Heralds Digest

"Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." (James 1:16-17 NKJV) Despite the clarity of the scripture about the innocency of God, the answer to the question about who is responsible for the prescription of every bittle pill in life is always sensitive and controversial. Although God is not the architect of evil, his permission does not withdraw the responsibility of man in every predicament of life. Anyone who has walked along the trial trail knows how easy it is to swallow the deception of the enemy, whereby responsibilities of life's affliction are shifted outside self. Blaming others is cheap; and blaming God is common. However, there is always no variation in the promised light at the end of every trial trail, if confidence in God is constant.

"Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away." (James 1:9-10 NKJV) The beauty of creativity is appreciated with every focus on the transition of change. Season changes from summer through spring and fall to winter with unique radiance of colours, weather, and vegetation. Unfortunately, the expected radiance fades whenever focus is shifted from the transition of change to the transient state of human mind. Nevertheless, God who is the Changer of things and events in our changing never change. Therefore, those who put their confidence in Him can enjoy every transition in life. Obviously, changes with the touches of the unchanging Changer can take any round; but every round will surely turn out good.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5 NKJV) The context here refers to the fact that if any of the brethren, the redeemed of the Lord from trespasses, lacks godly wisdom, which is, the knowledge of the mind of God. This wisdom appears an essential priority of life because it determines the level of trust believers placed on God's promises. Ideally, it is difficult to comprehend the basis of joy during trials and tribulations, unless the priority of the Creator of the Universe under this circumstance matches with that of His troubled creature. It implies that, with perfect priority, godly wisdom sees pain as opportunity to make quick gain.

"And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us." (Hebrews 11:39-40 NKJV) The catalogue of the heroes of faith started with the earliest elder Abel, showing a good testimony of the essence of their existence. Even today's Guinness book of record may soon be outdated, needless to contemplate the possibility of outliving the catalogue of the Ancient of days. Without a written catalogue, people of faith in contemporary times always establish an unforgettable legacy that outlived the period of their existence. Obviously, a good legacy is built on how we wait rather than what we get out of life's challenges.

"They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth." (Hebrews 11:37-38 NKJV) Deliverance speaks basically about the release of self from the wrath of the system of the world, through the demonstration of faith in a superior power. Normal deliverance brings great relief from torment, torture and tribulation; and releases the body to testify of the goodness of the Lord. These deliverance stories are relevant when life is reserved for greater glory in the kingdom of God on earth. But for those who are privileged to foresee the irrelevance of being spared from the wrath of the present world, a voluntary release of self into the wrath of the system of the world is preferable. The soul of any martyr of God is gloriously delivered from the unworthy world, eve...

"By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace." (Hebrews 11:31 NKJV) The socialization of the stigma of sin is usually rationalized for economic reasons. And apart from the temporary sense of pleasure, sin does nothing good but to distort, destroy and discard. Unfortunately, Rahab had worn with pride the distorted dignity as harlot for many years before her encounter with the representative of the Redeemer. Faith in God represents an escape from the route that lead from dignity distortion to destiny destruction.

"By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days." (Hebrews 11:30 NKJV) Supernatural manifestations are often conceived as wholesome expression of heavenly engagements, once the initiating faith is triggered. However, the sit-down-look concept would find sufficient embarrassment in the senseless 7-day match of the children of Israel around the walls of Jericho. Obviously, it was not the progressive accumulation of the Israelites' matching force that eventually brought down the walls of Jericho. Rather, life's Jericho walls finally fall with consistent confidence in the faithfulness of God, even when a senseless engagement is demanded.