.” And in the remembering, I heard again the voice saying, “Follow Me”, and I knew I had found God’s Peace.

We live in a violent time, a time where ego and wealth seem to be idols of choice, and where the worship of the Heavenly Father could bring wrath down upon your head. People have been beaten, as Jesus had been. People have been killed, as Jesus was. But people have also been resurrected into a new life because of it. And the voice is still saying, “Follow Me.”

We too often grieve at length and get angry at the violence that is directed towards those who follow the Master, even unto death. And we cry for blood when we should remember Jesus’ words, “Forgive them for they know not what they do,” and, in turn, celebrate the lives of those who showed the courage to step up and say without hesitation “He is Lord and Savior, He is the creator God and I will only worship Him,” and because they did, I, too, will find the courage to heed the call to follow Him.  Amen.Prayer:

Written by Stan Escott soli deo gloria. September 19, 2025

 

Prayer by Thomas Merton:

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. I give my all to you Lord Jesus.  Amen.

 

Follow Me – Part 1

WATCHWORD:

45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” […] 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” […] 60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” […] 66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. John 6:45-51, 58, 60, 66

 

Meditation:

Follow Me – Part 1

This is a two part devotional parable —

We call ourselves Christians, but what does that mean? Wearing His symbol of a cross around our necks, is that a sign that we truly are following His commands? Or are we more causal about our faith; worshiping him on an occasional Sunday morning where we recite from rote memory the prayer he has given us, where we re-dedicate ourselves by saying the Apostles Creed, again, from rote memory. Then what? When we leave the place of worship, are we His voice, His hands in the mission field?  Day after day, are we going on with Him, following Him?

“Follow me,” is what He said, and we may have answered as Peter did, “Lord, I will follow you.” But that was before we discovered that the way would be lonely and dangerous and we could lose all trace of his footprint, left only with His voice saying, “Follow Me”, and in our faith, we mostly tried, but often fell short, as the disciples did.

Disciple, you’ve been with the Master from the beginning, when you first saw him being baptized by John. From the moment that God said, “This is my beloved son, follow him,” you have done just that. What a journey it has been! He has taught, He has healed, He has been the source of miracles, and, while we didn’t always understand what was happening around us, we knew that we needed to keep following. And we did.

But the way got rough. We ran into problems; people objecting to what the Master was teaching, even to the point of threatening his life. We kept our heads down and we lied, telling ourselves that we were ‘protecting’ Him.

Now we stand here on the portico overlooking the courtyard of Herod’s Palace, crowded with noisy men. There was Pilate, and, there, the convicted criminal, Barabbas, and there is my Master, although it was hard to recognize him, he had been so badly beaten. Surely the crowd down there in the Courtyard will turn him free, after all many of those gathered were ones who greeted him in triumph when he entered Jerusalem, just five days ago. Surely, they’ll stand up. But I was wrong. The cry went up, to my shock and dismay, “Kill him! Kill him!” And another voice said, “Follow Me”.

I could not believe what was happening. They took my Master, stripped him, put a thorny crown on his head, and led him out of the Palace, and Kishle Prison and onto the dirty street. Beating him as he staggered along. The crowd followed shouting insults and throwing things at him.

I looked around seeking someway to make sense of what was happening. There on the far edge of the crowd stood Joseph and his friend Nicodemus. What are they doing here, looking alarmed and sad? Sad? They are Pharisees! Why would they be sad, they caused this! There was Barabbas, the criminal freed by Pilate, standing next to me. I wonder if there is a reason for him being here or is he just curious. I wondered, should I continue? And the voice said, “Follow Me”.

We followed the Master, staggering down the dirty street toward Damascus Gate. Jesus stumbled and fell. Another man was grabbed by a soldier and told “Carry His cross!” The man had no choice but to let go of the hands of his children, who cried out to their father. Without a thought, I reached, took their hands and told them their daddy would be back soon. Just stay with me, follow me, and we climbed the hill to Calvary.

Sometimes the way of the Christian is difficult, and we are confronted with both opposition and difficulties that seem to hold us back. But the word from our Lord and Savior is simple, and we need to take it seriously. In a clear voice he tells us, Follow me.” May we have the strength of faith to do just that.  Amen.

 

Prayer:

Precious Heavenly Father, we come before you with grateful hearts and the knowledge it is only through your graces that we are about to follow you. Sometimes it has been hard, but you have carried us through. Sometimes we have not seen the way and you have opened our eyes and showed us that you are the way, the truth, and the life. And again, we thank you Lord for the graces that not only enriched our lives but have given us direction. May we follow you and always, in Jesus name. Amen.

 

Learning Theory

WATCHWORD:

One day children were brought to Jesus in the hope that he would lay hands on them and pray over them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus intervened: “Let the children alone, don’t prevent them from coming to me. God’s kingdom is made up of people like these. Then he laid hands on them…  Matthew 19:13-14 Continue reading

A Personal Miracle?

WATCHWORD:

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. […] 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Acts 2:1-6,12

 

Meditation:

A Personal Miracle?

Miracle in your home? Think about that. A miracle right there where you live. Have you thought about what God is doing within the ebb and flow of our lives, even as we sit here in our comfortable chairs? Something is different. We can’t put our finger on it, but it just feels different. What has changed?

Sometimes change can be subtle, like a gentle breeze we hardly notice, but it feels…peaceful. At other times change is like an abrupt something that happens, and our lives are upended, redirected. Or, maybe it exposes something of which we were unaware. Perhaps expose is too strong word, maybe reveals, is better. Maybe it reveals something within us that we weren’t aware of because of all the distractions of life. Now that the distractions seem under control, was our blindness lifted?

You know, before that Day of Pentecost the Disciples had to wait for something, they weren’t sure what. What did Jesus mean? Was He talking about His spirit? They had their answers with the imparting of the Holy Spirit. Now they knew. Each one, a personal miracle.

The Holy Spirit has always been here. The Holy Spirit came into this world at creation, and has been here ever since. It is we, that must receive the revelation. We have our own time of waiting for our personal Day of Pentecost. It just doesn’t feel like that same kind of waiting time that the disciples went through, but how would we know?

It is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit that changes a person, but the power of Christ coming into our lives by the Holy Spirit that changes us. I wonder if sometimes we read the Bible with blind eyes. The infilling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was not an experience apart from Christ, it was the evidence of Christ. If we begin to understand what we have read in the Bible, that is the work of the Holy Spirit within us.

Does any of this make sense? Our accepting Christ as Lord and Savior starts as a decision which we think we make, but I wonder. What has stirred within us? Maybe that ‘decision’ we might think we made on our own, was actually God deciding. And in the deciding, a change and a sense of peace.

Sometime ago I read a devotional where the pastor made three points: 1. God doesn’t need anything.  2. God decides to need us, and we become partners. 3. We have to decide to need God. God will not do our part. Our part, deciding, is not supernatural. And we must do our part first. God has fully equipped us to do just that. Never underestimate the power of prayer!

Maybe that is the lesson of our own Pentecost, our own personal miracle.  So be it for you and for me. Amen.

— Stan

 

Mea Culpa:

I need to set the record straight. In the September 1, 2025, Watchword, entitled “Lost, but Found”,  I wrote on the side effects of abortion and our response as compassionate people of God. I erroneously identified Post-Abortion Stress Syndrome, as a diagnosed mental condition listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM 5). CORRECTION: It is not a classified and diagnosed mental condition. Abortion stress (PASS) is mentioned in DSM III in the discussion of reactive anxieties, as a temporary conditions. In subsequent volumes of DSM (IV, 5 and 6), there is no mention of abortion stress or anxiety mentioned. Mea culpa, my error. Sorry.  Stan

 

Closing Prayer:

We thank Thee, O Lord, that this land is still governed by the people’s representatives. Let democratic processes be seen at their best in this time of testing.  As these chosen men (and women) discharge their duties, guide them, O God, in the decisions they must make today. Give them the grace of humility, and shed now Thy guiding light into every mind. Break down every will that is stubbornly set against Thine or that has ignored Thee.  May that which is done be so clearly right that it needs no incendiary justification. Soothe our still-smoldering hearts and minds with the spirit of forgiveness. Let us be swayed not by emotion or ambition but by calm conviction. This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Peter Marshall, Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, offered this prayer June 23, 1947. And we offer it again in the name of Jesus.)

 

Our Story

WATCHWORD:

3 We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. 4 We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians10:3-5 Continue reading

A Simply Amazing Morning!

WATCHWORD:

Be still and know that I am God.  Psalm 46:10

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:13

39b Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” 41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:39b-42

Continue reading

A Weed, A Blessing

WATCHWORD:

 

1  This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. […] 5 Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city.6 And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant. Jonah 4:1,5-6 Continue reading

Sounds of Silence

WATCHWORD:

 1 In the beginning God sang the heavens and the earth into existence.] 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was singing over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God sang, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. Then he sang division, separating the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day that God sang into existence. Genesis 1:1-5 Leonard Bernstein Version.

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Psalm 32:7 NIV

 

Meditation:

Sounds of Silence

Granted, Leonard Bernstein Version is not a recognized version of the Bible, yet I believe that Bernstein would support the wording of Genesis 1. He believed that ‘sang’ was a better translation than ‘said’ in this Genesis passage. Friedrich Nietzsche said that without music life would be miserable, in fact life would not exist at all. I agree with both statements. Do you?

Mark Batterson, in his book, A Million Little Miracles, said this: “God sang the universe into existence, and it’s that song that sustains the universe. That first song –  “Let there be light”  – is still creating galaxies at the edge of the universe. But wait – there’s more. God rejoices over us with singing, Zephaniah 3:17. God is singing songs of deliverance all around us all the time! Psalm 32:7 These songs may be inaudible to human ears, but that doesn’t make them any less real.”

But I wonder if we missed the songs of God because we choose not to listen. If we believe God created the universe, and yet God is a personal spirit within us, why are we not listening carefully to the murmurings that come to us during our time with God, whenever we sit and surrender to the Lord, even in silence. I wonder if we sometimes miss the Spirit speaking to us in the words and music of  secular songs, the beauty of art, and the majesty in scenes of nature. Do we miss the deeper meaning, the impact that each has on us?

Do you remember the 1967 movie The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft? The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel was one of the songs featured. “Hello darkness, my old friend I’ve come to talk with you again because a vision softly creeping left its seeds while I was sleeping and the vision that was planted in my brain still remains, within the sound of silence.”

I am fairly sure that Paul Simon did not intend to communicate a spiritual message in the lyrics, and yet, when I read the words and hear the music, I do sense a spiritual message. Darkness is our personal sadness, our separation from God that keeps returning as we slip from His presence. The “vision” is the Spirit of the Lord planting seeds,  ‘I am with you, I am with you. Be at peace.‘within us, speaking loud and clear in the sounds of silence. In our meditations, our Bible readings, do we allow the silence to surround us, to assure us, to enclose us in His Peace? God speaking in the silence of our time with Him.

— Stan

 

Psalm 98:1-3 The Voice:

Sing to God a brand-new song. He’s made a world of wonders! He rolled up his sleeves, He set things right. God made history with salvation, He showed the world what he could do. He remembered to love us, a bonus To his dear family, Israel—indefatigable love. The whole earth comes to attention. Look—God’s work of salvation!

 

My Prayer for You:

May the sounds of silence be the language of the Holy Spirit, always leading us, always there for us, surrounding us, never leaving us  to the darkness. Help us to listen with our hearts, we pray in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

 

A Clean Heart

WATCHWORD:

Create in us a clean heart oh God, and renew a right spirit within us! Psalm 51:10

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:17-18 Continue reading

Lost in Wyoming

WATCHWORD:

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:11

37 On the last day of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.  John 7:37-38 Continue reading

Making the Team

WATCHWORD:

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So, when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.” Psalm 32:8-9

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you

 

Meditation:

Making the Team

In high school, I learned that I made the basketball team! I had worked hard and had made it! As the first game of the season approached, I was thrilled to know that I would start! A couple of errant passes, a missed layup and a foul, and I found myself on the bench. Crushed!

While in college, I had aspirations of becoming an actor. I auditioned for a part in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and was cast in the role of Sebastian, one of the male leads. A few years later, in another city, I auditioned with the local Civic Theater for a role in Bus Stop, and was cast in in the role of Beauregard ‘Bo Decker, the male lead. My “aspirations” were encouraged.

Still later, while playing the role of Horace Vandergelder in Hello Dolly! I discovered a major flaw in my plans. There is a point in the play where my character rushes out on to the stage to make an important pronouncement. I made my entrance but for the life of me I could not recall my lines! I stood center stage for what seemed like an eternity, until a fellow cast member started feeding me my lines, and the play went on. However, the damage was done. My confidence was shaken. My aspirations faded away, the Oscar disappeared into the dust of my embarrassment!

I believe we all experience missed opportunities, disappointments, and times when we failed to meet our goal. How do we get through those times? Sometimes it is a mind-set, or perhaps it is a conviction that this is all part of God’s plan for our lives. The resume’ of our strength and weaknesses, our talents, our limitations are all gifts from God. We are not living someone else’s resume’, we are living our own. We just need to embrace it.

Here are some truths: We are not auditioning, we already have the part in God’s Master Play. We are not trying to make the team, we are on God’s Team. We need not wait for God’s Gifts, they are already ours. We need not try to earn God’s Love, we already have His Love.

So, what are you going to do? You are living out God’s plan, with the gifts He has given you, with the assurance that His love will never fail you. So, what have you dared? Do you step outside your comfort zone with confidence? You may have forgotten your lines for the moment, and may not be sure of which way to go, stage right or stage left, but listen very carefully, for God is prompting you, and showing you the way.

Talking to God is a really good plan, right? Even these bumps in the road that we are all experiencing, they are all part of God’s plan for each of our lives. You know He welcomes conversations with us. He’s listening right now, are we? May God bless us.

— Stan

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6.

 

Morning Prayers:

Heavenly father, you know every decision that I need to make every challenge I face please forgive me for the times I try to figure this life out on my own. I need you. I need your Holy Spirit to give me strength wisdom and direction for today.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your guidance. Forgive me for getting ahead of Your plans, and help me know when to stop and listen for Your direction. Your ways are perfect, Lord. Thank You for offering gentle grace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.