Heralds Digest

“...so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭17:27-28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/act.17.27-28.nkjv The knowledge of God is not meant to be limited to human gravitation to worship, but the daily manifestation of God's divine ability in the affairs of man. Like the Areopaghites, the acknowledgment of the existence of God leads many to a daily worship of the 'Unknown God' - without a notable evidence of His influence in our everyday life. Whereas, God speaks daily through life's activities and experiences, more than or without man's appreciation of His abiding residency. The creation of an artificial God out of human devotion, activities and interest in life represents a notable idol and a distraction from the needed appreciation of the exist...

“Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols...For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭17:16, 21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/act.17.16,21.nkjv Lessons from experiences and interactions with people and places in the past are not always resourceful to a progressive adventures, especially when they provoke malice, resentment, and discouragement. While old oppositions are always singular in their objective of closing new opportunities, forward facing men deactivate the memory of old oppositions in order to keep their eyes on new opportunities. For example, while waiting for the reunion with his dispersed colleagues at Athen, Paul was provoked to engage the Athenians in their worship places and marketplace with the gospel message. Resentment and discouragement by the consistent actions of the Jews in ...

“These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭17:11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/act.17.11.nkjv Thomas A. Edison's famous quote that "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration" appears to provide a quantitative analysis of the time resource to be invested on both inspiration and perspiration, without necessarily alluding to the qualitative edge of the former over the latter. However, being the human component of the expected inputs, perspiration have succeeded in producing close-minded professionals and the ordinary people in our social world. Opinions are formed or deformed merely based on pre-conceived ideologies. Whereas, openness to divine inspiration can always provide new and better ways of life; and probably an alternative direction for efficient project execution. The attitude of the ...

“But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭17:6-7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/act.17.6-7.nkjv "Why did God recommend the flogging of kids by their parents?", a kid queried. Unapologetic minds are often sympathetic to the concerns of 'kids' - the innocent, simple-minded, and vulnerable victims of the evil and erroneous manipulation of the agents of the devil - in the world. Whereas, the enemy of our souls is always forceful in his effort to promote resistance to correction. The undisturbed Jews were irked by the fact that Paul and Silas succeeded in convincing their converts in Thessalonica that the crucified Jesus is the Christ. It was a simple alignment to the fulfillment of plan of God in the acts of...

“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...