Heralds Digest

  “And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “ Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. ” ‭‭John‬ ‭9:2-3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/jhn.9.2-3.nkjv Courtesy enables a good way of responding to unpleasant situations and experiences in life. Instead of the offering of unnecessary criticism and an exchange of hot debates, silence and smiles often do the magic. And when the disciples of Jesus had the privilege of asking questions about the unpleasant situation of being born blind, they demanded to know who was responsible for the blindness between the blind man and his parents. Whereas, everyone knows that the silent statement is a doubt tag on the goodness of God. When things go wrong in life, family, career and ministry, the ungodly pick offences while the godly often refrain the heart from vocalizing the silent statement. But if we can always l...

  “Jesus said to them, “ Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM. ”” ‭‭John‬ ‭ 8:58 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/jhn.8.58.nkjv Those who lived a purposeful life are easily remembered by the works of their hands, like by their inventions, impactful changes, and the establishment of institutions, etc. For the Jews, the name Abraham stood out as the father of faith and the chief progenitor of a privileged covenant relationship with God. Even in our contemporary days and among the redeemed of the Lord, relationship with Abraham is claimed by faith. And there are many ‘ Abraham ’ in the diverse cultures, religion, and systems of the world. Unfortunately, when we hold our peace, progress, and prosperity to the potency and proficiency of these Abraham , we cannot easily acknowledge and accept the declaration “ Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM ”. But then, the declaration stands still true for believers in Jesus in our day-to-day activities and ...

  “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”” ‭‭John‬ ‭ 8:32 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/jhn.8.32.nkjv Without the treatment of the grace of God, everyone’s infectious truth deficiency syndrome (TDS) readily becomes unbearable. Since the whole world and the engagement of humanity in its system are heavily promoted by conflicting variants of the truth, freedom in life, family, business, and fellowship is obviously becoming relative. Therefore, Jesus had to tell the newly-released disciples the concept of an absolute truth and full freedom. Truth based on human understanding of himself and his preferences in life will always be relative. Whereas, the more a disciple of Christ is exposed to the knowledge of His words and the willingness to submit unto His counsels, he becomes enlisted as candidate of the total truth and full freedom. Even after freedom from sin or any observable measure of freedom, believers’ openness to the truth delightful service abo...

“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”” ‭‭John‬ ‭ 8:24 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/jhn.8.24.nkjv The ‘ who is who’ factor is a significant concern in almost all of man’s world religion. Obviously, the Pharisees and Sadducees in the days of Jesus Christ do not carry last in their search for the authority of Jesus. And in their efforts at differentiating between his authority and teaching from that of the previous Jewish leaders, Jesus challenged or audited their state of sinlessness. Unfortunately, no one could stand the test. While none of world’s religious leaders can beat their chests with confidence, only Jesus is a sinless Saviour - a perfect Substitute for all of man’s sins. Therefore, only Him has the power to say ‘ Go, and sin no more!’ . Otherwise, man becomes perpetually attached to sin and refused deliverance from this world of inequities and sin.

  “Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” ‭‭John‬ ‭6:67-68‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/jhn.6.67-68.nkjv Even before the advent of the theory of relativity, the pursuits of everything that life offers are relative to the experiences of different people. Happiness, joy, and satisfaction at home, society and within the fellowship of people are simply the products of relativity. But when Jesus presented a different concept of life satisfaction to the people, it was difficult for people to admit the revealed empty exploration in the concept of relative satisfaction. Without the consideration for eternal life, the pursuit of joy and happiness at home, workplace satisfaction, and fulfillment in career is understandably relative. Therefore, Jesus asked for the decision of the disciples on the option of going back in pursuit of this relative satisfaction. But Simon Pe...

  “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” ‭‭John‬ ‭ 6:45 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/jhn.6.45.nkjv The onset of frustration at the field of evangelism does not start in our contemporary times. Even at the times of the prophets and in the days of Christ’s earthly ministry, the fields were filled with hypocrites, religious bigots, and a bunch of bystanders against the gospel of salvation. Notwithstanding, Jesus consistently sowed and taught everyone the secret of spreading the seeds of evangelism with grace. Unfortunately, believers and evangelists today are tempted to get frustrated and stranded on their fallow fields. Why? 1. ‘ And they shall all be taught by God’ is easily misinterpreted and implemented as ‘ And they shall all be taught by the evangelists’ . Little wonder the expression of frustration and failure when fallow fields are treated with dignity and respect...

  “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” ‭‭John‬ ‭6:37-38‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/jhn.6.37-38.nkjv The ‘What if’ factor is always a significant concern in the pursuit of soul satisfaction; but Jesus offers the safety Seal - The Assurance of being at the centre of God’s Will. Confidence in following the design specifications of any genius in life, without respect for the recommended safety factor, should represent a clear recipe for failure and disappointment. Likewise, everyone will be right to query the security of the leap of faith in Jesus’ offer of salvation. Salvation from Satan, self and sin is at the centre of God’s redemption plan; and the ransom is fully paid in His only begotten Son - Jesus Christ. Therefore, the risk of trusting Jesus has a safety Seal of His absolute submission to the Will of God; and not ...