Heralds Digest

“But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets...This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭24:14, 16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/act.24.14,16.nkjv If there is anything so clear about the accusers of Paul, it is the fact that they also claim to worship God, the undisputed Father of the Jewish’s forefathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. Then, what is the cause of the disparity in the strive between them and Paul? Human commitments to social strive in life have always looked after the cordial coexistence, interdependence and interrelationships among people within a system (family, institution, society, and nations). While good intention with these commitments has a good record of resolving crisis, it is easier to step outside the bound of c...

“For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes...And the Jews also assented, maintaining that these things were so.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭24:5, 9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/act.24.5,9.nkjv In our wicked world of deceit and power struggle, the enemies of peace are often the loudest propaganda of the gospel of peace. They are much skillful to invade the privacy of any system with their peace and prosperity offerings, wrapped with a time-bomb of disagreement, dissociation and disaster. For the team comprising the high priest and elders from Jerusalem, who came to Caesarea in order to accuse Paul before Governor Felix, politics or praise of peace was leveraged to invade the system with plague. And as long as the rhetoric of peace is attractive in any home, work and societal system, the enemy of peace will continue to thrive with plague offering, after the injection of chaotic and panic mod...

“And he called for two centurions, saying, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night; and provide mounts to set Paul on, and bring him safely to Felix the governor.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭23:23-24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/act.23.23-24.nkjv   In seasons and territories laden with insecurities and fear, good dreams and promising ambitions are subject to risks of truncation or destruction. And the fear of falling among the bandits of terror can prevent the necessary fist towards getting started. Unfortunately, every good and worthy course in life is either passively or actively surrounded by bandits, accusers, and opposers. It is noteworthy that it was after God encouraged Paul to get ready for the next mission to Rome that 40 bandits sworn to fatally take him down. However, we learn that God divinely arranged about 500 wall of Roman soldiers, horsemen and spear-men to protect Paul merely against the ly...

“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...