Heralds Digest

“And you shall swear, ‘The LORD lives,’ In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; The nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall glory.”” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭4:2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.4.2.nkjv Just as the call to the men of Judah and Jerusalem in the days of prophet Jeremiah, God is calling men today to righteousness and not to religion. The nations are quick to celebrate the God of prosperity who is committed to the upkeep of the body in wealth and wellness. Meanwhile, the attributes of God have no penetrating influence on the attitute and hearts of people with empty praises. God demands worshippers whose hearts welcome the relevance of His absolute truth, total judgment and complete righteousness in all relationships. Diplomacy and all forms of lie often lay the foreskins of insincerity and unrighteousness over the heart of man. These fallow grounds need the hammer of God's grace for the needful seed of righteousness to be sown. Therefore, a humble hear...

“Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, And from the multitude of mountains; Truly, in the LORD our God Is the salvation of Israel.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭3:23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.3.23.nkjv Every sheep loves the message of salvation, and especially when it promises freedom from deprivation, destruction, and damnation. Unfortunately, many fake shepherds have developed different ways of screwing up the undiscerning sheep with messages of empty deliverance. While true deliverance comes from mount Zion with the privilege of holiness, there are many hills and multitude of mountains where prosperity flows without salvation from sin. Fake mountains are easily detected by their flamboyant projection of human personalities, besides an undistracted focus on the LORD Jesus Christ who is our Saviour, Sanctifier, Healer, Baptizer and the coming King. Therefore, a sincere shepherd singularly devotes his ministry in leading the sheep to the true Saviour; and not to himself.

“Will you not from this time cry unto me, 'My Father, you are the Guide of my youth?'". ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭3:4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.3.4.nkjv Exposure of children to life and activities outside the home, where the influence of the father is consistently sustained, often promote a sense of independence in the heart of kids. As long as the in-door keeping of children is not healthy for their mental and emotional development, fathers have the responsibility of consistent review of the healthy opinions available to their children on various issues of life. Unfortunately, most youths are deceived to ignore godly counsels of their fathers, due to ungodly counsels flying around on the streets and in the social media. Like the experience of the children of Israel with the Heavenly Father, the opinions of the children of God are easily formed by their familiarity with practices and procedures, rather than their consistent fellowship with the Prince of peace. However, the Lo...

““For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭2:13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.2.13.nkjv Without faith in the invisible God, the celebration of spirituality lacks sustainability. Faith in the material evidence of the existence of God can attract many into celebration of prosperity, promotion, and preservation; but a change or variation in the material evidence does not nullify the existence of God - the Creator of heaven and earth . Irrespective of the substantial material evidences which justified the existence of God, like the crossing of the Red Sea on dry ground, provision of water from the Rock and manna from heaven in the wilderness, supernatural deliverance from all the nations within and around the land of Canaan, etc, the children of Israel evidently forsook God to drive for a change in their material world. And today, God still perform m...

““Therefore prepare yourself and arise, And speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, Lest I dismay you before them.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭1:17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.1.17.nkjv The appropriate message for the soul is difficult to be developed through the appropriation of the people's faces. It would not be strenuous to find out that glamorous faces may not necessarily mean glad hearts. Therefore, and like Prophet Jeremiah's encounter with the Lord, God's ministers are always called to prepare themselves, and wait upon the Lord for the appropriate message. Our nations and kingdom of people are desperate for answers to divers problem of insecurity and instability, irrespective of the cause of the problems. Unfortunately, dismayed ministers have offered to provide inappropriate but convenient answers, without providing the appropriate way of rooting out the source of the problem. However, real ministers escape the wrath of God by preachi...

“Then said I: “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” But the LORD said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭1:6-7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.1.6-7.nkjv Every minister is tempted to be greatly concerned about developing the right message for effective ministration. And as ministers advance with years of experience, confidence in the ability to deliver the right word at different moments and seasons appears to replace the expected confidence in the guidance of the Spirit. Being a novice at the onset of his call into the ministry, Jeremiah gave excuse why he could not be the right minister to deliver the Lord's message. Like most ministers, the misconception is the equating of the messenger's mandate with the minister's message. While the mandate is man's responsibility, the message can only serve its purpose in the heart of the people, if it re...

“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭150:6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/psa.150.6.nkjv The reason for any praise clarifies the continuity or otherwise of its relevance. If the mighty works of the Lord are focussed, praise will be absolutely irrelevant whenever the works of wickedness appear overwhelming in a believer's life. Whereas, there are numerous moments in life when difficulties and challenges prevail; and when sufficient grace is preferred to gracious sufficiency. Although it is difficult for anyone to be grateful only for the grace to breathe, praise is the singular essence for the existence of breath. Breath is the source of hope and aspiration for prosperity. Therefore, praise for breath is persistent compared to the heart of gratitude for prosperity. Praise the LORD!