Heralds Digest

““The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound”...But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, They shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61:1, 6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/isa.61.1,6.nkjv Self-serving passion appears to work better in public service than selfless service disposition. Then, the serving direction and discretion are censored in order to ensure commensurate returns to the servant. However, a self-serving passion is profit- driven while a selfless service disposition is purpose-driven. Unlike a purpose-driven life, a self-serving disposition negatively affects career choices, project partnerships, sacrificial submissions, etc. Whereas, life’s achievements are simply God’s endowment...

““The sun shall no longer be your light by day, Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the LORD will be to you an everlasting light, And your God your glory.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭60:19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/isa.60.19.nkjv If the reliability of very important people (VIP) in life is comparable to that of the sun and the moon, cases of depression and suicide will be greatly reduced. Yet, the sun and the moon continually rise for a limited period of time and withdraw themselves on daily basis. And man’s operations on earth are responsibly designed to track the reliability of the sun. Invariably, absolute dependence on all of God’s creation comes with a damnable disclaimer. However, God is absolutely dependable and reliable. But when He offers Himself as the everlasting light of His people, only those who appreciate the offer often realize the irrelevance in the pursuit of the glories of this world. In pursuit of relevance, it always safe to acknowledge the damnable di...

“Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭60:1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/isa.60.1.nkjv Without a clear conception of the divine instructions in Isaiah 60:1, a blind manifestation of the promises of God’s glory in Isaiah 60:2-18 will be a complete misconception. Obviously, the combination of human relocation and declaration begat divine allocation. “Arise, shine” appears to embrace the combination of two distinctive instructions with a mutually inclusive compliance. Unfortunately, there are two unfavourable possibilities for non-compliance: ‘Not Arise, Not shine’ and ‘Arise, not shine’. The former (‘Not Arise, Not shine’) possibility simply ignore the necessity of faith in God before the manifestation of His promises; while the latter possibility (‘Arise, not shine’.) practices a walk-through but workless faith. However, God demands a ‘Arise, shine’ faith in His promises for all-round but glowing glory, depending on the righ...

““The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” Says the LORD. “As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.”” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭59:20-21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/isa.59.20-21.nkjv In the overdrive of unrighteousness and social injustice, the hope for righteousness and consistency in the service of the Lord are always dim. The redeemed of the Lord are readily oppressed by the flood of advances from the wicked, leading to different variants of discouragement, disappointments, and despair. However, for those who graciously exercise constraints to the wicked floods around, they know the Redeemer always come for the rescue of His delightful Zion. Although hope delayed makes the heart sick, hop...

“The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭59:8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/isa.59.8.nkjv Although the foundation of peace is the possession of a conscience void of offence, real people struggle with finding a mutually agreeable path of peace with certain fellow in life, work, and family fellowship. Apart from the exception of dealing with trouble makers, the convenient path of peace is not always the divinely recommended path for the situation at hand. Peacemakers must learn how to absolutely trust in the leading of God, as obedient children, in order to always strike the chord of peace in every relationship. Otherwise, it must be said to the concerned parties “The way of peace they have not known”. Whereas, the scriptures say “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called Children of God”. Sometimes, the best known path to enforce peace, di...

“Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭58:7-8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/isa.58.7-8.nkjv There appears to be more to the secret of spiritual mountaineering and refreshment than a religious waiting upon the Lord through fasting and prayer. Whenever the Lord queried the self-centred mindset of seeking His attention for personal breakthrough and supernatural blessing, many seekers are easily frustrated by the passive disposition of the Almighty to the plights of His people. While life is full of people with myriad of needs, every seeker on God’s holy hill is a representative of a larger-than-self people for breakthrough and blessi...

“For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭57:15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/isa.57.15.nkjv Holiness will always be a myth for the simple reason of man’s inability to take the entire responsibility of ridding his heart from stones - the stumbling blocks of life. Even after repentance and assurance of salvation from dead works, the struggle for freedom from the natural and besetting anatomy of the heart appears insurmountable. When the High and Lofty One declared to Israel “I dwell in the high and holy place...”, the intimidating feeling cannot be underestimated. However, many often miss the fact that what the holy declaration demands is really a humble spirit rather than an holy heart. With a contrite and humble spirit, God takes the entire responsibility for the ...