Heralds Digest

“So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Now therefore depart, and go in peace.” But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭16:36-37‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/act.16.36-37.nkjv Life is full of struggle for survival and sustenance, especially in an increasingly competitive world. And when the society is governed by men of corrupt minds, everyone in the system often finds little or no haven for freedom without compromise and corruption. Like the corrupt magistrates in the days of Paul and Silas, righteous men can easily suffer incarceration for political witch hunt and selfish societal gains. Instead of seeking freedom from corrupt magistrates, Paul and Silas sought the face of God. Unfortunately, God is often perceived as being too far away from the rea...

“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭16:25-26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.us/114/act.16.25-26.nkjv While the content of praises to God is straightforward, the context of every praise worship is often complicated. Praising God for what He has done is easier than worshipping the Creator of heaven and earth for who He is and what He knows about our prevailing situations and circumstances. Knowing fully well that what Paul and Silas knew about what God has done permitting their persecution and imprisonment does not warrant praise, we know that the context of their praise must be centred on the superior knowledge of God and their confidence in His ability to bring good out of a seemingly ugly situation. Fulfilment of promises for provision an...

“This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭16:17-18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/act.16.17-18.nkjv Those who care about being famous are often bothered by the suggestive implication in the metrics of 'followers' and 'following' in our social world. While many are mostly concerned about the metrics of their 'followers', the metrics of 'following' is the most important indicator of life's personal convictions. Paul the Apostle here was unapologetic about the fact that he was a faithful follower of Jesus, meaning a single and undivided metric of 'following'. He had followed Jesus to Macedonia to preach the gospel and win followers for Jesus and...

“Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭16:10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/act.16.10.nkjv The principle of divine influence in the steering of the will of man is clearly demonstrated in the call to Macedonia. Within a single day, there were developing sensitivity to consecutive experiences of "Not Approved", "Not Permitted", or "Not Released". Human will is naturally weak in handling these types of disappointing experiences. A change of guard on the steering of life from natural to spiritual requires a significant amount of sensitivity, especially when the devil and his agents are nevertheless prepared to unseat the unwary man. Paul and his team gradually learned obedience to the series of Spirit's disapproval in order to appreciate the Spirit's leading to preach the gospel in Macedonia. Sensitivity to the Spirit's caution ...

“Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek...So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭16:3, 5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/act.16.3,5.nkjv Righteousness exalts a nation composed of people's sense of respect for acceptable relationships and dignity at home and the society. This sense of respect had earlier introduced accommodation of different standards for the Jews and the Greek (or the gentile world) on the issue of circumcision. But when Timothy must enjoyed one of the privileges or acceptance, apparently as Jew or First-Class minister of the gospel, Paul had to bend more a little in favour of the respect race. Except in certain instances when God's commandments are disrespected, insensitivity to people's sense of respect, cultural diversity, and people's opinion about acceptable social lifest...

“Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭15:39-40‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/act.15.39-40.nkjv Although only the ministerial work of Paul after the contention in Antioch is accepted into the canon of scriptures, there is no evidence to suggest the end of the season of relevance in the ministry of Barnabas. Going by the consistency in the disposition to care and comfort for young and vulnerable brethren in Barnabas (to which even Paul once enjoyed both in Jerusalem, Tarsus, and Antioch), it is apparent that the unstable John Mark needed the support of Barnabas more than the steadfastness of Paul at this time. Unlike confrontational and self-centred contention in most ministerial work today, a compassionate contention is healthy and devoid of putting down or discouraging brethren for self-gratification. Po...

“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭15:28-29‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/act.15.28-29.nkjv While conservative minds pride themselves in their precious relationship with God based on strict moral commitments, the extreme generalization of these commitments often lead to undermining the working of God's grace and faith towards salvation for all men. Having resolved the bias attachment of the Jews to the law of Moses and the extension of the work of grace to the gentile world, the apostles and leaders in the early church still agreed on the efficacy of grace: "that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality". Clearly, the grace of God is not a freedom...