Heralds Digest

  “ He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. ”” ‭‭John‬ ‭3:36‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Without prejudice to the depravity of sin and its consequences, it is understandable that life never actually dies but lives forevermore. Whereas, sin brings the penalty of the present physical death, decay, and degradation to the quality of life. Notwithstanding, almost all of life’s attractions in the public space, social entertainment, and work environment are motivated by different forms of unrighteousness and fashion of corruption. These ephemeral ‘loose life’ called attractions can come with earthly pleasures, transient excitement, and corruptible materials; but there is always no satisfaction, contentment, and peace in these life’s attractions without an absolute faith in God and peace against His wrath. Therefore, Jesus concluded His communication with those who have special interests in His own type of l...

  “ And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God .”” ‭‭John‬ ‭3:19-21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Those who submit themselves for public service must be commended because of their courage to get scrutinized by the school of public opinion. People with skeletons in their cardboard or without sufficient cover networks for their dreadful deeds are naturally secluded from public service because, in the words of Jesus, their deeds were evil. Notwithstanding, Jesus says those who engage in dreadful deeds are condemned, not for their love of evil, but for their hatred for the light. Whereas, those who engage in delightful deeds are children of the light because they love the light ; they a...

  “ It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. ”” ‭‭John‬ ‭1:27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Status respect is logically earned than demanded; but disrespect is evident when it is being demanded or competed. While the expression of respect for Jesus Christ by John the Baptist can easily pass as status respect, it is actually the expression of his satisfaction in the purpose and plan of God for his life. Whenever we become dissatisfied with our roles and responsibilities in life, our state of dissatisfaction is covered up by an unhealthy competition and a subtle disrespect for others in the room. The Pharisees had wanted to assign the roles and responsibilities of the expected Prophet, Christ, or Elijah to John the Baptist; but he quickly realized that real respect is not just the recognition of the superiority of the status of Jesus. It is simply the expression of his satisfaction as the forerunner of Jesus, even if privileged to extend the mess...

  “ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it .” John‬ ‭1:3-5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Since all things were made through Christ, it is natural to express no emphasis on the embodiment of the nothing outside Him. But here comes “ and without Him nothing was made that was made ”. It implies that there is always a tangible embodiment of nothing outside the Will of God. Even though perfectly made in the image of God, man was made a free moral agent with the ability to either accept or reject the plan and purpose of God. God’s words and pronouncements in the life and affairs of His beloved always stand true and solid, no matter how seemingly long it is tested in the sands of time. And if we can always tremble at God’s words and pronouncements, we wouldn’t need to be trampled down by other words and pronouncements. Unfortunately, childr...

  “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “ This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me .”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭22:19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Although the symbolism of the Lord’s Supper is clearly the act of giving, it is also possible to have a mixup in the understanding of the actual gift: the bread, the body, or the life? Notwithstanding, the embodiment of the act of this giving is the agape love, which is the greatest gift. The life of Jesus was sacrificed to redeem humanity, who cannot be saved otherwise, from eternal death to everlasting life. Therefore, when He requested all His disciples to ‘do this in remembrance of Me’ , He did recommend the practice of giving all we have to secure the most essential needs of others; and expecting nothing in return. This is simply by taking whatever is pliable; and He gave…and gave, until all in life was given. Obviously, if we can always ‘do this in remembrance of Me’ at home and outside home, we can be...

  “ And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “ Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had .”” Luke‬ ‭21:1-4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ By applauding the total surrendering of all of the poor widow’s livelihood to God, it is important to note that the recommended fellowship is not restricted to money or mites in a believer’s pocket or bank accounts. It is the totality of life’s service at home, workplaces, to humanity, and services in the house of God. Has anyone imagined why the awkward feelings of disappointment when a man’s assumed sacrifices in all of these fellowship settings are not deemed appreciated by fellow men? This is always a sign that the heart hasn’t really considered the totality of its services as an expected sacrifice to God. W...

  “ So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “ You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me .” ” Luke‬ ‭18:22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Since the pursuit of fortune and fame is a reasonable measure of prosperity in life, career prospects and business engagements are generally defined by metrics like net worth, share holdings, social rank, political status, etc. Unfortunately, the rich young man who came to Jesus for further clarification on the subject matter was disappointed to discover that these prosperity pursuits have no eternal value. Imagine one had struggled to keep a high morality level, in addition to securing the acquisition of measurable prosperity in life; but thereafter, he discovered the heavenly verdict: “ You still lack one thing! ”. And like the rich young man, not many who know the heavenly worthlessness of prosperity pursuits are sincerely interested in the recommended priceless pu...