Heralds Digest

  “ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” II Peter 3 : 9 NKJV If only the heart is consistently made to understand the objective function of the divine optimization or handling of the world’s affairs, there will never be any agitation on the timing of all His promises. Unfortunately, both the righteous believers and the perishing unbelievers are often carried away by their personal or parochial will. For example, while believers are focused on personal deliverances, preservation, and prosperity for the restricted self or loved ones, God is always fixated on His ‘not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance’ until the expiration of His prerogative of mercy. On the other hand, the unbelievers and sinners are usually consumed by their arrogant pride, destructive affluence, and time-bound fame until the heavy hamme...

  “ You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen .” II Peter 3 : 17 - 18 NKJV Gazing and grazing on grace are inevitable lifestyles of anyone who wouldn’t accept the fall from grace phenomenon. Unfortunately, time is not always friendly in the human economy; because time changes human perspective and perception of belief, especially for those who must gaze and graze on goods or the material things of this world.  Even the day of the Lord and His promises can be easily treated as goods. And when expectations fail to meet realization, it all depends on human perspective and perception before beliefs begin to fall apart. Whereas, the scriptures admonish believers to keep gazing and grazing on grace - God and His righteousness at Christ’s expense. With...

  “ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. ” ‭‭II Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ In human economy, slackness is synonymous to delay and slothfulness; but in God’s economy, slackness is always counted as perfection in timing. Understandably, man would readily count slackness or delay on the basis of personal considerations for progress, promotion, and the prosperity of promises. While disappointment and the apparent shattering of dreams are common realities in life, believers with absolute faith in the promises are called to count on the irreversibility of the promises of God. Obviously, human senses may not agree with the realities of personal inconveniences on the ground, but the confidence of the righteous always aligns with the fact that there is an ultimate system good waiting to be revealed. Therefore, slackness will be slothfulness when a personal...

  “Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;” ‭‭II Peter‬ ‭3:14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ All roads may lead to Rome, but it is certain that not all passages lead to paradise. Those who believe in the promised New Heaven and New Earth must be conscious of righteousness as the uncompromising requirement to getting to the city of God. Unfortunately, the present world is filled with contagious distractions, consistent provocation, and attractive indulgence in different forms of unrighteousness. While those who have not found grace are aliens to the paradise passage, the redeemed of the Lord still need consistent grace for steadfast focus on the passage. Therefore, we must retain focus on a daily basis by looking forward to heaven, despite unavoidable interactions with the elements on earth. Even when other co-pilgrims are distracted by provocation, diligent disciples must remain focussed on the paradise passage, by followi...

  “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” ‭‭II Peter‬ ‭3:8-9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Effective time management in our real world understands the difference between time-table and activity table. All activities are stamped within the constraint of human time space for proper monitoring of their reliability, relevance, and regeneration. While this approach is indispensable for time-constrained human beings, God’s promises and activities can never be constrained by time because (as the scriptures put it), time is not a resource in God’s economy. Unfortunately, scoffers are examples of time travellers in life, who deal with God in the same time space as human beings. Because our progress, economy, and relationships are constrained by tim...

  “Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;” ‭‭II Peter‬ ‭3:14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Even while standing on the promises of the Lord, the prevailing circumstances in our social, political, or present life are strongly persuasive. Unfortunately, it is difficult for anyone to focus on these present things without getting unsettled emotionally, and with at least little compromise and corruption. Therefore, comes the timely admonition to the beloved, ‘looking forward to these [future] things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless’ . Irrespective of the turbulence in a believer's prevailing circumstances at home, workspaces and social life, there is always an access to peace for minds that are forward focussed. This promise is not accessible to those who must struggle with the forces that take pride in the manipulation of the present things, particularly with unclean hands and filthy hearts...

“Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless” ‭‭II Peter‬ ‭ 3:14 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/2pe.3.14.nkjv   Just like the consistent wearing of wedding ring do not necessarily keep desperate admirers away from encouraging the defilement of marriage vows, a Christian needs more than the display of religious activities and attachment to keep distractions away from the desire to abide in Christ. Unfortunately, the attraction to our inevitable social engagements, entertainment, and exploration, in the simplest of social environments always come in the shades of defiling spot and blame. Therefore, the veteran follower of Christ admonished Christians to be “diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless”. It implies that without personal diligence, believers may just be found in Christ (religious). Without being the beneficiary of His perfect peace (relationship), waiters are merel...

“knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”” ‭‭II Peter‬ ‭3:3-4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/2pe.3.3-4.nkjv While the major revealed signs of the last days attract devastation and destruction, the promised intelligence and increase in knowledge are employed to provide solutions and coping strategies. Unfortunately, the balance of the dynamics from both ends provides scoffers with a support for the conspiracy theory of common creativity. Even with the obvious signs of the last days in the air, scoffers still say “Where is the promise of His coming? For...all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation”. While the intelligence and the wisdom in man may provide for the needs of man through hard work; God’s word is all that is needed to create heaven, earth, al...