Heralds Digest

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12 NKJV) Just as it was with the passage of the children of Israel, the short way from Egypt land to Canaan's rest is straight-forward. However, the scripture reveals that God preferred the wilderness experience in order to discover the thoughts and intents of the redeemed's hearts, as they travelled from slavery to freedom. Apparently, safety is not determined by the smoothness (or shortness) of the path a pilgrim is made to walk; safety is rather measured by the smoothness of the heart, as God's word walks the pilgrim. Therefore, a safe way is not necessarily a short or smooth way; but it is a consistent trust in the sufficiency of God's word for daily living.

"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His." (Hebrews 4:9-10 NKJV) Whichever form it appears, rest is sweet, especially after a rigorous toiling experience. A break-even point after significant business investments; success in an examination after several writing attempts; and a visa lottery win to travel abroad after series denials at the embassy, are few examples of rest that deserve celebration. However, all of the rests that this world can offer are incomparable to the final and heavenly rest for the people of God. Even with gracious contentment, all earthly rests are transient. The best offer is the purchase of an acceptable insurance policy for eternal rest , fully paid by the Lord Jesus Christ.

"So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." (Hebrews 3:19 NKJV) It is often said that the end of a journey is better than the beginning thereof. Those who are mindful of the finishing line would not be distracted by the crookedness in the running tracks. Like many of the children of Israel who fell in wilderness after a miraculous escape from Egypt, the welfare of the body remains the major distraction to the wellness of the soul. Until the soul is determined to seek its final rest in the wilderness, the comfort of the body dictates the pace of every pilgrim's progress. No matter how long the end may appear, confidence in the promised rest at the last mile of the race can keep the gaze above the present distractions.

"Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." (Hebrews 3:12 NKJV) The statement of faithfulness in every relationship is unreliable until it is subject to the testament of trials and tribulation. Likewise, faithfulness to the invisible God cannot be based on the sufficiency of visible goodness. Unfortunately, apparent lack of physical prosperity often queries the existence of God - the Jehovah Jireh . While unbelief is natural to unbelievers, it is an act of great sin for believers to doubt the potency of the living God in times of difficulties. How else do we prove the existence of God in the absence of troubles? Living faith believes in God who make things, not in things which make God.

"But Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end." (Hebrews 3:6 NKJV) Every project has both the start date and a proposed completion date. The confidence that drives project implementation often depend on the resources available to the project manager. For many who believe in life after death though, life project ends in the eternity with either God in heaven or Satan in hell. For a reliable preparation as house project-in-progress, neither self-confidence nor saint-confidence (i.e., confidence in a faithful prophet, like Moses) is sustainable. Only the believer's confidence in the Saviour's grace is sufficient. While self or saint confidence is unreliable, a reliable confidence is built on the perfect gift from the Father in His only begotten Son.

"For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”" (Hebrews 2:11-12 NKJV) The seeking of self glory naturally encourages the calling of names that associate self with higher authority. The compromise in such common practice is the risk of losing association with lower class personalities. However, in his exemplary lifestyle of sacrifice and humility, Jesus preferred his self-demotion from God level to brethren level , in order to associate with the promotion of ' no-name ' class of people to the class of brethren. Obviously, a sincere devotion to status offering is only comfortable with the promotion of the status of others above self.

"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone." (Hebrews 2:9 NKJV) From being equal to God to being a little lower than the angels, the unequal freewill offering was laid upon the altar by the Lord Jesus Christ. Even by human standard, the offering of the best of the world's legends (Nelson Mandela), who preferred a lower status than the President when he had the opportunity to run for second term in office, was unanimously celebrated. It underscores the fact that there is greater glory and honour in status offering for the good of humanity, compared to the reward of seeking self glory. Regarding the case of death as wages for sin, only he who is able to swallow death in victory is qualified to make a status offering for atonement. Fortunately, Christ offered to taste death, so that anyone who believes in Him can escape the taste of dea...