Heralds Digest

  “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.” ‭‭Joshua‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Amidst consistent struggles in the jungle of life, it is always easy for anyone to forget or misplace the most important necessities for survival. Promises from the most reliable persons get easily frustrated, not necessarily on the account of a deficiency in reliability. Sometimes, it is just because the game in the jungle is simply about the survival of the fittest. Notwithstanding, the prevailing promise is really not about prevention of the fight from aliens; it is simply about proscription of the stand of enemies against the purpose of God, as long as believers remain with the Lord. Unfortunately, we are easily tempted to move away from God’s prevailing promise. And like Joshua received the admonition to be strong and courageous, believers need the same courage to stand with God, especially when it is ...

  ““You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.””Deuteronomy‬ ‭14:22-23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Without a clear understanding of the correct context of tithing, the mind of believers will always find it difficult to unlearn the concept of favour to God. Even in the Old Testament, tithe-givers were observed to consume most of the offerings on the altar of sacrifices. Therefore, thoughtful hearts should have learned that tithes has nothing to do with the offering of favour to God. And in our days of fast business transactions, it is sometimes difficult for most tithe-givers to accept the gross income as the basis of calculating the true tithe value of ‘all the increase of your grain’. Particularly, whe...

  ““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...