Heralds Digest

  “Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; Walk in the ways of your heart, And in the sight of your eyes; But know that for all these God will bring you into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, And put away evil from your flesh, For childhood and youth are vanity.” Ecclesiastes‬ ‭11:9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Every time the littleness of bodily exercise, compared to spiritual exercise, is inspired by the admonition of Paul to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:8, some folks will readily take exception. Here the Old Testament preacher apparently concealed the same admonition on the emphasis of a healthy heart. Healthy body does cheer vitality and productivity in life; but an unhealthy heart in healthy body is eternally sick. In our polluted and corrupt world, how can anyone grow a healthy heart that is devoid of bitterness, wrath, malice, and evil speaking without the love and power of Christ? Even the heart that is readily set on the path ...

  “He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap.” ‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭11:4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ It is true that motivation and good encouragement are great resources for productivity in life; but the absence of encouraging weather, economy, or environment is not a tenable excuse for the lack of productivity. Consistency in the use of our talent, treasure and time in life is simply a picture of whether we are distinguished delegates of God or not. Those who not distinguished do readily switch delegations and allegiances, depending on the circumstances of life. Unfortunately, the wind and the clouds are mostly distinguished delegates in their own right; but those who refused to be distinguished do give excuses based on the focused activities of the wind and clouds. Therefore, let the wind continue to blow and the clouds continue to drop dews; distinguished delegates will continue to sow their assigned seeds of righteousness and reap the joy of the Lord.

  “If the ax is dull, And one does not sharpen the edge, Then he must use more strength; But wisdom brings success.” ‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭10:10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Since wisdom is always a principal thing, it is not surprising that everyone needs to wise up the edge to get a good wedge on the circumstances of life. All alternatives to godly wisdom, including corruption, wickedness, and strenuous labour, brings failure and disappointment. Unfortunately, many workers at home, workplaces, and in our society have a misconstrued understanding of the concept of success; and have always use wicked wiles on the edges to secure a bad wedge on almost all of life’s engagements. But truth be told, true success is not just surrounded by peace of mind; it is birthed by the wisdom of God, righteousness, peace and joy of the Lord. It is always true that an edge in life without the principal thing cannot give a wise wedge. Therefore, dullness is not just the absence of fruitful strategies in life’s engagements; i...

  “So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.” Ecclesiastes‬ ‭8:15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Anyone can savour the taste of good food, and enjoy the talents in good entertainment, especially when the appetite is great and the body is in excellent state of health. But when the body is shutting down, that’s when everyone truly appreciates the grace in good appetite and good mental coordination. So, the preacher does commended the grace in enjoyment in times of the challenges of life. Otherwise, productivity at home, profitability in business, and participation in social life become dull…just in a subtle confirmation that the heart does easily settle down with the God of the mountain; and mostly alienated from the God of the valley. Whereas, the hope for glory in God’s promises is strictly evident in the measure of His grace; and not nec...

  “As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.” ‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭5:19-20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Busy-ness is understandably good for the generation of riches and wealth. Likewise, breaks are designed for the enjoyment of these riches and wealth. Unfortunately, the periods for breaks are often rescheduled as busy extensions for more productivity in life. Even when the schedule for busy and breaks are literally respected, the  concept of blissful break is always strange without divine satisfaction in the different schedules surrounding the believer's life. Without the power to enjoy our breaks in life, the heart will continue to engage in the busy mode, even while on breaks. If God would often look back on His day by day work engagements to assess them good or simply...

  “I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.” Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Man-denominated fear is forced by many important but transient factors in life, like position, privileges, wealth, beauty, power, etc. Whereas, God-denominated fear is freestyle and permanent. In spite of the clear limitations in the forced fears, man is often so gripped by this fear; and would freely disobey God in order to cultivate the favour of fellow men. Oh! that men can solemnly hold the preacher’s conviction, particularly in times of difficulty and the pressure of life, “ I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever ”. Irrespective of the heights or depths of whatever man is able to forcefully do to believers against God’s promises, they are obviously temporal in their influences. Unfortunately, fainting men will always be fooled by the threats of forced fears, thinking their actions o...

  “Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done. And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.” ‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭2:11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ It is true that not many are privileged to experience affluence, authority, and material prosperity; and that is why many would readily desire the prospect of satisfaction with these privileged experiences. Notwithstanding, the very few who have looked or reflected, after attaining these experiences cannot agree less about the preacher’s acclaimed vanity and the grasping for the wind. Those who have education are not satisfied until they get a career. Those who have a career are not satisfied until they get to the highest heights of their career progression. Then, they become unsatisfied with wanting a family. Those with family are worried about the extension of their possessions with family members. These concerns and the lack of a sustained satisfaction in the exten...