Heralds Digest

  ““And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭10:12-13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ If redemption is the plan of a good God, righteousness must be the product known as God’s good. The laws and commandments of the Lord are reasonably grievous in the eyes of unbelievers and strangers to God’s redemption plan. But for those who are privileged to be visited by the good God, God’s good requires more than God’s goodness. It requires the redeemed’s absolute commitment to the path of righteousness, through the fear of the Lord, walking in His ways, serving the Lord with a wholesome heart, and keeping His commandments. Unfortunately, many believers are easily carried away by the deceitfulness in this world’s good. And like it was in the ...

  “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭5:16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Long life is not necessarily an extension of days; but an extension of assignment. And if parenting or mentoring is conceived as a worthwhile assignment by anyone, such an individual has earned the right to receive honour (i.e., obedience, respect, and protection) from the mentees. Fathers and mothers, either in facts or figures, represent the evidence of living for God’s assignment, with respect to parenting. Therefore, anyone who wants to live for a similar level of assignment must learn how to show respect for older generations. God is simply saying praying for long life is the actual living for the honour of those who are committed to clearing the stage for our performance. Otherwise, there is no use adding days to life just for the sake of wasteful existence....

  “‘The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me.” ‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭25:23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ When scriptures declare that the earth is the Lord’s property with its fullness, it suggests that the strictest of human’s landed possession is simply a termed tenant. The Lord appears to tell the children of Israel “ Please ensure you understand the meaning of ‘Certificate of Occupancy’ when you are issued one ”. If anything, our honest use of all landed properties or any earthly possessions for that matter should promote humble relationships with the Lord. While we are privileged to accessed earthly possessions and properties for the glory of God and the express satisfaction of His purpose, many of us have often abused the terms of our tenancy without checking on the interest of God. Whereas, God said to Israel and everyone “ you are strangers and sojourners with Me” . At the expiration of human’s termed or trusted tenancy on all privileged...

  “And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”” Exodus‬ ‭34:6-7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Depending on every man’s choice of relationship with God, God is both our grace Giver and the people’s guilt Guest. Moses’s second approach to Mount Sinai to receive the 10 commandments is a perfect example of God’s nature of mercy, grace, and goodness. Notwithstanding, the same approach revealed the righteousness, truth and justice in God’s relationship with many succeeding generations of a guilty heart. Without placing serious concerns on some arguable misgivings about fairness, it is important to understand that man is not a sinner because of his sin. Every man sins because he i...

  “Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭4:10-13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Just as living and working for the strict pursuit of institutional mandate or commission are required for performance recommendations, relevance in the hands of God demands obedience to His commandments. While man may have a reason to doubt the sincerity of human commission, the Creator’s commission should always be treated differently. Why? He knows assuredly what He is able to do through all of His creatures; and not just what the creatures conceive as their capabilities. Yet, like Moses, we ofte...

  “But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭1:12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ A gracious reflection on the lots of the wicked will be more concerned, rather than being more confused. The moment any soul escapes from the captivity of sin and enters into a covenant relationship with the Lord, he becomes completely free from the ultimate lots of the wicked’s wickedness. Actually, the wickedness of the wicked is always a blessing in disguise on the right of righteousness. Whereas to the wicked, wickedness is ultimately a waste of resources. Such was the experience of the wicked Egyptians, who were disturbed by the blessings of multiplication on the children of Israel. Unfortunately, believers are often blinded by resentful emotions when it seems the wicked are having fun with their acts of wickedness. And the dust of bitterness, anger, and resentment in a righteous heart suddenly becomes the gain of wickedness in the...

  “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...