Heralds Digest

“Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://bible.com/114/luk.6.25.nkjv Against the tendency of poverty mentality, prosperity of Christ’s disciples is never promoted as against God’s perfect will. The Master merely teaches His disciples to put the pursuit of the kingdom of God and all its righteousness first. Unfortunately, given the opportunity, the human mind is tempted to pursue prosperity at the expense of purpose. Whereas, a purpose-driven life is not distracted by physical and material prosperities, especially when the silent call of divine duty is being sacredly pursued. Those who seek to laugh last do not desire to laugh first. Therefore, when Jesus said to the listening ears of His disciples “Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep”, it was merely a warning on the deceitfulness of riches or prosperity. An helpful status c...

“Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “...Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:20, 22-23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://bible.com/114/luk.6.20,22-23.nkjv It is absolutely misleading for anyone to aim at the true value of a precious Jewel by the dignity of its surface treatments. The process of treatments is often harsh, rugged, and rough; not because of the wrongdoing of the Jewel. The ill-treatment is often decided based on its preciousness. The Lord Jesus Christ apparently admonished the disciples to look away, “when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil”. In fact, men’s disvalued treatments imply “God loves you, and have a good thoughts towards you, And empowers you, and calls yo...

Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh. Luke 6:21 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/luk.6.21.NKJV The expression of the human body's dissatisfaction through hunger and weeping generally generates the passion for the pursuit of a change of condition. Unfortunately, not many people appreciate the blessedness of this human's innate ability to generate the necessary passion leading to a change from unfavorable conditions of life. Whereas, those who are committed to accepting this noble call as the disciples of change in their world know why the Master emphasized the blessedness in a temporary state of hunger and weeping. While many are deceived by the love of the world and its system of material exploitation, it is instructive to note that true satisfaction cannot be derived from material possessions and artificial inducement of gladness. A discontented disciple does not seek fulfilment and gladness through a brea...

“Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://bible.com/114/luk.6.20.nkjv Drives for the gain of the good things of this world is naturally averse to the pursuit of godliness. While the former is motivated by self-will, the latter is driven by the will of God. The love of the good things of the world, like money, pleasure, position, high standard of living, etc, will always tow the path that encourages compromise, worldliness, and a lack of interest in the pursuit of the will of God, especially if the interest of the flesh must be laid down. Therefore, Jesus lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God”. To choose to follow the Lord is to choose to be deprived of the good things of the world (or the entire constitution of the kingdom of this world), if the pursuit of the perfect will of God must be compromised. In fact, i...

“And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/luk.6.19.nkjv Just as the challenge of crowd control throughout the mission of touching Jesus in the days of His earthly ministry, all seekers must walk through some protocols in order to touch Jesus. Whatever the protocol was to the multitude who sought to touch Him then, the scriptures testified that “[He] healed them all”. Invariably, anyone who truly touch Jesus must be healed. Obviously, believers or the disciples constitute the protocol to touching Jesus. Unfortunately, a life that does not lift up Jesus cannot lead others to Jesus. Rather than constituting the protocol to Jesus, many believers have embraced the self-centred ministry of a pillar against Jesus. And with greed and selfish desire for recognition, it is often difficult for anyone to even listen to the multitude who cry “We must see Jesus”. Whereas, believers’ true faith...

“And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://bible.com/114/luk.6.13.nkjv The secret of joy and contentment in the service commission is not necessarily focussed on the servant’s commitment to the Master’s calling. Successful apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ must have learned from the example of the Master’s relationship with the Father. Despite being called and commissioned as the Saviour of the world, Jesus was consistently consecrated to a lifestyle of fellowship with the Father. “And when it was day” from an all night fellowship with the Father, Jesus appointed the apostles. Disciples of the Lord are obviously called with assurance, chosen for assignment, but commendation at the end of the race demands everyday commitment to the Master for accomplishments. Although it is good for the called and chosen to focus on the daily assignments on the field, it is noteworthy for discip...

“But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:8-9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://bible.com/114/luk.6.8-9.nkjv Sound sleep is medically proven to affect man’s sound productivity. Unfortunately, even deep sleep does not necessarily suggest true rest. For example, Jesus here exposed the state of psychological unrest of the Pharisees before doing good on the Sabbath. Just as the scriptures posited that Jesus “knew their thoughts”, religious obligations and compliance cannot suggest freedom from spiritual stress. There is always no sitting on the fence with the Saviour’s rhetorical question “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” Put it simply and straight without a reference to any special day, “When you truly...