Heralds Digest

“ So if a Levite comes from any of your gates, from where he dwells among all Israel, and comes with all the desire of his mind to the place which the LORD chooses, then he may serve in the name of the LORD his God as all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before the LORD .” (Deuteronomy 18:6-7 NKJV) In the absence of any constraint, transition becomes a continuous life experience, as long as there is a will to keep a living desire. Unfortunately, and like the Levites, those who are called for a purpose have little maneuvering around their call of duty. Although the exercise of a man’s freewill can keep the search for relevance outside the call of duty alive, only the pursuit of God’s purpose for living can fill the obvious vacuum in the heart. We need a divinely-inspired desire in order to accept the in-transit status of our current position, while we locate our divine destination.

“ And it shall be with him [the king], and he shall read it [book, containing law and the statutes of God] all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes .” (Deuteronomy 17:19 NKJV) Kingship comes with the authority and power that makes any occupant of the throne the subject of fear. Needless to say that the more anyone gain access to the position of authority and power, the more he get weaned from the grip of fear. As man loses the opportunity to be openly challenged, he suddenly begins to understand the corruption in management of privileges for kings. However, a wise man is a consistent student of the law and statutes of God, where he discovers the fear of the Lord, which is a novel grip for kings in control of his domain.

“ You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the LORD your God is giving you .” (Deuteronomy 16:19-20 NKJV) Rejection of the bribe game often appear as loss of fortune for faith. And not many people would foresee the greater or real fortune in the faith game. The fortune from the bribe game is actually not free. It exchanges the everlasting inheritance of righteousness with the ephemeral inheritance from unrighteousness. Unfortunately, the first thing that bribe brings forward is a veil that prevents anyone from discerning the difference in fortunes.

“ Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed .” (Deuteronomy 16:16 NKJV) Being redeemed from the Egyptian bondage, three seasons (feast of unleavened bread, feast of weeks, and feast of tabernacles) were recommended for Israelites for celebration of passover, preservation, and prosperity. Obviously excluded were seasons of discouragement, defeat, and death for mourning their moments of misery. In reality, most of the seasons of life may not call for celebration; but the Creator of these seasons understands the reason for all seasons. No one enters His court with thanksgiving without discovering God, and not His goodness, as the only purpose for celebration.

“ It shall not seem hard to you when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth a double hired servant in serving you six years. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all that you do .” (Deuteronomy 15:18 NKJV) Contributions are often expected to move faster than compensation, especially when there are no sufficient monetary gain to justify the appreciation. The worth of every human effort depends on the evaluation of his manager. Although it makes economic sense for anyone to demand more contributions with less compensation, God recommends the opposite sense for our gratification. As part of His redemption plan, compensation is not primarily about remuneration; it is the process of recovery of human self-worth. And every gratitude served for other’s contribution to our life is a grace reserved.

" You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand ." (Deuteronomy 15:10 NKJV) A healthy credit society is built around people with good and revolving credit records. Any increase in accounts with bad credit or default rating is an indication of bad economic decisions. And unless measures are deplored to prevent unfair access to fund, the negative influence of bad credit will soon spread to others within the system. However in God's economy, creditors lend to God and not man; hence their rewards come from the Almighty. Careful giving can only deprive our economy from being influenced by heavenly resources, but we cannot depress our economy with cheerful giving. The best repayment for man's careful giving is the merited principal with interest. Only God is able to reward our cheerful giving with unmerited favour and pr...

“ And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do .” (Deuteronomy 14:29 NKJV) While worry about the expected status of allocation is common, working on the state of our location is uncommon. Every location may be deficient in some specific allocation of resources; but all locations should be self-sufficient with selfless distribution. It is easy to be carried away by needs, while we ought to focus on feed. Needs may not be met until the unproductive platform is released to feed others within the location. Our chatter of bitterness may actually be a channel of blessing unexplored.