Heralds Digest

  “ And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.” I Thessalonians 3 : 12 - 13 NKJV If the psalmist in the midst of his wilderness experience and affliction of life could pray “ With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! ( Psalms 119 : 10 )”, little wonder that Apostle Paul in his chains wasn’t burdened by his personal affliction. Therefore, the concern of holy hearts is singularly the abundance of love and fellowship with God and His holiness, and less and less of the care for convenience and comfort. Most often than not, the primary agenda of every desire for convenience and comfort in life is the compromise of the believer's relationship with God. Therefore, with every desire for pleasure and prosperity, there can be no wants for hurt...

“And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 NKJV) The fearlessness of love is demonstrated by Apostle Paul, even in the midst of affliction and distress. In times like this, the natural instinct remains a self-care. That is, to care for the alleviation of the source of affliction and distress does more harm to the soul, by creating hatred and bitterness against the source of our pains. Whereas by focussing on love and the faith of the Thessalonian believers, affliction and distress appear to lose its sting on the blameless Apostle. It implies that the secret of a blameless heart is the unrestricted expression of a borderless love.

"...so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints." (1 Thessalonians 3:13 NKJV) It is not possible for anyone to be invaded with affliction and distress, like the Thessalonian believers, and stay standing still. Although affliction would either move a man farther away from God or move him nearer to God, no saint of God gets established in holiness without the surgical experience of pain. Wickedness is rooted in the heart of man; and affliction appears to be the trusted tool that can expose its nakedness for possible divine intervention. Anyone is capable of wearing a sanctimonious look in an inviting environment, only a heart that remain blameless in an hostile climate is holy.