Heralds Digest

  “Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”” Genesis‬ ‭18:14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Many are used to the concept of ‘Tough Times Never Last …’ from the context of motivating people on how to deal with ‘Tough Things ’ in life. Definitely, the principle always work for all ‘Tough Things’ within the possible influence of man. For matters beyond the control of man, those who know God will simply wait for Him to turn the table of ‘Tough Times’ around. Unfortunately, when God’s promises go for so long without performance, God is also often treated as having a challenge (as man does) in dealing with ‘Tough Times ’ as ‘Tough Things ’. For a promise- or covenant- loaded couple (Abraham and Sarah), barrenness - as ‘Tough Times ’ - has just become ‘Tough Things’ also to God. But God apparently said ‘No, it’s just a Time Thing’. And to every beloved child of God, the promise still holds in all our ‘Tough Tim...

  “And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”‭‭ Genesis‬ ‭15:6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Without a crisis of faith and the challenges of life, it is difficult for anyone to clearly classify his belief system. While a bad belief system is completely material driven and devotedly influenced by the god of this world (money, power, position, etc), a boarder-line belief system always hold God’s promises on a suspense stand. Whatever life brings is the product of a boarder-line belief system, even if the belief violates the Will of God. When Abram was driven to the hedge of his crisis of faith, he attempted the boarder-line belief system until he sought God for clarification. Oftentimes, believers have simply failed to ask God for clarification; walking through the challenges of life like an orphan. Unfortunately, boarder-line belief system cannot pursuit the pleasing of God; being subject to hidden resentment, doubt, and mistrust. After God responded to clarify Abram’s c...

  “This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6:9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ In comparison to the Stone Age, the present Information Age promises smart intelligence and innovative advances. Naturally, increased knowledge and wisdom are expected to produce higher moral standards; but reverse is obviously the case. Carnal wisdom, at its best, produces nothing short of corruption, evil and wickedness. No matter how good a man’s intentions are at the beginning of his absolute dependence on the wisdom of the world, he gets confined to the pathway of wicked walk. Whereas, Noah has shown the way of escape. When the men of his age chose an absolute dependence and socialization on the basis of strength, wealth, and fame, Noah chose to walk with God. Little wonder the genealogy of Noah started with his possession of the attributes of God; while the activities of the entire world around him were summarized as nothing short of wickedness. N...

  “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1:28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Fruitfulness and multiplication without responsibility creates the atmosphere of insensitivity, instability and insecurity in our world. But the original plan of the Creator is dominion and not oppression. When man grows into thinking of satisfying only his own quests and personal needs for pleasure, he turns into a mindless, thoughtless, and oppressive manager of the commonwealth. Whereas, to fill the earth and subdue it is to take responsibility for keeping it safe for other creatures of God, and above self-centred reasons. Fortunately, every creature of God is equipped with sufficient resources to make the world a better place; and not deplete it with his misconstrued sense of replenishment. The only challenge is that not many peo...

  “And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1:25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ If the divers kind of beast, cattle, and animate objects are known by God, He has made the divers kind of man carefully and uniquely. Every man is created best both in his kind and for his kind. Unfortunately, the denial of God’s providence over all His creation has often promoted the idea of man’s disaffection towards accepting the beautiful appearance of his kind. While there is a place for appreciating the performances of others, this appreciation must not underestimate the unique value of self-acceptance and self-appreciation. Therefore, the principal responsibility of everyone in life is the pursuit of God’s purpose and the understanding of what He sees good in every kind of man. While the knowledge of what is good about our fellow kind is good for the prime encycloped...

  “I am weary with my groaning; All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears.” Psalms‬ ‭6:6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The greatness of an expression of grief is often described by an open devastation. Whereas, great grief is encouraged in a believer’s closet discussion with God. Like David, great men and honourable instruments in the hands of God must have their moments of groaning. Otherwise, the avoidable pride in the heart will make these promising vessels useless in the hands of God. When our grief is expressed in the open, we make the enemies rejoice and celebrate the creativity of their wickedness. But when the righteous leverages on the strength from the joy of the Lord, the camp of darkness is devastated and silenced. Notwithstanding, the expression of the Psalmist’s weariness with grief is always welcome only in the presence of our great God. Invariably, the expression of grief in the presence of our great God is simply great and good.

  “Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.” ‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭3:12-13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ One of the sources of consolation of a righteous relationship is the fairness of the end results, even if there appears to be discouraging mixups in the earlier days. Unfortunately, waiting for the Day that God has chosen to reward uprightness, sincerity, faithfulness, and believers’ integrity has proven to many ignorant believers to be boring and discomforting. When the best of human reward system has been compromised to appreciate unfair treatment and to recommend smart eye services, unwary believers are often tempted to also practice a varied level of dishonesty in their relationship with God. Whereas, the foundation of believers’ relationships with God is Jesus Christ and can never be comp...