Heralds Digest

“Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭19:45-46‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/luk.19.45-46.nkjv Without a deliberate desire to clearly distinguish between exploits and exploitation in business activities, anyone would make little sense out of the zeal in our Lord Jesus Christ in driving out those who buy and sell their merchandise inside the temple. The sense of indifference would readily query what was wrong with the trading of the items that the visiting worshippers need for sacrifices right inside the temple. The clue from Jesus is the reference to distinction between the ‘house of prayer’ and ‘den of thieves’. Exploits is attained in life’s activities by lifting up holy hands in the house of prayer; while exploitation of any system composed of people’s disorganized lifestyle through hypocritical hands is possib...

Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Luke 19:41‭-‬42 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/luk.19.41-42.NKJV When a man sincerely weep over the socio-economic and political imperfections of a city, citizens are easily moved to acknowledge the good heart and the desire for change from the status quo. Notwithstanding, the root cause analysis of the problems of any man and the pursuit of peace are mostly remote to the understanding of carnal man. Likewise, in the days of our Lord Jesus Christ, Jerusalem had a misunderstanding of the right strategy for peace prospect in her moment of visitation by the Prince of Peace. And when the Prince of Peace truly weeps over the plight of the soul of a man, the consequences are eternally devastating. The prospect for socio-economic or political peace at home, workplaces and the society reques...

“And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it? ’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’ ”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭19:29-31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/luk.19.29-31.nkjv Anyone would wonder how the colt that Jesus rode on His triumphant entry to Jerusalem was prepared and reserved from birth. However, it is certain that the owner must have had divine encounter somehow, showing that the Lord’s use of the colt was not a news to him. Apparently, it was an event hoped for and an assignment in anticipation. After this first use, there is no doubt that every other use of the colt will be on special assignment, special order, or even just the special recognition of riding a privileged colt. Today’s...

“‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭19:26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/luk.19.26.nkjv When God said to man in the beginning “Be fruitful and multiply”, it implied that faithfulness is the only expectation from man as value-addition to the divine endowment after creation. Even after the fall of man and his redemption from the captivity of sin, it is obvious that faithfulness remains the bedrock for human productivity in the sight of God. Using the parable of the minas, Jesus debunked the misconception of fruitfulness without faithfulness. With faithfulness in any situation and circumstance of life, there is always value-addition to the system (home, workplace, and society) that generates fruitfulness. However, without faithfulness, all that is left in any man is fault-finding as a justification for unfruitful disposition. Whereas, everyone with breadth is preserved f...

“And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭19:9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/luk.19.9-10.nkjv Familiarity is a well-known robber of the people’s privileges with the Saviour Jesus Christ. Therefrom, the concept of religion gets easily mixed up with the desire for communion and relationship. While Zacchaeus sincerely sought to see who Jesus was, religious people would have offered to help him with a comprehensive download of Jesus’ persuasive personality, penchants for parables, and power over principalities. But such documentaries would fail to address the concern of a man who truly desire a change to the lack of satisfaction in the privileges of sin. Because Jesus was more interested in a relationship than a religion, He could connect with the sincere heart of Zacchaeus. Even today, sincere sinners get easily connected to the Saviour tha...

“Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”...Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭18:39, 42‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/luk.18.39,42.nkjv The desperate outburst of the blind man indicates that he was not fully satisfied by the business of begging for alms, even if those alms appears to supply the basic needs of life. Therefore, he took the risk to offend the sensitivity of those who felt their mercies should provide a sufficient sustenance. Most times, the looking up unto fellow men for help prevents the lifting up of holy hands to the hill of God. Whereas, real and satisfying help comes from God, who often positions fellow men as helping tools to deliver His errands in the affairs of those who truly seek His face. When Jesus finally said “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well”, it implies that the faith to perpetually receive alms ...

“But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭18:34‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/luk.18.34.nkjv How many good-intentioned relationships in life have been sacrificed on the altar of complete misunderstanding or the understanding of a relative truth? If a clear expression of an absolute truth from the Lord Jesus Christ was completely misunderstood by the disciples, anyone can be excused for failure to comply with the basic rules of man. Obviously, the lack of human understanding of the true things prevents the expected coordination of actions along the perfect will of God. But while the grace of God enables His patience with man, man often grope under the darkness of his own misunderstanding. Unfortunately, man is often impatient with his fellow men, based on a relative understanding of the assumed true things in life. Whereas, patience with God towards a perfect understanding of true th...