Heralds Digest

“But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭ 23:11 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/act.23.11.nkjv   The variance in the discovery of God’s will and the delivery of God’s way is the major source of discouragement, despondency and despair in anyone’s family, business, career and professional life. When realization failed to match expectations in the pursuit of God’s will, the heart is often flooded with unanswered questions, like “where did I get it wrong?”, “is there even light at the end of this tunnel?”, “do I need to consider the alternative option to the previously assumed God’s will?”, etc. When Paul apparently found himself in such state of despondency, God intervened with a night vision, saying “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome”. It shows that what Paul must ...

“And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided...Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭23:7, 10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/act.23.7,10.nkjv   Knowledge is good; but wisdom is mostly superior to knowledge. While knowledge is concerned about personal intelligence and understanding, wisdom leverages on the intelligence and understanding of others beyond self. In situation and circumstances when people gather primarily to size up and implicate the speaker based on the expression of his knowledge, a discerned man will readily apply ‘no word’ as ‘wise word’. When the arranged audience composed of Pharisees, Sadducees, Chief Priests, and the High Priest gathered before the Commander to examine Paul, wisdom enabled Paul to pe...

“And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭ 22:22 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/act.22.22.nkjv The complexity in the pursuits of the will of God is mostly influenced by the conflicting interests in the doing, rather than the consuming passion for the knowing. Particularly, the volume of books that support the action of man in life is predominantly managed by the wisdom of this world, powered by public opinions, culture, social preferences,  etc. While safe counsels abound  in the wisdom from the multitude of counsellors, pursuing the revelation of the will of God in His word sometimes requires traveling with courage on a lonely path. For example, Paul was able to retain the attention of his audience, until the expression of his commitment to the revealed will of God. Even when there are thousand of wise ways from the multitude of counsellors, the win...

“Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭ 22:14-15 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/act.22.14-15.nkjv Since finding facts is a popular maxim for any good reporting, news without new facts about COVID-19 is becoming simply a ‘no news’ in our present pandemic world. Notwithstanding, the basic characteristics of a true and honest report remains the discovery of the truth. Unfortunately, the concept of truth is relative in our present wicked world. But when God chose Paul to be a witness, the absolute path of finding the truth was clearly laid out: “you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth”. And the question is “What is the will of God on the rampaging COVID-19”? Is it related to the unleashing of “Fear or Freedom”? and probably the releasing of “Boredom or Breakdown...

“So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭ 22:10 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/act.22.10.nkjv   Mature minds pride themselves in their abilities to think and act independently. But actually, the actions and inaction of man are always motivated by either known or unknown ‘lord’. Prior to Paul’s encounter with Jesus on his way to Damascus, he clearly claimed to be zealous to the lord of his father’s law and the strictness to the teachings received at the feet of Gamaliel. Whereas, the revelation on Damascus’ road wasn’t the fact he was persecuting Jesus; the true revelation was his commitment to the wrong ‘lord’. Likewise, life’s daily engagements at home, workplaces and the society are not primarily about the assessment of right acts. Life’s purpose and essence are simply lost at the altar of our daily commitment to the wrong lord, whenever...

“Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?” But Paul said, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭21:38-39‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/act.21.38-39.nkjv     The major challenge against the pursuit of peace and prosperity at home, workplaces and our society is powered by silent insinuation and the error of mistaken identity. The spirit that works against peace in life’s affairs know full well the game of manipulating the minds of people, through empirical staging of activities and events against the revealed counsel of God. For example, without the request by Paul for personal engagement with the people, the commander is already walking away with the insinuation that Paul is the ringleader of professional assassins and a master political rebel, just by paying attention to the arithmetic manipul...

“...[the Jews from Asia...laid hands on him] crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭ 21:28 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/act.21.28.nkjv   One of the major challenges before a man who is absolutely surrendered to the will of God is the inability to manipulate even his own will, needless to mention the clueless control over the will of the people around him. Unlike weapon in the hands of men, the weapon of war in the hands of God are called out to fulfill only the will of God and not the customs of this world. Reflecting on the fact that Apostle Paul’s commitment to a seven-day purification ceremony in the temple ended with an arrest without a simple fight nor defence, believers are always tempted to query the essence of their status as God’s weapon of war. Whereas, Paul was everywhere tea...