Heralds Digest

  “ He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters .”Luke‬ ‭11:23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ There is no doubt that #impact2022 convocation has just released a new wave into the strategy for global evangelism, especially with special focus on the generation of youth and young adults. While many people may be struggling with their exclusive mindset, the new race for inclusivity in global evangelism has just started. Notwithstanding, it is important for everyone to understand that the disruptive strategy has nothing to do with the denial of denominational identity. And like with the exclusive outbursts and experiences in the days of Christ’s disruptive extension of the kingdom of God, the main focus of the change here is all about global gathering, in preparation for the coming of the Lord. Unfortunately, some may be unwittingly engaged by the enemy into the mindset of scary scattering; when every hand ought to be on deck for global gathering with God. Just as the ‘Me...

  “ Give us day by day our daily bread . ” Luke‬ ‭11:3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ It is not surprising that the opening of personal requests after thanksgiving in the Lord’s model of Prayer is “ Give us day by day our daily bread .” This is more a desire for the restoration of an intimate relationship with the Giver of bread, rather than the provision of the actual gift of bread. Unfortunately, the focus of man in relationships with God has always placed higher priority on the provision of daily needs; rather than the desirable interest in sweet fellowship. Little wonder when the pleasant life and high standard of living has enabled abundant supplies (even beyond expiry dates), this prayer point will usually proceed on holiday in most believers’ prayer calendar. Remember the experience of those Israelites in the wilderness who preferred to stock up manna, against the recognition of the Lord’s presence as our daily dairy?  Even today, our life’s experiences have suffered rottenness with consiste...

  “ Then He said to them, “ The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest .” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭10:2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ If labourers or workers on any of this world’s engagements have the correct perspective of the owner of the establishment about themselves, there would be no doubt that the drive towards productivity will be much smoother. Likewise, many of us (believers) who labour in God’s kingdom on earth are probably negligent of God’s perspective on the field of harvest. Unfortunately, the produce is often personalized into families, societies, and denominations as generally earth’s harvest; and the achievements of individual personalities. Whereas, when Jesus asked the disciples to engage in prayer to God for more heralds for the great harvest, little did they know that they were primarily praying for themselves. But after the throwing up of celebration for the testimonies from their harvesting on the field, Je...

  “But Jesus said to him, “ No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God .”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭9:62‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The adage that says “ Winners don’t quit; and quitters don’t win ” is quite true for any prospective project in life. Whereas, only those who stick with their laudable plans get celebrated at the final completion of the project, irrespective of the level of participation and the scale of challenges before the end of the project. Unfortunately, there are many laudable projects of life that get bought over at the crucial stage before completion and commissioning, just because the players have yielded to the looking back and fallow field strategies. Waiting for the best time to strike, watching for the nice weather, seeking the support and encouragement of everyone, and anticipating the cooperation or collaboration of everyone are some of the well-known fallow field strategies that have left laudable dreams in comatose. Even with respect to th...

  “ Now John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “ Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side . ”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭9:49-50‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Celebrities are reasonably marked by different well-known metrics of their follower-ship. Unlike in our social media days with ‘followers’ metric on different social media handles, the disciples of Jesus in the Bible days could readily count attendances at meetings, street crusades, and house fellowship. When John brought up such reports of a faithful follower scorecard before Jesus, he was apparently disappointed to discover that heaven has a different metric for assessing believers’ faithfulness. But Jesus said to him, “ Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side. ” The question is “ How can one recognize those who are not against Jesus by counting physical attendances, congregational participation, ...

  “and said to them, “ Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great .”” Luke‬ ‭9:48‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Responsibility and recognition  are the two major concerns of adults. Their activities and engagement are motivated by status recognition. This motivation is always welcomed as long as the two concerns are given due attention by every aspiring adult. Unfortunately, many people are more interested in the demand for respect or recognition with little or no interest in taking responsibility. Whenever the drive for recognition is promoted at home, workplace, and social gatherings, the primary aims and objectives towards the implementation of laudable projects are often sidelined. And when the disciples of Jesus became distracted by the pursuits of status stands, Jesus had to provide the best illustration of the request concern in little children. In believer’s relationship with ...

  “ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? ” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭9:24-25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Following is synonymous to trusting. Those who follow or trust in bodily exercises and good dieting have trust in the gym programme for its guaranteed extension of life expectancy and good healthy living. Similar trust has been proven to work for human investment in quality education, career discipline, and social relationships. But since life is composed of the body, soul, and spirit, all these human efforts at saving life are simply targeted at the body care. Most times, the soul and the spirit of man are uncatered for; while the priority is focussed on material prosperity, position, and privileges. Therefore, Jesus says that anyone who desires to save his own life by excluding the care for the soul and the spirit has got an unwise wellness programme. Wh...