Heralds Digest

“Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For You are my praise.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17:14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.17.14.nkjv Healing is celebrated with healthy body and salvation is marked by freedom. And a body with the evidence of healing and salvation is assumed delivered from the myriads of earthly concerns. However, when Jeremiah cried to the Lord for healing and salvation, he was more concerned about the state of his heart than the softness of his body. Emotional confusion and uncertainties while aligning the promises of God with the pursuit of godliness are often allowed or pretended to operate on safe mode, especially when man must be seen acting like man. However, and to prophet Jeremiah, honest hearts do not fake moments when emotional disturbance and stress can no longer operate on safe mode. He cried “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved”. This is not a healing for the sick body, neither is it a salvati...

““Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17:7-8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.17.7-8.nkjv Happiness is mostly influenced by merriment and feasible improvements in the standard of living. Therefore, the heart is easily deceived to trust in evident display of affluence and material increase. Unfortunately, many, like Judah, have ended up trading their hopeful heritage for parched places through the lens of ‘show me the evidence!’. Whereas, the scriptures say ‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for; and the evidence of things not seen’. It implies that faith in the Lord and His promises does not look for physical evidence. His hope is solely in the Lord and never in ‘bread and butter’ evidence. A...

““Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know My hand and My might; And they shall know that My name is the LORD.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭16:21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.16.21.nkjv The restoration of dignity, health, wealth, and all the benefits that the enemy has stolen is a significant manifestation of the power of God. When God promised restoration of His people with a determination to repay double for their iniquities and sin, the understanding of the desired product that warrant the penalty is necessary. It is not enough for God’s children to be satisfied with the restoration of their position with God; God desires the perfect understanding of God’s position and personality in man. The restoration of man’s position brings confidence in prosperity; but the understanding of God’s position guarantees confidence and comfort both in prosperity and penury. “I will cause them to know My hand and My might; And they shall know that My name is the LORD...

“For thus says the LORD: “Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people,” says the LORD, “lovingkindness and mercies”...Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.”” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭16:5, 8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.16.5,8.nkjv Just as the convocation of feast attracts the fellowship of people, the souls of the unwary are easily preyed by the declaration of the service of food. But like Daniel determined against defilement by food, it is always to know that the decoration of food is of little or no importance, compared to the dedication of the food. Food and the goods that are dedicated to idolatry, worldliness and wickedness cannot acquaint the patronage of souls from an indirect fellowship with the power of darkness. It is no longer news that many souls have been endangered, brought ignorantly into covenant relationship, or even sacrificed to the god’s of this worl...

“Therefore thus says the LORD: “If you return, Then I will bring you back; You shall stand before Me; If you take out the precious from the vile, You shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, But you must not return to them.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭15:19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.15.19.nkjv Partnership with God on a rescue mission requires the combination of discipline and loyalty to the Lord. Unlike the sufficiency of discipline from a firefighter, the mission field can quickly become a contending distraction to a loyal dedication in the pursuit of the purpose of God. The inferno can never be a relaxing mission field to a firefighter. Therefore, his dedication to the rescue operations is always single; and there is always no attraction to the radiance of the inferno. There is no doubt about the love and affection of prophet Jeremiah for the rescue of the people of Israel from the grid of idolatry and worldliness. But then, God observed a danger in embarking on a rescue mission b...

“Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts...Why is my pain perpetual And my wound incurable, Which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream, As waters that fail?” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭15:16, 18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.15.16,18.nkjv The preciousness in the blessings of peace from the Lord is apparently found in perpetual painful experiences. When people say darkness reveals the brightness in the light, it shouldn’t be hard to understand why perpetual pain also reveals the preciousness of peace. But then, Jeremiah’s questions are popular experiences of the human minds: it is difficult to find comfort in painful experiences. Yet, prophet Jeremiah only neglected the previous fellowship experience with God through the entrance of His word. Unlike the transient excitement of the head through the affluence of wealth, the word of God brings stable joy...

“And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children; I will destroy My people, Since they do not return from their ways.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭15:7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.15.7.nkjv A careful study of the plight of any caring Captain always reveal that the greatest burden of careless children is on the Captain. God, being the Captain of our souls, is often more burdened by the waywardness of His careless children. Whenever He issued out warning about an impending destruction, any wayfaring pilgrim can clearly see the offer of a return flight behind the red flag. Unfortunately, careless children appear to be more excited with the bereavement of souls without a careful consideration of the pain on the Owner of the souls. If anyone or soul-winner cares to know, God is the Owner of all souls; and He will appreciate a rescue mission against His plight ‘I will destroy My people’. God is weary of relenting on the execution of judgment....