Heralds Digest

“For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭3:35‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/mrk.3.35.nkjv Without a collective understanding and acceptance of the scope and limit of authorities in any relationship, there is bound to be an overt or subtle expression of a conflict of interest. For example, in a parent-child relationship as somewhat demonstrated by the interest of the mother of Jesus for attention, many are likely to misapply the instruction for a child’s obedience to parent without reference to God’s will and call for all parties to suspend all conflicting interests at that moment, in order to receive the Rhema from the Lord. Likewise, conflicts in relationships between husband and wife and disagreements among business partners or employee-employer relationships cannot receive permanent resolution without recourse to divine counsel. And the supreme counsel from Jesus for all attentive disciples, who are engulfed in an inevitable conf...

“So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.”” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭3:23-25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/mrk.3.23-25.nkjv Proper treatment of segregation in the midst of a supposed congregation of people requires a special approach. Although Jesus was aware of the antics of the scribes and the Pharisees, He called the people to Himself to teach Saints a good lesson on the necessity of unity in fellowship. Unfortunately, sinners and Satan’s kingdom will hardly encourage segregation as do Saints in the congregation of families, fellowship and faith-based organizations. If Jesus took the effort to call the people unto Himself, where are the leaders in fractured and fragmented homes, wise men among the group of people, and the chiefs in the household of faith? Most times, it doesn’t make sense to win an argument, e...

“And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him...and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭3:13, 19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/mrk.3.13,19.nkjv The discipleship experience of Judas Iscariot reveals the secret of retaining the office of an apostle and reviving the odious of turning an apostate. Jesus called out His carefully selected disciples for the singular purpose of their being with Him. Knowing that the world, the work, and the ways of the ministry are constantly filled with wickedness and worldliness, Jesus taught and demonstrated to the disciples the strategy of spiritual mountaineering. But there is an adage that says that if an eagle hangs out with chicken, he will only learn how to cluck rather than fly. And like Judas, it is not possible to hang out with dwellers in the valley of worldly lust, covetousness, greed, etc, and still retain the fire of sobriety, grace and godliness...

“And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.” But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭3:11-12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/mrk.3.11-12.nkjv While a set of religious people were busy with their plot to destroy Jesus, mixed multitude of people and spirits were manifesting their convictions on an established but divers mode of a singular declaration “You are the Son of God”. Surprisingly, Jesus sternly warned and forbid only the manifestation from unclean spirits because the publicity from unclean spirits will constitute a distraction to the mission of Christ. The scriptures declare that Christ was manifested for a singular purpose: to destroy the works of the devil. Unfortunately, it takes the discerning spirit from God for believers to stop the mouths of unclean spirits with mixed manifestation of the name of the Lord in today’s mixed multitude of religious settings. Cons...

“And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭3:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/mrk.3.5.nkjv Dissimilarity is clearly a perfect reflection of disappointment, disagreement and deterioration in every situation or circumstance at home or in the society. While the problem of dissimilarity of hands in the withered man at the synagogue was externally visible, the problem of dissimilarity of heart with the Pharisees requires spiritual perception. Nevertheless, the same step of faith is required in order to get rid of the problem of dissimilarity in the life of every man. Therefore, for the man with withered hand, Jesus said ‘step forward’; and to those with withered hearts, it was asked ‘Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’. Unfortunately, the hardness in the hear...

“And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭2:27-28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/mrk.2.27-28.nkjv The limit of following the rule of law in life is the junction of making decision on our allegiance either between the law or the Lord. The scribes and the Pharisees are the champions of the possible extreme, where man is created, called and commissioned for the singular purpose of following the due process or the rule of law. While they were silenced in their attempt to demonized Christ’s relationship with sinners and tax collectors, they had in the previous day expressed their frustration with the undeniable authority in the disciples’ ministerial engagement without the ritual of fasting. Now on the Sabbath day, they have a concern about the disciples’ unlawful engagements while following the Lord of the Sabbath. Therefore, Jesus had to clear their doubts and the demon of foll...

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭2:22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/mrk.2.22.nkjv Following the path of progress is sometimes slow and uninviting, especially when a sustainable environment for the progress has not been created. Even in spiritual warfare and walk with the Lord, slow and steady strategy is mostly old-fashioned. For example, many disciples believe in fasting as a labour device for fast-tracking or circumventing due process in heaven transactions. While fast-tracking or fast fasting is resourceful for the production of the mundane things of this world, the making of a man after God’s own heart and for the fulfillment of His purposes requires patience with full fasting experiences. Throughout the three and half years of Christ’s ministry on earth, the scribes and the Pharisees were jealous at the power of...