Heralds Digest

  “ Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ For those who have truly found grace in the sight of God, the pursuit of righteousness or the unconditional obedience to the commandments of the Lord is the only path to greatness. But outside the provision of grace that enables walking in the Spirit, doing these commandments is grievous enough; needless to mention the odious efforts of teaching fellow men to follow the righteous path. Obviously, what is gracious in heaven’s parlance is grievous in all carnal considerations. Therefore, it is better to accept Christ’s admonition on the best way to pursue greatness in life. You cannot plan to adopt the pattern of pursuing greatness in the world and think to succeed in teaching others absolute obedience to the commandments of the Lord. In...

  “ You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven .” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:14-16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ If solo compliments and commendation are warmly welcomed by all, why do we often feel uncomfortable with solo rendering of good initiative, particularly in an hostile environment? Whereas, Jesus teaches His disciples to accept solo shine not on the basis of their feelings; but on the basis of their functions “ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works ”. When human feeling is fuelled by the surrounding inputs from the broken world, human functions become subjected and manipulated by the prince of this world - Satan. But those who have been redeemed by grace have an inner fuel system that produces only good works, irrespec...

  “ Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. ” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:3-5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Being blessed with this world’s success, security, and status, many are tempted to derive uneasy satisfaction. Whereas, in actual fact, there is no sustainable success, security, and status in the system of this world. The world knows the inescapable way of taxing its success, security, and status. Therefore, even in the affluence of worldly success, the heart of the poor in spirit is focussed on heavenly success and spiritual riches. The soul is rather satisfied with the more of heaven’s riches than being occupied by the earthly bliss. Likewise, even in the most secured state and an island free of insurgency, the heart of the righteous would mourn the restlessness in this fractured world, and the lack of satisfaction until the dawn of the glorious morning. Needless to ...

  “ For the idols speak delusion; The diviners envision lies, And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wend their way like sheep; They are in trouble because there is no shepherd .” Zechariah‬ ‭10:2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The strong delusion in the comfort that is derivable from human efforts is the temporal appeal. Although the world celebrates this appeal and glory in the glamour, wealth, and affluence, the scriptures summarized the products of human efforts in life as idols. Unfortunately, the knowledge of God and the understanding of His purpose in life remain unpopular to hearts that completely de-taste the temporal challenges in the pursuit of excellence. Whenever we are tempted to be wary of waiting upon the Lord, we are quick to embrace wrong counsels, entertain quick fixes, and encourage short cuts. Whereas, the true trouble for the hearts that reject the divine counsels is the alienation from the true Shepherd. When the scriptures declare that “ They are in tro...

  “ But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him .”Habakkuk‬ ‭2:20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ When God promised Habakkuk that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, amidst the prevailing concerns of wickedness in his days, he would probably underestimate the scale of the overwhelming distraction, deception, and destruction in today’s World Wide Web (www). Notwithstanding, the Lord’s promise remains prevalent; but it is begging for the righteous’ strategy and wisdom in applying self management, while surfing the web. When a believer today expresses concern about difficulty in finding God during personal devotion, knowing His Will in career choices, marriage decision, parenting, and all other day-to-day activities, he needs to be more sincere about the impacts of the overwhelming invasion by conflicting voices, opinions, and information from the web. Since the reality that we no longer go to the web, but now live on the web, is true; thos...

  ““ What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it, The molded image, a teacher of lies, That the maker of its mold should trust in it, To make mute idols ?” Habakkuk‬ ‭2:18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ To everyone who believes that man is truly created as the image of God, life’s rhetorical question here would attract a sober reflection. Being given different privileges, opportunities, and advantages in life, not many people are often concerned with the question “ What profit is this image, that His Maker should carve it…?” . Obviously, God is not to be blamed for man turning out a teacher of lies and mute idols…pursuing his own derailed desires and selfish ambitions. Man was made to be holy, to speak the truth always, to live consistently honest, and to declare the beauty of God’s holiness in character, charisma, and communication. But now and in those who have not tasted of the grace of God that brings salvation and deliverance from sin, the depraved nature in man has corrupted the origi...

  “ For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry .” Habakkuk‬ ‭2:3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The twist in all of God’s promises is a reality made clear in His revelation to Habakkuk. It shows the difference between waiting for God’s promises and waiting on God’s promises. While the former may appear to tarry, the latter cannot tarry. Notwithstanding, God must remain the focus in either of the waiting. This is because time and circumstances of life will attempt to twist the believer's waiting period; but God remains unchanging, irrespective of the twist of life. But when the scriptures say the vision will surely come, the believer's confidence and faith in God’s promises must remain solid as his conviction in God’s existence. Unfortunately, the twist in reality often comes with the tendency to play God, helping ourselves with manipulations, and the manifestation of fa...