Heralds Digest

“As for me, here I am, in your hand; do with me as seems good and proper to you. But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭26:14-15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.26.14-15.nkjv In message ministries, the relevance of the priests and prophets are clearly renown in all social and economic references to the people and princes. While the state are expected to provide the necessary legislative and executive stability for political governance, the institutions of clergy men are respected as the custodians of the mind of God. Unfortunately, and like in the days of Jeremiah, the people and princes appear to show more maturity in reference to the counsel of the Lord, compared with the manifestation of the priests and prophets. Jeremiah was being persecuted by the priests and prophets for standing w...

“And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “You shall certainly drink! For behold, I begin to bring calamity on the city which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the LORD of hosts.’” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭25:28-29‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.25.28-29.nkjv Intoxicating drinks have the reputation for attracting people who desire temporary blindness to unwanted calamity in life. However, everyone knows that temporal denial of any sorrowful future brings no real solution or escape from the impending calamity. Obviously, intoxication is the strategy of the devil to denial his captives of the possibility of finding genuine solution to their problems. Whereas, God’s invitations to the cup of drinks or controversy remind the heart about the certainty of His impending Judgment. Unexp...

“They said, ‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭25:5-6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.25.5-6.nkjv Affluence or prosperity often disguises as a reliable freedom from superior reckoning and the solemn worship of God. And an unrestricted liberty would create an imaginary altar of worship as alternative to the fear of God in the heart of man. For Judah and the people of Jerusalem, their citizenship of the promised land had become one of their unconditional rights and privileges. Whereas, God insisted that ‘dwelling in the land that the LORD has already given’ was still conditional. It implies that economic prosperity or career breakthrough is not yet an escape route away from final desolation and eternal destruction....

““Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭24:5-6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.24.5-6.nkjv God’s presentation of the plight of the Chaldean captives as good figs was a privileged revelation to prophet Jeremiah. Like the experience of Andrew Cheney in the modern day cast of the biblical Joseph in the movie ’Seasons of Grey’, it is difficult to understand the morality in the seasons of brutality experienced by those who stand straight by the truth. Even when captured and held captive to the strange land of Babylon, God maintained “I have sent (them) out of this place for their own good”. Unfortunately, not many are privileged...

““The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the LORD. “ Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭23:28-29‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.23.28-29.nkjv The collection of motivational words is easier today with the compendium of google searches and online cross references, compared with the days of the prophets who prey on their audience using dreams. Good presentations with rewardable productivity are mostly enhanced with these readily available resources. Notwithstanding, prophet Jeremiah was warned about the hollow leverage on dreams without a careful reference to the counsel of the Lord. Today’s world is fast-paced with multiplicity of compelling activities without any considerable extension in time. The consequences is the proliferation of world-inspired words during counselling sessions, our home’s family...

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the LORD.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭23:16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.23.16.nkjv The only word that can ever bring calm into chaos is the word of the Lord. It turns darkness into light; and enlightens the heaviness of the heart with the heavenly harmony. Words from prophets and priests can provide some encouragement and comfort in times of distress and pain, but true comfort comes from the Lord. Unfortunately, human minds are tempted to be driven and manipulated by loathsome encouragement from prophets and priests; while the hearts are deprived of the rhema from the Lord. Therefore, the Almighty God will often say to His delights “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you”. Whereas, the common concern about how to correctly discern the word of the Lord among the myriads of words from diff...

““Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that they shall no longer say, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own land.”” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭23:7-8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.23.7-8.nkjv A voyage from the land with poor standard of living, insecurity, and economic instability to a different environment with improved standard of living, security, and economic stability removes much of life’s concerns. For the children of Israel, the land of Canaan was presented as land which flows with milk and honey, compared to Egypt which represented slavery, hard labour, and social/religious insecurity. However, the new pasture provides the needs for the body without consideration for an intimate fellowship with their souls. The concern is that ...