Heralds Digest

““Here we are, servants today! And the land that You gave to our fathers, To eat its fruit and its bounty, Here we are, servants in it! And it yields much increase to the kings You have set over us, Because of our sins; Also they have dominion over our bodies and our cattle At their pleasure; And we are in great distress.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭9:36-37‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.9.36-37.nkjv The Kings of this world have policy implementation methods that drive prompt compliance. But in the absence of these measures, orderliness in any system of this world is difficult. Likewise, servanthood is always synonymous to fruitfulness. And in the spiritual realm, freedom from sin without a voluntary submission to the Lordship of Christ simply relinquishes the priced deliverance from the captivity of the enemies. For as many as are led by the Spirit...they constitute the fruitful field of the Father. But unlike the servitude of this world, the Father’s fruitful field does serve in the Spirit ...

“So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very great gladness.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭8:17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.8.17.nkjv The search for the secret of great joy and contentment has been one of the most discouraging adventures for honest seekers in life. The Preacher, who was blessed greatly with wisdom, wealth, and weight, had once shared his frustration in the search for the vanity of human existence. Unfortunately, many observers often ignore the conclusion of Solomon’s miserable exploration of the essence of life. After a subscription to the wilderness wisdom by the returning Jews from captivity, there was a delivery of fresh passion for the searching the word of God as the essence of life, and a discovery of the secret for great joy and contentment. Even when they made booths and sat under the booths...

“And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭8:9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.8.9.nkjv In our world of competition, worldly wisdom is driven by the fear of position, property and prosperity. When the value of life is characterized by a privileged access to this worldly wisdom, commitment to the will of God and the real purpose for human existence is lost. Unfortunately, without a proud possession of the knowledge of God and the understanding of His will, the world can no longer sustain peace, unity, and respect for one another at home, workplaces, and the society. Before the period of captivity, the Jews have lived to reject the word of God through the prophets of God; while religion was considered a distraction to liberty and a denial of human rights. Ackn...

“and of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name. These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭7:63-64‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.7.63-64.nkjv In response to the killing of Hauwa Leman, a Red Cross worker, by Boko Haram, a commentator lamented that “Hauwa responded when humanity called on her; but no one responded when she called on humanity”. As painful and disappointing as human experiences to humanity count, there is always a call to a more important count in life. A call to the priesthood was apparently taken as an ordinary humanity call by Barzillai. He ignored the requested sacred romance with the Lord, while shifting affection to the mundane things and the carnal love affair. His romance to the daughter of the Gileadites, an...

“And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭6:16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.6.16.nkjv Oftentimes, people wondered why intelligent ideas received the stiffest opposition. Hands that are committed to good works are usually weakened by discouragement from people who are considered to be in the know; because human minds are trained to ignore or downplay the problem with possible conflict of interest. Intelligent ideas with little or no consideration for the interest of the generality of concerns will not always appeal to people. Unfortunately, it is absolutely impossible to get everyone in a system of people on the same page without a popularity contest. However, when a layer of divine inspiration is added to the intelligence of man, the risk of losing out in the contest of life is covered. Nehemiah and h...

“Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭6:12-13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.6.12-13.nkjv Focus on good works without yielding to distractions and evil pronouncements from the enemies is difficult. For those who appeared to have escaped the trap of shady games of this world and the trump of political blackmail, the enemies do not easily give up the fight against the good work. Against the righteous and religious Nehemiah, the battleground was strategically shifted to the house of the Lord. Many believers would readily give audience to all prophetic pronouncements, especially when a matter of personal concerns is being presented. Little wonder the scripture warned believers to try every spirit in order not...

“Now that which was prepared daily was one ox and six choice sheep. Also fowl were prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine. Yet in spite of this I did not demand the governor’s provisions, because the bondage was heavy on this people. Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭5:18-19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.5.18-19.nkjv The concept of market deregulation is the introduction of policies that enables free entry of productive market participants and the investment of free resources. Otherwise, the servicing of strict government regulated markets attracts heavy penalty on the people, especially when operational costs are more than the productivity of the system. Unfortunately, political leaders in developing and under-developed economies are often less concerned about the impacts of the cost of governance because of their self interest. Whereas, it was recorded concerning the policy of Ne...