Heralds Digest

“And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes” . (Luke 12:47 NKJV) A depressive runaway conception of Christ’s doctrine on faithfulness is that the will of God for His servant is a desirable end by itself, rather than the means to a desirable end. Rather than treating God as a dutiful task Master, our heavenly Father delights in His children preparedness to ‘know the Master’s will and the understanding of how to do them’. The major challenge before disobedient servants in our world of several distractions and varied standards is the lack of preparedness in the heart to wait on divine guidance. Anyone with the knowledge of God’s will can stand for the truth in the absence of distractions and oppositions. However, faithful servants are known by their preparation to stand in the face of conflicts of belief, even in the community of believers. Whereas, those whose delight is always in the law of th...

“Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭12:37‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/bible/114/luk.12.37.nkjv The concept of crash watching into the kingdom of heaven may sound appealing; it is actually impossible for anyone not to engage in a sustained watching, woeful or wise. Like wise watching, woeful watching is engaging, engraving, and engrossing. But whereas it deposits the filthy world styles, standards, and senses on the heart, wise watching deposits the fresh heavenly styles, standard, and scent of holiness and righteousness on the heart. Wise watching brings the presence of God into the heart and retains the fellowship with God through a consistent practice of praying, singing, studying and watching of soul-inspiring entertainment. Although waste watching of the head is sometimes unavoidable, wise watching keeps the hear...

“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭12:32‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/bible/114/luk.12.32.nkjv Shepherds understand the concern of the flock more than the sheep. And when the field is subject to variable forces that can threaten the provision of good pasture, shepherds often take the burden of worry away from the sheep. Little wonder the confidence of the psalmist in the sufficiency of provision is the fact that the Lord is his Shepherd. When Jesus Christ addressed the issue of worry with His disciples, He wanted the disciples to keep their focus on the sufficiency of the Heavenly Father as the Shepherd of the flock. And when believers are faced with the concern of balancing the call to seek the kingdom of God and the care for the supply of the basic needs of the body, it shows that worry and anxiety have become part of the ingredients of a real life. However, Jesus commands His disciples “Do not fear, little flock...

“And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭12:15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/bible/114/luk.12.15.nkjv In our world of competition, genuine efforts are easily contaminated with covetousness. Since carnally-influenced needs for the basic things of life are not satiable, wicked and immoral schemes and greedy manipulation of influences often dominate the heart of man. When a man should approach the presence of the Giver of life for a genuine thirst for the satisfaction of his soul, there was a carnal petition for equality in the distribution of earthly inheritance. Unfortunately, the consuming passion of many would-be instruments in the hands of God is the struggle for equality at home, institutions and the society; while the course of the kingdom of God is completely ignored. However, Jesus who always see the root of the problem in the life of man warned everyone “Take heed and...

“But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭12:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/bible/114/luk.12.5.nkjv The conception of life is often erroneously interpreted as the provision of all the needs of the body - known as the basic things of life. Anything that threatens this supply create fear in the heart of man. Unfortunately, the need of the soul of man is mostly left out of the consideration of the basic things of life. In one of His relationships with the disciples, Jesus simply warned His followers about this type of unfriendly fear, calling it the leaven of the Pharisees. The worst of violating the unfriendly fear of man is the deprivation of the needs of the body, possibly leading to the destruction of the body. However, it is a fearful thing for anyone to ignore the friendly fear of God; and lose his soul eternally in the lake of fire. Meanwhile, the friendly fear of God promi...

““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...