Heralds Digest

““Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭11:52‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/bible/114/luk.11.52.nkjv Custom and tradition dictate the norms of the people, in spite of the written codes. For the Pharisees during the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, the custom and tradition of the Pharisees are laws in themselves. In this particular instance, the concern of the Pharisees is the offensive attempt of the guest Jesus to eat without the customary washing. Beyond the simple cleaning of hands as a call to hygiene, the customary washing appears to have been elevated to a level of religious practice and a sacred necessity for godliness. Whereas, the understanding and pursuits of the will of God in salient matters that guarantees access of man into the kingdom of God are relegated to the background. Therefore, Jesus had to vehemently rebuke the Pharisees and the tea...

“The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭11:34‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/bible/114/luk.11.34.nkjv Whenever magicians say “the more you see, the less you discover”, they mostly allude to their game of deception. It takes a desperate effort in the science of discolouration and the shedding of details for magic tricksters to rob the innocent audience of their right to the truth. In an effort to save the innocent listeners of the gospel message from the likes of tricks from the Pharisees, Jesus Christ pointed to the importance of the honest use of the human eyes. Instead of acknowledging the evidence of the glory of God in the signs and wonders through the ministry of Jesus Christ, the Pharisees had deceptively asked for ‘sign from heaven’. Whereas, the main intention in their request is sign shedding and a deliberate effort to ignore the approp...

“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭11:23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/bible/114/luk.11.23.nkjv In almost all the matters of life, the struggle between the thrust of political correctness and the truth in pure conviction has always been the beggarly life-wire of every institution or society. In the days of our Lord Jesus Christ, the battle was between the blind defence of the Mosaic law with the hypocritical lifestyles of the Pharisees and the beautiful defence of the faith in Christ that brings salvation from dead works and freedom from sin. The power of God had just delivered a man afflicted by demons, which was a sufficient demonstration of the authority of Jesus Christ over the demons and a clear testimony of His mission on earth from God the Father. Whereas, the scriptures say concerning the disturbed Pharisees “in order to test Him, they asked for a sign from heaven”. While the request sounded politically correct to t...

““So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭11:9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/bible/114/luk.11.9.nkjv The freelist of a Friend in the illustration of the privilege of prayer has no constraint of timing, treasury, and trust. The only constraint is “you”: who is asking, seeking or knocking? You must be a ‘friend’ in order to get to access the presence of the Lord. Unfortunately, many friends readily shortchanged themselves with invisible constraints to the freelist. Wasted opportunities can be moderately mourned; but the season of grace and the glory of the Lord is here only for good. Anything good gifts are open for grab at anytime from the throne of grace and in the presence of a good Father. And by His goodness, bad gifts are never released to His obedient children. So, as you keep the friend’s freelist afresh, Jesus say to you [friend], ask [good gifts] today, and it will be given to you; seek [goo...

“So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭11:2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/bible/114/luk.11.2.nkjv To the heart that sincerely desire absolute connection with God at the altar of prayer, Jesus teaches the very first principle of self surrendering. Most times, hearts at the altar of prayer are overwhelmed by the challenges of life, representing the major concerns that lead the seekers to the Rock of Ages. Unfortunately, the Prince of Peace cannot rule on a throne occupied and entertained by the negative thoughts in the hearts of seekers of divine presence. Therefore, effective entrance into the presence of God starts with the adoration of His person and the invitation of His presence through righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. The enemy of our soul is not bothered by the desire to approach the altar of pray, as longer as the heart can continue to en...

“But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭10:40-42‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/114/luk.10.40-42.nkjv The setup of the different rooms in a house is designed to invite designated activities. For example, the kitchen is setup to invite the preparation of food; while the bedroom is setup for easy go to sleep. The setup of flatscreen for entertainment in either the bedroom or kitchen is a distraction to both cooking and sleeping. When Martha invited Jesus into her house, it wasn’t designed as a restricted invitation to a discussion room. Otherwise, Martha would have had no business leaving the discussion room for the kitchen. Unfortunately,...

“So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭10:27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/bible/114/luk.10.27.nkjv In response to a lawyer’s question “And who is my neighbour”, Jesus painted the burden of morality in believers’ show of mercy with the story of a Good Samaritan. In the story, the deficiency of mechanical mercy prevented the necessary outreach of both the priest and temple worker to the person in need: there was no record of someone (including the victim) to take the responsibility of making request for help. It is easier for many believers to claim the fulfillment of “love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind” when no man is capable of sincere searching his own heart. Therefore, Jesus appears to have taught the lawyer and others to proof their claim of a sin...