Heralds Digest

“If I go out to the field, Then behold, those slain with the sword! And if I enter the city, Then behold, those sick from famine! Yes, both prophet and priest go about in a land they do not know.’ ”” Jeremiah‬ ‭14:18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.14.18.nkjv The overbearing news of devastation, destruction, and deprivation in the cities and nations have a pathetic way of affecting the sense of responsibility of people, taking the responsive obligations ordinarily as reasonable oversights. The story of deprivation in a local assembly or family unit is synonymous to the burden of the larger society. When the prophets and priests of our land lose their heritage of being saddled with the responsibilities for declaring and disciplining the congregation of God's people, the state becomes overburdened; and unable to own the social mess beyond its capabilities. Whereas, every overseer, either at home or in the society, has the responsibility or oversight that cannot be abrogated to so...

“Hear and give ear: Do not be proud, For the LORD has spoken. Give glory to the LORD your God Before He causes darkness, And before your feet stumble On the dark mountains, And while you are looking for light, He turns it into the shadow of death And makes it dense darkness.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭13:15-16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.13.15-16.nkjv Innovation is driven by idea - that is, a new way of doing things; and this is one of the profound responsibilities of mankind on the planet earth. The progenitors of human civilization recognized this ordained responsibility, while proposing the fundamental laws that govern the interaction of elements toward creativity and advancement of knowledge. Most of them acknowledged the place of inspiration in every innovative drive. However, there is always the temptation to pursue advancement with independent mindsets, i.e., without appreciating the need for divine inspiration. It is not enough to appreciate and proclaim the general instruction of ...

“For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the LORD, ‘that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.’” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭13:11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.13.11.nkjv Relevance in life is measurable with qualitative metrics, and publishable as the Guinness book of record, Fortune magazine, etc. However, God's metric appears to have nothing to do with material prosperity, maternal popularity, and mundane peculiarity. The lesson learnt by prophet Jeremiah through the story of the Linen Sach is pretty straightforward: man's pursuit outside an intimate relationship with God is unprofitable. Therefore, a profitable pursuit is nothing more than becoming the person of God in all of man's professional, social, family and institutional devotions. Unfortunately, the society have struggled and succeeded in making the man with God, at best...

““If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, Then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, In which you trusted, they wearied you, Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭12:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.12.5.nkjv Compliance to the state's penal code or institutional regulations is easy when enforcement procedures are freely-fair and securely-sincere. In such states, civilization is easily mistaken for civility, until performances are stretched beyond the limit of the controlled environment. Without the controlled environment, compliance standard is obviously left to personal convictions. Apart from prophet Jeremiah's disappointment about the lack of a high moral and religious standards among the people of God, perception of God's apparent encouragement for every act of wickedness was disturbing. He had a question for God, but his question could only get another question that call for sober reflectio...

““Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth who seek your life, saying, ‘Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, lest you die by our hand’—” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭11:21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.11.21.nkjv The gathering of crowd through victimization and harassment is fed by the people's tendency to fear the immediate consequence of their actions more than the future consequence. Like the men of Anathoth, our workplaces and public institutions proffer an effective way of promoting ungodly practices. For example, proscription of public evangelism, bane on distribution of gospel tracts, frown on public praying in the name of Jesus Christ, censoring of Christian gathering, etc, are common lifestyle of liberalism in today's world. As long as the supply of the basic necessities of life is tied to matters that provoke deep biblical convictions, compromises become a common practice of many so-called believers of the Cross. Unfortunately, the Lord appeared to have n...

““So do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭11:14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.11.14.nkjv The sweetness in prayer transcends the privilege of providence from Jehovah Jireh. It is a privilege to communicate with the Creator of heaven and earth, especially when no one else cares to listen to a lonely cry. Unfortunately, this privilege is often taking for granted when it appears that man is obligated to connect with someone else on earth, whose attention is considered matter more than the God of heaven. Whereas, God is always eager to connect with all who have covenant relationship with Him; by speaking to court the attention of man. It's so sweet to know that the Lord is always the first to wait for His children at every prayer closet, family altar, and prayer meeting. However, and like the house of Judah and Jerusalem in the days of prophet Jeremiah,...

“O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. O LORD, correct me, but with justice; Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭10:23-24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.10.23-24.nkjv Progressive lifestyle enables man to learn from relevant information, especially through human current and past affairs. The pace of effectiveness in the mapping and processing of information makes the difference between the developed and developing notion, nation and nature in the world. However, advancement in the search for relevant information does not becloud the influence of negative feeds from the polluted world. Increase in the knowledge of the science of the world, without an appreciable sense and intimacy with the Creator of the world, makes the fool out of man. Everyone needs consistent instruction, reprove, and guidance through the word of the Lord. Without divine guidance, the inherited foolishness deprives man from...